CHAPTER 397: CHAPTER 188: THE SECOND BASE

hours later, Base 011.

Faced with the bodies of the fallen soldiers of the Guard Brigade, Jin Zhong was silent and speechless.

He still held the incense burner used for prayers in his hand, but he never lit it.

It wasn’t until his adjutant reminded him that he seemed to return from his contemplation and finally lifted his head.

Then, he put away the incense burner and said to the adjutant:

"Bury them."

"Contact Jinling City and inform the families of the fallen brothers."

"Tell them that the journey is long, and transporting the bodies is difficult. I’ve decided to bury them right here in Jinling New City."

"Also, notify all family members to come to Jinling New City for the funeral as soon as possible."

"I mean, everyone."

"Every single person?"

The adjutant looked at Jin Zhong with a bit of surprise, clearly guessing the deeper meaning behind this decision.

To be honest, after having done such a significant thing, he also believed that this unit could no longer return to Jinling City.

But to break away from the Mechanical God Sect like this seemed somewhat... rash.

Is there really no room for negotiation?

Is it really unnecessary to have even the most basic negotiations or communications?

After a moment of hesitation, the adjutant asked again:

"Perhaps... you can personally return to Jinling City to convey the news to the families of the brothers?"

"We need to give the fallen’s families an explanation — in a more formal way."

"No."

Jin Zhong slowly shook his head.

"I won’t go back, and I can’t go back."

"Why?"

The adjutant asked in confusion:

"Jinling City... hasn’t the Holy Hall already stated that they won’t pursue this incident anymore?"

"Although we launched the attack on the Church Protection Army without orders, they erred first; at most, this is just a non-compliant trial..."

"No need to say more."

Jin Zhong interrupted the adjutant and then said:

"From the moment we chose this path, there’s no turning back."

"We still believe in the Holy Trinity, but... the Mechanical God Sect is no longer related to us."

"Now, the only thing I can do is bring all the brothers’ families to Jinling New City."

"Here, the Huaxia Army will protect them, and so will we."

"We won’t lose anything because of this."

"On the contrary, we will gain more."

"Alright, execute it."

"Yes."

Jin Zhong spoke firmly, and the adjutant no longer tried to persuade further.

He turned to convey Jin Zhong’s orders to the soldiers of the Guard Brigade — with a hint of hesitation, testing, and even pleading tone.

But, to his surprise, the anticipated resistance did not occur.

Everyone calmly accepted this decision and lined up to tell the adjutant what to say when communicating with their families.

"My wife is very cautious; she might not come, but if you tell her, ’I’ve carved the wooden figure for her,’ she’ll definitely believe it — it’s a code between us."

"There’s nothing much to say to my family; just remember to tell them to bring enough food."

"Yes, except for gold, don’t bring anything valuable; things valuable in Jinling City are not valuable here."

"I have no family, but I have something very important left in Jinling City... forget it, it’s not that important; I have nothing else to explain."

...

The adjutant listened attentively to the requests of everyone, jotting them down briefly in his notebook.

On the other side, Jin Zhong had already walked toward where Chen Jian was.

"Captain."

As soon as Jin Zhong started speaking, Chen Jian raised his hand to interrupt him.

"If you’ve decided to stay here, you must first learn to drop the ’Captain’ part after the title."

"...Yes, Captain."

Jin Zhong took a deep breath and then said:

"Thank you for your generous assistance. Without the Huaxia Army, that monster would surely continue to move towards other human towns."

"The damage it would cause would be immeasurable... The Huaxia Army saved many people; there’s no doubt about that."

"Additionally, we also want to thank you for the help with our trial."

"The sinners have been punished, so... at least the followers who died in Liangxi City can rest in peace."

As he finished speaking, Chen Jian looked at Jin Zhong with a scrutinizing gaze and asked:

"So you still hold belief in the Mechanical God Sect?"

"No."

Jin Zhong shook his head and replied:

"It’s not belief in the Mechanical God Sect, but belief in the Holy Trinity."

"These setbacks and hardships aren’t enough to extinguish my faith, but... maybe I’ve realized that belief in God doesn’t actually require an earthly spokesperson."

"Good, good... you’ve already entered the next phase of faith."

Chen Jian nodded with satisfaction.

To be honest, not being able to completely extinguish Jin Zhong’s faith is indeed a regret.

But at least, he has evolved to a higher, more rational level.

In any case, for him at this moment, faith is no longer the basis guiding his actions.

Faith has become something more intangible.

Perhaps akin to some kind of spiritual support?

Chen Jian doesn’t plan to rush; he’s still willing to give Jin Zhong and his team some time.

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

"Stay in Jinling New City and assist you in fighting the monsters."

Jin Zhong said without hesitation:

"If there’s any battle that needs us, we’ll join without hesitation."

"We are not afraid of danger, nor of sacrifice."

"We are willing to pay the price for our faith, for the survival of humanity."