Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!

"I've seen things like this in the captain's files----a similar reaction when a certain religion lost Jerusalem."

"But it's okay, you don't have to care too much."

"Because that so-called 'Holy City' has nothing to do with the Mechanical God Sect."

"It's not the residence of the Holy Trinity."

"Most likely, it's just an intelligent city, larger in scale but similar to Base 011."

"Impossible!"

Zhang Chao, standing next to Guo Xu, suddenly rose to his feet.

"That is the residence of God! There...."

Halfway through his words, he suddenly found himself unable to continue.

He knew that the person in front of him had absolutely no reason to lie to him.

Not because they couldn't, but because they didn't want to, or even disdain to.

So, what she said was most likely true...

The three of them turned their eyes towards Jin Zhong, who stood by quietly, seemingly hoping to hear a denial from him as their last comfort and hope.

But Jin Zhong just shook his head.

"Ji Xing is right."

"It is not the Holy Land."

At this moment, Guo Xu felt as if all the strength in his body had been drained.

After a long silence, he finally spoke again:

"What exactly is that place like?"

"How did you get in? Can we still get in?"

"Not for the time being."

Ji Xing shook her head and said:

"But soon, we will launch an attack on that place."

"Attack..."

If it were someone else speaking such blasphemous words in front of Guo Xu, he might have already pointed his gun at the other's head.

But in the presence of the Huaxia Army, he had no confidence.

Because he knew, the other party might truly have the qualifications to say that...

Guo Xu closed his eyes.

After a moment, he opened his mouth and said:

"Have your operations concluded?"

"I want to go with you... to see Jinling New City."

...

An hour later.

After the Holy Blood members led by Ji Xing cleared out the last large monster in the vicinity, the trio of the Forbidden Army and the Holy Blood members embarked on the return journey together.

They exited the forest, returned to the paved road, and boarded the unmanned truck used for personnel transport.

Guo Xu turned back in surprise and then asked:

"How did you manage to find your direction?"

"The environment here has been completely affected, even the compass is useless."

"How do you know which direction you're going?"

"Inertial navigation."

Ji Xing answered casually.

"Inertial navigation..... what is that?"

"It's hard to explain to you."

Ji Xing didn't bother to elaborate.

"If you want to know, when you get to Base 011, you can go to the reading room and find a book."

"Myself?? I can even go?"

Guo Xu was dumbfounded.

In his mind, such 'profound' knowledge is often monopolized, just like the Great Book Collection of the Mechanical God Sect, completely sealed with tight defense.

But listening to Ji Xing now, it seemed the Huaxia Army didn't care at all?

What kind of organization is this...

Ji Xing made a sound of acknowledgement but didn't answer, and Guo Xu wisely didn't continue to ask.

The group rode back in the direction of Base 011, and it wasn't until the convoy arrived at the riverside that he finally realized that his original location was very close to Jinling City.

They were now on the opposite bank of Jiangning Town, no more than 30 kilometers north to Jinling City.

"We actually circled such a big circle..."

Guo Xu said with clicking sounds:

"I thought we were heading west, but in reality, we were heading south."

"What kind of monster was it, capable of affecting the surrounding magnetic field..."

"The magnetic field was not affected."

Jin Zhong, sitting beside him, interjected:

"Your compass got demagnetized."

"The device you found has strong interference; any magnetic object close to it will be affected----the Huaxia Army tested it before."

"I see..."

Guo Xu nodded thoughtfully and suddenly asked:

"You understand these things too?"

"Just learned it."

Jin Zhong didn't say much, but at that moment, Guo Xu felt an indescribable emotion surge in his heart.

In fact, until recently, he had his reservations about Jin Zhong.

Although secretly, he could understand Jin Zhong's actions against the Church Protection Army in Liangxi City, which did nothing truly beneficial, no matter what, what he did was still betrayal.

But now, after having committed an act of betrayal himself, he came to realize that perhaps Jin Zhong's choice was right, in a certain sense.

And as for himself?

He was now heading to the territory controlled by the Huaxia Army.

Could it be possible that he too would then... completely betray?

The thought sent chills down Guo Xu's spine.

A word suddenly flashed in his mind, a term that hadn't been mentioned in a long time.

Mimic Heretics.

Those Mimic Heretics that could cause a thought plague.

If the Huaxia Army was still burdened with this 'sin', he would probably be regarded as an 'epidemic infection' too, right?

What fate would he face then?

Complicated thoughts kept clashing in his mind, and Guo Xu fell silent, eventually drifting off to sleep.

In truth, such a slumber should be more fittingly called a coma.

After all, his physical strength had been completely exhausted, and he couldn't hold on any longer.

Fuzzily, for an unknown amount of time, a loud crash suddenly sounded in his ears.

Immediately after, someone pushed his shoulder to wake him up.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in an unfamiliar city.

----To call it a city doesn't quite fit.

It resembled more of a small town.

Densely packed, low buildings formed a residential area, while vast fields stretched around the perimeter.

The convoy stopped at a square, where many people were moving about, seemingly engaging in transactions with merchants.

This place was prosperous.

That was Guo Xu's first impression.

Completely different from the 'war-torn, devastated city' he had expected, this Jinling New City seemed like it hadn't suffered from monster attacks at all.

And then, after disembarking, he saw more familiar things.

This gave him a second impression of Jinling City.

Its potential was boundless.

The newly built and under-construction workshops, the black smoke billowing from chimneys, the machinery, the workers dressed in uniform.....

Wasn't this a rising city?

Curiously, Guo Xu inspected everything before him, and just then, a person in armor approached him.

He could tell at a glance that this was the 'commander' of the Huaxia Army.

He just didn't know which of the four commanders he was.

"Welcome."

The person extended their hand to Guo Xu.

"My name is Chen Jian, one of the persons in charge here."

"You're the Forbidden Army Leader, Guo Xu, right?"

Guo Xu nodded immediately and then shook Chen Jian's extended hand.

"Yes, I'm Guo Xu."

"Thank you for your contribution."

Chen Jian said with a smile:

"I thought we wouldn't have the chance to meet, but apparently, you're very fortunate."

"Of course, this is also the good fortune for all of us."

"You can stay here for a while, rest, or look around, whichever you prefer."

"If you want to return to Jinling City, we can also arrange transportation to take you back."

"However, it will be at least until tomorrow morning."

"We hope to express our gratitude to you, is that okay?"

"Sure, no problem at all."

Guo Xu nodded, then shook the extended hand of Chen Jian.

"Yes, I'm Guo Xu."

"Thank you for your sacrifice and dedication during the Beast Tide."

His tone was neither obsequious nor arrogant.

He spoke with the awareness that he was representing...

The last face of the Divine Sect.

"Then it's settled."

Chen Jian raised his hand and pointed to the main passage of Base 011 behind him.

"Head towards the main passage over there."

"Once you've rested, I'll come talk to you, is that okay?"

"That's fine."

Guo Xu nodded and, after saying goodbye, followed Zhang Chao and Liu Hao into the direction of the main passage.

Meanwhile, Chen Jian stayed where he was.

The voice of He Shuo came through his earpiece.

"Make sure they don't leave."

"The plan for the city will be based on utilizing them."

"If we execute it well..."

"We might even take this city directly!"

"I understand."

Chen Jian nodded slightly.

"I won't let them leave."

"However, you need to ensure the progress of the airport on your side as well."

"Whether Lin Yu survives in Mountain City... depends on how well we drop those nuclear bombs!"