10: Commander Xie's Test

"Sir, who exactly are you?"

Xie Jinyuan's voice was very calm, like a pebble cast into a deep pool; it didn't cause much of a splash, yet the ripples spread to the deepest part of one's heart.

The air seemed to freeze at this moment.

Shangguan Zhibiao stood to the side, his breathing subconsciously becoming lighter. He looked at his commander, then at Chen Xi, his heart as tense as if it were being scratched by a cat's claws.

Chen Xi opened his mouth, but his long-prepared excuse of being a "patriotic overseas Chinese" seemed pale and powerless under that sharp gaze that seemed to pierce through everything.

He couldn't lie.

In front of this man, any lie was like thin ice with nowhere to hide under the sunlight.

The viewers in the livestream also exploded with excitement.

[It's here, it's here! The ultimate interrogation!]

[Quick! Master Xi! Take out your ID card and show it to him!]

[Dumbass upstairs, take out an ID card? 18 digits—you think the commander would believe that?]

[Quick, tell him you're a transmigrator from the future and lead them to fight all the way to Tokyo!]

Just as Chen Xi's brain was working rapidly, thinking of how to give a slightly less ridiculous explanation...

Xie Jinyuan waved his hand, interrupting his thoughts.

"Forget it."

He leaned back slightly against the back of his chair, and his gaze behind his glasses moved away from Chen Xi, landing on the massive military map on the wall.

"Your origin, sir, is perhaps more complex than this war itself. Let's not talk about that for now."

He paused, changing the subject as his fingers lightly tapped the table.

"I'm more interested to know—since you've returned from overseas, you must have your own views on the current global situation."

Chen Xi was stunned.

He hadn't expected the other man to lightly brush aside the core question and instead ask about the international situation.

What was this?

A test?

Or... a probe?

Shangguan Zhibiao was also completely bewildered.

He couldn't keep up with his commander's train of thought at all. In his view, the most urgent thing right now was to figure out where Chen Xi's blade and that bottle of medicine came from. Why ask about those foreigners far away? Could they actually send troops to help?

Xie Jinyuan ignored their confusion, simply looking at the area representing Europe on the map as he spoke slowly.

"Currently, Britain and France have adopted a policy of appeasement toward Germany's steady encroachment. In your opinion, sir, can this policy bring peace?"

This was a question that would have given any top strategist of the time a headache.

Chen Xi's heart, however, suddenly calmed down.

He knew that this was the real test.

Martial prowess can make you a fierce general.

But vision and perspective determine how high you can stand and how far you can see.

He didn't answer immediately, instead remaining silent for a few seconds to organize his thoughts.

He couldn't be too blunt; that wouldn't be analysis, but prophecy, which would push him into an even more dangerous position.

"It won't."

Chen Xi's voice was soft, but firm and decisive.

"Commander, if I may be blunt, that isn't appeasement; it's nurturing a tiger that will eventually bring disaster."

Xie Jinyuan's pupils contracted imperceptibly.

"Oh? How so?"

"Germany's current actions make its ambitions clear. What it wants isn't a small piece of the Sudetenland, but the whole of Europe. Britain and France are merely using other people's flesh to fill the tiger's belly, delusional in their hope that once the tiger is full, it will leave them alone."

Chen Xi paused, his tone becoming somewhat cold.

"But they've forgotten that a tiger's appetite can never be satisfied. Once it has finished eating everyone else, the caretaker is next."

This analogy was simple, yet terrifyingly blunt.

Shangguan Zhibiao was completely lost, but Xie Jinyuan's eyes lit up at that moment.

He pressed further, "Then in your opinion, sir, when will the flames of war sweep across Europe?"

"Soon," Chen Xi uttered two words. "One year at the shortest, two at the longest. The moment Germany's iron hooves trample Poland will be the beginning of a bloodbath across all of Europe."

*Boom!*

These words were like a thunderclap exploding in Xie Jinyuan's mind.

He had always been worried about the situation in Europe and vaguely felt that the policy of appeasement was improper, but he never dared to imagine that a world war sweeping across all of Europe would come so quickly!

In the livestream, the viewers who originally thought the "talking scenes" were boring were now stunned by Chen Xi's clear and logically rigorous analysis.

[Holy crap... since when did Master Xi become a military commentator?]

[This analysis has some depth! I'm completely stunned listening to it.]

[Stop overhyping it; he's just acting like a prophet with the answer key. Who doesn't know that WWII began in 1939 with Germany's blitzkrieg on Poland?]

[Upstairs, are you freaking stupid? Master Xi is currently in 1937! He's giving spoilers to historical figures!]

[Holy shit! Right! How could I forget that! Master Xi is performing a dimensionality reduction strike!]

Xie Jinyuan didn't speak.

He simply picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip of the now-cold tea, seemingly using the action to calm the stormy waves in his heart.

"A fine 'nurturing a tiger to bring disaster' indeed."

He set down the teacup and turned his gaze to the other side of the map, the land representing the America.

"And what about America? They are currently isolated overseas, profiting handsomely from the war and seemingly having no intention of intervening. Do you think, sir, they can remain uninvolved forever?"

This question was even sharper than the previous one.

Because in 1937, the mainstream global opinion was that the America would never get involved in a world war again.

"They cannot."

Chen Xi's answer remained simple and direct.

"Seeking profit is the nature of capital. But when the flames of war reach one's own doorstep, any capital must fight for survival."

"Our war with Japan will sooner or later affect their interests in East Asia. And if Germany truly swallows all of Europe, its next step will inevitably be to reach across the Atlantic."

"Moreover..."

Chen Xi looked at Xie Jinyuan and said word by word.

"Commander, if I may venture a guess, our neighbor to the east has an appetite for more than just our land. From beginning to end, their eyes have been fixed on the rich rubber and oil of Southeast Asia."

"Once they head south... it would be equivalent to personally handing a knife to the America."

"At that point, even if the America doesn't want to fight, it will have to."

Silence.

In the headquarters, a long, deathly silence fell.

Shangguan Zhibiao was completely dumbfounded. He gaped, looking at the map and then at Chen Xi, feeling like his brain was totally insufficient.

As for Xie Jinyuan, his eyes hidden behind his glasses were now staring fixedly at Chen Xi, with a look of overwhelming shock that could no longer be concealed!

The Southern Expansion Doctrine!

This was a top-secret national policy that was still being fiercely debated within the Japanese military!

It was divided into the "Northern Expansion" and "Southern Expansion" factions, which were in constant dispute.

The man before him could actually point out the key to it in a single sentence!

He had even analyzed the fundamental reasons for the America' entry into the war so thoroughly!

This wasn't analysis.

This was a prophecy!

It was a precise overview of the entire historical context from the vantage point of a century later!

At this moment, there was no longer any trace of probing or testing in Xie Jinyuan's heart.

All that remained was a massive sense of absurdity and... awe, originating from the depths of his soul.

He slowly stood up, walked over to Chen Xi, and gave him a deep look.

For a long time.

Only then did he speak slowly, in an extremely complex, even slightly raspy tone.

"Your talent, sir, is far beyond what a 'sharp blade' or a 'miracle medicine' can compare to."

He paused, as if using all his strength to ask the ultimate question that had come full circle and had to be faced again.

"May I ask, sir... who exactly are you?"