Guo Xu looked in the direction Chen Jian pointed, then dragged over a box of explosives and placed it in front of Chen Jian.

"What are the explosives for?"

He asked.

"To seal the passage."

"There are three passages leading underground nearby, and from what we can see, the structure at the exits isn't very sturdy."

"If an uncontrollable risk occurs, we can directly collapse the passages to buy us time to retreat."

"I've marked the detonation spots on the map."

"Once the operation starts, place the explosives according to my instructions."

"... Understood!"

Guo Xu nodded solemnly, taking the explosives with detonators already set from Chen Jian's hands.

"When setting them, put the detonators into the explosives' fuse slots, for now, keep them safe."

"Li Shi, bring a heavy machine gun and carry the spare ammo."

"Let's go, move out!"

"Understood!"

At this moment, Ji Xing and Li Shi, who were already geared up, immediately stood up.

Meanwhile, Zhang Chao and Liu Hao aimed the barrels of the heavy machine gun and sniper grenade launcher at the tunnel entrance less than 500 meters away, as instructed by Chen Jian.

In case of an unexpected situation, they would provide the strongest firepower support for Chen Jian and the others.

The group of four moved continuously downward along the building. At two entrances, Ji Xing and Guo Xu set up the explosive devices as per Chen Jian's requirements.

Then, the four continued forward, heading in the direction of the tunnel.

"The surrounding environment is secure."

Liu Hao's voice came through the radio.

Compared to Zhang Chao and Guo Xu, he seemed to adapt more quickly to the Huaxia Army's combat style.

"I've already got the tunnel entrance in my sights."

"This thermal imager can only see a dozen meters inside the entrance."

"Beyond that, I can't see from my position."

"Understood."

Chen Jian briefly replied:

"It's enough."

"Unlock the safety catch, activate the fire control system, and be prepared for suppressive fire at any moment."

"Roger, roger."

Liu Hao's voice was calm, which slightly eased Chen Jian's tension.

At this time, the team was less than two hundred meters from the tunnel. Chen Jian raised his hand to signal a slowdown in their advance while assembling a weapon mount, aiming at the direction of the tunnel.

"Follow me, advance in a single linear formation."

As the order was given, the four who were originally spread out horizontally quickly closed in, advancing slowly with Chen Jian leading.

"That smell is getting stronger and stronger."

"It's clearly emanating from underground."

"But strangely, the park direction also has the same smell."

Ji Xing murmured softly. Chen Jian nodded slightly, then asked:

"Do you smell blood from Lin Yu and the others?"

"In the direction of the tunnel, it's very strong."

"Very strong?"

Chen Jian felt a bad premonition, and just then, he suddenly noticed a large area of dried blood at the tunnel entrance.

Instinctively, he quickened his pace, and upon reaching the bloodstained area, he ordered again:

"Li Shi, Guo Xu, open the thermal fusion night vision, set up a fire point, and be on alert inside the tunnel."

"Ji Xing, come here and take a look!"

"Roger."

Ji Xing promptly stepped forward, then she frowned slightly after surveying the area and said:

"These two bloodstains don't come from the same person."

"But there's no strange smell in the bloodstains."

"The blood closer to the entrance belongs to the owner of the cloth strip we had, but the farther blood belongs to another Holy Blood."

"He must be dead already."

"There's a smell of brain matter in the bloodstain."

"But his body..."

"The situation is not good."

Ji Xing didn't finish her sentence, but Chen Jian already understood her meaning.

The situation indeed wasn't good.

Based on the scene, at least two members of Lin Yu's team encountered an attack here, with one of them dying on the spot.

Where's the body of the one who died?

Given the urgency of their situation, even if some survived, they wouldn't have had time to carry the body and properly dispose of it.

So, there's only one answer.

They were completely annihilated, and the Mountain City People underground had come to the surface to clear the bodies.

What does this mean?

This means Mountain City hasn't lost its ability to counterattack.

They were merely hibernating underground temporarily for caution after the two nuclear explosions, but it doesn't mean they can't return to the surface and launch an attack!

"Set up the explosive devices."

"Li Shi, advance 15 meters into the tunnel and lay down the mines."

"Drone, take off, enter the tunnel, and establish a signal relay."

"Understood!"

"Roger."

With Chen Jian's command, the atmosphere of the team instantly became tense.

The small drone buzzed as it took off, heading deep into the tunnel.

Li Shi followed closely behind the drone, setting three infrared-triggered mines at Chen Jian's designated positions.

Once completed, he quickly retreated to Chen Jian's side, then lay prone on the ground, deploying the tripod of the 301 heavy machine gun, aiming deep into the tunnel.

The dense fog obscured everyone's view, but through the thermal fusion night vision, nothing was hidden.

Chen Jian streamed the drone's signal to the smart goggles, staring intently at the footage.

Before his eyes, he saw an unremarkable passage, so ordinary he thought he might have found the wrong place.

No lights, no cameras, no cellular network base stations, and no common environmental systems in underground fortifications.

It was truly just a bare tunnel.

The drone continued its descent, and as it passed the third arc turn, the signal began to become unstable.

"Establish relay."

Chen Jian ordered again.

"Drone 2, commence entry."

"Understands."

Ji Xing, beside him, quickly piloted the drone to take off, flying smoothly.

After overtaking the first drone, the two established a signal relay, and Drone 2 continued to penetrate further inside.

The 3D modeling imagery became increasingly complete and clear. Chen Jian realized this was a spiraling downward tunnel.

He didn't know how deep the tunnel was, only hoping its depth wouldn't exceed the signal relay's range.

----And as he hoped, after passing two more arc turns, Drone 2 reached the depths of the tunnel.

Undoubtedly, there it was, the real entrance!

The massive, heavy, sealed isolation door stood there, silently guarding the deepest secret of the city.

Chen Jian took over the drone's control, navigating it in circles within the chamber revealed by the tunnel's lens.

The 3D model gradually formed, and through the drone's perspective, Chen Jian saw clearly that the ground of the chamber was stained with large patches of blood!

"There was a very intense battle here."

Chen Jian said gravely:

"All the blood spatter indicates a significant struggle, and there are bullet marks on the walls too."

"Someone engaged in a gunfight here."

"This is very strange."

"Lin Yu's team isn't supposed to be proficient in firearms, so how did such an intense gunfight occur?"

"Even if it occurred, in such a confined space, it shouldn't have been so intense."

"They can't be faster than bullets if the battle occurred in this chamber, it should have ended very swiftly."

"But here it didn't..."

"There are over a hundred bullet marks; the firefight lasted a long time."

"What really happened here..."

Chen Jian's voice gradually trailed off, and just then, Ji Xing's expression suddenly changed.

"To the side!"

Chen Jian instinctively turned the drone to look to the side.

In an instant, a shadow flickered by.

The next second, the signal was lost!

"There's someone!"

"Fall back fifty meters, re-establish the firepoint and get ready to engage!"

"Drone 1, retreat!"

"That thing moves fast!"

"Try to capture as much of it as you can!"

"Understood!"

The four of them sprang to their feet, sprinting back in a retreat.

At this moment, the figure that destroyed the drone reverberated with loud footsteps in the tunnel, continually advancing towards Drone 1's direction.

Their speed was faster than the drone's flight speed!

Chen Jian's heart began to pound furiously, and as Drone 1 was finally caught up, he saw the shape of that shadow.

It was a person.

A person wearing a fully enclosed helmet and flexible armor!

More than one!

At least ten of them!

They carried weapons that Chen Jian couldn't identify, and they were about to cross the last bend.

There was no more time.

Chen Jian decisively ordered:

"Suppress with the heavy machine gun!"

"Thermobaric rockets! Give me two rounds!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.