Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 45 Intelligence Missing

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 Intelligence Missing

hours later, 8 people and 4 oxen left Han Shui City, heading towards the "relics", also known as the old Han Shui City district.

Chen Jian communicated smoothly with Xu Lie’s team, but he was not very satisfied. Even though Han Shui City had been intermittently fighting with that monster since it was established, the intelligence they had was really pitifully scarce.

All they knew was that it was a monster about 15 meters tall, covered entirely in thick, armored hide. They only knew that the monster moved very swiftly and had a variety of attack methods.

But when asked about the monster’s specific defensive capabilities and detailed attack methods, they couldn’t provide any answers.

As for other aspects, they were completely clueless.

Does it have infrared vision? Don’t know.

Does it have a keen sense of smell? Don’t know.

Does it have special auditory organs? Don’t know.

Does it have a weakness? Haven’t figured it out.

In such a situation, the decisions Chen Jian could make in advance were very limited.

He could only command his team to remain vigilant in subsequent actions, to enter the city with the lowest profile possible, and to avoid active searches as much as possible. Instead, they would use fixed-point drone reconnaissance as the main method to try to track the monster’s movements.

As for subsequent reconnaissance activities, they would have to adapt to circumstances...

Travelling north along the Wushen Highway, they turned west onto S102 after reaching Qingling Lake. After three hours of trekking, they successfully reached the outskirts of the city.

The team stopped to rest. While others were resting, organizing equipment, and concealing gear, Chen Jian approached Xu Lie, drinking the purified water he brought along, and said:

"I still want to confirm once more, are you sure the monster in the Han Shui City district——the Han Shui Relics——is really just a Level 3 Monster?"

"You know so little about it, is it possible that it has evolved into something stronger without you knowing?"

"Impossible."

Xu Lie shook his head firmly and then replied:

"There are many monsters in this world, but all monsters only grow, they do not evolve."

"Their strength limit is already determined from the moment they are born."

"A Level 1 Monster is a Level 1 Monster from birth, and a Level 4 Monster is Level 4 until its death."

"Of course, if you’re talking about evolution in terms of combat techniques, that’s possible."

"But that can only happen around small settlements, where monsters are in long-term conflict with humans but neither side can overpower the other, then they might grow stronger."

"Clearly, the monster in Han Shui City is not in such a situation."

"It has always loitered near Han Shui City, thwarting many hunts by the Mechanical God Sect, but the frequency of battles is not actually very high."

"So, I don’t think it’s stronger than it was three years ago——otherwise, Han Shui City wouldn’t have been able to coexist with it peacefully and would have already killed it at any cost."

Chen Jian nodded thoughtfully, then asked:

"So Han Shui City actually has the means to kill it?"

"Definitely."

Xu Lie answered without hesitation:

"Not to mention if the Holy Blood and the Mechanical God Sect joined forces, even the Mechanical God Sect on its own has plenty of experience successfully hunting Level 3 Monsters."

"The common belief now is that the upper limit for humans to hunt monsters is Level 2, and Level 1 is completely unmanageable."

"As for why they haven’t acted, it’s actually a matter of... cost."

"Not all relics are valuable, especially the Han Shui Relics. After several reconnaissance missions, we’ve determined it’s not more valuable than other relics, so we haven’t invested many resources."

At this point, Xu Lie paused, then continued explaining before Chen Jian could speak:

"I know the purpose of your question—you’re worried that I’m hiding information."

"But there’s really none... the reason why we know so little about this monster has been explained to you before."

"Just four words: Total Annihilation."

"All hunting operations initiated by the Mechanical God Sect ended with not one person surviving."

"The scouts of Holy Blood Temple missions were often killed before they could transmit information."

"Overall, the one thing we’re most sure of is that this monster’s territorial awareness is unimaginably strong."

"It doesn’t allow any lifeform that threatens it to enter, and once entered, it doesn’t allow them to leave either."

"So think about it, how many people are willing to engage in such high-risk, low-reward actions?"

"Perhaps only you Chosen Ones... I don’t even know why you’re insistent on taking it down..."

"I never said we have to take it down."

Chen Jian denied Xu Lie’s statement, then said:

"I hope you haven’t hidden anything from me. As we proceed, our lives will be tied together."

"Of course, this is also a kind of adventure for us."

Xu Lie answered without hesitation, and from his expression, Chen Jian didn’t detect any sign of lying.

This was a good thing. At least it indicated that, on life-and-death matters, these Holy Blood were not going to resort to tricks.

At this point, the team members had concealed all equipment that couldn’t be used due to lack of ammo supply. Lei Jie came over to report to Chen Jian, who nodded and ordered:

"Put on the exoskeleton."

"Understood."

With a single order, everyone moved.

The repaired exoskeletons were unloaded from the oxen, and then they paired up to help each other put them on.

The Holy Blood watched the scene in astonishment. At first, they thought what Chen Jian put on was some special armor rack.

But when the three weapon mounts on Chen Jian’s back, fitted with a PBP201 mortar, a man-portable rocket launcher, and QN-202 miniature missile launchers, unfurled with a hum of motors, all the Holy Blood, including Xu Lie, were stupefied.

What the hell is this?

Is this the Eight-Armed Nezha from the legends told by the elders?

Fear had already crept into Xu Lie’s eyes.

If previously, when he looked at the equipment of these Chosen Ones, he thought they were "advanced but understandable," now he was truly at a loss.

This Chosen One named Chen Jian right before him, wasn’t he exactly what the Mechanical God Sect imagined themselves to be?

Ironically, the things they deemed trash, displayed an overwhelmingly powerful posture in the hands of the Chosen Ones...

Xu Lie instinctively stepped back, while Li Shi unconsciously stepped forward.

He gazed at Chen Jian with a face full of fascination, wanting to say something, but couldn’t make himself speak.

Chen Jian ignored the Holy Blood’s emotions. He raised his head and looked at the towering buildings of the distant Han Shui City, and gave his orders:

"He Shuo, Lei Jie, launch the drones and organize forward reconnaissance."

"Shen Yue, calibrate the INS, set the starting point, and plan the path ahead."

"Li Shi, load that lead box."

"Everyone else, maintain a 20-meter distance and follow."

"It will be dark soon... let’s try to find it before dawn!"