Surface, Sword Pavilion Fortress.

"Huh, what's going on?" The colonel, who was urging his men to dig the tunnel that had been blown up, suddenly realized that he did not know when the shelling of the Revolutionary Union had actually stopped, and no shells had fallen from the sky for several minutes.

"The shelling stopped?" The colonel's deputy also raised his head in confusion and looked at the sky.

Except for the smoke that had not yet dissipated, the shells had indeed disappeared without a trace.

The deafening explosions were gone, which gave the defenders and workers in the Sword Pavilion Fortress a sense of unreality.

"Will it ...... Is the other side's shells finished? The deputy asked tentatively.

"Impossible, judging from the density of the previous artillery bombardment by the other side, the ammunition base they prepared is definitely enough to support more than 24 hours of uninterrupted shelling, otherwise, the shells will not be smashed into our heads as hard as they don't need money."

"Then send out a reconnaissance unit?"

"Now that the mountain is probably surrounded, it will be difficult for the reconnaissance troops to get out...... In my opinion, the other side should be adjusting the orientation of the artillery position, and their large forces should soon be about to attack...... How's the construction progressing? ”

"The main body of the fortress is only one-fifth complete, and the fortifications that have been prioritized are already half complete, but the fortifications on the periphery have all been destroyed by artillery fire."

"There's no way, the number of close defense guns is really limited, by the way, let them take advantage of this time to fill up all the ammunition of the close defense guns, so as to save the ...... of waiting"

Before the colonel could finish his sentence, a communications soldier hurried over and whispered a few words in his ear.

"What? The heavy artillery positions of the Revolutionary Union were destroyed? Who did this to you?! ”

"The news came from an inside line over there, and the Revolutionary Union side did not know the identity of the attacker."

"Strange......" The colonel was very puzzled, as the temporary supreme military commander of the Sword Pavilion Fortress, the battle plan of the organization would definitely not be kept secret from him, but as far as he knew, the current parliament had not come up with a battle plan for the artillery positions of the Revolutionary Union, how could the artillery positions of the Revolutionary League have been destroyed?

Don't...... Is there a third party involved in the war? Or is it some elite secret force sent by the big man above that he doesn't know about?

But no matter what, this is definitely great news for the Sword Pavilion Fortress.

The Revolutionary League lost its heavy artillery support, and the balance of victory was once again tilted in favor of the organization.

Organization headquarters, basalt chambers.

This is probably the most neat meeting of the House of Representatives in recent months, with the long tables filled to the brim, not a single empty seat, and even some of the new members who are relatively low in the order can only sit on the newly added chairs on the periphery of the table, participating in the meeting in a posture similar to "auditing".

The entire basalt chamber was remarkably quiet, and the councillors were all sitting upright, and as for the usual exchange of heads and whispers, there was no such thing as a no-brainer.

They all know in their hearts that they are just a puppet...... Or to put it mildly, a hostage, the organization of this behemoth, from the beginning was not up to them.

The presence above the council was about to appear, which made the councillors hold their breath...... The older generation of parliamentarians may have heard the story of the nine founders, but the younger generation is completely ignorant of it.

The candlelight in the secret room flickered suddenly, and in the scattered light and shadow, a middle-aged man sat on the seat that originally belonged to the speaker, and the speaker who once represented the pinnacle of the highest power of the councillor stood behind him respectfully.

The man was dressed in a crisp black suit, a full-coverage metal mask, a delicate lace bow tie tied around his chest, and his short dark brown hair was meticulously combed, making him look like an aristocrat attending a masquerade.

"Hello everyone, you can call ...... 'Xia', the 'Xia' of Xia Shang Zhou." The middle-aged man seemed to be very satisfied with the atmosphere of the scene, and after looking around at the expressions on the faces of the councilors, he spoke.

His voice was low, slightly hoarse, but it had an irresistible force.

"I think you all know who I am, or you wouldn't be sitting here today. As for the rest, I won't say much, all of you here are smart people, so I'll be straightforward, and from today onwards, I ask the consortium and forces behind you to unconditionally obey all orders of the organization...... Note that it's a command, not a request, and it's not a request. ”

Hearing this, the facial expressions of many parliamentarians changed slightly, but still no one made a sound.

"You can rest assured that we are not trying to deprive you of your property, but these are extraordinary times, and we must unite all the forces we can to get through this together...... You should also understand what awaits you if we fail. ”

"So, does anyone have any objections?"

Natsu's hands were interlaced with his fingers under his chin, and his seemingly "kind" gaze swept across each councilor's face through the two holes in the mask.

"Well, since you all have no objections, let's make a long story short, our time is precious, and we still have a lot of problems to solve...... After all, I woke up this time to solve these problems. ”

Natsu leaned back slightly, leaning back in his chair, while the Speaker stepped forward quickly, sliding a folder to the center of the table.

"That's all the details of Project Utopia that we have at the moment, and if you've ever entered the game after the Wasteland Survival Code has been shut down, you're sure to see that there have been some subtle, subtle, but real changes in that virtual world."

Along with Xia's description, several councillors looked at each other with deep understanding, and they did empathize with this feeling.

It's hard to describe the change, but it boils down to one sentence...... This virtual world has become more realistic. As you all know, the Mastermind is trying to replace our reality with a virtual world named 'Utopia', and this shutdown has embedded the architecture of the 'Utopian World' into the Wasteland Survival Code, but it's still only in the beta phase, and we still have a chance to make our own choices. ”

"Returning to the surface ahead of schedule is the first step in our counterattack plan, the Sword Pavilion Fortress is currently nearing completion, but if we can't repel the forces of the Revolutionary Union, then we will never be able to gain a foothold above the surface."

"I know that the consortium behind you has a large number of private troops, and we need to recruit these troops now to hold back the army of the Revolution that is attacking the Sword Pavilion Fortress and buy time for the fortress." Xia's tone has always been calm, but this does not mean that the hearts of the members present are also calm.

In a few words, they were asked to hand over their military power, which obviously no one would be willing......

These consortia have all experienced the "end times", they have seen with their own eyes how the regimes of the great powers that once "ruled the world" have fallen, and they deeply understand the importance of the military in this era...... Without an army, it is equivalent to losing everything.

Even before this, the organization only required "joint operations" for the private armies of each consortium, and the specific command power was still in the hands of each consortium itself, and the heads of those consortiums could still have a certain say in the battle plan...... But now, Xia is asking them to directly hand over the army and merge into the organization's battle sequence, which is undoubtedly treating them as livestock to be slaughtered.

This is no different from directly depriving the consortium of its assets...... The consortia that have been tied to the chariot of the organization are better said, but for the consortia whose organizations only occupy less than 10 percent of the shares, this is tantamount to giving away the foundation that they have worked so hard for many generations.

The atmosphere in the basalt secret room suddenly became tense.

Xia is not a fool, on the contrary, his IQ should be higher than every councillor present, he naturally knows that these people will not agree to this request, don't look at them not to speak now, it is just forced by the threat of the organization, he is sure that if this solicitation order is really implemented, I am afraid that after these councillors go back, many people will immediately turn against the organization, and even throw themselves into the camp on the side of the Revolutionary Union.

This is just a temptation, just like buying groceries and bargaining, neither the vegetable seller nor the buyer can quote their reserve price at the beginning.

"I know you're reluctant...... However, I can guarantee that your troop numbers will be retained, and what we call the conquest can be regarded as a kind of lend-lease, and after the war is over, these troops will be returned to you in their original form, and of course, if there is a loss, the organization will also pay you the corresponding compensation, just like the mercenaries of the old days. ”

"And," Xia accentuated his tone slightly, "you can also send your own cronies as commanders of your troops, just like the previous coordinated operations. ”

Although literally, the difference is not big, but this time the battlefield is above the surface, and the influence of these big conglomerates on the surface is not even one-twelfth of the organization, and when the time comes, even if the nominal commander is his own person, but whether these commanders have real power or not, who can say clearly?

There is still no member of parliament to speak, and there is a fierce struggle going on in everyone's heart, Xia has already said it to this point, and the possibility of organizing and making concessions is very small.

If you agree to this request, you must be prepared to lose everything, and if you refuse, you will also fall into a situation that is difficult to turn back.

The situation in the underground world is very clear, black and white, either on the side of the organization or on the side of the Revolutionary Union, the neutral camp does not exist, even if it exists...... It will also be quickly wiped out and annexed.

This is a chariot that rushes into the abyss, and even if it jumps, it will be crushed by the high-speed rolling wheels.

"I know you're having a hard time making a decision, but I can give you a little time to think about it...... But now that the fighting is raging on the surface, and the Sword Pavilion Fortress could be breached by the rebels of the Revolutionary Union at any time, I ask that you give me a clear answer within six hours, otherwise...... All cases will be regarded as a refusal to cooperate. ”

At the end of the meeting, everyone dispersed with the same but different moods, leaving only Xia He and Speaker in the basalt secret room.

"Will it ...... Pushed a little too hard? When the last member left, the speaker leaned into Xia's ear and asked cautiously.

"Is it tight?" A grim smile appeared on Natsu's face, "Do you think we still have time to waste?" ”

……

……

Although there was no threat of heavy artillery, the situation was still grim, and under the heavy casualties paid by the vanguard of the Revolutionary Union, the Revolutionary Union finally succeeded in overcoming the Jianmen Pass Tunnel and arrived at the old Jianmen Pass Tower.

The large forces of the Revolutionary Alliance have formed a semi-encirclement posture against the Sword Pavilion Fortress, and a general attack may be launched at any time.

As for the logistics troops of the Revolutionary Union, they have also moved to the foot of the mountain at this moment, and tens of thousands of heavy tractor trucks are neatly arranged in the open space, even from a distance of several kilometers, it looks spectacular.

The attack on the artillery position made the Revolutionary Union more vigilant, and I saw that many power armor with shields were constantly patrolling around, and a large number of searchlights were installed on the steel tower more than 50 meters high, reflecting the entire garrison area as if it were daylight.

The headquarters of the logistics unit is a mobile armored command vehicle, this command vehicle is parked in the middle of the position, and is guarded by several tall mechas, these mecha are large-tonnage defensive mechas, the firepower is very weak, but the weight of the armor occupies more than half of the weight of the whole body, carrying a general alloy tower shield like a city wall - for the G49 sniper, it may not be a big problem to penetrate the tower shield and the mecha behind the tower shield, but after that, the kinetic energy attached to the electromagnetic bomb has been almost consumed, It is difficult to inflict effective damage on command vehicles.

What's more, this armored command vehicle itself is an iron turtle, and the electromagnetic bomb at the end of the strong crossbow may not be able to penetrate half the thickness of the armor.

"This is too scared to death, it's a bit tricky......" With the help of optical camouflage, Qi Lin touched the place less than two kilometers away from the logistics force of the Revolutionary Union, almost under the nose of the peripheral patrol force.

"The other party already knows about your existence, and has accurately estimated the ultimate power of the G49 sniper, this protective shield array, which was originally designed to defend against your snipers." The Mastermind said.