No matter how one chooses to answer this question, any choice seems forgivable. Even kneeling down does not seem shameful!
After all, that means kneeling before gods!
The preciousness of human beings lies in their free will, but in the end, what truly matters more—free will, or simply staying alive?
Is it better to become a puppet of the gods, or to remain a corpse?
What matters more—dignity, free will, the land left behind by one's ancestors beneath one's feet, or surviving on one's knees?
The old man smiled.
"How could we in Daxia ever betray our ancestors? Our successive generations of sages have left behind a brilliant civilization, and a land soaked through with inch upon inch of blood—how could we ever abandon it!"
"With a population of one point six billion, how could we ever beg for life on our knees!"
"If Daxia has nothing else, we have the backbone left to us by our ancestors! Daxia people share one flaw: our bones are stubborn. Even if we die, we will die standing!"
From beginning to end, the National Chairman spoke very little, his tone somewhat calm, yet every single word weighed as heavily as a thousand jun!
"Lin Fan," the National Chairman said in a deep voice, "what is going to happen next?"
Lin Fan bowed deeply toward the National Chairman.
This old man was still the same as in his previous life—the true soul of Daxia!
"Three months from now, two ocean gods will descend." Lin Fan straightened up and said solemnly, "As for their landing sites, one will be in Freedom Country, and the other right here in Ludong, Daxia!"
"On the day the god descends upon Daxia, waves a hundred meters high will roar across more than half of the Ludong coastline, turning everything in their path into a vast ocean of floating corpses."
"Amidst those waves, the sea beast believers cultivated by that god will slaughter the common people, staining the sea surface red with blood!"
"The battle will last for more than two months. In the end, Jin Minsheng, Director-General of the Luzhou Military Region, will die a glorious death, and the Luzhou Military Region will suffer over fifty percent casualties. Only after holding out until every last citizen has evacuated inland will they finally use nuclear weapons to beat back that god!"
"And all of this was caused by merely a Third-Order Ocean God."
"On the other side, out of terror toward the power of the gods, the leadership of Freedom Country will hesitate not at all. Without even conducting an evacuation of the people, they will directly deploy nuclear weapons to carpet the West Coast! Their losses will be far more catastrophic than Daxia's!"
"From that moment on, humanity will enter a countdown toward extinction! A countdown of fifteen years!"
All of this was history that Lin Fan had personally experienced!
Every word he spoke brought those shocking, horrifying scenes back before his eyes.
The power of the ocean!
The power of the gods!
The waves were roaring, and the sea beasts were wailing!
Amidst the towering breakers, a Goddess was smiling!
Although they would manage a hard-fought victory after paying a catastrophic price, that victory would be the very first toll of the bell tolling for humanity's doom.
The expressions of everyone present turned complex. Lin Fan's few words made their scalps tingle.
The apocalypse!
A true apocalypse!
"A hundred-meter wave, a two-thousand-kilometer coastline... Is that truly the power of a gods?"
"How are we supposed to block this kind of power..."
Elder Jin remained silent. He suddenly understood why, in the future, he would propose the crazy concept of a "nuclear weapon chain."
Even now, he felt an urge to link nuclear weapons together into a chain, using it to protect the borders of Daxia!
Though the National Chairman's eyes were heavy with grief, there was no hesitation on his face. He said in a deep voice, "Lin Fan, when facing the gods, what do you intend to do?"
"My intent is to initially establish the Steel Great Wall along the Ludong coastline!" Lin Fan walked over to the magnificent map of rivers and mountains, picking up a red pen to carefully outline a red line along the outer coastline of Ludong.
"This..." Chen Yan's scalp tingled. "That has to be two thousand kilometers!"
"That's right!" Lin Fan said in a deep voice. "Two thousand kilometers, a hundred meters high!"
"And this is only the first step!"
"If we can withstand this onslaught, the Steel Great Wall must be extended as quickly as possible along the entire coastline of Daxia! Twenty thousand kilometers, three hundred meters high!"
"Because trailing behind these two Third-Order Ocean Gods will be three more ocean gods, and among them will even be a Tier 6 Intermediate Deity!"
Lin Fan stroked the vast, ten-thousand-li map of mountains and rivers and said in a deep voice, "Within half a year, I want the entirety of Daxia to stand unafraid of the ocean!"
"Absurd!" A member of the think tank stood up, his expression stern. "Do you have any idea how much steel resources this will require..."
However.
The National Chairman waved his hand, looked at Lin Fan, and simply asked a single question: "Is it unavoidable?"
"Unavoidable." Lin Fan shook his head. "Through our preparations, we might be able to kill the ocean god that descends upon Daxia. But Freedom Country... we can hardly intervene directly. The moment even a single one escapes, our spatial coordinates will be exposed."
"Even if we manage to kill both of these ocean gods."
"The Ocean Temple will dispatch other ocean gods to investigate why these two died, and in the end, we will still face war. This is an unavoidable war."
"If I remember correctly, the third time, the Supreme Ocean God Poseidon will arrive in person! By then, we will be at war with the entire ocean!"
The National Chairman nodded.
"Since it is unavoidable."
"Then we fight! We go to war with the gods!"
"Lin Fan," the elderly National Chairman slowly stood up, radiating an aura as steady as Mount Tai as he looked at Lin Fan, "starting today, the entirety of Daxia will use the full strength of the nation to support you!"
"If you have any other demands, name them without hesitation!"
Lin Fan did not hesitate for a second: "Expand the military draft; we need fifty million soldiers! They will be responsible for dealing with the religious races of those gods, protecting the people, and carrying out infrastructure construction! Only in this way can we complete the construction of the Steel Great Wall in the time we have left!"
"Fifty million?!"
"Do you have any idea what that number means? Fifty million... What about the daily lives of the people of Daxia..." The think tank member looked stunned.
"Do you still not understand what this is?" The elderly National Chairman looked at the members of the think tank. "This is war! A war utterly unlike any in the past—far more cruel, a war waged against the gods!"
"With our nation broken and our homes destroyed, where is there any room for peaceful and contented living? Did the older generation of our Daxia live in peace and contentment?"
"The issue of steel resources, the issue of military expansion—find a way to solve them. If you can't solve them, step aside and let someone else solve them! From this moment on, the nation of Daxia enters a Level One combat state!"
"Gentlemen, remember: we do not have much time left!"
The soul of Daxia.
Unmatched resolution!
With these words spoken.
The members of the think tank fell silent. Even their fists clenched tightly as hot blood surged within them!
This was a war against the gods!
The life and death of the entire Daxia was at stake!
Where was there any room for peaceful living!
A slightly chubby middle-aged man abruptly stood up: "I will take care of the steel resources! I guarantee completion of the mission!"
"Lin Fan, continue!" The elderly National Chairman's tone carried an unquestionable authority.
With reddened eyes, Lin Fan cast a glance at this old man who supported him unconditionally, and said slowly, "Finally, I want to establish a department that will possess operatives belonging exclusively to me."
"You mean..." The elderly National Chairman seemed to understand something.
"I want to form a special operations team! Codename: God-Slaying Army! They will operate independently of all major military regions!" Lin Fan took a deep breath. "Their numbers will not be large. They will operate in the form of God-Slaying Squads, tasked with dealing with powerful individuals among those religious races, and ultimately, slaying gods!"
Slaying gods!
This was the mission of the God-Slaying Army—a special department born for the purpose of slaying gods!
As soon as those two words left his lips, everyone felt their scalps tingle.
Slaying gods!
Can mortals truly slay gods?
"Good!" A brilliant light flashed in the elderly National Chairman's eyes, and he made an immediate ruling: "All military departments will cooperate with you unconditionally!"
"I want to see for myself whether you can lead Daxia to slay the gods!"
With that, the elderly National Chairman turned his head to look at everyone present.
"Now, immediately summon all national-level elders and the commanders of all major regions. Two hours from now, in the Supreme Grand Hall of the National Palace, we will hold the Daxia Elders' Grand Assembly!"
"The theme of the meeting: Daxia will go to war with the gods!"
Chapter Seven: A Nationwide Sensation, The Official Declaration
The Supreme Grand Hall of the National Palace.
A meeting unknown to the outside world was underway.
Soldiers directly subordinate to the Supreme Court strictly guarded every entrance and exit, inspecting every person who entered to ensure no electronic devices or hazardous materials were present before respectfully letting them pass.
This was the highest-level meeting in all of Daxia. Those permitted to sit here were either regional administrative ministers, commanders of major military regions, or heads of various national discipline departments.
Absolute silence filled the room.
Ever since the elderly National Chairman sitting at the very top spoke his first sentence, the entire conference hall had grown pin-drop silent.
"National Chairman," a middle-aged man stood up with a peculiar expression, "are you joking?"
"Go to war with the gods?"
"Gods?"
The solemn atmosphere was broken, and traces of speechless smiles appeared on everyone's faces.
However.
When the elderly National Chairman stood up, all the laughter abruptly ceased.
There was not a trace of a smile on the old man's face—only endless solemnity and calm.
"Gentlemen."
"I, too, wish I were joking."
"But this time, unhappily, our opponent is indeed the gods."
"And we are going to war with the gods!"
At these words, everyone in the meeting room froze slightly.
It was impossible for this old man to be joking here.
Which meant...
"It's really... the gods?"
A middle-aged man in military uniform rubbed his face.
"Gentlemen," Chen Yan, who was sitting beside the elderly National Chairman, stood up and said in a deep voice, "we now possess sufficient evidence to prove the existence of gods."
"And we can confirm it."
"Three months from now, the gods will descend!"
"Report!" The military-uniformed middle-aged man who had spoken earlier raised his hand. "I have a question."
"Why must we go to war with the gods?"
The middle-aged man's words voiced the inner thoughts of countless people present.
Chen Yan pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose: "It is not that we are going to war with the gods; rather... the gods are invading Daxia!"
"Three months from now, when the gods descend, it will bring devastation to all living things!"
"This news has been confirmed. Right now, this is war!"
Hearing this, everyone fell silent.
The old man swept his gaze across the crowd and said in a deep voice, "Here, on behalf of Daxia, I unilaterally declare war on the gods!"
"Do any of you have any objections?"
As these words fell.
The expressions of everyone present were startled!
War!
How long had it been since that word was spoken?
Starting from this moment, Daxia was welcoming war once again?
For a moment, everyone felt an oppressive, martial chill in the air!
The middle-aged man who had spoken earlier slowly stood up and said in a deep voice, "My Chuanbu Military Region will fully cooperate! We go to war with the gods!"
"My Ganbu Military Region will provide full cooperation!"
"My Nanhuhu Military Region will provide full cooperation!"
"The Ministry of Commerce will provide full cooperation! We will fully guarantee the supply of national daily necessities!"
"My..."
One after another, people clenched their fists and stood up.
With the gods, we wage war!
Looking at this unexpectedly smooth meeting, the elderly National Chairman's eyes grew slightly moist.
Of one heart and mind!
This was Daxia!
Many people believed that after experiencing nearly a century of peacetime, the people of Daxia had lost their faith, lost the blood-deep spirit of their predecessors, and lost the courage to die for their beliefs.
Yet they had all forgotten.
Daxia had marched forward through the fires of war!
Through five thousand years of vast history, the flames of war had always drifted across the land.
Eighty years ago, when major powers bullied and oppressed them, the citizens of Daxia used their blood to tell the world that Daxia would never be enslaved!
It was true eighty years ago, and it remained true eighty years later!
Daxia had never lacked the courage to fight, even when facing the gods!
That faith had never left!
For a moment, the elderly National Chairman, along with many veteran generals and veteran cadres, could not help but recall those turbulent, magnificent years of the past.
Though the generation of that era had already passed on, the people of the present were continuing their march.
"Good!" The elderly National Chairman wiped the corner of his eye and said in a deep voice, "Here, I announce that Daxia is henceforth conscripting fifty million troops!"
"Fifty million!"
As soon as those three words were uttered, everyone paused slightly.
The number was simply too exaggerated.
However.
"My Chuanzhou can account for five million! No, six million!"
"My Shanzhou can also account for six million!"
"My Cangzhou has a smaller population, but... we can account for three million!"
"My Jiangzhou can account for five million!"
"Although my Ministry of Commerce can't help with the fighting, I am willing to send my son!"
In an instant, the various regional commanders in attendance made their commitments one after another.
In their eyes, there was no fear, no hesitation.
And certainly no intimidation by the figure of fifty million!
Daxia was a united nation.
Since the country needed it, since the people needed it, no matter how great the problem, it had to be resolved!
There was no room for refusal; no matter how difficult, a solution must be found.
This was the resilience of the Daxia people.
"National Chairman, that's enough," Chen Yan looked speechlessly at the National Chairman and whispered, "If they keep reporting numbers like this, it's going to approach a hundred million..."
The National Chairman looked smilingly at the scene before him and said, "Very well, take these issues back and discuss them yourselves."
"Next, Daxia will establish the Daxia Supreme Command Center."
"Naturally, a Commander-in-Chief will be appointed to command you."
At these words, all the heavyweights present froze.
"Commander-in-Chief?"
"Who is it?"
Right at that moment.
On the high platform, a young man walked swiftly to the National Chairman's side and saluted the crowd!
"Supreme Command Center, Commander-in-Chief Lin Fan, reporting to you all!"
…………
One hour later.
Every television station, every social media platform, and every major portal website in the country of Daxia broke in with an emergency news broadcast!
[Emergency broadcast: Following discussions at the Supreme Elders' Grand Assembly, the Central Administration has decided that our nation will now conscript fifty million soldiers!]
[Our nation hereby announces the establishment of the Supreme Command Center to command all three armed services and handle domestic and foreign affairs of Huaxia. Commander-in-Chief: Lin Fan; Deputy Commanders-in-Chief: Jin Minsheng, Chen Yan...]
The two emergency broadcasts caused a nationwide sensation!
The second broadcast even included photos of key figures such as Lin Fan.
Instantly, both online and offline, everyone was engaged in heated discussions.
"Oh my god, conscripting fifty million?"
"What kind of organization is the Supreme Command Center? Such huge authority? Commanding all three armed services?"
"Is some major event about to happen?"
"Goodness, they're finally expanding the military! I don't care, I'm going to enlist!"
"That's right, even if something happened, we have to go serve our country!"
"Enlisting in the military has always been my dream! I'm going, I'm going!"
"What does Daxia mean by this? Are we going to reunify Xiadao by force?"
In an instant.
The whole country was in an uproar!
On Weibo, [Daxia Conscripts Fifty Millions] surged directly to the number one trending search!
The comments below were passionate and stirring!
"If there is a war, when summoned, I will return! Retired soldier from the 031st Regiment, 3rd Division of Guangchuan, awaiting the motherland's call at any time!"
"Retired soldier from the 321st Division of the First Combat Brigade of Heizhou, awaiting the motherland's call at any time!"
"Retired member of the Nanyang Wave-Breaking Special Operations Detachment, awaiting the motherland's call at any time!"
"Brothers, has the registration link opened yet? I'm going!"
Meanwhile, [Supreme Command Center Lin Fan] surged to the number two trending search!
Chapter Eight: Internal Meeting
"Who is Lin Fan?"
"Yeah, how did he become the Commander-in-Chief? How massive is that authority?"
"This young man looks so ordinary... Wait, shouldn't some heavyweight veteran hold that position?"
"How is he qualified to be Commander-in-Chief? Is he even up to it?"
"Must be someone with connections, right?"
"I know him, he's my classmate!"
Even Mother Lin, who was watching TV in the living room, stared blankly at the familiar scene on the screen and said, "Old Lin, stop chopping vegetables, hurry over here, our child... is on TV?"
"What do you mean on TV?" Father Lin kept chopping vegetables without raising his head. "Is he wanted by the police or something?"
"No, no, our child seems to have become some sort of Daxia Supreme Commander... Hurry over here, it's broadcasting right on the TV!" Mother Lin's voice trembled slightly.
Father Lin, who was in the middle of chopping vegetables, paused for a moment, then hurriedly put down his kitchen knife and ran toward the living room.
Prior to this, almost no one knew who Lin Fan was.
On television, the young man in the photo looked clean and fresh, just like a boy-next-door, with nothing particularly special about him.
Only in those eyes seemed to be hidden a trace of sorrow, as though he were gazing through the television screen, suppressing his grief while looking at every single person in Daxia.
At the same time.
While these two broadcasts were shocking the people of Daxia, the international community was likewise stirred by monstrous waves!
In Freedom Country, inside the White Palace, Puchuan—with his messy blond hair—clutched the telephone receiver, his chubby body stomping in place, his face filled with disbelief.
"Has Daxia gone mad?"
"Conscripting fifty million troops?"
"And they're setting up a Supreme Command Center?"
"Are they planning to launch a war?!"
"If a war breaks out like this—our Freedom Country only has a population of three hundred million—this is equivalent to drafting one-sixth of our entire Freedom Country!"
On the other end of the line, the John Country Prime Minister said softly, "Oh, my dear Puchuan, do not be nervous."
"Daxia is merely a sleeping lion; it looks fierce, but let us not forget, a hundred years ago I kicked its backside and blasted open its gates with artillery. Believe me, their military is far behind ours."
The Kangaroo Country Prime Minister smiled and said, "That's right, they're just a bunch of East Asian sick men, fifty million... Heh, what good is that?"
The White Elephant Country Prime Minister let out a cold snort: "My White Elephant Country is truly the number one great nation in the world, and furthermore, I think Daxia is just bragging. My White Elephant Country is the most populous nation on earth, and even we couldn't conscript fifty million in one go. How could those Daxia people be so united?"
"Since my number one in the world White Elephant Country can't do it, Daxia is definitely bragging! Daxia people sure know how to brag; last time they even claimed they built a hospital in ten days—pfft, bragging!"
"Big Brother Puchuan, don't be afraid. This is just a trick those crafty Daxia people are using to mislead us. They're trying to intimidate us with this!" The Samsung Country President sneered. "This precisely shows that they are afraid! They are panicking! They want to back down and surrender to us!"
Following a brief telephone discussion, Puchuan, the Freedom Country President who had originally been nervous, finally calmed down gradually, his chubby little hand wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Although this might be fake news released against us by the country of Daxia, we still need to analyze it carefully," Puchuan wheezed. "Our Freedom Country will dispatch a diplomatic spokesperson to inquire whether Daxia's conscription of fifty million is true!"