Armor-Piercing Munition: Face Me, Carbon-Based Monster!-Chapter 564 - 288: Out of Luck

"And those bandits, those mercenaries, and merchants generally have stronger self-preservation abilities."

"But even so, they will also suffer huge impacts."

"They will incur losses, and these losses cannot be recovered from monsters, so they can only be recovered from... other affected civilians."

"Understood."

Huang Meng nodded slowly.

The balance was broken.

Just like the aftershocks of a cataclysm, the Beast Tide also brings collateral secondary disasters.

And this kind of disaster often manifests in the form of "human internal conflicts."

Everyone just wants to seize the right to survive, but they don’t know to what extent they need to go to live.

Thus, they can only grasp all the resources they can touch as much as possible, even at the cost of conflict and death, without hesitation.

This is a... relatively lagging survival choice.

Huang Meng finally understood the meaning of what the leader told him before leaving.

"Your enemies might not only be monsters, but also people."

Yes.

People who are driven mad are not much different from monsters.

Thinking of this, he gently exhaled a breath.

Then he spoke:

"Let’s move on for now."

"If the situation there is really as you have gathered from the information..."

"Then perhaps, we will have to make some difficult decisions..."

...

That evening, the convoy arrived at Yaxi Town.

When they arrived, the entire Yaxi Town was already submerged in deep water.

Not a single light was on, and they could only faintly hear sporadic dog barking from within the town.

The town appeared quite peaceful, but through the drone’s perspective, Huang Meng had already detected clues.

There were not only people here.

There were also a large number of slaves.

A large number of people being detained and enclosed in what might have originally been simple pens for livestock rearing.

Judging by the numbers, there were at least more than 300 slaves.

And according to the data issued by Fu Xi, the current population of Yaxi Town did not exceed five hundred.

The enclosures were not high, certainly not sturdy either.

But to Huang Meng’s surprise, none of the people confined in the enclosures attempted to escape.

Perhaps they had already accepted their fate, or perhaps they were trapped by another kind of invisible enclosure.

Seeing this scene, Huang Meng frowned.

He realized this problem must be solved.

And, it must be addressed in an adequately appropriate manner.

Because the next towns they reach could possibly be in such conditions!

After completing a simple terrain reconnaissance, Huang Meng retrieved the drone.

Subsequently, this large team camped and rested on the outskirts of Yaxi Town.

He did not sleep well that night.

The following morning, when daylight just began to break, he, along with a few better-equipped assault team members and Huang Xing, entered Yaxi Town.

By then, the town had also begun to awaken.

Watchful eyes cast towards them from all directions, the people here seemingly confirmed that they did not belong to the Mechanical God Sect.

Since they did not belong to the Mechanical God Sect, they did not belong to the largest and most threatening power on this wasteland.

If so, there’s no need to fear them.

Someone boldly followed behind them, gripping weapons tightly in their hands, with a trace of threat in their eyes.

Others continued to follow their steps, gradually forming an encircling formation.

Huang Meng noticed their movements.

He even found it a bit amusing.

"So, in places other than Jinling City and Han Shui City, do these people genuinely not know our name?"

He turned to Huang Xing beside him and asked:

"Is the speed of information dissemination really that slow?"

"Probably."

Huang Xing answered thoughtfully:

"The Beast Tide blocked most of the trade routes, and we haven’t organized particularly large-scale operations in the south."

"The last time Jin Zhong’s team went quite far, but not on this route."

"It’s normal that they don’t know us."

"But... are they really not afraid of us?"

"They’re afraid."

Huang Meng answered:

"Otherwise, they would have already acted."

Upon his words, more and more people followed them, surrounded by armed individuals.

On the road ahead of them appeared a man clad in a worn-out vest yet "luxuriously" adorned with hand grenades, holding an unknown 75 rifle.

"Welcome to Yaxi Town."

"May I ask what brings you here?"

As the man spoke, Huang Xing was about to reply but was stopped by Huang Meng raising his hand.

Then, Huang Meng asked:

"We want those slaves."

"Oh?"

The man instantly became interested.

He stepped forward two steps, his face immediately turning enthusiastic.

"Are you businessmen?"

"Honestly, I’ve never seen such a large caravan."

"So much machinery... yet you don’t seem to belong to the Mechanical God Sect."

"I don’t see any bishop or Mechanical Servant...."

"But anyway, you’ve made the right choice."

"I assure you, this must be the largest slave market you can find!"

"Whether you’re using them yourself or planning to sell to the Mechanical God Sect, I’ll offer you quite a decent price!"

"How about we discuss this more specifically?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Alright."

With that, Huang Meng walked two steps forward nonchalantly, and the man also met him.

He gave Huang Meng a slight bow and then waved to signal the armed personnel surrounding them to lower their weapons.

Then, once again in a warm tone, he spoke:

"You’re the first batch of merchants to arrive here. Honestly, after such a large-scale disaster, I doubted anyone else would come."

"But fortunately, disasters always pass, and life has finally returned to peace..."

Peace?

Is that what you call "life returning to peace"?

Huang Meng couldn’t help but find it amusing; over the man’s shoulder, he looked at those slaves penned in the enclosures.

Everyone’s clothes had already been stripped off, and the ground, having just rained, was extremely muddy.

The weary people lay on the mud, their last bit of dignity stripped away.

Those who still had a shred of decency covered their naked bodies with dirt, while women holding infants did their utmost to keep their bodies clean because their children still needed feeding.

This couldn’t be called hell on earth, but it was indeed a scene of misery.

He gently exhaled, then asked:

"What’s your identity?"

The man shrugged his shoulders.

"That’s not important."

"But trust us, we are very reputable... businessmen."

"Honestly, this isn’t our first time with such a large transaction."

"Tongling, Jinling, Han Shui, Liangxi, Suzhou... our goods have been shipped to various major cities."

"The prices offered by the Mechanical God Sect are not low."

"It’s just that this time it’s weird, they seem to be a bit late... maybe this disaster was too severe."

"The Beast Tide or something? It seems the Mechanical God Sect also suffered heavy losses..."

"Mechanical God Sect?"

A few traces of doubt flashed in Huang Meng’s eyes.

"They are your main clients?"

"Of course, otherwise, how could their workshops stay operational?"

The man answered smoothly, and Huang Meng continued to ask:

"You don’t know the specifics about the Beast Tide?"

"Honestly, I don’t."

The man shook his head and replied:

"We happened to be further south at the time... maybe we dodged a bullet? Anyway, we’re very lucky."

"Understood..."

A smile appeared at the corner of Huang Meng’s mouth.

He said:

"Unfortunately though."

"Your luck has run out."

"Are you haggling?"

The man shrugged carelessly.

"It’s okay, business is hard, and we can accept a lower price."

Huang Meng didn’t respond.

He simply beckoned lightly.

Immediately, a huge machine emerged from the convoy.

The next moment, flames burst out from the 30A’s muzzle.

"Boom!"

The smoke surged.

Gunfire erupted densely....