Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Beggar Returns Home
The battle will not stop immediately after the "fireworks" are set off.
This version of the poison gas bomb is not lethal to the Fallen Insects; it can only temporarily incapacitate them, so there is still another round of bombing.
This is a waste of ammunition, but this step must not be skipped.
The few who escaped being driven into the "sheepfold" did not pursue the fallen insects, but instead carried out a round of bombing and clearing before heading to the mother nest.
There was a second line of Fallen Insects in front of the mother nest, but the resistance of the Fallen Insects guarding this line was negligible, and they were quickly driven back underground.
The process of transporting the mother insect had already stopped when the action team bombed it. The reconnaissance aircraft observed that the last two vehicles in this wave of transport vehicles were not loaded and had escaped.
After the ground resistance forces of the Mother Nest were cleared out, all the teams got off their vehicles and rushed to various locations with the scrap steel plates, old woven bags, and other materials they had prepared beforehand.
Everyone had memorized the locations of all the exits on the ground of the mother nest, and there was already a division of labor.
Apart from the few openings in the southeast that had been selected long ago, the team members welded the remaining small openings together with layers of old steel plates, steel bars, and wire mesh, and then weighed them down with woven bags filled with sand.
Several large holes, such as pedestrian and freight tunnels and shafts, have been bombed. Some have been blocked, while others have revealed even larger exits.
In addition to blocking these exits with layers of heavy, locally sourced rubble, the group also buried a large ring of landmines around them.
Each squad's territory was designated in advance, and in addition to blocking the tunnel, they were required to guard their respective areas.
The carefully designed and heavily fortified construction work was completed two hours later, and the underground insects remained silent!
The combat teams had a chance to catch their breath, while the medical and purification teams began to move about busily.
Of course, purification could not be delayed. While the action team was bombing and heading towards the mother hive, the purifiers performed a round of emergency purification.
After two hours of meditation and rest, the purified ones, having recovered, were only checking for any omissions and performing supplementary purification on some team members whose mutations were not severe but were still somewhat dangerous.
Lin Jiaran is undoubtedly the core figure among the four remaining purifiers.
Her purification is swift, thorough, and leaves one feeling extremely relaxed and happy!
Because those who had been purified by her all developed a certain degree of attachment to her, they all addressed her with utmost respect and friendliness as "Chief Lin".
"I never thought I'd get to enjoy the purification from a base's chief purifier!" A male soldier with a small mole on his nose from the Southeast Squad looked at Lin Jiaran's departing figure with reluctance and exclaimed excitedly.
"This chief is not even 20 years old yet."
"Such a young chief purifier, the new recruit base is willing to send him to the battlefield?" His companion exclaimed, but was also more puzzled.
Skilled purifiers should certainly go to the battlefield, but isn't it a bit cruel to send purifiers who are not yet 20 years old to the battlefield?
Moreover, the selection of a "chief" purifier is based not only on purification ability, but also on seniority and the number of people saved.
Has Chief Lin, who is only a teenager, already saved so many people?
Lin Jiaran didn't hear the teammate's doubts; all she heard were praises and gratitude.
Although the girl was tired, she had a bright smile and was in a great mood!
However, whenever she heard the title "Chief Lin," her smile would pause almost imperceptibly.
A strange, inexplicable feeling crept into her good mood. Lin Jiaran stood on the bare earthen slope for a while before heading towards the command post.
The command tent has been re-erected on a small slope in the southwest corner of the mother nest.
The area is high up, well-ventilated and dry, and still has an intact coal storage silo, the roof of which is perfect for a lookout point.
When Lin Jiaran arrived, she didn't see Xu Le, but she saw Chen Yuezhou in the tent and was slightly taken aback.
Chen Yuezhou's pollution level is not low.
Lin Jiaran guessed that Xu Le might have gone to chase the car crew, and she immediately smiled and said to Chen Yuezhou, "Let me help the commander with the purification."
She was about to go into the tent when Chen Yuezhou said coldly, "No need. Purifiers who have completed their missions should return to their respective jurisdictions and stand by for now."
Lin Jiaran stopped in her tracks, and after a moment smiled and advised, "Commander needs to keep a clear head, so you need to undergo purification in time."
“The Martial God Team has other Purifiers,” Chen Yuezhou said, having just called one.
Lin Jiaran's smile faded, and she was about to turn and leave, but she stopped and asked, "Don't you often receive... my purification?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yuezhou looked up and glanced at Lin Jiaran.
His gaze lingered for a while, and a smile slowly crept onto his lips, a smile that was hard to decipher—whether it was mockery or pity: "You said 'me'?"
His expression, gaze, and words made Lin Jiaran's face turn pale instantly!
Anger mixed with embarrassment almost overwhelmed the girl!
She glanced at Chen Yuezhou, but this time she didn't linger and turned to leave.
A few seconds after Lin Jiaran walked out, Chen Yuezhou suddenly felt a strong sense of sadness and self-blame. He subconsciously took two steps outside the tent, as if to call out to the departing girl, but then stopped immediately and frowned.
......
Over the next few hours, Chen Yuezhou had the casualties tallied.
The previous encounter resulted in casualties: 3 people were contaminated, 7 were seriously injured, and more than 20 people were lightly injured, which does not affect their combat effectiveness for the time being.
Collecting remains, retrieving military license plates, patrolling the territory of the mother nest, arranging defenses, recovering reconnaissance aircraft, and so on... Chen Yuezhou's tasks were numerous and trivial.
On the other side, Yu Shuang and Zhao Bohan were also busy, issuing a four-step order to each pursuit team:
1. Use the chemical detection module of the reconnaissance drone to chase the car; 2. Smash the car until it can no longer run; 3. Kill the guarding fallen insects; 4. Drive back the mother insects that have basically no ability to resist.
This strategy is very effective, but there are also times when it doesn't go smoothly.
Some vehicles maneuvered in tricky directions and had enough power to escape their pursuit. Others carried gnats, which could catch the pursuing team off guard and cause casualties.
But regardless of whether things went smoothly or not, both sides shared a common concern: they were unable to contact Qi An's team!
Chen Yuezhou, Yu Shuang, and Zhao Bohan appeared calm and collected on the surface, but in reality, they were all extremely anxious and sent people out to search for them.
They did find three technicians, but there was still no trace of Qi An and his group.
It wasn't until nearly 11 a.m. that Yu Shuang couldn't stand it anymore and threw away that broken command tablet to drive off and go find the people! Qi An's team finally got news, and an hour later, they finally appeared in the lookout's field of vision.
But not only did the people return, they also brought a large swarm of queen insects with them!
The four of them actually managed to retrieve a truckload of female insects that the pursuit team had missed!
However, all four of them were dirty, tired, and dazed, as if they had been wandering in the Gobi Desert for a hundred years.
The members of the guard squads on the mother hive saw the commander on the top of the round warehouse throw down his binoculars and run towards the group of people!
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