Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!
Chapter 50: Parting Ways

Chapter 50: Chapter 50: Parting Ways

The smoke cleared, and the enormous body of the monster lay silently on the ground. The panicked groundhogs had all flared their scent pouches, but after sniffing the unmistakable scent of their host’s death, they completely lost the will to resist, scattered in all directions, and burrowed back into the dense woods.

Chen Jian held the 191, spat out a mouthful of smoke-laden saliva, and instinctively rubbed his slightly throbbing ears.

The power of these two rocket shells was indeed beyond his expectations, to the extent that he didn’t even react. That monster, which the Mechanical God Sect hadn’t been able to take down for several years, even over a decade, was dead just like that?

So what exactly were they doing before?

They could certainly acquire such weapons too. It couldn’t be that they were just standing two kilometers away, firing rocket launchers aimlessly, right?

... It could really be possible.

After all, given their level of tactics, this was already the most effective choice they could make...

Seeing Zeng Yi climbing back up from under the overpass, Chen Jian nodded and said:

"Thanks for your hard work."

Zeng Yi grinned and replied:

"It wasn’t too bad."

"I knew you guys could do it."

"Indeed, if we really couldn’t, we would have left long ago."

Chen Jian wasn’t modest at all, knowing that humility at this time was meaningless.

On the contrary, only by constantly reinforcing the image of being "omnipotent" in the minds of these Holy Blood individuals would future cooperation become more effortless.

----However, speaking of cooperation, the collaboration with some people had probably come to a complete break.

Chen Jian turned his head, and Xu Lie had already returned to the overpass, standing quietly not far away.

The other party opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but in the end, he swallowed his words back down.

Chen Jian didn’t leave him any room either, directly saying:

"You can go back."

"The upcoming actions don’t require your participation anymore."

"The portion of the profits that belong to you as agreed upon, I will give you according to the agreed-upon proportions."

"But for now, our cooperation has ended."

"...Why?"

Xu Lie frowned and asked:

"I just made what I thought was the right choice. Is that wrong?"

"In that situation, our probability of surviving was less than one percent!"

"You were risking everyone’s lives, and I just wanted to keep everyone alive----"

"I don’t want to hear reasons, nor explanations."

Chen Jian interrupted Xu Lie, solemnly stating:

"A team can only have one decision-maker."

"You can have thoughts of retreat, but you cannot take actions of retreat."

"Now leave, there’s no need for us to completely tear it apart."

"By the way, don’t follow us in the shadows, you know, we can see."

"....Okay."

Xu Lie finally nodded, then said to the other Holy Blood individuals:

"Let’s go, they already don’t welcome us anymore."

With that, he turned and left.

He didn’t know how things reached this state; obviously, before they came, the two teams were still closely cooperating teammates.

But after just one battle, it ended in the splitting of paths.

Did he do something wrong?

Xu Lie didn’t think he was wrong; after all, he had his own stance, and he couldn’t unconditionally trust these chosen ones, nor could he stand by their side regardless of the cost.

I belong to the Holy Blood Temple, not to you all...

Looking back at the monster lying on the ground, Xu Lie swept his gaze and found that his team members hadn’t followed.

Not only didn’t they follow, but Li Shi had even walked to Chen Jian’s side, and with a face full of anticipation, asked:

"Can I stay?"

"You can."

Chen Jian nodded without hesitation.

This Holy Blood individual in front of him had shown the most determination in the battle. Though he didn’t actually contribute all that much, just for the courage he showed standing in front of the overwhelming monster, facing it head-on, he was allowed to stay.

"Then I’ll go with you! Are we going to get the shield?"

"Maybe we are, maybe not. The road ahead is still dangerous. Are you sure you want to follow?"

"I’m sure!"

Li Shi answered again, and this time, Xie Liu and Zeng Yi also stepped forward.

"We’ll go too."

"Think carefully; if you go with us, your relationship with the Holy Blood Temple is bound to crack."

Chen Jian warned again. Xie Liu remained silent, while Zeng Yi shrugged and replied:

"We didn’t do anything wrong."

"...Indeed. Then let’s go."

With that, the group quickly packed their gear, preparing to leave the makeshift bridgehead.

Shen Yue walked at the back, cautiously observing Xu Lie’s movements in the distance.

Only when he confirmed that Xu Lie was leaving in the opposite direction, returning along the way towards Han Shui City, did he catch up with the team, typing a message on his smart goggles.

"Holy Blood individuals split too early, not necessarily trustworthy."

Chen Jian remained expressionless, typing in response:

"I know, this is the next round of testing."

"Received."

"1."

"1."

The others responded one by one, and the original team of eight became seven, heading down the overpass towards the monster’s corpse below.

Not until standing in front of the monster did Chen Jian truly feel the oppressive force that could destroy everything.

The monster’s front claws were even longer than his height, with edges sharp as if they had been honed.

The area around the corpse was filled with fallen trees and buildings it had crushed, and the blood flooded the ground, making it sticky and rancid as a swamp when stepped on.

"Take photos, scan it."

Chen Jian ordered succinctly, and He Shuo immediately circled around the monster, simultaneously controlling a drone for a full 3D modeling scan of the creature.

While he worked, Chen Jian stepped forward, prying off a small piece of shattered shell from the monster’s backplate, observing it meticulously in his hand before saying:

"This thing is quite similar to shellfish, crabs’ carapace, likely containing a lot of chitin."

"But the issue is, this is clearly a freshwater organism... Could it be some kind of insect?"

Upon hearing his words, Lei Jie shook his head:

"It absolutely can’t be an insect..... this thing is evidently a mammal, look, it even has teats."

"...Can you not be so vulgar?? You’re a college student, dude!"

Chen Jian said exasperatedly, giving Lei Jie a hard smack. Luckily, he didn’t turn on the exoskeleton power, or Lei Jie’s head might’ve been shattered.

Lei Jie stepped aside with a face full of grievance, then spoke:

"I’m just being factual, that’s the spirit of scientific research, you know!"

"....Get lost!"

Chen Jian was too lazy to bother with him further, crouched down, carefully examining the monster’s head, pierced by the armor-piercing shells.

From the wound, the damage caused by the metal jet was enormous, forming two giant cavities over the head, which was over 3 meters in diameter, already scorched and charred beyond recognition inside.

It was evident that in front of the armor-piercing shells capable of penetrating heavy armor, carbon-based armor was still insufficient to withstand...

No matter how tough your exterior was, internally, it was nothing more than ordinary muscle tissue.

In terms of resilience, it probably wasn’t even as strong as the Mother in Chuansha City that could self-contract muscles to stop bleeding.

By now, He Shuo’s modeling work was complete, and Chen Jian stood up, speaking to the three Holy Blood individuals:

"Do you need to examine anything further, or take any evidence?"

"If not, we’re ready to withdraw now, and head to the next target location."

"Nothing more."

"No need."

The Holy Blood individuals responded one by one, and Chen Jian waved his hand, signaling the team to proceed.

They gradually distanced themselves from the monster’s corpse, and none of the four in Chen Jian’s team glanced back.

On the contrary, the three members of the Holy Blood Team looked back countless times.

They still couldn’t comprehend.

This monster, which had rampaged for more than twenty years in the Han Shui Relics, just died like that?

Just ten minutes ago, it was still the overlord of this region.

But ten minutes later, it lay there like a lump of rotten flesh, quietly awaiting decay.

The "culprit" behind all this seemed indifferent, and left directly.

So to these chosen ones, what exactly is a "monster"?

This entity, which in the eyes of the Holy Blood Temple, and the Mechanical God Sect, represented power, slaughter, fear, and despair, and possessed a certain "divinity" in the eyes of some heretics...

In the eyes of the chosen ones, is nothing but a "destroyable" target?

Xie Liu, Zeng Yi, and Li Shi three remained silent.

They didn’t communicate, but the same thought emerged in their minds.

Perhaps the worldview they had established over nearly twenty years of growth was wrong.

The conflicts and battles between humans and monsters were not battles against an "Evil God."

Monsters aren’t Evil Gods, someone can kill them, and they will die...