I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 816 - 714: Adjustment of the Defense Line Construction Plan
The staff officer’s judgment was not mistaken. The Aleppo Region, as the only gentle area facing the Mediterranean in the entire Middle East Region, is an excellent position for attacking the Middle East Region.
Once the Aleppo Region is breached, one can penetrate straight into the heartland of the Middle East Region—Mesopotamia—and subsequently control the entire Middle East Region.
However, surprisingly, when the reconnaissance ship reached Babylon and dispatched reconnaissance aircraft to the Aleppo Region, the results were startling.
Indeed, alien creatures launched an attack from this direction, but their force was only akin to harassment.
Compared to the attacks suffered by the Flame Country Dongting Lake Region, and the tidal wave-like assaults now faced by Europe, the alien creatures’ assault on the Middle East Region was hardly worth mentioning.
They hadn’t even breached the coastline of the Aleppo Region!
This anomaly undoubtedly puzzled the people on the reconnaissance ship; while urgently relaying the information back home, they also contacted the locals.
It must be said that in the face of disaster, human vitality remains remarkably resilient.
There are over twenty countries in the Middle East Region, most of which rely solely on underground oil to maintain wealth for the upper class, while the lower class lives poorly.
In this global disaster, if these twenty-plus countries were to face it alone, not a single one could withstand it.
However, if the might of these over twenty countries were consolidated, it is not impossible to fend off the disaster’s onslaught.
Unite and live, separate and perish. It’s a simple principle that everyone naturally understands.
Led by the strongest countries, everyone put aside past disputes, gathered their populations, and constructed large refuge facilities, alongside factories and other production facilities necessary for survival, intending to rely on the unity of nations to survive the disaster.
Yet, while the idea was beautiful, its execution was fraught with myriad issues.
Conflicts over religious beliefs, old grievances from past wars, and so on...
While nations showed immense tolerance and restraint in the face of disaster, issues and conflicts persistently arose. Coupled with the Middle East Region’s long history of warfare, the remaining populace is mostly robust, and even military suppression struggles to ensure no trouble occurs, especially since military forces themselves often get embroiled in the conflicts.
As the disaster struck, the entire world fell into chaos, severely importing countries faced severe material shortages, greatly affecting their anticipated construction progress...
Ultimately, the originally planned refuge facilities, intended to accommodate at least 60% of the nation’s populations, were only completed to less than 50%—meaning only about 30% of the population had a place of shelter when the disaster struck...
In short, upon contacting the operational official institutions in Babylon, the Flame Country’s reconnaissance land ship learned that their population had been reduced to less than ten million.
Before the disaster, the entire Middle East Region had a population of at least 490 million people.
The survived ten million are concentrated in Mesopotamia and the Anatolian Peninsula, while the coastal Persian Gulf has been engulfed by the rising seawater level.
This has led to most of the Middle East Region now being uninhabited, and the alliance formed by the remnants of various countries now has a strained military force, having already lost its ability to withstand alien creatures.
Fortunately, the alien creatures, for some unknown reason, persistently attack Europe and have not launched a massive assault on the Middle East Region.
They erected a not particularly solid defensive line in the Aleppo Region, barely fending off sporadic alien creature attacks, thereby preserving their homeland.
Upon understanding these situations, the reconnaissance ship dared not slack off, transmitting all intelligence back home while also requesting instructions for the next step.
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The situation in the Middle East Region inevitably caused headaches domestically.
If the people in this region had all perished, the issue would undoubtedly be much simpler, but there are still these under a million people left, and they still have operational official institutions and some military forces, which undeniably complicates problem handling for the nation.
Build a strong defensive line in this region and ignore these locals?
It’s not impossible, but it clearly does not align with the Flame Country’s habits and policies.
But managing these one million people remains a huge burden and nuisance for the Flame Country.
How to deal with the issue of these one million people became a dilemma for the decision-makers.
Ultimately, after several discussions, the decision was made to emulate what Chen Xin had done in Europe by supporting the locals, helping them restore order and production, allowing these one million people to have value rather than becoming a resource-consuming burden.
As for the defensive line construction plan, slight adjustments were made.
First, because the Middle East Region hadn’t faced a massive attack, the construction of a defensive line in the Middle East Region was naturally confirmed.
However, considering the current situation in the Middle East Region, apart from the original defensive line construction plan, a side branch would extend out to the Aleppo Region to help the locals establish a solid defense fortification there.
This defense fortification isn’t expected to withstand a large-scale attack by alien creatures, but it is hoped that during the actual defensive line construction period, they can stall alien creatures and fend off sporadic attacks.
Though why the alien creatures have not launched massive attacks on the Arabian Peninsula remains unclear, clearly, this scenario can be exploited.
The plan was promptly established and communicated to Lucia and Europe.
Lucia, of course, gave strong support for the Flame Country’s plan, as establishing a defensive line in the Middle East also protected Lucia from being attacked from behind.
While Europe did not express opposition, their attitude clearly lacked Lucia’s supportive enthusiasm.
Presently, Europe needs the Flame Country’s assistance, and from their perspective, the more support from the Flame Country, the better; naturally, they hope the folks in the Middle East don’t share the benefits.
Particularly before the disaster, Middle Eastern refugees were notoriously troublesome in Europe, seriously disrupting social order in various countries, understandably provoking resentment.
Yet, Europeans remain rational, understanding the necessity of establishing a defensive line in the Middle East, albeit without as much support as Lucia.
In essence, Europe is currently in no position to spare resources; although their situation is stabilizing overall, they lack surplus energy for other affairs, regarding the Flame Country’s efforts to build a defensive line in the Middle East, they neither have the capacity to intervene nor reap benefits, naturally leading to indifference.
