Hu Hao and the others slept in the air-raid shelter, while outside, the Allied forces ramped up their assault once again. Fortunately, the Eastern Spirit Empire had managed to push more reinforcements to the front; two full corps arrived at Langcheng that afternoon. However, none of this concerned Hu Hao—he was busy catching up on much-needed sleep.
During the lull, Li Tianyuan came to find Li Jingsong. The father and son spoke for a while outside the shelter before Li Jingsong returned and lay back down to rest.
By 6:00 PM, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, Hu Hao and the others sat up. After finishing their dinner, Hu Hao, Li Jingsong, and a few of Jingsong’s guards drove toward the Southwest Combat Zone Headquarters.
Upon arrival, the security detail checked their IDs and waved them through. In the distance, the rhythmic thunder of explosions continued to roll through the air. Before entering the underground command center, Hu Hao stood at the entrance, looking back at the city. Thick plumes of black smoke were billowing everywhere.
“Dammit… I hope tonight stays quiet,” Hu Hao muttered, his brow furrowed with worry.
“What could happen?” Li Jingsong asked immediately.
“The fighting hasn’t stopped. The enemy is pushing hard to expand their footprint. If they take enough ground, they’ll start slicing our units apart to trap them. Tonight is going to be another bloodbath, and those fresh troops who just arrived are going to pay the price,” Hu Hao predicted grimly.
“Sigh. Let’s go. You’re just a Captain—why are you worrying about the big picture?” Li Jingsong noted, then gestured for Hu Hao to follow.
Hu Hao gave a wry smile and followed him. It was a professional habit; in his past life, he had commanded millions. It was hard to turn off that strategic brain, even if he was currently just a low-ranking officer who wasn’t supposed to care.
They were led to a waiting room inside the bunker. They sat for nearly an hour. Every time they asked, the staff simply told them the Commander was busy and to keep waiting.
“See? I told you this was trouble. A Commander isn’t that busy,” Hu Hao whispered to Li Jingsong.
“How can he not be busy? There’s a war on!” Li Jingsong rolled his eyes. He no longer treated Hu Hao as a subordinate, but as an equal—a brother.
“A Commander sets the strategy. If he’s this ‘busy,’ it means the units on the ground aren’t performing, which means his plan is failing,” Hu Hao countered with a cold smirk.
“Keep your voice down! This is Headquarters. Do you want to be shot?” Li Jingsong hissed.
“Aha, look at me and my big mouth,” Hu Hao joked, though he shook his head.
“So, why do you think he called us here? Just for a meet-and-greet?” Li Jingsong asked.
“I don’t know. But I hope he isn’t eyeing our stragglers,” Hu Hao said.
“You think he wants us to go back in?” Li Jingsong whispered. Hu Hao nodded. “Dammit. We barely have anyone left. We lost over 200 today, and another 200 are in the hospital. We can’t just throw the rest away.”
“We’ll see. I’m low-rank; I’ll just follow your lead,” Hu Hao grinned, earning a frustrated glare from the General.
“Don’t you dare leave me hanging. If I can’t hold him off, you have to back me up. The boys can’t take another round right now.”
“I hear you,” Hu Hao promised. They waited for another thirty minutes before Jiang Kai finally arrived with a trail of staff officers.
“General!” Li Jingsong snapped to attention and saluted. Hu Hao followed suit.
“You still didn’t say ‘hello’ to me,” Jiang Kai noted, eyeing Hu Hao.
“Good evening, Commander. Good evening, sirs,” Hu Hao added with a touch of resignation. He observed the Commander: a man in his sixties, tall, burly, with a shock of white hair and sharp, energetic eyes.
“I don’t have time for small talk,” Jiang Kai said, sitting across from them. “Tonight, your men are moving into Sector 9 to assist in the defense. We’ve lost more than half of Sector 9, and we need to retake it tonight. I’m giving that mission to you.”
“Report, sir! I’m afraid that’s impossible,” Li Jingsong stated firmly. “My division is decimated. I have barely 1,000 effectives left. The 2,000 you saw today included remnants from other units.”
“I don’t care about the labels. Those men are going in,” Jiang Kai insisted. Li Jingsong looked at Hu Hao, desperate for an out.
“Hu Hao, your Commander is looking at you. What do you have to say?” Jiang Kai asked.
“Me? I don’t know? I don’t make these decisions; I’m just a Captain,” Hu Hao said quickly.
“Then the answer is yes,” Jiang Kai said.
“Commander, please… it’s too much. I can only guarantee the 1,000 from my own division, and even then, I can’t force them into a suicide charge,” Li Jingsong pleaded.
“Reporting, sir! We can go. But we won’t take the sector,” Hu Hao interjected.
“Excuse me? You’re telling me you’ll fail before you even start? You must take it!” Jiang Kai barked.
“Heh. In war, there is no ‘must.’ We can only say we’ll try,” Hu Hao replied with a smile.
“You’re playing word games with me,” Jiang Kai narrowed his eyes. “You’re thinking that since you have so few men, you’ll just find a spot and hide for the night, right? ‘Working without effort’—is that it?”
“I didn’t say that. And besides, you shouldn’t be asking me,” Hu Hao deflected.
“But that is what you’re thinking. And I know those veterans won’t move unless you do. So, tell me—what are your conditions? Name them, and I’ll consider them,” Jiang Kai said, cutting to the chase.
“Commander, you’re overestimating us. We have no conditions. Our only hope is to stay alive. When it’s our turn to fight, we fight. We did it today without hesitation. But now you want us to go back in against a massive enemy force with a handful of tired men?
To be honest, sir, we’re stragglers. No one is even handling our rations; we’re feeding ourselves. We’re sleeping on mats we scavenged. And after all that, you want us to spearhead a night assault? It doesn’t sit right,” Hu Hao said bluntly.
“Supplies aren’t an issue. I’ll have logistics fill your requests immediately. Anything you lack, you’ll get. As for ‘staying alive’—we all want that. But this is war. Sacrifice is part of the job, isn’t it?” Jiang Kai asked. Hu Hao remained silent.
“Why the silence?” Jiang Kai asked.
“What is there to say? You’re the General, I’m the Captain. If it’s an order, we go. End of story,” Hu Hao said with a shrug.
“What’s with that attitude?” Sun Qinxue, the Chief of Staff, demanded from behind.
“Chief, it’s not an ‘attitude,'” Hu Hao retorted. “You’re all Generals. You’ve dragged a junior officer into a high-level command bunker to interrogate him. Did I commit a crime? I’m an officer—if you give an order, I obey. What else do you want from me?”
“Enough,” Jiang Kai raised a hand. He kept his gaze fixed on Hu Hao. “State your conditions.”
“Commander, why are you making this so difficult?” Hu Hao groaned.
“Because I know that if you lead them, that sector will be retaken,” Jiang Kai said.
“Good lord… even I don’t have that much confidence, and you’re shoving me into it!” Hu Hao rubbed his head in frustration.
“Commander, we really don’t have the numbers. It’s a lost cause,” Li Jingsong added.
“Hu Hao, if you go in tonight and give it your all—win or lose—I’ll promote you to Major on the spot. Deal?”
“General, he wants to retire! If you let him retire, he’ll go!” Li Jingsong blurted out.
“Retire? In the middle of a war? That’s impossible,” Jiang Kai said.
“I know! That’s why I’m saying promotions don’t work on him. I promoted him and he cursed at me. You need money, or women, or a guarantee that if he fights this one, he can leave!” Li Jingsong explained.