Chapter 308: Crisis of Credibility

Classification!?

With that declaration, all the high-ups who had been somewhat in the dark suddenly snapped to attention.

That’s right.

The disaster had already broken out; of course, the Military knew exactly what to do.

But the problem was that this calamity was born out of the Military’s own mistake—they simply weren’t prepared!

What Yenir did was nothing short of outrageous—a clear act of rebellion! Yet, ironically, his decision turned out to be correct!

Think about it: once the disaster subsides and the people of Huaguo begin to ask what really happened, the Authorities will be in an extremely awkward position—as if they had utterly failed!

Nearly half a month ago, Yenir warned that civilians should evacuate.

And what happened?

Not only did they refuse to believe him, they planned to stop him! On top of that, the Military was even ready to arrest him! Once this information spreads, the public will undoubtedly question the Military’s judgment—so many departments, so many experts, all failing in their duty!

This would deal a devastating blow to the Authorities’ credibility!

After doomsday, what matters most? Without a doubt, credibility! If a nation can’t even protect its citizens, who would dare or want to trust it?

This means that…

Before the disaster ends, the Military must swiftly frame the situation and absolutely must not reveal the ‘truth’!

They must, in a very short time, decide whether to portray Yenir as a hero or a villain!

“Commissar Hu, I want to know—what’s the classification level of this disaster?”

“Was it the Level A warning that Yenir issued? How many casualties are we expecting?”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, one delegate couldn’t help but speak up.

He clutched the freshly issued satellite images tightly; those two enormous mushroom clouds were shockingly disturbing.

After all these years, a disaster of this magnitude had never struck Huaguo!

“Level A—it’s at least Level A,”

“The estimated death toll is still uncertain, but if we evacuate quickly enough, we might keep it below 7%.”

Not wanting to elaborate further, Hu Zhiping replied in a low, complex tone.

Theoretically, this disaster might not have to claim any lives…

“7%… Level A…”

His eyes flickered.

The delegate who had spoken up suddenly stood, a chill running down his spine as his expression darkened.

Seven percent of a million people—that’s no small number.

Still, it could be considered a stroke of luck amid misfortune. In Huaguo’s past, a Level A disaster would claim hundreds of thousands of lives—even an entire province had fallen in the early days of doomsday.

Disasters are classified into nine levels, from the lowest F to the highest SSS.

Level A is already the fourth tier; any higher and the entire Battle Zone would be obliterated!

Given that…

“So, in a sense, let’s overlook Commissar Yenir’s ‘recklessness’—after all, he saved at least hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of lives this time!?”

Faced with the question, Hu Zhiping hesitated before nodding slightly.

“You could say that,” he replied.

“If it weren’t for Yenir detonating the nuclear missile and strategically deploying our forces in advance, we probably wouldn’t have been able to hold out until now.”

Having received Commissar Hu’s ruling, a delegate who had just risen took a deep breath—he already had a plan in mind:

“Commissar Hu, fellow delegates,”

“In that case, I propose we tweak the entire narrative of this incident slightly!”

“For this incident, let’s conceal Yenir’s unauthorized troop movements and publicly assert that all his actions had been approved by the Military!”

“We’ll also change the operation from capturing Yenir to dispatching high-level support!”

“That way, we can minimize the fallout from this whole affair!”

“Moreover, I recall that Commissar Yenir made significant contributions in our last operation!”

“So let’s combine the merits: once the disaster ends, we proclaim Yenir a hero of Huaguo and reward him handsomely!”

After a brief pause to compose his thoughts, a delegate who had once met Yenir spoke again.

“In summary!”

“Regarding all of Commissar Yenir’s irregular actions in this incident, let’s let bygones be bygones—saving lives is a good thing! On both moral and logical grounds, we shouldn’t continue to hold him accountable! As for the troop redeployment, let’s just pretend it never happened! And…”

“What are you talking about?”

Before the delegate who had risen could finish, Lu Tianming—whose expression had been grim since entering the hall—could no longer contain his shock and immediately retaliated.

Suppressing his mounting fury, he also rose to his feet:

“Committee Member Huang! Do you even know what you’re saying?!”

“Yenir issued a counterfeit military order!”

“Have you ever considered that, based on his own hunch, he brazenly defied both the leadership and the Military?”

“Does he even care about us?!”

“It looks like he thwarted the disaster this time, but who’s to say he didn’t just stumble into success while trying to get back at Committee Member Fang Teng!”

“Look at his actions—every single one is a grave offense!”

“Today, he dares detain Committee Member Zhang; tomorrow, he might target us! Today, he makes unauthorized troop movements; tomorrow, he could seize military power! This is a huge taboo! It’s nothing less than an outright attempt to overthrow the Military!!”

They glared at each other in fury.

At that moment, Lu Tianming, looking righteous and distraught, slammed the documents in his hand onto the floor.

“Everyone!”

“Just look at how far gone Yenir has become!”

“This unauthorized nuclear detonation occurred in the East Sea—less than forty kilometers from the Safe Zone!”

“Have you even considered what would happen if this thing fell on us?!”

“Just because he scored a feat, are we supposed to act like nothing happened?!”

“If he pulls off even crazier stunts next time under the guise of his achievements, are we to pretend it never happened?!”

“Where is the law?! What happened to national order?!”

“Not to mention, he couldn’t even produce any evidence this time—doesn’t that prove he wasn’t even sure there’d be a disaster, and was merely gambling on it?!”

“Even if he had provided evidence, would we believe him?!”

He was breathing heavily.

Lu Tianming keenly seized upon the loophole, trying desperately to sway everyone.

He could tell that many delegates had already been shaken by the earlier remarks.

What a joke!

Just an hour ago, he was delighted that Yenir was courting death and even planning to celebrate it. But in the very next moment, the disaster truly erupted!

If they can’t label Yenir’s actions as heinous rebellion, then he’s practically inviting a showdown with that lunatic!

Listening to Lu Tianming’s rebuttal, the room fell silent, with many delegates sporting grim expressions.

That’s right.

Yenir did the right thing, no doubt—but his methods were all wrong.

Once we open this door, who knows if another Yenir might emerge?

No—what I mean is, Yenir could easily become the prototype for a second one!

If more people like him appear, what credibility will the Military have left? Then everyone will think they can do as they please!

“I support Committee Member Lu’s proposal!”

“In my view, although Yenir’s actions yielded good results, his intentions were flawed! I appreciate him for saving the people of the East Sea, but one cannot offset merits with faults—otherwise everything will collapse!”

“I propose that we initially detain Yenir as originally planned, punish him where necessary, and hold him accountable! Externally, we’ll claim that the Military uncovered a problem—Yenir’s actions have nothing to do with saving the East Sea!”

“He saved the East Sea—was that solely his doing? I refuse to believe that Committee Member Fang Teng would just sit idly by!”

“At worst, we can reduce his punishment a bit, as a gesture of understanding!”

“But those who acted alongside him must be severely punished!”

As his words subsided, delegates from Lu Tianming’s faction quietly observed the Prime Minister’s expression.

In his eyes, the Authorities would likely become even more cautious.

The Prime Minister had hastily convened the meeting—wasn’t he hesitating too? Just look at the documents: among Yenir’s group were clearly members of the Special Operations Department!

Crush them and you can also suppress your nemesis, Zhao Hongtu!

He knew full well that Zhao Hongtu’s Special Operations Group had performed meritoriously in the last operation—passing on this chance to retaliate would be sheer folly!

Before Hu Zhiping could respond, a furious shout suddenly rang out.

“Bullshit!”