freenovelworld Chapter 1404 Accepting Reorganization
Chapter 1404 Accepting Reorganization
what?
Li Guangzhong thought he had misheard.
Strike plan?
What strike plan?
What kind of attack plan is this?
Hu Xiangqian seemed to sense his confusion, or perhaps he simply didn't care whether he was confused or not, and continued to state the facts in a straightforward manner:
"The 2nd Division, the entire division, from the division headquarters to the regimental garrisons, every camp, every firing point, every storage warehouse that you thought was hidden. The coordinates are all marked, and the priorities are also arranged."
He turned slightly to the side and gestured towards the screen.
"All the data is in there."
“Every house, every trench, every moving thing of yours is in our database.”
"Your division commander's daily routine, and your secret backup command post hidden in the cave—they are all there."
Although he was mentally prepared, Li Guangzhong's legs still went weak instinctively when he actually heard the other person say it.
"At this very moment, 400 artillery pieces have already been deployed and are ready to strike the aforementioned targets at any time, and this number can easily exceed 600 later..."
"There are 122mm, 155mm, and even a considerable number of 380mm..."
"Its range covers your entire territory."
"Based on our computer's multiple calculations, at most one salvo could wipe out your entire division."
Hu Xiangqian's voice was flat, as if he were describing today's weather.
"Once the artillery fire begins, our ground troops can cross the border within an hour and reach your division headquarters within six hours."
"The large reconnaissance and strike drones belonging to military families are on duty 24 hours a day, right above your heads."
"If needed, we can call upon them at any time and strike them at any time to ensure that ground troops can advance unimpeded."
At this point, Hu Xiangqian paused, his gaze falling once more on Li Guangzhong's face, which was already deathly pale.
"Originally, according to the plan, if you didn't send anyone this time, we would have taken action at the latest in a week."
"First, we'll use artillery to bombard all your military presence areas. Then, ground troops will advance, mop up any remaining enemy forces, control key points, and take over population and supplies. If there is any organized resistance, drones will be used to pick off any remaining enemies."
"The entire process is expected to take... two days."
At this point, Hu Xiangqian felt he hadn't been precise enough, so he changed his words:
"Perhaps a day?"
At this moment, he was talking as if he were not annihilating an armed division, but rather casually crushing an ant on the roadside.
Do you understand now?
Upon hearing this, Li Guangzhong opened his mouth, and a dry, broken syllable came out of his throat.
He wanted to say "I understand".
He wanted to say, "I understand."
He wanted to say, "We were wrong."
He wanted to say so much, but he couldn't express it.
He simply stood there in the bright, inescapable, cold white light, before that imposing figure, like a beetle nailed to a foam board, its six legs curled up, its antennae drooping, utterly, completely, without any room for maneuver—
They saw right through me.
I've been seen through.
It was decided by...
...
Hu Xiangqian glanced at him one last time, said nothing more, and turned back to face the huge screen.
Li Guangzhong stood there, feeling as if all his strength had been drained away.
...
Finally, Li Guangzhong, pale-faced and covered in sweat, spoke.
His lips moved, first silently, like a drowning person struggling to find air underwater.
Then, a dry, hoarse sound, as if forced out from the depths of a throat, slowly escaped:
"Why... why?"
It was only three short words, yet it seemed to have used up all his strength.
These three words contain no anger, no protest, and not even the sense of "questioning" that should accompany a question.
All that remains is a sense of bewilderment after complete resignation.
Like an ant being stepped on, in the last moment of its life, it uses its last strength to raise its head and ask the foot that stepped on it: Why?
Why don't you step on me when you could easily crush me?
Why do you still want to see me when you have the power to crush everything?
Why did I have to see all of this? That screen, those real-time monitors, the countdown to destruction that lasts two days or even one day?
Why do this...?
Why make me stand here, under this cold, inescapable white light, like a beetle nailed to a foam board, completely and without reservation feeling my insignificance, helplessness, and... ridiculousness?
Is this a quirk of the strong?
Do you enjoy watching the despair of the weak struggling helplessly?
Do you enjoy making the other person realize their situation before completely crushing them, and then savor that... that cat-and-mouse thrill?
In Li Guangzhong's eyes, there was no desire to survive, no obsequious humility, and not even the humility he had been trying to maintain just moments before.
There was only a hollow, numb, resigned confusion.
He wanted to know the answer.
Even if this answer would cause him more pain.
Even if this answer would completely shatter his last shred of dignity.
He wanted to know too.
.....
The command center remained quiet.
The technical officers were still busy, the data on the screens was still fluctuating, and the hum of the equipment was still constant.
Nobody's looking this way.
No one paid attention to the little man standing in the corner, wearing an old Vietnamese army uniform.
Only Hu Xiangqian.
That burly figure stood with his back to him, facing the huge screen.
Upon hearing those three words, Hu Xiangqian paused slightly.
Then he turned around.
This time, his gaze was no longer indifferent.
It's no longer that condescending, indifferent attitude, like looking at ants on the roadside.
Hu Xiangqian looked at him, at his pale face, at the cold sweat on his forehead, at his back, which was trying to straighten but was trembling slightly.
Then, Hu Xiangqian smiled.
It wasn't the victor's condescending, scornful laugh, but rather... a more complex, more indescribable laugh.
"Why?" Hu Xiangqian repeated the three words, his tone slightly amused.
Then, he spoke slowly, his voice still not loud, but clearly reaching Li Guangzhong's ears:
"Because you still have value to me."
what?
Li Guangzhong was startled.
A glint of light suddenly flashed in those empty, numb eyes.
He thought he had misheard.
value?
Are they... valuable?
Before this steel fortress, before this power that could crush them at any moment—
Do they still have value?
Li Guangzhong's mind went blank. Then, an uncontrollable, overwhelming joy, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly drowned out all his reason!
But he dared not show it.
He clenched his teeth, forcing himself to maintain that humble posture, but his trembling lips, his pupils that suddenly contracted and then dilated, and his rapidly heaving chest betrayed him.
He was like a traveler who had been thirsty in the desert for three days and three nights, who had given up hope and was waiting to die, when suddenly he saw a clear spring in front of him.
Is that spring real, or just a mirage?
He dared not believe it, yet he had no choice but to believe it.
Because the person who said this was the burly colonel in front of them, the one who possessed the power to destroy them at any moment.
There's no need to lie to someone like that.
no need.
Li Guangzhong's throat twitched violently a few times. He opened his mouth and, in a hoarse, trembling voice, as if grasping at a straw, asked humbly, urgently, almost pleadingly:
"What...what value?"
His voice, filled with intense longing and suppressed excitement, took on a high-pitched quality that he himself was unaware of.
"Please...please explain!"
He was almost hunched over, leaning forward, his eyes fixed on Hu Xiangqian's lips.
He knew perfectly well that every word about to be uttered from his lips was related to his life and death, to the life and death of those thousands of people, and to the fate of the entire 2nd Division.
Hu Xiangqian's smile deepened as he looked at him.
He didn't answer immediately, but turned slightly to look at the huge screen again.
On the screen, the electronic map of northern Vietnam was still clear, the red dots were still glaring, and the real-time monitoring footage was still showing those soldiers "scratching their butts and sleeping soundly".
Hu Xiangqian raised his hand and pointed in a certain direction on the screen.
That's further south.
Beyond the 2nd Division's garrison, beyond Cao Bang Province, beyond the mountains of northern Vietnam, lies the vast, complex, and uncharted southern hinterland.
Then, he withdrew his hand, looked at Li Guangzhong again, and spoke.
It consists of only four words, yet it sounds like heavenly music.
"Accept reorganization."
P.S.: Happy New Year, my fans!!! May you live forever and always be rich!!!