Psychics don't die from gunfire

Chapter 920 Flexibility and Adaptability

Frankly speaking, the war between the New Order Federation and the Eastern Continent Republic has not gone smoothly so far.

With Song Shi, the "Southern Dipper," as a [True Spirit], as a deterrent, they annexed and seized most of the immigrant resettlement areas of the Eastern Continent Republic. This was undoubtedly a great strategic success. However, in terms of the actual front-line battles at all levels, it can only be said that both sides had their victories and defeats.

The battles between the New Order Federation and the Corporate Alliance in the past were never just fought by the highest-ranking psionicists. While they certainly occupied the absolute spotlight, many other people, even those whose names were never recorded, were also fighting with all their might outside the spotlight.

Only a few, like Siblonn Nicole, survived to the end and achieved great success; most people perished on the eve of their deaths.

This also led to one thing.

The New Order Federation, having inherited the legacy of the Corporate Alliance and rapidly assimilating it, has a promising future, but its current readily available combat power—excluding the very top tier—is not actually abundant. The dismantled organization needs rebuilding, the fallen personnel need replacement, and the process of new recruits developing into qualified soldiers takes time.

If there's anything that hasn't decreased but rather increased, it's the strength of psionicists. A considerable number of psionicists have distinguished themselves in the All-Out War, quickly realizing their potential, and even several remarkable supernovas have emerged. For a time, even the generation of Lapis Lazuli and Chu Bronze Furnace seemed to have become old things.

This includes not only psionicists within systems like the Security Bureau and the Enlightened Ones, but also some previously unknown individuals who were out in the wild. Once these individuals rose to prominence and were given the opportunity to test their skills, most of them displayed their full potential.

However, the long battlefront meant that they couldn't rely on psionicists for every single inch of the battle.
If they moved to another location, it would be fine. Relying on their technological advantages, the New Order Federation could deploy intelligent armed units on a large scale, trading resources for time and gradually dragging things out until the new forces were replenished and transformed.

On the battlefield of the Eastern Continent Republic, the surveillance network is ubiquitous and infiltrates every corner, greatly restricting the use of intelligent armed units. A slight mishap or prolonged combat could lead to hacking, hijacking, or defection.

Therefore, the two sides went back and forth, maintaining a stalemate.

However, the stalemate has recently eased. After resolving its domestic problems, the Vanpusta Empire has freed up its resources and restarted its offensive, forcing the Eastern Republic to redeploy the military forces it had diverted from that front to deal with the New Order Federation.

"The Eastern Continent Republic has nineteen prefectures under its jurisdiction, and the number of nodes in the [Surveillance Network] is conservatively estimated to be close to one hundred."

Song Shi tapped the table lightly with his five fingers: "The defense strength of each node, if you want to break through it single-handedly, it would need to be at least at the level of the third ring."

"Can we produce a hundred third rings?"

“It’s not impossible.” The chief of staff exchanged a glance with his colleague and then stood up to answer, “It’s just that doing so would have too much of an impact.”

He was in a very difficult position.

A third-ring [Control] psyker, or a level four unit with equivalent combat power, could single-handedly influence a local war. Even within the giant corporations of that era, such a figure would have been extremely valuable.

The current New Order Federation isn't incapable of mustering a hundred members, but this would inevitably severely impact deployments in other areas.

He advised, “Your Excellency, we currently only have 21 nodes that we are certain of, while there are 572 other interference options. The strategic depth of the Eastern Continent Republic is very large, so even if all 572 nodes are dispersed, it will not be crowded.”

“Even if we were to deploy a hundred Level 4 units, it would be impossible to identify and destroy all the genuine nodes immediately,” he said in a deep voice. “Furthermore, according to the technical department’s calculations, we do not need to destroy all the nodes. For every part of the nodes in the [Surveillance Network] that is destroyed, its power will decrease.”

“We only need to ensure its power drops below a certain threshold, and then our subsequent forces can launch an attack. Meanwhile, your battle with Fenglian—he will inevitably divert resources from the [Surveillance Network] to reinforce it. And once the power drops, this will significantly reduce your burden.” He offered his suggestion: “I believe the first batch of interspace deployments should prioritize the destruction of the twenty-one true nodes. Our main force will also put pressure on the front lines, covering operations behind enemy lines.”

For the nodes of the [Surveillance Network], the Eastern Continent Republic adopted a dynamic hybrid strategy, simultaneously concealing the node locations while setting up a massive number of interference devices. Based on this, the [Surveillance Network] acted like a fog of war, obscuring the territory of the Eastern Continent Republic and making it extremely difficult for hostile forces to conduct network operations on its homeland.

Thus, by stepping on one foot while supporting the other, even with the help of the textile machine and VE, the New Order Federation only managed to identify twenty-one true nodes.

Meanwhile, the Severing the Dragon Vein Project hinges on Singularity Technology – "Spatial Leap," which is second only to Supreme Executive Committee Member Song Shi in importance and cannot be revealed prematurely. Therefore, the New Order Federation has never conducted any real-world testing elsewhere, keeping it tightly under wraps. Their first official combat deployment is a massive undertaking like the Severing the Dragon Vein Project.

If necessary, remain silent until the moment of truth, then make a stunning statement.

To ensure a safe outcome, the New Order Alliance even pulled several former high-ranking members of the [Overturning Valley] from prison to serve as advisors—they were the only ones in all of Terra with experience in interspatial deployment operations.

Song Shi listened patiently and nodded slightly.

This single gesture caused the entire room to fall silent, awaiting the former's speech.

"What you said makes sense, and your considerations are quite thorough. However, I'd like to offer a suggestion, is that alright?"

The chief of staff breathed a sigh of relief: "You're joking."

"According to you, our goal isn't actually to destroy the [surveillance network], but to hinder it and continuously reduce its power." Song Shi interlaced his fingers: "This will create an advantage for the expeditionary force and incidentally weaken the Fenglian's strength."

The chief of staff is right.

"Then there shouldn't be any problem."

Song Shi raised his index finger, and flames shot out, thin as silk, outlining characters in mid-air.
The Longyuan Feng family, the Dacang Lin family, the Hehai Zang family, and the Baichuan Lu family.
The chief of staff immediately recognized them as the elite families of the Eastern Continent Republic!
"The surveillance network cannot create something out of nothing, and the total amount of power it can control is limited. Therefore, even among powerful families, the level of control over it varies." Song Shi rested his chin on his hand: "If more is used here, less can be used there."

A glint flashed in Siblonn Nicol's eyes, and he suddenly realized: "Nodes are hard to find, and these elites can't just move their hometowns! Damn, how come I didn't think of that!"

Almost simultaneously, the chief of staff also realized what was happening, his voice trembling with excitement: "Yes, yes, yes, it works... There's no need to find all the nodes at all, just target them all at once! To protect themselves, they'll definitely use their authority and divert resources from the [Surveillance Network], which will reduce the power output in other areas!"

"And, I suddenly remembered! Your Excellency, Supreme Executive Committee Member!" The Logistics and Equipment Director suddenly spoke up: "I remember possessing the psionic technique [Vermilion Bird Soul]. If we disperse the flames, we can use 'Elemental Law' to attack all the nodes."

"Ah, I've tried it."

Song Shi glanced at him and replied.

"My psionic power is too strong; it will burst the wormhole, and we won't be able to get through."

(End of this chapter)