Upon arriving at the conference room on the fifth floor of the building, the soldier performed the Eagle Salute and stood aside as Qin Mo pushed the door open.
Gray and the officers of the 47th regiment, seated on the floor, were drawn to the sound of the door opening.
As Qin Mo entered and took his seat, the commander addressed the group, saying, "Let us commence the meeting."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
The commander then introduced himself, "Klein."
"Qin Mo," he replied.
"What shall we do next?"
Immediately after the introductions, Klein posed a question that caught Qin Mo off guard.
As all eyes turned to him, Qin Mo lowered his gaze in contemplation.
To provide Qin Mo with more context, Commander Klein began to relay the current situation as he understood it.
"The intelligence provided indicates that there are only thirty thousand rebels within the Nest, while we have deployed one hundred seventy thousand into it; we are clearly at an advantage."
"However, the actual number of rebels is three hundred thousand, and they have even established industrial zones within the Nest, enabling them to be self-sufficient."
"Three days ago, our front lines were obliterated in a single day, and the Marshal along with all his high-ranking officials were assassinated. Fortunately, he had sensed something amiss before his demise and ordered fifty thousand men to construct defensive positions under the pretext of establishing supply depots."
After summarizing the situation, Klein fell silent.
"Continue," Qin Mo urged.
"I should certainly elaborate, but you must understand what you do not know. I'll get to the point," Klein replied with a nod.
"I know nothing at all," Qin Mo lifted his gaze to meet Klein's. "I am neither a commander nor an officer; I am merely a private of the 44th regiment. I foolishly entered the Nest and mindlessly constructed fortifications without understanding why the higher-ups would order such constructions during an offensive."
"Uh, understood," Klein nodded vigorously, revealing everything he knew without reservation.
With that, Qin Mo grasped the current predicament.
Communications had been severed.
Aside from the fifty thousand soldiers who had been ordered to establish defensive positions, all others involved in the offensive plan could be presumed lost.
At this juncture, it remained unclear which defensive positions had been breached and which still stood, with no means of communication between them.
In other words, the most pessimistic yet plausible assumption was that, apart from this building, every other defensive position might have already fallen.
Unless someone could prove the existence of other positions.
Finally, Klein mentioned an order known only to regimental officers: should the offensive plan fail, the sole passage from the Nest to the Lower Nest would be obliterated.
"Who issued the offensive order?" Gray seethed with fury. "This is nothing short of treachery! I have every reason to suspect that the upper echelons of the Nest wanted us dead!"
"My family resides in the Upper Nest, but to my knowledge, the offensive plan was orchestrated and executed by the Marshal himself," Klein replied with a note of helplessness.
"I believe the most dire situation is not that there is no one left besides us, but that the entire Nest has fallen into the hands of the rebels!"
"Perhaps…"
"By the Emperor above, how could there be such a grave error in intelligence?"
"…"
"Enough!" Qin Mo raised his hand to silence them. "Our most pressing concern now is not to debate whose fault the offensive plan was, but rather how we can survive and exact revenge on those fools once we escape!"
Upon hearing this, Gray reined in his urge to continue cursing, nodding in agreement.
Qin Mo then turned to Klein: "Has the high command sent you the operational plans? Perhaps a map detailing the defensive positions?"
Without hesitation, Klein produced a map and handed it to Qin Mo.
Unfolding the map, Qin Mo surveyed the positions near the 47th Infantry Regiment.
Seventy kilometers to the east lay a position manned by two regiments.
Fifty kilometers to the west stood another, guarded by four regiments.
The remaining positions were located at least one or two hundred kilometers away.
Before his crossing, Qin Mo could not grasp the vastness of the Nest, but now he felt its enormity.
"If we are to survive, we must first withstand the rebels' onslaught," Qin Mo declared, tracing his hand across the positions on the map. "We need to ascertain which positions along our line still exist and which have fallen. If many have been breached, we must withdraw and re-establish our defenses; if not, we shall continue to hold our ground."
"What purpose does continued defense serve? Can we expect reinforcements?" Klein queried.
"We may not await reinforcements, but I can assure you that, given enough time, I can geometrically enhance our combat capability," Qin Mo replied.
Klein's gaze shifted to Gray and the other four survivors of the 44th regiment; they all carried metallic backpacks, likely the reason they could navigate through the hail of bullets as if in a sanctuary.
Thus, Klein had ample reason to believe in Qin Mo's promise. He nodded in agreement, "I concur. Please, share your commands."
"Well, we…" Qin Mo hesitated before asking, "Why have you consistently acted as if you were one of my subordinates?"
Klein gave Qin Mo a peculiar impression, so unlike Bull; this man had voluntarily adopted a stance of willingness to follow orders rather than asserting his command.
"Because I wish to survive. I care not who commands, only whether a powerful psionic can remain by our side; for should another offensive occur in your absence, the entire 47th regiment would surely perish!" Klein said, unabashedly honest.
Qin Mo comprehended Klein's perspective.
This man seemed eager for him to take the helm of the 47th regiment, as it would grant him the duty of fighting for the lives of all the infantrymen.
Of course, this was a theoretical duty, for if someone like Bull chose to flee, the soldiers below would be powerless to stop him.
"Very well." Qin Mo lowered his gaze to the map, indicating the position to the east. "I will first proceed to confirm whether there are survivors at this position, but before that, I shall help you fortify your defenses."
"Firstly, this building is unreliable; it will eventually be reduced to rubble. We must expand it and construct an underground section, allowing soldiers to fight above while resting below."
"Our heavy firepower is insufficient; we must install heavy logging guns and fixed thermal guns, reducing each window to mere firing and observation ports."
"Then…"
"Forgive my interruption," Klein raised his palm, "but there is currently no one overseeing logistics. We lack engineering troops to construct fortifications, as well as a convoy to transport heavy weaponry to the front. We are left with only our current manpower."
"Never mind, I shall take responsibility," Qin Mo stood, looking down at Klein. "Now, send your men to gather metals and electronic components. If electronic components cannot be found, seek copper and rubber instead."