#335 - Chapter 335 Internal Reform Needed

Ling Su was taken away by Dai Zheng, leaving Ling Tian alone at the Yaktu train station.

They needed to return to Bato City, where things still needed to be finalized.

At this moment, the army of simulated spider robots had already stormed into the temple, engaging in fierce combat with the modified humans left behind.

On the plane, Dai Zheng contacted Shentu Zheng Hao and reported the situation in Yaktu.

Of course, this intelligence had been altered.

Dai Zheng told Shentu Zheng Hao that his mercenary squad had discovered some suspicious individuals in Yaktu and engaged them in battle, eventually capturing a prisoner who seemed to hold a high position.

Shentu Zheng Hao was overjoyed upon hearing this news. He hadn't expected to reap unexpected gains there after rescuing the Chinese citizens. However, after a moment's thought, he understood that news of Yaktu's situation probably hadn't spread yet. After the defeat in Bato City, they must have been planning to exploit those citizens for their own purposes. But they never expected to run into Dai Zheng's mercenary squad, falling directly into the tiger's den.

With this, the counterattack against Ulan was basically settled. The citizens had been successfully rescued, and the mastermind had been captured. This was definitely a major victory.

The battle at the temple progressed smoothly. By the time Dai Zheng and his group arrived in Bato City, the battle was basically over.

A secret laboratory was indeed hidden in the temple, housing over a thousand researchers and hundreds of test subjects. In addition, there were over a thousand modified humans, but they had all been eliminated.

After reporting to Shentu Zheng Hao, Dai Zheng first arrived at the temple and ordered Ling Su to issue the retreat command.

All the dung beetles were gathered in a dry riverbed at the border between the Ula Khan District and the Barre District.

After the army was relieved of the siege, Shentu Zheng Hao ordered the soldiers to pour gasoline into the riverbed.

With a final blaze, all the dung beetles were burned to death.

Thus, the self-defense counterattack against Ulan came to a complete end.

Up to now, the battle had lasted less than two and a half days, eliminating nearly 3,000 modified humans and rescuing nearly 130,000 captured citizens. Countless mutant rat-rabbits, ants, dung beetles, and zombies were eliminated. One enemy modified human laboratory was destroyed, crushing their sinister plot to provoke conflict between China and Russia. Finally, one of the masterminds of the incident was captured, making it a complete victory.

Shentu Zheng Hao immediately sent the battle report back to the council.

The council members were overjoyed upon learning of this result.

But soon, a bucket of cold water was poured on them.

"Everyone, don't overlook the fact that the Huatong Business Association made the greatest contribution to this military action against Ulan."

The speaker was Liu Feiying.

"That iron tower was provided by the Huatong Business Association, right? The enemy deployment information in the Bato city area was provided by them, right? The citizens of Yaktu were rescued by them, right? That important prisoner was also captured by them, right? How many people did they send? Fifty-some people, right? Don't you realize the problem? The Huatong Business Association only sent dozens of people, but they achieved so many important victories on the battlefield. What does this say?" Liu Feiying continued.

"Liu Feiying, what are you saying? Oh, they made a big contribution, and you're jealous!" Zongzhen Yue retorted.

"What a joke! What am I jealous of? I'm reminding everyone that the Huatong Business Association, with just a few dozen people, can rival a dozen divisions of the Northwest Military Region. If this continues, who will be able to restrain them?" Liu Feiying said.

"I think you're shifting the goalposts. I've mentioned before that the situation is different now, and our previous combat methods cannot adapt to the new battlefield conditions. The fact that a dozen divisions of the Northwest Military Region didn't achieve as much as a few dozen people from the Huatong Business Association is a fact. But you can't say that the Northwest Military Region is inferior to the Huatong Business Association. These are two different concepts. I think the biggest problem lies in our combat methods. We need to look for the reasons within ourselves, and not blame others for developing too quickly," Yan Zhengping retorted.

"I think Lao Yan is right. How good can the Huatong Business Association become even if it develops well? At the end of the day, it's just a privately-owned organization that is responsible for its own profits and losses. Our military has the resources of the entire country to support it, and yet it's being outshone by a small business association. What does this say? It says we're lagging behind, it says we need internal reforms. I have two suggestions:"

"First, the Military and Political Department must be reformed. Resource allocation, weapon research and development, and tactical research are all the responsibilities of the Military and Political Department. After so many years, they haven't produced any decent results, and instead, they've been outshone by a small business association that's only been established for less than a year. I think there must be a big problem here, so the Military and Political Department must be reformed!"

"Second, conduct a comprehensive and detailed analysis and summary of this self-defense counterattack against Ulan, to find out how we became passive on the battlefield, and how the enemy gained the initiative. Also, how was the Huatong Business Association's mercenary squad able to achieve so many victories with so few troops? Only by figuring out these problems can we effectively guide our future work," Suo Tonghua said.