Half an hour later, the team of four quietly returned to their residence.
Looking at the mortar on the table, Chen Jian was filled with emotion.
PBP201, part of the fire support equipment.
He first saw this thing back in 2022, at that time, the 201 mortar did not yet have an integrated sight but already had a composite carrying handle with an integrated small quadrant and level.
The three most profound impressions Chen Jian had of this piece of equipment were: light, fast, and accurate.
Under extreme conditions, this mortar could even be carried by a single soldier, who could then sprint 10 kilometers and conduct solo firing without a base plate, firing a full burst within 30 seconds, with an error margin within 10 meters over a 1-kilometer range.
To be honest, that level of accuracy was already quite terrifying.
And when combined with a base plate, electro-optical integrated sight, and satellite-guided shells, this mortar could maintain a 5-meter error even at its maximum range of 3.5 kilometers.
It's worth noting that the explosive radius of the shell could reach 20 meters.
In other words, it could virtually hit wherever it aimed.
---- But of course, the two mortars Chen Jian had now couldn't achieve that.
The electro-optical sights were long damaged, and the built-in laser rangefinder, ballistic computer, and holographic diffraction sight couldn't be used, meaning precise firing relied solely on aiming traditionally using a shooting table.
For the natives of this post-apocalyptic era, such a task was nearly impossible, let alone for those dim-witted Terror Demons.
When Chen Jian saw them, they were holding the handles like a blunderbuss, pulling the trigger to fire the rounds.
If they could hit accurately like that, then that would be truly miraculous.
Calling it a waste of good things is an understatement; in fact, Chen Jian wished he could shove their heads into the barrel and fire them out to show them where the shells would land if fired that way.
You really suffered by following these yellow-skinned half-orcs.....
Chen Jian reached out to touch the cold barrel, feeling as if his soul resonated with the old era.
Beside him, Lei Jie couldn't put down the mortar in his hand either, especially those two extended-range high-explosive shells, which he wished he could hang directly around his waist with a rope.
"...It's good at least they're not guided shells, whether guided shells would even work is uncertain!"
"Extended-range shells are better, the simpler and more reliable, the better!"
"Forget it, when you finally find guided shells, you'll complain about the inaccuracy of extended-range shells."
Chen Jian had long seen through Lei Jie's style, like most in the team, he calls something sweet when there's nothing else, and when there's something new, it's like being a jealous wife.
Now talking nicely, but once he found a 120 mortar or a 125 howitzer, whether he'd still remember these two 201 mortars would be questionable!
But truth be told, these two mortars did solve the team's lack of long-range firepower.
With these two mortars in hand, as long as they hit accurately, monsters at the level like those in the Chuansha City could be dealt with in just one or two shots.
Obviously, since the sleeve rockets they previously found were already swapped out with CL-20 explosive, these two extended-range shells definitely were filled with CL-20 too, rather than traditional TNT.
Under such explosive amount, a concentrated attack could potentially penetrate even light tanks, not to mention carbon-based life forms without armor protection.
The pity is that there are too few shells, leaving little room for error.
They would still need to look around the market tomorrow to see if they could find matching shells.
Weapons trading here was quite frequent with many varieties, perhaps they might actually find something.
Thinking of this, Chen Jian put down the mortar, turning to instruct Lei Jie to pack everything up, take over Shen Yue's guard duty, while the others were to rest and recover their strength quickly to prepare for the following day's work.
But just as he intended to walk toward the bed, not yet having time to remove his shoes, the door to their residence was suddenly knocked.
Instinctively, Chen Jian grabbed the 191 placed at his side, while the others quickly took up defensive positions by the door's sides awaiting an attack.
The next second, Xu Lie's voice came from outside the door.
"Shen... Chen Jian, Chen Jian! Are you there?"
Chen Jian slowly approached the door, standing against the wall on the left side, then replied:
"I'm here, what's the matter?"
"Let me in, we'll talk inside!"
At this time, Lei Jie, observing through the window, had confirmed that it was indeed Xu Lie, with no one else accompanying him.
Only then did Chen Jian relax slightly, holding the gun in one hand while opening the door with the other.
Xu Lie quickly slipped into the room, closing the door behind him eagerly asking:
"Did you guys just eliminate that group of Terror Demon leaders?"
Chen Jian did not conceal, nodding in response:
"It was just on the way---- is there a problem?"
"No problem."
Xu Lie sighed in relief, replying:
"I guessed it was you guys!"
"You don't know, once the leader died, that group of Terror Demons went crazy."
"Usually, they would treat it lightly, but with the leader gone, they charged into town wave after wave without any restraint."
"The town's guards didn't react in time and got three of them injured."
"The City Defense Department sent a squad of Mechanical God Sect's armored gunners to scout out, and only then did they find out the Terror Demons' leader was taken out."
"Now, there's a meeting going on in the council hall, discussing who was behind this."
"I think, why don't you come with me now, go and take credit for it, how about it?"
"Why should I take credit?"
Chen Jian asked bewildered.
"To claim the bounty!"
"If you don't step up, the Mechanical God Sect might just pocket the money."
"There's a bounty for killing Terror Demons?"
Chen Jian couldn't help feeling a bit skeptical.
Logically speaking, a gathering with close to 5000 people having a council hall and city defense institution was normal, especially with two major forces intermixed for easier management, there should be some basic systems.
But associating everything with a bounty seemed too absurd, didn't it?
Seeing Chen Jian's doubtful expression, Xu Lie quickly explained:
"Only killing the Terror Demon leaders has a bounty, nothing much, just several dozen grams of gold."
"But the point isn't the bounty; the key is, I think you could use this chance to establish some influence in the city."
"After all, sooner or later you'll be exposed, your strength is way beyond the average here, you can't stay hidden forever, can you?"
"Rather than being passively found out later, why not stand up now..."
Although Xu Lie's words made a lot of sense, Chen Jian still shook his head.
Because he knew, this wasn't the best time yet.
When should one hide, and when should one reveal?
When you have the capability to deter potential enemies, to make them fear rash actions, that's the time to reveal yourself.
Clearly, the currently short-handed and low-ammo team didn't have that ability.
So the best strategy was to lay low for now.
Therefore, Chen Jian firmly shook his head, saying:
"Not going."
"Besides, this matter should just stay between us, don't let a third party know."
"Otherwise..... our cooperation can't continue."
Seeing Chen Jian speaking so resolutely, Xu Lie didn't insist, but solemnly said:
"Rest assured, we're on the same boat, the matter of Xia Ma Town is our alliance."
"Speaking of which, the miners left behind will eventually report the situation to the Mechanical God Sect, conflicts are bound to happen, I hope you... will be prepared."
"Understood."
Chen Jian nodded briefly in response.
Xu Lie turned and left, and after he was gone, Chen Jian took a deep breath and said:
"We need to quickly enhance our combat abilities."
"The situation in this Han Shui City is even more complex than I expected, the motives of the Holy Blood might not be simple."
"Perhaps, we'll be noticed very soon."
"Then what should we do?"
Shen Yue immediately asked:
"If we can't stay here, should we move to the wild?"
"No, we still need to rely on the trading market and resource supplies here."
Chen Jian shook his head and then said:
"It's alright, do what you do best, focus on handling your responsibilities."
"If the administrators here are inclined toward goodwill, then there's no problem."
"If they are malicious..... they can't blame me then."
"No matter if it's the Mechanical God Sect, Holy Blood, or any others."
"Push us, and they too can be taken down!"