Chapter 268: Unmasking the Traitor
by xennovel“What does that mean?”
As his words fell, the team members instinctively looked toward Yenir, the sorrow and indignation in their eyes still unshed.
Especially Squad Captain Ming Luo, who clearly detected a hidden meaning in Yenir’s tone.
For some reason, a subtle unease quickly began to spread in his heart.
Wasn’t the traitor already found? Then why did Yenir seem more surprised than overjoyed, insisting he was taken aback!?
Before anyone could ask, Yenir, showing no sign of withholding, fixed his gaze on Zheng Cheng:
“I was truly shocked.”
“Frankly, out of everyone, you were the only one I never doubted—even though you tick all the boxes…”
“!?”
As Yenir’s words faded, Zheng Cheng, still masked in grief, shuddered violently.
He instantly raised his head, his disbelief mixing with fierce anger as he shouted:
“Are you accusing me?!”
“You think I’m the traitor?!”
“Yenir?! What are you talking about?!”
Regardless of Yenir’s high standing, the team members were visibly shocked. Several teammates close to Zheng Cheng even burst out in protest.
“Lord Yenir! Aren’t you mistaken?! The traitor has been caught—and it was Zheng Cheng who killed Zhang Qiming!”
“You can’t seriously think there are two traitors in our team!”
Standing by Yenir’s side, Ming Luo hurriedly defended Zheng Cheng.
He had witnessed with his own eyes Zheng Cheng, in a fit of rage, kill Zhang Qiming; there was no sign of collusion between them!
“So you think because I killed Zhang Qiming, I’m just covering my tracks?”
“Need I say you never suspected me? From the moment you mentioned a traitor, the so-called long-range culprit you referred to was none other than me and Zhang Qiming!”
His face etched with indignation.
Zheng Cheng lifted his head, his eyes locked on Yenir with unyielding fury and no trace of guilt, as if the wrongful accusation had ignited a roaring anger within him.
“I killed him because he deserved it!”
“Zhang Qiming hid his true strength! If I hadn’t killed him, Ming Luo and I would both have been doomed!”
Breathing heavily, Zheng Cheng roared at Yenir, and Ming Luo couldn’t help but nod in agreement.
Indeed.
In that moment, even he couldn’t spare a hand.
Just look at the severely injured teammate—when Zhang Qiming was about to bolt, sparing him would have meant disaster! Even though he knew keeping a captive was ideal, it was simply unavoidable!
Furthermore, he had heard the conversation between Zheng Cheng and Zhang Qiming! If both were traitors, wouldn’t it have been better for them to escape together?
Ming Luo nodded slightly.
Yenir, ignoring the mounting emotions, merely chuckled softly:
“You’re indeed very cautious.”
“When you communicated with the enemy battalion, you didn’t use any system functions, and there was nothing unusual about you.”
“Even the disguise gear I provided didn’t pick up any conversation between you and Zhang Qiming.”
“And in the past few days, I found nothing wrong with you in the surveillance logs.”
At these words, Ming Luo was stunned.
He could hardly believe that Yenir’s suspicion was directed at the disguise gear he had been given from the start… Doesn’t that imply Yenir originally suspected him!?
But isn’t that all circumstantial evidence?
Sure enough, Zheng Cheng couldn’t help but sneer:
“So what?”
“What exactly are you accusing me of? You still think there was something off about my killing of Zhang Qiming, right? Are you so angry that I left no witness, that you can’t get any more answers? You’re worried your information might leak!”
“Yenir, I’m telling you—you’re remarkably strong! We’re all here because of you!”
“But to defame me like this—I won’t stand for it! I, Zheng Cheng, have risked my life for China! I’ve never done anything to betray my country!”
“If you want to kill me, go ahead! If you don’t trust me, then let me die!”
“But I refuse to shoulder the guilt of a traitor and die for it!”
Almost defiantly, Zheng Cheng clenched his fists, his head held high as if daring Yenir to kill him outright.
Seeing this, the others grew even more anxious.
“Old Zheng! Don’t spout off like that! Yenir’s just being cautious!”
Ming Luo quickly intervened, his voice tight with worry as he feared that Zheng Cheng’s hot-headedness might truly provoke Yenir into eliminating him for the team’s safety!
“Yenir…!”
Before Ming Luo could add more, Yenir sighed deeply and spoke in a low, measured tone:
“Your acting skills are truly impressive.”
“But you were far too hasty.”
“Not once did I suspect you—not since you killed Zhang Qiming. Yet you never should have let me see his corpse.”
A soft chuckle escaped him.
Bending slowly, Yenir stooped to lift a chunk of charred flesh from the corpse on the ground.
“It wasn’t a flame-based attack, was it?”
“Your innate ability causes Mental Shock, and in the moment of confusion, you project Illusions. The fire you unleashed was only a facade—Zhang Qiming was truly burned by the flame you ‘imagined’…”
“A rather ingenious ability.”
“But it’s precisely this that revealed your flaw to me.”
“I’ve always been curious about how you transmitted your message.”
“Now, I finally understand.”
After a brief pause, Yenir silently fixed his gaze on Zheng Cheng, whose expression had suddenly frozen. Zheng Cheng’s entire body began to tremble, and even the trace of sorrowful anger on his face seemed to have solidified.
Unlike the fear in Zheng Cheng’s eyes, the rest of the team stared at him dumbfounded, unable to grasp what Yenir meant.
How did Old Zheng’s ability relate to message transmission? What exactly was Yenir trying to say? Observing Zheng Cheng’s rigid expression, a sense of unease crept into their hearts.
A few seconds later, Yenir looked at the now silent Zheng Cheng and coolly remarked:
“Must I spell it out for you to admit it?”
Their eyes locked as Yenir looked at Zheng Cheng, disappointment evident on his face at the man clinging to hope.
“You didn’t use system private messaging with the Japanese and Korean Battle Zones, nor any system tool. What you truly employed was an attack!”
Every word enunciated carefully:
“I saw burn marks on Dong Fengye!”
“And on others, I observed similar scorch marks! This burning effect isn’t natural—it’s produced by remote projection through your mental power!”
As if his psychological defenses were shattered, Zheng Cheng collapsed to the ground with a wretched, bitter smile.
Yes, he had indeed relied on an ‘attack’ to send his message.
Only such a method could conceal his actions from everyone, even amidst combat.
A singed scar would raise no suspicions—in fact, it might even suggest he’d been fighting relentlessly!
But he never expected Yenir would deduce this from the corpse…
“Old Zheng?!”
“Zheng Cheng!!!?”
Seeing Zheng Cheng in that state, the team members, however skeptical, couldn’t help but shout in a mix of anger and astonishment. At that moment, their looks toward Yenir carried a blend of awe and complexity.