Chapter 353: Crisis of Accusations
by xennovelWhat a huge hat…
Inside the hall, all the high-ranking officials were as shrewd as ever.
None could tell that Yenir had instantly flipped Lu Tianming’s accusations on their head.
Not only that, he also struck a major blow! Had Lu Tianming fumbled his response, he’d have been in deep trouble!
After all, the East Sea elitists looked utterly disgraceful…
In a time of national crisis, they still schemed to abuse power and profit from disaster. In the early days of the collapse, nobody would have escaped the fallout.
“Nonsense!”
“Absolute nonsense!”
So angry that his face trembled—and for the first time in his life being so harshly rebuked—Lu Tianming struggled to contain his fury and keep his wits about him.
He couldn’t afford any mistakes; not one wrong word!
He begrudgingly admitted he had underestimated Yenir, underestimated that wretched little brat’s cunning!
He realized that the moment Yenir set out to provoke him, he had already readied his kill move, waiting for Lu Tianming to slip up.
At today’s conference, if he was further implicated, every charge already pinned on Yenir would come crashing down on him.
Mind racing, Lu Tianming drew a deep breath and spoke through gritted teeth:
“What the East Sea Top Brass did has nothing to do with me, Lu Tianming!”
“What now? Are you saying that every time Chen Feng meets me, it becomes my problem? Ridiculous! As a standing committee member, isn’t it my duty to care about the East Sea?”
“I grieve for our fallen heroes! Moved by East Sea’s plight, I suggested honoring them posthumously as martyrs—without fully knowing the facts! What’s wrong with that!?”
Listening to Lu Tianming distance himself and justify his actions, Yenir maintained a calm, indifferent expression.
He knew that this alone wouldn’t be enough to bring Lu Tianming down.
After all, as a standing committee member, someone of Lu Tianming’s rank would never operate without clean hands.
“Oh?”
“Committee Member Lu, if you claim you don’t know anyone from the East Sea, then tell me… do you know Wang Hong?”
“Committee Member Lu, aren’t you the one accusing me of killing Wang Hong and ignoring military law?”
Pressing relentlessly.
Yenir stepped forward once again, fixing his gaze on Lu Tianming. With a sudden flick of his right hand, a system recording tool materialized.
Without giving Lu Tianming any time to brace himself, a light screen burst forth from the tool in the very next second.
“Wang Hong! Head of the Capital Military District Supplies Department!”
“An investigation and confession revealed that in just four years, he amassed millions, embezzled military equipment, diverted state assets, and abusively pocketed compensation meant for soldiers’ families!”
“Moreover, while I was on a mission, he seized all my resources under the guise of military orders!”
With overwhelming righteous anger, Yenir suddenly addressed everyone in a booming voice:
“I bleed and fight relentlessly on the frontlines! I wage bloody battles against our enemies!”
“Yet behind my back, this man stabs me in the back and endangers my family!”
“May I ask, esteemed committee members! According to military regulations, families of active soldiers receive top-tier protection! What crime justifies Wang Hong’s attack on my kin?”
“Corruption, bribery, and pocketing the hard-earned sweat of our soldiers! Shouldn’t he be executed?”
At Yenir’s pointed questioning, every committee member and senior official’s heart skipped a beat. Even those inclined to support Yenir let out a relieved sigh.
The evidence was irrefutable; no one dared claim that Wang Hong should be spared!
In truth, they were shocked—no one had expected that Yenir’s attack on Wang Hong concealed such treachery! If it were them, they’d hardly have taken it lying down.
Especially the senior officials who had long since retired from active duty; they were visibly moved at this point.
“He must be killed! A fitting death for him!”
A fist struck the table as an angry shout rang out.
Zhao Hongtu, who could no longer contain his anger, abruptly stood up and strode to stand behind Yenir.
“Anyone who dares say Yenir’s actions were wrong is nothing but a traitor and a scum of the nation!”
“Our warriors fight and shed blood for the nation on the frontlines! How can we stand by while they are reduced to tears?”
“In my view, Wang Hong’s death is a small price to pay! The crimes he committed would warrant death a hundred or even a thousand times over!”
His voice echoed powerfully throughout the hall.
When word spread that the potion retrieved by his men had been secretly swallowed by Wang Hong, Zhao Hongtu, already furious, wished he could have personally ended that bastard’s life.
On this matter alone, he was willing to back Yenir to the bitter end.
Meanwhile, partly scheming and partly genuine in sentiment, Yenir’s eyes reddened as he turned his attack back to Lu Tianming.
“Lu Tianming!”
“The call logs clearly show that Wang Hong acted on your orders, deliberately framing me!”
“And just days ago, most of the supplies he looted from me ended up in your hands!”
“Collusion at every level—corruption, bribery, and framing!”
“What more do you have to say in your defense?”
His voice rang out across the hall.
As Yenir enlarged the light screen, displaying private messages between them, the senior officials were taken aback. Even those on the dais glowered with barely contained anger.
As officials, they knew exactly what mattered most!
They could tolerate internal power struggles and even covert corruption among high-ranking factions as inevitable.
But to target military personnel and their families was an unforgivable transgression!
If word of this reached the rank-and-file soldiers…
The consequences would be unthinkable!
Imagine frontline warriors fighting desperately against mutants and invaders, while their superiors feast on their losses… Even someone like Yenir would be powerless to protect his own family…
If this got out, it could spark a mutiny within the ranks!
Facing Yenir’s crushing blow, Lu Tianming shuddered; his once confident face turned ghostly pale as he realized Yenir posed a genuine threat.
“Damn it!”
Realizing the gravity of the situation, he felt as though he were plunging into an icy abyss—a bone-chilling cold creeping up his spine!
He had thought Yenir was merely lashing out in anger, never imagining the true link between him and Wang Hong.
But now it was clear that when Yenir killed, he had already planned how to deal with him!
That damned Wang Hong had even betrayed him with his dying breath!
“Idiot! Worthless scum!”
If only he had known, he would never have colluded with Wang Hong or left any trace!
In the midst of this dramatic turn, Lu Tianming found himself with little room to counterattack, while many senior officials shouted in anger:
“Committee Member Lu! Is all this really true!?”
“Lu Tianming, did you really order Wang Hong to do your bidding and frame Yenir!?”
“Committee Member Lu, explain your actions immediately, or our Inspection Department will launch an inquiry against you at once!”
When the walls come tumbling down, everyone joins in.
His whole body trembled uncontrollably.
Lu Tianming stared in despair at Yenir, who now stood just a few steps away, feeling that with every step and every word, Yenir was driving him further into a corner.
He had never imagined that, as a standing committee member, he would be forced into a dead end by a whelp!
Surrounded by his old political rivals bombarding him with questions, how could he possibly defend himself!?
He remembered that the blood crystal Wang Hong had given him was still on his person!
“No! It’s not like that!”
“I never ordered Wang Hong to do this! I truly don’t know—ahhh!!”
In a panic, Lu Tianming, who once held high office and was always composed, now sounded like a drowning man—puffing and gasping for breath.
Perhaps, in utter desperation, he clung to any stray hope.
Amid the barrage of accusations, he suddenly recalled something and cried out urgently:
“I never arranged for Wang Hong to act! It’s all fake! It’s this little brat who’s misleading you all!!”
“Right! Right!”
“This little brat killed Fang Teng! Wang Hong truly found Sea Beast Blood at his home!”
“He’s slandering me! Yenir is trying to deceive you all—he killed Wang Hong to silence the witnesses! Otherwise, how do you explain that he killed Fang Teng and somehow knew the Sea Beast would come!”
His rant grew more incoherent by the moment.
Desperately trying to regain composure, Lu Tianming clung to what he believed was a lifeline—a topic that Yenir had avoided until now.
“Yes!”
He had completely forgotten that his plan to eliminate Yenir had always relied on linking him to the Sea Beast!
Yenir’s murder of Fang Teng was a matter he could never evade—a critical point of suspicion!
As long as they could nail him on that, he still had a chance to turn the tables!
Hearing Lu Tianming’s words, the senior officials paused in shock, suddenly recalling the incident.
Under Yenir’s relentless incitement, they nearly forgot about it.
To be honest, their deepest animosity toward Yenir was indeed tied to Fang Teng’s death. After all, if Fang Teng died mysteriously at Yenir’s hands today, who knew if they’d be next tomorrow?
At that moment, an unexpectedly aged voice broke through the tension.
“Yenir, I’m curious—why did you kill Fang Teng?”
“And how can you be so sure the East Sea is doomed to a Sea Beast catastrophe?”
As soon as the words fell, Li Xuanguo and others on the dais instinctively looked toward the source.
That voice was…
At the very back, an elderly man’s eyes—sharp as an eagle’s—flashed a cold, inscrutable glint as he fixed his gaze on Yenir.
He was none other than the old commander Lu Tianming had contacted yesterday—the former Army Commander, He Zhengbang!
Silence befell the hall.
When He Zhengbang spoke, every committee member sensed a rising unease, as if the old man cared little for Lu Tianming’s transgressions and was more focused on Yenir’s actions. It was as though, if Yenir’s answer displeased him, the entire situation would be rewritten.
Was this his move to ‘save lives’?
Lifting his head in the suddenly eerie atmosphere, Yenir met his gaze without fear.
Yet in that moment, his heart sank.
“So, you ask me…”
Could it be that this old man was another force—a Mother? If so, things would be truly complicated.
Suppressing the unsettling feeling in his chest, Yenir took a deep breath, ready to play his final card.
Lu Tianming’s final counterattack…
In his eyes, it was both a crisis and his sole chance to destroy Lu Tianming once and for all!
“I killed Fang Teng because he attracted the Sea Beast!”
The hall fell silent in shocked disbelief.