Translator: AnubisTL
In less than ten seconds, the towering skyscrapers began to collapse. The cannon overhead precisely targeted the residential buildings still suspended in mid-air, unleashing a barrage of pinpoint strikes.
After all, whether the players died from falling, being impaled by steel rebar, or crushed by debris, none of those deaths would count against Chen Jiang's kill count.
Not only would he lose his human race contribution points, but he'd also forfeit his blood sacrifice points and even the fifty thousand items he so desperately coveted. This was something he couldn't tolerate!
Therefore, he aimed to ensure as many players as possible died from his bombardment, rather than from random, chaotic causes.
Such losses would be catastrophic for him.
In truth, the greatest threat the mechanical race city posed to Chen Jiang was a mass suicide by its entire population. This would deny him any merit points, blood sacrifice points, or the fifty thousand one-star items, inflicting devastating losses.
Unfortunately for Chen Jiang, this was an impossible task.
Less than forty seconds had passed.
The once-relatively upscale residential complex before them had been reduced to ashes. Countless building fragments, stained crimson with blood, lay silently scattered across the ground.
Only the massive crater and the scattered limbs remained as grim reminders of the inhuman massacre that had occurred here.
As the complex was bombarded, the surrounding neighborhoods erupted in ear-splitting screams, as piercing as air raid sirens. Countless terrified residents poured down the fire escapes, frantically rushing out of the complexes.
They didn't know where to run, but their minds were consumed by a single thought: to get as far away as possible from the complex, from the nightmare-inducing cannon barrel looming overhead like divine retribution.
In that moment—
Endless stampedes erupted across the ravaged landscape.
Some with weaker mental fortitude, unable to bear the terror of death, leaped from the high-rise buildings, ending their lives themselves.
Others, their emotions shattered, fired wildly, posing no threat to the cannon barrel but instead killing many fellow players.
Standing on the rooftop of a high-rise building in the surface city, Chen Jiang took in the scene with a hint of dissatisfaction. "They should have bombed the Law Enforcement Bureau first. Let them maintain order before the bombardment."
These deaths were meaningless.
Whether trampled to death, jumping from buildings, or shot by a fellow race member in a fit of despair, all were pointless deaths!
They brought him no benefit whatsoever, and worse, they wasted the very resources he should have been claiming.
"This is a waste!"
Chen Jiang's expression darkened slightly. "If they weren't afraid of death, why jump?"
Immediately afterward, an even more violent bombardment resumed.
People poured out of residential buildings, either seeking refuge in low-rise structures or forced to crowd the streets, turning them into a sea of humanity.
Chen Jiang's target was precisely these masses of people crammed into the streets.
If he didn't act quickly, many would be trampled to death—a complete waste.
He couldn't fathom why anyone would crowd the streets during a bombardment. Why not simply stay safely at home?
Clearly,
Chen Jiang remained completely oblivious to the profound psychological trauma he had inflicted on the onlookers by leveling the residential complex to the ground.
Above the center of the intersection, a cannon barrel slowly extended from a phantom gate composed of swirling white mist. Red runes etched along its surface began to glow intensely, and the barrel gradually aimed down at the densely packed crowd below.
Then—
BOOM!!!
Deafening explosions erupted repeatedly along the street, like a string of firecrackers being lit one after another.
The cannon barrel systematically bombarded the entire street from end to end, its rhythmic blasts resembling streetlights illuminating in sequence across the night.
From Chen Jiang's vantage point, the massive waves of flame surged like a flood, engulfing several streets in an instant.
Thick smoke billowed skyward, nearly blotting out the sun.
Countless fragments of concrete were pulverized into dust and scattered into the air. The faint cries of agony were completely drowned out by the thunderous explosions.
The cannon barrel hovering above the intersection—
Like a divine judge surveying humanity, it rotated 180 degrees, relentlessly firing deep blue shells into the densely packed streets below.
This scene—
"It's truly beautiful," Chen Jiang murmured.
Scar Dog, his expression dazed, pulled out his camera from his chest pocket, aimed at the scene before him, and gently pressed the shutter. A photograph slid out of the camera.
"Brother Jiang, take a look. What do you think?"
Chen Jiang raised an eyebrow slightly and casually took the photo.
On the far left of the photo, only Chen Jiang's hands gripping his cane were visible as he stood at the edge of the rooftop, his tall figure gazing into the distance. Only his back was visible, his face hidden from view.
In the center of the photo lay the cross-shaped intersection engulfed in the bombing.
The massive plumes of smoke and waves of flame made the scene's devastation palpable even through the photograph.
The intense light from the explosions dimmed the sky and cast Chen Jiang's back into shadow. The lack of light made the bloodstains on his white shirt appear almost black.
Yet this didn't make Chen Jiang seem insignificant in the photo.
Instead, it deepened the image's sense of gravity.
The photo contained no turrets, no other people.
Only a lone man standing at the edge of the rooftop, his back conveying a sense of cold detachment as he leaned on his cane and gazed into the distance, and beyond him, the streets shrouded in smoke and fire.
"What do you think?" Scar Dog asked, his voice brimming with pride.
"This is called the Golden Composition Method," he explained. "The main subject is placed on the far left, while the primary scene occupies the center, creating a cause-and-effect relationship between the two. The primary scene serves to highlight the main subject."
"And I've cleverly used lighting to add depth and weight to the image."
"Not bad, right? On Blue Star, my dream was to become a photographer once I had no financial worries. I even taught myself online for a long time to prepare."
"..."
Chen Jiang stared at the photo for a moment before chuckling softly and tucking it into Scar Dog's arms. "I distinctly remember your dream was to become a boudoir photographer."
"Also, try to avoid taking photos like this in the future."
"Why not?" Scar Dog asked, puzzled as he took the photo and examined it closely. "Is there something you don't like about the composition?"
"No, that's not it."
After a moment of silence, Chen Jiang said quietly, "It just gives me the unsettling feeling that you're collecting evidence to one day send me to a military tribunal and label me a class A war criminal."
"Brother Jiang, you've thought of everything so thoroughly. Let me think about how to respond."
Just then—
Six or seven surface-to-air missiles, trailing fiery tails, suddenly appeared in the sky. With ear-splitting sonic booms, they locked onto the cannon barrel hovering above the intersection and streaked toward it!
Meanwhile, in a central control room somewhere in the city, a group of people stared at the monitor screen, their eyes fixed on the cannon barrel about to be struck by the missiles. They held their breath, their eyes unblinking with anticipation!
They had finally seized their chance!
If the missiles hit, they would surely destroy that damned cannon barrel!
(End of the Chapter)
📖Read [MCC3KM] ahead on Pa.treon@AnubisTL upto c146 [+8.9k]
🎁All [3] Novels can be accessed for just $6/mo.
🔥Translated [1.1k+] Chapters and [2.46M+] Words.
🌐Read for FREE Upto Ch114 on the Site. Visit P@treon for details.