Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 132 - 40: Jetpack?

Chapter 132: Chapter 40: Jetpack?

The smoke cleared, and there was no longer any living creature around Wangjiang Town.

Ji Xing looked at the ground full of terror demon corpses, wanting to say something, but felt at a loss for words.

Honestly, for the Holy Blood, especially someone like her who was a Blood Source, this wave of terror demons wasn’t difficult to deal with.

Their weapons were outdated, and their movements weren’t fast. If she were determined to confront them, with careful planning and attacking them one by one, she could eventually clean them up.

But the problem was, she could never handle it as effortlessly as this Huaxia Army did.

How simple was what they did?

Identify the target, devise a strategy, and everyone executed it immediately without hesitation, even the two Holy Blood members used as "bait" had no complaints.

Next, they fought individually but cooperated with each other.

Each one of them was like a sharp blade, completely shredding the terror demons that appeared before them.

The entire process didn’t take more than five minutes.

The fierce artillery struck another deep impression on Ji Xing, but the bigger shock came from these people’s teamwork.

Ji Xing actually noticed that the cooperation between the Holy Blood and the other "ordinary people" was somewhat awkward.

But when they meticulously executed the predetermined tactics, that little awkwardness was utterly submerged by the power of that "system."

The term efficiency, Ji Xing had heard many people mention it.

But when a slaughter was no longer judged by victory or defeat, but rather by the level of "efficiency," the word itself took on an entirely different meaning.

An icy, powerful meaning.

At this moment, Ji Xing suddenly realized how absurd her previous pride when facing them was.

Although she acknowledged their strength, she believed she might achieve it in another way.

But now...

She finally thoroughly understood why those Holy Blood were willing to integrate with them.

To become stronger, one could only be like them.

The more like them one becomes, the stronger one grows....

Ji Xing’s gaze changed subtly, but no one paid attention at this moment.

Everyone was methodically going through the post-battle cleanup.

He Shuo lowered the drone altitude, and after carefully scouting in the north, finally found where this group of terror demons hid within the jungle.

Chen Jian immediately dispatched Zeng Yi and Li Shi to their lair for final cleanup, while he walked to the last monster that appeared, squatted down for a careful examination, and then said:

"It’s very similar to the monster in Wuxue Town, it should be some kind of enhanced terror demon."

"However, this one’s relatively smaller, and its combat capabilities should be weaker."

"It doesn’t have any artificial equipment on it — unlike the one in Wuxue Town, equipped with custom-made steel claws."

"This group of terror demons doesn’t seem to have much collaboration with Huadu.... could they be wild?"

"Not necessarily."

Xie Liu said while checking each terror demon body:

"Normally, although terror demons are ruthless and bloodthirsty, their survival instincts are strong too."

"They wouldn’t proactively attack opponents without confidence in victory—like that camp in Han Shui City, if they really had no brains, they couldn’t have survived near Han Shui City for so long."

"But this group of terror demons actively attacked us and showed no significant intention to retreat even after a counterattack. They only thought of fleeing when nearly wiped out. That is peculiar."

"Moreover, these terror demons are overall skinny, poorly equipped, even worse than the usual ones we encounter."

"Ordinary terror demons wouldn’t let themselves starve...i when truly hungry, they eat their kind."

"I feel they came from Anqing — perhaps they were driven out."

"Is it possible they were the terror demons that massacred Wangjiang Town?"

"After the massacre, Huadu abandoned them?"

"That’s possible."

Chen Jian stood up, slowly nodding:

"But this assumption presupposes that Huadu has already established effective control over Anqing City’s terror demons."

"Only under control can there be talk of ’abandonment’..."

"Could it be a rebellion?"

Ji Xing, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke:

"I don’t think anyone can control these Blood Skulls easily... Perhaps they’re barely controlling them, and instability is usual."

"If so, it’s normal to have dozens occasionally run out."

"Coincidentally, the Huadu people could use these stray terror demons for some dirty work ---- like you said, destroying evidence..."

"That’s also a hypothesis."

Chen Jian let out a long breath and then said:

"But it doesn’t matter."

"In any case, we’ll hold Huadu accountable for all terror demons active in this area and their committed crimes."

"Now the only concern I have is the sheer number of Blood Skulls inside Anqing City."

"These things are like bandits, being able to fight them is one thing, but turning a ’rout’ into an ’annihilation’ is another matter."

"If we cannot eliminate them in one go, they’ll regroup after being scattered."

"If this continues, who knows when it will end..."

"Don’t you have that... sun-like weapon?"

Ji Xing curiously asked.

Chen Jian shook his head, calmly replying:

"The proximity is too close, using such a weapon would destroy Anqing City along with the Anqing ruins nearby."

"We have no grudge against Anqing City’s citizens, they can’t be laid to rest with the Blood Skulls."

"...Indeed."

Ji Xing nodded in agreement while Lei Jie sighed helplessly behind her.

Alas.

Even though the captain spoke lightly without showing any flaws.

But honestly, do we have that many nuclear bombs?

What does it mean to regret having too few bullets when needed?

This is it.

If we could get a few more tactical nukes, many problems could be easily solved.

Hmm, this time going to Jinling, I should definitely keep an eye out.

Since we’re heading to Anqing, perhaps detouring past Huangshan might be a good idea.

After all, there’s a certain unit’s base there, and we might be able to find functional nuclear warheads similar to those in Chuansha City.....

At this moment, Chen Jian already sent out the covert "threat from the Huaxia Army," while on the other side, Zeng Yi and Li Shi completed their final cleanup of the Horror Demon Camp and returned to the team.

Zeng Yi was carrying something, and when he came closer, Chen Jian recognized its shape and was suddenly stunned.

"This thing... is a flamethrower??"

"I don’t know, I’ve never seen this thing, just grabbed it."

Zeng Yi put the item on the ground, and Lei Jie curiously approached to inspect it, then exclaimed in surprise:

"Old Lu’s got new toys too? Isn’t this a jet pack?"

With those words, He Shuo and Shen Yue, who were keeping watch nearby, also looked over.

Chen Jian crouched down to examine the "jet pack" Zeng Yi brought back and then shook his head:

"It’s long broken, probably only the gas tank still has some use."

"But the design looks quite advanced, hand control changed to foot control, dual vector nozzles, and a small nozzle for micro-adjustment on the shoulder..."

"I estimate this thing was from at least... post-2035."

"Indeed."

He Shuo nodded:

"At least from my perspective, Old Lu wouldn’t mess with such peculiar gadgets for ten years, the artillery can’t be fully played with yet."

"What a pity... The thing’s decent, just broken."

"Clearly, the core lies not in thrust but in flight control."

"And the one thing most impossible for us to repair is indeed flight control."

"Yeah..."

Chen Jian stood up disappointedly, and Zeng Yi curiously asked:

"What’s this used for? Is it useless?"

"It’s broken."

Chen Jian wiped the grease off his hands and answered:

"It’s some sort of... high-mobility vehicle."

"Could be from Anqing City — when discovered, it seemed it could still ignite, as there’s clearly fresh scorch marks at the nozzle position."

"Perhaps those terror demons truly used it as a flamethrower."

"What a waste..."

"Stop criticizing them."

From afar, Shen Yue commented humorously:

"Even if it fell into our hands, wouldn’t we only use it as a flamethrower too?"

"Do you really want to sit on it and try flying? Back in Shijiazhuang when you had the chance to fly, you didn’t take it, did you?"

"That was then, this is now."

Chen Jian said seriously:

"We had the Z-20 to ride back then, who needed this thing?"

"Nowadays... if it can fly, it should be flown at least once."

"Fighting those Mechanical God Sect people, the difference between flying and not flying is immense....."

"Once we reach Anqing, we should thoroughly search, and if we find one or two usable packs, our mobility can increase another level."

"You fly it yourself, I’d rather go back and cobble together a biplane than use this thing."

"If this thing can’t take off, fine, but if it really takes off, it might kill me from a fall..."

Lei Jie shook his head disdainfully, but Chen Jian said mysteriously:

"Give it to Zeng Yi and them."

"After all, they’re not afraid of falls."

"Good idea!"

Lei Jie gave Chen Jian a thumbs-up, while Zeng Yi looked perplexedly at Chen Jian, unsure of what they were talking about.

Without explaining further, Chen Jian made sure the surrounding area was thoroughly cleared, then ordered a regroup, planning to advance.

At this moment, they were still 60 kilometers from Anqing, but this final stretch was particularly difficult to traverse.

If they wanted to continue along the paved road, they had to make a deep V-shaped detour, totaling 120 kilometers. Moreover, according to Zeng Yi, most of the road was unseen. They had no idea about the road condition, possibly getting stranded halfway and forced to return.

But if they wanted to proceed in a straight line, they’d have to cross an entire forest area.

The cat vehicle’s mobility was strong, but not this strong.

After a brief discussion, the team reached a consensus.

Neither route was viable.

Since the target was clear, they chose to head south directly and take the waterway instead!

It’s only 40 kilometers from Wangjiang Town to the nearest port, Huayang Town. From there, the team could board a boat, heading downstream to reach Anqing City by dawn.

If they wished to remain inconspicuous, they could disembark before reaching the Anqing Ruins.

With enough gold in their possession, not only could they hire a boat, they could even buy one if needed.

The plan decided, the team set off immediately.

Four hours later, they successfully arrived at Huayang Town, much resembling Wuxue.

Zeng Yi easily hired a large enough wooden boat with surplus gold, after picking everyone up at this riverside town, the boat sailed downstream into the slowly setting sun.

At this point, they were only 50 kilometers from Anqing City.

And the secret of the Anqing Ruins was just before their eyes...