Chapter 88: Emergency Mission

There was nothing else to worry about regarding the limited information on Zhou Liming for now. After all, when things were supposed to happen, they would naturally happen.

In the evening, Zhou Liming applied to Lian Ruixue to visit Yu A City, but unfortunately, Lian Ruixue did not approve. The X Squadron was currently on high alert and on standby, so it was impossible to approve Zhou Liming’s request. This somewhat disappointed Zhou Liming. Yu A City was a heavy industrial city with its own unique charm, and it was a pity not to have a proper tour.

“Or you can wait until other squadrons are formed. At that time, the standby status of the X Squadron will relax a bit, and it won’t be too late to go then!” Lian Ruixue, who had been sitting listlessly at her desk, noticed Zhou Liming’s slightly disappointed expression and inexplicably added this sentence.

Zhou Liming realized that was reasonable. He wasn’t in a rush, so he said, “Yes, thank you, Captain.” Then, as if remembering something, he asked, “Captain, about my Dean and others…”

Lian Ruixue looked up at Zhou Liming and said, “They have been strategically relocated. Relatives and family members of important personnel have left Yu A City. Signs of Fierce Beasts have appeared in the Xiang A City area of Xiang Province. Xiang A City is not very far from the Temporary Capital, Yu A City, so Fierce Beasts could appear at any time. To ensure the emotional stability of some important generals and special personnel, allowing them to work in a better environment, the Central Government proposed this strategic plan.”

“Why didn’t you notify me before?” Thinking about when he might be able to see his Dean again, Zhou Liming felt a bit angry. The Dean was his closest person, like a parent.

Lian Ruixue said with a blank expression, “I only received this information this afternoon.”

Zhou Liming sighed. He had no power to change the country’s decisions. He asked, “Where have they been transferred to?”

“The State will build a new city at the junction of Qing Province, Meng Province, and Xin Province to replace the current Temporary Capital. The relocated personnel have been settled in Akesai Kazakh Autonomous County. They are very safe now.”

Lian Ruixue’s news made Zhou Liming dumbfounded. It seemed that the upper echelons of the State had a much broader vision. With current technological and military strengths, no one dared to be confident enough to defend the area. Therefore, a deeper retreat needed to be prepared in advance. The places Lian Ruixue mentioned were undoubtedly the most ideal deep rear areas for the State. Given the vast depth of the continent, the worst outcome after abandoning these regions would be the Fierce Beasts occupying half the territory, leading to a standoff.

Leaving Lian Ruixue’s office, he could only return to his room.

The next day, Zhou Liming wanted to lie in bed a bit longer, but the emergency assembly alarm sounded in his room, making him jump out of bed. He dressed and washed up as fast as he could and rushed to the underground training ground. Including Lian Ruixue, all 51 members of the X Squadron had arrived.

This time, the person appearing in the underground training ground was not Ren Zhigang, but a young Colonel with a gentle appearance. He seemed to be close to Lian Ruixue, sharing a few laughs during their whispered conversation.

Unfortunately, Lian Ruixue stood like an ice block, cold and not even responding to his words. In this situation, the young Colonel naturally wouldn’t continue being awkward. Since the entire X Squadron had assembled, he could only touch his nose and stand seriously beside Lian Ruixue, hands clasped behind his back, looking down at the neatly arranged X Squadron members.

Lian Ruixue just glanced at him and said, “The person standing next to me is Colonel Zha Zheming.”

Zha Zheming swept away his previous relaxed expression and nodded somewhat proudly. Without offering a military salute, he said, “As the first special Squadron of our country, you have gathered the most outstanding soldiers of the entire army. I believe that under General Lian’s leadership, you are the strongest. Precisely because you are the strongest, the Central Military Commission finally decided to entrust this mission to you, the X Squadron.”

The other members were fine; in the face of honor, even the honest-faced Huang Dazhuang showed an excited expression on his face.

Only Zhou Liming sighed inwardly, thinking, “Just rested for one day, and now I have to risk my life again. This Lieutenant Colonel rank is not easy to get.”

Lian Ruixue took over the topic, saying, “I believe everyone has already seen the nuclear strike that happened in Madhya Pradesh, India, a couple of days ago. But now there are new developments.” She walked to the wall of the underground training ground, turned on the hanging LCD TV, tuned it to the internal channel, and played a video.

It was still footage taken by satellites. However, when everyone clearly saw the displayed image, they all gasped, and sounds of surprise echoed around.

In the image, the entire Indian Peninsula had broken apart at the location of the former Madhya Pradesh in India, turning most of the Indian Peninsula from a peninsula into a huge island. The breakage occurred where it had suffered twenty-five nuclear strikes. Judging from the satellite image, this fracture was at least tens of kilometers wide.

Seeing the shock on the faces of the people below, Lian Ruixue had no expression on her face and said, “From the start of the nuclear strike, the area has been in a state of constant minor earthquakes. Subsequently, the tectonic state continuously escalated. At 1:00 AM last night, strong crustal movements occurred throughout the Indian Peninsula and its surroundings. The most drastic change was in the Indian Peninsula, which has turned into an independent island.”

Zha Zheming said, “Everyone should know that Fierce Beasts are unstoppable. India provided us with massive data on nuclear strikes, and Nuclear Weapons are humanity’s final trump card. Apart from the crustal movement generated, the effect was encouraging; at least we found a way to eliminate Fierce Beasts. But the unimaginably intense crustal movement has almost plunged us into despair.”

“The State’s intention is to figure out whether this intense crustal movement was naturally generated, caused by the nuclear strike, or existed before, with the nuclear strike merely acting as a fuse. We need to clarify all these. Otherwise, no one dares to easily use nuclear strikes.”

Pausing for a moment, Zha Zheming said, “Your mission is to escort our experts safely to the fracture of the Indian Peninsula and then protect the experts while they collect various data.”

Hearing this mission, Zhou Liming’s first thought was that he could finally go abroad. His second thought was to curse inwardly: “The mission point is where the crust fractured. Damn it, that place just suffered from twenty-five high-yield Nuclear Bombs. Radiation is at its peak. If something goes wrong, damn it!”

After stating the mission, Zha Zheming turned to Lian Ruixue, smiled, and said, “Ruixue, are you free tonight? Let’s go out for a meal.”

Lian Ruixue refused without hesitation, “Colonel Zha, I am about to execute the mission. I’m very sorry.” Zha Zheming just smiled and said nothing, preparing to leave. After walking a few steps, he turned back and said, “The Lian Family would never allow you to execute this mission.” Then he smiled and disappeared into the corridor.

Lian Ruixue’s face turned pale, and then she looked somewhat depressed. She knew that for such a high-risk mission, how could her grandfather and father possibly send her? The power of her family was something she could not resist. She knew that once they made a decision, she could not change it.

Thinking that she could never do anything with her own thoughts in her life, Lian Ruixue’s tears almost flowed out.

To cover up her emotional display, Lian Ruixue composed herself and shouted, “The situation is urgent. I now announce the selected personnel for the mission…”