Chapter 62: Yellow Stone City
From Hanshui to Huangshi City, according to the old map, there was only one highway available.
Although, according to Zeng Yi, besides the G70 highway, there should be another expressway built after Chen Jian's team crossed over, for the sake of caution, Chen Jian decided to follow the old route guided by the map.
After reorganizing their equipment and replenishing their ammunition, Chen Jian left Shen Yue and Lei Jie to guard the base and take care of the injured Li Shi, while he led the team without pause toward Huangshi City.
With the blessing of the Meow-car, the group of four moved very quickly.
In less than an hour and a half, they were already approaching the urban area of Huangshi.
Chen Jian's biggest concern was that the Bloodsuckers and the Mechanicus here might also be on lockdown simultaneously, but when he raised his binoculars to observe the settlement below, he found no tense atmosphere at all.
Clearly, on this continent devoid of a unified regime, information transmission was not very prompt, even within the ranks of the Bloodsuckers and the Mechanicus.
Coupled with the fact that the team had rushed over against the clock, they had managed to get ahead of the enemy.
By this time, it was already 6:00 AM. The sun was rising, piercing through the clouds to illuminate a settlement not far away that looked completely different from Hanshui City.
A large number of fishing boats and fish rafts, the shimmering fishing nets drying on the shores of the center island, and the strong fishy smell in the air all hinted that this was a settlement whose primary food source was fishing.
Chen Jian lowered his binoculars and said in a low voice:
"He Shuo, establish electromagnetic shielding first and cut off their communications with Hanshui City."
"Zeng Yi, what is the next step of the plan? How do we get in, and how do we obtain information?"
"Go straight in."
Zeng Yi replied:
"The environment of Huangshi City is quite special. Most people live on the island in the center of Dazhi Lake, making it more isolated compared to other settlements. The Blood Temple tried several times but failed to establish a council hall here."
"They do have closer ties with the Mechanicus, though. There is a squad of about ten Mechanicus Skitarii and roughly one or two high-ranking priests who serve as the main administrators of Huangshi City."
"Let's figure out their location first, win their trust, and then try to get information from them."
"We have to contact the Mechanicus people?"
"There's no way around them; valid information should all be in their hands."
Hearing this, Chen Jian frowned and said:
"Then these people cannot be left alive before we leave."
"Why?"
Zeng Yi asked in confusion:
"Since we're leaving anyway, does it make any difference whether they live or die?"
"I'm not saying we can't take them out, but there's no need to take that risk..."
"Leaving them behind is the risk."
Xie Liu, who was standing nearby, interjected:
"They might leak our plan to Hanshui City. By then, we'll have to face monsters and Hanshui City at the same time, which is too much pressure."
"That's right."
Chen Jian nodded and then said:
"Let's move out now. We will maintain directional jamming, and your radios will be unavailable. If there is a problem, fire a warning shot; otherwise, we will enter on our own after one hour."
"Understood."
Zeng Yi picked up his Type 191 rifle, slung the long saber he had thrown and recovered back onto his back, and led Xie Liu off the highway toward Huangshi City.
Chen Jian and He Shuo remained at the vantage point, observing their movements through binoculars.
He saw the two walk to the lakeshore, wave to signal and greet the fishermen in the lake, and then board a fishing boat together, heading toward the island in the center of the lake.
After docking, the two figures disappeared into the dense woods, only to reappear shortly after in the open area of the residential zone.
They seemed to be communicating with the guards in the city, pointing towards the location of Chen Jian and He Shuo on the opposite shore of the lake. The guard nodded and led the two into a building in the center of the city.
A moment later, a small boat rowed out from the island and moored at the lakeshore.
Chen Jian checked the time; thirty minutes had passed since the two boarded the island.
"Let's go. This boat should be here to pick us up."
"Check your equipment, apply camouflage, and get ready to cross."
"Understood."
He Shuo drove the Meow-car off the highway, bypassing the observation lines of sight from Huangshi City with the guidance of a drone, and finally parked the vehicle less than two hundred meters from the lakeshore.
Immediately after, the two approached the lakeshore along the path Zeng Yi had taken and boarded the fishing boat waiting at the bank.
The fisherman rowing the boat was a child who looked under ten years old. Seeing Chen Jian and He Shuo, he asked with a curious expression:
"Are you friends of the Bloodsuckers?"
Chen Jian nodded and replied briefly:
"Yes."
"Are you Bloodsuckers too?"
The child continued. Chen Jian shook his head and answered:
"We are not. We're just ordinary people."
"Not Mechanicus priests either?"
"No."
After these words, Chen Jian expected the child to look disappointed.
To his surprise, a hint of relief actually appeared on the child's face.
"Good thing you're not. If it were them..."
The child did not continue. Chen Jian keenly realized that the meaning hidden behind these words was not simple, so he immediately pressed on:
"If it were them, what would happen?"
The child stopped talking and simply rowed in silence.
Chen Jian and He Shuo exchanged glances, instinctively sliding their hands down to rest on the triggers of their Type 191s.
The lake surface was dead silent. Although there were quite a few fishing boats coming and going, no conversations could be heard, let alone fishing songs or chatter.
Although the sun had risen, casting a sparkling, vibrant sheen across the lake, the surrounding atmosphere was rather oppressive.
Without a sound, Chen Jian entered the internal team communication channel and typed on his tactical eyepiece:
"The intel is wrong."
"Judging from the actual number of fishing boats in use, there is no way there are two thousand people here."
"The scale of this settlement is much smaller than what Zeng Yi said."
"Probably only half the population."
"Agreed."
He Shuo replied briefly. At that moment, the fishing boat rowed by the child had reached the shore, and upon stepping onto the island, Chen Jian became even more certain of his deduction.
This so-called Huangshi City was completely different from Hanshui City.
Although the scale of the residential area was not small, the buildings here were clearly much more dilapidated than those in Hanshui City.
Shortly after stepping onto the island, he had already seen several abandoned buildings.
Yet the architectural style was identical to everything else around them.
In other words, these buildings were constructed after the settlement was formed, and after construction, they were abandoned due to a declining population.
Was it because of that monster called "Mongolia"?
It didn't quite seem like it.
Chen Jian frowned deeply as he followed the child into Huangshi City.
By this time, Zeng Yi and Xie Liu, who had originally entered the building in the center of the city, had also returned, and the four of them successfully rendezvoused within the urban area.
Zeng Yi nodded quietly to Chen Jian, and then led the group toward a residential house on the east side of the residential area.
Upon entering, Chen Jian discovered that this place was actually a crude "inn."
It was so crude that it only had two rooms in total, which the four of them could completely occupy.
----On the other hand, this was good news.
At least, the risk of being spied on was significantly reduced.
After paying the room fee with hard-currency bullets, the group entered the room and closed the door.
Then, Zeng Yi spoke:
"The intel is wrong."
"That monster might be even harder to deal with than we anticipated!"