Chapter 91 Dawn

Xinghe's silence lasted a bit longer this time, and after a minute, Xinghe spoke in an excited tone, "It's possible!"

In an instant, Gao Yuan felt as if his body had become lighter, and he began to float upwards.

"Theoretically it is possible, but in reality, it is not. Based on my understanding of Earth's nuclear weapons, this is one of the ultimate ways to utilize nuclear energy. Although it's not completely utilized, the approach is correct. The only issue is that the delivery method is too primitive. Any civilization that has mastered space travel would not be threatened by your nuclear bombs."

Gao Yuan's heart, which had just begun to soar, sunk again, and both he and Wang Hu felt a disappointment that could not be fully encapsulated by mere words.

Gao Yuan looked at Wang Hu, then said dejectedly, "Then how can we possibly threaten the Serpent People with nuclear weapons?"

Xinghe continued in an excited tone, "Any destructive effect that reaches the speed of light is effective, such as electromagnetic radiation or light radiation. However, any spacecraft capable of long-distance space flight will have protective measures, so the effects would be limited."

The tone and content of the speech were completely mismatched. Gao Yuan asked, as if possessed, "Can you choose the tone in which you speak? Please switch back to a calm tone, that tone is uncomfortable to listen to."

Xinghe spoke in a very calm tone, "Did I choose the wrong mode? Sorry, I thought it would make you feel better."

"Speaking like this does make us feel a bit better. You mentioned danger just now, what did you mean by that?"

Xinghe, in a serious tone, replied, "The intervention of a higher-level civilization has been detected. The Serpent People might choose to leave Earth or they might choose to accelerate their attack. Given the Serpent People's hostility towards me and their aggressive actions, they are more likely to speed up their attack."

"So, what means of attack do the Serpent People have?"

Okay, Gao Yuan asked another important question. Wang Hu, who had been about to speak, chose to remain silent again, focusing on Xinghe's response.

"The exploration team of the Serpent People has limited means of attack. Their main method of occupying a planet is gene weapons, supplemented by biological weapons. However, using the basic infrastructure of space flight, they can utilize... microwaves to disintegrate any object that might pose a threat in a very short time, a disintegration effect on a molecular level. Similarly, if they discover me, they only need to dispatch a small spacecraft to target me with microwave radiation. Then, I will decompose in one one-hundred-and-fourteenth of a second in Earth time, a disintegration at a molecular level. But such microwaves are extremely energy-consuming; the Serpent People will not use microwave weapons at will, especially when they are unable to obtain new sources of energy and need to ensure long-distance flight,"

"From what distance?"

"The range is controllable. The energy consumption increases exponentially with distance, and it's not possible to accurately determine the firing range of the Serpent People's weapons."

Wang Hu and his chief of staff both felt they had obtained a piece of very crucial information, military information, and they nodded at each other.

Gao Yuan gave a wry smile, and at that moment, Wang Hu coughed lightly and said to Gao Yuan, "You know too much."

A shock went through Gao Yuan's heart; then, with a wry smile, he said, "Is it still in time for me to leave now?"

Wang Hu spread his hands and said, "You've been with Mr. Xiang for a long time, I trust you understand the importance and necessity of secrecy."

"I know, I won't say a word, absolutely not," Gao Yuan insisted.

Wang Hu smiled and said, "Return to your unit."

"Yes, sir!"

Gao Yuan turned and left. Although he still had many questions he wanted to ask, the words "you know too much" were too frightening.

As Gao Yuan turned to leave, Xinghe called from behind, "Are you leaving? But you didn't say goodbye."

Stopping and turning back, Gao Yuan waved at Xinghe and said, "Sorry, it was very nice to meet you, really nice to meet you. Goodbye."

Xinghe also waved, "You were my first contact since I came to Earth, my name is Xinghe, it was nice to meet you. Have a nice day, thank you, goodbye."

"My name's Gao Yuan… It was nice to meet you, have a nice day, goodbye."

Xinghe was very polite; he did treat the first Earthling he met differently, but this slight difference was not enough for Wang Hu to keep Gao Yuan.

With Gao Yuan gone, only five people were left in the meeting room, in addition to Xinghe.

After pondering for a moment, Wang Hu said to his chief of staff, "Xinghe's situation is still quite dangerous, we must send him to the Supreme Command as soon as possible."

"Of course," the chief of staff replied.

Wang Hu exhaled and said, "I feel our defensive forces are still a bit weak. Shall we request reinforcements from Stonegate Branch One?"

There's a saying, "A staff officer without a commander is like a fart without a sound," but now that it was the position of a regimental staff officer, Wang Hu definitely had to respect the opinions of his chief of staff when considering combat operations.

The chief of staff, named Xu, said without hesitation, "Commander, comparing us with Xinghe, which is more important?"

Wang Hu chuckled, "Is that even a question? Of course, Xinghe is more important."

"What about this shelter?"

"Uh, Xinghe is still more important..."

"The whole of Stonegate?"

Without any hesitation, Wang Hu nodded and said, "I understand your point. The entire Stonegate, no, even if half of Shenzhou were combined, it would still not be as important as Xinghe. It's a bit disheartening to say, but we cannot repel the Serpent People on our own. Since Xinghe is our only hope, naturally, Xinghe is the most important."

Staff Officer Xu, with a serious face, spoke, "Then there's no need to say more, Commander. Let's prioritize Xinghe's safety above all else."

Wang Hu stood up and, smiling at Xinghe, said, "Please wait a moment. You two keep chatting with Xinghe, I need to make a phone call."

Hurriedly, Wang Hu left the conference room and made his way to the combat communications room.

Without internet access, television signals, or radio, communications weren't reliant on shouting alone.

At the very least, the military still maintained the increasingly rare magnetophone.

The communications room was bustling; of the dozen or so phones, half were in use. There were no human or automatic telephone exchanges here, no way to simply dial a number and reach someone directly.

The phones here were magnetophones, with each pair of phones connected by a dedicated line. You'd pick up and shake the handle, then you could talk.

It was primitive and outdated—but also highly reliable. Although the communication distance was relatively short, as long as the line wasn't cut, the conversation could continue. And the recent explosion of Xinghe's spaceship hadn't affected the magnetophones.

Thus, Stonegate's two shelters, as well as communication with the artillery positions, was still possible via phone.

Wang Hu picked up a direct line phone and shook it. Once the other party picked up, he said in a grave voice, "Hello, this is Wang Hu from Branch Two. I need to speak with Comrade Chen Peng, the chief of Branch One. No matter where he is or what he's doing, he must call me back within three minutes. It's extremely urgent."

After hanging up, Wang Hu paced back and forth in the communications room, which made the communication specialists' voices notably quieter.

In less than a moment—or two minutes—the phone began to ring.

The communications room must be close to the commander's office; otherwise, it would be quite inconvenient.

Wang Hu answered the phone and announced firmly, "This is Wang Hu."

"This is Chen Peng. Speak, what's the matter?"

Wang Hu took a deep breath and said, "Sir, I'll only say one thing. Dawn is breaking; hope appears; right now I..."

Wang Hu was a colonel, while Chen Peng was a brigadier general.

"What did you say? Repeat that, are you serious?"

"Yes! Seriously, truly serious!"

"Good! Great! This is fantastic! Keep going!"

"I need support."

"No problem! Full support, I don't even need my underwear to help you out! I'm serious too!"

After a moment's thought, Wang Hu said, "You've got special forces stationed there, right…"

"Yes! A large group! All yours! Do you need more personnel? Is half enough? If not, I'll send you all of them!"

"No need, just send me the special forces unit. I don't need the other personnel; the special forces are enough. However, I want all your heavy firepower with the range to reach my location to be aimed at my coordinates right now! If any are out of range, have the heavy weapons move within range. Is that doable?"

"Two towed 155 artillery battalions, one self-propelled artillery battalion, one long-range rocket battalion, and one 122 rocket battalion assigned to Branch One's heavy weapons—all yours! Tanks and armored vehicles too, just in case."

"No, I only need the long-range firepower. Keep the movements as discreet as possible during mobilization. You have Branch One's coordinates, but for the short term I won't be able to establish direct contact and a command system. If I need fire support, it can only be ordered through you for now, Commander. We're on high alert here!"

"Branch One will immediately go to high alert! Fully cooperating with you, supporting you, Old Wang, Wang Hu!"

"Yes!"

"I won't ask what it is, but you absolutely must not fail us, hope... I won't ask; I'm just telling you, I at Stonegate Branch One can provide you support without any defense, but if you fail us, I... I will crush you!"

"You don't need to crush me; I would crush myself. Commander, you should know what kind of person Wang Hu is."

"I know you as Armored Tiger, but this... Fine, I trust you. Wang Hu, I'll say one more thing—if you need anything, don't hesitate. My entire division, including all support units, is at your disposal. I, as the division commander, am ready to assist you. I don't know what's happening at your end, and I won't guess anymore. I only ask you for one thing, just one thing—preserve our hope!"

The explosion of Xinghe's ship was conservatively estimated to be known by half of Shenzhou by now, so Chen Peng's commitment without guesswork likely indicated an understanding that there was a turning point for humanity's fate; otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed so readily.

Tens of thousands in a shelter could go undefended, all for the sake of preserving hope.

That sliver of hope amidst the darkness.

Wang Hu took another deep breath and said quietly, "Mr. Chen, as your friend, let me say one thing. I don't know when dawn will break, but with hope now shining, it can't be far."

"Understood."

"Hanging up now; mobilize as quickly as you can."

"Got it, Old Wang, thank you."

Chen Peng was putting everything he had at stake, but he thanked Wang Hu nonetheless.

And Wang Hu unsentimentally replied, "Don't mention it; goodbye."