binnovel Chapter 340 The war begins
Chapter 340 The war begins
At 3:4 AM on April 5th, 2026, Li Chenglong was still holding Yunlan as she slept, while little Li Yunhao lay obediently to her right. Suddenly, the crystal phone beneath Li Chenglong vibrated, instantly waking him. This was intentionally set by Li Chenglong; the crystal phone was very sturdy, so even being under him wouldn't cause any damage, and he would immediately detect any messages.
Li Chenglong unlocked his crystal phone with his fingerprint and saw that it was a message from Wang Xiao and He Shuangshuang, who were on duty at the central information management department that night. It was a high-level communication from headquarters, and only he was authorized to read it. Li Chenglong dressed and used dimensional travel to the central management department. He saw that it was a video call and immediately unlocked it with his password.
A short while later, General Chen Guoqiang appeared on the other side. The general said somewhat anxiously, "Did you see the report that was sent to you earlier? At midnight today, the Northwest Theater Command, the Northern Theater Command, the Southwest Theater Command, the Northeast Theater Command, and the southern part of the Central Theater Command were simultaneously attacked by zombies. At present, signs of zombie activity have also been observed at the Qingshui Base."
While reading the newly printed report, Li Chenglong listened to General Chen Guoqiang speak. After reading it, he said with a serious expression, "Commander, just tell me what you need us in Dawn City to do. Our Dawn Army has completed all combat preparations within this week and is ready to be deployed at any time!"
General Chen Guoqiang nodded in satisfaction and said, "Now your Dawn Army has four divisions, two rocket regiments, one equipment and logistics unit, one information support unit, and an air force squadron with more than 20 aircraft of various types. Your combat capability can be said to be very high. I would like to hear your opinion."
Li Chenglong looked at the latest reports transmitted from various bases to headquarters, then studied the map of China for a while before speaking: "Currently, our human bases form a network structure. Within this network, there are still many areas occupied by zombies, such as the border areas of Nanhe Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and Beihe Province. These places could pose a threat to our rear while we are fully engaged in fighting external enemies. Therefore, I will first send a division to cooperate with one of General Shangguan Jingyun's armies to completely wipe out the zombies in Nanhe Province. Then, I will use another division to cooperate with one of the armies from Qianyun Base to completely wipe out the zombies in Hebei Province. During this period, we will use the air force for air support."
He paused and continued, "Then we will take the initiative. The zombies in the southeast are attacking north. They certainly didn't expect us to take the initiative. Our remaining two combat divisions of the Dawn Army, together with the combined forces of the Flying Cloud Base, the Clear Water Base, and other small and medium-sized bases in the Eastern Theater, will advance south with all our might and have a head-on confrontation with the zombies! If we win, we can advance all the way south and rush straight to the enemy's main camp. Even if we can't win, we can greatly reduce the pressure on other fronts."
General Chen Guoqiang pondered for a long time before saying, "You know that we have observed no less than a million zombies in Xijiang Province and Nanzhe Province alone. Even if you add the allied forces and all the people that the two bases can send, your two divisions only have 10 people. That's a ratio of 1 to 10 or even more exaggerated. If we fail, it will be utterly annihilated."
Li Chenglong immediately replied, "When two armies meet on a narrow path, the brave will prevail. To win the battle and achieve the subsequent strategic goals, taking some risks is worthwhile. Actually, I don't want to split up my Dawn Army. My idea is to use our Dawn Army alone to strike at the heart of the zombie army, without relying on other troops."
General Chen Guoqiang nodded: "Alright, you don't need to worry about the zombies in Beihe Province. I will send Shangguan Jingyun and troops from Huian Province to attack from both sides. As for the remaining zombies in Beihe Province, let Sun Tianlong lead his troops to deal with them. Your Dawn Army and the troops from Feiyun Base will join forces to resist the zombies attacking from the south, while the troops from Qingshui Base will defend the long coastline. To ensure unified command, headquarters will also grant you supreme command authority. You can deal with anyone who disobeys orders at will."
However, the commander immediately said, "But in that case, all the pressure from the southern zombies will fall on you. If you can't win, you probably know better than I what the consequences will be." Li Chenglong solemnly saluted, "Please rest assured, headquarters and commander, Dawn City will definitely complete its combat mission."
After finishing his communication with his superior, Li Chenglong checked the time; it was nearly 5 a.m. However, the military situation was urgent, and speed was of the essence. Li Chenglong didn't have time to let everyone rest. He immediately said, "Lilith, please sound the highest-level alarm throughout the city and notify all officers of the Dawn Army at the deputy regimental level and above, as well as all administrators of Dawn City at the deputy minister level and above, to assemble in the second-floor conference hall in 45 minutes! Anyone who is late will be severely punished."
Almost instantly, sirens blared throughout Dawn City, centered on the Dawn Building. Soldiers who were fast asleep immediately began dressing and tidying their quarters upon hearing the alarms, assembling under the leadership of their squad, platoon, and company commanders. To prevent panic among ordinary Dawn City residents, Dawn City's public address system and television station simultaneously began broadcasting information to the public.
Five minutes later, Li Chenglong returned home. Susie, who had heard the alarm, was already up. Li Chenglong looked at Susie earnestly: "Our whole family, except for Li Yunhao, will be participating in this battle, so I want to ask you to take good care of the little guy, okay?" Although Susie hadn't spent much time with Li Yunhao, she had already developed a bond with the little guy and immediately replied earnestly: "Yes, I will definitely treat him like someone even closer than my own brother and take good care of him until the city lord returns."
Thirty-five minutes later, Li Chenglong, Yun Lan, and all the administrators of Dawn City and the Dawn Army arrived at the conference hall on the second floor. He got straight to the point: "Starting at midnight today, the zombie army launched an attack on our human settlements from all directions simultaneously. According to headquarters' instructions, we in Dawn City only have one enemy, and that is the enemy attacking from the south. This time, our Dawn Army will not split up, but will gather together to fight as one."
Li Chenglong smiled and said, "I don't need to elaborate on how dangerous this battle is. According to reconnaissance, there are at least 60 zombies attacking from the south, while our forces consist of only the Dawn Army with less than 6 men, plus two armies from the Flying Cloud Base with over 2 men, and the allied forces from the smaller bases with 5 men. The enemy's numbers alone are 5 to 1. And this is only the enemy we have observed; we don't know how many more enemies are behind us. Therefore, I am making an exception. If anyone is afraid, they can choose not to participate in this battle and stay in Dawn City. I guarantee with my personal reputation that I will not hold them accountable later."
Then Yunlan, Zheng Yong, and Feng Tianyi each gave speeches, mostly offering words of encouragement. 8:00 AM was the latest time Li Chenglong had allowed those withdrawing from the battle to submit their applications. To his surprise, despite the obvious danger of the operation—almost a nine-out-of-ten chance of death—not a single person was willing to withdraw. Instead, many applied to join the People's Association. Although this wasn't within Li Chenglong's jurisdiction, he still issued approvals for each application.
At 9 a.m., witnessed by tens of thousands of people in Shuguang Square, troop carriers fully loaded with soldiers slowly drove along Shuguang Avenue. Li Chenglong and others saluted in unison from the second-floor viewing platform, watching the long, imposing procession turn a corner and head south. An hour later, the more than 50,000 troops left Shuguang City, heading south along the pre-arranged route. Li Chenglong arrived at Shuguang Square, looked back at the majestic Shuguang Building, took a deep breath, and boarded the command vehicle.
In this battle, the Dawn City Dawn Army dispatched a total of 40,000 combat divisions, 3000 equipment and logistics personnel, 2000 information support personnel, two regiments of the Dawn Army Rocket Regiment, the Army Headquarters Special Operations Team, and the Dawn City Air Force Squadron. After these troops left, Dawn City was left with only three regiments of the City Defense Department and a 1500-strong Young Pioneers team.
Meanwhile, at the Feiyun base, upon learning that Li Chenglong had arrived with all his troops and was the commander-in-chief, they were naturally overjoyed. This time, they dispatched two armies led by Xu Qingming and Wei Huasheng, leaving only over 1 troops to protect the base.