28: Chapter 28 Leaving the Zombie World

Medical staff quickly counted the returning personnel.

"Research team, ten members, all returned!"

A technician reported loudly.

But when it came to reporting on the personnel who executed the combat mission—

The voice stopped.

Everyone fell silent.

Zhao Jianguo stood in the crowd, looking at the spot where the portal had closed.

Then, he looked toward those who had returned.

Fifty soldiers who had gone forth—

Not a single one returned.

Fang Zhiyuan did not return.

Li Ming did not return.

Wang Yong, Liu Qiang, Zhang Hao...

And that nineteen-year-old person.

None of them returned.

Zhao Jianguo clenched his fists tightly.

His knuckles turned white.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

As a soldier, he had seen far too much sacrifice.

But at this moment, his heart was still bleeding.

Those were fifty vibrant lives.

Fifty of the finest soldiers.

Sons, husbands, and fathers of fifty families.

"Everyone..."

Zhao Jianguo opened his eyes, his voice hoarse:

"Convene an emergency meeting immediately."

"Yes, sir!"

An hour later.

Military Region Conference Room.

All personnel who had returned from the Otherworld were seated here.

Tao Zhe.

Nine scientists.

And Su Mingyuan.

However, Su Mingyuan noticed—

There were a few unfamiliar faces in the conference room as well.

They were dressed in plain clothes, but carried an extraordinary demeanor.

They sat beside the main head seat of the conference table.

Their status was clearly extraordinary.

Zhao Jianguo stood at the head seat, looking around the room:

"Comrades, first of all, on behalf of the military region and the nation, I extend the warmest welcome to all returning comrades."

"You have accomplished an unprecedented mission."

"You have brought back hope for the nation."

Applause broke out.

But it stopped quickly.

Because everyone knew—

This mission came at a huge cost.

"Secondly—"

Zhao Jianguo's tone grew serious:

"I want to announce an important decision."

"Central Command, after hearing our report, has issued the highest directive—"

He paused for a moment:

"Increase support for 'project dawn'!"

"Rally the strength of the whole nation to fully support the advancement of project dawn!"

What?!

Everyone was stunned.

Rally the strength of the whole nation?

What did this mean?

This meant that 'project dawn' had been elevated to the highest level of national strategy!

This meant the nation would throw all available resources into supporting this plan!

"These gentlemen—"

Zhao Jianguo pointed to the strangers:

"Are special envoys sent by Central Command."

"Starting today, they will participate fully in the command and coordination of 'project dawn'."

Those people stood up and nodded to the crowd.

Whispers echoed through the conference room.

Everyone realized—

Things had become even more serious.

But right at this moment—

"I object!"

A voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone turned their heads.

It was Su Mingyuan.

He stood up, pale, but with resolute eyes:

"I object to this decision!"

"Comrade Su Mingyuan—"

Zhao Jianguo frowned.

"I don't want any more people to die!"

Su Mingyuan interrupted him:

"Fifty soldiers! Fifty lives!"

"person is still alive! I saw that he was still alive!"

"But I left him behind!"

"I..."

His voice trembled:

"I don't want to go through this kind of thing ever again..."

"So—"

He took a deep breath:

"Next time the portal opens, just let me go alone."

"Don't send any more soldiers with me."

"No one else should sacrifice themselves."

"Just me alone... is enough..."

The conference room fell into silence.

Zhao Jianguo was silent for a few seconds.

Then—he slammed his hand onto the table!

Smack!

"Absurd!"

His voice resounded with majesty:

"What do you think this is? Playing house?!"

"Comrade Su Mingyuan!"

He walked up to Su Mingyuan and stared intently at him:

"Do you know the situation our Daxia is facing right now?!"

"Do you know that the USA has now blockaded the strait, and do you know what that means for us?!"

He took a deep breath:

"Energy prices have already risen by 30%!"

"Thirty percentage points!"

"Do you know what kind of concept that is?!"

"This means—"

Zhao Jianguo's voice grew heavy:

"Countless factories face bankruptcy!"

"Countless workers are about to lose their jobs!"

"Prices are skyrocketing! The people's livelihood is in hardship!"

"And the USA is still continuing to exert pressure!"

"They want us to hand over 200 billion USD every year!"

"They want to station troops on our territory!"

"They want to deploy nuclear weapons in Japan!"

"This is a humiliation!"

"It is oppression!"

"It is a trampling of our national dignity!"

He pointed at Su Mingyuan:

"And you possess the portal!"

"You are our only hope!"

"As long as we can obtain large amounts of those energy crystal cores—"

"As long as we can master that energy conversion technology—"

"Our Daxia can completely break free from this energy crisis!"

"We can stand tall and say 'no' to the USA!"

"We can truly achieve national rejuvenation!"

Zhao Jianguo's voice echoed throughout the conference room:

"Therefore—"

"'project dawn' must continue!"

"And it must be intensified!"

"Not only must it continue, but it must also be faster, stronger, and more thorough!"

"Because this isn't just a plan—"

"This is the life and death of our nation!"

"This is the future of 1.4 billion people!"

Su Mingyuan was stunned.

He had never imagined—

That things were this serious.

"Do you think those fifty soldiers died in vain?!"

Zhao Jianguo's voice became even stern:

"No!"

"Their sacrifice was so that you could come back alive!"

"It was so that 'project dawn' could continue!"

"It was so that our nation could have a future!"

"So—"

He said word by word:

"You have no right to say 'I don't want any more people to die'!"

"You have no right to say 'I will go alone'!"

"Because this isn't just about you!"

"This is about the entire nation!"

"This is about 1.4 billion people!"

"Do you understand?!"

Su Mingyuan lowered his head, tears falling.

"I... I understand..."

"But..."

"There are no buts!"

Zhao Jianguo interrupted him:

"This is an order!"

"And a responsibility!"

"You must shoulder it!"

He turned around and looked at everyone:

"Comrades!"

"I know the sacrifices on this mission were heavy."

"I know you are all grieving inside."

"I am deeply grieved as well."

"But—"

His voice grew firm:

"War has always brought sacrifice."

"And we are engaged in a war without smoke."

"The enemies are not just those zombies."

"There are also those nations that want to crush us!"

"Those hostile forces that want to keep our heads bowed forever!"

"Therefore—"

"We cannot stop!"

"We cannot retreat!"

"We must keep moving forward!"

"Even if ahead lies a mountain of daggers and a sea of flames!"

"Even if we have to make even greater sacrifices!"

"We must forge ahead!"

"Because—"

He looked out the window, looking at the land he had spent a lifetime protecting:

"This is our country."

"This is our home."

"We have no retreat."

Silence pervaded the conference room.

Everyone was shaken by these words.

After a long time.

Tao Zhe stood up:

"Commander Zhao is right."

"'project dawn' must continue."

"And—"

He looked at Su Mingyuan:

"Su Mingyuan, you must understand."

"The sacrifice of those fifty soldiers was not your fault."

"They were soldiers."

"Protecting our home and defending our country was their duty."

"They had no regrets."

"So—"

"You shouldn't regret it either."

"What you should do is carry their hope and keep moving forward."

"Make their sacrifice meaningful."

Su Mingyuan raised his head and looked at Tao Zhe.

Then, he looked at everyone in the room.

In everyone's eyes shone a steadfast light.

They were all waiting for his answer.

Su Mingyuan took a deep breath.

He wiped his tears.

Then—

He slowly stood up.

"I..."

His voice was very quiet:

"I understand."

"I will continue."

"I will complete 'project dawn'."

"I will..."

He gritted his teeth:

"I will make their sacrifice meaningful."

Zhao Jianguo nodded:

"Very good."

"Then—"

He looked at everyone:

"Now, I declare—"

"'project dawn' has officially entered Phase Two!"

"Goal: Establish a stable Otherworld exploration system, obtain energy crystal cores in large quantities, and comprehensively study energy conversion technology!"

"All departments, fully cooperate!"

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone responded in unison.

The meeting officially began.