Chapter Ten: Why Not Give Up?

Two billion tons!

The mere mention of this figure sent chills down everyone's spines.

To put it in perspective, the total annual steel production in Great Xia this year was only 115 million tons.

If they were to rely solely on production to gather two billion tons, it would take twenty years! Even working overtime at full capacity would require at least ten years!

And right now, time was the one thing they lacked the most.

"Let's first focus on addressing the eighty million tons of steel needed in Ludong. The national reserves should be able to cover that. As for the rest, as long as we survive this crisis, we'll have time to find more." As Lin Fan finished speaking, he looked toward the middle-aged man who had previously volunteered to take charge of steel resources.

This man was Shang Weitian, the Grand Director of Commerce, responsible for managing the allocation of all domestic and foreign resources in Great Xia, as well as overseeing all business imports and exports.

"I'll take charge!" Shang Weitian didn't hesitate for a moment. He nodded decisively. "Not only the remaining gap in steel resources, but also cement, sand, stone, and grain. I will solve them all!"

"I am willing to sign a military order!"

"But I need extremely broad discretionary power!"

Lin Fan studied the man before him with a complex gaze.

In his past life, Shang Weitian had demonstrated astonishing logistical abilities. He was, without question, Great Xia's supreme logistics commander.

Lin Fan didn't even know how this man managed, time and again, to procure so many resources to help Great Xia weather countless divine catastrophes.

"Very well! I don't care what methods you use—so long as you do not harm Great Xia or its people, as long as you can gather two billion tons of steel, you need not report anything to me!" Lin Fan nodded.

"I guarantee the mission will be accomplished! If I fail, I submit myself to military law!" Shang Weitian declared, then, without a second's hesitation, turned and left.

Efficient and resolute!

"Everyone, return to your duties," Lin Fan clapped his hands. He, too, had work to do.

He needed to advance his own strength as quickly as possible, to cultivate the Godslaying Demon-Slaughtering Technique to its peak and become a demigod among men!

Once the Godslayer Army was assembled, the Godslaying Demon-Slaughtering Technique would become humanity's ultimate weapon against the gods!

But—

Just when it seemed the meeting was about to adjourn, a middle-aged man seated in the back hesitantly raised his hand. "Commander-in-chief, compared to building a steel Great Wall, I have a better suggestion!"

"Speak," Lin Fan said, momentarily surprised.

The man stood, walked to the wall, and pointed at the map of Great Xia hanging there, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Our Great Xia is vast. Even if the Sea God truly invades..."

"Even if there is a hundred-meter tsunami, or even a three-hundred-meter tsunami..."

"It would only affect a dozen or so provinces in the east of Great Xia."

"Why don't we simply abandon these provinces, relocate the people and assets to the west? Wouldn't that save time and effort?"

At these words, the man's eyes shone with intelligence and cold calculation.

But—

He had barely finished speaking when Elder Jin, who had been sitting calmly, suddenly shot to his feet.

He drew his sidearm, cocked it with a loud click, and aimed it directly at the man, eyes blazing. "Did you just suggest we abandon the territory of Great Xia?"

Elder Jin had fought his whole life, a veteran of countless battles, and had risen to the rank of general.

Though no longer in his prime, at this moment his aura was like a drawn sword—sharp and lethal!

"Do you understand that every inch of Great Xia's land was won over five thousand years by our ancestors, generation after generation?"

"Do you know how our forebears defended this land from invaders a hundred years ago?"

"Do you realize that the very ground beneath your feet is soaked with blood? That countless soldiers stand guard on our borders, braving bitter winds and scorching heat, just to protect our homeland?"

"And you want us to simply retreat? To abandon our land? For generations we've lived here, and now, just because we're threatened, we're supposed to give up our homes? Are you even human? Would your parents agree? Your grandparents?"

"Go ahead, say that again—see if I don't shoot you right here!"

Elder Jin was truly enraged; he even resorted to cursing.

For a five-star general like him, this was an utter loss of composure.

He didn't care about propriety, drawing his gun as if he really might blow the man's brains out.

Yet no one in the room tried to calm him. Instead, they all glared furiously at the man who had spoken.

How could the land of Great Xia be handed over so easily?

What is land?

Land is the very root of the people of Great Xia!

Back then, their ancestors had braved bullets and shells, fighting and bleeding on this land, some even sacrificing their lives. And for what?

For the soil beneath their feet!

Now, with the coming of the gods, could their descendants simply hand over the land defended with their ancestors' blood? How was this any different from being a traitor?

For a moment, the speaker's face turned deathly pale, but he stammered on, "Rather than exhausting our national strength, conscripting fifty million troops and reallocating steel resources, wouldn't it be better to evacuate the populace, compensate those who must be relocated..."

"And if, in the end, the Great Steel Wall doesn't hold, and the people are still living there..."

Bang!

A shot rang out!

The man stood frozen, then slowly turned to stare in disbelief at the bullet hole in the wall behind him.

If Lin Fan hadn't grabbed Elder Jin at the last moment, that middle-aged man would likely have been shot dead in a fit of rage.

"Elder Jin, calm yourself!" Lin Fan quickly pulled Elder Jin back into his seat.

Elder Jin gritted his teeth, glaring at the man, but then a flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes.

The strength in Lin Fan's hands was truly extraordinary!

By rights, Elder Jin, after a lifetime of soldiering, was still all sinew and muscle despite his age. Even a well-trained young soldier would struggle to restrain him, let alone a young man like Lin Fan.

Yet Lin Fan's hands felt as if they were forged from steel, impossible to resist, forcibly seating Elder Jin with ease!

"Elder Jin, let it go," Lin Fan soothed, patting the old general's back and pushing a cup of tea toward him. "Have some tea, don't let this anger get to you. He was only thinking of the people..."

Bang!

The mention only reignited Elder Jin's fury. He slammed the table and pointed at the man. "Count yourself lucky today—if Bai Zhan from Chuanzhou hadn't just left, with his temperament you'd be dead ten times over!"

In truth, Elder Jin was not usually so hot-tempered, much less the sort to draw his gun in public.

But to a soldier, the land of the nation was sacred and inviolable!

To defend the homeland was every soldier's duty!

Elder Jin had spent his life in war, resolving countless border disputes. In his youth, he'd stood guard in the biting cold and searing heat, weapon in hand, facing off against enemies, seeing young comrades fall on the frontier.

What others considered an age of peace existed only because men like Elder Jin stood watch in silence.

So, at the mere suggestion of abandoning their land, a surge of hot blood raced to Elder Jin's head.

It took Lin Fan two minutes to calm him. Even then, Elder Jin's gaze remained cold and fixed on the middle-aged man, who stood pale and upright, refusing to sit down.

Lin Fan looked at the man and smiled. "It's all right. I understand you."

"You're worried—if we can't hold the line, what will happen to the people living in the east, right?"

The man nodded. "Yes."

"Abandoning our land is not an option," Lin Fan said with a smile. "Not only because we cannot, but because—"

"We face more than just the Sea God."

"If, when the Sea God comes, we abandon the eastern provinces and get through unscathed, what then? What if the Sky God appears, unleashing steel eagles across the heavens—do we hide underground? If the Earth God comes, where would we run? The Winter God? The Fire God? The Sun God? The Light God? The Space God?"

"Are we to abandon everything?"

"Is this what we've learned in five thousand years—not perseverance, but surrender?"