166: Chapter 166 Headquarters is furious! They've gone mad!

Seeing the pale face of the Communications Staff Officer, everyone's laughter and discussion were abruptly cut off, as if by an invisible blade.

The Deputy Commander-in-Chief's heart sank abruptly, and a sense of foreboding washed over him: "What news is it now? Is it City Name..."

The Communications Staff Officer took a deep breath, as if summoning all his strength, before reporting in a hoarse voice:

"Report to all Commanders... City Name Forward Command... urgent telegram..."

He paused for a moment, and under the gaze of everyone that seemed to pierce right through him, he continued with difficulty:

"After the air battle ended today, Mr. Shen, the Brigade Commander, and other commanders were returning to the Headquarters when, on Victory Street in the east of the city... they encountered a premeditated sniper assassination attempt by armed elements of the Japanese Tokkō lurking in the area..."

"Mr. Shen... was shot in the left chest..."

Boom!

It was as if a thunderclap had exploded inside the cave dwelling!

The complexions of all The Chiefs changed instantly!

"What?!"

Cries of alarm erupted everywhere!

"What is the situation? How is Mr. Shen now?" The Deputy Commander-in-Chief stepped forward in one stride.

"The telegram states... after emergency treatment on the scene and subsequent examination by doctors... the bullet did not penetrate, but the immense impact caused Mr. Shen... to suffer a fractured rib on his left side, moderate shock and concussion to his internal organs, and signs of slight internal bleeding..."

"Currently, there is no immediate danger to his life, but... the injury still requires close observation... and he needs to rest and recuperate for a period of time..."

No immediate danger to his life... fractured rib... internal organ concussion... needs rest...

Every word struck the hearts of The Chiefs like a heavy hammer.

After a brief, deathly silence, there was a volcanic eruption of fury and lingering fear!

"Bastards! Okamura, that old animal! If he can't win openly, he resorts to underhanded tactics!!"

A Leader's eyes turned blood-red, and he slammed his fist hard against the earthen wall, causing dust to fall in flurries.

"Launching an assassination during the chaos caused by the air raid—this was long-planned! This is a naked provocation and retaliation against us!" The Chief of Staff was both shocked and furious, his chest heaving violently.

The Division Commander's face was even more ashen, and he rarely showed such stern reproach for his beloved general: "What is the Brigade Commander doing? Did he get carried away just because he won the air battle?"

"Who is Mr. Shen? He is the treasure of our Eighth Route Army! He is where our future hope lies! His safety is the top priority!"

"How was the security work arranged? How could they let Mr. Shen be exposed to the enemy's sniper sights?"

"If something were to happen... if something were to go wrong with Mr. Shen, can he bear that responsibility?"

Immense worry and anger overwhelmed everyone.

The blood that had been boiling just moments ago due to the great air victory instantly turned cold.

They dared not imagine, if that bullet had been even slightly off, or if Mr. Shen hadn't been wearing some kind of bulletproof vest... what catastrophic consequences there would have been!

The atmosphere in the cave dwelling took a sharp turn for the worse, plunging from a boiling peak to a cold valley, so oppressive that it made it hard to breathe.

"Enough!"

The Deputy Commander-in-Chief raised his hand abruptly, cutting off everyone's angry denunciations and noisy discussion.

His face was terrifyingly gloomy, but his eyes forced themselves to regain calmness and decisiveness.

"Now is not the time to assign blame. The urgent priority is to ensure Mr. Shen's absolute safety and let him recover as soon as possible!"

The Deputy Commander-in-Chief's voice was resolute and decisive.

"I order!"

Everyone immediately straightened their bodies, listening with solemnity.

"First, starting from today, Mr. Shen's security level is raised to the highest level!"

"Using the Headquarters Guard Regiment as a foundation, select the most loyal, reliable, and experienced soldiers to form a dedicated guard unit, with a scale of no less than a full regiment!"

"Equip them with the best weapons and implement the strictest security protocols!"

"Wherever Mr. Shen goes, the guards must follow to ensure absolute safety!"

"I will say it again, a full regiment!"

The Deputy Commander-in-Chief practically gritted his teeth as he said this number.

An exaggerated level of security force!

A full regiment of troops dedicated to protecting one person—this was unprecedented in the history of the Eighth Route Army!

To put it this way, even for a Brigade Commander, the regular security force is only a squad, and only during wartime or when going out would they bring a platoon.

As for the Division Commander, the Deputy Commander, and others, a guard company is the absolute limit!

But this time, the Deputy Commander directly assigned a guard regiment to Shen Wang!

Yet, none of The Chiefs opposed it; they even wondered if they could add more.

Is a regiment too much?

The Eighth Route Army now has over a hundred regiments; what is sending one regiment to specifically protect Shen Wang?

But if outsiders knew that the Eighth Route Army had actually dispatched a guard regiment, they would likely call it insane!

Back in the day, if the Principal had had a guard regiment by his side... ahem...

"Second," the Deputy Commander continued: "Immediately issue an urgent directive in the name of the Headquarters to the City Name Forward Command, reiterating the extreme importance of Mr. Shen's safety, and issue a severe circular criticism to the Brigade Commander, Li Yunlong, Zhao Gang, and other responsible comrades!"

"Order them to submit a profound self-examination and comprehensively rectify the anti-espionage, counter-intelligence, and security work in City Name!"

"If a similar incident happens again, resulting in harm to Mr. Shen, whoever it is will be dealt with by military law, without leniency!"

"Third," the Deputy Commander-in-Chief looked at the Deputy Director, his tone softening slightly but remaining heavy.

"Old *, you go on this trip. Representing the Headquarters, carry the best medicine, and depart for City Name immediately to personally visit and console Mr. Shen."

"Convey the Headquarters' highest concern and apologies to him, and ensure he can rest and recover with peace of mind!"

"At the same time, fully understand the current situation in City Name and assist the Forward Command in handling follow-up stabilization and counter-intelligence work."

"Yes! I will prepare to depart immediately!" The Deputy Director accepted the order solemnly.

The order was quickly disseminated.

Inside the cave dwelling, the joy had long since vanished.

Forget about shooting down 60 planes; even shooting down 600 enemy planes would not be as important as Shen Wang's safety!

...

Meanwhile.

Beijing, North China Army Headquarters.

The air was so thick it felt like it could be wrung out, suffocating everyone.

All the staff officers and adjutants held their breath, standing with hands hanging down respectfully, eyes on their noses and noses on their hearts; even the slightest sound of paper turning had vanished.

In the vast operations room, there was only the sound of Okamura Yasuji's heavy and suppressed breathing, one breath after another, like the muffled groans of a wounded beast.

Spread out before him were two top-secret telegrams that had just arrived.

One was from the First Army in Taiyuan, every word like a knife, reporting that after the 3rd Aviation Brigade attacked City Name... sixty fighter planes were completely wiped out, with no survivors.

The other was from the "decapitation" operation line he had personally initiated, which brought news of failure as well: the sniper confirmed a hit to the target's chest, but the target was immediately protected and evacuated.

Judging from the vague information arduously transmitted by the insider, the target was not dead, and the injuries seemed controllable.

"baka... yarou!!!"

Okamura Yasuji swung his arm violently, sweeping the heavy inkstone and pen holder on the desk, along with those two damned telegrams, flying away!

The assassination failed!

The 3rd Aviation Brigade, a full sixty planes—twenty elite fighter planes and forty bombers—completely wiped out!

This was not a loss; this was total annihilation!

And they were annihilated in the air!

Fury, astonishment, and a trace of fear that even he himself was unwilling to admit!

That's right, Okamura was somewhat... afraid!