382: Release them, but only have ten hours to escape

Tian Ming turned his head and said to Shen Yuan, "Jiang Chen's side has sent an envoy. He's at the extended stronghold in the northern section of the wall. I need to go over there."

"He really keeps his word!" Shen Yuan said.

"Whether he keeps his word or not, I don't know, but a large number of corpse race insiders might be mixed in with the people being sent back."

"Okay, husband, you go. Be careful with everything."

Tian Ming nodded slightly and said, "It's fine, I understand."

He arrived at the conference room in the extended stronghold of the northern section. As soon as he entered, Tian Ming saw a tall man in a black suit standing by the window, and Bai Yan was also there.

This man was very handsome. The moment he turned around, his light golden pupils slightly surprised Tian Ming.

Bai Yan quickly walked over and whispered, "General Chi Li, Jiang Chen's Grand General, Emperor-level, immune to abilities."

Tian Ming nodded slightly and sat down. With war about to break out between the two sides, the envoy sent by the corpse race was likely only second in rank to Jiang Chen.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am General Chi Li, Grand General under my Emperor. The agreed time limit with your race has arrived, and my Emperor has sent me here to discuss the release of the population." The envoy slowly spoke, his voice carrying an air of unchallengeable authority.

Tian Ming smiled indifferently, "You waited until the last day to remember the agreement?"

"Heh heh, this past year, managing over eight million people and learning about human technology has been very busy. But my Emperor's word is golden, and he naturally wouldn't break his promise to you. Currently, all the population has been transferred to three bases: Beidu, Xianling, and Guanshan. The total current population is seven million three hundred and twenty thousand."

Bai Yan's face turned cold, and he angrily said, "In just one year, over a million people were lost. How cruel you are!"

General Chi Li said casually, "Some escaped during the migration. Most of them were old, young, sick, or disabled, so a higher death rate is normal. The remaining people are living well, and we're using your human bases quite nicely. Currently, we've conducted a survey, and out of seven million three hundred and twenty thousand, one million and five thousand people are unwilling to be confined. Tonight at midnight, we will release these people. Their escape window will be approximately ten hours. Tomorrow at ten AM, the corpse race will begin free hunting mode."

A cold smile appeared on the envoy General Chi Li's lips as he said, "We're giving you ten hours to rescue them. Within these ten hours, the corpse race will not actively interfere or retaliate. How many you can save is up to you."

Tian Ming looked at Bai Yan and said, "One million and five thousand, that ratio is a bit low!"

Bai Yan nodded. He hadn't expected the corpse race to release the hostages in such a way.

Tian Ming looked at General Chi Li and asked, "Did you threaten them?"

"Hahahaha!" General Chi Li burst out laughing and said, "Domestication always involves weeding out those unwilling to obey first. This method is effective not only for animals but also for you. We just told them the truth: they can choose to take a gamble, or they can obediently stay in the environment we provide for them and live peacefully past 50 years old."

After saying these words, General Chi Li stood up: "My mission is complete. See you on the battlefield after today."

General Chi Li's figure quickly disappeared, and Bai Yan sighed inwardly. Although this corpse race Grand General's methods were cruel, he was straightforward and didn't beat around the bush.

"General Lu, time is short. We must formulate a rescue plan as soon as possible," Bai Yan said.

One million and five thousand people only have ten hours. The three bases are all over 3,000 kilometers away from the East Sea Base. If they really wanted to rescue them, it would be tantamount to a direct confrontation with Jiang Chen. It was as if he had kept his word, but not entirely.

Furthermore, there was still a defense line in between. Having Xinghuan One fly over to pick up people could at most save ten thousand. Sending a space mothership deep into enemy territory carried a significant risk.

Tian Ming looked at Bai Yan and said, "Have Tian Quan formulate the plan. Over a million people won't get far in ten hours. To rescue them, they need to cross the central defense line, and with only ten hours, running to the enemy's doorstep is a death trap."

"But we can't just abandon them, can we? These over a million people, knowing it's a near-certain death, still chose to trust us. We can't just use them as cannon fodder, can we?" Bai Yan said, frowning.

"Why are you taking it out on me? Bai Yan, you're the military chief now, not me. Whether to rescue them or not, and how to rescue them, you decide," Tian Ming's tone became cold.

Bai Yan was slightly stunned. At this moment, a 3D projection of Tian Quan's appearance was cast before the two of them.

Tian Quan spoke, "I have already dispatched long-range drones to the target area to drop light weapons and ammunition, as well as assembleable vehicles. Currently, several thousand bionic biological robots have penetrated the defense line and are gathering towards the Beidu direction."

"You're providing them with weapons and letting them escape on their own?" Bai Yan looked at Tian Quan and asked.

"Yes, Commander. Currently, the magnetic storm zombie's shielding area can block shortwave signals. Our current full-band coverage means that, except for some specific combat units that are affected, all others can set up local area networks," Tian Quan slowly explained.

Bai Yan snorted coldly, "Tian Quan, you're acting now without even consulting me, the military chief, is that right? If you do this, how many of these one million and five thousand people will be left when they fight their way south to the defense line?"

Tian Quan calmly replied, "According to my predictive model, there will be approximately seventy thousand to two hundred thousand people left. If they cooperate well, can contact us through the bionic robots, and obey deployment and command, in the best-case scenario, around three hundred thousand people could survive."

"Survive my ass! How could they be a match for mutated zombies! They'll probably starve to death before they even make it back."

Tian Quan said very rationally, "The airdrop contains Superpower Potion and instructions. They won't starve to death, nor will they all perish. A portion of them will always be able to make it to the end. I have already ordered the Super Legion to prepare for battle and cover the personnel's retreat to the south."

"You can even mobilize my Super Legion?" Bai Yan instantly realized the seriousness of the problem. This Tian Quan had no emotions; a million people were just cold data in his eyes.

The optimal solution, achieving the best results with the lowest losses—this was Tian Quan's way of thinking. All his orders were directly issued on the combat system, disguised as coming from the military chief.

Bai Yan angrily said, "You, you've overstepped your authority! Who allowed you to mobilize human troops?"

Tian Quan was a military-specific combat AI, but its authority was limited to mobilizing robot troops, city defense weapons, drones, and being responsible for comprehensive analysis of battlefield situations. For the combat system to mobilize humans, it required the Commander's voiceprint and iris authorization. AI Tian Quan directly mobilizing the mech legion undoubtedly touched Bai Yan's bottom line.