Once the adrenaline had settled, Shen Cong sent the drone up.

The aerial feed came back quickly. The Great Black Bear was still moving southwest at its unhurried pace. He pulled up the map and used National Highway 205 as a reference, tracing the bear's line of travel.

The destination was unmistakable: Pizhou City.

The encounter had occurred near Gaofengtou Town, at the intersection of National Highways 310 and 205. Draw a line southwest from that point along the bear's track and it ran straight to Pizhou. Where the 31st Group Army was garrisoned. Where the 31st was currently pushing toward Xuzhou. Where Li Xicheng's 004 Battalion was also based.

Shen Cong held this information for a moment, expression unreadable.

A minute later, he turned the vehicle around and headed for Xinyi City camp.

He needed to pass this along. Let Ni Haiyang and the management office get the warning out. Beyond that, whether Pizhou City could hold against the Great Black Bear was their problem.

This is a massive iron beast. Besides the obvious vital points — eyes, ears, nose, mouth, skull, hindquarters — its carrier vehicle is a vulnerability too. The automobile wreckage it's fashioned into a helm: that's a target. The fact that it reshaped the vehicle into headgear shows meaningful intelligence. It knows the carrier vehicle is connected to itself. But wearing it on its head isn't optimal protection.

If the carrier vehicle could be destroyed — even without killing the bear — the Activity drainage that followed would eventually finish it. But with the vehicle sitting on its head, access is a serious problem.

This is the first Super-Heavyweight iron beast I've personally encountered. I'll call it the Great Iron Bear.

Twenty minutes later, Shen Cong was back at Xinyi City camp, transmitting on Ni Haiyang's frequency.

"Deputy Administrator Ni — send alerts to the Command and the 31st Group Army. There is a large iron beast — Super-Heavyweight class, same tier as the Green-Skin Frog and the Great Lynx — designated the Great Iron Bear, currently moving toward Pizhou City. At its current pace,…