CHAPTER 309: CHAPTER 138: IMPERIAL CITY CRISIS

He Shuo brought good news and bad news to Chen Jian.

The good news is that the Mechanical God Sect has a much more detailed record of that monster.

From the dusty records of the third layer of the Great Book Collection, Zhang Tao discovered that the so-called "North Sea Whale Loach" is actually an amphibian, with a terrestrial counterpart, which is the one active in the western part of Jinmen City.

Both monsters have been acting synchronously from the start, although they didn’t appear simultaneously during the last Beast Tide, it can be confirmed that their actions have a certain relation, and their characteristics are extremely similar.

To put it more bluntly, both monsters are of the same kind.

This also explains why electronic devices malfunctioned during the last Beast Tide.

But the bad news is that neither the Mechanical God Sect knows the cause of the electromagnetic interference nor the behavior of these monsters.

Not only the Mechanical God Sect, after contacting the Ring Chamber of Commerce, He Shuo finally confirmed that they also know almost nothing about these monsters.

The lack of information means there’s basically no one in the world who knows.

The dense fog still hasn’t cleared; Chen Jian had a restless sleep that night.

It was only when the sun gradually rose that he finally managed to snooze a bit.

When he opened his eyes again, everyone had already started getting ready to proceed to the Imperial City according to plan.

The early-rising Lei Jie was discussing the itinerary and route with Xie Yuan, who had arrived earlier. Seeing Chen Jian coming over, he spoke lightly:

"Awake? We planned to let you sleep a bit longer."

"You’ve been too tired lately, under a lot of mental pressure. I’m worried you might have problems if this continues."

"It’s fine."

Chen Jian rubbed his slightly swollen neck and asked:

"What’s the situation now? Have you found that monster?"

"No."

Lei Jie shook his head and said:

"That terrestrial Whale Catfish has completely disappeared or has returned to hibernation, we can’t find it."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jian sighed with disappointment.

But before he could speak, Lei Jie continued:

"But we’ve found the two monsters that went missing near Ande City."

"Found them?"

Chen Jian asked with surprise:

"How did you find them?"

"You’ll never guess the way they’ve disguised themselves..."

Lei Jie said with amazement:

"I’ve truly never seen such... precise collaboration on any creature besides humans."

"Do you remember the ’membrane’ form of one of those monsters?"

"That’s not a monster at all, it’s a conglomerate formed by thousands upon thousands of small insect-like creatures."

"It’s like... locusts."

"The so-called membrane is actually a thin swarm of insects."

"With the reflective membrane of insect wings, these swarms can flexibly mimic colors similar to the surrounding environment."

"It’s a natural camouflage; from an aerial reconnaissance perspective, it’s hard to notice any anomalies."

"And the real monster indeed can produce relatively low temperatures."

"Combining low temperatures with camouflage, it can simultaneously block heat signals and visible light signals."

"But that’s not all, that monster’s actions are also incredibly cautious."

"Contrary to what we thought, its movements are not fast at all—in fact, it’s still near Ande City, slowly moving northeast."

"Moreover, the drone surveillance range is inherently limited, so it’s quite normal that we can’t find them..."

"Damn."

Chen Jian couldn’t help but curse.

He truly didn’t expect the monster to hide in such a way.

Is this a biological evolution or mutation?

Clearly impossible.

Without survival pressure, what creature would resort to such bizarre and extremely complex disguise?

The only explanation is one.

Someone is controlling it.

Or, someone taught it this method.

Chen Jian calmly exhaled and continued to ask:

"Where is its destination? Is it clear yet?"

"Not yet, but it is indeed moving northward."

"I’ve already asked Ji Xing to notify Lin Yu, he’s leading a team and heading over."

"After that, his squad will keep tracking this monster and report its movements to us in real time."

"If there’s any anomaly, we’ll be notified immediately."

"Good."

Chen Jian replied with satisfaction.

This way, our own pressure will be much lighter.

Without the distraction of the "disappeared monsters," he can focus on dealing with the situation in the Imperial City.

Thinking of this, he raised his hand to put on his helmet, then said:

"Let’s set off then. Reach the Imperial City today and arrange the meeting with the Holy Father."

"First, get the information we need from him, then quickly enter the Imperial City ruins."

"If conditions allow, we’ll divide into two groups as much as possible."

"I’ll go to 001, you go to the underground nuclear facility to find the launch key."

"Once everything is ready, we can return to 011."

"Shen Yue should reach Huangshan today, as long as he successfully transports the nuclear bomb back, our chances of winning increase."

"Understood."

Lei Jie immediately nodded, then raised his hand to summon everyone who was already prepared to board the vehicles.

He circled the convoy, checking the equipment one last time.

Confirmed that there were no issues, everything was ready, and the convoy was set to depart.

Chen Jian glanced at his watch; it was 6:30 AM.

As agreed, the people from the Holy Blood Temple should have long arrived to guide them.

But... where are they?

Chen Jian turned to Ji Xing with confusion and asked:

"Where is Xie Yuan?"

Ji Xing shook his head equally puzzled, then replied:

"I don’t know; he was here earlier, but it seems... he suddenly disappeared again."

"Disappeared??"

Chen Jian suddenly realized something was wrong, he opened the car door and got out, intending to let Fu Xi release a drone to check the surroundings. But just then, a figure suddenly dashed out from behind the residence, landing directly in front of the convoy.

Chen Jian immediately raised his gun, and shortly after, the person steadied himself and quickly walked over.

It was Xie Yuan.

His expression was visibly anxious, and upon seeing Chen Jian, he loudly shouted:

"Sir!"

"Something happened in the Imperial City! We must change our plans!"

"Imperial City?!"

Chen Jian asked incredulously:

"What happened?"

"Monsters!"

Xie Yuan breathed heavily and then replied:

"I just received news from the Holy Blood Temple!"

"At least no less than 10 monsters are advancing toward the Imperial City from the north!"

"They’ve already destroyed Guangning City, and the civilians there are fleeing!"

"These monsters are heading toward the Imperial City!"

"Beast Tide..."

"The Beast Tide has already begun!"