A Post-Apocalyptic Journey to Another World

This rumor, which circulated in Pingyuan City, spread slowly like dozens of other rumors of various versions, without attracting the attention of the authorities.

That day, Huo Mingde, his face frosty, stormed into Gao Longzhi's laboratory, carrying a report. He took two steps to the lab table and, without a word, slammed the report down in front of the bewildered Gao Longzhi. The force of the impact shook the entire lab, splashing unidentified liquids from various test tubes, startling Gao Longzhi. Huo Mingde didn't know, but Gao Longzhi knew all too well that if these liquids mixed together, they could explode!

Seeing that his old friend was truly angry, the scientist with a head of white curly hair quickly comforted him: "What happened? Why is our usually calm Old Huo so angry?"

“Look at yourself! A bunch of cowards! Fools! Your students are among them!” Huo Mingde said angrily.

Gao Longzhi picked up the report, looked at it carefully for a while, and then, without saying a word, led his old friend to a small private office. After pouring two glasses of water, he looked at the other person with some interest before slowly saying, "This matter has actually been discussed between our researchers and the higher-ups in Tianjing City for some time now."

"Using nuclear weapons now is extremely foolish from a military perspective! It's an act of cowardice! It's suicidal!" Huo Mingde's face turned a deep red with anger. He continued, "The battlefield is on Earth, on our home planet. Dropping nuclear weapons is tantamount to destroying our home! Moreover, monsters are everywhere. In China alone, to eliminate about 70% of the monsters, we would need to drop at least a hundred nuclear bombs. What would be the consequences of dropping a hundred nuclear bombs? Besides, where are the monsters' recruits? How many reserves do they have? What if more emerge from the rifts? Keep dropping them? Until we ourselves are irradiated to death?"

Gao Longzhi immediately comforted him, "Don't be anxious. I also oppose it. It's not only militaryly unfeasible, but also based on our current research results. The monsters' resistance to radiation is significantly stronger than that of humans."

"So what have you been researching lately?" Huo Mingde pressed. "Old Gao, I've never really paid much attention to your projects, but you've been researching nuclear radiation lately, haven't you?"

“Yes! That’s right!” Gao Longzhi went to a safe, entered the password, opened it, and took out a research report, handing it to Huo Mingde: “Take a look.”

Huo Mingde snatched the document and snorted irritably, but after reading the report for a while, his tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly: "So you're researching these things to persuade the higher-ups to give up the use of nuclear weapons."

“That’s right. As a researcher, I have to speak with experimental results. I found that these monsters may even mutate after being exposed to radiation, and their average resistance is several times, or even dozens of times, that of humans. In other words, even if nuclear weapons are deployed, they can only kill monsters within a certain range of the explosion’s center, greatly reducing the killing effect.”

"Don't the higher-ups know this?" Huo Mingde asked, puzzled. He picked up the report he had brought into the lab again and said, "What's this 'Request for Comments on the Use of Nuclear Weapons' from Tianjing City?"

Gao Longzhi shook his head. His old friend was very talented in military affairs, but not so good at politics. He explained, "Old Huo, there are also disagreements among the top officials in Tianjing City, and they also face various pressures. As far as I know, they will not use nuclear weapons, but to shut up those cowards who want to use nuclear weapons, they need more people's support!"

He took a sip of water and continued, "If you pay attention, you'll find that most of the draft for comments has been sent to opponents like you and me who hold military power or enjoy prestige in the scientific research field. Tianjing City is using the voting results of this draft to shut up those who demand the use of nuclear weapons!"

Huo Mingde was still uneasy, and he asked, "But what if there are even more people who support it?"

“No more,” Gao Longzhi said confidently, while handing a document to Huo Mingde: “The Indians couldn’t hold back any longer. Just an hour ago, they used nuclear weapons! Now, the whole world is watching India, watching how things turn out. If nothing unexpected happens, once the results are out, no one will be clamoring about using nuclear weapons anymore!”

“The Indian leadership is incredibly stupid!” Huo Mingde said.

“It’s not stupidity, it’s cowardice!” Gao Longzhi said. “Their army is weak in combat and they are generally superstitious. Faced with supernatural phenomena, their will to resist is even weaker! Their troops have been retreating from the very beginning. It’s their bad luck that the invaders of India are mostly monsters that resemble giant insects. According to the information I have, these insect-like monsters have abnormally strong resistance to radiation, and their mutation rate has also greatly increased. The Indians have probably brought a lot of trouble upon themselves this time! Fortunately, they have retained some rationality and only dropped three low-yield nuclear weapons in a specific area.”

“Even so, we cannot be careless. I will contact my old comrades and jointly oppose the use of nuclear weapons. You must do the same!” Huo Mingde said.

“Of course…” Gao Longzhi hadn’t finished speaking when a combat staff officer suddenly rushed into the laboratory, shouting, “Commander! Emergency order! An order sent directly from Tianjing City, bypassing the military region’s command system!”

Huo Mingde and Gao Long were both taken aback!

……

The regimental commanders and political commissars of the 1st Division simultaneously received an urgent order from the division headquarters, requiring them to immediately proceed to the headquarters, regardless of whether they were resting or engaged in frontline combat. The military order was absolute; the regimental commanders handed over their command duties to their deputies and, with their political commissars filled with doubt, headed to the division headquarters.

Confidential secretary Xiao Wu noticed that the atmosphere of this meeting was unusual. After the group leaders arrived, they did not speak or discuss the topics as usual. Instead, they stared blankly at an order in front of them. The entire conference room was deathly silent, and no one made a sound.

Finally, a regimental political commissar surnamed Wei, who was from Pingyuan City, stood up and shouted, "Commander, we can't leave! What will happen to the people of Pingyuan City if we leave?" The soldier's voice trembled slightly, and he felt that his opposition was so powerless. This was an order from the higher-ups in Tianjing. He knew very well that not only he, but even his division commander had no right to object.

“But this is a direct order! As soldiers, we must obey orders!” another regimental commander said.

“You’re afraid of dying! You’re trying to run away!” Political Commissar Wei shouted.

The word "escape" clearly provoked the other side. The regimental commander stood up, ripped open his collar, revealing a huge, horrific wound that had just been stitched up and hadn't even scabbed over yet: "I always lead from the front in every battle. Am I afraid of death? These scars are enough to prove my integrity as a soldier!"

"Everyone knows that Commander Wang led his officers to provide support when the front lines were in dire need of help, and that he killed two black wolves with his bare hands in the ensuing skirmish. Let's not be stubborn!" Wu Sheng, a member of the Municipal Committee, stepped in to smooth things over, while also reminding everyone, "There are no cowards in our First Division. If you ask who here is afraid of death, I, Wu, don't believe it! True soldiers value honor above all else. If we die in battle, we will become martyrs and receive honor, and your families will also receive compensation and care. But if we disobey orders from superiors, we will become traitors. If we die in battle, we will not only not receive honor, but we will also be branded as traitors, and our families will be punished."

When Commander Wang heard Wu Sheng's words, he lowered his head and sat down. His family was all in Tianjing City, and the reason he agreed to the retreat was precisely because of the reasons Wu Sheng mentioned.

Another regimental commander said, "The Tianjing side may just be asking us to withdraw temporarily, and then fight back after a while! Our army has a tradition of mobile warfare."

A moment of silence fell over everyone, and they all looked at their teachers. In the end, they still wanted their teachers to make the final decision, but Huo Mingde remained silent and did not say a word.

Just as the meeting room fell into a terrible silence once again, a loud, young voice broke the silence: "I object!"

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