The smoke cleared, leaving the ground covered with bodies.
Every member of the Holy Blood Team was stunned, but Chen Jian wore a worried expression.
The reason was simple: after this round, they were truly running out of ammunition.
He was down to his last 40 rounds of 5.8mm bullets, Shen Yue's 7.62 was completely spent, with only the last 30 rounds reserved for He Shuo's 26 sniper.
The four of them combined had only three grenades left, with each having one magazine for their pistols.
The only surplus was Lei Jie's pistol ammo, totaling 120 rounds, barely enough for a standard load.
If they encountered another large-scale battle, their team would be as good as unarmed.
---- But actually, there is still a difference.
After all, they still had a massive bomb capable of flattening a 5-kilometer radius.
If worst comes to worst, they could just detonate it.
Maybe after being blown to bits, they'd wake up to see Guang Bang Yi covering him with a greatcoat?
Though the thought of that scene was a bit terrifying, it was still better than being eaten by monsters...
Thinking of this, Chen Jian shook his head in amusement.
Xu Lie, seeing his expression, mistakenly thought he was mocking the reckless converts, and immediately felt a deep respect.
This is true strength!
In the midst of banter, he took down hundreds of fearless converts that even troubled the Holy Blood Team, scaring the other remnants in the city into hiding, and he still seemed to relish it, even laughing!
This kind of mindset is at a strong level anywhere.
So, Xu Lie, somewhat fawningly, approached Chen Jian and said:
"Hey... we've finished fighting, can we withdraw now?"
"Let's wait a bit longer."
Chen Jian waved his hand and said:
"We should pick up the shell casings first."
"Pick up shell casings?"
Xu Lie didn't understand.
He naturally knew that firing bullets would produce shell casings, but he had no clue what use they could be.
Even if they were to be taken back as metal scrap, they wouldn't be worth much, would they?
Chen Jian noticed his confusion but was too lazy to explain further.
After all, even he didn't know if reloading the shells was feasible.
Other people had finished gunpowder and bullets for reloading; without any of that, could the power really hold up, even if they managed?
They could only try.
In silence, they picked up all the shell casings, filling a small bag to the brim.
One of the Holy Blood Team, Li Shi, naturally took the bag and hung it on his waist, grinning at Chen Jian.
Clearly, he was beginning to see Chen Jian and his team as the backbone.
In a world where the strong survive, power often equates to voice, and on that point, even Xu Lie, who was supposed to lead the four Holy Blood members, had nothing to say.
The group stepped over the corpses, preparing to head out of the city.
It was already past four in the afternoon, the sun was setting to the west, and the shadows of the buildings were stretching long, like projections of some monsters.
Chen Jian ordered He Shuo and Lei Jie to launch drones to scout the route; only after confirming there were no more converts blocking the way did he give the order to proceed.
The four from the Holy Blood Team were quite curious about this, yet felt inappropriate to ask.
Only after they exited the city, successfully settled at the Holy Blood Team's campsite, and lit a fire did Xu Lie finally ask:
"Those mechanical birds... what are they exactly?"
Chen Jian hesitated for a moment and answered:
"A kind of reconnaissance equipment."
"Like a falcon?"
"Yes, like a falcon."
"Amazing..."
Xu Lie exhaled a long breath and continued:
"Almost all your equipment is beyond our comprehension—except some of your weapons, which I've seen something similar to in the Mechanical God Sect."
"This is completely different from what I imagined a strongman to be."
"To be honest, it's different from what most people imagine a strongman to be."
"What do you imagine a strongman to be?"
Chen Jian asked while sorting through the remaining ammunition.
"Faster speed, greater strength, harder body, more agile reflexes—these are the pursuits of the Holy Blood."
"Bigger guns, bigger artillery, thicker armor—these are the pursuits of the Mechanical God Sect."
"I always thought strength was choosing between the two."
"But now it seems... that's not the case."
When Xu Lie finished speaking, Chen Jian laughed quietly and said:
"Actually, our pursuits aren't that different from those of the Mechanical God Sect. We want what they want."
"No, you don't."
Xu Lie decisively denied, saying:
"I don't know you, but I'm not stupid."
"What you pursue isn't bigger and thicker; you pursue more powerful lethality."
"I don't know how you've achieved this, but the power of that gun in your hand might be stronger than an entire combat squad of the Mechanical God Sect."
"I would dare say if you had the capability, you might hide world-destroying power in a small pocket."
"That's your difference from them... perhaps you are truly the chosen, holding divine truths."
By the end, Xu Lie's expression was somewhat wistful, and the other Holy Blood members felt the same.
Chen Jian was silent for a moment, then said:
"We do indeed hold certain truths, but those truths... aren't divinely granted."
"Not divinely granted? Well, that's not important."
Xu Lie shifted the conversation and, somewhat embarrassedly, asked:
"Can you help me with this handgun? It always shoots inaccurately."
"I sent it to the Mechanical God Sect, and those fools said it's because the gun's Mechanical Soul is uneasy. They soaked it in some unknown liquid for a few days, but it only made it rustier."
"So, did it work better?"
Chen Jian asked sarcastically.
"Obviously not; it started jamming instead."
While saying this, Xu Lie handed over the handgun.
Chen Jian shook his head, quickly took it apart into pieces in no time.
Xu Lie was taken aback, but after seeing Chen Jian's experienced moves, he felt this might actually be the right approach...
"The recoil spring isn't elastic enough, and the magazine spring is nearly useless."
"The rifling is fine; it hasn't been fired much."
"The firing pin is also broken, rusted dull."
"Find something to sharpen it—Shen Yue, pass me the dagger."
Shen Yue handed over the dagger, and Chen Jian quickly sharpened the firing pin, then said:
"However, the jamming isn't due to these issues I mentioned—you loaded the wrong bullets."
"This is a 9X19 gun, and you've mixed in several 9X18 rounds; it's lucky it hasn't exploded in your face.."
"Don't you check the length and shape of the bullets before loading them?"
"... We all thought if it fits, it fires."
"You all thought?"
Chen Jian looked up in astonishment, while the four from the Holy Blood Team nodded together, their expressions even somewhat naive.
"... Never mind, Lei Jie, share some bullets with him, 12 rounds will do."
"Sure."
While counting out the bullets, Lei Jie curiously asked:
"What model is this gun?"
"I don't know."
Chen Jian shook his head and answered:
"Looks like some knockoff model of a Beretta 8000—never mind, we're not using it anyway."
"True."
Chen Jian's disdain was apparent, while Xu Lie was already dumbfounded.
Such precious bullets, just given away like that??
He took the bullets numbly, not knowing that Chen Jian was thinking that since they're small-caliber, a few rounds more or less make no difference, might as well do a good deed...
Seeing Xu Lie's issue resolved in an instant, Xie Liu, who had been watching, also couldn't sit still.
She coughed slightly, somewhat nervously, before asking:
"Div... Divine Chosen, can you also handle the potion issues?"