After a brief rest in Cangzhou City, Chen Jian led the team to continue north as planned and arrived in Jinmen by dusk that day.
On the way, they did not encounter any obstacles.
But perhaps, the lack of obstacles is the biggest obstacle.
Unlike their journey from Jinling to Quan City, where they fought all the way, they couldn’t find many traces of monsters even when actively searching.
Even when they found some, those monsters quickly retreated as if they sensed their presence.
This filled Chen Jian with great unease.
He was not afraid of monsters, nor was he afraid of intelligent monsters.
But if intelligent monsters not only have strategies but also possess high organizational skills and decision-making abilities that "defy instinct," then things don’t seem too good.
Chen Jian clearly felt that the true essence of the so-called "Beast Tide" was far from as simple as those forces on the wasteland assumed.
The controller behind it might be a presence so powerful that it surpasses many forces’ comprehension.
It is precisely for this reason that they know nothing about this "controller," and can’t even sense their existence, something so simple.
If this were true, then the problem facing the Huaxia Army would be extraordinarily large.
Can those monsters really be eliminated by relying solely on nuclear warheads?
Chen Jian couldn’t provide an answer.
He could only temporarily put aside these meaningless thoughts and focus on the immediate matters.
After commanding the convoy to camp outside Jinmen City, set up sentry posts, and assemble the stove, Chen Jian, along with Ji Xing and Lei Jie, planned to go into Jinmen City to check out the situation.
Walking towards the distant faint lights, Chen Jian remarked to Lei Jie:
"Looking at the current situation, it’s not all bad news."
"If we can confirm that the Beast Tide was caused by mechanical parasites similar to the ’Brain Machine’ being manipulated artificially, then it’s evident that the electromagnetic pulses from a nuclear explosion will certainly affect the electronic devices within them."
"We won’t even need a large yield or a large quantity; just one or two nuclear bombs are sufficient to paralyze all the monsters within the range."
"By then, the uncontrolled monsters wouldn’t be able to coexist peacefully, right?"
"They would start a civil war themselves, and we’d have a chance."
Upon hearing this, Lei Jie shook his head and said:
"But that’s only an ideal scenario."
"If the electromagnetic pulse doesn’t work, or even if it does, the monsters still have some kind of action inertia, we still have to fight as planned."
"So, one can never have too many nuclear bombs; we must prepare plenty of reserves."
Chen Jian nodded and said:
"Not only nuclear bombs, but weapon reserves must also keep up."
"Luckily we seized some equipment from Huadu, otherwise relying solely on our production, who knows when we’d be ready."
Lei Jie sighed deeply in agreement and said no more.
By now, the three had reached outside the city walls of Jinmen City, the flickering oil lamps on the walls highlighting the city’s uniqueness.
Unlike the Mechanical God Sect’s controlled zones with electric lights, electronic devices, and various machinery everywhere, life here can be described as quite primitive.
Primitive earthen walls, primitive beacon fires, primitive clothing, primitive farms and buildings....
If it weren’t for the guards standing on the wall with pistols at their waists, and huge radios for communication on their chests, Chen Jian might even suspect he’d traveled from the future apocalyptic world into some martial arts world.
After explaining the situation to the guards at the city gate, and learning they were "important guests from Jinling," the guards immediately let them pass, respectfully performing the Holy Blood Ceremony.
Chen Jian still couldn’t get used to the "raising right hand" gesture, which stirred in him a strong sense of incongruity.
And upon realizing the Holy Blood Temple’s history was formally a research organization, he was even more suspicious that the gesture was forcibly recreated by a leader with unique taste.
If that were true, what would the cities under the Holy Blood Temple be like?
Curiously, Chen Jian walked down the streets of Jinmen City, but soon he found that everything here wasn’t significantly different from what he saw in Jinling.
Aside from slightly dimmer lighting, as an important city and a hub of trade from north to south, Jinmen City’s nightlife was not scarce.
Tons of merchants gathered on the main streets, loudly exchanging information in taverns and street side restaurants.
The air faintly permeated with a hint of alcohol, the scent resembling the rice wine Chen Jian once drank in Han Shui City.
"It seems the material conditions here aren’t lacking----simply being able to make liquor from surplus grain distinguishes the city’s productivity level from other small cities."
After Chen Jian’s remark, Ji Xing beside him continued:
"Indeed it is, but it’s not entirely the case."
"The reason they can make liquor isn’t actually because there’s surplus grain, but because they rarely eat grain or cereals."
"From Jinmen to Imperial City, and to Liaodong, everyone here primarily eats meat."
"There’s so much prey nearby that many times, the threat from monsters pales compared to the threat from a herd of wild boars."
"I remember my first mission at the Holy Blood Temple was to join a team to clear out wild boars."