Chapter 277: Raising the Compensation Standard?

“Raise the compensation standard?”

“I disagree!”

“Are we really holding a meeting about a dead man today!?”

“There are so many important issues to renegotiate. Why must we even bring up compensating Yenir’s family?”

“Committee Member Lu, watch your language!”

In the vast meeting room, the cold lights cast a chilling atmosphere, making it feel as though tensions were at a breaking point.

Bang!

At both ends of the long conference table, Cheng Yuan slammed his fist on the surface, his face turning ashen as he glared at Committee Member Lu Tianming across from him.

Hearing Lu’s words, he couldn’t help but shout back.

“We’re discussing how the Military should properly handle things in case something happens to Yenir, not as if we’ve already declared him dead!”

“What do you mean by holding a meeting about a dead man!?”

His jaw tensed as Cheng Yuan took a deep breath, forcing down his anger and softening his tone before speaking gravely:

“Everyone, we just have to consider that the losses might be huge!”

“If not only Yenir, then if other team members fall, the Military must be prepared to handle it properly!”

“The standards we set before were far from adequate. To keep our soldiers’ spirits up, I believe we should establish new criteria now.”

“The upcoming conflicts will only be more intense, and we must be ready for bloody battles.”

“How can we let our soldiers rest easy without ensuring their security? Raising the standards is absolutely necessary!”

After speaking in a low tone, Cheng Yuan slowly sat down, his face heavy with worry.

He was fighting for Yenir’s final rights—not only out of regret for the loss but also for the sake of his own troops.

His words plunged the room into a heavy silence.

Everyone understood exactly what Cheng Yuan was implying…

In the past, even if some Awakeners died on missions, the compensation was always based on routine standards—even though the Special Operations Group faced far greater challenges than the rest of the Military.

That was simply unacceptable. The standards were way too low.

And besides… the situation has changed.

After a series of setbacks, neighboring countries have begun to openly unite against us.

Clearly, in future conflicts involving the Special Operations Group, the death toll is bound to rise dramatically. Under tougher circumstances, if we don’t raise the standards, who will want to join Cheng Yuan’s department?

Remember, the minimum rank in the Special Operations Group is Third-Stage.

Behind every Third-Stage Awakened is a network of people relying on them…

The incident with Yenir and the team’s mishap dealt a tremendous blow to morale. If the Military can’t even guarantee support after such tragedies, Cheng Yuan was convinced that no one would dare to fight next!

“I understand, Commander Cheng, and I can sympathize with your feelings,”

but “I think the issue lies elsewhere.”

Directly across from him, Lu Tianming, who had just been scolded by Cheng Yuan, suddenly smiled, meeting his gaze without any trace of fear.

“Whether it’s raising the standard or reselecting our personnel…”

“None of it makes any sense!”

“How many times has the Special Operations Group failed?”

“No matter how courageous our soldiers are or how elite our selections, what good does it do?”

“In my view, we should just abandon these conflict simulations! Why not fight for resources in the real world?”

“So many have died in vain—what’s the point of carrying on!?”

Taking an aggressive stance, Lu Tianming did not hold back as he launched an all-out attack on the entire group.

He was one of the high-ranking Military officials on the border.

To him, Cheng Yuan’s department was completely useless—long overdue for disbandment! If we can’t secure resources in simulations, then let’s fight for them in reality!

The moment his words fell, Cheng Yuan’s whole body jolted.

He never expected that Lu was deliberately provoking him, essentially challenging him!

Before he could retort, a civilian staff member beside Lu began to speak in rapid succession:

“Ladies and gentlemen, Committee Member Lu’s opposition to raising the standards is very simple.”

“To be honest, have we ever treated Yenir or the simulation team badly?”

“Before deployment, what wasn’t provided to them? Everyone had top-notch equipment. Yenir even secured an epic-level weapon and a full set of gear!”

“The state treasury was wide open—whatever they needed was available!”

“And yet, what was the outcome?”

“He still failed…”

“And that’s because the difficulty was too high! We misjudged the situation, not Yenir!”

“We provided him with ample resources—our error was in our miscalculation!”

Before the staff officer beside Committee Member Lu could finish, Cheng Yuan barked back loudly,

“This is outrageous!”

“Ten Third-Stages against seventy? It’s not his fault—this only proves there’s something wrong with Yenir’s team!”

As Cheng Yuan’s angry retort echoed, the staff officer merely chuckled lightly and spread his arms:

“Commander Cheng, you’re getting too worked up.”

“I’m not blaming Yenir—I’m as saddened as you are over this whole matter.”

“What I’m saying is that we’ve already wasted too many resources. There’s really no need to continue squandering them.”

“The Military has treated Yenir fairly.”

“Let’s be realistic—our future situation will only get tougher.”

“Rather than compensating Yenir’s family, we should save those resources for people who truly need them. As you know, the Military Department is also running on a tight budget…”

“Commander Cheng, the Military should be judged on results rather than impulse.”

With those words, the room fell into a peculiar silence, and a strange look flashed in many eyes.

Though the words were officially correct and beyond reproach, everyone sensed an underlying issue.

It wasn’t just an attack on Cheng Yuan.

Sure enough…

Before Cheng Yuan could respond, a seemingly neutral Political Department member coughed lightly:

“A failed mission isn’t Yenir’s fault, but the follow-up compensation should follow standard procedures.”

“And one more thing,”

“I recall Yenir was in the first lineup, right? With him gone, doesn’t that position become vacant?”

“I propose the following:”

“Return the materials he previously took to the Military. Part of it should go toward compensating other fallen team members. We have no reason for additional compensation.”

“We’ll have to reselect the new first lineup to minimize the impact as much as possible.”

“After all, we can’t exactly let a corpse occupy a position, can we?”

After speaking, the member casually scanned the room and nonchalantly sipped his tea.

“Compensation? What compensation?”

Once people left, the conversation would cool off—and Yenir had certainly made plenty of enemies.