CHAPTER 384: CHAPTER 181: THE FINAL LINK (PART 2)

"Alright."

Chen Jian raised his hand to interrupt Jin Zan and then said:

"No need for the flattery—why are you here at this time?"

"We haven’t received your application in advance, which is actually against the rules."

"I know, I know..."

Jin Zan’s face showed some guilt and unease. After a slight pause, he spoke:

"But this is a... complex story."

"We originally planned to settle in Jinling City and apply to you before coming over."

"However... the situation in Jinling City has changed."

"The Saint has carried out major reforms within the Mechanical God Sect, including reforms to the chamber of commerce."

"I was unaware of this before arriving in Jinling."

"It was only after arriving that I realized I had lost my identity."

"Now, if I want to enter the city, I either need to pay a large fee or wait outside."

"Clearly, I can’t risk facing potential monsters alone in the wild outside the city, so I thought I’d try my luck here..."

"Not allowed to enter the city?"

Chen Jian frowned.

"We haven’t heard about such regulations in Jinling City; isn’t the traffic of merchants and trade routes still going on as usual?"

"This regulation only targets merchants like us..."

Jin Zan sighed, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

"Sir, I think you can guess what I mean."

"We merchants who once relied on the Mechanical God Sect have been abandoned. The new Saint wants to consolidate his power and must control the financial and commercial authority himself."

"It’s not that he no longer needs merchants; he doesn’t need the old merchants..."

"Understood."

Chen Jian slowly nodded.

He had to admit that when it came to ’centralized reforms,’ Zhang Tao was indeed adept.

If restructuring the army and consolidating military power could be judged based on intuition, then now, with all the old merchants being replaced, it truly demonstrates his foresight.

Such a person is very smart, but the smarter they are, the greater the threat to our side.

So, what exactly is he trying to do?

Chen Jian silently recalled the intelligence sent by He Shuo and hesitated on whether to take more ’forceful’ measures against Zhang Tao.

But after pondering for a moment, he finally suppressed his urge to ’cut the Gordian knot.’

At least for now, the other party has not shown obvious ’rebellion.’

Let’s give him a little more time.

If, in the upcoming Beast Tide, he can prove his stance, even if not firmly on the side of the Huaxia Army, but as long as he’s on the side of humanity, Chen Jian will give him a chance.

But if he shows the slightest hint of retreat in the fight against the Beast Tide...

Then, after resolving the main conflict, he will naturally become the next main conflict.

Thinking of this, Chen Jian gently breathed out, then appeared relaxed while asking Jin Zan:

"So, what do you plan to do now?"

"Are you going back to Jinling City?"

"I can’t go back anytime soon."

Jin Zan laughed awkwardly and then said:

"My funds have been seized by the Mechanical Holy Temple, and recovering them requires a large... tax payment."

"Now all my belongings are here; if possible, I’d like to exchange some essential supplies with you first."

"Next, I might continue my trade to the south, starting over..."

"That’s fine."

Chen Jian nodded and said:

"You can rest for a while in Jinling New City; take your time with the specific plans."

"The Mechanical God Sect doesn’t need you now, but perhaps... we might?"

"That would be great!"

Jin Zan was overjoyed and quickly bowed.

Meanwhile, Chen Jian exchanged a glance with Shen Yue, turned around, and walked away.

After walking a distance, Shen Yue suddenly asked:

"You’re not planning to assign this person to me, are you?"

Chen Jian shook his head, answering:

"Not necessarily... but he indeed is a person with potential."

"We have dealt with him on the road to the Imperial City, his organizational ability is strong, and he is quite meticulous."

"Such a person doing logistics isn’t bad at all."

"If he can pass the assessment, what’s wrong with letting him do logistics?"

"Anyway, let’s give it a shot, whether it works or not."

"Right now, we’re in a period of recruiting talents, we can’t be overly cautious, we should give them a chance..."

....

Meanwhile, on the other side, while Chen Jian and Shen Yue were discussing the candidates for logistics organization, Lei Jie, sitting in the combat command room, had just received an unexpected message from the Ring Chamber of Commerce.

Upon confirming the accuracy of the message, he almost sprinted out of the base, bumping into Chen Jian and Shen Yue as they walked towards the interior of the base.

He stopped Chen Jian out of breath, and stuttered out:

"Wang Lizhi’s side... he... they’ve found propellant..."

"Solid rocket propellant!"

As his words fell, Chen Jian’s eyes widened sharply.

"Are you sure? How do they know it’s the propellant we need?"

"I’ve confirmed it... just a moment... let me catch my breath."

Lei Jie slightly straightened up, his chest heaving as he breathed heavily.

Seeing his state, Chen Jian couldn’t help but shake his head and said:

"You could’ve just called me directly on the radio... why rush like that?"

"I... oh, don’t talk about that!"

Lei Jie finally caught his breath and quickly said:

"The Ring Chamber of Commerce sent a squad to the Changshan Ruins; they intended to look for clues about controlling monsters with the brain machine."

"Don’t ask me why they went to Changshan, I don’t know. Anyway, their chain of clues pointed to Changshan."

"But there, they didn’t find information about the brain machine; instead, they entered an underground Nuclear Great Wall."

"It’s a well-preserved underground nuclear facility, with a combat readiness level comparable to the Imperial City’s nuclear facilities!"

"It houses a large number of nuclear warheads, many solid rockets, and most importantly, they found perfectly sealed solid fuel there..."

"Hold on."

Chen Jian interrupted Lei Jie and then asked:

"How did they open the nuclear facility?"

"They didn’t open it; the facility was already in an open state—or rather, it was already in an unlocked state."

"That’s not the main point for now; the main point is they’ve already acquired a sufficient quantity of solid fuel and are rushing back as fast as possible."

"In about a week, they should reach Base 011."

"By then, we can use our missiles!"

"Are you sure?"

Chen Jian pursued, asking:

"Has every other system been restored?"

"I’m very sure!"

Lei Jie nodded solemnly and then said:

"The inertial navigation system has been tested and is well within usable range."

"We’re not expecting high precision; an accumulated error within two kilometers over a range of 1000 kilometers is acceptable."

"Additionally, the components for star guidance are being repaired; though I can’t guarantee precision, honestly speaking, it’s good enough for us now."

"I’m really anxious—what’s the plan? Should we send a squad to escort them back?"

"This is essential strategic material; not a single accident can be tolerated!"

"Agreed!"

Chen Jian decisively spoke and then said:

"We can’t go by land to meet them—have them wait at the Imperial City."

"Two days later, the second bomber should also go online."

"By then, you lead the team to fly over and bring back what we need!"

"Understood!"

Lei Jie stood straight, a look of undisguised excitement on his face.

The last piece of the nuclear deterrence puzzle is about to be put in place.

If this batch of solid fuel is confirmed effective...

Then in this world, against monsters, the Huaxia Army will truly have no shortcomings....