There was no response; everyone remained silent.
After a long while, a general finally spoke, his words faltering, and asked, "How... how did you do that?"
"It's still unclear. Maybe they've found something that can interfere with the components inside the nuclear bomb, or maybe it's some other method. But right now, there's only one thing we need to do!" Zhang Weijun said with a serious expression.
"What?" the general asked.
Zhang Weijun turned his gaze back to the crowd that was staring at him.
"Now, let's focus all our efforts on the evacuation operation..."
Training room.
Li Daoyi sat by the window.
His figure was slightly hunched, his gaze quietly fixed on the view outside the window.
There, soldiers ran in formation, troop carriers roared forward, and people and objects flew swiftly through the air.
In the final moments, all the resources within the base were put to use.
The sound of conversation could be heard coming from the side.
An object resembling a jade pendant floated silently nearby.
Suddenly, he seemed to hear something.
He slightly raised his gaze, which had been level with his own, and looked out the window.
The area outside the city was completely silent.
A gentle breeze blew, and black snowflakes fell, just like any other day.
"So, this is what we're doing to deal with this...?"
Li Daoyi raised his hand, his gaze clouded as he looked at the rough lines on his palm.
The gaze appears to be on the palm, but it is not actually focused there.
Two or three minutes ago, he vaguely sensed that something seemed to be missing from the space.
It was as if something had been taken away.
The power of a certain Calamity Beast? Or an artifact left behind by Calamity Beast of Seventh Tier or higher after its death?... Li Daoyi pondered.
Suddenly, he chuckled softly.
"No wonder you dared to come over, so that's why..."
Just then, the jade pendant floating beside them suddenly rang.
" Chief Zhang requests to speak with you."
Li Daoyi withdrew his gaze and glanced at the terminal.
"Take it."
Zhang Weijun's voice came through the terminal, speaking much faster than usual.
"Master, please leave first. I've already sent someone out to deliver a message, asking Lieutenant General Jiang Xingwei to come over as soon as possible."
"Ah, I understand," Li Daoyi replied.
"Okay, then please do it as soon as possible..."
The voice came, but before it could finish, it was interrupted by Li Daoyi.
"When did I say I was going out?" Li Daoyi retorted.
There was a pause on the other end of the terminal.
"... Daoist Master, you're not planning to go out?"
"Of course there are, but..." Li Daoyi paused, his gaze returning to the retreating figures outside the window, "No matter what, we should wait until all these soldiers have left before we talk about it, right?"
The sound came through, and the command center suddenly fell silent.
Zhang Weijun paused for a moment, his gaze instinctively drifting to the two officers remaining to the side.
They all looked equally bewildered, seemingly not expecting the Daoist priest to say such a thing.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhang Weijun looked at the control panel again and asked:
"Then... Daoist Master, what do you plan to do?"
The two officers beside him also looked over, waiting for a reply.
The response came as expected.
"What else can we do? Just stall! I'll leave after everyone else has evacuated."
Although Zhang Weijun had some suspicions when he heard it earlier, he still couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling when he actually confirmed it.
"No, 60,000 people can't be evacuated in just two or three hours. And those Sixth Tier Calamity Beast are already gathered together and could come at any time. You can't hold them off for that long by yourself!" Zhang Weijun retorted decisively.
"Ah, I know," came the reply.
"Since we know you still..."
Zhang Weijun spoke up, trying to persuade him further.
But before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the other party.
" Chief Zhang, are you suggesting that a Daoist priest watch 60,000 people die before his very eyes, and then leave first?"
The voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable firmness.
Zhang Weijun choked for a moment.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his emotions, and said:
"Master, I may not like to hear this, but you alone might be more important than this entire base."
"Just like this time, although we now have more fourth and fifth-tier warriors, if we had a few more high-tier ones, we wouldn't be in this situation now, forced to retreat!"
"And this situation is not unique to the past or present; in the future, for a considerable period of time, we will likely lack advanced Fifth Tier cultivators!"
"Of course, I understand your thoughts, and I know you want more people to survive, but you need to think carefully about the future..."
"Well, let's talk about the future later. I can't worry about that now!" the voice came again.
Seemingly sensing the slight impatience in his voice, Zhang Weijun paused for a moment and then changed his approach.
His tone was cold and stern as he said:
"I understand your thoughts, but the General Administration prohibits such things!"
"Let them ban it, what does it have to do with me?"
The sound came again, leaving Zhang Weijun speechless.
Then, seemingly oblivious, he continued:
"The Daoist path I've cultivated is all about achieving perfect clarity of mind. If I escape this time, it might become my inner demon for the rest of my life!"
"Master, you..."
Zhang Weijun opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something more, but his impatient voice came again.
"Alright, that's fine then."
Zhang Weijun began, "No, please wait a moment..."
"Beep, beep..."
The call was disconnected.
The scene fell silent.
The two remaining officers turned and looked at each other, bewildered.
To be honest, when Daoist Master Li rejected the battle plan and immediately suggested retreating, they thought he was afraid of losing his life. But now...
The two suddenly felt somewhat ashamed of themselves.
A general paused for a moment, then asked in a somewhat hoarse voice:
"Commander, now..."
Without an immediate response, Zhang Weijun took a deep breath and then spoke again.
Meanwhile, in the training room.
Li Daoyi hung up the call.
He glanced out the window at the still-moving queue.
The evacuation was actually quite fast, but... with tens of thousands of people and only one entrance, it certainly couldn't be completed in a short time!
Li Daoyi slowly withdrew his gaze and looked at the ground in front of him.
There, several copper coins lay quietly on the ground, each facing a different direction, front or back.
"Tsk, is this a very bad omen..."
Li Daoyi muttered something in disdain.
He stood up, one hand behind his back, the other lightly tapping his back, and slowly walked out.
"I wonder if my bones can withstand this ordeal..."