Chapter 259: Chapter 258: Out of Control
After seeing to his mother’s arrangements, Haimo Lan’s expression once again became calm and composed.
He returned to the meeting room.
At such a critical and sensitive time, he had to remain here to maintain morale.
Time slowly ticked by as the large-scale evacuation began. Meanwhile, the situation on the battlefield grew increasingly dire.
The situation on Planet Two was descending into chaos.
Initially, the news of a major setback on the battlefield and the imminent fall of the planet had been just a rumor. But now, the start of the evacuation confirmed it beyond any doubt.
At that moment, the people on Planet Two fell into a total panic.
The fall of Planet Two was imminent, and the evacuation was proceeding slowly. Yet, at this very moment, the total population remaining on the planet was still as high as ten billion!
‘If that’s the case, how are we supposed to evacuate?’
‘What are we going to do?!’
On the desolate, desert-like surface of Planet Two, within the massive metropolises and industrial bases shrouded by giant Energy Shields, order collapsed, despite the staff’s best efforts to maintain it.
Many of the staff responsible for maintaining order even began leading the charge in breaking it.
Within the cities, countless people swarmed the stations, trying to catch a train to get to the space elevator base. Throngs also converged on the atmospheric vehicle spaceports, charging the defensive perimeters in an attempt to hijack a craft and fly to the elevator themselves.
Many others, seeing no hope of reaching the space elevator via public transportation, had no choice but to don Space Suits, leave the cities, and begin the long journey on foot.
Violent brawls, murder, robbery, arson, and a host of other vicious incidents broke out one after another.
In space, the Harville Civilization’s remaining Warships formed a defensive perimeter around the planet, desperately fending off the enemy’s assault and trying to prevent them from deploying atmospheric craft to attack the surface directly.
Perhaps because the industrial facilities on the surface had little impact on the space battle and were thus of low value, the enemy paid little attention to the planet itself, continuing to focus all its energy on the battle in orbit.
Amidst the brutal battle, ship after ship departed from the space elevator’s orbital station, fleeing frantically into deep space under the desperate cover of the Warships.
In the process, some passenger ships were destroyed, all their occupants perishing in the void. But others managed to escape, leaving the hellish scene behind.
At this stage, attempting to flee Planet Two by ship was an extremely risky endeavor. But even with the danger so high, a seat on an evacuation vessel was still a dream for countless people.
On the planet’s surface, countless people would have given all their wealth for a chance at that gamble, but to no avail.
In the tense and heavy atmosphere of Conference Hall One, a secretary hurried to Haimo Lan’s side and whispered something to him.
Haimo Lan finally felt a small measure of relief.
It was the only piece of good news he’d received in what felt like an eternity.
The passenger ship carrying his mother had successfully broken through the enemy blockade and escaped Planet Two. It was now under escort, en route to Planet Three.
It was a medium-sized passenger ship, capable of transporting about 2,000 people at full capacity.
At this, not only Haimo Lan, but all the high-ranking officials of the civilization present breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Because among those 2,000 people were not only Supreme Leader Haimo Lan’s mother, but also close relations of nearly every high-ranking official present.
Aside from the roughly 150 relatives of the top-tier leadership, the rest were almost all family members of the next-highest echelons.
The fate of this one passenger ship had weighed heavily on the minds of all the top and secondary leaders. Now that it had successfully escaped, they could finally face the current situation without reservation and with their full focus.
Time slipped by, and in the blink of an eye, the scheduled moment arrived.
Of the ten billion people on Planet Two, fewer than one hundred million had been evacuated.
The remaining 9.9 billion were the very backbone of the Harville Civilization.
Of course, those who remained on the battlefield after the war had broken out all had missions to carry out.
They were engineers, scientists, soldiers, doctors, computer experts, robotics specialists, logistics coordinators…
The list went on.
They were all precious assets to the civilization.
But now…
There was no other way.
The civilization no longer had the capacity to rescue them.
They couldn’t be saved, and they couldn’t be allowed to fall into enemy hands. The only option left was…
‘To kill them.’
‘Destroy all friendly facilities on Planet Two, and at the same time, kill all personnel who cannot be evacuated!’
Though his heart was heavy with anguish, Haimo Lan still gave the order.
“Remotely detonate the Hydrogen Bombs. Launch the Missiles. Cleanse all facilities and personnel!”
The high-ranking officials of the civilization present remained silent.
The order was swiftly relayed.
But soon after, a piece of news arrived that no one had expected.
“Supreme Leader! The frontline soldiers are refusing to carry out the order!”
The reporting secretary’s face was pale, his voice trembling. “Supreme Leader! There’s been a mutiny at Control Base 665! A total of 12,000 frontline soldiers have taken the base administrators hostage. They’ve formed a cordon around the base and are refusing to allow any government personnel to intervene.
“They say… they say their parents, their wives and children, their friends and relatives, their fellow citizens are still on Planet Two. They haven’t been evacuated. They can’t be the executioners. They can’t kill their own people with their own hands!
“Furthermore, the situation on Planet Two has been leaked and is now public knowledge. Large numbers of civilians from areas near Control Base 665 have spontaneously gathered there, joining the frontline soldiers to form a defensive line. They claim they will defend Base 665 to the death and share its fate!
“Right now, the number of civilians gathered around Base 665 has already surpassed one million, and it’s still growing rapidly.
“At the same time, large-scale movements have broken out in other cities, with countless civilians gathering to vehemently protest the cleansing of Planet Two…
“Supreme Leader, the situation is out of control!”
A high-ranking official erupted in fury. “Those insolent fools! What do they know?! Even if we don’t carry out the cleansing, do they think those people will survive if they fall into enemy hands?!
“This is aiding the enemy! It’s treason!”
“Who wouldn’t want them to live if it were possible?! They’re precious assets to our civilization, the best of us!
“But right now, there’s no other way! We can’t do anything! No one can!
“I suggest we try to reason with the public and explain the situation in detail. If they still refuse to disperse, then… I recommend we disperse them by force!”
“Supreme Leader, time is of the essence! We can’t delay any longer. Give the order!”