Armor-piercing bullets don't believe in carbon-based monsters

Chapter 321 As long as you remember
Victory is never easy.

But for the Chinese army, the price of this victory may still be too high.

The base's weapons and ammunition were almost completely depleted, and the unmanned combat equipment that served as the front-line support suffered heavy losses.

A large number of Iron Wolf and Xingtian-type combat robots were completely destroyed in the battle, and even a considerable number of the relatively safe drones crashed due to violent operation.

The loss rate of the entire unmanned combat cluster even reached over 70%, and even the last 30% lost their combat capability due to the depletion of spare parts and insufficient ammunition.

Of course, compared to the loss of manpower, the loss of personnel is relatively minor.

The main force of the Huaxia Army, including the assault and infiltration companies, suffered a staggering 200 casualties, accounting for 60% of the total forces deployed to the battlefield.

The losses suffered by the expeditionary force and the volunteer company were even more staggering.

Under He Shuo's manipulation, the expeditionary force was in a cycle of fighting to the death, dying and then recruiting, recruiting and fighting again, and fighting to the death again.

Apart from a few elite veterans, after two major battles, the expeditionary force has almost completely undergone a blood transfusion.

The death toll is conservatively estimated at 400 – and that is with many casualties being impossible to count.

In short, when He Shuo reorganized the surviving expeditionary force, fewer than 100 people were able to answer.

Similarly, the casualties of the volunteer company also reached a heartbreaking number.

From 300 to 150.

Among the 150 people, nearly 30 were seriously injured, and they will most likely not survive until April.
-
No, it should be said that they only have a few days left to live at most.
If a complete count of the number of casualties were to be performed.

The final number will come.
"810 people."

"Fifty of them were civilians who died or were injured in the defense of the base during sporadic monster attacks during the war."

Shen Yue held the casualty report in his hand. After hearing his report, Chen Jian let out a long sigh of relief.

Logically speaking, this number is actually not that large.

Compared to the hundreds of casualties that the Mechanicus often suffers in battle, and compared to the thousands of casualties when a city is destroyed by monsters, the total number of 850 casualties seems rather insignificant.

However, Chen Jian was very clear about what these 850 meant to the Huaxia Army.

This means that, excluding the expeditionary force from Hanshui City, of the more than 1400 people gathered at the 011 base through several expansions and the reception of disaster victims and refugees, almost all the able-bodied men had been to the battlefield once, except for a few who were not suitable for combat and women who had to stay at the base to take on production, living responsibilities, and care for young children. Nearly half of them did not return.

Isn't such a loss enough?

In fact, if it weren't for the existence of 011 and Fuxi, the loss of half of the young and middle-aged population would have been enough to completely destroy a city.

It was precisely because unmanned machinery and intelligent factories compensated for the loss of labor, and because the pre-stocked food ensured the base's food supply, that the base was able to stabilize the situation in such an extreme environment and prevent large-scale collapse and riots.

Thinking of this, Chen Jian sighed deeply.

"too difficult."

He said in a low voice:

"If Lin Yu hadn't found the terminal to control the beast tide at the last moment, our casualties might have been even greater."

"It's even possible that our last remaining troops will be wiped out."

"But thankfully, we pulled through."

"Unfortunately, his unusual actions should have been detected and restricted immediately."

"It will be almost impossible to use that equipment to control the beast tide in the future."

Upon hearing his words, Shen Yue on the other end hummed in response and said:
"It is indeed a pity—but it was also within expectations."

"Moreover, we don't actually need that equipment anymore."

"After this battle, the threat of monsters to humans has decreased dramatically. Even if monsters attack human settlements again in the future, it will be much easier for us to deal with it."

"If we really want to regain control in the future, everything will be ours after we take over the mountain city."

"Yes."

Chen Jian's eyes flickered slightly.

mountain city.

Our next destination is the mountain city.

What exactly is there? And what kind of city is it?
Communication with Lin Yu has been cut off again, but based on the messages he sent out during the extremely short window of time, things seem to be quite different from what I expected.

The biggest “difference” is that, contrary to my expectations, it is not a city purely controlled by AI.

Many "humans" live there, and judging from the current situation, the humans have quite a lot of authority inside the mountain city.

They not only have direct control over the beast tide, but they have also established a control terminal that is completely in line with human usage habits.

That alone is enough to illustrate the point.

But it was precisely this point that puzzled Chen Jian the most.

If the mountain city is dominated by humans, what reason would they have to fight against other humans in the world?

What justification do they have for using a "beast tide" to purge targets that pose a threat to them?

Furthermore, what reason do they have to consider these so-called "threats" to be threats at all?

Chen Jian couldn't understand this logic at all.

In his view, in the face of the apocalypse, everyone should unite.

Whether you are a follower of the Cult of the Machine God, a member of the Holy Blood, or an ordinary person, you should set aside controversy and deal with the crisis to the greatest extent possible.

Only under such circumstances can the greatest synergy be formed to propel civilization to recovery at the fastest possible speed.

But clearly, those "people from the mountain city" don't think that way.

They isolated themselves within the mountain town, completely cutting off all contact with the outside world.

Such an approach is foolish at any time—unless they have no intention of restoring civilization in the first place.

But what’s the reason?

Surely they don't believe that restoring civilization would lead to even more serious consequences?
Chen Jian frowned deeply.

The answers to all the questions can only be found after reaching the mountain town, but getting there is not so easy.

After the great battle, the base needed sufficient time to recuperate.

Because the losses were so severe, the period of "rest and recuperation" is destined to be quite long.

Thinking of this, Chen Jian sighed again:

"It was a Pyrrhic victory."

Shen Yue put down the casualty report in his hand, and a smile finally appeared on his face.

"It's not exactly a Pyrrhic victory—it should be said that it was a complete victory at a heavy cost."

"In the battle against the beast tide, excluding small monsters, we eliminated at least 900 monsters of different levels. On average, even for every casualty, we eliminated one monster."

"This is an incredible, unbelievable kill-to-kill ratio."

"I have already publicized this battle report to the entire army and the entire base, and the feedback has been very positive."

"This action was very timely."

Chen Jian gave Shen Yue a thumbs up.

"Our most important task now is to tell everyone what we have gained in this war."

"Although the comparison of casualty data may seem a bit 'cold,' it is indeed the most direct and impactful way of expressing it."

"After seeing this number, everyone will realize that although we suffered heavy casualties, the enemy also suffered a devastating blow."

"In this way, our sacrifice becomes meaningful."

"However, doing just that is not enough."

“We need to show them something more realistic.”

"For example, after we clear out these monsters, how much land will we actually get? How much food and survival supplies will we obtain? How much development will we achieve?"

"You can write a report on these things."

"The report doesn't need to be too rigorous, but it must be visually appealing." "Understood."

Shen Yue nodded again.

"Actually, objectively speaking, our gains are still quite significant."

"The number of enemies killed is only 900, which doesn't seem like much, but compared to the total number of monsters, it's not a small number either."

"According to the intelligence we obtained earlier, there are about 2500 level 2 and below monsters in the two major areas, north and south."

"We've already wiped out nearly half of this beast tide."

"The remaining monsters are either impossible to reorganize into a beast tide, or they are relatively mild-mannered and do not have the ability to attack humans, or they are not in the same ecological niche as humans at all."

"They pose the least threat to us."

"Therefore, judging from all aspects, although the monsters have not been completely eliminated, the threat they pose to humans has indeed been reduced to a safe level."

"very good."

Chen Jian raised his head slightly and reached out to rub his slightly swollen eyes.

"That means we can basically conclude that we have weathered this beast tide crisis."

"The notice can be issued now—but the state of war should not be lifted for the time being."

"clear."

Shen Yue stood up and then asked:

"What about the refugees in Nanjing? How should we deal with them?"

"Should we take it?"

"No."

Chen Jian answered decisively:
"Do not proactively offer to accept invitations."

"If they want to come here, they will come on their own."

"If they don't want to come, they can still survive."

"Alright, let's stop here for now."

"The ceremony is about to begin."

Two hours later.

Main entrance of Base 001.

Yu Qian sat in a simple wheelchair, with her son and her toddler daughter beside her.

The awarding and commendation ceremony has concluded, and he wears several gleaming medals on his chest.

According to the schedule, he should have returned to Base 011 to change his wound dressing and clothes, and prepare to attend the victory celebration banquet that was about to be held.

But like many others, he did not leave immediately.

His gaze was fixed on the massive steel structure standing to the side of the main passage entrance, intently studying the names engraved on it.

At first, he didn't understand why the regimental commanders of the Chinese army would remember the name of every fallen soldier.

But he soon remembered that his name had already been recorded when his group first arrived and had just gotten a "job".

It is precisely because of this extra step that this monument, which cannot even be called a sculpture, exists here.

Perhaps the regimental commanders of the Huaxia Army had long anticipated this day?
Maybe.

Yu Qian swayed his wheelchair and slowly approached the monument.

The son picked up his daughter and followed beside him, asking with some confusion:
"Dad, do you recognize all the people on this screen?"

Yu Qian slowly shook his head.

"No, I don't know them all."

"Dad only knows a small portion of the people listed here—a very, very small portion."

"Oh!"

The son nodded thoughtfully, then approached the monument, pointed to a name, and asked curiously:

"What about this one? Do you recognize this one?"

Yu Qian squinted, took a closer look, and said:

"know."

"This person is Dad's class monitor."

"The squad leader? Is he dead too?"

"Yes, he died bravely."

Yu Qian patted his son's head and continued:
"Everyone up here is dead."

"That's such a pity, so many people died!"

The son's eyes dimmed slightly for a moment.

He was too young to truly understand the meaning of "sacrifice," but in any case, he understood "death."

It was just like the death of his mother.

If someone "dies," it means they will never come back or appear in front of anyone again.

This must be a sad thing.

After all, he still remembered the day his mother died, when his father cried all night.
-
But why, why is no one here crying?

These names probably represent some people's fathers, mothers, or sons, right?

His eyes filled with confusion once more. He looked at the inscription on the monument, then back at the remaining money, and asked:
"Dad, did they go to heaven?"

"I've heard that people who die fighting monsters go to heaven."

"Is that why their relatives didn't cry?"

"no."

A barely perceptible smile appeared on Yu Qian's lips, but he immediately spoke seriously:
"You must remember what the commanders said."

"There is no heaven in this world. If there is a heaven, it can only be built by ourselves."

"They didn't cry, not because their loved ones had gone to heaven."

"It's because they know that they can continue to walk the path paved by their loved ones."

"Of course, there is another reason."

"what reason?"

The son looked up, staring intently at the remaining money, waiting for the other party's reply.

Yu Qian's smile gradually widened.

"Didn't you hear what the commander was saying when he was giving his speech up there?"

Do you remember what the commander said at the end?

The son lowered his head and thought for a moment before answering:

He said.

"Death is never the final destination; forgetting is."

He said we would remember the owners of these names, and that our names would also be engraved on this monument in the future.

"Yes."

Yu Qian extended his hand to his son, his voice gentle yet firm, and said:
"So if one day, your father's name is also engraved on this, don't cry."

"Just remember that, and that's enough."

(End of this chapter)