When Gong Changfa relayed the information he had gathered, Long Qian dismissed it with disdain, saying, "This is utter nonsense. Shen Feng is playing a trick of 'hiding the sky and crossing the sea.' He claims to be going to Dabashan to make us complacent. By the time his people reach the Daning River, they will be only an hour away from the Three Gorges. What if he launches a surprise attack then?"
Gong Changfa stated gravely, "I have analyzed it carefully and determined that Shen Feng has indeed entered Dabashan. Firstly, Shen Feng's brother-in-law was once in danger within Dabashan and almost died there. This is one reason. The second reason is that autumn harvest is imminent, and if the mutated birds leave the mountains, they will destroy Chongqing's agriculture. This is the second point. The third is that Shen Feng never does anything that goes against public morality."
"Hmph, no matter how many reasons you give, they are useless. Can you guarantee that Shen Feng won't attack the Three Gorges? Tell me!" Long Qian directly pressed him.
Gong Changfa fell silent. Although he was almost certain that Shen Feng had entered Dabashan, even with a ninety-nine percent chance, it was not a certainty. If something unexpected happened, he could not guarantee it.
Seeing Gong Changfa's silence, Long Qian continued to address the leaders at headquarters. "Shen Feng is known as the Dragon of Chongqing, and in private, he calls his own residence 'Fengshen Palace.' What does this mean? It means he harbors rebellious intentions! How could such a person be content to be a dragon in shallow waters? He is definitely planning to attack the Three Gorges. If we don't guard against it now, it will be too late."
The many decision-makers listened to their words and began to ponder. There were indeed two possibilities before them, and precautions needed to be taken. Currently, the electricity from the Three Gorges Power Station directly supplied many major cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. If the Three Gorges were occupied, these large cities would be the first to experience a power outage, which would be disastrous.
After much deliberation, headquarters finally decided: "We need to closely monitor Shen Feng's movements. Send a message to Chen Yide at the Three Gorges, instructing him to maintain strict defense and ensure no mistakes are made. Additionally, monitor the situation of the mutated birds in the mountains. While Shen Feng is concerned about the mutated birds, we cannot afford to be lax."
They recalled how Hitler had deceived Stalin and launched a surprise attack, catching the Soviet army off guard. This was the "surprise attack" mentioned in Sun Tzu's Art of War. The people at headquarters preferred to anticipate Shen Feng's potentially reckless actions rather than naively believe that Shen Feng was going to exterminate mutated birds.
This was what was called preparing for both eventualities. If Shen Feng was merely going to clear out the mutated birds, then it would be inconsequential. However, if Shen Feng intended to attack the Three Gorges, they absolutely could not give him such an opportunity, otherwise, they would suffer heavy losses. Losing the Three Gorges would mean they could no longer effectively control Chongqing.
However, at this moment, the people in Yanjing also became puzzled. Had the problem of mutated birds become so severe that even Shen Feng had to rush to clear them out? It seemed overly anxious.
China's autumn harvest began from north to south, but the spring harvest of winter wheat was the reverse, starting from south to north, due to temperature differences. Therefore, while Chongqing was concerned about the impact of mutated birds on the autumn harvest, headquarters also became vigilant. Speaking of autumn harvest, their own region was about to begin, and this could not be affected.
However, there was also good news at the meeting. The leader responsible for liaising with the Bureau of Supernatural Abilities stood up and said with a smile, "Xiao Sheng has sent good news. They have discovered oil and plan to use the Siberian railway to transport it directly to the northeastern border. We are responsible for receiving it and preparing grain for exchange."
Previously, the country had already experienced an oil shortage. After all, China's oil reserves were not substantial, and they generally did not exploit them heavily, as they were meant for future generations. How could they use them all up in their own generation? Therefore, a large portion of the country's oil came from abroad, either from the Middle East, Siberia, or even purchased from North America. In short, with wealth, the primary approach was to purchase.
But when the apocalypse arrived, the world plunged into chaos. Cargo ships that could previously undertake long-distance voyages were attacked. It didn't matter if the ship was carrying oil; any vessel appearing on the ocean was easily attacked by sea beasts. The sea beasts' revenge against humanity had begun.
Furthermore, the oil pipelines also encountered problems. A section of the pipeline passing through the grasslands was damaged by something unknown, preventing oil from being delivered to China. China was suddenly plunged into an oil crisis. In the face of this oil shortage, electric scooters and bicycles became the most popular modes of transportation.
Under these circumstances, headquarters also prepared to exploit domestic oil resources, as oil and gas resources were too crucial for transportation power. Fortunately, the Bureau of Supernatural Abilities brought good news.
Long Qian sat to the side and heard this, immediately feeling a sense of unease. He had initially thought that Xiao Sheng and his group, who had gone to Siberia, were far from the center of power and would not be able to complete their mission and return for some time. However, Long Qian now realized that once they completed an almost impossible mission, the prestige of the Bureau of Supernatural Abilities would rise significantly.
"No, I must find a way to hinder these people, to prevent them from easily achieving this goal," Long Qian thought to himself.
...
Meanwhile, Guo Pinming and Yang Chang, after sailing to the mouth of the Daning River, proceeded upstream towards Dabashan. The army stationed at the Three Gorges was finally relieved upon hearing this news.
Guo Pinming and Yang Chang also knew that the mission was arduous. The gasoline on the boat was Chongqing's last stock, meaning this was the only opportunity to eliminate the mutated birds.
"Look, these rice stalks are almost ready for harvest, they're all nodding," Yang Chang said to Guo Pinming, looking at the scenery along the river.
Guo Pinming scanned both banks. The surroundings were lush green, indicating that the rice was growing well.
"Fortunately, we planted rice this year. If we had planted corn, we would have to eat cornmeal for another half a year," Guo Pinming revealed a rare smile.
Although corn had a high yield and was one of the world's four major staple foods, its taste was truly unappealing. Made into cornmeal, it was too coarse. Eating it occasionally was fine, but eating it for months on end was unbearable for the appetite. It was known that in the past, most corn was used as animal feed.
Chongqing had not suffered disasters this year, nor had it been significantly harassed by mutated beasts, so Chongqing was experiencing a bountiful harvest. However, Chongqing's fields were mostly located north of the Yangtze River, where the terrain was relatively flat. Once attacked, the impact would inevitably be enormous.
By noon, Guo Pinming and Yang Chang chose to rest outside the mountains, eat, sleep, and await a surprise attack at night.
Birds have extremely keen eyesight. Even from high altitudes, eagles can spot rabbits on the ground. However, most birds are blind at night. At night, if you shine a flashlight on them, some birds still cannot fly and can be caught by hand. Therefore, based on this characteristic of birds, the combat time should be chosen at night.
Most of the soldiers had already gone to sleep, making the scouts' tasks particularly important. While others rested, they needed to gather intelligence.
The scouts entered the forest first, wearing camouflage uniforms. These uniforms changed color with the seasons. In spring and summer, the camouflage was primarily green and dark green. However, in autumn, with more fallen leaves in the mountains, the colors shifted to yellow-green, adapting to environmental changes.
"There's so much bird droppings in here," someone whispered to a companion.
In the dappled sunlight of the forest, although no birds were visible on the trees, there were large patches of bird droppings on the ground, white and spread out. One might mistake it for a painter who had nothing better to do and had splashed lime slurry here.
Another scout, hearing his companion, quietly said, "Be careful where you step. Watch out for above and below. Many hunters set traps in the leaves, and if you get caught, you'll get tetanus."
The saying goes, "live off the mountain if you're near the mountain, live off the water if you're near the water." Now, close to the mountains and forests, many people who farmed also hunted to improve their diet. The method was simple: setting snares and even animal traps everywhere in the mountains. Even mutated beasts, while having altered intelligence, were not particularly cunning. A little bait sprinkled near a trap could lure an animal in.
Therefore, walking in the mountains required extra caution for animal traps, a danger originating from their own people. They couldn't tell these people, who wanted to improve their lives, not to eat rabbits, could they? Even if it was strictly forbidden, it couldn't stop hungry people.
During the day, birds foraged outside, whether for wild fruits in the mountains or insects. The mutated birds directly displaced the non-mutated birds, leaving ordinary birds with no room to survive.
Suddenly, a scout spotted numerous bird nests on distant trees and quickly took out his camera to take pictures, saying, "It's already autumn, why are there still so many bird nests? If they lay eggs in autumn, can they survive?"
Upon reaching this point, the scouts all realized one thing: the number of birds in the Dabashan mountain range was absolutely beyond imagination. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so much bird droppings on the ground, nor would the trees be covered with dense bird nests.
In the depths of the forest, on the branches, almost every large branch had a bird's nest. Some bird nests were exquisite, clearly built with care. Others were very casual, appearing to be haphazardly piled with branches, as long as the eggs didn't roll out.
Even more, some birds laid their eggs directly on the ground, and their clutch size was large. Although the size was not comparable to chicken eggs, they were not small. As the scouts were about to approach, some chicks discovered dark figures approaching and immediately cried out. One bird began to squawk, and other birds joined in. The chicks' cries were rather sharp, and for a moment, the forest was filled with the sounds of birds.
The scouts immediately felt something was wrong. Such a commotion would surely alert the flock of birds. They all lay down on the spot, covering themselves with leaves, and were immediately hit by the smell of earth and bird droppings. Although bird droppings didn't seem very smelly, it was actually because the quantity was insufficient. When bird droppings accumulated, the smell was quite strong.
A moment later, with a "fluttering" sound, flocks of birds flew back from the sky, many with food in their mouths, be it insects, fruits, or even meat. It was evident that in this forest, the bird flocks were the dominant force.
"What do we do now?" someone asked in a low voice. The flocks of birds were now overhead. If they were discovered, the consequences would be dire. Even individuals with supernatural abilities would struggle to protect themselves in such a situation. These scouts were merely evolved humans, possessing only superior physical strength and nothing else remarkable.
"Crawl!" the captain said calmly.
In the Sichuan region, the word "crawl" generally has a derogatory meaning, implying "get out of my way," demeaning the other party to the level of an animal.
However, at this moment, with the appearance of the word "crawl," no one felt offended because it was a literal interpretation of the strategy. Everyone cautiously crawled through the dead leaves and branches, fearing discovery by the bird flocks. During this process, someone actually touched an animal trap hidden under the leaves and quickly pushed it aside to avoid being caught.
Animal traps were generally made of steel. Most people were too lazy to polish them; as long as they worked and the trigger mechanism was functional, polishing was unnecessary. Therefore, many animal traps were rusty. If one accidentally stepped on one, there was no doubt that tetanus would be contracted.