CHAPTER 558: CHAPTER 285: THE NETWORK CORRIDOR PROJECT (PART 2)

Seeing his reaction, Chen Jian waved his hand and said:

"No need to be so tense."

"When I said ’Jinling City doesn’t exist’, I didn’t mean in the physical sense."

"Of course, the city still exists... it’s just that, in a short period of time, it might become a Jinling City you won’t recognize."

"A large number of devout followers of the Mechanical God Sect are setting out on a pilgrimage to the Mountain City, and as for the rest of them..."

"Whether they truly believe in the Holy Trinity or are forced to, I think you know better than I do."

"So if you truly want to protect your followers, the best way isn’t to return to Jinling City but to open a safe pilgrimage route for them."

"The route we planned is what you want, isn’t it?"

"....Yes."

Guo Xu let out a heavy sigh.

He realized that he hadn’t had a choice from the start.

The Huaxia Army had already planned every step.

He was just a pawn.

Even though, at a certain stage, he might play an irreplaceable role on the chessboard.

But ultimately, he could not surpass that boundary to become a real player.

----At least, not in the short term.

I need to wait for a better opportunity.

Thinking of this, Guo Xu decisively nodded.

Then he opened his mouth and replied:

"I am willing to cooperate with your plan."

"However, you must also ensure the safety of the pilgrims to Mountain City."

After these words fell, Chen Jian smiled mysteriously.

"Of course, no problem."

...

Several hours later.

Yu Qian was organizing his equipment, carefully counting the bullets and wiping the oil stains off the gun barrel.

Guo Xu was mimicking his actions beside him, though his movements were much clumsier compared to Yu Qian’s.

As he struggled to reassemble the gun barrel, Guo Xu shook his head, clicking his tongue:

"This thing is still too complicated... honestly, I think the Type 75 rifle is much easier to use than this 191."

After he finished speaking, Yu Qian looked up at Guo Xu in shock and couldn’t help but say:

"Are you an idiot?"

"Huh?"

Guo Xu was taken aback.

"Why? Is the Type 75 not good?"

"Strong firepower, fast rate of fire, simple operation, and very durable."

"Even if you throw it in a mud pit and roll it around, it can still fire."

"That gun is really perfect for dealing with monsters ---- except for the cumbersome reloading, it has no other issues."

"Of course, reloading isn’t an issue either; the 191 rifle requires retrieving the magazine after each shot, but the Type 75’s clip doesn’t need that."

Yu Qian helplessly shook his head and chuckled, then said:

"That just shows that your Church Protection Army isn’t strong enough."

"In fact, even the warriors in the Volunteer Company know that the 191 is far better than the Type 75."

"High precision, strong stability, and much more lethal at long range compared to the Type 75."

"Oh, right, you guys usually don’t have drones for reconnaissance, only discovering monsters when they’re at your doorsteps, which is why you feel the Type 75 is stronger..."

"...You speak just like those in the Huaxia Army now."

Guo Xu shook his head while looking at Yu Qian:

"I heard you were just an ordinary resident of the Imperial City before ---- a farmer, not even a Hunter."

"I really don’t know what magic the Huaxia Army has, transforming you all to be almost like them in such a short time."

"It’s not transformation."

Yu Qian pulled the bolt back a few times, confirming its smoothness, then continued:

"It’s just integration."

"You’ve already integrated too, you just haven’t realized it."

"Me?"

Guo Xu furrowed his eyebrows.

When did I integrate into the Huaxia Army?

Seeing his puzzled expression, Yu Qian patted him on the shoulder and said:

"It’s okay, everyone goes through it."

"Let’s go, no need to over-prepare, just lead the team out."

"Our target today is Changshou Town, where we need to open up the waterway from Mountain City there, thoroughly clearing out the surrounding Water Ghosts, Terror Demons, and other monsters."

"No problem."

Guo Xu answered simply, then both of them organized their teams, with nearly 150 men from both the Expeditionary Army and the Church Protection Army breaking camp from Mountain City, starting their journey down the Yangtze River.

This was Yu Qian’s first meaningful participation in an operation to clear out the "Blood Skulls," and he quickly realized that, compared to monsters, these Blood Skulls were even more complex.

They could use weapons, make simple tools, had tactics, teamwork, and apart from their bloodthirsty nature which led them into frenzies during combat, causing illogical crazy actions, they were almost no different from ordinary people.

The battle didn’t proceed smoothly, as soon as the first Water Ghost camp was cleared, the Church Protection Army had casualties.

It was then that Guo Xu finally understood what Yu Qian meant by "you’re not strong enough."

Because throughout, the Expeditionary Army maintained the most basic order.

They didn’t fire randomly leaving a gap in firepower when Water Ghosts came too close, nor missed any Water Ghost within their kill range, they always maintained order, using the relatively rudimentary equipment to its maximum potential.

The difference between the two teams was starkly exposed after just one battle.

Guo Xu finally realized that the battles fought alongside the Expeditionary Army were really just "teaching battles."

"...You are very strong."

Guo Xu sincerely said to Yu Qian:

"So, are you really planning to use this ’opening the network path’ opportunity to completely teach us how to fight?"

"Not exactly."

Yu Qian shook his head and replied:

"We’ll lead you for a while, but we’ll part ways afterward."

"Some of us have to ensure safety during the movement of people, some have to return to Base 011 to cooperate with the Penetration Company on a new escort mission."

"A new escort mission?"

Guo Xu curiously looked at Yu Qian and asked:

"What are you planning to do? Move Jinling New City to Mountain City?"

This was the only reason he could think of ---- after all, if it wasn’t about large-scale personnel transfer and material transport, he really couldn’t think of any other task that would warrant bringing the Expeditionary Army back over such long distances.

"Of course not."

Yu Qian shook his head and said:

"Jinling New City is Jinling New City, and Mountain City is Mountain City."

"The uses of the two cities are different."

"We are to transport equipment discovered in Shen City back to Mountain City ---- that circular device."

"Circular?!"

Guo Xu was dumbfounded.

He wasn’t surprised at the fact that the Huaxia Army had already discovered the circular device.

What truly astonished him was that Yu Qian just casually disclosed this mission to him.

As if he had no intent to keep it secret, nor did he find it worth keeping from him.

"Yes, the circular device."

Yu Qian nodded and replied:

"I actually don’t know what that device represents, I only heard from the commander that if we can unlock its secrets, we might completely end the apocalypse."

"So... despite the risks of long-distance transport being a bit high, it’s worth a try, right?"

"After all, the device can only be fully utilized in Mountain City, because we need to use it to verify against a complete circular device set kept underground in Mountain City..."

"Understood."

Guo Xu was thoughtful, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked again:

"Why do you know everything?"

"What I mean is, your rank in the Huaxia Army isn’t particularly high, right?"

"Why would tasks like these be entrusted to you by commanders?"

"Aren’t they worried about information leakage?"

"Leakage?"

Yu Qian chuckled.

"And that’s where the Huaxia Army differs from you."

"It’s not that they’re not worried about leakage, they just know that some things shouldn’t be kept secret."

"You all always think resolving the apocalypse crisis is the responsibility of certain people."

"Like the Holy Hall of the Mechanical God Sect, or the Holy Blood, and the like."

"But actually..."

"Ending this apocalypse is the business of every single one of us..."