Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 113 - 25 Another Huadu?

Chapter 113: Chapter 25 Another Huadu?

Although it’s likely that this so-called "monster" is human, it seemingly doesn’t aid Chen Jian’s team’s hunting efforts at all.

Because they still don’t have any traceable clues, sufficient traces, or means of direct tracking.

However, the attribute of "human" is extremely unique.

Especially for a human being who is obsessed with going through "doors".

Just from this point, it can prove that this being has retained a considerable degree of human habits.

And human habits are vastly different from those of low-intelligence animals.

They are bound to seek complete shelters and social needs, even in a barren environment, trying their best to align their lives with real human society.

This actually confines the activity range of this monster to a very small area.

Chen Jian’s eyes swept over the high-altitude images transmitted by the drones, and then he spoke:

"He Shuo, focus on reconnaissance along the river and lake banks."

"Pay special attention to small artificial building clusters, abnormal smoke, and abnormal heat sources."

"Fly several times, take a few hours to conduct an initial reconnaissance in a circular area with Wushan Lake as the center and a radius of 5 kilometers."

"Save all the high-altitude images, and later we’ll organize a unified analysis and discussion."

"Tonight, we will stay in Wuxue Town."

"This monster hasn’t shown up for half a month, and with each passing day, the probability of it attacking Wuxue Town again increases."

"If we can encounter it, that would be best."

"Even if we can’t catch it on the spot, as long as it leaves traces, the drone can chase it!"

"Understood."

The team members each responded in turn; at this moment, the entire exterior of the building had been thoroughly inspected.

Apart from the features Chen Jian found in the scratch marks, they found no other valuable clues.

Chen Jian stepped into the half-collapsed building, followed by the others.

A foul stench filled the air, Zhao He frowned and asked:

"Gentlemen, it’s very... very dirty inside, do we really have to look?"

"Of course."

Chen Jian nodded calmly and then answered:

"Since we can determine that this monster is likely human, then your claims of entirely random ’slaughter’ don’t hold."

"Monsters don’t need reasons to kill, but humans always have a rationale."

"Even if it’s random killing, it must stem from some motive — so is there anything special about this family?"

Zhao He remained silent for a long time, then replied:

"No."

"They’re just an ordinary family in Wuxue Town, living here since their ancestors."

"They mainly earn a living by providing dry food for traders, and the rotting stuff over there is the dough they’ve fermented."

Looking in the direction Zhao He pointed, Chen Jian saw dough filled with mold in a non-stick pan with completely peeled paint.

"Why not dispose of it?"

"...No one wants to deal with it because it’s too... ominous. This house should’ve just been burned down, but lately, the weather is dry, and it’s too close to the forest, so we feared causing a wildfire and didn’t burn it."

"Understood. How about this household’s social relations — I mean, their relationship with others in the town?"

"...Hard to say. But at least we can be sure there’s no conflict."

"How can you be sure?"

"I’m familiar with every household here; Wuxue Town is only so big. If there was any conflict, I’d be the first to know..."

Very reasonable.

Chen Jian nodded secretly, essentially agreeing with Zhao He’s account.

From the current situation, this household truly is the most ordinary one in Wuxue Town.

Judging by the home’s layout, there really was no need for them to be "raided."

There weren’t any high-value items, nor were there "pre-catastrophe treasures" that anyone would covet.

Like everyone else in the wasteland, they collected waste and trash from various places, including several non-functional batteries, a lot of plastic bottles not yet sold to the Mechanical God Sect, and a small amount of metal material.

These items remained untouched — to be honest, no one would kill over this heap of rubbish either, right?

Chen Jian searched thoroughly, but ultimately found nothing.

He then turned to Zhao He and said:

"There are no more clues here."

"You should also compile the data for other victims for me — write it out on paper, be detailed!"

"Sure, sure!"

Zhao He immediately turned to find someone to prepare it, and Chen Jian and others also left the room.

Just when he was about to lead the team back to the base, Xie Liu suddenly stopped.

She then turned around and walked back into the collapsed room.

Chen Jian was about to follow, but within a few seconds, she came out again.

After taking several deep breaths, Xie Liu went back into the room.

Repeating this process several times, Chen Jian, perplexed, did not interrupt.

Until the last time, Xie Liu walked up to Chen Jian and certainly said:

"There’s a strange smell in this room!"

"A strange smell?"

Chen Jian was taken aback, and immediately asked:

"You mean not the foul stench, right?"

"No."

Xie Liu furrowed her brows, pondered for a moment, and then spoke hesitantly:

"I somehow find this smell familiar, but if you ask me where I’ve smelled it, I can’t recall at the moment."

"It’s not that special, but I assure you, it’s definitely not some common, ordinary scent."

"Exactly where did I smell this...?"

"Holy Blood Temple? Seems not..."

Chen Jian stepped into the room, took a few deep breaths, and shook his head:

"I can’t detect it."

"Of course you can’t; the scent is nearly dissipated, and our sense of smell is slightly more sensitive than yours — Zeng Yi, can you smell it?"

"I can smell it, but it’s probably my first time encountering it; I’m not familiar with this scent."

"Though, the smell is indeed somewhat peculiar... Is it some kind of floral scent?"

"No, not floral."

Xie Liu decisively shook her head and then said:

"We need to check the other victims’ residences; maybe the scent will be stronger there."

"Those places have all been burned down."

Zhao He, returning again, quickly spoke:

"It’s not that we didn’t want to preserve the clues, but after all, we have to live here; the locals use fire to purify the ominous, and we’ve always done it this way..."

Once Zhao finished speaking, Chen Jian looked at him with some suspicion in his eyes.

But without sufficient evidence, suspicions were merely suspicions.

Turning his gaze to Xie Liu, who was in deep thought, Chen Jian asked:

"Can you find the source of the scent? Is it coming from something in the room?"

"Definitely not."

Xie Liu shook her head:

"If it were that strong, you all would’ve smelled it too."

"It’s just scent remnants — it must’ve been strong when left, but it’s long dissipated now."

"I need to think carefully..."

"No rush."

Chen Jian comforted her:

"Take your time, this isn’t a time-limited mission; we’re not short on time."

"Let’s return to the base first and analyze the drone images."

"As long as this monster isn’t like the Earth Dragon we encountered last time, living in burrows for long, we should be able to find some traces of human activity."

"Understood."

Xie Liu slowly nodded, her mind racing.

She vaguely felt a hint of inspiration, that familiar sensation flashing by as if triggered by a particular word.

So, which word is it?

Human, burrow, Earth Dragon, monster, base, scent, floral...

----Wait!

An epiphany struck her mind, tearing through the hazy darkness.

Flower, basement.

She remembered where she had smelled that scent before.

The Blood Skull encampment, in that basement.

And also, many years ago when she had been to... Huadu!

"It’s Huadu."

Xie Liu spoke up:

"The scent comes from Huadu."

"To be precise, it’s from Huadu’s female demon!"