Chapter 97: Earth Dragon

Chapter 97: Earth Dragon

A single simple sentence from Chen Jian gave Zeng Yi a shock, though it could not be compared to a nuclear explosion, at least it rivaled the awe he felt when he first saw this four‑person squad slay the matriarch of Chuan Sha City.

If you want to learn, I will teach you.

What kind of talk is that?

In this world, knowledge, skills, and resources are strictly controlled; whether it is the Hall of Holy Blood or the Machine God Sect, their “bestowal” is tied to a rigid hierarchy.

And now you tell me, an outsider, that I too can learn your combat techniques?

Or have you assigned someone to teach me personally, hand over hand?

At this moment, Zeng Yi truly felt that the organization he had thrown his lot in with was somewhat out of place in this world.

——

But is it possible that only these out‑of‑place things can save this world?

His thoughts drifted a little, yet the other four had already readied their vehicles and waved for him to climb aboard.

Zeng Yi couldn't dwell on it; his eyes merely filled with a different kind of anticipation.

The two cat‑cars continued eastward, but Huangzhou City was tiny to begin with, lacking any elevated roads, so the squad's pace slowed considerably.

The complex terrain magnified unknown dangers; upon entering the urban area, aside from the drivers He Shuo and Lei Jie, the other three dismounted to proceed on foot, scouting and clearing obstacles.

It took a full two hours before the group located the road that Huang Yu had previously marked on the map.

It was a road specially opened by the Machine God Sect for transporting supplies when they were “breeding” monsters, to move materiel and equipment.

This road clearly bore the marks of having been burned and cleared, yet its condition was worse than those overgrown with vegetation.

Crater after crater, left by monsters trampling the ground, were densely packed across the surface, leaving only a narrow strip at the edge passable.

"Stay alert; the target is still two kilometers away."

"No anomalies detected by the drone; keep moving forward."

"Disengage weapon safeties; be ready for combat at any moment."

"Understood."

"Received."

Chen Jian unfolded the rack on his exoskeleton and cautiously scanned the road ahead.

The roar of the cat‑car’s engine startled creatures in the woods flanking the road; just as the convoy pressed on, a small monster burst from the undergrowth, and the instant it revealed its form, Chen Jian’s 191 spat fire.

"Bang! Bang!"

After two precise shots, the monster collapsed with a cry.

Chen Jian approached on foot, and upon seeing the creature's shape, he frowned and whispered:

"A mole rat!"

"Is this thing found everywhere??"

Zeng Yi beside him shook his head and replied:

"No, we’ve never seen a mole rat in any other region; even at the Han River ruins it was our first encounter."

As his words faded, Chen Jian’s heart gave a sudden jump.

Even when they killed that bullfrog, he had already formed an assessment of this mole‑rat monster.

They share a symbiotic relationship with larger monsters, likely depending on them to survive.

Thus, its appearance here probably signals that a new large monster has emerged in this area.

"He Shuo, lower the drone’s altitude."

"What’s inside the Mongol nest? Can you see clearly?"

"Can’t see clearly."

He Shuo kept trying to adjust the drone’s angle, but in the end he shook his head and replied:

"The above‑ground portion shows no anomalies; we can clearly see the various facilities the Machine God Sect previously erected, plus wooden support frames."

"But from ground to subsurface there is a huge pit; from the entrance it looks very deep."

"Should we fly in to take a look?"

"We can."

Chen Jian nodded decisively and then said:

"Send up another drone; let No. 2 act as a relay and go underground for reconnaissance."

"Zeng Yi, conduct a close reconnaissance within 500 meters of the target and report back in half an hour."

"The rest of you follow me to the objective, seize the Machine God Sect’s fortifications and set up a fire position."

"The situation is unknown and complex; be ready to withdraw at any moment!"

"Received!"

At the command, everyone sprang into action.

The final stretch wasn’t far, the road had improved greatly, and the squad moved swiftly; in under twenty minutes Chen Jian led them to occupy an artificial earthen platform above the nest. Judging by the remnants, it appeared to be the Machine God Sect’s “altar” for feeding.

Around the altar, dried bloodstains were plainly visible, and in the vast open space below lay numerous limbs that had not yet fully rotted.

The air reeked of foul decay, and Chen Jian frowned as he spoke:

"What’s going on? Is the Machine God Sect chopping people up to feed that monster?"

"Quite likely."

Shen Yue nodded solemnly and then said:

"I suspect this monster isn’t inherently aggressive toward humans—its food supply is already abundant."

"The Machine God Sect is probably trying to train its aggression, much like certain criminal gangs once used human flesh to train attack dogs."

"If they succeed, who knows—human and monster ecology might be shattered and rebuilt."

"Impossible to break."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

"The foundation of domesticating animals is a stable food source and livable environment, but with humanity’s current capabilities in this world, that is utterly unattainable."

"Giant monsters still occupy the upper tier of the ecological niche, and they won’t change anytime soon—He Shuo, how’s the drone reconnaissance going?"

"It’s going deeper."

He Shuo gave a brief reply:

"So far no anomalies have been found; this subterranean space likely connects to a karst limestone cavern, its interior vast, the terrain rugged, making flight difficult."

"Signal attenuation is severe; I doubt we can fly much farther."

"Understood; let’s fly in as far as we can first."

Chen Jian, while watching the live feed streaming from the drone, turned to Zeng Yi and asked:

“Zeng Yi, how’s the situation on your end?”

“We’ve found a great many gophers, but it’s odd: they’re clearly gathered near Menggu’s burrow, yet they seem… as if they’ve all gone into hibernation.”

“Their movements are sluggish; only a few are active.”

“Their aggressiveness is far weaker than when we encountered them by the Han River—I don’t know what’s happening; should we catch one and bring it over for you to see?”

“No need to catch one; just come back for now.”

Chen Jian refused outright, but the doubt in his mind grew deeper.

The collapsed bridge, the sudden appearance of the gophers and their strange state, the bottomless cavern—

All these clues hint that the nest hides a greater secret yet uncovered, but for now they have almost no suitable means to explore it.

If worse comes to worst, they’ll have to risk entering the cavern.

He studied the yawning mouth of the abyss closely, and just as he was about to decide to lead the team in, the drone’s feed flashed a dark shadow.

A massive, supple, twisted, scale‑covered elongated black shadow!

Because the cavern’s narrow terrain blocked the view, the drone couldn’t capture the shadow’s full form.

Yet even judging from the fragmented images, the creature’s length is at least ten meters!

Everyone instinctively halted their actions, and Lei Jie stared, mouth agape, and asked:

“Is that… a snake?”

“Menggu looks like a giant tortoise; could this be a turtle‑snake symbiosis?”

“No.”

Chen Jian drew a deep breath, then replied:

“I know why the bridge collapsed—the geological structure was damaged.”

“The gophers’ inactivity isn’t hibernation; it’s poisoning!”

“The plastic Menggu ingested wasn’t dug up by itself; it was brought out by this monster.”

“It’s an earthworm!”

“To be precise, it’s a giant earthworm‑salamander.”

“It feeds on humus and releases large amounts of nitrous oxide.”

“The gophers’ condition is nitrous oxide poisoning!”

“And ‘Menggu’—it isn’t inactive either; it inhaled a lot of nitrous oxide while burrowing deep, causing intermittent poisoning!”

(End of chapter)