The Ultimate War Of The Apocalypse
Chapter 561 - 554 The Worst Preparation

Chapter 561: Chapter 554 The Worst Preparation

Thompson glanced at his watch, then at the screen, and said to Larry, "Pyro-thief is dead; he won’t be running anymore, Mr. Larry. It’s time to retrieve his body before the zombies and monsters get to him and eat him. I consider this a military operation, and I won’t interfere with military operations. That’s not my expertise. It’s up to you now."

Larry took a deep breath, gestured with his hand, and immediately asked, "Which unit is closest to the refinery? It doesn’t matter what kind of unit."

Murphy said coldly, "The artillery, but they’re useless now. Besides them, there’s a platoon 16 kilometers from the food and oil factory, a Marine Corps reconnaissance platoon. Also, near Malakal Airport, there’s a small Green Berets team on standby, tasked with surveillance. They’re twelve kilometers away from the refinery in a straight line. Although it’s only four men, they can move faster. If you’re only looking to retrieve Pyro-thief’s body, you could order the Green Berets team to get there as quickly as possible."

Larry looked at Murphy without saying anything, while the drone squadron commander murmured, "Sir, I’m not clear on that, and besides, we only have direct contact with the artillery. As for the infantry, uh, after the jamming on the dry frequency, we’ve lost contact with them."

Larry subconsciously touched his nose, then said in a deep voice, "Notify the Wanderer to cease electronic jamming."

Murphy scoffed from the side, "Is this your plan? Restore Ram’s communications and then let him mobilize more quickly? Larry, when will you face reality? Compared to small-scale special operations, you, and your men, have made your incompetence very clear."

"Murphy... I’ve never realized before that your mouth is even more disgusting than your bald head."

After that, Larry waved his hand, "Take him away, lock him up, make sure he doesn’t leave your sight, and don’t let him communicate with anyone. If anyone tries to contact him forcefully, shoot to kill."

Two guards started to push Murphy away, but Larry suddenly said, "Not too far, he’ll be of use soon."

Once Murphy was taken away, Larry let out a long breath and said, "Please notify the Wanderer to pause the jamming. I order the ground troops to go to the refinery immediately and bring back Pyro-thief’s body."

Thompson frowned and asked, "I have a question. Why not use a helicopter to bring back Pyro-thief’s body?"

Larry spread his hands, "We only have one helicopter, and it has to fly back to Djibouti. Sending a helicopter to the food and oil factory could encounter any number of issues. If something goes wrong with the aircraft, how are we to bring Pyro-thief’s body back to Djibouti quickly?"

Thompson thought for a moment and said, "Are you worried our helicopter will run into trouble? Why? Do the enemies have the capability to shoot it down? Do they have that ability?"

Larry nodded, "Yes, there are too many ways to take down a Black Hawk helicopter—portable anti-aircraft missiles, rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns, machine guns, or ground cover and support troops. I don’t want to take that risk."

Thompson shrugged and said, "Sorry, I’m not trying to interfere with your decision, but since the success or failure of our operation hinges on Pyro-thief’s body, I think taking some risks is acceptable. The refinery’s blaze and noise are enough to draw all the zombies in the city over there, and zombies aren’t afraid of fire, it’s a genetic imprint they retained from their humanity. So, the zombies will be there soon."

Larry thought for a moment and said, "Having the helicopter go over wouldn’t save much time, considering we’re sixty kilometers from the refinery. If the forward troops are only twelve kilometers from the refinery, they could drive there; by the time we’re done arguing, they should almost be arriving."

Thompson looked apologetic and said, "I’m really not trying to question your decision, but Mr. Larry, the airport is outside the city, while the refinery is inside. There are already zombies heading there. Do you really think that four people can break through the zombie encirclement and take away the body? I’m worried that they’ll become zombie fodder before they even reach the refinery, and with the helicopter, as you know..."

Larry hesitated for a moment, and then he suddenly raised his voice and said, "Keep up the electronic interference, have the SEALs board the helicopter and head for the refinery, to bring back Pyro-thief’s corpse, immediately!"

"Yes, sir!"

A person who had always stayed outside the command vehicle and never entered accepted the order and quickly left. He then shouted loudly, "Prepare the helicopter for takeoff, Ceres, Ceres! You, take SEAL Team Four and come over immediately, board the helicopter for a mission, fast, hurry up!"

Maintaining electronic interference meant that Larry had to send someone to convey his orders in person, as not all radios could connect to the data link and continue communication under their own interference.

Larry and Thompson looked at their watches simultaneously, and then Larry said in a low voice, "If our ground troops can’t get in, neither can theirs, but we have helicopters, and they don’t, so... it’s just a race against the zombies now."

"Obviously, zombies move faster, but I don’t think zombies can quickly find a charred corpse, so we have a better chance."

Looking at a confident Thompson, Larry sighed and said, "Thompson, have you ever seen a charred corpse that could run?"

"Uh, okay, the Pyro-thief isn’t charred, he’s just become a corpse. But it’s just a corpse. I don’t think, um, Ram’s men could get through the zombie encirclement, run into the refinery just to snatch back a corpse, even if they also realized the importance of that corpse. But obviously, we’re faster, aren’t we?"

"Yes."

Larry agreed with Thompson’s opinion, but after thinking it over, he felt that if everything went according to his assumption, then the Malakal Region wouldn’t be in the midst of an otherwise favorable situation and suddenly fall into a state of complete collapse.

Was he still underestimating Ram?

Thinking this, Larry suddenly said, "No, we still need to send out ground troops."

"Send the Marines and the small team of Green Berets?"

Larry let out a sigh and said, "No, order all front-line troops to make a total assault move, and prepare them for a large-scale enemy attack."

Thompson was taken aback for a moment and said, "Do you think Ram will send his army into Malakal, just for a corpse? Keep in mind, the corpse is important to us, but not that important to them. But to risk the annihilation of his entire army just to retrieve a corpse? Do you think that’s possible?"

Larry honestly replied, "If it were someone else, I’d think it impossible, but with Ram, I can’t see through him, so I want to prepare for the worst."