Chapter 125: A Tenuous Balance

Commander Xiao, are we just going to let this go!?

What about our explanation for Zhenjiang..

And hasn’t Yenir already returned?

From different vantage points, people perceive different realities. Captain Huang looked at Xiao Hai, who had clearly decided not to probe further, and couldn’t help but blurt out his question.

In his eyes, Yenir either relies solely on his own capabilities—his talent far exceeds their expectations.

Or a powerful force has recognized his potential.

Even if the first possibility seems slim, the second implies they’ve misjudged him! Now is the time to forge alliances and mend old cracks, for later it may be too late. He had long held Yenir in high regard, and now his feelings grew even more complex.

Besides, there was one nagging doubt in his mind.

Out of the four advanced tasks, three could be accomplished with external help, but the Strength-Type task required taking down a first-stage apex mutant entirely on one’s own! He wasn’t clear whether, in Zhenjiang that day, Yenir had acted alone or had third-stage guards assisting him in killing that first-stage mutant.

But either way, it proved that Yenir possessed the ability to defeat a first-stage opponent single-handedly!

Yet back then, Yenir was still only at the Second Stage! He couldn’t even begin to fathom how Yenir managed it.

Listening to Captain Huang’s inquiry, Xiao Hai frowned in discontent and snapped coldly:

“Do you need me to show you how it’s done?”

“That’s it—this matter is over!”

“As for Zhenjiang, if things go awry, let them handle the investigation themselves!”

Xiao Hai shook his head and turned to enter the meeting room. Had he not known these details beforehand, he might not have been so troubled.

But the more he learned, the deeper the situation seemed to be.

Originally, he planned to summon Yenir to gauge the situation.

But now? Forget it!

After envisioning a brutal power struggle among the upper echelons, he wasn’t willing to get entangled. In his view, Yenir’s potential was minimal; it was much more likely that this mysterious force intended to use him as a pawn to lambast the higher-ups!

After all, for decades, countless Willpower-Type awakeners had proved useless—why should Yenir be any different?

When the Military was screening candidates for the Fire Seed Plan, they dismissed Yenir’s potential for Third Stage advancement, overlooking his SS-Level Talent.

Under someone’s calculated scheme, that mysterious force is now intent on promoting Yenir to Third Stage! This would give them plenty of reason to challenge the fairness and significance of the Fire Seed Plan!

There’s even enough to cast doubt on the earlier sequences!

Not to mention, the top-ranking sequences behind the Fire Seed are backed by established factions. A slight nudge here and there, and an arch-rival would naturally spring up to create havoc.

With mixed emotions, Xiao Hai shook his head and sighed, feeling a headache coming on.

Once political intrigue gets into the mix, it’s not just a minor hiccup. Before long, he might not even know how he met his end.

……..

“Bro! You’re back!”

No sooner had Yenir pushed open the door than Little Sister ran over with a look of joyful surprise, clinging to him tearfully.

He gently ruffled her hair, while in the kitchen, his mother hurriedly wiped her hands on her apron, eyes full of worry.

“You’re back?”

“Quick, wash up and eat.”

Yenir nodded slightly, taking in the serene, harmonious atmosphere. A warm feeling welled up inside him—protecting his family, the most important people in his life, was his greatest hope.

Seated at the dinner table, Yenir smiled as he looked at Little Sister, who clearly looked much healthier.

The once scrawny Ye Xiaoan had filled out nicely, now exuding an unmistakable cuteness.

It stirred a hint of bittersweet nostalgia.

Yenir recalled how, in his previous life, his family had gone without a proper meal just to gather enough money for his tests. The stark contrast left him momentarily dazed. Thankfully, that past was never to be repeated.

His gaze halted when he saw the calendar hanging in the living room, as if a grim memory had resurfaced.

He nearly forgot.

Once the first wave of the corpse tide attack subsides and he ascends to Third Stage, it will be time to take Little Sister and his mother to the Capital Zone.

Only there would they truly be safe.

Situated in the upper interior and far from the ocean, the Capital Military District not only boasts an advantageous location but was largely spared during the disaster. Its strength lay not only in its massive population but also in the elite forces of four military districts stationed there.

That was the reason the Capital Military District held out until the very end in his previous life.

Starting from the end of this year—or rather, beginning this year—small, irregular mutant attacks and corpse tide uprisings began erupting across various regions.

But because they were minor and peace had reigned for so long, global survivors failed to see them as omens of an impending catastrophe.

By the second year, when sea creatures invaded, these massive, oversized monsters almost instantaneously obliterated all coastal Safe Zones.

It wasn’t until then that humanity began to sense the lurking danger.

By the third year, endless corpse tides broke out one after another. Tens of thousands of Third-Stage mutants seemed to burst up from underground, leading vast hordes of monsters to massacre every human settlement.

Sea, sky, and land.

It was as if an endless army of strange beasts and mutants had slain billions of people, plunging every Battle Zone worldwide into despair, with many nations effectively wiped off the map.

It was during that time in his previous life that, while fleeing with several refugee groups, he managed to escape into the Capital Zone—the last hope within the Huaxia Battle Zone.

Memories of those brutal scenes flashed through Yenir’s mind, and he even forgot to eat for a moment.

“Bro?”

“Ning’er?”

It wasn’t until his Little Sister and mother called out in concern that Yenir snapped back to reality.

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Forcing a smile, Yenir stopped overthinking, though the urgency in his heart only grew stronger.

He planned to spend the next three days at home with his family. As for the Spiritual Energy Fruit, he could only hope that Wang Zheng’s side would handle it impressively.

If that failed, he had a backup plan.