"Understood!"
Seeing Jason's firm attitude, Long Zhan refrained from saying anything unnecessary. He accepted the atropine handed to him and walked towards the little boy.
After all, he had already kept one dose for himself.
As a world-class special forces operative, it was his duty to save innocent civilians, but Long Zhan was not one to be a reckless do-gooder.
He hadn't forgotten his initial motivation for studying medicine—it was to save himself during critical moments.
After Jason took out the medication, he did not leave. As Long Zhan administered the injection to the boy, Jason seized the moment to ask, "How many people are here in total?"
"Twenty-three, all infected without exception," Long Zhan replied as he pushed the syringe.
"Can we save them?" Jason pressed on.
"It's hard to say for now."
After finishing the injection, Long Zhan looked up, frowning. "Everyone needs emergency decontamination to temporarily stabilize their condition.
If we want to cure them completely, they must be taken for emergency treatment, ideally to a hospital."
"That's not good news."
Jason knew that the planned retreat was already complicated, and taking them back for treatment was out of the question. After a moment of silence, he asked again, "Do you know which chemical agent we're dealing with?"
"I don't have laboratory testing equipment, so I can only deduce based on the symptoms. It's most likely VX nerve gas," Long Zhan shrugged, indicating this was the best he could determine.
"How long does decontamination take?"
"VX infects through skin contact. Children have less skin surface area, so it will be quicker for them. For adults, it takes about ten minutes on average."
"Alright. Dawn is in five hours. I hope you and Trent can finish this before sunrise."
"Understood."
Long Zhan nodded and continued working.
By now, it was clear to him that Jason was ready to abandon the original retreat plan to save these 23 innocent civilians.
Although Long Zhan felt this decision was unwise, as it added significant difficulty to their mission, Jason's stance from a humanitarian perspective made it a moral obligation. Otherwise, he would live with guilt for the rest of his life.
Moreover, since the subsequent plot didn't cause any major issues, and he could also gain some recognition from his actions, Long Zhan decided not to oppose Jason's impromptu plan.
While Long Zhan saw the change in the retreat plan as advantageous for himself, that didn't mean others would have no objections.
Lei, the second-in-command of Team B, felt it was necessary to remind Jason.
He specifically pulled Jason aside, his expression stern, and asked, "Do you know who invented VX nerve gas? Does what you're doing even make sense?"
"Sorry, what are you talking about?"
Jason's expression clearly conveyed that he didn't understand, and in truth, he didn't.
"Alright."
Initially intending to be subtle, Lei decided to be direct instead.
"The British were the first to discover VX, but its invention was an accident. Once they realized its toxicity, they immediately stopped production.
A few years later, the U.S. military began mass production. The VX gas in this hospital is most likely a product of American forces.
Do you think we're the good guys here?"
Lei's insinuation was clear: the U.S. military had used this gas to kill many on the battlefield, and since they, too, were part of the U.S. military, was it meaningful to make their retreat more difficult for the sake of saving these people?
"We are the good guys, Lei," Jason answered firmly, his eyes locked onto Lei's. "Because we have never used such a thing, and now, nor ever will."
This was the pride of being the strongest Marine, and Jason conveyed it in the most straightforward way.
Lei was convinced by Jason's resolve.
Indeed, DG had never engaged in the underhanded, disreputable actions that some other U.S. military units had.
Lei accepted Jason's decision to save the civilians, but that didn't mean he was without concerns. He asked directly, "We originally planned for only two or three vehicles. How do you intend to get everyone out?"
"The border's special forces need a warm-up, don't they?" Jason raised an eyebrow.
He then pressed the PTT button, establishing communication with the operations center. He reported the situation and his plan to save the civilians.
At the Seikes Forward Military Base, Commander Eric listened to Jason's report and immediately contacted the central command.
"Sir, the situation has changed. The task force needs to rescue a group of civilians. We've only secured two local vehicles, which are far from enough for 23 people.
We'd like to request assistance from the border special forces. They have specialized operational vehicles sufficient to ensure the success of this retreat.
…"
Eric tried hard to negotiate, but the response was less than favorable.
The Department of Defense didn't want to leave any trace of U.S. military presence in Xuliya, and they were reluctant to send special forces across the border for a rescue operation.
Knowing there was still room for maneuver, Eric didn't give up. He contacted DG's command center, hoping the unit commander or even DG's commanding officer, a lieutenant colonel, could persuade higher-ups.
With higher-level discussions, the chances of success would be greater.
Senior intelligence officer Mandy also got involved, using her connections to lobby the CIA to pressure the Department of Defense and the United Special Operations Command.
Whether the request would be approved was still uncertain.
Everyone persisted in their efforts, waiting for the Department of Defense's final decision. It was destined to be a long and restless night.