Chapter 293: A Reckoning at Sea

Ignore everything.

Focusing his thoughts, Yenir calmly and swiftly reviewed the anomalous data.

He knew his actions would rile many people, and he could already picture Fang Teng and the others—who had stayed behind—seething in silent fury, itching to take him down.

Indeed, he had given no one the time of day; his methods were undeniably harsh.

But he had no choice.

Time was running short; he couldn’t afford the luxury of convincing everyone, nor could he waste it on empty pleasantries.

Moreover, he was acutely aware that Fang Teng would never agree to his search, much less cooperate.

So, he had to resort to the most direct approach: seizing control by force.

Yenir knew someone like Fang Teng all too well.

These high-level figures, seasoned veterans of both the Military and official circles, were slick operators who had long mastered the art of bending rules for personal gain.

After all, they were the beneficiaries of the system.

The only way to deal with them was to upend the whole table!

For a man like Fang Teng, who was used to the comforts of the system, being suppressed with A-Class authority would force even the most simmering rage to be swallowed.

“Lord Yenir!”

“Have you finished reading it?!”

“Well? Have you found the issue you mentioned?”

Night had fallen.

A senior researcher, who had been intently watching Yenir, could no longer hold back his derision.

They were all acting like fools, just standing around watching Yenir put on his performance!

In his eyes, Yenir had spent the entire afternoon silently reviewing data—clearly incapable of truly understanding it—and was merely playing to deceive them.

Find a problem? What problem could there possibly be?!

“Just about.”

When the white light stopped, Yenir paused his data scrolling and turned to face the researcher questioning him.

Unconcerned with the other’s anger, he spoke in a quiet tone.

“Why do your investigations show no anomalies for the small earthquake that struck the c07 Sea Area thirty-three days ago?”

“Your conclusion was that the quake was merely a normal compressional wave event within the Asian plate—did you not consider that it might have been triggered by a moving sea beast?”

“A migrating sea beast would definitely set off compressional waves!”

“On the 1st of last month, the tidal power station recorded a temperature spike of 3.9°C, yet your tests dismissed it as mere instrument error.”

“But as far as I know, a temperature rise exceeding 1.5°C could be the work of a Third-Stage sea beast. Why didn’t you check the seawater’s Spirit Energy concentration?”

“So you’re adamant it was just a malfunctioning instrument?”

“Furthermore,”

“Four days ago, a survivor went missing. An A-Class team vanished in the b15 Sea Area, yet your search was limited to just 20 nautical miles, and you then brushed it off as a result of a natural eddy!”

“Didn’t you consider that during a sea beast attack, the creature could easily travel over a hundred nautical miles within six hours?”

He was taken aback.

The researcher, his hair now flecked with gray as he listened to Yenir’s barrage of questions, found himself momentarily speechless. The onlookers could not hide their astonishment either.

They had assumed Yenir was merely putting on a show, but now it seemed he actually grasped what he was reviewing!

Yet, despite their surprise, the senior researcher hesitated for a moment before quickly offering an explanation:

“The issues you raise do exist! But if something can be explained by conventional theories, there’s no need to attribute it to a mutant!”

“Take the small earthquake, for instance; events like this happen every year! It might be caused by a sea beast, but it’s far more likely a natural phenomenon!”

“Even if the frequency has increased slightly over the past year, it’s still within normal limits!”

“There are just too many anomalies! We can’t declare every single oddity as evidence of a sea beast!”

“If we always assumed the worst, the East Sea Safe Zone wouldn’t even exist!”

Staring unblinkingly at Yenir, the most experienced researcher retorted bluntly.

Just like the tremors before an apocalypse, nature sometimes shows odd signs—like ‘earthquake clouds’ or animals fleeing—before a disaster strikes.

But such signs are not always reliable, being influenced by countless factors!

If we were to overreact at every minor disturbance, the cost of a single misjudgment would be no less than that of an actual catastrophe!

Moreover, who has the manpower to investigate every anomaly? Scrutinizing every detail would be a burden no Safe Zone could bear!

They nodded slowly in agreement.

Yenir wasn’t at all surprised by the sharp retort.

Sure, he had uncovered additional anomalies, but they were far from conclusive.

After decades of peace—over thirty years of the East Sea Safe Zone being established—no one believed that disaster was imminent.

It was like boiling a frog in water.

Before the water even reached a boil, the frog only noticed a slight increase in temperature.

He needed… more critical evidence!

Before Yenir could point out another issue, a high-ranking official from the East Sea Safe Zone stepped out from the crowd, his face blank as he fixed his gaze on him.

“Lord Yenir.”

“This farce is over.”

“You know as well as I do that the issues you’ve found aren’t really issues at all. We won’t follow your orders based on these minor anomalies!”

“All the documents you requested have been provided, and we in the East Sea have cooperated with your investigation!”

“Lastly, let me be clear: one week ago, three committees personally led a twenty-member Third-Stage search spanning over three hundred nautical miles of sea!”

“There were no signs of sea beasts gathering—not a trace of any congregation! Your so-called A-Class disaster is nothing more than wishful thinking!”

The official couldn’t help but snort, confidently waving the report in his hand:

“According to you, you expect a massive sea beast assault within the next week!”

“And where are the monsters? Inside mutants?!”

“Do you really think that a bunch of brainless creatures would suddenly band together and launch an attack? Surely, you’d at least see a few leaders emerge first!”

“Smack!”

With that, the high-ranking official slammed the documents onto Yenir’s desk, a flash of contempt in his eyes.

What did he mean by a conclusive final decision?!

That’s what it meant!

Although the sea monsters were terrifyingly fast, a gap of three hundred nautical miles in non-combat was still an enormous distance!

If a large-scale attack were truly underway, sea beasts would have already closed in!

Just as in military engagements, you’d first spot the vanguard!

Ignoring the report thrown his way,

amid a sea of hostile glares, Yenir slowly rose and switched the angle of the screen before him.

A red report appeared on the display, boldly marked as Confidential Level Two.

“No signs of sea beasts?”

“Then how do you explain the battle near the coast four days ago?”

“The monitoring equipment picked up traces of Third-Stage movements.”

He chuckled lightly.

Yenir’s gaze turned cold as he looked at the officer before him.

“The time and location of that battle align with another file on troop movements.”

“You deployed seven Third-Stage Awakeneds at 3 a.m. in the coastal region four days ago!”

“The mission brief stated it was a routine patrol!”

“Yet only four returned.”

“Tell me, where are the three who died? Do routine patrols ever claim lives?!”

As his words fell, the once disdainful officer’s eyes widened in shock. His mouth gaped, unable to form a response.

“Damn it!”

He had never expected Yenir to notice such an ordinary troop movement record!

Keep in mind that the East Sea’s troop deployments and mission logs number in the hundreds each day—who would review them all one by one!

Seeing the military official suddenly panic, Yenir instantly realized that behind this seemingly routine record lay a major issue that the East Sea leadership had suppressed!

Three Third-Stage figures missing! If it had been a battle among Awakeners, which Private Faction would dare challenge the Military? And even if there was, what about the subsequent records? The Military would undoubtedly exact revenge! The only possibility was that an unknown enemy had emerged in the area…

After ruthlessly hunting down the enemy, the East Sea Military had immediately covered up the information!

“Will you take me there, or should I go on my own?”

“At this coordinate, I spotted a laboratory—*** Laboratory…”

“Interesting. Even I can’t see its full name.”

“What exactly are you doing over there?”

Yenir’s tone turned icy as he fixed his gaze on an officer of higher rank.

Seeing Yenir press him, the Third-Stage officer stepped back and, almost instinctively, blurted out:

“No!”

“You have no right to go there! That place is off-limits…”

“Swish!”

Before the officer could finish speaking, Yenir swiftly drew the Elemental Blade and pressed it against his throat.

“Take me there!”

“Uncle Liang! If anyone dares to stop me, I’ll kill them!”

In an instant, the atmosphere turned deadly. Confronted with Yenir’s ruthless threat, everyone froze in terror.

At the same time, an unnoticed figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

“Fine.”

Just like any ordinary middle-aged man, Liang Lie simply nodded in a mechanical fashion, his impassive face betraying no hint of the madness behind Yenir’s command.