55: Central Military District's decapitation plan

As soon as he finished speaking, another steady-looking Colonel staff officer immediately countered, his brow furrowed: "Commander, I believe this plan is extremely risky! The lethality radius of an anti-ship missile is no more than 20 meters! Who can guarantee this Corpse King doesn't have some bizarre sensory or evasion abilities? What if it senses it in advance and instantly displaces itself out of the kill zone? I believe to be safe, we should dispatch strategic bombers to drop high-yield thermobaric bombs directly above the TV Tower! The lethality radius of a thermobaric bomb can reach 500 meters! With such a large coverage area, no matter what special abilities it has, as long as it's in the core zone, the instantaneous high temperature and pressure will be enough to completely destroy it! That is the insurance policy!"

The Lieutenant Colonel staff officer did not back down, meeting him head-on: "Colonel! thermobaric bombs are area-effect weapons; their damage efficiency against a single high-value target may not match that of a precision-guided missile! Furthermore, the Corpse King is not a stationary target! It is currently circling in the air! Dropping a thermobaric bomb takes time, and its descent trajectory is fixed. If it happens to be at the edge of the lethality radius at that moment, or uses its flight capability to instantly accelerate out of the core zone, it might only be heavily or even lightly injured! And the strongest bomber we currently have available for this mission can only carry one large thermobaric bomb! We only have one chance! In contrast, the ultra-high speed and infrared/laser composite guidance of the 'divine eagle-23', combined with the fighter jet's close-range lock-on, is the true weapon for hunting high-speed, high-mobility targets! The success rate is higher!"

Another technical staff officer chimed in: "Perhaps... we could send a large drone mothership to release a swarm of small drones for close-range reconnaissance and continuous real-time video transmission, guiding land-based ballistic missiles from the rear to strike? This would avoid risking manned aircraft..."

The sounds of argument echoed in the command room; every second was as precious as gold.

Commander Qin, seated at the head of the table, had no expression on his square face. Only the sharp light in his eyes flickered constantly, like a high-speed computer weighing the pros and cons of every plan. Time! What they lacked most was time! Xingyang was bleeding every second!

Finally, he snapped his head up, his gaze like lightning as it swept across the room. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable decisiveness that instantly suppressed all arguments:

"Your considerations are all valid! But combat opportunities are fleeting!" He slammed his hand on the armrest. "Execute Plan One! Orders: weilong-1 fighter jet, take off immediately! Armed with four 'divine eagle-23' anti-ship missiles! Target: the Corpse King in the Luocheng TV Tower area! Operation 'Wing Severing' is a go!"

He turned his gaze to the communications officer: "At the same time, order Xingyang Base! Dispatch more drones at all costs to conduct uninterrupted real-time video monitoring of the Corpse King! We must ensure weilong-1 receives the most precise target information! If necessary, drones are permitted to approach or even be sacrificed to provide guidance for the missiles!"

Commander Qin's voice paused for a moment, becoming even more chilling, like a Siberian cold front: "Additionally, notify the Second Artillery Corps. The 'Windstorm-47' land-based ballistic missiles are to enter first-level launch readiness immediately! Load them with... 500-kiloton tactical nuclear warheads! Coordinates: Luocheng TV Tower!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire command room instantly fell into a dead silence! One could hear a pin drop! All the staff officers, regardless of their previous opinions, sucked in a breath of cold air, their pupils contracting suddenly! 500 kilotons! That was nearly 25 times the power of the 'Little Boy' atomic bomb! Since the birth of nuclear weapons, aside from that great war where America dropped one on Japan, China had never truly used them in actual combat! Commander Qin was actually going to bring out this ultimate weapon of human invention!

A staff officer's face turned pale, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Com... Commander! The radioactive fallout after a nuclear blast... will it... cause the zombies to undergo unknown, even more terrifying evolutions? The consequences... would be unimaginable!"

Commander Qin's clenched fist trembled slightly, his knuckles turning white from the force. This possibility was like a cold, poisonous thorn stabbing into his resolve. He remained silent for two seconds, a brief silence that felt as long as a century. Finally, his gaze became sharp as a blade again, and his voice was resolute:

"Execute Operation 'Wing Severing' first! If the weilong-1 mission fails... then we will discuss the nuclear bomb! The order has been given. Carry it out!"

On the giant screen, the green characters 'weilong-1 fighter jet has taken off' lit up piercingly.

Xingyang Base.

The shrill, ear-piercing air raid sirens sounded like the wails of a dying giant beast, continuously tearing through the grey sky and echoing madly between the cold concrete fortresses, striking the taut, near-breaking nerves of every survivor.

Atop the highest watchtower, a sentry gripped high-powered military binoculars, his knuckles white from excessive force. His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at the distant horizon. There, a boundless, writhing, rolling black 'tide' was surging forward! A million zombies! Their decaying bodies emitted a stench so thick it was suffocating, as if it could make a person faint from over ten kilometers away! Their twisted limbs, hollow eye sockets dripping with pus, and their low, humming roar combined to form a living portrait of hell!

Inside the base's combat command center, the massive electronic screen was divided into countless frames, flickering with the tragic scenes from various defensive lines. Suddenly, one of the split screens was enlarged to the center—it was the real-time video from the Luocheng drones! In the image, that terrifying existence codenamed 'Winged Bat King' was clearly visible! It was about two and a half meters tall, its grayish-blue skin covered in sparse black hair. Its massive, membrane-filled bat wings flapped powerfully, stirring up bursts of black, eerie mist that seemed capable of swallowing light. Like a lord from the abyss, it circled at low altitude above the ruins of the Luocheng TV Tower. Every rhythmic roar acted like an invisible whip, driving the million-strong Zombie Tide below to surge even more madly toward Xingyang!

"What on earth is Kyoto doing?! Is there still no news?!" The Chief of General Staff could no longer suppress his inner anxiety and fury. His calloused fist slammed hard onto the cold metal console with a dull 'thud', making the water cup on the table jump. His bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at the encroaching flood of death on the screen, as if they were about to spit fire. If there was no more support, the Zombie Tide would be at their gates!

Just then, a piercing communication alert sounded. The operator's voice changed pitch with excitement: "Re... Report, Chief of Staff! Urgent telegram from Kyoto! Ordering our department: immediately dispatch more drones for highest priority, uninterrupted real-time video monitoring of the Corpse King! If necessary... drones are permitted to be sacrificed! To provide guidance for Operation 'Wing Severing'! Their 'weilong-1' fighter jet has taken off carrying four 'divine eagle-23' anti-ship missiles! The target... is to decapitate the Corpse King!"

The operator's voice paused, continuing with a hint of undetectable trembling: "Kyoto also says... if 'Wing Severing' fails... they will... they will use 'Windstorm-47' missiles carrying 500-kiloton nuclear warheads... to destroy Luocheng!"

Nuclear bomb! This word was like a heavy hammer, striking hard against the hearts of everyone in the command center! After a brief dead silence, there was an even deeper chill.

The Chief of General Staff's pupils shrank, but his military decisiveness allowed him to immediately suppress the storm in his heart. He stood up straight, his voice like an unsheathed sword, resolute:

"Good! Pass on my orders! Drone units! Dispatch more small reconnaissance drones! Target: Luocheng TV Tower! Stare down that winged monster for me!! Provide guidance for 'weilong-1'! Fight for a glimmer of hope... for Xingyang!" In his bloodshot eyes, the flames of a desperate gamble burned. All hope was pinned on that silver war eagle cutting through the sky and the four lethal arrows it carried!