Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 46 Whack-a-Mole

Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Whack-a-Mole

The team is approximately 16 kilometers in a straight line from the Military Weapons Officer School, which means their main reconnaissance target this time completely overlaps with the activity range of the Level 3 Monster.

Every step closer to the target signifies immense danger, so Chen Jian was not planning on saving equipment power. Once the team began moving, two drones started continuous reconnaissance to ensure an uninterrupted aerial view.

What surprised Chen Jian was that after an hour of continuous reconnaissance, even with the drone’s maximum reconnaissance radius of 25 kilometers and powerful night sensing capabilities, they still did not find any traces of the monster.

Theoretically, this shouldn’t have happened.

After all, a monster 15 meters tall, its infrared signals should be particularly obvious. Even if it’s covered by new vegetation grown in the city, it shouldn’t be completely invisible.

Even stranger, while the large targets couldn’t be found, they discovered a multitude of smaller targets, mainly wild animals. Chen Jian even found a herd of deer inhabiting the central green area of the city.

"The biological resources here are abundant... So do these monsters sustain themselves by eating these things?"

Upon hearing Chen Jian’s words, Xu Lie shook his head and replied:

"No monster is purely carnivorous. At least from the information we have now, they eat everything, some even eat rocks."

"However, they primarily still eat meat and have various methods of hunting."

"Some monsters even make their own dams to trap fish in the water."

"Others would even herd herbivorous animals, waiting for their numbers to grow before eating them."

"And this is still considered a monster?"

Chen Jian asked in astonishment.

"We’ve never said monsters don’t have intelligence... They’re just gradually losing human habits due to changes in size."

"That’s actually why monsters have a strong territorial awareness. If their territory is invaded by other monsters, they might genuinely starve to death."

..... Makes sense.

Chen Jian silently calculated in his heart. The territory range of a wild Siberian tiger is about 500 to 1000 square kilometers, while the territory range of this Level 3 Monster is roughly 4000 square kilometers. Considering the difference in hunting success rates and omnivorous habits, the so-called Han Shui Relics should be able to sustain it.

So following this line of thought, should this monster be more inclined to operate in areas rich in food?

Chen Jian opened the map just established by the drone, marked several dense forest areas with concentrated infrared signals on it, and planned to have the drone fly over to lower altitude and conduct another close reconnaissance.

But just then, He Shuo, who was constantly observing the drone’s transmitted images, suddenly issued a warning.

"Detected a large number of abnormal heat signals 1.5 kilometers away, moving swiftly towards us!"

"They don’t look like ordinary wild animals, more like small monsters!"

Chen Jian immediately opened the transmitted image, and combined with the coordinates marked by the INS inertial navigation system, he quickly realized that the team was still 600 meters away from the predetermined observation point 1. If they continued in the current direction, they might run into that group of small monsters.

So, he decisively ordered:

"Descend to the ground from the Wu Jin Dike interchange, enter the residential area on the east side, and observe from the rooftop!"

"Understood!"

At his command, everyone sprang into action.

At this moment, Xu Lie once again understood the importance of "information".

Why did the Mechanical God Sect’s hunting operation fail previously? Wasn’t it because they lacked information?

If they could react like these Chosen Ones, avoiding the monster’s reconnaissance and unnecessary conflicts as much as possible upon detecting danger, with their firepower, taking down that monster shouldn’t be difficult, right?

Therefore, the greatest equipment of the Chosen Ones might not be the guns and cannons in their hands, but those iron birds in the sky and those drones...

Following Chen Jian’s footsteps, several people quickly got off the highway, entered the residential area, and started a search upstairs.

There were no Blood Skull activities here, and inside the residential buildings, there was nothing except some small wild animals, birds, and bats.

The 8 people successfully reached the rooftop, and at this moment, the small monsters discovered by He Shuo were dashing through the street beneath their feet.

Chen Jian took out a telescope to observe, and under the dim moonlight shrouded by clouds and fog, he clearly saw the shapes of those monsters.

They weren’t ordinary wild animals, but neither did they resemble the predatory "mantis" type monsters he had seen before in Chuansha City.

They still retained considerable human features, but both their muscles and bones were markedly different, mutating towards a form adapted for quadrupedal movement.

Every monster had a large lump on its back, with a small tubular opening at the center of the lump, continuously contracting even as they ran quickly, appearing revolting.

"What on earth are these things??"

Chen Jian asked.

"I don’t know, but they look like the ’groundhogs’ recorded in previous scout reports."

"If that’s the case, then we’re in danger."

"When groundhogs appear, the monster is not far behind!"

"Why didn’t you say so earlier?!"

Chen Jian said angrily, and Xu Lie replied with a guilty expression:

"I had no idea these things actually existed! Nobody knows if they truly exist!"

It was no use talking about it now; Chen Jian immediately ordered:

"Everyone, immediately withdraw, find reliable cover on the ground, and get ready to fight!"

"Leave now?"

Xu Lie asked in surprise.

"What else? If the monster comes, should we be trapped on the rooftop waiting for death?"

"Have you never seen bears climb trees? Against such monsters, the higher you run, the faster you die!"

Although Chen Jian’s tone revealed obvious dissatisfaction, he also knew it wasn’t Xu Lie’s fault.

Objectively speaking, the other party didn’t have much more information than he did.

The fact that they could issue a warning after roughly identifying the monster types was already quite commendable.

Ultimately, it was the professional gap.

These people had no systemic combat concepts and couldn’t distinguish the difference in intelligence importance.

At this level, no matter how strong your physical fitness is, it’s useless!

Without much time to think, Chen Jian led the team down for withdrawal.

As they descended the severely weathered stairs, Chen Jian kept observing the state of the small group of monsters.

But soon, the last thing he wanted to see happened.

The groundhogs stopped less than two hundred meters away from the building they were in, hesitatingly circling around.

The lumps on their backs split open like man-eating flowers, the exposed petals dripping viscous fluid down their backs to the ground.

Then, the groundhogs slowly turned their directions.

All the petals on their backs quieted down, except the ones pointing in the same direction, which kept fanning.

And the direction they pointed to was exactly the building where Chen Jian and the others were located.

Chen Jian’s heart tightened.

He knew what this thing was for.

The lump was an enormous olfactory organ; they must be collecting pheromones in the air and would immediately bring the message back to the real monster if it found anything unusual!

These groundhogs have a symbiotic relationship with the Level 3 Monster!

They couldn’t let any of them escape. Otherwise, the entire team would be in a passive position!

With that thought in mind, Chen Jian immediately ordered:

"Prepare for combat!"

"Drones, maintain surveillance and block these groundhogs!"

"Quick battle and quick withdrawal, but don’t let a single one escape!"