Chapter 291: Chapter 291: Proposing the Decapitation Operation

With everyone’s eyes on him, Lin Xinghai said slowly, "In a situation like this, what other good options do we have?"

Zhang Yue was a little baffled. "Then why did you just say that we have to take action?"

"Yes, that’s right. But sometimes, when you’re cornered, you don’t need a good plan to take action. You just have to brute force it." As Lin Xinghai spoke, his tone grew steadily firmer.

But the others, Zhang Yue included, were still confused. What did he mean by "brute force it"?

"Go gather everyone else for me. I’m going to carry out a decapitation strike, and I’ll need their assistance," Lin Xinghai said, patting a bewildered Zhang Yue on the shoulder.

Hearing the words "decapitation strike," Zhang Yue flinched. The others stared at Lin Xinghai as if they’d seen a ghost.

’A decapitation strike? What was he thinking!?’

While it was certainly one way to solve the problem, no one had ever dared to even consider it. It was, for all intents and purposes, a suicide mission.

If this were just an ordinary Zombie tide, or if there were only a few Mutated Zombies, no one would doubt Lin Xinghai’s ability to pull it off.

But there were a total of 52... no, 53 Mutated Zombies out there now.

And among those Mutated Zombies were terrifying threats like the Death Claw.

To pilot a Mecha and charge into that would be a one-way trip, even for someone like Lin Xinghai.

"Captain Lin, brute force isn’t always the answer. Why don’t we wait a little longer? The command staff must be brainstorming a solution right now. They might figure something out soon," Zhang Yue said, trying to talk him down now that he had snapped out of his stupor.

"Ah Xing, we can’t be reckless. Even if there’s truly no other option, we can still abandon this outpost."

"Our entire defensive line has over ten kilometers of depth. Even if we have to trade space for time, we can hold them off for at least another half hour."

"In that time, the Military Department should be able to take out another three or four hundred thousand Zombies. All told, that would bring the total to a million kills, which would count as a major blow against them."

"The next time we launch a purge operation like this, the scale of the Zombie tide will surely be smaller. Maybe we’ll be able to succeed then."

"So we have other options. If we can’t do it in one go, we’ll do it in two. Besides, the main responsibility here isn’t on you. If you were to sacrifice yourself... it truly wouldn’t be worth it," Fang Tianhe pleaded. He was far more worried about Lin Xinghai’s safety than the military was.

After all, the Military Department could afford to lose Lin Xinghai, but their Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps could not.

Zhang Yue, listening from the side, gave a wry smile but said nothing. Even if Lin Xinghai truly could sacrifice himself to win this battle, he couldn’t bring himself to be the one to suggest it.

Besides, in this situation, it would be pure suicide.

After listening to their arguments, Lin Xinghai was about to explain himself when he felt someone take his hand. He turned to see that Liu Miaomiao had appeared by his side at some point.

She didn’t try to talk him out of it. She just held his hand silently, her expression exceptionally resolute, as if she was ready to face death with him.

"What are you all thinking?" Lin Xinghai said, exasperated. "When did I say I was going to get myself killed? When have you ever seen me do something I wasn’t confident about?"

His words left everyone stunned.

"Don’t kid us, Boss," Xu Haishui spoke up this time. "Fifty-three Mutated Zombies... I refuse to believe you have a way to charge in and out of there at will."

"Of course I can’t do it alone. That’s why I just told you to gather everyone else, didn’t I? I said I need their help. Especially the artillery squad." As he finished, Lin Xinghai’s tone turned serious, with no trace of a joke in it.

"The artillery squad?" Zhang Yue mulled over the implications of his words, but he still couldn’t figure out what Lin Xinghai was planning.

Lin Xinghai glanced at their expressions and knew they wouldn’t rest easy until he explained himself.

So he said, "It’s actually quite simple. The artillery squad has those small Fission Missiles, right? Have them fire a few rounds into the Mutated Zombie horde first."

"Under that kind of fire, are those Mutated Zombies going to stay clumped together? I’m guessing they’ll scatter and run for their lives."

"All I have to do is seize that moment when they’re separated, rush in, and kill the Spray Zombie. Job done."

"I’m fast enough. The other Mutated Zombies won’t be able to touch me."

The more Lin Xinghai explained, the brighter everyone’s eyes grew. When they first heard "decapitation strike," they had all thought it was a suicide mission.

But if they followed this plan, there was a genuine chance of success.

Of course, Lin Xinghai made it sound easy, but in practice, the difficulty was still immense.

Although Fission Missiles could be used to force the Mutated Zombies to scatter, they would certainly regroup as soon as the explosions subsided.

This meant the window of opportunity for Lin Xinghai would be incredibly brief. If he couldn’t seize it, not only would he fail to kill the Spray Zombie, but he might even be surrounded and killed by the regrouping Mutated Zombies.

However, Lin Xinghai’s greatest strength was his Speed. In the entire Star Shield Shelter, he was likely the only one who could possibly seize such a fleeting opportunity.

Once everyone had considered the plan’s feasibility, they stopped hesitating. They called over the artillery squad’s leaders and returned to the conference room to hammer out the operational details.

Since the Spray Zombie was continuously producing its toxic mist, their time was extremely limited. The group discussed the plan rapidly, constantly raising potential problems and proposing solutions.

Three minutes later, the impromptu war meeting concluded.

Afterward, everyone launched into a flurry of even more frantic preparations.

The plan actually had two major challenges. The first was coordinating with the artillery squad: how to avoid friendly fire while making the absolute most of the window of opportunity.

The second challenge was how to deal with the Blood-colored Beetles.

This time, he would be fighting three kilometers away. During the approach, if even a single Blood-colored Beetle managed to bore its way into his Mecha, he likely wouldn’t be able to make it back in time, even if the mission was a success.

The first challenge was perhaps a little easier to solve. As long as there was a constant flow of information—with precise data on trajectory and impact points sent to his Mecha—Lin Xinghai was confident that the onboard computer’s real-time calculations would allow him to coordinate effectively.

As for the second challenge, it had everyone stumped at first. But in the end, Lin Xinghai proposed an unconventional solution: he would take Liu Miaomiao with him.

With her there, enveloping the entire Mecha with her Life Control Superpower, any Blood-colored Beetles that came near would simply be courting death.

Of course, Mechas weren’t designed for two pilots. Therefore, to make the plan work, his Speed Mecha would require some temporary modifications.