Chapter 47: The Rat Extermination Operation
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Facing more than twenty “mole rats,” it was impossible to eliminate them all quietly. From the start, Chen Jian never issued an order for a silent kill. His goal was to end the fight as quickly as possible and withdraw within the shortest time. There was no need to worry about noise awakening the lurking level-three monster; even within a nearly 30-kilometer radius, it would take time to reach the scene, no matter how close it was. As long as they didn’t leave any “guides” behind, his squad could retreat at full speed to a safe distance.
Thus, immediately after descending the stairs, Chen Jian ordered all members to spread out on the spot and confront the approaching mole rats head-on, deliberately provoking the conflict. At the same time, the Holy Blood warriors switched to combat mode and rushed full speed toward the direction Chen Jian indicated.
After circumventing a large patch of shrubs growing through cracks in the asphalt, Chen Jian spotted the first enemy. Without hesitation, his 191 pistol fired instantly. Accompanied by the gunshot, 5.8mm bullets tore through the creature’s skull. Blood splattered and brains splashed about; the monster collapsed without even a grunt, only its reflexive muscles twitching as its body convulsed.
The remaining mole rats, seemingly startled by the gunshots, stood upright, their heads turning wildly as if trying to locate the source of the sound. Observing their large, upright ears, Chen Jian began to understand their hunting method. When they couldn’t hear anything, they relied on their olfactory organs to track targets. When they could hear sounds, they used their ears and eyes to search! These were undoubtedly natural reconnaissance units. Chen Jian even suspected they possessed echolocation like bats because as they turned their heads, their throats moved as if to produce sound, but he couldn’t hear anything himself.
Amazing—they came equipped with built-in radar.
Chen Jian’s movements were relentless. After killing one monster, he quickly shifted position and felled another attempting to flee. At the same time, he loudly commanded, “Don’t focus on killing yet, just surround them!”
“Understood!”
“Copy that!”
Responses came through the earpieces. A moment later, intermittent gunfire from a 201 general-purpose machine gun sounded from the north, directly opposite Chen Jian.
“Bang, bang, bang, bang—”
After several short bursts, the mole rats panicked and moved southward. They had clearly recognized Chen Jian’s squad as enemies but showed no desire to fight back. On the contrary, they wanted to run.
“Don’t let them escape!”
“Xu Lie! Lead your team in and hold them back!”
“Got it!”
Xu Lie’s muffled voice came through his old radio on a special frequency. Seconds later, Chen Jian saw the Holy Blood squad charging into the mole rat swarm.
He had thought exterminating these mole rats would be a simple task for the Holy Blood warriors, like cutting through melons and vegetables. However, Xu Lie’s progress was far from smooth. The mole rats were quick, and in the dense underbrush, their quadrupedal crawling gave them an advantage.
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The long blade in Zeng Yi’s hand should have been the deadliest weapon, but at moments like this, his sword strokes were constantly blocked by branches and bushes. After several swings, he finally managed to kill one mole rat!
He felt powerless.
Their “pursuit” was also swift, but even when they caught up, they couldn’t land a successful strike. What could they do?
No wonder previous Holy Blood scouts had fallen here—not because they were outmatched, but because they couldn’t catch or block the mole rats, which then alarmed the real monsters.
They were unreliable.
Chen Jian adapted quickly and immediately ordered, “Holy Blood warriors, fall back! Seal off all other escape routes!”
“We’re going to throw grenades!”
“Understood!”
Upon receiving the orders, Xu Lie’s team swiftly dispersed. At the same time, Chen Jian and a few others readied their 82-2P1 grenades. With a crisp “click,” the grenade handles snapped open.
The detonator ignited the explosive inside, and in an instant, high-velocity steel balls shredded the low shrubs to bits and embedded themselves deeply into the mole rats.
After four explosions, at least seven or eight mole rats lay motionless on the ground.
The remaining ones retracted the “scent sacs” on their backs, crouched low, and fled desperately.
Now came the hardest part!
How could they exterminate all of them in a terrain full of cover and poor visibility, when the enemy didn’t even actively attack, but just ran headlong?
This was undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges in the history of warfare. Even the Americans had to resort to a special “orange juice” solution.
Chen Jian’s problem was even more complicated because his enemies didn’t even know how to use guns—they just ran blindly forward!
That was why Chen Jian had to be decisive and trap them in the low shrubs. If they escaped into the taller northern woodland, not even drones could track them.
“Xu Lie! Head north!”
“Don’t let a single one escape!”
“Got it!”
Xu Lie sounded breathless, clearly indicating this was not his favored combat environment.
Chen Jian pushed through the dense bushes, unable to increase his speed. Instantly, he switched his exoskeleton from marching mode to combat mode.
Suddenly, he felt as if he had gone from hell to heaven.
What bushes? What branches?
A single sweep shattered them.
With his heavy weight amplified by the exoskeleton, the shrubs ahead were no longer obstacles.
His speed surged. Lei Jie and Shen Yue imitated him, and in less than half a minute, the three reached a new interception point.
“Bang, bang!”
“Bang, bang—”
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“Rat-a-tat—”
After several intermittent gunshots, only three mole rats remained, charging toward the positions Xu Lie and Zeng Yi had reached ahead of time.
Two men versus three monsters—surely they could stop them?
But no.
Zeng Yi swung his blade and felled one mole rat.
Xu Lie shot down another.
The last one deftly curved around, darting past Xu Lie’s feet. Xu Lie swung his blade with the other hand but missed.
By the time he tried to turn back, the mole rat had vanished into the thick underbrush, completely out of sight.
“Damn!”
Chen Jian cursed and immediately ordered, “Xu Lie! Move to the side!”
At once, the weapon mounts on his exoskeleton unfolded, and two micro-missiles from his wrist bow roared out.
At this moment, Chen Jian didn’t care whether the missiles’ infrared tracking modules would mistakenly lock onto Xu Lie. In theory, a distance of over 100 meters was too far for the tracking to activate.
If it hit him, he’d just have to consider it bad luck.
Fortunately, Xu Lie was lucky—or at least quick enough to leap aside.
Neither missile locked onto him. They flew past his original position about ten meters away.
The next moment, the missiles detonated upon hitting the ground.
Debris flew everywhere, along with shattered remains of the monsters.
As the dust settled, Xu Lie asked nervously, “What was that you just fired?”
“Don’t worry about what it was.”
Chen Jian fixed his gaze on the images flowing across his smart goggles.
Just moments ago, the hovering drone sent out a new alert—an abnormal heat source warning.
The gunfire and explosions here had indeed disturbed that monster.
Less than three kilometers away by Tangxun Lake, a massive creature was coming ashore.
No wonder they hadn’t found it before.
This thing was amphibious!
“Move out quickly!”
“Everyone, retreat toward Baishazhou Bridge. Lure it away from the city to gain an artillery strike vantage point.”
“Drones maintain aerial reconnaissance.”
“I want to see what this thing really is!”