"My view is much the same as Principal Han's," Xie Nanyun said. "In truth, our war preparations haven't been going smoothly. As time passes, it's even begun to feel like we're struggling to take a single step."
Xie Nanyun's brow furrowed deeply. "To keep vital information confidential, and to avoid undermining the Safe Zone's confidence in resisting a powerful enemy, we've never disclosed much detailed information about the Alien Invaders. That has created a problem—now the Safe Zone is awash with claims that 'the Alien Invaders are only a hypothetical enemy.'"
"Joint Mining's Security Team has been taking part in preparatory training across the War Readiness Zones, and they've been complaining to me constantly. If the heads of our families didn't command enough respect, they probably would have walked away long ago."
"You must all remember that establishing our War Readiness Zones required sacrifices from many influential pillars of society-people with status, standing, and a voice. Even if those of us here choose to cut our losses for the greater good and accept those sacrifices, the people under us are bound to harbor resentment. And that resentment will affect others in the Safe Zone."
Xie Nanyun drew a deep breath and looked at Olof. "We sacrificed countless people's interests to set up these War Readiness Zones. If we sound the First-Level Alert only to find there's no enemy, we'll have cried wolf. That would deal a devastating blow to the United Government's credibility. Everyone's resentment would erupt, and they would turn on us en masse. Forget organizing war preparations afterward—even the United Government itself might be in jeopardy."
"To be cautious, should we wait and observe a little longer?"
Yan Changfeng shook his head firmly. "This is an emergency. Even tightening our defenses right now might be too late. Waiting