Chapter 18: The Knowledge of God

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The smoke of battle cleared, revealing the ground littered with corpses. Every member of the Holy Blood Squad was stunned, yet Chen Jian wore a worried frown. The reason was simple: after this round of fighting, their ammunition was truly running out.

He had only forty rounds of 5.8mm bullets left; Shen Yue’s 7.62mm ammo was depleted, leaving just thirty rounds reserved for He Shuo’s 26 sniper rifle. Together, the four had only three grenades remaining, and each pistol still had a single magazine. The only abundance was Lei Jie’s pistol ammunition—one hundred and twenty rounds—barely a decent amount.

If they encountered a large-scale battle again, this squad would be as good as unarmed.

—But there was still a difference.

After all, they carried a massive bomb capable of leveling a five-kilometer radius.

If push came to shove, they could detonate it. Maybe, after being blown to ashes, they’d find themselves transported back, waking up to see a bare-chested A dressing them in a military coat.

Though the thought was terrifying, it was far better than being devoured by monsters here.

With that in mind, Chen Jian shook his head with a wry smile.

Xu Lie, standing beside him, saw the expression and mistakenly thought Chen Jian was mocking the reckless converts. This only deepened his respect.

This was true strength!

In casual banter, they had eliminated over a hundred reckless converts who even troubled the Holy Blooders. The remaining survivors in the city dared not show themselves. Yet Chen Jian still seemed unsatisfied, even smiling!

Such composure marked a true warrior.

With a slightly flattering step forward, Xu Lie approached Chen Jian and whispered, “Um... we’re done fighting. Should we retreat now?”

“Wait a bit longer,” Chen Jian waved his hand. “Let’s gather the shell casings first.”

“Gather shell casings?” Xu Lie was puzzled.

He knew bullets left casings behind but didn’t understand their purpose. Even if they were to be sold as metal, the value was negligible.

Chen Jian noticed his confusion but didn’t bother explaining. After all, even he wasn’t sure if reloading spent casings was feasible. Others’ reloaded rounds came from ready-made powder and bullets; they had nothing. Even if they could reload, would the firepower be adequate?

They could only try.

Silently, the group collected the casings, filling a small bag almost to capacity.

Among the Holy Blooders, Zeng Yi naturally took the bag, hanging it at his waist and smiling broadly at Chen Jian. It was clear he was beginning to see Chen Jian and his companions as the core leaders.

In this world where strength dictated authority, even Xu Lie, leader of the Holy Blooders, had nothing to argue.

Crossing over a field of corpses, the group prepared to set off beyond the city.

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By then, it was past four in the afternoon. The sun dipped westward, casting long shadows from the buildings that resembled monstrous silhouettes.

Chen Jian ordered He Shuo and Lei Jie to launch drones for reconnaissance along their route. Only after confirming no converts lay ahead did he command the squad to continue advancing.

The four Holy Blooders watched curiously but refrained from asking.

It wasn’t until they exited the city, settled at their encampment, and lit a fire that Xu Lie finally broke the silence.

“Those mechanical birds... what exactly are they?”

Chen Jian hesitated briefly before answering, “A kind of reconnaissance device.”

“Like falcons?”

“Yes, like falcons.”

“Fascinating...” Xu Lie exhaled deeply, then continued, “Almost all the equipment you carry is beyond our understanding—except your weapons. I’ve seen similar ones at the Mechanical God Cult.”

“This is nothing like the ‘strong’ I imagined.”

“To be honest, it’s very different from what most people imagine strength to be.”

“What kind of strength do you imagine?”

Chen Jian began sorting through his dwindling ammunition as he asked.

“Faster speed, greater power, tougher bodies, more agile reactions—that’s what the Holy Blooders pursue.”

“Bigger guns, larger cannons, thicker armor—that’s what the Mechanical God Cult seeks.”

“I always thought strength was a choice between the two.”

“But now... it seems not.”

After Xu Lie finished, Chen Jian chuckled softly.

“In truth, our pursuits are quite similar to the Mechanical God Cult’s. They want what we want.”

“No, you don’t,” Xu Lie firmly disagreed.

“I don’t know you well, but I’m no fool.”

“You don’t chase bigger and thicker; you chase greater lethality.”

“I don’t know how you do it, but the firepower in your hands might surpass that of an entire combat company from the Mechanical God Cult.”

“I’d wager that if you had the capability, you’d hide world-destroying power in a tiny pocket.”

“That’s your difference... perhaps you truly are the chosen ones, wielding divine truth.”

His expression grew wistful at the end, as did those of the other Holy Blooders.

Chen Jian paused before saying, “We do grasp certain truths, but those truths... aren’t divine gifts.”

“Not divine gifts? Well, that doesn’t matter.”

Xu Lie shifted topics, sounding a bit embarrassed as he asked, “Could you help me look at this pistol? It’s always inaccurate.”

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“I sent it to the Mechanical God Cult. Those fools said its spirit was restless and soaked it in some liquid for days—but it only rusted more.”

“So, did it get better?”

Chen Jian teased.

“Obviously not. It started jamming instead.”

As he spoke, Xu Lie handed over the pistol.

Chen Jian shook his head, took it, and swiftly dismantled it piece by piece.

Xu Lie’s eyes widened in shock, but watching Chen Jian’s practiced hands, he felt this was the right way to handle it.

“The recoil spring’s elasticity is insufficient; the magazine spring is basically useless.”

“The rifling is still fine, probably hasn’t fired many rounds.”

“The firing pin is damaged, rusted dull.”

“Find something to file it down—Shen Yue, pass me the dagger.”

Shen Yue handed over his dagger, and Chen Jian quickly smoothed the firing pin. Then he added,

“But the main cause of jamming isn’t these—it’s that you loaded the wrong bullets.”

“This is a 9x19 pistol, but you mixed in several 9x18 rounds. It’s a miracle it hasn’t exploded on you...”

“Don’t you check the length and shape of bullets before loading?”

“We all thought as long as it fits, it can fire.”

“You all thought that?”

Chen Jian looked up, stunned. The four Holy Blooders nodded earnestly, somewhat naive.

“...Forget it. Lei Jie, give him some ammo—twelve rounds will do.”

“Okay.”

Lei Jie counted out the bullets, curious: “What model is this pistol?”

“Don’t know.”

Chen Jian shook his head, “Looks like a Beretta 8000 clone—whatever. We don’t use it anyway.”

“True.”

Chen Jian’s disdain was clear, while Xu Lie was dumbfounded.

Such precious ammo, just given away?

He accepted the bullets blankly, unaware that Chen Jian thought, since these were small caliber rounds, a few more or less didn’t matter. Better to use them as a favor...

Seeing Xu Lie’s problem solved instantly, Xie Liu, who had been watching silently, couldn’t hold back.

She cleared her throat nervously and asked, “Cho... chosen one, can you also help with matters of medicine?”

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