The negotiations with the Holy Blood Team did not take much time. Once it was confirmed that their location had been exposed, these Holy Blood members, who were all mentally sound and rational, decisively aborted their plan and obediently laid down their weapons as Chen Jian demanded.
And when they entered the temporary shelter and saw the fully armed four-member team, they immediately understood one thing:
It was no surprise that Xu Lie was captured.
It wasn't some trap to lure the enemy deeper; he genuinely couldn't win.
Although no one could name those pieces of equipment, let alone know their purpose, just one glance would make anyone feel the "aesthetic" contained in them.
An aesthetic derived from order and power.
These people definitely did not belong to this world, because even at the stronghold of the Mechanical God Sect, you wouldn't find similar "order".
Yes, they also have guns and cannons.
But they would never stand there like the four-person group in front of them, making people feel that they were ready for anything.
----If it were really the Mechanical God Sect, at this moment they would probably still be wiping their rifles with monster blood, praying that the guns wouldn't explode in the upcoming battle, right?
Compared to the calm, even stern four-person team, the so-called "rituals" of those cultists seemed like a joke...
Therefore, cooperating indeed was the best choice.
The woman at the front carefully avoided the muzzle of Chen Jian's gun, walked up, and helped Xu Lie, who was sitting on the ground, to his feet. After checking his injuries, she turned back to Chen Jian and asked:
"We need to treat his wounds, is that okay?"
"Okay."
Chen Jian nodded in agreement, but never lowered the gun in his hand.
Meanwhile, Xu Lie briefly introduced the situation of their Holy Blood Team.
One doctor, Xie Liu.
One scout, Xu Lie himself.
One Shield Guard, Li Shi, wielding a large steel shield in the left hand and a short-barreled shotgun with a massive caliber in the right hand.
One Ranger, Zeng Yi, fully armored, with a pistol in the belt and a long sword on the back.
This configuration might also be considered a powerful "special ops team" if placed in the era of cold weapons, but from Chen Jian's perspective, it seemed somewhat out of place.....
Damn, medieval war hammer?
Chen Jian felt the blood vessels on his forehead twitching violently, wanting to say something but found himself speechless.
Both sides then fell into an awkward silence, which was finally broken by Doctor Xie Liu after treating Xu Lie's wounds:
"He's not in immediate danger for now... and we need to take down that monster."
"Are you... coming with us?"
Without any unnecessary exchange, Chen Jian nodded and decisively answered:
"Together."
So, in just two minutes, all members who could still move had packed their equipment and stepped out of the shelter.
The parent body was still struggling at the subway exit, but compared to before, half of its body had already probed into the tunnel, seemingly wanting to retreat back to its nest and find a way to recover its injuries.
The three from the Holy Blood Team did not give it this chance.
Upon spotting the target, the three immediately dispersed and assumed a combat formation.
The Shield Guard raised the steel shield and advanced slowly, firing the short-barreled shotgun in the right hand with a roar, and pellets the size of quail eggs flew straight to the most vulnerable part of the monster's back, embedding deeply within.
Chen Jian watched in horror, and after firing the first shot, the Shield Guard had already hung the short-barreled shotgun back on the right side, swiftly reloading it single-handedly.
"Flintlock paper cartridge, very backward."
Chen Jian murmured:
"Though Xu Lie's gun is hard to identify, it's clearly a modern handgun with modern ammunition."
"The technology here is quite chaotic; we might even see cavalry charging with laser guns in the future..."
"I get the same feeling."
Shen Yue nodded thoughtfully, about to say something but quickly got distracted by the three-member team approaching the parent body.
After two consecutive rounds of shooting, the Shield Guard had successfully drawn all of the parent body's aggro.
The surviving tentacles flailed wildly in the air, then slammed down fiercely.
"Boom!"
The Shield Guard took the hit head-on, the heavy steel shield crushed into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Meanwhile, the Ranger had sprinted forward, stepped onto a sturdy piece of ground to the right and leaped high, slashing towards the tentacle that hadn't yet retracted.
"Chhh----"
Blood spurted out, as the Ranger's swordplay quickened over time.
It was then that Chen Jian realized, under the premise of sufficient speed, the efficiency of close-quarters combat using cold weapons seemed indeed higher than that of ranged weapons.
In just half a minute, the remaining four tentacles on the parent body had been severed.
Its tiny forelimbs, long degenerated like those of a T-Rex, couldn't pose a threat to the surrounding Holy Blood Team, as the Ranger deftly dodged the parent body's rolls, inserting a blade into its soft skin that wasn't covered by a keratin layer.
The blade cut downward, and a torrent of blood gushed out, but with the active contraction of the muscle, the bleeding slowed rapidly.
"Potion!"
The Ranger shouted.
Doctor Xie Liu tossed a tightly sealed potion high into the air, which the Ranger caught immediately, breaking it against the sword's hilt before directly stuffing it into the monster's wound.
After a brief wail, the parent body began to thrash violently.
The Holy Blood Team immediately began to retreat, leisurely falling back to a safe distance.
The blood, which had initially stopped, now surged again, leaving Chen Jian with the impression that they were not hunting a monster but slaughtering a pig...
Wasn't this too easy?
Perhaps noticing Chen Jian's expression, Xu Lie, who was injured and did not participate in the battle, took the initiative to explain:
"It's just the clean-up work now, it's naturally simple."
"If you hadn't previously broken its leg and inflicted irreparable injuries, even approaching it would have been a matter of life and death for us."
"Not to mention, precisely slicing its main artery with a sword..."
"In any case, the bounty should rightfully be yours, we don't need much."
"How about two-tenths?"
"We'll see, but I won't let you lose out."
Chen Jian didn't immediately answer; before understanding the world's economic system, he resolutely refrained from saying anything about bounty distribution.
After all, a casual promise might translate into a hefty sum, possibly even the basis for his team's livelihood and safety...
Seeing the resolute look on his face, Xu Lie did not press further.
By this time, the parent body had completely collapsed due to blood loss, and through the night vision goggles, Chen Jian could also see its core temperature plummeting.
"It's dying."
Chen Jian checked the time; it took only 3 minutes and 20 seconds to bleed out and die.
"Yes, once you find the right method, they're not that hard to kill."
"However, it's not that easy either..."
Xu Lie took a deep breath, then continued:
"Things here are concluded."
"We should head inside."
"Where to?"
Chen Jian asked with a frown.
"To its nest."
A mischievous smile appeared on Xu Lie's face as he went on:
"The place where you were deceived into going but didn't manage to reach."
"The Graveyard."