Chapter 111: People Need Heroes

Lv Guangrong was a man of action; the moment the idea clicked in his mind, he immediately picked up the office phone and said: “Xiao Xu, notify General Lian of the X Squadron that I will be visiting her in a while. Yes, just notify her like that.”

Putting down the phone, Lv Guangrong could not contain himself and paced back and forth in his office with his hands behind his back.

The current Lv Guangrong appeared very excited. Just think, he had enough reason to be excited; after all, the scenario described in his mind was too tempting. As a Lieutenant General who had been promoted recently, wanting to go one step further was not simply a matter of waiting a few years or a dozen years, and then becoming a General upon retirement. Many people stayed in the position of Lieutenant General for over a decade, and when they retired, they were still Lieutenant Generals.

The gap between a Lieutenant General and a General seemed like just one step. However, the distance of that step was simply too huge; it was no exaggeration to call it a step to the heavens. A Lieutenant General was merely a high-ranking local official, at best the highest official of a region, with a division or an army of troops in hand. But a General was different; what they could command was described in terms of military districts, definitely a powerful minister holding authority over a region.

A soldier who does not want to become a General is not a good soldier. Similarly, a Lieutenant General who does not want to become a General is not a good general.

Staying in the office, Lv Guangrong carefully studied the feasibility of his plan, and only after refining many execution plans did he finally finalize it. He had reason to believe that the higher-ups would absolutely agree to his plan, because the common people right now were spiritually empty, numb, and could not see hope for the future.

What he needed to do was give them hope.

When Lian Ruixue received the notification, she was also a bit puzzled; Lv Guangrong had just visited her yesterday, so why was he coming to visit again today? If it were a young general, Lian Ruixue might have suspected that he had improper intentions toward her. But Lv Guangrong was already in his fifties, so it was impossible for him to have such intentions.

In Lian Ruixue’s view, the events that happened in the city today were not anything surprising.

Living in such an environment and possessing a group of subordinates with these abilities, she only took it for granted; how could she realize the impact this matter had on ordinary people? The existence of Fierce Beast Warriors was known by quite a few people, but not too many either. The intention of the higher-ups was to wait until a sufficient number was formed before revealing it to the public. Playing the pig to eat the tiger, keeping a low profile and acting deep, had always been the consistent style since the founding of the country.

Now, deploying these troops to guard local cities had two meanings.

The first was to help the frontline troops defend the Frontline, using the abilities of Fierce Beast Warriors to achieve the effect of Special Forces. The second was to use this small-scale form to influence some people, and then continue until it was accepted by the masses. Only through subtle influence would there not be intense reactions from the public.

The 75% failure rate of Fierce Beast Warriors meant that out of one hundred people, seventy-five would die; this price… was indeed too great.

When Lv Guangrong arrived at the X Squadron station, it was already evening.

Compared to yesterday, today’s reception was much colder, with only Lian Ruixue bringing two team members to welcome him. But Lv Guangrong did not mind at all; now he understood the strength of these team members. Whether he could defend this place without letting Xiang A City fall and be lost, his greatest reliance was still this squadron, which including the captain, had only fifty-one people.

In one day, Lian Ruixue’s high efficiency also made Lv Guangrong sigh; she had already connected the first floors of one of the residential buildings to serve as the X Squadron’s command center.

“General Lian is truly young and promising; no wonder she is a Major General at such a young age. When I was your age, I was just a Captain and a company commander.” Lv Guangrong sighed: “It seems the new generation really surpasses the old; it is hard for us old folks not to admit we are old.”

How old was Lian Ruixue? At most, she was nineteen. Becoming a Major General at the age of nineteen was indeed an extremely exaggerated matter. But becoming a Captain and company commander at nineteen was definitely enough to be described as a rising star in the military. Seeing Lian Ruixue’s military rank, you might think that ranks below General were worthless. On the contrary, the promotion of military rank was not such an easy matter. In this era of production, one could only advance through the slow process of waiting.

Compared to Lian Ruixue, Lv Guangrong was far behind back then, but compared to others, who could say that others were far behind Lv Guangrong back then?

Sitting in the somewhat empty office, seeing that there was not even an air conditioner or decent office supplies, Lv Guangrong turned to his guard captain and said: “Send some office supplies over later; how can a division-level office be so simple? This is not a matter of being frugal, it is a matter of not being able to carry out work properly.”

Lian Ruixue did not understand what Lv Guangrong meant at all; she said indifferently: “Thank you, Commander Lv, I think this is fine.”

Lv Guangrong did not press the issue and said: “If you need anything, call me, and I will have someone send it over. Although materials are scarce now, some things are not lacking.”

With the migration of factories in Xiang A City, many things did not need to be taken away. For example, office supplies from factories and companies; as long as one wished, finding luxurious office supplies was not a difficult matter. In Xiang A City, the local government was currently weak, while the military was strong. Besides, the local government would not make things difficult for the stationed troops over such insignificant matters.

Lian Ruixue still shook her head, and then said: “I wonder what Commander Lv is here for this time?”

Lv Guangrong wanted the other party to get straight to the point; he feigned excitement and said: “General Lian, what happened in the South District today was really satisfying. Now I know why the Chief of General Staff speaks so highly of you. Uncle Lv is so happy in his heart; I have been here for a month and a half, do you know what the citizens call us soldiers? Trash, a bunch of incompetent people who do nothing but eat.”

At this point, Lv Guangrong put on a look of deep distress: “You don’t know, every time I hear these words, Uncle’s heart feels like it has been stabbed severely by a bayonet, bleeding continuously.” He sighed with emotion: “When did our people’s army sink to this level? In the past, we were always the pride of the country and the people; we had soldiers standing at the pinnacle of the world, we had the most powerful army.”

“Don’t we want to turn the tide at this most critical moment for the country? Don’t we want to deal a devastating blow to the Fierce Beasts when they arrive?” Lv Guangrong sighed: “But our weapons hardly have any effect on them. Even if our soldiers are brave, fighting Fierce Beasts with flesh and blood cannot reverse this inevitable defeat.”

Seeing Lv Guangrong’s excited appearance, Lian Ruixue, although surprised at when her relationship with him had turned into an uncle and niece relationship, still comforted him: “Commander, do not take it to heart. I think they do not understand the power of Fierce Beasts, so they slander you.”

Lv Guangrong knew Lian Ruixue’s character, so being able to hear such comforting words was obviously a surprise to him. He said: “Yes, exactly, the more I feel guilty. We Chinese are definitely the kindest nation, but right now we soldiers cannot provide them with a stable living environment, so it is normal for them to have complaints.”

His tone suddenly changed as he said: “But now it is different, because we have you.”

Lian Ruixue did not understand, she just looked at Lv Guangrong with an expressionless face.

Lv Guangrong said slowly: “Actually, the main purpose of my visit this time is that we need to do something for the kind people. You have seen it too, the people in the city, their faces are full of numbness and confusion. Their eyes hold too much fear for the future; they do not even know if their lives will see tomorrow’s sunrise.”

Lian Ruixue remained silent; how could this be limited to just Xiang A City? In every city, there were looks of despair on people’s faces. Not just on the continent, but how could other countries be any different? But these were not things she could change; only by reversing the current decline of humanity could they possibly give birth to hope for life, right?

Seeing a trace of helplessness flash quickly across Lian Ruixue’s cold face, Lv Guangrong smiled in his heart; saying so much just now was merely to test her attitude. Since she was also helpless, that made things easy. He smiled and said: “But today, I saw expressions of joy on their faces, like it was New Year’s.”

Lv Guangrong walked back and forth in the office for a few steps, then said excitedly: “They are no longer numb, their eyes no longer hollow. All these changes are because of the X Squadron, because the powerful Fierce Beasts were destroyed. Even now, my people cannot transport the Fierce Beast corpses back to the unit. People are all crowding around the Fierce Beast corpses, packed so tight that not even water can pass through.”

“Ruixue, do you know what they need now? Yes, they need victory, a victory that allows them to see hope.”

If she still did not understand Lv Guangrong’s meaning now, Lian Ruixue would not have made it this far; she just had not reacted earlier to the impact the X Squadron had on the outside world. A chill flashed across her face, and then she said coldly: “Commander Lv, if you have something to say, just say it directly, I am listening!”

A trace of unnaturalness flashed across Lv Guangrong’s face; from Lian Ruixue’s suddenly cold expression, his little scheme had probably been guessed by her.

“Alright, I will speak frankly. People need you, need heroes to step forward and turn the tide at this time. You have seen it too, only in this way can the people be settled and have a spiritual support.” Lv Guangrong looked calm: “People without support can easily fall into the abyss of sin. I think General Lian does not want to see the whole city fall into chaos, with burning, smashing, and looting happening every day, right? What we need to give them is the hope that they can defeat the Fierce Beasts.”