"This city is truly strange to the extreme."
Prostrated at the edge of the departure point, Chen Jian kept his eyes fixed on the tunnel exit below, while speaking:
"The exit is already open, but they haven’t continued their attack."
"Just this alone is quite odd." For more chapters visit N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
"What’s even stranger is that these people clearly are normal humans, yet they choose not to live above ground."
"There are obviously perfect constructions and facilities here, all of which are well maintained."
"But they make no use of them at all... The only means of transport, the light rails, are likely reserved as ’engineering facilities’ for unmanned machinery."
"What does this mean? Are these people vampires?"
"Are they afraid of sunlight?"
There was a trace of unease in Chen Jian’s words, while Ji Xing beside him frowned deeply, shaking his head as he said:
"I’ve never heard of any creature in this world that’s afraid of sunlight."
"Even monsters, almost none are afraid of sunlight."
"At most, it’s just some beastly instinct that makes them habitually active at night and inactive during the day."
"Afraid of sunlight... only creatures in ghost stories would be like that, right?"
Chen Jian slowly nodded.
"At first, I really thought the smoke here was some sort of protective measure, but now it seems the smoke is not the purpose, but rather the result."
"This should be steam evaporated by the massive underground constructions generating heat—there should be a giant city underground here."
"The surrounding mountain mass is likely hollowed out... but why?"
"Why, when there is already a massive underground living space, do they still build such a functionless, symbolically significant city on the surface?"
"We need to find a way to speak with someone who knows."
"Either find Lin Yu or catch a Mountain City person."
"For now, it’s impossible for us to find Lin Yu; he’s either dead or captured by the Mountain City People."
"So now, we only have one option left."
"Catch someone alive."
As Chen Jian’s words fell, Guo Xu instantly looked in his direction.
"Catch someone alive?"
He asked in astonishment:
In fact, he now gradually accepted the conclusion that "Mountain City is not the Divine Country, and Mountain City People are not Divine Envoys," but even so, the idea of "catching a Mountain City person alive" seemed too challenging to him.
"Boss, haven’t you noticed? Those Mountain City People are not ordinary people."
"They are quite fast and very strong."
"When they clear the passageways, they can lift boulders with just the strength of one person."
"Their strength is at least on par with the Blood Source among the Holy Blood."
"It’s not difficult for us to kill them; with our firepower, face-to-face combat can easily knock them down as long as they don’t close the distance."
"But to capture them alive...how? Based on what?"
"That’s exactly the problem."
Chen Jian pulled back from the edge of cover and then said:
"We must devise a foolproof plan."
"But the most complicated part of this plan is not how to defeat them, but how to lure them out."
"These Mountain City People act like they have no minds...they don’t respond to language and show no intention of communicating with us."
"On encountering us, they fight; if they can’t win from outside, they retreat inward."
"Now, they clearly lack the desire to openly conflict with us, probably because of the overwhelming threat of the nuclear bomb."
"So, creating an opportunity to capture them alive is not easy."
"What do you think, any ideas?"
As the words fell, everyone in the position fell silent.
In fact, this was everyone’s first time coming to the Mountain City.
And it was everyone’s first contact with the Mountain City People.
The severe lack of information led even basic tactical planning to fall into a major dilemma.
Chen Jian first glanced at Guo Xu, who appeared stunned, then shook his head.
Then, Chen Jian looked at Ji Xing.
The latter lowered her head and frowned, seemingly deep in thought.
It wasn’t until she noticed Chen Jian’s gaze that she finally raised her head.
"I don’t have a particularly good idea."
Ji Xing slowly began.
But before Chen Jian could feel disappointed, she suddenly said:
"However, based on our previous experience entering the Mountain City..."
"These Mountain City People are exceedingly sensitive to the primary monsters surrounding the Mountain City."
"That’s the Mountain City’s barrier... If the barrier is threatened, they will certainly react."
"So...if we want to lure them out, why not directly target the monsters?"
Chen Jian’s eyes moved slightly.
"You’re suggesting getting rid of those primary monsters?"
Ji Xing let out a long breath.
"This is actually something we must do anyway."
"Currently, we can only rely on aerial forces for deployment; the deployment capabilities are too weak."
"Though we’ve now entered the Mountain City, it’s merely entry in name."
"This place is essentially still an isolated island—perhaps this is also why the Mountain City People aren’t in a hurry to wipe us out?"
Chen Jian agreed, looking at Ji Xing.
One must admit, in just a few short months, her growth has been rapid.
Even now, placed in a completely unfamiliar environment, she was beginning to make decisions based on limited information.
"So, we can now clarify our target."
"We need to eliminate the primary monsters on the Mountain City’s periphery."