Chapter 650: Crisis in the Battle Zone

“Whoosh! Boom!”

A deafening roar sliced through the low skies.

The shockwave shattered nearby glass into fragments.

“Crash, crash…”

Glass exploded through the air like a downpour, causing survivors below the skyscrapers to scramble for cover.

Perhaps out of habit or having sensed the storm’s brewing, the crowd kept moving amidst the stern shouts of military soldiers.

“Lord Yenir… It looks like these rebels intend to fight us to the bitter end!”

“So many people are being moved together. They must want to wage a protracted battle!”

Hidden among the evacuees, Ming Luo couldn’t help but reach out with his mind to Yenir.

Watching the survivors being herded toward the Core Area by swarms of rebel soldiers, anger flared in his eyes.

With no natural disasters or zombie hordes in play, these rebels were merely using the common folk as hostages—to prevent any deployment of mass destruction weapons!

At worst, they might even leverage the safety of over a million survivors as a bargaining chip against us!

An hour ago, Minister Zhao had called his entire squad to follow Yenir to the Tianjin Battle Zone. Although he wasn’t sure of Yenir’s plans, seeing not only Yenir but also two military-trained die-hards made him realize this mission was no ordinary affair.

But what he couldn’t understand was Yenir’s status now—why would he personally lead the team?

“Ignore them. Watch the landing points of those fighter jets. We’ll start by checking the area with the most Awakeners.”

Disguised as a Second-Stage Awakened, Yenir’s gaze lingered thoughtfully on the swirling trails left by massive cloud explosions. A map of the Tianjin Battle Zone unfolded in his mind like a live 3D model, spinning and enlarging rapidly.

Unlike Ming Luo, who worried the enemy might use all Tianjin’s survivors as hostages,

Yenir couldn’t care less about that.

It wasn’t that he was heartless; he knew if the Sea Beast Mother intended to threaten them, it wouldn’t be just a Safe Zone at risk—it would endanger the nine major coastal safe zones of China, endangering over a hundred million people in Shengsi alone!

Thus, Yenir was fully aware that no matter what, he had to locate Mother and eliminate “it” before that monstrous being set off a catastrophe.

“I have at most three days!”

“The war begins—unless I sit out and the rebels gain the upper hand! Otherwise, if that monster realizes victory is out of reach, it will most likely unleash the Sea Beast Disaster!”

Caught in a dilemma.

While the military remained overly optimistic, Yenir’s mindset was entirely different.

He had no choice but to brace himself against the pressure and find a way to snuff out the crisis in its cradle.

He had even considered pausing the cleansing plan altogether—allowing a temporary balance between the military and rebels to buy time.

Maybe in another six months his strength would grow further—even reaching Fourth Stage!

At worst, he could lead a group of elite military forces into the dungeon to level up rapidly and form a top-tier fighting force.

But…

All-out effort, then decline, and finally depletion!

He couldn’t risk quickly resolving internal risks now. No one knew what might happen during a prolonged standoff.

Moreover, if both sides dug in, the already limited military strength would be hampered.

Border areas and neighboring countries would seize the opportunity, inevitably leading to heavy casualties among survivors. The ensuing domino effect would plunge even the Neutral Faction and Private Faction into chaos.

“These fighter jets belong to rebel forces from other battle zones. Gathering them like this isn’t entirely bad.”

“Better to cluster them together and strike them all at once!”

With eyes as cold as ice, Yenir quickly assessed the rebels’ amassed strength, growing ever more confident in his judgment.

He had swiftly eliminated the first wave of rebels, yet the remainder hadn’t scattered—instead, they consolidated. This clearly indicated a supreme leader within the rebel ranks.

Under normal circumstances, even if the rebels underestimated us, they wouldn’t act so.

If over fifty Peak Third-Stage fighters are unfazed, it means there must be a super-strong figure emboldening all the rebel representatives!

Clearly, an ordinary Peak Third-Stage fighter could never achieve this!

“That Mother, Yuanlong, must be in the Tianjin Battle Zone!”

“Fang Teng works for him. Records show that over the past four years he’s returned to the Capital several times.”

“Unless something goes wrong, every time Fang Teng comes back it’s to meet Mother. This confirms that the guy can’t be far from the Capital!”

Narrowing the search to the Tianjin Battle Zone was the only good news for Yenir.

Otherwise, even with his sensing ability, given the vastness of Huaguo, he’d never be able to locate him.

“Although the area is now reduced to the Tianjin Battle Zone, it’s still huge… three satellite Safe Zones guarding the Core Area, fourteen military bases – every spot could be Yuanlong’s hideout…”

Watching as rebel Peak Third-Stage fighters continuously directed survivors toward Base Tian Er, Yenir silently memorized the captain’s appearance.

Now he had three clues to pinpoint Yuanlong’s location:

1. As the deepest hidden leader among the rebels, Yuanlong is highly likely to be stationed in the Core Area, probably underground.

2. Tianjin Port! As the Sea Beast Mother, if Yuanlong can control sea beasts, he’d likely hide near the sea—maximizing his battle prowess!

3. The area with the highest concentration of survivors!

This last idea was based on Yenir’s understanding of human nature.

After all, the Sea Beast Mother was no longer human! Yenir had no doubt that this monster would choose to hide among the survivors to avoid a nuclear strike!

After all, the Sea Beast Mother’s strength was overwhelming. Consider it from his perspective—against equally leveled Awakeners, he posed no threat; only a wide-scale relentless nuclear assault could end him!

“Let’s start by checking the survivor clusters! While the rebels are busy moving people, I’ll blend right in.”

Almost immediately, under Yenir’s mental transmission, Ming Luo produced a Credit Points Card from his pocket, his face brimming with ingratiation.

“Sir, why are we being evacuated from the Safe Zone all of a sudden? Which base are we headed to? Base One or Two?”

“Which base has the most people? Look, the group ahead is already splitting up!”

Feigning panic, Ming Luo asked while quickly using the card to bribe a rebel Awakened standing on a military vehicle.

To his surprise, the soldier in charge of the evacuation not only didn’t accept the Credit Points but promptly raised a Spirit Energy Crossbow and aimed at him:

“Get back to your group! Go to whichever base they designate for you!”

“Second-Stage? Second-Stage, head to Base Two! Identify yourselves!”

As soon as the words fell, Ming Luo’s heart skipped a beat. He hadn’t expected the rebels to rigorously check—his very action had landed him in the crosshairs!

At the same moment, Yenir’s expression darkened sharply.

It wasn’t that he was worried his identity might be exposed; the soldier’s conduct clearly signaled that the rebels were already alert to someone infiltrating them!

The leak of information was unavoidable.

Either the rebels were wary of a normal incursion,

or…

Suddenly, Yenir was struck by a thought he had subconsciously ignored all along!

“Damn it! I actually forgot I killed Fang Teng. That means Yuanlong has been on high alert against me for a long time!”

“If he can deduce my presence, then he might also figure out that I’m hunting for Mother!”