The stationed troops and armed police forces in Guizhou and Guangxi have also been mobilized. On the electronic map, the border between the two provinces is likewise marked with thick black lines.

The so-called defensive position must have a certain depth in order to completely curb the momentum of the enemy’s attack. As of this morning, according to the statistics of the units that have already entered the defense zone, the total number of defensive troops in Sichuan, Guizhou, and Guangxi has reached 560,000, with more than 5,000 armored vehicles of various types. Although heavy artillery is still being deployed, the expected number also exceeds 10,000 pieces. The air force is even more on high alert—over a thousand combat aircraft urgently transferred from major military regions have already arrived at frontline airports overnight. Now, all main railway and highway routes in the three provinces are completely closed. Except for military trucks loaded with ammunition and supplies, all civilian vehicles are strictly prohibited from entering.

But this is far from enough.

In the spacious operations command center, people came and went. The officers, buried in their respective tasks, would occasionally look up at the general who was so close at hand. The calm and serious expression of Eric Bennett in the face of crisis helped dispel the deep-seated fear lurking in their hearts, even as they remained tense.

But who could know that the composure on the lieutenant general’s face was actually all an act?

Eric Bennett had to do this. He had to stabilize the troops’ morale at all costs.

Half a million soldiers sounds like a lot—enough to fight a grand and imposing battle.

However, they were not gathered together, but scattered along a dense defensive line stretching thousands of kilometers. In many non-primary passages, there might be only one observation post every few kilometers, or even every ten-plus kilometers. Such a level of defense simply could not completely block the terrifying mutant creatures.

After several days of intelligence gathering, all senior commanders of the 21st Group Army had come to understand one thing—the mutants themselves were the greatest source of infection. Their bodies were full of viruses; as long as even one broke through the line and entered a civilian area in the rear, a single combat target could multiply into hundreds of breeding bodies within a few hours. And those who were killed would, upon awakening, lose their original consciousness and become new virus hosts.

This kind of spread increased at a geometric rate.

Whenever he thought of this, Eric Bennett felt his scalp tingle and cold sweat break out all over his body.

Yunnan had already completely fallen. Geographically, the defensive line of the three provinces just happened to clamp this salient firmly in the middle. Once the virus spread into the rear cities, even if the defense could be reorganized, both the area and the length would increase several times over. Although the Republic claimed to have the world’s largest army, it still did not have enough troops to defend such a vast area!

Thinking of this, Eric Bennett’s face tightened. He immediately called over the operations staff officer at his side and barked in a stern voice:

“Order: All militia, reservists, firefighters, police, and security personnel within the jurisdiction of the military region must report to their local armed forces department within twelve hours. After receiving weapons, they are to immediately proceed to the front lines to fill any gaps. At all costs, those damned mutant creatures must be stopped—”

……

Outskirts of Chengdu, 21st Group Army garrison.

The military airport had already set up special channels for civilian use. All rescued survivors would be quickly transported from here to field hospitals for resettlement. They were basically malnourished, their physiological functions reduced to the lowest level after prolonged hunger. Without timely emergency treatment, they would soon die from various complications.

As for “emergency treatment,” it was actually just a bowl of soup or porridge with added nutrients for each person, plus a shot of glucose, while their bodily functions were checked. As long as there were no signs of infection, they would immediately be loaded onto military trucks and transported to rear cities as quickly as possible.

That was all the hospital could do. Tens of thousands of rescued people had already turned the once solemn military camp into a noisy, chaotic marketplace. Wherever you went, you could see survivors with sallow faces and vacant expressions.

Overnight, they had lost their loved ones, their property, everything...

They had even watched helplessly as their loved ones were killed, powerless to resist. Regret, fear, anger, hatred... under the torment of countless negative emotions, any normal person could be driven mad.

Only when their eyes met the soldiers in green camouflage did the despair and hopelessness in people’s eyes get driven away by hope and the desire to survive.

“The soldiers are the people’s greatest support.”

“In the most dangerous places, you can always see the soldiers’ presence.”

“The army and the people are as close as fish and water.”

Scenes of people hugging each other and weeping could be seen everywhere. At this moment, the army had become the greatest support in people’s hearts.

……

Brian Carter leaned against the massive landing gear of the “Night Hawk II,” holding a bottle of “Nongfu Spring” he had just unscrewed, gulping it down to soothe his cracked lips. The thick collar of his protective suit was open, and the gray-green camouflage fabric was covered in black, dried bloodstains.

For two whole days, except for a piece of compressed biscuit and half a bottle of water, he hadn’t eaten anything. The stream of orders from the command center meant that he and his entire squad had to move at top speed, fighting and transporting between one rescue point after another.