CHAPTER 321: CHAPTER 145: NUCLEAR FREEDOM

Chen Jian did not expect that the greatest gain from this Northern Expedition was not equipment, information, nor even "revenge" on Huadu or the so-called punishment of evil and promotion of good, but something so simple yet so urgently needed by them.

People.

High-quality combat personnel and ordinary people capable of agricultural production.

This was completely outside his plan; it could even be said to be a huge surprise.

What is the foundation of civilizational revival?

Technology? Equipment? Ideology?

To put it bluntly, it’s still people.

People are the foundation of everything, even though for the vast majority of the time and to most leaders, "population" is just a cold number.

But it is these cold numbers that constitute the most basic elements of civilization.

Looking at Lin Shen, who seemed relieved as if he had "let go of everything," Chen Jian asked for confirmation again:

"So, you mean you want to lead the Holy Blood Temple and its people to Jinling to join us?"

"Yes."

Lin Shen nodded solemnly.

"This will be a great expedition, just like our Holy Father left the Imperial City, we must also leave here to pursue soil where civilization can truly continue."

"However, the Great Expedition cannot be completed overnight."

"There are over a hundred thousand civilians under the Holy Blood Temple, scattered everywhere, and we can’t take them all at once."

"They need housing, a sustainable food supply, and safety assured along the way..."

"This is not something that can be achieved instantly."

"Perhaps we need a year, two, or even longer to accomplish this task."

"But eventually, we will do it."

"But the premise is..."

"The Beast Tide must be eliminated."

Chen Jian interrupted Lin Shen.

"Exactly."

Lin Shen looked Chen Jian in the eyes and spoke again:

"So, we must speed up."

"Return to the Holy Blood Temple, I have more to give you."

"No problem."

Chen Jian immediately nodded.

In fact, he fully understood where Lin Shen’s idea of "leading the civilians to migrate south" came from.

This idea was definitely not a sudden impulse, but something considered carefully.

From another perspective, why had humanity always been living as scattered, independent small settlements before his team arrived?

The more people there are, the greater the chance of survival, right?

This is an intuitive judgment, but it does not match the actual situation of the wasteland.

In this world, the threat of giant monsters to humans is too great.

Although humans have initially gained the ability to fight monsters, no force dares to guarantee that the settlements they manage and protect can survive a monster raid unscathed.

Just like in the last battle, if Chen Jian and others hadn’t returned in time, the damage caused by just three monsters could have reached a very dangerous level.

So, scattered habitation is the best survival strategy.

Under this strategy, even if a settlement is attacked, humans can relocate to the next threatened-free settlement in as short a time as possible.

----Of course, the situation is different now.

Now, everyone on the wasteland can clearly see that the Huaxia Army he leads has absolute superiority over the monsters.

Even when short of equipment and manpower, they can easily annihilate clusters of over ten monsters.

Thus, when the size of the settlements continues to grow, the population is no longer a burden but an advantage.

That’s why he made this decision without hesitation.

It must be said that this so-called "Holy Father" is not the same kind of being as the "Saint" of the Mechanical God Sect.

His moral standards are not low, and his ability for rational thinking is quite intact.

Perhaps the Holy Blood he leads will become important allies of the Huaxia Army on the wasteland?

Chen Jian did not draw a conclusion immediately.

He knew that Lin Shen could not fully represent all Holy Blood; they still needed to undergo further tests.

At this moment, Lei Jie had completed obtaining the nuclear weapon keys and cooperated on checking all the remaining nuclear warheads in the arsenal.

The number of nuclear weapons stored in this underground nuclear facility far exceeded that of the Air Force Tenth Division Base, and the state of weapon preservation was also much better than over there.

"Finally, nuclear freedom..."

The returning Lei Jie had an unmistakable smile on his face.

"That Wang He from the Imperial Capital Base is really something; I suspect he worked in a relevant confidential position before the catastrophe, or at least was a nuclear field researcher."

"Do you know what he did? He categorized all the nuclear warheads!"

"Classified those using Plutonium-239 separately, those using uranium materials in one group, and the ones with tritium triggers in another."

"All warheads are orderly managed, and all that can be dismantled have been dismantled, minimizing the problems of intact storage units."

"Mechanical structures are stored separately, and the conditions are quite good."

"Our only issue now is the trigger mechanism problem."

"But this thing isn’t unsolvable; if worse comes to worst, we can make do with makeshift solutions."

"Even if full-power detonation is impossible, as long as we control the distance, the radiation issue can be avoided."

"In all, he thought of almost all possible difficulties, combined with nearly 50 years of meticulous maintenance, this batch of nuclear bombs might be way more stable than the one we detonated before...."