The city of Yanjing still maintained an atmosphere of peace. After all, it was the capital, so even amidst the doomsday, the streets were bustling. The people walking on the streets were all dressed luxuriously, seemingly without a care for survival. This was the confidence of the capital, with its population of eight million. Both food and gasoline were stockpiled in large quantities. After all, one couldn't be seen as lacking, even if poor. A shortage of gasoline in the capital would be unacceptable.
The headquarters, located in Yanjing, was in the central urban area. The entire building was snow-white, and outside the headquarters, there were small bridges and flowing water, giving it an elegant appearance.
However, at this very moment, the offices within the headquarters were in a constant state of argument. The subject of their dispute was naturally the current hot topic: the mutated vines of Tangshan… No, it was the battle in Yuzhou, where Shen Feng, along with a group of ability users, had killed more than half of the newly formed Heavenly Dragon Bureau's ability users! This had, in essence, crippled the Heavenly Dragon Bureau.
Currently, everyone at headquarters was discussing how to deal with Yuzhou. A suitable method had to be devised, as Yuzhou could not simply be ignored, especially considering the evolutionary base it possessed, which other laboratories could not mass-produce.
There were two ways to obtain the evolutionary base. The first was to concentrate evolutionary potions. However, this method consumed an enormous amount of evolutionary potions, making it impossible for ordinary laboratories to produce evolutionary bases on a large scale. Even if all available evolutionary potions were used for synthesis, the resulting evolutionary bases would not be particularly abundant.
The other method of obtaining evolutionary bases was through synthesis, allowing plants to synthesize them. However, such plants only existed in Yuzhou. Yuzhou referred to this tree as the Nine-Death Returning Soul Tree, because as long as it wasn't burned to death, it wouldn't completely die even when exposed to sunlight. When a suitable opportunity arose, it could revive.
Headquarters easily cut off essential supplies for Yuzhou, such as ore and petroleum, as well as satellite communications. In turn, Yuzhou could directly cut off the supply of evolutionary bases. This left both sides in a difficult situation.
In the conference room, a middle-aged man slammed the table and declared, "Shen Feng is utterly lawless! Does he really think Yuzhou is his domain? We absolutely cannot back down now; we must maintain a strong stance to the end. Otherwise, how can we suppress others?"
"Exactly! We absolutely cannot show Yuzhou any leniency. We must remember that the ability users of the Heavenly Dragon Bureau this time were our elites! The death of even one was deeply mourned. Now that twenty-four have died, how can this hatred be forgotten? More importantly, the civilian organizations in the south are all headed by Yuzhou. Wang Ao Ye of the Qing Hong Gang and Li Xian Kang of Yangzhou have gone to assist them. Most importantly, the wanted criminal Mu Ying has also appeared in Yuzhou, indicating that Yuzhou has become the leader of these people!"
"I also support a strong stance. The reason Shen Feng dares to be so arrogant is that he cannot see the current situation clearly! Give me fifty thousand soldiers, and keep the missile bases ready to launch. I will lead troops to Yuzhou. I refuse to believe this matter cannot be resolved!"
After the meeting began its discussions, more than half of the attendees immediately declared their stance: Yuzhou must be made to understand the power of headquarters, and its rampant behavior could not be allowed to continue. Otherwise, it would encourage the bad behavior of civilian organizations and undermine the authority of headquarters.
In the eyes of these people, Shen Feng was merely an ambitious individual usurping power, one who needed to be eliminated. Furthermore, the Nine-Death Returning Soul Tree, capable of producing evolutionary bases, could only be in the hands of their own people, not controlled by others.
As for Shen Feng's combat power, it was considered insignificant and not worth worrying about. Even ability users were not truly invincible. As long as they were dealt with properly, ability users could certainly be killed. After all, there had been instances of ordinary people killing ability users. Technology had changed destinies; this was a truth that had existed since ancient times.
However, conversely, there were also many who opposed a hardline approach toward Yuzhou. The most significant reason was the lack of grain!
That's right, headquarters was short on grain.
In times of good weather, China would never experience grain shortages. After all, this vast land could support over a billion people. Now that nine-tenths of the population had become zombies and were gradually being dealt with, it wasn't difficult to support the remaining people.
However, this was a chaotic era. Zombies were still active in some remote mountainous areas, and mutated beasts were breeding in the mountains and rivers. Cultivating land in mountainous areas was too dangerous. Consequently, the only places left for cultivation were the plains. Unfortunately, last year, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River were hit by floods. Not only was there no harvest, but even obtaining food became a problem. This year, North China was hit by a typhoon, and the south had not yet recovered. The only remaining grain-producing region was the Northeast Plain.
After two years, the grain shortage had become severe. Furthermore, battles consumed a large amount of grain. As the saying goes, "When the cannons roar, gold is worth ten thousand taels," referring to the enormous expenses incurred by warfare.
"No, the summer harvest can only satisfy daily consumption. The autumn harvest will not be reaped for another two months. We absolutely cannot engage in internal conflict! This is extremely unwise. We must remain calm!" Someone immediately began to advise. Their consideration was not for immediate gratification but for broader factors: logistics, the impact on the overall situation, and subsequent adverse consequences.
"Exactly. Even though Yuzhou has de facto seceded, we cannot act directly, or it will cause the civilian organizations to band together. In my opinion, we should simply blockade Yuzhou's commerce and impose sanctions. Refuse to supply coal and petroleum, and blockade them for two years. Yuzhou will naturally yield."
"Speaking of petroleum, our current petroleum supply can only guarantee usage in a very small number of areas. If we want to engage in large-scale warfare, the petroleum supply will not be sufficient. Are we supposed to let soldiers march with weapons and rations on their backs?"
Opposing voices also arose at this time. Clearly, most people were impulsive, wanting to go to war at the slightest provocation to teach Yuzhou a lesson for its arrogance. If they could seize Yuzhou in the process, it would be best. If not, they at least had to make Yuzhou obey orders and not act willfully.
However, there was still a small group of people with clear minds, who knew that going to war at this time was definitely not a good thing. Mutated beasts were still breeding in the mountains. If they didn't curb the number of mutated beasts now and instead engaged in internal conflict, it would be illogical. If they fought with Yuzhou, the gains would not outweigh the losses.
Both sides in the conference room were unwilling to yield. They engaged in a verbal battle, using all their might to persuade the other side. However, their positions were clearly defined, and they were not easily convinced. Ultimately, the conference room devolved into a scene of shouting and arguing.
Someone argued, "Constant weakness only emboldens others' arrogance. If Yuzhou refuses to obey orders today, other cities will refuse to obey orders tomorrow. What then?"
The other side immediately retorted, "Fighting without considering the consequences is nothing but a costly war of aggression. We must remember historical lessons: a nation, though strong, will perish if it is fond of war!"
While the arguments were raging in the conference room, Marshal He, sitting on one side, remained silent. He was over ninety years old and had experienced many battles. At this moment, he maintained his silence, quietly listening to the arguments of everyone in the conference room.
Beside Marshal He sat his great-grandson, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth. His status would normally make it impossible for him to participate in a meeting of this caliber. However, fortunately, his great-grandfather was advanced in age and required family care, so he was allowed to attend as an observer.
He Qiuan, watching the noisy scene in the conference room, couldn't help but whisper to his great-grandfather, "Old Ancestor, wasn't it some people at headquarters who instigated the Heavenly Dragon Bureau to target Yuzhou? It seems headquarters was in the wrong. But why is no one mentioning this now?"
Marshal He heard this and replied in a low voice, "You are still young. You will need to understand this slowly. In any case, the future will be a period of turmoil. You must work hard, strive to achieve peace for all under heaven!"
Marshal He had only one expectation for his great-grandson: to end this chaotic era and restore peace to the world.
He Qiuan quickly nodded, but inwardly, he was skeptical, thinking, "Achieve peace for all under heaven? I don't have that kind of ability."
After arguing for a while, everyone finally grew tired and realized that continuing to argue would yield no results. The shortage of logistics was real; both grain and gasoline were scarce, making large-scale warfare impossible. The scene of millions of troops gathered to resist zombies would not reappear anytime soon. Without sufficient deterrent power, it would be impossible to make Yuzhou yield. This had become a consensus among everyone.
Although headquarters still possessed nuclear weapons, these weapons could not be used casually. If they were used against their own people, it would lead to eternal infamy. Therefore, even in the meeting, no one proposed using nuclear weapons to attack Yuzhou.
At this point, the meeting was drawing to a close. The day's meeting was meant to reach a conclusion. Marshal He stepped forward. Despite his old age, no one dared to disregard him.
He was a national hero. The wartime headquarters in the city had been established with Marshal He's support. Now that he was to speak, everyone could only listen.
"Listen to me. We are currently lacking grain and gasoline, and this problem cannot be resolved in the short term. The matter of deploying troops to suppress Yuzhou is forbidden for the next six months! Only after the autumn harvest and the resolution of the petroleum supply issues can we resume combat. Furthermore, the primary target of combat will still be mutated beasts! Our blades must absolutely not be pointed at our compatriots!" Marshal He declared loudly.
Upon hearing the Marshal's words, everyone could only nod in agreement. There was no other option at the moment. Insufficient supplies, coupled with the burden of a distant expedition, was unwise and would bring about very negative consequences.
At this point, Marshal He continued, "Previously, we estimated that the pipeline from Siberia in the north would be repaired soon, and natural gas and petroleum would be supplied. However, it now seems we had envisioned the situation too simply. Contact Karamay and prepare to extract petroleum. It doesn't matter the extent of the extraction; extract as much as you can!"
"Yes!" everyone in the meeting quickly responded.
Many people were initially unconvinced, believing that Yuzhou's defiance was a provocation that must be severely punished. But now that the Marshal had spoken, they could only let Shen Feng off the hook for the time being.
China was vast and rich, possessing everything. In such a vast country, there was also petroleum and natural gas. Although not comparable to Middle Eastern reserves, it was sufficient for self-supply. However, it would be depleted in about fifty to sixty years of extraction.
Petroleum was a non-renewable energy source; the more used, the less remained. Therefore, China had chosen to reduce domestic petroleum extraction and purchase international oil instead. As for their own oil reserves, they wanted to leave some for future generations, not just think about the present.
Foreign oil primarily came from two channels. One channel was by sea, mainly purchasing oil from the Middle East. The other channel was by land, from the north. Siberia also had a large amount of petroleum, and once the pipeline was built, it could be directly transported from Siberia to the Northeast.
Headquarters also placed great importance on petroleum. To restore the pipeline, they had dispatched almost half of the members of the Ability User Administration to Siberia. They had expected that with the intervention of ability users, the pipeline could be connected quickly. However, a year had passed, and the Ability User Administration had not completed the task. They couldn't wait any longer and had to extract petroleum domestically. Unfortunately, the petroleum they had intended to leave for future generations now had to be used.
While headquarters was preparing for large-scale domestic petroleum extraction, they also called the Ability User Administration in Siberia: "How is the mission progressing? There is already an oil shortage domestically. If you still cannot complete the task, then return as soon as possible. It's not that we doubt your capabilities, but we feel you could apply your expertise elsewhere!"
The words from headquarters were already very stern. While they seemed not to doubt the capabilities of the Ability User Administration, their words needed to be interpreted in reverse. They explicitly stated they were not accusing, but the underlying implication was indeed an accusation!
In response, the Ability User Administration could only reply, "Please give us another month, Headquarters. In just one month, we will completely resolve the pipeline issue!"