Chapter 1131 I have to fight for my position as a younger brother!

"Half a month..." Wu Xianglin repeated the time softly, his eyes as sharp as a knife, sweeping across every general present.

He was not angry, but his calm tone contained a huge pressure:

"Comrades, you've all seen the encouraging results of 'Nan Jiao'. Our soldiers are brave, and the individual combat effectiveness has truly made a qualitative leap. This is a sharp knife when clearing small groups of zombies and carrying out special missions."

His gaze once again turned to the mighty "Southern Dragon" warriors below, but his tone immediately changed, becoming extremely solemn:

"But we must be more clear-headed! What is the fundamental threat facing the Southern Theater? It's the zombie hordes numbering in the hundreds of thousands, even millions! It's the overwhelming swarms of sea beasts that can crawl out of the sea! It's those giant mutants with thick skin and flesh that are difficult to injure with conventional bullets!"

"In the face of such an enemy, individual bravery can only play a limited role! What truly determines victory or defeat on the battlefield, what can annihilate the enemy on a large scale, and what can hold our defenses is always the devastating firepower! It is the torrent of steel! It is the endless supply of ammunition!"

Wu Xianglin's voice echoed in the observation room, and every word struck the hearts of the generals:

"As long as the railway line is not opened, the artillery, ammunition, fuel, and heavy equipment promised by the Zhongzhou War Zone will not be able to be delivered in large quantities!"

"We have crystal cores, but no firepower to break through! We have brave warriors, but we may fall to the endless tide of zombies due to insufficient ammunition and artillery support!"

"This railway is not just an ordinary transportation line. It is the lifeline of our southern war zone! It is the only hope to break the current impasse!"

He looked at Wang Daohe, a member of the Standing Committee, and said in a firm and decisive tone, leaving no room for doubt:

"Old Wang, I don't care what method you use! Strengthen the construction force! Optimize the clearance plan! Concentrate all mobile firepower to prioritize the protection of the railway line! Even if it means sacrificing lives and gnawing with our teeth, you must rush the progress for me!"

"Half a month is too long! I need you to come up with a brand new plan and a list of resource requirements that will ensure success within ten days, no, within a week! The War Zone Standing Committee fully supports you! We'll provide the people and policies you need!"

"Remember, the sooner the railway is opened, the less blood our soldiers will shed, and the safer the millions of survivors on the Leizhou Peninsula will be! Only then can our Southern Theater truly see the dawn of hope for a breakthrough!"

Wu Xianglin's words were like a heavy hammer, finalizing the most core and top-priority strategic tasks of the Southern Theater Command for some time to come.

Everyone understands that in-depth cooperation with the Central Plains Theater, and even the survival and development of the Southern Theater itself, depends on whether this steel artery can be unblocked as soon as possible.

The atmosphere in the observation room became more solemn, and a sense of urgency spread instantly, diluting the joy of the breakthrough of the "Nanjiao Warrior" project.

...

At this moment, a confidential staff officer hurried into the observation room and handed an encrypted document to Wu Xianglin.

"Commander, urgent message from the Zhongzhou War Zone."

Wu Xianglin frowned slightly, took the document, and read it quickly. When he saw words like "Operation Clean Night," "Observation," and "Follow-up Important Meeting," his pupils suddenly contracted.

He handed the document to Li Xuemou, the war zone chief of staff, and said in a deep voice, "Take a look at this."

Li Xuemou and several other generals quickly circulated the letter, and everyone's face showed a similar look of shock as the top leaders of the Western Theater Command.

"They're going to hold a night market? And they've invited us to watch?" A deputy commander in charge of operations exclaimed, "Where do they get their confidence from? Has the pressure from Yucheng been resolved?"

"I'm afraid it's not that the pressure has been resolved, but rather that their strength has expanded to the point where they can support two major fronts simultaneously." Li Xuemou said solemnly, pointing to the last part of the document:

"The key point is the meeting after the observation. 'It involves the future direction of the Zhou Dynasty's end times'... The weight of these words is not light."

General Wu Xianglin, commander of the Southern Theater Command, put his hands behind his back and looked back at the training ground below, where five "Nan Jiao" soldiers had just completed a round of high-intensity exercises and were leaning on their weapons and breathing slightly.

The exoskeletons on their bodies were still emitting residual heat, and the pale red energy glow had not yet completely extinguished.

Compared with the iron army in the Zhongzhou war zone that is about to launch a general attack on a city with a population of tens of millions, the little breakthrough they have just made seems so insignificant.

This huge gap in strength not only brings shock, but also a sense of urgency that goes deep into the bones.

"Reply to the Central Plains Theater." Wu Xianglin turned around and said firmly, without the slightest hesitation, "The Southern Theater has accepted the invitation. I will personally lead the team there."

He did not need to convince his subordinates like the commander of the Western Theater Command, Wei Jingfang, did when deciding to lead the team himself.

Because within the top echelons of the Southern Theater Command, a consensus has already quietly formed and is indestructible - only by deeply binding with the Central Plains Theater Command and leveraging its tremendous power can they completely break out of their own predicament.

Everyone knows that if the situation continues to develop along this trajectory, the Southern Theater will be incorporated into the new system constructed by the Central Plains Theater, which is an irreversible trend.

The reason is simple: once the lifeline of the Yenan Railway is fully opened, the Southern War Zone will essentially be dependent on the "food and wages" provided by the Central Plains War Zone, whether in the name of trade or aid.

By then, any empty talk about "autonomy" will seem pale and out of place.

What's more, although the leaders of the Southern Theater Command did not say it explicitly, this silence itself is a silent statement.

After experiencing the chaos and struggles of the early days of the apocalypse, they realized more clearly than anyone else that they could not break out of the cage before them by their own strength, let alone lead the war zone out of the quagmire in the south.

Now, they are naturally eager to have a pillar like the Zhongzhou War Zone stand up.

They never want to relive those days of uncertainty and despair.

The importance of having a backer is too prominent in the last days!

Therefore, the top brass of the Southern Theater Command had already made sufficient psychological preparations for the move of "taking advantage of the situation". Their only concern at this moment was that their own value was insufficient and they would not be noticed by the Central Plains Theater Command.

This observation of the "Pure Night" operation is an excellent opportunity to face the true strength of the Central Plains Theater; and the meeting that follows will most likely determine the final position of the Southern Theater in this new chess game.

Although they have no intention and no ability to compete for the heavy responsibility of being the "leader", this does not mean that they will give up their efforts to gain a better position in the "core circle".

To put it bluntly: We don’t want to be the big brother, but we still have to fight for the position among the younger brothers!

"Tell the Zhongzhou War Zone," Wu Xianglin added, his eyes sharp as an eagle:

"We look forward to witnessing the glorious victory of 'Pure Night' with our own eyes, and are ready to wholeheartedly contribute the full strength of the Southern Theater Command to the future of Zhou Bang in subsequent meetings."

He knew very well that this observation and meeting was not a simple ceremonial exchange. It would most likely become a historic turning point for the Southern Theater Command to completely break free from its shackles and usher in a true rebirth.

Inside the underground shooting range, the roar of training exercises continued, but the minds of the generals in the observation room had already crossed thousands of mountains and rivers, flying towards the giant city that was about to be baptized by steel and fire, and the meeting of the century that was destined to reshape the destinies of countless people.