Chapter 963 Huge Suspicion
As the 76th Corps responded, the Western Theater Command far away in Ning Province also quickly received the news.
In the permanent nuclear defense facility more than 50 meters underground in Xihai Town, the air is cold and stagnant with the unique smell of old concrete and the operation of the filtration system.
Colonel Chen walked hurriedly, his badly worn military boots making short and hollow echoes as they stepped on the thick concrete passage. Every step he took seemed to be knocking on the bones of a giant beast.
The deep passage was like the esophagus of a giant beast. Under the dim emergency light, the rough reinforced concrete walls were a cold, hard gray-green color. The huge rivets were exposed, silently telling of the heaviness of the defense.
After passing through layers of heavy protective doors and guard posts, Director Chen finally arrived at the real nerve center of the Western Theater - the 'Combat Command Center'.
Boom!Boom!Boom!
A slightly hurried knock was heard at the innermost open lead-covered isolation door.
"Report!" Director Chen's voice was slightly tense.
"Enter!"
The sound came from inside the door, not loud but very penetrating.
The scene inside the door is completely different from the grand and rugged outside passage, and it shows an extreme, cold pragmatism.
This slightly cramped room with no unnecessary decorations and so simple that it doesn't even have the most basic paint is the office of Wei Jingfang, commander of the Western Theater Command.
The walls are bare, simply polished concrete, with a rough texture that feels as if dust could fall off at any time. The pale light projected from the top makes the room look cold and gloomy.
In addition to the minimalist decoration, there is very little furniture in the office:
A heavy old-fashioned desk and a few sturdy-looking but aesthetically pleasing armchairs were scattered around for meeting guests.
The only facility that could be called "large" was a floor-to-ceiling metal bookcase filled with various curled and worn folders and map tubes.
The entire environment exudes the roughness of an era of resource scarcity and the cold efficiency unique to the wartime system that spurns all glitz and glamour.
In terms of comfort and decency, I'm afraid it's far inferior to the office of a small local boss before the end of the world.
But in such an office environment, Western Theater Commander Wei Jingfang has been working there for more than half a year without any complaints.
.....
"What's the matter? It's urgent."
Commander Wei Jingfang of the Western Theater Command didn't even raise his head, his pen moving rapidly on the documents, signing at the same speed.
"Report to the commander!" Director Chen stood at attention and spoke quickly and clearly:
"Gao Zhikai's unit from the 76th Corps just sent an urgent inquiry, asking whether the theater will send a fighter formation into Lan City's airspace today!"
Click.
Upon hearing this, the pen in Wei Jingfang's hand suddenly stopped moving, leaving a deep ink spot on the paper.
He raised his head sharply, his sharp eyes fixed on Director Chen's face, his brows knitted tightly together, a trace of genuine confusion flashed across his eyes: "Fighter formation? Lan City?"
"Xiao Wu!"
Wei Jingfang did not pause, his voice suddenly rose, and he turned his head to look at the small desk in the corner that was almost hidden in the shadows.
"To!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the young major on duty, Wu Lei, straightened his body subconsciously and jumped up from the chair with a "swoosh", causing the chair legs to make a harsh friction sound against the concrete floor.
"Has the theater air force reported any flight missions in the direction of Lanzhou recently?" Wei Jingfang spoke quickly and heavily, and each word sounded like an ice bead hitting the ground:
"Why don't I remember approving it?!"
"Report to the commander! I... I don't have any relevant impression either!" Wu Lei's heart instantly rose to his throat, and his voice trembled slightly:
"I'll check the Important Record Book right away!"
The next second, he almost pounced on the table, and with obvious panic in his hands, he quickly and vigorously flipped through the thick hardcover notebook that recorded the work log of the theater commander's office.
The rustling sound of papers was extremely harsh in the silent office.
Soon, in less than half a minute, a fine layer of cold sweat had appeared on Wu Lei's forehead.
He stood up suddenly, his face pale, and his voice was hurried and uncertain.
"Report to the commander! There is no relevant record in the "Important Record Book"! Please wait! I will contact the Air Force to verify it immediately!"
“Hurry!” Wei Jingfang only uttered one word, but it was as heavy as a thousand pounds, carrying with it a sense of oppression as if a storm was about to come.
Before he finished speaking, Wu Lei turned around and rushed out of the office like an arrow and went to the liaison office next door.
...
Western Theater Commander Wei Jingfang withdrew his gaze from the staff officer's departing back, and the confusion on his face quickly faded, replaced by the solemnity of an old hunter who smelled the scent of an unusual prey.
He turned to Director Chen and said in a slow voice, with the sharpness of dissecting details: "What did the 76th Army say specifically?"
In fact, at this point, Wei Jingfang was already certain in his heart that the fighter formation reported by the 76th Corps was definitely not sent by the theater air force!
The only way for both the theater commander and the Important Events Record Book to lose their memories is if the theater air force collectively rebelled.
Otherwise, any operation involving large-scale air force mobilization, especially entering sensitive war zones, must be approved by him personally, with no possibility of omission!
So the question is, if the 76th Army Corps is not talking nonsense, then where did the air force that appeared in the airspace of Lan City and openly dropped bombs in demonstration come from? !
Zhongzhou War Zone?? ! !
This thought almost instantly popped into the mind of Wei Jingfang, commander of the Western Theater Command.
The geographical location of Lan City in Gan Province is indeed close to Qin Province, which is under the jurisdiction of the Central Theater Command! Theoretically speaking, the fighters of the Central Theater Command have the ability and motivation to appear there, and this speculation seems reasonable...
but.....
This made Wei Jingfang frown even tighter, and an extremely complicated dark light flashed in his eyes.
He knew very well what the Central War Zone meant. It was the recognized "Central Army" among the several war zones of Zhoubang and the most direct extension of the will of Shenjing!
If it is true that fighter planes from the Central Theater appeared over Lan City.... Doesn't that mean...
Thinking of this, a frightening inference suddenly formed in Wei Jingfang's mind: Could it be that... the long-lasting power storm in Shenjing that has touched everyone's heartstrings... has come to an end? !
A strong core finally integrated its strength and issued a unified voice?
And this sudden appearance of a fighter plane is the first signal that Shenjing has regained control of the overall situation and is about to start...recovering the whole country? !
Wei Jingfang's heart was beating heavily in his chest. The political implications behind this were far more suffocating than the several unidentified fighter planes themselves.
"Report to the Chief," Director Chen's voice brought him back to reality from his turbulent thoughts.
The director obviously couldn't guess what was going on in the commander's mind at the moment, and he just repeated the intelligence dutifully:
"The 76th Army Corps reported: At 10:25 this morning, three fighter planes of unknown model flew low over the Lan City battlefield. After circling for about a circle, they dropped an aerial bomb into the center of the battlefield, then quickly rose in altitude and disappeared into the clouds. Their whereabouts are unknown!"
...
