Chapter 725.2: Unity Is Strength

Ironically, the shell that exploded in midair caused greater damage. Many nearby buildings had their windows shattered by the shockwave, and roofs were left riddled with holes and fragments burned through by molten metal slag.

Having anticipated that North Island would launch strategic strikes, the Peace Island authorities had already evacuated tens of thousands of residents to the submarine factory area on the southern side of the mountain.

Most of those residents were military personnel or family members of military-industrial workers and possessed strong discipline, so the evacuation proceeded with minimal disorder.

Inside the command center, Li Minghui stared grimly at the nautical charts spread across his desk. The ashtray beside him overflowed with cigarette butts.

What troubled him was not only North Island's battleship. There was also devastating news arriving from the other side. In its final radio transmission, Ring Island's governor had announced that the island's residents had joined the New Alliance in the Southern Seas.

Without question, it was terrible news.

Not only did it mean that Peace Island would now face North Island's eight settlements and naval supremacy with only four settlements of its own, but it also raised concerns about how Ring Island's secession would affect the legitimacy of the Constitution.

And that was no small matter. After all, that was what he was basing their government off. The legitimacy of the Peace Island authorities came entirely from that document.

Chalas could afford to disregard legitimacy because he possessed enough naval guns to back up his authority. Li Minghui could not.

The reason was simple and brutally practical, his fists were simply not big enough.

At that point, let alone building more submarines, surviving another two months might leave them struggling just to feed themselves.

Just moments ago, Chalas had signed his first presidential decree after taking office, declaring martial law and a curfew on North Island and effectively consolidating complete control. Meanwhile, Li Minghui's own first order had been the implementation of food rationing on the island, requiring residents to tighten their belts in support of the war effort.

Fortunately, that decree had not been announced over the radio.

Chalas probably still didn't know about it. If he did, the man would probably laugh out loud...

Just as Li Minghui was wracking his brain for solutions, a guard appeared at the doorway and saluted.

"Report! We've received a message from the direction of Shelter 70!"

"Shelter 70?" Li Minghui froze for a moment, surprise plainly written across his face. Then he quickly recovered. "... What did they say?"

The guard reported truthfully, "They're requesting direct communication with you!"

After a brief moment of thought, Li Minghui immediately set down his pen and followed the guard to the communications room. Ordering the guard to stand watch outside and allow no one near the door, he picked up the headset hanging from the radio and put it on. "This is Peace Island Naval Command. I am Li Minghui, the highest-ranking officer here. Who am I speaking with?"

A response quickly came from the other end. "Chen Jianhong, captain of the Dolphin, resident of Shelter 70, and, for the time being, someone its people still trust as their representative."

Li Minghui frowned and asked in a deep voice, "What do you want to say?"

"... I have an idea that may surprise you. But it's also the best solution we can think of right now."

"Go on."

"Let's join forces. Or, to put it more accurately, I hope we can unite."

Silence filled the radio channel. Only the faint crackle of static remained. Several moments passed before any response came.

"Unite..." The word escaped through clenched teeth. Li Minghui's facial muscles twitched involuntarily as he replied in an odd tone, "Don't you think it's a little late to be saying that now?"

"I don't think it's ever too late. We've studied your Constitution and drafted a new one. From now on, shelter administrators will no longer possess authority over all affairs in the Southern Seas. They'll only manage internal shelter affairs according to shelter regulations. At the same time, all survivors of the Southern Seas and shelter residents will enjoy equal rights. Not just education and healthcare, but also legislative rights, the right to become commanders, and everything else. Isn't that what you've been fighting for?" Chen Jianhong paused before he continued, "Now we've taken off our coats. What about you?"

Li Minghui narrowed his eyes. "And who can guarantee you'll keep your promises?"

A chuckle came from the other end of the radio. "Isn't that why you're there? Or are three submarines still not enough to help you stand up straight?"

Li Minghui laughed as well, though his expression gradually turned colder. "... Don't forget. I'm the one who trusts you people the least. Otherwise, I wouldn't be sitting in this position."

"That's excellent. If you were the kind of guy who believed everything we said, I would actually worry about putting my cards on the table in front of you too soon... Look, it's not like we've never done anything right. At the very least, the first administrator made sure you received an education. Otherwise, you'd be no different from the people in the Poro Province." As he spoke, Chen Jianhong suddenly remembered something and added, "Oh right, I almost forgot the main point while trying to win you over. We've established the Southern Seas Survivors Alliance, or the South Sea New Alliance for short. Next, we plan to rebuild the ocean current power station, starting with the portions of the seabed under our control. Then we'll restore Coral City and its production facilities. In the end, together with our allies, we'll defeat the enemy to the north."

There was another half of that statement he left unsaid. To accomplish that goal, they needed Peace Island's three submarines. Without submarine protection, even a few dozen mutant creatures would be enough to cause them endless trouble.

Even if the New Alliance supported their defenses, he couldn't bear the thought of those people fighting mutants underwater with little more than glorified water guns. People that noble should carry their ideals into the new era, not die alongside beasts.

Li Minghui narrowed his eyes slightly, repeatedly weighing Chen Jianhong's words in his mind.

It was indeed a good proposal. When discussing strategy with his staff earlier, he had considered leveraging Peace Island's underwater advantages to rapidly restore production in Coral City and the island's factories. They needed to build as many submarines as possible before North Island's destroyers began rolling off the docks in large numbers.

Securing the New Alliance's support was the key to making that plan possible. After all, mining seabed resources was currently unrealistic. Most of the processing infrastructure remained in Chalas' hands, and the island's existing stockpiles probably weren't enough to build even a single submarine.

"The New Alliance... You've already made contact with them?"

"Yes," Chen Jianhong admitted directly. "Not just the New Alliance, but Ring Island as well, they're already on our side. After this, I plan to reach out to the three settlements currently backing you. In the best-case scenario, we bring you over too and end up with six settlements, including Coral City. Even if Chalas remains difficult to deal with, we'll be much stronger than we are now."

"They won't side with you." Li Minghui snorted coldly, though even he felt a lack of conviction in his words.

Then he added, "Why can't we approach the New Alliance ourselves?"

Chen Jianhong chuckled, "Do you think they'd choose you?"

Li Minghui let out a cold laugh. "Why wouldn't they? They can ally with feudal lords in the Sunset Province. Even if we're not as good as we were under President Mengo, we're still far better than some feudal kingdom!"

Chen Jianhong sighed. "If you only look at the surface, then yes. But if you've actually been to the Sunset Province, you wouldn't say something so foolish."

Li Minghui frowned. "What do you mean?"

Chen Jianhong continued, "The reason the royal family still exists in the Sunset Province is because the local survivors genuinely chose their traditions and beliefs. They're willing to bleed and die for them. If the survivors of the Southern Seas genuinely rallied around you, the New Alliance wouldn't hesitate to work with you either. But look around you. Do you have people like that? Or rather... do you possess that level of legitimacy?"

After a pause, he struck directly at the heart of the issue. "And besides, they've never allied themselves with kings. They've always allied themselves with survivors. They build railways, schools, hospitals, and abolish slavery. How much of that was done for the king? The king doesn't need any of those things! They simply chose not to paint their version of equality onto bullets and force-feed it to people."

"If the Southern Seas would genuinely be better off without you, I don't see any reason they would let a middleman take a cut. They could simply do what they did in the Falcon Kingdom and hand rifles to the people behind you. If those people aimed those guns at you, would you really have the courage to order artillery fire against them?"

Li Minghui fell silent. He stared blankly at the radio, unable to respond.

It was true... The Southern Seas and the Sunset Province were completely different places. There was no feudal tradition here. In fact, literacy rates in the Southern Seas exceeded even those of the New Alliance he so desperately wanted to court.

The war between the island survivors and Shelter 70 had been fought for equality.

The war between Peace Island and North Island was also being fought to defend that hard-won right from ambitious men like Chalas.

If he ultimately became another Chalas, a tyrant who launched wars in the name of the Constitution, then abolished it in the name of war, concentrating all power into his hands, those four governors would never stand beside him.

Even if they supported him for the time being, they would oppose him once they came to their senses. After all, if both sides were equally rotten, why not side with the one with the bigger guns?

In the end, one had to choose between faith and the sword.

Supporting Peace Island wasn't without risks. Every governor had responsibilities to their own people. But if he chose to become the exact opposite of Chalas, if he became a true hero fighting for the Constitution, fulfilled the promises he had sworn upon taking office, rejected the false peace built on lies, and pursued genuine unity...

Then accepting the olive branch extended by the Southern Sea New Alliance seemed no different at all.

Whatever they had been before, the residents of Shelter 70 were now fighting for the same ideal of equality.

And they had voluntarily come out of their shell. If that was the case, why not honor that promise now? All he needed to do was nod and honor his word.

When that happened, true unity could be achieved, and he himself could eventually leave the stage as a hero.

A trace of struggle appeared on Li Minghui's face as his hand unconsciously clenched into a fist atop the radio desk.

Had he faced this choice just one day earlier, he probably would have accepted without the slightest hesitation.

But now... He had finally risen above ten thousand others. Whether he had been pushed into that position or secretly desired it all along, he was no saint.

Making the decision was too difficult.

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