I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 766 - 664: Relief for the Common People

"The current security situation in Europe is quite poor. If possible, I suggest negotiating with Europe to deploy our forces to clear out those armed factions in their backyard. Their presence has severely impacted the front-line operations and our work." When Li Yulong was brought before Chen Xin, he was having a video conference with domestic high-ranking officials, during which he reported on this rescue operation and shared his views.

However, the high-ranking officials were evidently very concerned about intervening in the internal affairs of other countries. Even though helping European countries stabilize domestic order is a better course of action, the high-ranking leaders were not very willing to go through with it.

"Our country has always adhered to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries." Although the leaders found Chen Xin’s suggestion appealing, they believed Flame Country’s long-standing principles should be upheld.

Understanding this stance, Chen Xin naturally had no right to express an opinion, but he still advised, "However, the chaos in Europe is no longer simply their internal security issue. These armed factions severely affect the ability of nations to allocate resources and manpower and have a significant impact on the European Defense Line.

According to the information we collected, these armed factions have grown so audacious that they attack transport vehicles supplying the front-line battlefield. European countries are now overwhelmed and unable to suppress these armed factions by themselves. If the situation deteriorates further, the European Defense Line will lose its capacity to resist alien invasions, which is detrimental to our country."

"While this is true, interfering in the internal affairs of other countries contradicts our country’s consistent diplomatic principles." The high-ranking leaders fully understood the situation Chen Xin described, but they clearly had more concerns: "We will revisit this matter later. In any case, even if we genuinely enter European countries to assist them in maintaining order, it requires more discussion at the high level. This isn’t a decision to be made lightly, Academician Chen, I hope you understand this."

Faced with the leader’s attitude, Chen Xin could only nod and say, "I understand. The more critical the situation, the less we should act recklessly. However, I still hope the current European situation can be effectively controlled, rather than deteriorating further."

"Of course, it’s a matter of life and death for the whole of Europe; we must act with caution." The high-ranking leader nodded slightly upon hearing Chen Xin’s words and concluded the call.

Noticing Chen Xin had ended the call with the high-ranking leader, Li Yulong then approached and greeted Chen Xin, "Brother Chen, thank you for rescuing me!"

"You’ve had a hard time. You weren’t injured, were you?" Chen Xin looked at Li Yulong, patted him on the shoulder, and after ensuring he was fine, said, "If anything happened to you, I would have a hard time explaining it to your father." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"I’m fine. They didn’t have a chance to do anything to us before you rescued us." Although the kidnapping left Li Yulong slightly shaken, he quickly reassured Chen Xin with a smile.

Chen Xin wanted to talk more with Li Yulong, but the bridge wasn’t the right place for a conversation, so after confirming Li Yulong was okay, Chen Xin had someone take him to rest.

After Li Yulong left the bridge, the Captain reported to Chen Xin, "Academician Chen, the Titan Squad and Special Forces have cleared out the armed elements in this small town and are requesting instructions on the next steps. There are still many innocent civilians in the city who seem to be in poor condition."

"Civilians? This is a hot potato." Chen Xin shook his head; handling this matter was tricky.

He didn’t inquire about the state of the civilians, but it was evident they would be in a dire state after being enslaved by armed factions.

According to humanitarian principles, they should carry out a rescue, but this was on foreign soil, and aiding the poor should not be something handled by Flame Country’s military.

In the past, Chen Xin might have ignored protocol and ordered the fleet to provide relief. However, after listening to the leader’s words, he recognized that some principles should still be followed.

After pondering, he said, "Notify the local authorities to send personnel to take over the city and have the Special Forces and Titan Squad temporarily maintain order until the local authorities arrive and then withdraw."

The Captain didn’t object to Chen Xin’s decision. He nodded to indicate his understanding and proceeded to relay the orders.

The Special Forces, upon receiving the orders, began to maintain order in this small town and organized some local residents to clear the battlefield.

Earlier, when cooperating with Titan Squad to clear out the armed factions, they acted so swiftly that most of the armed elements were now lying lifeless on the ground, needing someone to remove them.

The townspeople were quite cooperative. The armed factions had previously done nothing good for the city and instead left them in misery.

Therefore, the local people were pleased to see the armed factions removed.

They organized personnel to clear the bodies and sent some to inquire with the Special Forces if there was anything additional they needed to do. They even organized some young women for emergencies.

The Commander of the Special Forces was amused by the situation. While empathizing with the locals’ mindset and recognizing their fear and need to ingratiate themselves after the suffering and oppression they faced, accepting hospitality like this not only violated Flame Country’s military discipline but also ran counter to their principles.

Thus, he firmly declined the locals’ goodwill, advising them to take the women back home. Recognizing the locals’ apprehensive mindset, the Commander only requested they help prepare some hot water.

In such times, if they exhibited that they had no demands of the locals, it could exacerbate their fear. Involving them in some tasks could help pacify their concerns.

As for asking the locals for food, putting aside the fact that the tradition of Flame Country’s military is to not take even a needle or thread from the public, one look at these pale and emaciated people was enough to see they were living in destitution under the armed factions’ oppression, and there was no food they could provide.

However, a few special forces soldiers discovered the armed factions’ warehouse while searching for any remaining elements, and letting the locals take the stored food from inside and distribute it among themselves.

Watching the locals’ joy as they received the food and their eagerness to either devour it on the spot or rush home to stash it, these special forces soldiers seemed to understand how their forerunners won the support of the people back in their day.