Evacuation Plan

Lin Yi finished the dumplings in a few quick bites and didn't rest any longer. Time was indeed tight.

He stood up. Most of the people in the hall had been watching him, and now every eye turned his way.

"Uncle, Zhou Yuxuan," Lin Yi began.

Zhou Jianjun and Zhou Yuxuan immediately straightened when they heard their names.

"Uncle, after I leave, you'll be responsible for directing the defense here."

Lin Yi looked at Zhou Jianjun. His uncle was still struggling to understand Source Energy, but his tactical awareness and ability to command in the field were the most reliable they had right now.

Zhou Jianjun nodded firmly. "Don't worry. As long as this old body of mine is still standing, I won't let those beasts get through!"

"Zhou Yuxuan, you'll assist my uncle." Lin Yi turned to him. "Especially once the Sentry Mechanical Dog is activated, familiarize yourself with it as quickly as you can. Make full use of its warning and patrol functions. You two can work out the details together."

"I'll learn how to operate the Mechanical Dog as quickly as I can, figure out its sensory range and alert patterns, and coordinate with Uncle Jianjun." Zhou Yuxuan tightened his grip on the Spirit Radiance Crystal Lin Yi had given him.

Lin Yi nodded. "I need some time to recover my Source Energy and practice what I learned in that fight. I also need to observe what's happening at the Nest outside. Once I've taken care of those things, I'll head for the official Gathering Point in Helu City."

"Wait."

Ren Yinuo couldn't sit still any longer. "Second Lieutenant Lin, are you planning to go to the Helu City Gathering Point alone?"

This was the first time she'd heard of Lin Yi's plan, and her face was full of surprise. "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 meant it.

A major reason he'd chosen Hongfu Restaurant was that, in his previous life, it had quickly become an official shelter. Its defenses had been far stronger than they were now. At Hongfu Restaurant, his family would be safe, and he could hunt as recklessly as he pleased.

But the situation had changed drastically. He was practically confined here now, which was a considerable inconvenience.

So he wanted to get everyone here to the official settlement as soon as possible. That would free him up to deal with other matters.

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

"I'd like to request permission to go with you. I've received full military training and can be of help."

"Captain Ren, your duty is to stay in contact with the General Staff. If you come with me, you can't exactly bring all that equipment along."

Lin Yi shook his head and refused outright.

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

Ren Yinuo's brows drew together. She wanted to argue, but when she saw the resolute 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.

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

His suggestion immediately struck a chord with the people around him.

"That makes sense!"

"Yeah, why didn't we think of that?"

They all turned to Ren Yinuo, their eyes full of hope.

At their words, Ren Yinuo's face filled with hesitation. She looked at their hopeful expressions, then at Lin Yi. After a moment, she finally said:

"In theory, we could try contacting the Helu City Gathering Point through the General Staff, but..."

She took a deep breath, her voice growing more subdued. "The General Staff previously issued an order: except for designated national-treasure-level experts, strategic supply sites, and other special targets, military rescue operations must be prioritized according to difficulty and efficiency."

"Hongfu Restaurant is quite far from the Helu City Gathering Point, and the conditions along the way are complicated. Under the current assessment criteria, our priority... probably wouldn't be very high."

She didn't finish, but her meaning was clear.

Resources were limited and had to be used where they mattered most. They had to rescue the easiest targets first, leaving the toughest ones for last.

Otherwise, the already battered military might exhaust itself rescuing difficult targets, making the easier ones even harder to reach later.

Hongfu Restaurant was in an awkward position. It had a fair number of survivors, but it was a full five kilometers away. Before the apocalypse, that distance would have meant nothing. Now it pushed the difficulty and cost of a rescue beyond what counted as "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, if headquarters values Brother Yi so highly that they gave him a rank and sent him so many precious crystals, shouldn't that raise our priority? With Brother Yi's talent and contributions in Source Energy, isn't he just as important as those experts?"

Ren Yinuo wore a complicated expression. She glanced at Lin Yi and hesitated for a moment before explaining, "You're right. Headquarters is indeed treating Second Lieutenant Lin on the same level as a 'national-treasure expert.'"

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

She paused, seemingly weighing her words. "You all know that when Captain Tianpeng came here, he asked Second Lieutenant Lin whether he was willing to go to the General Staff. Actually... their primary mission wasn't to deliver his commission and supplies. It was to escort Second Lieutenant Lin back to the Capital Base."

Everyone stared in surprise. Even Zhou Jianjun looked at Lin Yi in astonishment.

They'd assumed it was just a routine question. They hadn't realized there had really been plans to take Lin Yi away.

"However, Second Lieutenant Lin refused. Of course, the General Staff had expected that."

Ren Yinuo smiled apologetically at Lin Yi. "The General Staff conducted a preliminary personality profile based on Second Lieutenant Lin's known actions..."

"Their analysis concluded that Second Lieutenant Lin was extremely unlikely to leave this area and head to headquarters at this stage. That's why they prepared an alternative plan and sent me to stay here long-term with communications equipment." She paused. "Of course, it's because Second Lieutenant Lin is a special case. Otherwise, the Tianpeng Squad would probably have taken more decisive measures to 'protectively relocate' him."

Her words were tactful, but everyone present understood what she meant.

Had this been another expert on the highest-priority protection list, the Tianpeng Squad would probably have "escorted" them away.

But when it came to Lin Yi, headquarters had judged that forcibly "escorting" him 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. Headquarters also assessed Second Lieutenant Lin's current ability to survive. They believe that with those crystal weapons and cultivation techniques, within the range of this Micro Nest, even if Second Lieutenant Lin runs into an Abyss Beast he can't fight head-on, he should still have more than enough ability to protect himself and retreat. So..."

At that, Chen Yu finally gave up hope.

He wasn't stupid. If headquarters believed Lin Yi was in no danger, then its precious rescue forces would naturally be sent elsewhere first, according to the rules. The rest of the people at Hongfu Restaurant could only wait patiently for rescue. They could forget about getting a free ride.

Lin Yi wasn't surprised at all.

Unlike the others, he'd once been a high-ranking member of Blue Star for a long time. Several people he knew should still be serving at the General Staff, and he quickly figured out how headquarters would handle things.

"I understand," Lin Yi said calmly. "I never expected the Gathering Point to send a large force to rescue Hongfu Restaurant ahead of schedule because of me."

"I was thinking, what if we did it this way?"

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

The main issue was the sheer number of people at Hongfu Restaurant. Even if he cleared the way first, a group that large would still attract at least a hundred Abyss Wolves on the journey. If he had to watch over them alone, he could easily end up unable to cover everything.

He looked at Ren Yinuo. "What do you think? There are just too many people at Hongfu Restaurant, and I'm worried I won't be able to protect them all by myself. They'd only need to send one squad to help. That should make the 'difficulty' and 'efficiency' acceptable enough to request an escort, right?"

Ren Yinuo listened carefully, and her eyes gradually brightened.

With this plan, Lin Yi would shoulder the greatest risks and handle all the preliminary work himself, leaving the troops at the Gathering Point with the lowest-risk, most efficient part of the mission.

She nodded at once, her tone much more confident. "If all they have to do is make one trip to escort more than four hundred survivors, there should be no reason for them to refuse. I can contact the General Staff now and explain the plan."

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