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

Ten minutes later, outside Base 011.

Chen Jian stood in front of Guo Xu, who had just returned from the underground residential area as a representative of the Forbidden Army, and asked:

"How are you? Did you rest well?"

"Very well."

Guo Xu nodded honestly and then continued:

"This place is completely different from what I imagined Base 011 to be... To be honest, now I completely understand why you have no reverence for Mountain City."

"The place you are in is almost no different from the Divine Country described in our teachings."

"You are already in the Divine Country, so it's natural for you not to believe in gods."

At this point, Guo Xu paused, then continued:

"Of course, this doesn't mean I will give up our own beliefs."

"Perhaps taking Mountain City as the Divine Country was our mistake, but a Saint once told us a truth."

"People's worship of faith always relies on clay idols."

"One day, the clay idol will crumble, but the faith will not dissipate with it."

"For me, Mountain City is a clay idol."

"You've shattered it, but... our faith is not so easily broken."

"I understand."

Chen Jian nodded.

He had anticipated Guo Xu's reaction.

After all, being chosen as the Forbidden Army Leader by Zhang Tao, his loyalty to the Mechanical God Sect was unquestionable.

Jin Zhong alone had taken so much time, gone through so many trials, to finally stand on the side of the Huaxia Army, and even then, he hadn't fully accepted the atheistic ideology of the Huaxia Army. So how could this man in front of him possibly bend the knee just after staying in the base overnight?

It still needs to be approached slowly.

Thinking of this, Chen Jian continued to speak:

"In fact, I don't intend to change or question your beliefs."

"These things aren't something I can accomplish just by speaking. Right and wrong, you need to gradually see for yourself."

"The reason I kept you here, the reason I found you, is to discuss another matter."

"Another matter?"

Guo Xu was stunned for a moment and then asked:

"What is it?"

"First, answer me a question."

Chen Jian looked into Guo Xu's eyes and asked:

"Do you want to see Mountain City?"

Upon hearing this, Guo Xu froze in place.

Do you want to see Mountain City?

Isn't that obvious?

For any follower of the Mechanical God Sect, one life-long pursuit is definitely "going to the Holy City."

If it weren't for the fact that the mysterious city is too dangerous, countless people would have embarked on a pilgrimage.

Therefore, the answer to this question is actually already certain.

No need to even answer.

Guo Xu nodded slowly and said:

"Of course, I do."

After receiving his reply, Chen Jian acknowledged with a hum and then straightforwardly said:

"We plan to organize a reconnaissance of Mountain City in the near future."

"You?"

Guo Xu looked at Chen Jian in astonishment.

"Soon?"

"When exactly?"

"Within two days."

Chen Jian answered:

"First, we will conduct aerial reconnaissance, using drones and bombers to take high-altitude photographs and mapping of the city."

"Once safety is confirmed, we will enter through high-altitude parachuting."

"I'm not sure if you know what parachuting is... but that's not important."

"What we need is an elite, efficient, and determined team."

"And three of you here just happen to meet those criteria."

"Us??"

Guo Xu was dumbfounded.

"Why do you need us? Are you really that short on people?"

"Your army may not be large, but it should be enough to dispatch an elite squad, right?"

His tone carried a trace of suspicion, which was also within Chen Jian's expectation.

After all, from any perspective, this "invitation" seemed somewhat abrupt.

It's normal for him not to trust it; if he had agreed without hesitation the moment he received the invitation, then something would indeed be fishy.

However, Chen Jian had already prepared a reason for his invitation.

----it's not even a reason, but a real reason.

"I have three considerations."

"First, you have rich individual combat experience and have already proven your willpower and abilities in previous battles with the Beast Tide."

"Once we enter Mountain City, everything will be unpredictable. We need people like you to serve as the core pillars of the team."

"And these traits are something we currently lack in our team."

"Even if I could find someone with abilities comparable to yours, I couldn't send them on such a dangerous mission, as it would be a major blow to our team's development."

"...Fair enough."

Guo Xu nodded reluctantly.

He could tell that Chen Jian was simply reluctant to risk his high-level combat personnel and had thus set his sights on him.

What can I say?

It's uncomfortable to hear, but at least it's honest.

So he said:

"Go on."

Chen Jian didn't hold back and continued:

"Second, I plan to mix members from the Mechanical God Sect, Holy Blood, and ordinary people within this team."

"The purpose is simple, to verify some of our conjectures about Mountain City."

"You'll understand what exactly when we get there."

"Understood."

Guo Xu didn't press further, but he could vaguely guess what Chen Jian wanted to verify.

The two biggest forces on the post-apocalyptic wasteland are the Holy Blood Temple and the Mechanical God Sect, and now the Huaxia Army is certain that Mountain City is the source of many anomalies.

So pulling members of the Mechanical God Sect into their team is most likely to verify the "connection."

Seeing his reaction, Chen Jian realized the other party was not resistant, so he continued:

"The last consideration, and the most important one."

"We need someone like you, a truly loyal believer, to witness the truth."

"Even if we don't question your faith, you at least have the duty to convey the correct perspective to the followers, rather than allowing a city responsible for great disasters to be worshipped as a faith object."

"...You want me to personally bring the shattered clay idol to the followers?"

"Exactly."

Chen Jian nodded solemnly.

"You should know, even from the perspective of the Mechanical God Sect, someone has to do this, right?"

"...Yes."

Guo Xu nodded slowly.

The worship of clay idols had indeed become a heavy burden for the Mechanical God Sect; this was an undeniable fact.

And as a devout believer, indeed, there are things he needs to do to change the current state of the church.

Thinking of this, Guo Xu spoke slowly but firmly:

"I accept your mission."

"When do we set off?"

A flash of joy flickered in Chen Jian's eyes.

He then said:

"Very soon."

"We have two comrades trapped in that city."

"If we don't establish contact with them quickly..."

"They probably won't last much longer."