CHAPTER 301: CHAPTER 133: DISAPPEARED?

"Its size is too large, exceeding the design standards of the fortifications."

"Sir, do we need to organize reconnaissance and surveillance of Yangquan and the surrounding areas?"

"Not for the moment."

Chen Jian shook his head and said:

"Let’s continue heading north according to the original plan, with entering the Imperial City as our primary goal."

"As for those two monsters... let them be."

"They haven’t posed a substantial threat to us yet, so let’s not bother with them."

"Minimize equipment loss as much as possible, and we’ll deal with it when we reach the Imperial City."

"Understood."

"Roger."

Everyone responded one by one, and after a moment of silence, Chen Jian spoke again:

"Ji Xing, maintain communication with that Lin Yu."

"Since the task has been assigned to them, we need to make sure they get things done."

"Inform them that unknown monsters have appeared around Ande City and Jizhou City, possibly above level three."

"Have them track with full effort, and notify us immediately if any anomalies are discovered."

Upon hearing this, Ji Xing nodded and replied succinctly:

"Understood!"

....

Meanwhile, 120 kilometers south of Base 011, near Nanyi Lake.

Shen Yue took off his helmet, wiped the sweat off his face, and exhaled deeply before saying:

"Damn, these two monsters are quite elusive."

"I’ve been here for so long, killed countless monsters, and yet I’ve never encountered such a situation."

"They don’t attack, they don’t pillage, they’re just avoiding and running the whole time!"

"What’s going on, where exactly are they trying to go?"

"Before, they were driven away by the Holy Temple Guard of the Mechanical God Sect, that’s one thing. But now, we’re tracking them with drones, they can’t possibly have some kind of super perception ability to foresee danger, can they?"

"They don’t listen at all, just single-mindedly heading south..."

"We keep chasing like this, we’ll end up reaching Huangshan!"

After he finished speaking, Huang Yu, standing beside him, also sighed and then said:

"It’s indeed quite rare."

"But the main issue is, every time those two monsters appear, they remain outside of a safe distance, even if we wanted to use artillery against them, we couldn’t hit them."

"Captain, just as you said, they seem to have some sort of sensing ability... do you think they might also be using radio communication?"

"...That would be really exaggerated."

Shen Yue glanced at the information on his smart goggles and then said:

"The captain’s side also encountered a very similar situation, the two monsters appeared and then suddenly disappeared."

"No sign, and no trace to be found."

"However, maybe it’s not that there isn’t a trace, it’s just that we can’t find it with our methods."

"Tracking is something the Holy Blood is more skilled at... unfortunately, Ji Xing and the others have also gone with the captain, and Zeng Yi can’t come over..."

At this point, Shen Yue paused for a moment and then asked:

"Fu Xi, can we determine the movement trajectories of the two monsters on our side?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Fu Xi replied:

"Based on the current available information, the two monsters are likely moving in the direction of Tai Lake and Yuhang."

"These two monsters have been under our tracking all along, and their actions are relatively clear."

"They first drank water and rested on the north shore of Shijiu Lake and then drank water a second time on the south shore of Nanyi Lake, where they also hunted a few small monsters and small animals."

"According to this pattern, combined with their tendency to move eastwards, I predict that the targets are likely headed towards Tai Lake for a third resupply."

"Of course, they might also be headed southeast towards Yuhang, but it’s relatively far, making it less likely."

"Sir, we need to make a decision here."

"Should we abandon the pursuit and move according to plan to Huangshan, or continue the pursuit towards Yuhang and Tai Lake? It requires your decision."

After these words were spoken, Shen Yue couldn’t help but furrow his brow tightly.

According to the original plan, he intended to prioritize going to Huangshan and retrieving usable nuclear weapons from the Rocket Army base there."

After all, that was the most important ace up their sleeve against the Beast Tide."

Hunting these two monsters was just something to do along the way.

But now, the situation has changed.

Not only did his squad encounter the rare situation of "unable to catch the monsters," but the captain’s side faced almost the exact same issue.

This is a huge question mark.

And it is a question that must be resolved.

Upon thinking of this, Shen Yue exhaled deeply.

"These two monsters must die."

"We must not only kill them, but also see what changes have occurred to them."

"Notify He Shuo to prepare the drones for an aerial strike."

"Damn it, if I can’t catch up to them, can I at least catch up to them with the network signal?"

"Use all the loitering munitions, I don’t believe we can’t blow them to pieces!"

"Understood."

Fu Xi responded succinctly:

"Order has been transmitted, awaiting confirmation from commander He Shuo."

"Good."

Shen Yue nodded and added:

"Urge him!"

....

Outside the 011 fortification.

He Shuo swiftly set up various parameters, while a swarm of ant robots busily prepared the Attack-17 drone for takeoff.

Several loitering munitions were mounted, along with two Longsword-S small air-to-surface missiles.

These missiles were air-to-ground weapons designed specifically for unmanned combat, with relatively small warheads and lower speed.

But relying on the drone’s super high maneuverability and "anti-human" diving attack mode, the missile can still reach a terminal speed of 2.8 Mach.

At such high speeds, there’s almost no air defense system capable of effectively intercepting it.

However, the problem is that its lightweight design makes it unsuitable for engaging fortified targets.

Its intended use was originally to execute top-down attacks on tanks and lightly armored targets.

Could such a weapon really effectively strike against those thick-skinned monsters?

In theory, when facing monsters, an expensive Longsword-S is not as practical as a regular grenade.

But unfortunately, they have no other options now.

Even if they can’t kill them directly, they must force those two monsters to change course, providing Shen Yue the opportunity to attack.

Thinking of this, He Shuo looked down at the screen in his hand.

Fuel replenishment complete, munitions mounted complete.

Ground-based small radar station activated, cellular network connection stable.

Ready for takeoff.

The Attack-17 slowly taxied out of the shelter, heading towards the makeshift runway laid down during the last attack on Jinling City.

During the final pre-flight check, He Shuo contacted Shen Yue.

"I’m ready on my side, can take off at any time."

"Shen Yue, what about you?"

"Not great!"

Shen Yue’s voice bore evident frustration.

"Those two monsters disappeared again, and the woods here are too dense, their size is not big enough, making aerial tracking too difficult."

"You go ahead and take off first, I’ll figure out a way to flush them out!"

"Disappeared again??"

He Shuo asked in astonishment:

"How did they disappear?"

"A very typical disappearance... Heat signals vanished, then image signals were lost."

"I even suspect there might be some kind of underground passages nearby... never mind, found them again!"

"Damn it, if you don’t keep a constant watch on these things, you can really lose track of them."

"Get to flying, I’m about 15 kilometers away from those monsters, can’t attack quickly!"

"Roger!"

He Shuo nodded immediately, then swiftly issued the takeoff command.

A moment later, the Attack-17’s engines ignited, two bright blue flames erupted.

Accompanied by the roar of the engines, the aircraft ascended into the sky, exploding into a spectacular sonic boom cloud.

The radar screen already marked the designated combat area.

With a distance of nearly 150 kilometers, it can reach within 10 minutes.

But whether it can truly perform as expected, He Shuo couldn’t be certain.

His brow furrowed as he gazed skyward, motionless for a long time.

Eight minutes later, the sound of Shen Yue’s voice came through his headset.

"Target locked!"

"Fire!"