Chapter 1226 1600 Million Crystal Cores

"The completion of the Yelan Line marks the complete opening of our strategic land passage with the Western Theater Command!"

"The efficiency of resource exchange, troop deployment, and technology exchange under the committee's framework will be increased exponentially! The Western Theater Command, especially its northwestern region, will integrate into the committee system more quickly and deeply. The strategic significance of this move is no less than driving a stabilizing force into the northwest!"

Gu Chengyuan nodded slightly. The Standing Committee of the War Zone had discussed this matter multiple times, so he remained unmoved, offering only a brief comment:

"Wang Xulong did a good job." This simple affirmation reflects recognition of the recent development of the railway forces.

"second!"

Zhou Guihong switched the page on the electronic tactical board, and the screen immediately displayed a detailed summary chart of the gains, marked with different colored blocks and dynamic curves. The data was intuitive and impressive.

"Sir, please take a look. This is a summary of the crystal core revenue from various regions over the past two weeks!"

Zhou Guihong's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible excitement as her fingertips precisely tapped across the screen:

"Firstly, in the first phase of Operation 'Clean Night,' relying on our network of fifth-generation fully automated brain core extraction machines, we have already recovered 200 million zombie cores from the battlefield! As the cleanup area expands and the excavation deepens, this number is expected to increase significantly."

"Hmm," Gu Chengyuan's expression remained unchanged, as he had expected this.

Zhou Guihong swiped the screen again to bring up another set of data:

"In the Chongqing area, although large-scale proactive clearing has been largely suspended due to resources being allocated to the night market, we have still managed to collect as many as 300 million crystal cores in the past two weeks by continuously clearing the areas from previous operations and recovering the 'stockpile' that we couldn't deal with due to the intensity of the fighting!"

Next, Zhou Guihong switched to the statistics page for each region:

"Under my Central Plains War Zone, there are a total of 137 registered survivor settlements of various sizes. Last month's routine summary and submission of crystal core revenue amounted to 700,000."

Zhou Guihong added, "These settlements are mainly for defense and small-scale exploration, with stable but limited income."

Then, he pointed to the section representing external input:

"Under the framework of the committee, the first batch of support supplies from each member theater command have arrived one after another."

"The Western Theater (excluding the 76th Army Corps) is in a state of contraction as its main forces are focused on consolidating the defense line of Lanzhou and internal adjustments. Last month, only 30 crystal cores were delivered by air."

Upon hearing this, Gu Chengyuan nodded in understanding, but Zhou Guihong's next words made him subconsciously raise an eyebrow.

"The 76th Corps of the Western Theater independently raised and airlifted 300 million crystal cores last month."

'The 76th Legion? 300 million zombie cores? Gao Zhikai?'

Upon hearing about the 300 million crystal cores, Gu Chengyuan truly began to consider Gao Zhikai's identity for the first time...

'Interesting... Calculating independently of the war zone? Is this a gift to myself? Or is it an attempt to use me to achieve my goal of breaking away from the Western War Zone?'

'After all, as the chairman of the committee, my every word and action represents the collective will of the committee. If I were to accept Gao Zhikai's separate accounting now, wouldn't that be tantamount to the committee approving the 76th Army Corps' independence from the Western Theater?'

Therefore, with his politically astute mind increasingly sharp, Gu Chengyuan immediately ordered Zhou Guihong:

"Include the 76th Army Corps' crystal cores in the Western Theater Command's statistics. Unless otherwise instructed by me, this auditing method will be used from now on. Also, have Vice Admiral Chen Haitao of the Navy send a telegram to the Western Theater Command on my behalf, praising their contributions to the committee!"

"Yes!"

"Issue a commendation order for Wang Xulong, commander of the Yelan Transportation Corps, and warn him that although the transportation route has been opened, maintaining its smooth operation requires the support of those along the route and that he must maintain good relations with the local forces!"

Gu Chengyuan emphasized the last four words, "local forces".

Zhou Guihong quickly understood after a moment's thought and hurriedly replied, "Yes, sir!"

"Alright, continue the report!"

"Yes!"

After finishing her report, Zhou Guihong continued:

"The Southern Theater Command received 200 million crystal cores via airlift last month. The Eastern Theater Command..."

When the Eastern Theater Command was mentioned, Zhou Guihong's tone noticeably rose:

"After the delegation from the Eastern Theater Command returned from the conference, it immediately began procuring zombie mutated beast crystal cores. The first batch of crystal cores arrived at Longbao Air Force Base early this morning, totaling 500 million!"

When this number was announced, even Gu Chengyuan, who was lying on the chair, twitched his eyebrows almost imperceptibly.

The Eastern Theater Command's vast resources and desperate need for survival were on full display at this moment!

The 500 million crystal cores were offered without hesitation, which was not only a support for the committee, but also an urgent investment to open up the Yangtze River waterway and gain hope for survival!

Finally, Zhou Guihong concluded:

"Based on comprehensive calculations, in the past half month, the total number of crystal cores directly obtained and transported by our side from various war zones has reached 1600 million!"

"This enormous resource will completely alleviate the immense logistical pressure on our war zone, and accelerate the progress of various enhancement projects, equipment upgrades, and strategic plans!"

The lake breeze is still gentle, and the willow branches still sway...

When Zhou Guihong reported this series of astronomical figures, even the most beautiful scenery couldn't catch Gu Chengyuan's eye.

1600 million crystal cores?!

Even considering that some areas, such as the Eastern Theater, have a large stockpile of early crystal cores, the exchange ratio between crystal cores and system money is less than 1:10... Exchanging 16 million crystal cores would still amount to at least 100 million system money!

Hundreds of millions of system funds!

The last time we were this wealthy was when the system promoted us to a war zone...

With these hundreds of millions of system funds, Gu Chengyuan could not only wipe out the military and logistical costs of retaking the night market in one go, but he could even use the remaining funds to exchange for another army group...

In this way, the Central Plains Theater will have three informationized system army groups, which are three elite army groups!

By then, the 1st Army Group, which had been dismantled and scattered due to manpower shortages in its early stages, will be able to be reunited and put into unified command and centralized operations!

After all, the greatest strength of an army group lies in its clustered and systematic operations; otherwise, there would be no point in establishing such an army group.

Previously, it was a last resort due to insufficient troop strength. Now that the conditions are right, the first thing to consider is how to maximize the combat power of the system's army group.

The three system army groups are just enough to barely satisfy the three major strategic offensive directions of the current theater: one in the southwest (Chongqing), one in the central plains (Hunan Province), and one in the southern theater (Guangdong and Guangxi)...

Of course, considering the long-term goals of the theater of operations, three army groups are far from enough... In other words... this sum of over 100 million yuan is just a lot in theory...

Make money! We still need to keep making money!!

Thinking of all this, Gu Chengyuan instantly lost the will to continue resting, and his mood became urgent again.