Chapter 330: Inferno at the Safe Zone

Quick, quick, quick! Move faster!

Amid ecstatic shouts, the Dongqing Awakener—arms stuffed with gear—frantically grabbed equipment off the warehouse shelves.

Like mice darting into a granary, every man lugged a huge pack on his back.

“Only items above blue quality!”

“Prioritize the highest-value enchantment materials!”

In a manic frenzy, anonymous credit cards were jammed into his pocket as Director Yuan barked at his clueless subordinates.

Though he normally enjoyed a high post and plenty of side deals, this unguarded Safe Zone yielded far more than he’d ever imagined.

The usual little windfalls were nothing compared to this!

If possible, he wished he could sprout extra arms and empty the place completely!

Almost instinctively, he shot a jealous glance toward another team in the distance.

That was a squad dispatched by East Sea’s top brass.

They knew the East Sea terrain far better, heading straight for the military’s highest-value supply depot. In a mutual cover-up, they were restricted to seizing only from the Private Faction. As East Sea’s elite, they could easily go after military assets.

After all, once East Sea was reclaimed, the Military would have to plug the gaps. Their haul would dwarf anything they’d managed before!

While survivors elsewhere were left with nothing, for them it was a veritable feast.

Damn it, if they’d known how exhilarating this was, they should have stirred up some trouble on purpose!

Seemingly struck by inspiration, the stout middle-aged man panted heavily, his gaze suddenly fixed on a granary.

In that instant, a glimmer of madness flashed in his eyes.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to score big.

Damn it—disasters like this don’t come around often. Who knows if there’ll ever be another chance…

He thought of the profits he’d pocketed this time, even though a huge portion had to be handed over to the higher-ups, and he risked so much in the process…

“Burn it down!”

“Set that granary on fire for me!”

“If you can’t haul it, burn it! When East Sea is rebuilt, they’ll have to grovel at our feet!”

As his words died away, the looting subordinates were momentarily stunned but soon understood Director Yuan’s intent.

Burn the grain!?

Exactly!

This grain wasn’t expensive, but it was vital!

The Dongqing Safe Zone was a major grain producer, and Director Yuan was in charge of its distribution.

Once East Sea’s survivors returned, surely they couldn’t be left starving, right?

Importing food from other Battle Zones was too expensive—so as the nearest Safe Zone, they could profit handsomely.

Right. Officially they couldn’t hike prices, but off the books they could!

By then, the profits would likely outstrip their current haul—and none of it would need to be shared!

At that thought, a few quick-witted Awakener members couldn’t help but admire Director Yuan. His mind was clearly operating on another level.

Without further ado, they got to work.

But within half a minute, a towering inferno burst forth, devouring large swaths of the granary.

As the roaring flames and searing heat hit, even though they were burning the very food that could stave off starvation for tens of thousands, Director Yuan’s twisted, maddened grin was unmistakable.

Yet, watching the blaze soar, he suddenly seemed to remember something.

“Quick, check when the Fire Network was deployed. Have the troops withdrawn yet?”

“If they have, we need to bolt immediately!”

Originally, he planned to stall the Military with the excuse that East Sea hadn’t scheduled its evacuation yet.

But after discovering a new moneymaking scheme, Director Yuan decided safety came first. Compared to the hopeful news from the Capital, he knew the frontline foot soldiers were on their last legs. Any mishap, and his life would be no match for those expendable troopers!

Before he could question the Frontline further, new information from Dongqing arrived instantly.

Moments later, Director Yuan’s face contorted in shock and disbelief.

“What? That kid isn’t setting fires again!?”

He felt nothing particularly amiss.

From the start, their Safe Zone had no plans to burn the grain. After all, they were using their own fuel, and if their Fire Network was exposed as shady, it would spell trouble.

No one knew that the fuel they had sourced was watered down despite frequent cuts.

Well, so be it.

The middle-aged man sneered, inwardly relieved.

In his mind, Yenir had inexplicably scrapped the Fire Network setup—clearly, no one would heed his advice. Setting it up or not made little difference; it was better to save face than risk being labeled a waste of fuel.

After all, any sane person wouldn’t agree with such a ludicrous idea as burning to stop a Sea Beast.

However…

Without the Fire Network, wouldn’t the troops now have to retreat immediately?

Realizing he needed to run, he braced himself to leave.

Instinctively, Director Yuan queried an East Sea officer at the Frontline, trying to gauge how much longer his team could hold their ground.

But before he could finish his sarcastic, smiling query, a brief message made his face go pale.

“What?!”

“The troops are gathering on the coast?! They’re preparing to evacuate by sea?!”

The words burst out, and several subordinates quickly converged around him, exchanging startled looks.

What the hell is going on!?

Leaving by sea was suicidal!

Now that the Fire Network was off, shouldn’t they have simply retreated from behind?!

Failing to grasp the full implication, their eyes soon gleamed with a hint of opportunity.

“Director Yuan, the Military is withdrawing by sea—essentially in our direction,”

“They’ll be busy holding back the Sea Beast, giving us extra time to scavenge more supplies!”

Listening to his subordinates, Director Yuan furrowed his brow as a shadow of unease crossed his mind.

But after a long pause, he couldn’t quite pinpoint the problem.

“It must be…”

“Probably another one of Yenir’s ideas. I bet he convinced the frontline out of fear that evacuating would attract the Sea Beast.”

“Tch, that kid really cares about the common man. I wonder what he’ll do when his command causes so many casualties and he faces criticism from above.”

“What a fool… doesn’t he know that soldiers are expendable? Does he really think he’s a hero?”

“When this is over, does he really expect the Military to thank him?”

A mocking laugh escaped him.

Before he could finish his confident analysis, a sudden shattering explosion roared in his ears.

It was as if the earth had been torn apart; as they stood in shock, the ground beneath them trembled as if something were surging upward.

What was that?!

In an instant, everyone felt an overwhelming sense of impending death—a surge of indescribable terror washed over them.

From the core of the main city, the once-solid ground began to quake violently. Moments later, fractures raced rapidly across the area.

Through those gaping cracks, dazzling blue light exploded forth like wild, molten lava.

“Boom, boom! Boom, boom!”

The earth wailed in agony.

Everything happened too quickly.

Overwhelmed by terror, Director Yuan had no time to react as a crack snaked toward his feet. A sudden surge of Spirit Energy burst upward, piercing his entire body and melting him like hot metal under its relentless assault.

“Aaaahhhh!!!”

A piercing, agonized scream echoed.

With half his body dissolving in an instant, every cell within him seemed to scream in agony.

At the same time, various squads scavenging supplies in East Sea City stared in horror at the unfolding chaos.

No matter how reckless they were, witnessing the core expand into a kilometer-wide glowing orb made everyone realize—the Spirit Energy Node had been detonated!

They scattered in frantic panic.

Yet the orb expanded with terrifying speed—as if a nuclear explosion had engulfed everything in an instant.

“Boom!!!!”

In a flash, a blue fireball ten thousand meters across erupted from the earth like a harbinger of doom, wreaking havoc.

It was as if the world were ending—the shockwave swept mercilessly across the entire East Sea.

………..

Three minutes later, at the Capital Military’s temporary command center.

A deathly silence prevailed as the latest satellite image gradually emerged on the giant screen.

The image revealed the East Sea cloaked in darkness, resembling a blooming blue firework visible even from ten thousand meters up.

“East Sea…”

“It’s gone!!!???”