CHAPTER 403: CHAPTER 191: SELF-DESTRUCTION (PART 2)

"Boom!"

A bloody hole instantly burst open on the back of the Whale Catfish, yet even with such severe injuries, it still didn’t stop moving.

Like a fish about to die of thirst on the shore, the Whale Catfish struggled to crawl forward.

Chen Jian wanted to use the recoilless rifle and rocket launcher he was carrying to give it a final blow, but at that moment, an intense sense of crisis swept over him.

Run!

Chen Jian turned and sprinted without hesitation, and the next second, immense, dazzling, brilliant electrical light erupted from countless cysts on the Whale Catfish’s back.

Plasma flowed, the air was pierced through, and the flickering arc light made everything under the sunset pale in comparison.

Under the intense heat, vegetation caught fire, and its body instantly turned to charcoal.

The soil and rocks on the ground melted under the high temperature, and within nearly a hundred meters centered around the monster’s body, it almost became a pool of flowing lava.

Lightning storm.

Chen Jian’s hair stood on end.

At the same time, a powerful electric current pierced through the ground. Instinctively, he leaped high, but the electric light still pierced through the air and ferociously surged onto the mecha.

Chen Jian’s vision went black.

The smart visor failed.

The system crashed.

The circuit was burned out.

He fell heavily to the ground, the battery mounted on the exoskeleton’s back was already smoking.

It’s about to explode!

At the critical moment, all lock structures of the exoskeleton automatically unlocked. Chen Jian struggled to crawl out, then grabbed the explosive gun that had fallen to the ground and quickly moved away.

"Boom!"

The not-too-violent explosion sound brought intense flames, and the valuable exoskeleton turned to ashes before Chen Jian’s eyes.

Damn.

Is this the so-called truth of "interfering with electronic devices"?

Directly pierced through by current?

That’s damn effective!

No kidding, such a strong current, getting swept by it means death!

If it weren’t for the exoskeleton’s carefully designed Faraday cage structure, I would’ve been done for here!

An ammo cook-off caused by high temperatures is no joke, the ammo I carry is enough to blow myself up into pieces.

Chen Jian’s heart pounded violently. He turned to look at the collapsed fortress, where 3 stationed soldiers were struggling to crawl out of the rubble.

Still alive!

No time to think, Chen Jian quickly bypassed the already charred Whale Catfish corpse and rushed towards the ruins.

Used to the weight and constraint of the exoskeleton, he was surprised to find that without the armor, he was actually more agile.

Although his speed decreased significantly, the rugged terrain didn’t hinder his steps.

Exerting all his strength to lift the slab pressing on the injured soldier’s leg, Chen Jian exhaled heavily and then asked:

"Can you still move?"

The soldier from the Guard Brigade who was sitting paralyzed shook his head and then replied:

"I can’t move, I’ll stay here to cover the retreat!"

"No one needs you to cover."

"Huang Xing, carry him away!"

"Understood!"

Huaxia Army’s Huang Xing from Squad 2 of Class 5 gritted his teeth and nodded. He quickly pulled out a bandage, simply wrapped his obviously fractured left arm, and then swiftly tied up the Guard Brigade soldier with a drag strap to retreat toward the base.

Their movements were quite slow, and Chen Jian called the Turtle Drone to lower altitude for escort, then immediately intended to turn back to the battlefield.

Huang Xing turned back and asked in astonishment:

"Captain! Aren’t you retreating?"

"Why should I retreat? The battle isn’t over yet!"

Chen Jian didn’t look back, but Huang Xing called out to him again.

"Captain! Your mecha is already damaged!"

"You must retreat with us! Otherwise, it’s too dangerous!"

"I’m not an idiot!"

Chen Jian’s steps didn’t stop.

"Can’t fight without a mecha? You retreat, don’t worry about me!"

With that said, he continued to run towards the next fortress with the explosive gun in hand. Meanwhile, Fu Xi quickly responded by dispatching an unmanned combat squad to assist.

"Exoskeleton airdrop deployment underway, expected to arrive in five minutes."

Through the drone’s loudspeaker, Chen Jian reconnected with the base.

He opened his mouth to give orders:

"Notify Shen Yue to organize and prepare for a second round of barrages; large monsters are approaching the perimeter!"

"Understood."

Fu Xi’s muffled voice came through, and Chen Jian breathed a slight sigh of relief, continuing to run forward.

In fact, before his mecha was destroyed by the current, he had already noticed the "gigantic monster group" in the distance.

Those monsters, like moving hills, disappeared into the woods, seemingly waiting for the chance to attack.

So, what are they waiting for?

Waiting for these smaller monsters to exhaust the ammunition of the first line of defense?

Waiting for the Whale Catfish’s self-detonation to tear open a gap for the attack?

If that’s the case, why aren’t they moving?

Chen Jian had a vague feeling that this round of sudden attack initiated by the Beast Tide wasn’t that simple.

This wasn’t a raid; it was a feint.

These monsters seemed to be attacking with a purpose, trying to figure out the defense layout of Base 011.

What the hell?

Firepower reconnaissance?!

Chen Jian didn’t have time to think more, and by now, the transport unit composed of three multi-purpose octocopter drones had arrived overhead.

The drones then lowered their altitude and dropped the backup exoskeleton in front of Chen Jian.

The exoskeleton deployed, and Chen Jian stepped in, quickly locking up and completing the setup.

Two minutes later, Chen Jian re-entered the fully armored combat mode.

Even weapons and ammunition were resupplied.

At the same time, the fortresses on the first line of defense began shelling once more.

The rumbling sound exploded, and the artillery fell over a dozen kilometers away.

Through the drone view flowing on the tactical visor, Chen Jian saw clearly the artillery shells landing in empty spots.

"Boom!"

The explosions of fire and smoke blasted into flowers, yet did no substantial damage to the distant gigantic monsters.

Because, at the instant the shells arrived, the group of gigantic monsters suddenly retreated several hundred meters in unison.

They seized the timing gap between firing and hitting!

At their speed, as long as they accurately receive "firing position" information, it’s effortless to dodge the bombardment!

Chen Jian took a deep breath.

He finally let go of the last shred of hope for the Beast Tide.

They can no longer be regarded as ordinary monsters.

This is an organized, tactical army composed of monsters!

"Shen Yue, cease fire."

"Lei Jie, establish electromagnetic shields!"

"Bomber return, get the nukes fitted, prepare for high-altitude bombing!"

"....Understood."

Lei Jie’s response came from the headset, and Chen Jian raised his explosive gun, blasting the head of a monster charging at him.

The number of small monsters was dwindling, and the first round of feigned attacks seemed to be reaching an end.

The gunfire on the defense line grew sparse, and in the rear buffer zone, the unmanned combat cluster was nearing the end of its harvesting.

"All combat units, finish the battle quickly!"

Chen Jian issued another order, and responses came immediately.

"Understood!"

"Copy!"

All at once, the gunfire became intense again.

After Chen Jian emptied the last magazine of his explosive gun, the entire defense line no longer had any trace of monsters.

Instead, there were heaps of corpses.

All around, there was nothing but blood, slime, and severed limbs.

The entire battlefield had become a giant meat grinder; all the rashly invading monsters had been shredded.

Cheers came from all corners; everyone at Base 011, whether involved in the battle or not, celebrated this great victory.

But Chen Jian knew this was merely a beginning.

When Shen Yue, who was also commanding the battle at the front line, came to him, he immediately spoke:

"This was a firepower reconnaissance."

"I noticed."

Shen Yue’s brow was furrowed.

"If our judgment is accurate, then there’s a good chance those monsters will launch another raid tonight."

"That’s when the real Beast Tide will come... it’s possible that the first line of defense won’t hold. Should we detonate the perimeter nukes in advance?"

"We’ll play it by ear."

Chen Jian’s tone was somber, but he then relaxed a bit and continued:

"However, we’re not at that point just yet."

"These monsters are indeed smart, but not smart enough."

"They can’t believe that our artillery only has one use, right?"