CHAPTER 353: CHAPTER 162: NOT QUITE A PYRRHIC VICTORY (PART 2)

As Chen Jian’s voice fell, Ji Xing, who was driving, immediately nodded and said:

"It seems to be some kind of support-type monster..."

"The feeling it gives me is indeed different from the level one monsters I saw in Mountain City."

"From a certain angle, it doesn’t have much lethality, but if we let it organize a beast tide, then the problems we’ll face will be significant."

"Indeed."

Chen Jian gripped the explosive-shot gun in his hand, shattered the head of a mantis monster blocking the path of the cat car with one shot, and then continued:

"But if you say so, then the level one monster that will appear in the beast tide shouldn’t be just this one."

"And until now, we still know nothing about the possible enemies."

"We must raise the balloon first."

"Moreover, we might need a flying vehicle with a larger carrying capacity."

"Airplane?"

Ji Xing’s eyes instantly lit up.

"Are we going to build an airplane?"

"Yes."

Chen Jian nodded.

"But maybe not like the airplane you’re imagining."

"But it doesn’t matter, anyway, let’s go back first."

"Contact Shen Yue to see how things are going on their side!"

"Understood!"

....

Meanwhile, on the other side.

In the combat zone on the southeast side of Base 011, the 30A tank stood in the center of the battlefield like a giant elephant, and within a 50-meter ring around it, there was not a single monster corpse, as if it were a vacuum zone.

In contrast, beyond the 50-meter radius, the monster corpses were densely stacked in a ring.

Hundreds of monster corpses writhed and collapsed, while those severely wounded and barely moving were swiftly shot through the head by individually armed nurses.

Until the smoke cleared completely, not only on this wasteland used as the main battlefield, but even in the surrounding woods, there were no signs of any life activity.

Lei Jie climbed out of the tank and jumped to the ground, staggering slightly on the soft surface.

Once he stabilized, he immediately turned to Shen Yue, who was performing emergency medical treatment nearby, and asked:

"How’s the situation?"

"Two are beyond saving."

Shen Yue didn’t even lift his head.

"Bandage."

Xie Liu immediately handed over a bandage, and Shen Yue laid it out in his hand, quickly rinsing the intestines that had spilled out with clean water, then wrapped the organs back into the injured soldier’s body with the bandage.

"Needle and thread."

He continued, and Xie Liu skillfully handed over the equipment he needed.

The slightly rough stitching work quickly began, and during the time of threading the needle, Shen Yue quickly explained the situation.

"Three light injuries, two serious ones, this kid’s intestines are severed, the problem is quite serious."

"If the abdominal cavity isn’t thoroughly cleaned, there will definitely be an explosive infection."

"Fortunately, we still have antibiotics available, but whether we can contain the infection, I can’t guarantee."

"He needs rest; in the next month, he might need repeated abdominal surgeries."

"This is the best I can do; whether he survives depends on his own fate."

Saying this, Shen Yue had finished stitching the wound.

He stood up without hesitation and walked towards another injured person, then said:

"This kid is much luckier; his legs were amputated, but his major arteries were saved."

"He was treated in time to stop the bleeding, so the prognosis should be good."

"However, if possible, it’s best to get him an exoskeleton."

"Didn’t we get a batch of Brain Machines from the Holy Blood Temple? Let him try it."

"...What mechanical ascension."

Lei Jie shook his head and replied:

"The coordination between Brain Machines and exoskeletons isn’t easy; let’s see what Fu Xi says when we get back."

"How are the others? What about the lightly injured?"

"Small issues, superficial wounds."

After Shen Yue’s words fell, an injured soldier left to the side looked at his chest in surprise.

There, a horrifying wound almost tore across the entire front, with ribs fractured and collapsed, exposed to the outside.

He even had a sense that if he peeled open the wound further, he might directly see his beating heart and lungs rising and falling with his breath.

Can this still be called a light injury?

The injured soldier couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing.

But when he looked at Xie Liu, who was busy preparing adrenaline for Colonel Shen Yue, he couldn’t laugh anymore.

Indeed, compared to the Holy Blood in front of him, his injuries were indeed lighter.

The wounds on her back were not just one, but three.

The shoulder blade was completely exposed, muscle tissue struggling to maintain her movements.

Such a terrifying scene might make many have nightmares for several nights, but the two colonels seemed unaffected.

----No, they weren’t completely unaffected.

The colonel named Lei Jie finally asked about Xie Liu’s injuries.

"How are you?"

The injured soldier saw Xie Liu casually shake her head and replied:

"Small wounds, if I can move, then it’s not a big problem."

"She’s fine."

Shen Yue spoke up beside them:

"Heart rate normal, breathing normal, bleeding stopped."

"I temporarily can’t treat her, but once we return, it’s just a matter of stitching."

"Li Shi recovered from worse injuries before, so her problem should be manageable too."

"Understood."

Lei Jie breathed a sigh of relief but still patted Xie Liu, signaling her to rest aside, and then took over her position to assist Shen Yue in rescuing the injured.

They moved quickly, and within a few minutes, all emergency injuries were treated.

At that moment, the team led by Huang Meng also finished clearing the entire area.

"Colonel, all monsters have been cleared."

"No lone monsters found around; they’ve all run away."

"Did they really run away or just hide?"

Lei Jie frowned and asked.

"We used thermal imaging equipment to check the woods within 200 meters around and didn’t find any remaining monsters."

"I believe they really ran away; the number of monsters dead here has exceeded 400, even a trained army should have collapsed. These monsters... couldn’t possibly be completely fearless, right?"

"That’s good."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yue wiped off the blood on his hands and stood up; as he glanced around, he saw a team pushed to their limits by high-intensity combat, with disarrayed equipment, covered in blood and smoke, yet their eyes were resolute.

They won.

Nothing hones a team’s will more than a victory.

He waved his hand, and the exhausted group immediately stood up.

As weapons were picked up again, Lei Jie experienced a moment of illusion.

----These people seemed to give him a familiar feeling.

After a slight pause, he ultimately didn’t deliver any "sentimental" remarks.

He simply issued a straightforward order.

"Squad leaders, count the numbers and assemble, board cars and return!"

"Understood!"

"Received!"

The responses rang out immediately, and shortly, everyone boarded the vehicles and headed towards Base 011.

With a chest wound, the soldier lying in the truck compartment looked a bit confused at the ceiling of the compartment. Someone handed him a bottle, seemingly wanting him to drink, but was quickly stopped by a nearby comrade.

"Are you crazy? The colonel said he can’t drink water now!"

"I forgot..."

The stopped comrade coughed, took back the bottle, and drank two large gulps himself.

Then, he exhaled heavily and said:

"I didn’t expect to survive."

"I thought I was done for..."

After his words fell, the soldier opposite also nodded silently.

"I didn’t think so either."

"But when I saw those monsters, I didn’t even think about whether I could survive..."

"I was shooting like crazy, my barrel even exploded, but luckily I had a spare gun----now you know why the colonel wanted us to bring two guns, right?"

"Now I know... next time, not only should I bring a spare gun but also a spare barrel."

"Stop talking about next time; such tough battles don’t happen all the time."

"The people from Imperial City will be here soon; I reckon this might be the last time."

"Not necessarily; what if there’s more?"

"If there’s more... then just fight..."

...

Amidst the roar of the engine, the voices gradually blurred.

The injured soldier closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

He saw the sunset shining in through the open door of the compartment, and the distant sunset seemed to chase this convoy and draw closer to him...