Evacuation Plan

After quickly finishing the dumplings, Lin Yi didn't rest for long. Time was indeed pressing.

He stood up, and most of the people in the hall had been focused on him. Now all their eyes turned his way.

"Uncle, Zhou Yuxuan," Lin Yi called.

When Zhou Jianjun and Zhou Yuxuan heard their names, their expressions immediately turned serious.

"Uncle, after I leave, you'll be in charge of directing the defenses here."

Lin Yi looked at Zhou Jianjun. His uncle was still at a loss when it came to source energy, but his tactical awareness and ability to command in the field were the most dependable they had right now.

Zhou Jianjun nodded firmly. "Don't worry. As long as these old bones of mine are still standing, I won't let those beasts get up here!"

"Zhou Yuxuan, assist my uncle..." Lin Yi turned to look at Zhou Yuxuan. "Especially once the Sentinel Mechanical Dog is activated, get familiar with it as quickly as possible. Make full use of its warning and patrol functions. You can discuss the specifics among yourselves."

"I'll learn how to operate the Mechanical Dog as quickly as I can, figure out its perception range and warning modes, and work well with Uncle Jianjun." Zhou Yuxuan tightened his grip on the Spirit Shine Crystal Lin Yi had given him.

Lin Yi nodded. "I need some time to recover my source energy and practice what I learned from that fight. I also need to observe how the Nest outside is moving... Once I'm done with all that, I'll head to the official gathering point in Helu City."

"Wait..."

Ren Yinuo couldn't sit still. "Major Lin, are you going to the Helu City Gathering Point alone?"

This was the first she'd heard of Lin Yi's plan, and she looked astonished. "It's a full five kilometers from here to the gathering point. That's too dangerous. Could you reconsider?"

Lin Yi shook his head. "We're too close to the Nest. I can't feel at ease."

He was telling the truth.

He had chosen Hongfu Tower in the first place largely because, in his previous life, it had soon become an official shelter. Its defenses had been far stronger than they were now. At Hongfu Tower, his family would be safe, and he could hunt without restraint.

But things had changed considerably. Now, he was effectively confined here, which made everything rather inconvenient.

So he wanted to get everyone here to an official settlement as soon as possible. Only then would he be free to deal with other matters.

Seeing that Lin Yi's gaze was firm and he had no intention of changing his mind, Ren Yinuo thought for a moment, then stepped forward.

"I request permission to go with you. I've received full military training. I can help."

"Captain Ren, your duty is to maintain contact with General Staff. You can't exactly bring a pile of equipment with you if you come along."

Lin Yi shook his head and refused outright.

"Besides, I'm only going to scout the way, report our situation, and plan the evacuation route for later. I need to move quickly, and I expect to be back within a day... Bringing you along would only slow me down and increase the risk."

Ren Yinuo furrowed her brow. She wanted to argue, but when she saw the unyielding look in Lin Yi's eyes, and remembered that she wasn't a combatant, she could only fall silent.

Just then, Chen Yu's eyes lit up.

"Hey! Wait! Brother Yi, since Captain Ren can contact General Staff directly, then General Staff should be able to contact the Helu City Gathering Point, too, right? Could we ask Captain Ren to contact them directly and report our situation? Then you wouldn't have to risk going out!"

His words immediately struck a chord with those around him.

"That makes sense!"

"Right! How did we not think of that..."

They all looked at Ren Yinuo, their eyes filled with hope.

At this, Ren Yinuo's face took on a troubled expression. She looked at their hopeful faces, then at Lin Yi. After hesitating for a moment, she finally said:

"In theory... we can certainly try to contact the Helu City Gathering Point through General Staff, but..."

She took a deep breath, her voice turning lower. "General Staff issued an order earlier. Aside from designated national-treasure-level experts, strategic supply points, and other special targets, military rescue operations must be prioritized according to difficulty and rescue efficiency..."

"Hongfu Tower is quite a distance from the Helu City Gathering Point, and conditions along the way are complicated. Under the current assessment standards, its priority... probably wouldn't be very high..."

She left the rest unsaid, but her meaning was clear enough.

Resources were limited and had to be used where they would do the most good. The easier targets had to be rescued first, and the tough ones would have to wait.

Otherwise, if the already badly depleted military forces exhausted themselves rescuing high-difficulty targets, even the easier targets would become difficult to reach.

Hongfu Tower was in an awkward location. There were quite a few survivors, but it was a full five kilometers away. A distance that had meant nothing before the apocalypse now pushed the difficulty and cost of a rescue beyond what could be considered "efficient" at this stage.

The harsh reality left everyone feeling dejected.

Chen Yu still seemed unwilling to give up. He couldn't help asking, "But, Captain Ren... since they think so highly of Brother Yi that they gave him a rank and sent him so many precious crystals, shouldn't that raise our priority? With Brother Yi's talent for source energy and his contributions, isn't he as important as those experts?"

A complicated look crossed Ren Yinuo's face. She glanced at Lin Yi, hesitated for a moment, then explained, "You're right. Headquarters is indeed evaluating Major Lin by the same standards as a 'national-treasure expert.'"

"But there's one key difference..."

She paused, as if weighing her words. "You all know that when Captain Tianpeng came earlier, they asked Major Lin whether he was willing to go to General Staff. Actually... their primary mission wasn't to deliver his appointment and supplies. It was to escort Major Lin back to Capital Base."

Everyone was taken aback, even Zhou Jianjun, who looked at Lin Yi in surprise.

They had thought it was just a routine question. They hadn't realized they had actually intended to take Lin Yi with them.

"However, Major Lin refused... Of course, General Staff expected that..."

Ren Yinuo gave Lin Yi an apologetic smile as she continued. "General Staff conducted a preliminary personality profile based on Major Lin's publicly known actions..."

"The analysis concluded that Major Lin was extremely unlikely to leave this area for headquarters at this stage, so they came up with an alternative plan: to have me stay here long-term with communications equipment..." She paused. "Of course, it's also because Major Lin is in a special situation. Otherwise, the Tianpeng Squad would probably have resorted to... more forceful 'protective relocation' measures."

Her wording was tactful, but everyone present understood what she meant.

If it had been another expert on the highest-priority protection list, the Tianpeng Squad might well have "invited" them to leave.

But when it came to Lin Yi, General Staff had judged that forcing him to go might not work, and could even backfire with someone so young. So they had chosen a gentler approach that respected his wishes.

"And..."

Ren Yinuo thought for a moment, then added, "There's another, more important reason... General Staff also assessed Major Lin's current ability to survive. They believe that with those crystal equipment and techniques, even if he encounters an Abyssal Beast within the bounds of this Miniature Nest that he can't defeat head-on, he should still be more than capable of protecting himself and retreating... So..."

At this point, Chen Yu finally gave up hope completely.

He wasn't stupid. If General Staff believed Lin Yi could handle himself, then the precious rescue forces would naturally be used elsewhere first, according to the rules. The rest of Hongfu Tower would just have to wait for rescue. They could forget about riding his coattails.

Lin Yi wasn't surprised in the least.

Unlike the others, he had spent a long time among Blue Star's upper ranks. Several people he knew were probably still serving at General Staff, and he had quickly inferred how it was operating right now.

"I understand," Lin Yi said calmly. "I never expected the gathering point to send a large force to rescue Hongfu Tower early just because of me."

"I've been thinking. Could we do it this way..."

"Ask Captain Ren to contact the Helu City Gathering Point... Tell them I'll find a relatively safe route and clear as many of the threats along the way as I can. Then, once I arrive, they only need to send out a small squad to meet us, carrying the necessary heavy weapons. They can come back with me and cover the evacuation of the more than four hundred people at Hongfu Tower."

The main problem was that there were too many people at Hongfu Tower. Even if he cleared the route first, a group that large would still attract at least a hundred Abyssal Wolves along the way. Guarding them alone would make it easy for him to miss something.

He looked at Ren Yinuo. "How does that sound? There are just too many people at Hongfu Tower. I'm afraid I can't protect everyone by myself. They only need to send one squad to assist. That should be enough to meet the requirements for 'difficulty' and 'efficiency,' shouldn't it?"

Ren Yinuo listened carefully, her eyes gradually brightening.

With Lin Yi's plan, he would take on nearly all the greatest risks and the preliminary work himself, leaving the troops at the gathering point with the lowest-risk, most efficient part.

She nodded at once, sounding much more confident. "If that's the plan, then they'd only need to make one trip to bring back more than four hundred survivors. They shouldn't have any reason to refuse. I can contact General Staff now and explain the plan."

"Good. Then that's settled." Lin Yi nodded. "Sorry for the trouble, Captain Ren."