"Regardless of the consequences?"
Zhou Zhenguo chuckled softly and tapped his knuckles on the table.
"I think this kid finally showed some promise today. I always felt he was too steady and reserved before, lacking that ruthless edge!"
"Looking at him today, it's clear he still has guts when it matters!"
"Courage? Elder Zhou, you call this courage?" Wang Yuanshan suddenly turned to look at him.
"Without fully understanding the specific strategic value of destroying the Eye of Earth Marrow, and based solely on the judgment that it might be the only chance, arbitrarily changing the operation plan, resulting in the sacrifice of eleven people—isn't that reckless? Isn't that impulsive?"
"You've never fought a major battle, so you wouldn't know." Zhou Zhenguo's voice deepened, carrying a rough, gunpowder-smelling quality.
"The real opportunity in war is always seven parts speculation and three parts gambling."
"By the time you've figured out the specific meanings one by one, the enemy will have already plugged the breach!"
What did he have at that time? A map, a group of soldiers, and a fleeting opening.
"If I were in his position, I would have taken the gamble too!"
"But what will the cost?" Wang Yuanshan's voice tightened. "Eleven lives! If it's ultimately proven that the Eye of Earth Marrow's destruction was of limited significance, who will bear this cost? How will we explain this to the families?"
"Price? Every order on the battlefield comes with a price. All we have to do is judge whether it's worth paying that price at that moment. As for whether it's worth it..."
Zhou Zhenguo slowly leaned back in his chair, his eyes still sharp.
Only history can judge this!
He paused, then added:
"Whether our every action against the Ruins Realm is worthwhile depends on history's evaluation!"
After speaking, Zhou Zhenguo remained silent for a moment, then turned his gaze to Zhang Weijun, who had remained silent until now.
"My opinion is that we shouldn't assess their merits and demerits for now, but wait for the results to come out!"
Zhang Weijun didn't speak, but turned his gaze to Wang Yuanshan.
Wang Yuanshan took a deep breath and said:
"I believe those who deserve punishment should be punished; otherwise, how can we console the inspectors who have already sacrificed their lives? But..."
After a pause, seemingly swayed by Zhou Zhenguo's words, Wang Yuanshan continued:
"Let's give them a small punishment as a warning!"
As Zhang Weijun listened, his gaze fell back to the list of the fallen.
His fingers unconsciously traced the surface of the paper, eventually stopping at the last page number.
We need to apply to have some more members transferred from the Supervision Bureau...
night.
Shen Heng led his team toward the restaurant.
As soon as I stepped into the restaurant, I saw two inspectors walking out.
It was Wu Hao and Zhao Gang from the Peregrine Falcon Squad.
Zhou Xuan saw the group and was about to greet them when the two men suddenly stopped and their gazes fell on them.
Their eyes seemed to hold some complex emotions, Zhou Xuan couldn't quite decipher at first glance.
Then, the two avoided eye contact, turned sideways, and left the restaurant almost brushing against the door.
"Huh? No, what are they doing?" Zhou Xuan looked at the two leaving, somewhat puzzled.
However, the others had already walked towards the food table and did not reply to him.
Seeing this, Zhou Xuan had no choice but to hurry over.
On his way to pick up the food, he noticed that it wasn't just the Peregrine Falcon Squad.
Several other inspectors, seated in different locations, turned their gazes toward them. Their looks weren't fierce, but rather heavy and unspeakable...
Zhou Xuan followed their gaze and saw that their target was...
Zhou Xuan, somewhat puzzled, took the food he had prepared and sat down.
"Hey, what are they doing? Why are they staring at the captain like that?"
There was no reply; everyone ate in silence.
The metal plates clinked softly against the table, and the usual small talk was silent.
Zhou Xuan looked to the left, then to the right, and finally couldn't stand the eerie silence any longer.
He nudged Zheng Guomin beside him with his elbow and said in a low voice,
" Old Zheng, what exactly happened? Those two from the Peregrine Falcon Squad, and those guys... they were giving the captain weird looks."
Zheng Guomin stopped chewing, glanced at him, and looked at him with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.
" The Peregrine Falcon Squad lost two members this time. If it weren't for one of them being less skilled in combat and assigned to the Crystal Melting Zone, they might have lost three!"
"This..." Zhou Xuan first felt a little heavy-hearted, then asked again with some doubt, "What does this have to do with them looking at the captain?"
"They probably attributed the teammate's sacrifice to the captain, since the captain was the one who made the final decision." Zheng Guomin glanced at Shen Heng, who had a calm expression.
"Huh?" Zhou Xuan's eyes widened slightly. "Wasn't this something everyone voted to agree on?"
"Although they agreed at the time, they were probably still hesitant. They might have thought that there was no need to rush, or that they could wait and see. But because of the captain's words, and seeing that everyone else had agreed, they just followed suit!"
Zheng Guomin then gave an example:
"Like this operation, if it was Wang Hu's decision and I sacrificed myself, even if you agreed, would you feel absolutely no resentment towards Wang Hu afterward?"
"Huh? This..."
Zhou Xuan opened his mouth, thought for a moment, and realized that he might indeed end up like them.
The reason I don't know how to do it now is twofold: firstly, no one in their team has sacrificed themselves, and secondly, the plan was decided by Shen Heng, right?
Turning his gaze to Shen Heng, Zhou Xuan asked,
"Captain, you have no objections?"
Shen Heng glanced at him calmly and said:
"Isn't it good that they're blaming me? At least they'll feel much better during this time!"
"Moreover, as the overall commander of the operation, this is a responsibility I should bear."
"Since I made that decision, I should naturally bear the consequences."
Shen Heng's voice was calm, as if he were stating an objective fact that had nothing to do with him.
"No, Captain, you..." Zhou Xuan felt that something was wrong with what he said, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Han Ling sat to the side, her fingers gripping the spoon slightly.
Shen Heng glanced at it, then slowly turned his gaze to the rest of the place.
Several figures who had been looking this way changed their expressions the instant their eyes met. Some hastily lowered their heads, some pretended to talk to their companions, and others simply moved away slowly...
It's unlikely that he felt nothing at all, but he wasn't particularly concerned about it.
In any war, people will die, and this kind of thing is bound to happen.
When victorious, this emotion is suppressed beneath the victory.
When things fail, the frustration accumulates and eventually erupts at a certain point in time.
Of course, it's not a failure yet, but it's definitely not a victory either...
Zhou Xuan frowned, his expression shifting for a moment, but ultimately he didn't know what to say, so he asked instead:
"By the way, Captain, the Chief of Staff and the others summoned you. What did they say afterwards?"
Upon hearing this, the others also looked over with concern.
"It's nothing, it just means we shouldn't go out for now, we'll wait for the higher-ups to give their opinion," Shen Heng said calmly.
"Does that mean you might be punished?" Zhou Xuan grasped the key phrase.
The others frowned slightly upon hearing this.
"It's possible, it's also possible not to." After saying this, Shen Heng looked at the group of people with furrowed brows and said:
"Don't worry, even if there's a punishment, it won't be too severe!"
"No, this isn't about whether it's heavy or not!! Why should we?! We clearly completed such a difficult task!" Zhou Xuan frowned.
Shen Heng glanced at Zhou Xuan, then said nothing more, simply lowering his head to continue eating.
Some things are best left unsaid; there's no point in saying more.
However, Zhou Xuan did not think so.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He poked at the rice in his bowl with his chopsticks, unable to swallow it.
His gaze shifted, but suddenly stopped at the round-faced figure who had just entered through the doorway.