By the time Wen Yu arrived with Kuangliu on the third floor of the Strategic Command Center, the place was already filled to capacity. Officers from various departments had already been waiting there.
Kuangliu proceeded to an empty seat and sat down, signaling Wen Yu to sit beside him.
Xiao Xue and the others sat in order behind Kuangliu.
Wen Yu sensed the solemn atmosphere in the conference room as he observed the formal and serious military personnel around him. He immediately anticipated the matters that would be discussed.
Itās definitely about whether to fight or retreat, and if the choice is to fight, what strategy should be followed.
Observing the officersā slightly accelerated heart rates and somewhat reddened eyes, he could discern the attitude of most military personnel towards the Demon Fiends.
Kuangliu, sitting next to him, poured him a glass of water, then picked up a file folder from his side and placed it in front of Wen Yu.
"Take a look at this first."
...
The folder contained only a few simple pictures of Bipedal Lizards and some written descriptions.
Thereās nothing much to say about these; I already know all of this.
However, the last few documents caught his attention.
It was a panoramic image of the Demon City. A gigantic black whirlpool was clearly visible, standing where the original Demon Realmās Gate had been. Moreover, because one Demon Realmās Gate had collapsed, a miniature blood-red Demon Realmās Gate was slightly visible at the center.
Wen Yu nudged Kuangliu with his elbow and pointed at the red Demon Realmās Gate.
"Thatās for the creatures with black crystals on their heads!"
This simple statement directly explained the purpose of the miniature Demon Realmās Gate.
Wen Yu nodded, staring intently at the miniature Demon Realmās Gate, lost in thought.
Kuangliu remarked, "According to drone observations, that giant snake directly shattered a Demon Realmās Gate, causing that black whirlpool to appear. The image is too distant and somewhat blurry, so we donāt know the specific details."
Wen Yu doubtfully examined the black whirlpool in the picture.
In the image, a massive Bipedal Lizard was climbing out of the whirlpool.
It seems this thing is the Bipedal Lizardsā version of a Demon Realmās Gate.
However, Kuangliuās words puzzled Wen Yu. In his previous life, he remembered that six months after the demon plague began, the Demon Realmās Gate was considered absolutely indestructible!
Even Simba, whom Wen Yu considered the most powerful expert in his previous life, had only hunted near the Demon Realmās Gate. He had never heard of Simba causing any damage to the Demon Realmās Gate, let alone shattering it.
Slightly shaking his head, Wen Yu put aside the unanswerable question, quietly picked up his water glass, and waited in silence.
...
Wen Yu and Kuangliu had already arrived late. Now, they still had to wait for someone else, and it was obvious who that person was.
Less than ten minutes later, the conference room door was suddenly pulled open, and Lin Haifengās familiar figure appeared at the entrance.
An elderly man in a white lab coat and a man around thirty years old walked in behind him.
Upon seeing Lin Haifeng, all the military personnel present immediately stood up, gave a sharp military salute, and shouted in unison, "Commander!"
Even Wen Yu was pulled to his feet by Kuangliu beside him, managing a rather awkward and non-standard military salute.
Lin Haifeng, however, didnāt offer the usual pleasantries like "Hello, comrades," or "Youāve all worked hard." He simply gestured with a slight wave of his hand, indicating for everyone to be seated.
Kuangliu informed Wen Yu, "The one in the white lab coat is Feng Guansheng, Dean of the Science Academy. The one behind him is his deputy, Wei Tian."
Only then, hearing Kuangliuās words, did Wen Yu take a closer look at the two men accompanying Lin Haifeng.
Thereās not much to say about Feng Guansheng; heās just a bald old man. Wei Tian, however, made me look twice. To become the Deputy Dean of the Science Academy at such a young age is enough to prove this guyās abilities. And I have to admit, this guy is more handsome than me.
Kuangliu whispered, "Old Feng is extremely lecherous. I heard he recently married a young wife in her twenties. That old man is a turncoat. He used to be very close to the people from the Aristocratic Families. Now that those families are finished, he immediately rushed to Commander Linās side to suck up. If he werenāt genuinely capable, my old man would have gotten rid of him long ago!"
Kuangliuās voice was extremely soft, just loud enough for Wen Yu to hear.
After all, if others overheard a conversation between a Sequence Number 2 and a Sequence Number 3, it would truly be a joke.
Hearing Kuangliuās description, Wen Yu asked in the same hushed tone, "That fellow Wei Tian..."
"Heās a genius, a true genius. After the apocalypse began, many theories about Demonic Qi were derived by him, and that even includes a lot of new equipment!"
Wen Yu nodded and sat down with Kuangliu, quietly waiting for Lin Haifeng to speak.
...
Lin Haifeng didnāt exude a strong bureaucratic aura. At least, when Wen Yu interacted with him, he could sense that the old man was decisive and efficient in his actions.
This meeting was no exception.
A simple "Letās begin," from Lin Haifeng signaled the official start of the meeting that would decide the fate of the outpost.
First, Lin Haifengās secretary provided a detailed explanation of the current situation and various intelligence reports.
Naturally, these details didnāt need much elaboration, as everyone present was aware of them; Wen Yu and Kuangliu were, in fact, the primary reasons for the current state of affairs.
Once the secretary finished speaking, Lin Haifeng immediately began.
"Now, I want to hear everyoneās thoughts. Do we continue to fight these Bipedal Lizards, or do we withdraw from this treasure land?"
Upon hearing Lin Haifengās words, Fang Wenhai, who was sitting nearby, immediately spoke up. "I believe that although these Bipedal Lizards have an extremely strong reproductive capability, it doesnāt mean we canāt fight them. The three waves of missile strikes a while ago demonstrated that hot weapons can still achieve powerful combat effects in the current war. This also means that our military still holds a significant firepower advantage!"
"Our 8th Division has no cowards who fear death!"
"I believe this is an excellent opportunity for our Cathay military to train soldiers and acquire points!"
Various opinions were voiced by the officers present. Most advocated for fighting the Bipedal Lizards, though there were some dissenting, more conservative voices among them.
However, these voices werenāt crucial.
What truly mattered in this meeting were Lin Haifengās own thoughts and intentions.
After eliminating the Aristocratic Families, Lin Haifeng now wielded immense power. It wouldnāt be an exaggeration to say he was at the apex of power, not just within the military, but throughout all of Cathay!
If this were ancient times, he would be the Emperor!