Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 136 - 43 Cruise Missiles

Chapter 136: Chapter 43 Cruise Missiles

During the time while waiting for the representative of the Ring Chamber of Commerce to arrive, Chen Jian had been replaying in his mind where that strange intuition came from.

The first doubt he thought of was that the Ring Chamber of Commerce had proactively attempted to contact them.

Logically speaking, they are just merchants, and merchants pursue profit.

The task has already been issued, the contract not yet fulfilled, what reason do they have to show such high interest in this matter and those fulfilling the contract?

Although their reason was "receiving intelligence about Caohe Town in Wuxue Town, inquiring the team for specific details," seemingly reasonable, Chen Jian always felt that this action was somewhat abrupt.

The perception he had of the Ring merchants had always been fairly steady, and in the accounts of others, their actions remained quite mysterious.

Would such a mysterious organization suddenly start focusing on an insignificant small town?

Even if there was a Horror Demon Camp that had been annihilated there, even if the one eradicating the Horror Demon Camp was their own partner.

But the matter has ended, do they still need to ask?

In putting himself in their shoes, Chen Jian realized that if it were him, there would only be two reasons to proactively seek contact in this scenario.

It would either be believing that their partner’s actions exceeded the scope of the contract, bringing uncontrollable risks.

Or knowing that this "small matter" was actually not trivial.

And judging by Wang Lizhi’s tone over the radio, he seemed quite satisfied with his squad’s methods.

That suggests that they are very likely aware of the real situation in Anqing, and of course, know the connection between the Horror Demons in Caohe and those in Anqing Ruins.

If that’s the case, then things have become complicated.

Chen Jian unconsciously rubbed the trigger of the 191 in his hand and began sorting through the entire process of contacting the Ring Chamber of Commerce from beginning to end.

They made the initial contact, earning their side’s preliminary trust with a batch of equipment, and subsequently proposed the transaction method, issued a task-type contract, which naturally centered around their trade route.

The connection between the beasts in Wuxue Town and Anqing is evident, but the unexpected point lies in Caohe.

There’s no way they could have anticipated the squad going to Caohe, nor anticipated them discovering the source of the Horror Demons through clues in the Horror Demon Camp.

If they wanted to control everything in advance, then they would have to cut off the waterway leading to Anqing...

----Wait a minute.

Was it coincidence or inevitability that his squad proceeded via land?

Chen Jian suddenly realized that no matter the scenario, no matter how many times it was replayed, he would again certainly choose the land route.

Because there are too many uncertainties in traveling by water, and the most important squad equipment, Cat Car, would also find it difficult to board a ship without getting noticed by Mechanical God Sect and Holy Blood Temple.

Land is his home turf, and he would instinctively avoid high-risk water routes.

Therefore...

Are the squad’s actions essentially within the Ring Chamber of Commerce’s expectations?

Chen Jian’s brows furrowed, and he explained his conjecture to the others.

This conjecture quickly received agreement, but the question is, why would they do this?

"...They originally could have directly told us the actual situation in Anqing, but intentionally withheld key information, why is that?"

"Do they intend to use the Horror Demons in Anqing to eliminate us? That’s ridiculous! Do they really think we would charge straight in without any reconnaissance once we reach Anqing?"

"Not just us, no competent group in the world would be foolish enough to do that...."

After Chen Jian finished speaking, Ji Xing, standing beside him, shook his head and said:

"They’ve always been like that."

"I don’t see it as a dangerous signal, but more as them striving to extract the maximum value from you."

"When we accepted their mission to go to Mountain City back then, it was probably a similar process."

"We originally didn’t know we were going to Mountain City, but task after task led us there."

"By the time we finally realized it, it was too late---- no, I don’t mean we couldn’t leave, but mentally, everyone fell into a kind of frenzy."

"It was as if they had mentally controlled us; in any case, we were eager to see inside Mountain City."

"And that’s why, when that Level 1 Monster appeared, so many Holy Blood members lost their lives...."

"So they’re using some kind of foot-in-the-door phenomenon to increase the success rate of tasks."

He Shuo thoughtfully spoke up:

"But we can’t rule out the possibility that they are using us---- so, should we confront them?"

"Not for now."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

"They are utilizing us, but we can also utilize them."

"Attacking Anqing is necessary, and attacking Huadu is unavoidable."

"But before the attack, we can demand more stakes...."

As they spoke, Chen Jian’s radio had already received a call from Wang Lizhi.

The few exchanged glances and immediately stopped the ongoing discussion.

Afterwards, Chen Jian confirmed through the radio with Wang Lizhi the information about the representative who had arrived, and Wang Lizhi provided them with a new meeting address.

It was a small settlement a few kilometers north of Anqing City.

"...There is a small warehouse there, storing some special equipment we collected during our trade journey."

"If the situation is really as severe as you say, we can pay you in advance."

"But the premise is that you must continue to execute the task, eliminate the Horror Demons within Anqing Ruins, and completely cleanse the place."