Chapter 288: A Brewing Crisis in the Capital Safe Zone

Capital Safe Zone.

3:58 PM.

Inside a smoke-filled conference room, several representatives in various uniforms impatiently stubbed out their cigarettes.

At the head of the table, a sullen man with a troubled look couldn’t help but ask his subordinate:

“Are you sure that kid suddenly bolted? That he ran straight for the East Sea?”

“He isn’t coming back anytime soon?”

“Yes, Committee Member Lu. That kid really did run off—and he left with Ming Luo’s team.”

“I heard he was in such a rush when he left; no one knows what he was planning…”

A flicker of uncertainty passed through his eyes.

Lu Tianming listened to the confirmation and silently exhaled a sigh of relief.

“It’s better he hasn’t returned…”

“I just fear that once he hears the news, he’ll come back and stir up trouble!”

“Damn it, it’s like he’s haunted! No one knows how he managed it—he actually survived!”

“Now the entire upper echelon is in a frenzy! They say he not only returned with a ton of strategic supplies but also wiped out a combined team from seven nations!”

“No one knows if it’s true; even the higher-ups are beside themselves with excitement!”

Right in front of his own men, Lu Tianming abandoned his usual dignified demeanor and began cursing.

Though as a top leader in Huaguo he should be thrilled, his different stance made him secretly hope that Yenir would perish within.

After all, their entire faction had been using a failed operation as a pretext to attack the Special Operations Department these past few days. They thought they could topple another faction, only to end up as a joke!

Their half-baked scheme meant that once the Special Operations Department bounced back, they’d use Yenir’s credited achievement to strike back.

And to make matters worse, they had taken the wrong side!

Frustrated, Lu Tianming instinctively glanced at the glum-faced Wang Chu.

Compared to offending Yenir, Wang Chu’s mishaps were even graver.

Everyone assumed Yenir was dead. The anxious Wang Chu, desperate for his son, had hurriedly submitted a report to the higher-ups to replace the first team’s official record. Thanks to his connections, it got approved swiftly—even though it still required final nods from the Committee and the Prime Minister, or he would’ve switched it long ago.

By then, Yenir would discover that his first team’s crucial information had vanished!

“Wang Chu, don’t worry too much,”

continued Lu Tianming, “It hasn’t been changed yet. Even if that kid is relentlessly vengeful, he won’t be able to get at you.”

“All our actions are by the book—clean and proper, no funny business!”

“So when the higher-ups get wind of it, it won’t mean a thing.”

Lu Tianming’s steady reassurance was aimed at consoling his faction; he had no desire to reveal any fear of Yenir.

If you’re going to make enemies, so be it—what’s the big deal?

He was a Committee member and a seasoned Third-Stage expert, with a status far superior to Yenir’s!

Sure, they had pulled some underhanded moves behind the scenes, but they had neither really harmed Yenir nor broken any rules.

No matter how highly Yenir was esteemed by the higher-ups, once he learned the truth, he’d be forced to keep his mouth shut!

Listening to Lu Tianming’s reassurances, a bitter smile flickered across Wang Chu’s pudgy face.

Though his rational mind told him Yenir wouldn’t go to such lengths, the incident with Zhang Meng made him uneasy.

That kid’s vengeful nature was probably the most ruthless he had ever seen.

Zhang Meng—a bona fide Military Region commander—simply vanished without a word.

Zhang Yang, once on the first team, ended up being executed on the death field simply for crossing Yenir!

Such a vengeful streak is terrifying, especially when that kid, buoyed by the Prime Minister’s favor, becomes arrogantly untouchable.

“Committee Member Lu… while that’s true,”

“we clearly have crossed his line…”

“I fear that once he returns, he’ll find his base ransacked after making such a huge contribution…”

“With that temperament, it could all turn into chaos…”

“It’s fine. Just return the items and call it even,”

suggested another voice. “Send a few subordinates to apologize to his family, explain that we made a mistake.”

“You can’t hit a smiling face—at worst, just give him some dignity.”

Seeing Wang Chu so timid—clearly terrified even by Yenir’s absence—Lu Tianming felt a surge of disdain. Hmph, a leech from the supplies division; if he weren’t useful, Lu Tianming wouldn’t bother with him.

Yet, facing Lu Tianming’s consoling tone, a deeper bitterness crept over Wang Chu’s features:

“Committee Member Lu…”

“I’m afraid he isn’t coming back…”

“You have no idea how many supplies that kid filched from the Military! Among them was a high-grade Spiritual Energy Fruit that boosts willpower, and he gobbled it all up by himself!”

“I assumed he was dead; after moving it yesterday, he had my son choke it down immediately…”

“I even distributed the rest to cover our tracks…”

“I set up some fake accounts, treating it as compensation…”

A bitter smile marred Wang Chu’s face as his chubby cheeks trembled and a flash of panic glimmered in his eyes.

Now he could only blame his own efficiency—why did he have to work so fast? He cursed the fact that Yenir had managed to survive!

Accustomed as he was to milking every bit of profit, how could he ever let go of the resources from Yenir’s household?

Return them? With what?

Especially since he had noticed that the high-grade Spiritual Energy Fruit designed to boost willpower was clearly unused by Yenir!

For resources of this caliber, the Military probably had only one…

Even if he tried to reclaim it now, he’d likely come up empty-handed!

At these words, Lu Tianming’s face darkened. Glaring at the despairing Wang Chu, he fought the urge to unleash his fury.

“Damn it; this old glutton secretly pocketed the supplies! No wonder he’s so jumpy!”

Now, it was all coming to a head!

They had effectively doomed Yenir!

If Yenir perished, nothing would matter! They’d even be hailed for their swift maneuvering and reaped the greatest gains.

But now…

Yenir was fighting tooth and nail in the mission instance, while back here they dismantled his first team and snatched the resources to boost his strength. On top of that, they even ended up siding with the wrong faction during the meeting…

Lu Tianming could practically predict that once Yenir returned to the Capital, there’d be no holding back his wrath.

As if struck by a thought, Lu Tianming fixed his icy gaze on Wang Chu and demanded sharply:

“When you took the supplies, did you do anything else?!”

“How did you handle Yenir’s family?!”

At Lu Tianming’s interrogation, several subordinates who had accompanied Wang Chu to Yenir’s residence froze. Moments later, they muttered in low, ashamed voices:

“Committee Member Lu…”

“We were just robbing, remember? Didn’t you forget…”

“That troublesome girl at Yenir’s, she guarded the supplies fiercely, insisting they belonged to her brother.”

“We had no choice but to tell her… that Yenir was dead…”

?!?!

Their faces turned ashen.

Lu Tianming’s face drained of color as fury overtook him; staring at his subordinates with seething anger, he felt his scalp prickling with dread.

“You actually got physical?! Damn it! Didn’t I warn you not to lay a hand on anyone?! Even if Yenir is dead, you can’t touch him!”

“You bunch of idiots! Did you think this was some other Safe Zone?!”

As Lu Tianming’s rage threatened to boil over, several subordinates rushed to explain:

“No, Committee Member Lu! We wouldn’t have gone that far!”

“It’s just…”

“It seems his family couldn’t take the shock—they must be at the Hospital now…”

“We didn’t actually resort to violence! They just collapsed on their own!”

“We never imagined that kid would actually survive!!”

……….