Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 202 - 77 Like a Mountain_2

Chapter 202: Chapter 77 Like a Mountain_2

"It’s actually not bad..."

Xie Liu had completely adapted to the interface of the intelligent eyewear. She looked at Chen Jian, who was busy identifying everyone’s IFF signals.

The equipment they brought from the past was separated by twenty years from what they found in 095, but fortunately, the principle of IFF remained largely unchanged. Once the frequency bands were identified, friendly markers smoothly appeared before Chen Jian’s eyes.

"All set."

"Everything’s configured, we can move out now."

Chen Jian nodded with satisfaction as Lei Jie, standing beside him, asked:

"We’ve only checked the third and fourth levels; aren’t we going to look at the other levels?"

"No rush."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

"The fifth level is for the base’s self-sustained resources, the first level mainly has food and medicine, and the second level contains production materials. These are already known."

"Even if they’re opened now, they cannot be immediately useful."

"The Mechanical God Sect has already started moving, so we need to hurry as well."

"Honestly, we’ve wasted enough time here. Let’s head out as soon as possible."

"We’re not going empty-handed this time. We need to find the exact location of that Second-level Monster and formulate a clear combat plan."

"Lingxi, check the status of the drone runway. Is it fit for takeoff?"

Moments later, Lingxi’s voice sounded again.

"No runway marker signal detected, no satellite guidance signal detected, Beidou signal detected, Beidou signal poor, unusable."

"The drone can use ground remote control flying mode, but the ground station is not established."

"Final assessment: not fit for takeoff."

"...Figured as much."

Chen Jian sighed regretfully and then said:

"Without a runway, such a big drone indeed can’t take off — but that’s okay, for now, we’ll move out and confirm the location. Whether we use drone bombing or long-range strikes with electromagnetic cannons or 152 cannons, we’ll decide later."

"Everyone gear up, move out immediately!"

"Roger that!"

.....

An hour later, Chen Jian’s squad of eight left the 095 shelter, returning fully equipped and armored to the perilous surface.

Compared to when they first set foot in these unknown ruins, their current momentum was unstoppable.

No other reason, their weapons were maxed out.

The backs of the four Nezha mechas were equipped with flat, lightweight six-barrel 107 rocket launchers, occupying two hardpoints each.

Each shoulder-mounted hardpoint carried a rocket launcher equipped with thermobaric warheads and high-explosive warheads, respectively.

The waist hardpoints were for personal weapon selection. Chen Jian chose to mount direct-fire weapons: a QJB-221 .338 caliber general-purpose machine gun he had rarely seen domestically and a 201 general-purpose machine gun.

This wasn’t the limit of their firepower, as he was also holding a so-called 15mm micro grenade launcher, the so-called explosive gun.

The drum capacity of this thing reached an astonishing 60 rounds. Each bullet was about the size of a regular shotgun shell, but according to Lingxi, its extreme range could reach nearly 1,500 meters.

It’s fair to say, this somewhat awkward weapon had its significant advantages and disadvantages clearly highlighted.

It’s too heavy, has a tremendous recoil, and poses a challenge in terms of individual ammo carrying capacity.

However, if wielded by a mecha warrior, all these drawbacks suddenly become negligible.

Holding this gun, Chen Jian even felt that hardly any Level 4 Monster could approach him.

— And compared to his focus on direct firepower, Lei Jie and the others had more diverse weapon mounts.

Lei Jie’s waist hardpoints carried a mortar and a semi-automatic grenade launcher, and the ammunition for these finally got replenished in 095, relieving him from the suffocating scarcity of ammo.

As for the other Holy Blood, due to the absence of exoskeletons and mechas, they could carry limited weapons and ammo. Hence, Chen Jian maintained the initial setup.

A 191 and a 201 squad support weapon sufficed.

Resembling porcupines, the squad of eight squeezed into the relatively cramped cat vehicle.

Chen Jian helplessly shrugged his hands and then said:

"If we can clear the path this time, we should take the Warrior vehicle next time when setting out."

"This cat vehicle is too cramped and can’t carry much unmanned equipment. We can’t even bring those robot dogs and machines..."

"There’s no way around it. The road’s uncertain, and if the Warrior gets stuck, it’s over."

Skillfully maneuvering the steering wheel, Lei Jie spoke:

"Do you know what we need the most right now? It’s not all-terrain vehicles; it’s a road roller and a bulldozer."

"Once things stabilize a bit, I’m going to set up a lathe and make a bulldozer myself."

"By then, we’ll bulldoze our way through, and who could stop us?"

"...You might as well make a 99A tank."

Chen Jian’s words trailed off as the two cat vehicles turned onto the G104 highway, beginning their journey northward.

Two drones took off simultaneously. Chen Jian’s helmet was also integrated with the images transmitted back by the drones, but with the assistance of the War Skull AI, the previously blurry images were parsed into clearer models, significantly increasing the accuracy of the information.

"It’s 14.3 kilometers to the destination, following G104 to Kazimen Street viaduct, then turn right onto the inner ring east line at the airport connecting link."

"Understood."

"Roger that."

With the tactical goggles, the Holy Blood members finally had a clear understanding of the place names and routes in Chen Jian’s orders, unknowingly boosting the squad’s combat efficacy.

"The active layer of the fungal blanket is getting thicker, currently reaching about 0.4 meters."

"The closer we get to the core area, the less the fungal blanket is affected by the cold air."

"The temperature also seems to be rising... What’s going on?"

Zeng Yi continuously reported data he observed through the intelligent eyewear, almost to the point of verbosity.

However, Chen Jian rather appreciated his attitude.

Doing one’s best to adapt to new equipment and fully utilizing its purpose is indeed a demonstration of proactivity.

Moreover, the information he was reporting was useful.

After a brief thought, Chen Jian responded:

"It might be related to the fusion reactor beneath Fort 011. Given the scale of that reactor, the waste heat should be considerable."

"Of course, it might also be a compost effect."

"In any case, stay alert."

"As we continue to approach, we’re entering a truly dangerous zone."

"Monsters can appear at any time, be ready!"

"Understood!"

The group promptly responded, and He Shuo slightly slowed their advance, making sure the surrounding area was safe before proceeding along the predetermined route.

The 14-kilometer distance from 095 to Zijin Mountain took them half an hour to cover just 6 kilometers.

The fungal blanket grew increasingly thick, and umbrella-like fungal forests appeared with increasing frequency.

The survival space for ordinary vegetation was nearly entirely occupied, and once they entered within the five-kilometer range of the Zijin Mountain core area, Chen Jian and his team could hardly see any ordinary trees.

"The environment here... is a bit eerie."

"The fungal blanket is too thick, and the roads are barely visible."

"But the terrain has become much flatter."

"With such a clear view, theoretically, we should have spotted that monster by now."

"But there’s clearly nothing around here..."

As Chen Jian fell silent, Ji Xing also furrowed his brows.

"The Mechanical God Sect’s intelligence shouldn’t be wrong on such critical matters — that monster should be near Zijin Mountain or Zhongshan."

"But you’re right; we’ve gotten this close, so why haven’t we seen it yet?"

"Could its lair... be underground?"

These words made Chen Jian’s heart skip a beat.

Damn it.

If it’s underground, doesn’t that mean we’re screwed??

Given the scale of Fort 011, it could definitely accommodate a monster.

If that monster nested in Fort 011... how much of what’s inside could be preserved??

Chen Jian exhaled deeply, preparing to order the drones to lower their altitude for a risky close reconnaissance, but at that moment, he suddenly noticed something unusual.

The ground was slightly shaking.

"Stop the car!"

Chen Jian suddenly snapped back to reality.

He then shouted:

"Retreat!"

"Damn it, we’re really close!"

"That mound two kilometers away is the monster!"

"It’s as big as a mountain!"