Chapter 139: with translation of chapter title

Inside the Meeting Room, the atmosphere suddenly turned eerie.

The thirty-seven heads and main leaders of their respective fields stared in shock as General Lin Zhan burst through the door.

Execution?!

Just ten minutes ago, even Commander Zhang, who least favored Lin An, hadn't shown the slightest hint of this.

Even in most people's eyes, despite never having met Lin An, they still felt a favorable impression of him.

No matter what, Lin An brought honor to the nation and gave Hua Guo a boost!

Ignoring Nie Ping's angry glare, Lin Zhan pulled out a chair with a stern face and sat down.

The middle-aged man responsible for the Military Region's logistics hesitated, then spoke.

"General Lin, aren't you going too far with this?"

"We haven't contacted Lin An at all, and we don't even know who he is..."

Lin Zhan turned his head at the sound, his gaze icy as he looked at the frontline logistics chief.

"So didn't I say? Anyone who dares to defy orders and refuses to surrender the token will be executed!"

"I'm not denying him a chance!"

Hearing this, Nie Ping felt a surge of nameless anger rise in his chest.

He drew a deep breath and rose to his feet without backing down.

"Lin Zhan! Don't you think this is too heartless?"

"Defy orders and you get executed?!"

"On what grounds?!"

"What law says that! Defy orders and you get executed! Even if Lin An is a soldier, he should face a military court Judgment first!"

"Even if we bend over backward, even if Lin An refuses to serve the nation, are we just going to kill him?!"

"Am I, Nie Ping, unable to work that day? If I refuse to command troops, will you also execute me on the spot?!"

Hearing Nie Ping's words, everyone present hastily rose to intervene.

"General Nie, that's going too far! You can't say that!"

"You're an elder, the pillar of Huaxia; who would dare to lay a hand on you? I, for one, won't stand for it!"

From top to bottom, everyone gazed at the two, tension thick as gunpowder, with worried expressions.

Nie and Lin—one a veteran troop commander, the other a rising iron-blooded hawk—have had friction for more than just a day or two.

Although Lin Zhan usually comes across as somewhat aloof, it's not normally like this....

Lin Zhan let out a cold snort and glanced at the furious Nie Ping.

"Execute you? I wouldn't dare."

"But Lin An? What's stopping us from killing him?"

After sitting down, his tone eased; he calmly picked up the report on the table and went on.

"General Nie, you actually heard the staff's analysis just now."

"Lin An doesn't matter, and neither does the Safe Zone."

"What really matters is the title of the first Safe Zone!"

"If Lin An harbors ill intent, he could simply issue a call to found a new zone, even massively recruiting personnel..."

"Found a state! Divide the people!"

"Sowing deception! Spreading that Huaxia's edifice is about to collapse, claiming Lin An is the hope!"

"Tell me, how are we supposed to deal with this?!"

Lin Zhan let out a faint sigh, his gaze distant.

"You underestimate what the title of the first Safe Zone signifies in this apocalypse..."

"We can deduce that the so-called hope, the human fire seed, is just a generic term for any safe zone—but what about everyone else?"

"They'll only think that Lin An's Safe Zone is their only hope of survival in the apocalypse—the flame in the darkness!"

"Public sentiment is like water! If Lin An wishes, he could instantly stir up massive waves, swaying the hearts of the people!"

At the edge of the Meeting Room, a young soldier suddenly spoke:

"I agree with General Lin Zhan's view."

"You all actually overlooked something without realizing it."

"Our decrees don't even leave the capital; we have no capacity to interfere externally."

"In the short term it's fine; the populace still acknowledges us as legitimate."

"But over time? You've forgotten that even under our military regime's iron fist, countless people have already started to flout the law and ignore the authorities?!"

"This is the apocalypse! One can imagine what other regions are like."

"Lin An's victory would bring worldwide glory; his defeat would be right here."

"If he can't be put to our use, then in a sense he's merely eroding our prestige and shaking the foundations of the state!"

Lin Zhan looked at the young soldier in the corner, gave a slow nod, and went on.

"I've already mustered personnel before arriving, preparing to take on the Safe Zone mission; I believe it won't be long before we can establish a Safe Zone as well..."

"So, in the chat channel that opens in 17 hours, I'm also not denying him a chance."

"Proactively contacting us, willing to comply by surrendering the token and merging into the capital..."

Nie Ping scanned the room and saw that most people seemed convinced by Lin Zhan's arguments.

He slowly settled back into his seat and then spoke to himself.

"Since the apocalypse erupted, I've been stationed on the front lines."

"Don't mind if you all laugh..."

"I."

Nie Ping gave a self‑mocking smile.

"I'm afraid—I'm afraid my troops' defensive line will collapse, I'm afraid my soldiers will go to their deaths again."

"Day by day, life is getting harder to endure."

"Do you all know what the mortality rate of the first defensive line is?"

He looked around; besides Lin Zhan, no one dared to meet his gaze.

"22%—the death rate of the first defensive line is twenty percent!"

"Do you know what this means!? This damn death rate is twenty percent every day!"

"So far, my troops have gone through three rotations! Not a single person has survived past the tenth day!"

Emotionally agitated, Nie Ping's face flushed red as he glared at the calm‑faced Lin Zhan and slowly spoke.

"I've seen mutants; any mutant is a nightmare for the defensive line."

"Bullets can't kill them, explosives can't hit them. We can only fill the gap with human lives—soldiers' lives! Awakened ones' lives!"

"I don't care whether Lin An really relied on some military region's power to kill so many mutants, but he must have faced these monsters too!"

"Only Awakened ones can hold back these monsters!"

"Anyone who can lead his men and dare to fight monsters—I, Nie Ping, respect him as a true hero!"

"Those who dare to step forward in this apocalypse, dare to slaughter monsters and build a safe zone! Those who dare to take responsibility and protect a region!"

"Such people—why should they be met with our suspicion?"

"Just because he's stronger than you, stronger than everyone here, stronger than anyone?"

"Bang!"

Nie Ping couldn't help but slam the table and rise again; in all these years he's never been this emotionally agitated.

"There was no special reason—just the moment Lin An established the safe zone, countless soldiers burst into tears, feeling that life now had hope, that there was hope!"

"Before the global announcement came out, there was no electricity, no communication."

"Many people were thinking."

"Am I the last survivor? Have other places already become corpse‑filled wastelands?"

"Are my family back home already dead? What exactly are we fighting so hard for?"

"Until the announcement appeared, everyone realized."

"They are not isolated islands struggling alone against a sea of hundreds of millions of corpses!"

"They are not pitiful creatures clinging to life."

"On the land of Huaxia, people are still struggling to kindle the fire of hope!"

Nie Ping stood straight, lowered his head to look into Lin Zhan's eyes, speaking word by word.

"You are afraid."

"Afraid that he really is as you've guessed—what should we do if he raises his arm and calls out?"

"Afraid that he will become people's hope."

"How will people view us... this miserable bunch of isolated islands?"

"Afraid that someone will be stronger than you."

"Afraid that he will... take away everything you have now!"