MTLNOVEL Chapter 543: The Beautiful Country's Decision
"The First Mecha Combat Brigade of the Jieke Group Arrives in You Tai Country, a Nation in Crisis."
When this headline was printed in the New York Times, it instantly attracted countless eyes, sparking endless debate on major global internet platforms.
'Wardfa, the Jieke Group is serious now; they're set to annihilate You Tai Country!'
'You Tai Country brought this upon themselves. Who told them to develop the Zombie Virus and let it leak? They're playing with the safety of all humanity.'
'The Jieke Group has gone too far, setting up quarantine camps in You Tai Country, which are essentially concentration camps by another name. Who knows how many innocent people have died at their hands.'
'According to media statistics and reports from war correspondents, the number of You Tai casualties in the war has surpassed 200,000, twenty times the deaths caused by the Zombie Virus. Why exactly did the Jieke Group go to You Tai Country? To eradicate the Zombie Virus or to kill people? Anyone with a brain can see it.'
'People in the quarantine camps live worse than pigs and dogs, not having enough to eat or wear, forced into hard labor, and when they get sick, they can only wait to die. It's truly horrific.'
'Nonsense. Most of these atrocities are committed by the Faha Force. Those Faha soldiers are the main culprits causing mass casualties, with the Jieke Group merely supervising.'
'Everyone knows the Faha Army listens to the Jieke Group. The Jieke Group, fully aware of the Faha Army's hostility towards the You Tai, maliciously brought them in, clearly intending for internal conflict to profit from.'
"In the face of national betrayal and family hatred, nothing the Faha soldiers do is surprising."
'Ha, the You Tai boast about controlling Wall Street and having a grip on global media. They've finally pissed off someone they shouldn't have. Makes me laugh.'
'What a delight! Weren't the You Tai so powerful? Why are they so quiet now? Hurry up and let your Beautiful Country daddy rescue you! I don't think the Beautiful Country will dare get involved.'
'A people expelled by Ancient Rome, exiled from Egypt, loathed by the Emperor, slaughtered by Xixi, defined as heretics by the Pope during the Crusades, compared to disgusting parasites by Martin Luther—seeing them regarded as enemies by so many countries and notables in history, I am not surprised by their suffering today at all.'
The online debate was heated, with little optimism for You Tai Country's ability to withstand the Jieke Group's virus-cleansing war under their righteous banner.
A single Mecha Combat Brigade, and You Tai Country is powerless.
Even if they hastily assemble reservists to boost their numbers to hundreds of thousands, modern warfare no longer relies on sheer numbers.
If the Jieke Group coordinates their military deployment well, advancing south, they could easily conquer You Tai Country, a view held by most of the world's countries, given the vast disparity in strength, unless the Beautiful Country is willing to intervene.
..........
Beautiful Country, Black Palace!
An emergency meeting was urgently convened here in response to the dire situation in You Tai Country.
Jesmin, the Beautiful Country President, frowned deeply, sporting dark circles under his eyes, having not slept soundly for a week.
It wasn't that he didn't want to; the situation in You Tai Country was so intense that any misstep could lead to a nation's demise.
Daily, he received urgent calls from business magnates, with You Tai people worldwide desperately trying to drag the Beautiful Country into the crisis, fearing for the extinction of You Tai Country.
"Let's hear it. What are your thoughts on You Tai Country now?"
Jesmin rubbed his brow, his voice heavy with fatigue.
"Mr. President, my opinion remains the same as before; now is not the time to go to war, especially with the Jieke Group recently unveiling a heavy strategic bomber, showcasing formidable air combat and bombing capabilities. To rush into war now doesn't give us good odds. Even if we win, the casualties would be extraordinarily high."
Judith, the CIA Director, was the first to speak, making his stance clear: he opposed intervention now.
"Harmon, what's your take?"
Jesmin then turned his attention to Harmon to hear the Minister of Defense's opinion.
"My view is that we can't just sit idly by in the Beautiful Country."
Harmon's perspective differed from Judith's; he spoke seriously: "Mr. President, there's a saying that goes like this. When they came for the You Tai, I stayed silent, because I'm not You Tai; when they came for the Protestants, I stayed silent because I'm Catholic; when they came for me, there was no one left to speak for me.
This is so akin to our Beautiful Country's current situation. The Jieke Group attacked Southeast Asia, and we stepped back.
Later, Jieke Group dug canals, occupying sea route choke points between East and West, and swallowed all of Southeast Asia, and we endured again.
Now, with the Jieke Group already meddling in our core interests, bossing around in the Middle East, if You Tai Country is destroyed, who will be next?
Do we wait until the enemy is in South America, in our Beautiful Country homeland, before we take action? By then, it would be too late.
Our repeated concessions have only emboldened the Jieke Group to expand limitlessly, fed by their insatiable appetite. Pure appeasement will eventually backfire on us.
When the Jieke Group finally invades our homeland, the world won't speak for us; our allies and partners will all abandon us by then. This is the conclusion I foresee."
Harmon's tone was high-spirited and fervent, seething with anger.
As he spoke, his gaze was fixed on Judith, appearing as if he'd love to punch the Conservative leader in the face.
Oh, no, Judith is the radical; he is the conservative.
"Makes sense."
Jesmin pondered thoughtfully.
"Mr. President, just because there's lots of words doesn't mean what he's saying is right."
Judith twitched his mouth, explaining, "I'm not afraid of Jieke Group, I'm just stating facts and laying out data. Putting aside other matters, can your military handle the new bombers developed by Jieke Group?
If your air force cannot deal with these bombers, lacking air protection and support, how can we save You Tai Country?
Yes, we have many troops stationed around You Tai Country, but do you want our ground forces to enter You Tai Country and clash with Jieke Group's Mechanical Combat Brigade?
With all due respect, even if I'm a military idiot, I know that our country's army would get battered by those Spider Mechas without air superiority, and come back crying to their mothers."
"Coward. The Jieke Group is fighting across thousands of kilometers; their logistics line is so long. We only need to withstand the first wave of attacks, and they absolutely will lack follow-up power."
"What you're saying is merely the most optimistic scenario. What if we don't hold on? Once the troops stationed in the countries surrounding You Tai Country are severely damaged, our Middle East situation will entirely collapse.
Seeing our vulnerability, can you guarantee Jieke Group won't advance further? Wouldn't losing one You Tai Country be enough? Do they want to take down other oil-producing countries too, leaving us with nothing?"
"We have aircraft carrier combat groups. How can their Spider Main Battle Mechas go underwater? We can provide fire support from the sea; our missiles and carrier-based aircraft aren't just for show. What can their Spider Main Battle Mechas do?"
"Do you think Jieke Group's cruiser arsenal ships don't exist? Plus those mysterious stealth bombers, rumored to fly above fifty thousand meters. What if they bomb the aircraft carriers?"
"If Jieke Group dares to bomb our carriers, that's declaring all-out war with us, fighting to the death."
"So for one You Tai Country, what benefit do we have from going to all-out war with Jieke Group? Fighting to the finish line with Jieke Group, ending up with mutual destruction—is our country only having this one enemy?"
Harmon and Judith grew angrier as they argued, sleeves rolled up, seemingly about to stage a full-on fight in the President's office.
"Enough, both of you calm down."
Jesmin interrupted their dispute, looking at the flushed faces and strained necks between them, he sighed helplessly.
"I understand your points. Now is not the time to go to war with Jieke Group. A cruiser going a thousand meters deep, a stealth bomber flying tens of thousands of meters, and land-based Mechanical Combat Brigades—such opponents require us to be cautious."
Jesmin ultimately stood by Judith's side, aware that Harmon supports the military-industrial complex, which would gain greater benefits from initiating a war.
However, Beautiful Country doesn't have just one financial group. It's easy to start a war but ending it, as well as understanding the consequences, is not necessarily something Beautiful Country can control.
This war with great uncertainty and low odds of victory is one Beautiful Country is reluctant to fight.
"Mr. President…"
Harmon still wanted to say something.
"Moreover, the zombie crisis erupting in You Tai Country wasn't their doing but most likely Jieke Group's handiwork. We can't ascertain how much progress Jieke Group has made in genetics and virology, and whether they possess a more advanced zombie virus."
Jesmin continued, which is also what Jesmin worried about most.
All-out war could easily spiral out of control, expanding in scale. We have nuclear bombs, but if Jieke Group loses their mind and throws one at our Beautiful Country, we'd all just become the walking undead!
Harmon was shocked and said: "Are you certain? Wasn't it said that the zombie virus leaked from Haifa National Medical Research Institute?"
Jesmin shook his head: "No, we once promised You Tai Country to send troops if they exchanged the zombie virus technology, but You Tai Country couldn't produce it no matter what. You Tai Country is almost facing its demise, they've confessed everything to us, begging for our intervention. At this point, they have no reason to continue lying. If there truly was zombie virus technology, they wouldn't be hiding it, choosing to perish over handing it over."
Harmon was silent; evidently, this was a point he hadn't considered.
Based on the situation with those mutant zombies in Haifa City, should a more advanced virus emerge, expanding the infection range, scenes resembling a walking dead scenario may unfold.
The Black Palace's seniors are unaware that the so-called zombie virus originated from Su Jie's Holy Blood, which requires Spirit Stone and resources to create—it's not something Su Jie would casually throw around for amusement.
Moreover, Blue Star is Su Jie's home. Who would be so foolish to recklessly spread poison in their own home? That would be idiotic; who will provide resources then?
Jesmin looked at Judith, speaking earnestly: "Judith, this time it's up to you and the CIA. Didn't you say you prepared an operation to find evidence that Jieke Group deployed zombie virus? As soon as this evidence is uncovered, they'll be condemned worldwide, and Jieke Group will have to withdraw their troops. If they don't, the whole world won't agree."
"Mr. President, our CIA will do its best."
Judith nodded heavily, but internally, he felt utterly unsure.
But up till now, launching a war is impossible; they could only enact minor covert actions, persuading Jieke Group to retreat back home.
For just a You Tai, it isn't enough for Beautiful Country to risk everything fighting Jieke Group to the end. No matter the outcome, Beautiful Country will lose, the winners will only be other countries watching from the sidelines.