Chapter 372: The Unsettling Shift

Creak.

Metal contorting.

The sudden sound of metal bending immediately caught the attention of both the attendant and the driver.

Before their eyes, just as Yenir was about to step into the official vehicle, he abruptly crushed the black bulletproof door with his bare hands. The alloy, strong enough to withstand small-caliber rocket launchers, now felt as soft as cotton, bearing clear finger marks.

Committee Member Yenir!?

Sir!?

Instinctively, they snapped to attention and shouted questions at Yenir.

Though the Youth’s face remained impassive, his sudden pause at the door told them that something major was unfolding!

“Everything’s fine. Get in!”

Slowly retracting his right hand, Yenir calmly sat down in the vehicle and spoke in a cool tone.

Amidst anxious murmurs, the vehicle slowly started moving.

Inside, he exhaled softly, clenching his fists as his eyes raced over Fang Hao’s latest message. Seconds later, confusion and unease flashed across his gaze.

Indeed, Fang Hao’s message had truly shocked him.

The situation in the East Sea was clearly over — even the system had marked the mission as complete!

Yenir was utterly confident that the destroyed Third-Stage node would continue to disrupt the entire East Sea’s spirit energy environment for at least a year, severely hampering the Sea Beast’s sensory abilities!

Theoretically, as long as the Military didn’t recklessly send clumsy troops into the East Sea and force the Sea Beast out, those monsters would never have had the chance to spread!

Otherwise, there’d be no reason to bomb the East Sea!

“Uncle Fang, are you sure you saw the Sea Beast moving toward the East Sea ruins? And then, after a pause, shifting in another direction?”

“Weren’t they affected by the interference?!”

As he spoke, Yenir mentally projected a map of the East Sea, quickly marking the movement route of the Third-Stage Mutant.

“East to West…”

After the explosion in the East Sea, the Sea Beast pack had halted for a day. But half an hour ago, they moved westward, finally stopping three minutes ago at the junction leading from the East Sea to the three provinces…

“This situation looks extremely dangerous…”

“Exactly!”

Over the communication line, Fang Hao—watching the Sea Demon’s movement from a thousand meters up—responded with a grave expression.

“The reason for the movement is unknown!”

“I do sense interference! Even the Awakener from the Military near the East Sea ruins noticed a sluggish flow of spirit energy. Most Sea Beasts were tailing that giant mutant; they didn’t want to move on their own.”

“Right now, that Third-Stage Mutant is inside the East Sea Safe Zone city! It seems to be searching for something!”

Speaking rapidly, Fang Hao then fixed his gaze on a massive dark silhouette in the distance.

Even from this range, the enormous Sea Demon loomed like an island, taking up half of the city’s ruins!

Its sheer presence exuded overwhelming pressure.

The ruins of several skyscrapers in the core area stirred up enormous clouds of dust under the Sea Beast’s crushing force. With its slow, relentless movement, even the ground trembled like a minor earthquake.

Fang Hao drew a deep breath, staring at the scene before him, and felt his scalp go numb.

After his first encounter with this Peak Mutant, he realized there was simply no way to kill it.

Consequently, the three Vanguard forces and the Demon-Hunting Unit that arrived later, under his command, abandoned the idea of entering the East Sea and instead focused on evacuating survivors.

They had thought the crisis had temporarily subsided, with the evacuated survivors being orderly received by nearby Safe Zones, but he never expected the monster to start moving again!

It was unimaginable: if this Peak Mutant, along with two groups of Sea Beasts, were to disperse, the surrounding Battle Zones would face catastrophic devastation!

“Yenir! Do you think the Sea Beasts will continue moving toward the surrounding areas?!”

“Is it possible that this monster can ignore spirit energy interference? Or did we leave too strong a trace when we evacuated?”

His heart felt heavy and tense.

Normally, as the commander, he had no reason to consult Yenir on such a critical matter. Yet, somehow, Fang Hao felt that asking Yenir—the one who first spotted the Sea Beast—might be more reliable than relying solely on the Military.

After all… the Military had made too many mistakes. He subconsciously trusted that Yenir’s judgment might be more accurate…

“Uncle Fang, has the Military Department been informed yet?”

“Also, when the Sea Demon moved, did you notice any abnormalities?”

After a brief moment of thought, Yenir pushed down his unease and quickly analyzed the situation:

“Since the spirit energy interference persists after the explosion, there’s no issue with lingering traces.”

“And as for whether the Sea Beast caught the scent of the retreating troops, that’s theoretically impossible. Any residual trace would have been wiped away shortly after the explosion.”

His eyes flickered; although the Sea Beast was on the move, Yenir sensed that the problem might not lie with the East Sea at all.

Bombing the Safe Zone to disrupt the mutant’s pursuit—a tactic he had used many times in his past life.

During the last three years of the disaster, humanity had resorted to it repeatedly… each time out of sheer necessity, yet it always worked flawlessly.

The Military Department still wasn’t aware; I had suppressed the news and kept it from them for now.

“Regarding abnormalities, give me a moment to think…”

High above, Fang Hao furrowed his brows as he replied, straining to recall any irregularities.

No one knew that he hadn’t reported immediately to the Military because he was concerned about its effect on Yenir.

Even after bombing the East Sea, the Sea Beasts still spread… If this news were to be reported, it would undoubtedly trigger internal criticism of Yenir. So he decided to hold onto it until hiding it was no longer feasible.

Any help for Yenir was welcome… After all, he was deeply grateful to Yenir for forcibly evacuating the East Sea residents.

Without Yenir, he’d probably still be locked in battle with the Sea Beasts, and his troops would have suffered massive casualties…

But he didn’t need to tell Yenir; a quiet helping hand would suffice.

“Wait—I’ve got it!”

Half an hour ago, during the evacuation of the East Sea residents, I heard several sonic booms—sounds resembling those of fighter jets!

I didn’t catch the specific model or where they were from. Aside from that, nothing else.

“Hold on—I’ll check with the Battle Zones right away to see if any fighter jets were deployed!”

Straining to remember.

Fang Hao recalled that puzzling sound from before and immediately sent a message. With his authority, he could quickly pull up the records.

“Sonic boom? Fighter jets?”

Seeing Fang Hao’s message, Yenir’s eyes narrowed as he waited for him to check the records.

“Nothing else abnormal…?”

In theory, even if fighter jets had flown over the East Sea, it wouldn’t have caused the Sea Demon to keep moving.

As Yenir pondered whether there was a connection between the two, a message from Fang Hao arrived half a minute later.

High above, after receiving feedback from the Battle Zones that no fighter jets had been deployed, Fang Hao couldn’t hide a flash of astonishment in his eyes.

“It’s impossible that there were none…”

“Unless…”

Hesitantly, he sent the results to Yenir, a strange feeling welling up inexplicably in his heart.

“Yenir, I can’t find any records.”

“But I’m certain I heard a sound—a high-speed object, and it doesn’t quite resemble a high-level mutant.”

He didn’t say any more. Deep down, Fang Hao suspected another possibility.

In the next moment, as Yenir read the message, his heart sank, fully grasping the unsaid implications in Fang Hao’s words.

With Fang Hao’s peak Third-Stage strength, there was no room for misperception or error. So if fighter jets had flown over and left no record…

“There’s only one possibility left.”

Excluding the chance that the jets came from enemy nations, they could only have been deployed by the Capital’s top brass.

And they were advanced models that left no trace in the subordinate Battle Zones.

“Someone…”

“…did act…?”

Instinctively, Yenir turned to the gray car window and gazed toward the Capital Core.

Some high-ups had concealed their movements and flown into the East Sea, triggering unusual activity from the Sea Demon…

The combination made him think of too many possibilities—and of a ‘truth’ he’d rather not consider.

“It might not be as I imagined…”

“Evidence—I need more evidence…!”

Taking a deep breath, Yenir silently tore his gaze away, forcefully suppressing an indescribable sense of unease.