Chapter 90: New Delhi

The instruments needed by the experts had been loaded onto the Transport Aircraft earlier. The danger level of this flight would not be very high.

After confirming that all personnel had arrived, the Transport Aircraft started up, left the military airfield, and flew straight west.

Since there were fewer people this time, everyone stayed in the crew rest room. It provided places to rest and some drinks, which was far better than the cargo hold. The five experts kept whispering about their views on the current crustal movement in India, proposing many theories that Zhou Liming had no idea what they were.

There was nothing to be done. What could a student in his second year of high school know?

Actually, the entire X Squadron was established with the responsibility to protect and execute high-risk missions. The selected people were indeed the aces in the army, but the problem was, how many of those who became aces had university degrees or doctoral knowledge? Almost all of them had low education levels and only knew how to work to death.

The composition of this expert group seemed to be aware of the situation of the X Squadron. So, when discussing these matters, they never considered the X Squadron.

From Zhou Liming’s point of view, their lack of consideration was absolutely correct. Otherwise, if they suddenly asked him how much yield of a Nuclear Bomb was needed to cause some kind of burning or earthing, or what the theoretical basis was for crustal movement caused by a Nuclear Strike, he would be as mute as a fish. If they really asked, he would just be wasting their time.

After more than six hours of flight, the Transport Aircraft arrived in the capital of India, New Delhi.

The setting of India’s capital was somewhat strange. Even though New Delhi was the actual capital, they often set up a Temporary Capital in Madhya Pradesh. Zhou Liming had no idea what it meant. After Madhya Pradesh was threatened, they set up another Temporary Capital in Uttar Pradesh.

During these six or so hours, the experts had been discussing and arguing endlessly. Zhou Liming couldn’t figure out how they had so much energy. Moreover, the current arguing was useless. Without field investigation, who could know the real cause? Anyway, during these six or so hours, the entire X Squadron had been closing their eyes to rest.

The reason for going to New Delhi first was naturally requested by the Indian government. Although two-thirds of India had fallen, their national system was still intact. The Transport Aircraft had no defensive power at all. If hit by a Missile, it would definitely be destroyed with everyone on board killed. Although the reason given by the state was to help the Indian government understand the cause of the crustal movement, the Indians were not stupid. When they lacked the ability to send an expert group, they naturally used the condition of allowing free activity within India to obtain all the investigation data.

The specific matters were actually being followed up by other personnel from the state. The mission of the X Squadron was to ensure the safety of the expert group.

When landing at the military airfield in New Delhi, the two escorting Indian Fighter Jets left. At the airfield, a Major General of the Army was waiting with a few soldiers in a car.

“The President already knows of your arrival, but as you know, the situation in the world is terrible. He really cannot spare the time to welcome you. I am very sorry. Major General Sanjay will welcome you on behalf of the President.” Major General Sanjay was very polite and spoke Chinese, and his Chinese was very good.

As the captain of the whole team, Qiao Bingsen saluted the other party and said, “Qiao Bingsen, captain of this team.”

After returning the salute, Sanjay made a welcoming gesture and said, “Accommodations have been arranged for you. You can rest first. Regarding the investigation, I think tomorrow would be more appropriate.”

The time in New Delhi was two and a half hours behind Beijing Time in China. They set off from Chongqing in the morning. After six and a half hours of travel, it should have been around four in the afternoon. But the sunlight here was still the fiercest, indicating it was only around one o’clock.

In that battle in Madhya Pradesh, India’s military forces lost more than half. At the military airfield at this moment, there were only about one hundred fighter jets parked.

The car left the military airfield. This place was only more than ten kilometers away from New Delhi. There were patrol armored vehicles on the highway from time to time, and no civilians were seen. Sanjay introduced, “To ensure the smooth passage between New Delhi and the military airfield, the entire highway and the area within one kilometer have been listed as a military restricted zone.”

Because it was a time of war readiness, the highway was almost full of trucks transporting supplies.

Although there were many cars, there were no traffic jams. Near New Delhi, three cars left this highway and cut through a Small Town that would be moved in the future.

As soon as they left the Small Town and got on a nearby highway, countless car horns and people’s shouts came to their ears. Compared to here, the highway they had just walked was like a paradise. On the highway, there were crowded cars, and people were walking in the gaps between the cars.

On both sides of the highway, there were tents of various ages. Some were very new, some were broken and tattered, and more were patched with colorful fabrics, making them look colorful. In front of these tents, many Indians with vacant eyes sat there, watching the crowd on the highway without any expression.

What made Zhou Liming frown was that on both sides of the highway, and even in the visible distance, everything was brown, with bare soil. The children of some women were searching in these bare places, pulling up some grass roots from time to time and putting them into the baskets they carried with them. No need to guess, the reason why this place was bald, with leaves and grass roots missing, was certainly because the people living here had eaten them.

From this point alone, it could be seen that India had fallen into a food crisis.

This highway was one of the main roads leading to New Delhi, crowded with people fleeing from all over India. Although crowded, it was not blocked. People could still move slowly in the crowd. Now Zhou Lidan finally had the chance to witness Indian culture. On a truck, there were countless bundles, and the top was full of people. Many three-wheeled vehicles also dragged their children and families, full of Indian characteristics.

Sanjay noticed that Zhou Liming was paying attention to the scene outside and said embarrassedly, “I am sorry. The military highway is connected to our logistics warehouse, so we can only enter New Delhi by taking this road. But don’t worry, it is still a few kilometers away from New Delhi. Um, I suppose you also know about our battle against the Fierce Beasts in the past few days… so the number of helicopters is limited.”

The other party was being tactful, but the meaning was already very clear.

Zhou Liming didn’t mind and said, “Major General, we can understand.”

After more than an hour of congestion, they finally entered the suburbs of New Delhi. The Indian government had set up checkpoints here. People and vehicles entering New Delhi needed to be checked. After Major General Sanjay showed his credentials, the soldiers at the checkpoint finally let them pass. After crossing the checkpoint, the cars on the streets became scarce. Seeing the crowds outside, the streets with a considerable number of people even felt somewhat empty.

The impression given to Zhou Liming was that even India, which developed primarily for military purposes, had a capital that, except for its large area, could only be compared to the second-tier cities along the coast in terms of prosperity.

On the streets, tents could be seen everywhere. Many people sat blankly on the streets. Zhou Liming also saw numbness in their eyes. The peninsular shape made the rich areas of India fall very quickly. The huge amount of supplies could not be evacuated at all, directly causing the current food crisis.

Sanjay arranged for them to stay in the Foreign Guest Hotel, where soldiers were guarding. Idlers were not allowed to get close.