Chapter 657: Dumbed Down and Pushed to the Brink

“What is your plan?”

“How many forces do you control in the Tianjin Battle Zone now? And what is your troop count?”

“Who is your superior’s superior? Who has the right to enter the Spirit Core? And which high-ranking officials from Base Two go out on solo missions?”

Six rapid-fire questions.

On the shaking truck, Yenir barked at Zhao Teng, whom he had seized control of.

Though he didn’t expect the lowly soldier before him to know anything about the core, even a scrap of useful intel would suffice.

Yet, far more disappointing than Yenir had anticipated, the controlled Zhao Teng mumbled his response like a mindless automaton.

“Plan… I don’t know.”

“We’re going to war with the Capital. We’re here to kill you and the other commanders. You’re traitors—monsters.”

There are 360,000 Awakeners in the Tianjin Battle Zone, but they know nothing.

My commander is Yuhao, and his superior is Tianming, the battalion leader of the defense force. He doesn’t qualify for the core; only division-level officers and above can enter.

Captains don’t operate alone. I… all our captains are—

“Not your captains! I’m talking about the real high-ups—division-level and above!”

Yenir frowned. No sooner had he corrected Zhao Teng than he saw him clutch his head in pain, on the verge of losing control.

Realizing he couldn’t extract any more valuable information, Yenir let out a quiet sigh.

Time was short; he hadn’t the luxury for proper procedure. In short, he used a Mental Shock to dumb down the squad before forcibly switching control.

The drawback was that Zhao Teng and his comrades’ minds were already fried. Their earlier conversation with the defense force would have exposed everything had he not intervened.

“You really dare go to war?! To kill you and the other commanders while calling us monstrous traitors?!”

Inside the truck, Ming Luo glared at the group of rebels with shock and anger.

He hadn’t expected the one seemingly useful piece of information to be so absurd!

“Damn it! These rebels are the real monsters! They might even be harboring some kind of creature! How dare they plan to announce this?!”

Yenir raised a hand to calm Ming Luo’s anger; he wasn’t surprised by the rebels’ drastic measures.

With both sides as enemies, they’ll stop at nothing to crush each other. If it were him, even without irrefutable evidence, he’d nail them to the pillar of shame to ensure that none of Huaguo’s major factions or the Neutral Faction would ever side with the rebels.

After all, public sentiment and morale are sometimes decisive.

“You call me a monster… So, what do we do?”

Yenir paused, subconsciously recalling the high-end forces the rebels had summoned from various battle zones. Clearly, word had spread within their ranks, and they had convinced the wandering third-stage soldiers to boldly defy authority and completely turn their backs.

After all, Yenir had returned as the National War’s top force. To claim he had a mental flaw would be like branding Huaguo’s heroes as traitors—nobody with a brain would buy that.

For the rebels to dare do that, they must have solid ‘proof’.

We need to find a way to control the rebels’ high-ranking, division-level officers.

We still have too little intel. If we don’t act before they strike, we’ll be completely on the back foot.

Yenir’s gaze drifted to the long, oppressive line. Among the herded survivors, forbidden from even speaking, he could see fear and unease writ large on their faces.

The group of Awakeners looked equally grim, as if they sensed impending doom—their clashes with the guards already erupting.

Forced to the base with their weapons confiscated and in view of the Capital’s recent strange behavior, even the most prominent Awakeners could sense an approaching storm.

“Can we use them?”

“Stir up chaos, force a few high-ranking rebels out to restore order—and amid the confusion, seize another group?”

Yenir fell into deep thought, calculating every possibility.

He had no trouble controlling third-stage soldiers; his available quota was more than sufficient.

The challenge lay in achieving perfect control. He needed to utterly crush their resistance, almost as if brainwashing them with his abilities. Otherwise, any control he exerted risked backfiring, turning the controlled into hapless idiots.

But clearly, executing such a maneuver in front of so many rebels was impossible.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have let that third-stage soldier go.

We must create a communications blackout zone and lure in a group of high-ranking officers. Otherwise, once the enemy senses impending doom, even a fool would run and sound the alarm.

If news that I control the Otherworldly Ghost is leaked, it will be nearly impossible to leverage it further.

Moreover… the Otherworldly Ghost I’ve stashed in other countries might well be exposed too.

Feeling hemmed in—unsure of the Mother’s true powers, its hiding place, or fearing the enemy might simply flee—Yenir almost wanted to charge recklessly ahead!

Let’s search first… Unless it’s absolutely necessary. If we truly hit a dead end, then we’ll act!

Suppressing his inner frustration over the unknown, Yenir took a deep breath and swiftly regained his composure.

Soon, after clearing several checkpoints, a massive base with the aura of old military fortifications loomed into view.

Inside, a sprawling fortress of high-strength concrete concealed a towering beacon that dominated the scene.

After disembarking with the group, Yenir subtly channeled his power and stomped the ground beneath him.

A flash of sudden clarity crossed his eyes.

“Empty! The underground is empty!”

Using his spirit, he subconsciously probed deeper. While the line moved forward, he managed to map out the underground structure surrounding the base.

But just as he zeroed in on the core area, a subtle psychic ripple set off his alarm bells.

Hmm? A Mental Shield?

Instantly, he retracted his spirit as he stared thoughtfully at the ground.

He chose not to force his way through the barrier; relying on the data he’d gathered and the map provided by Nie Fei, he had a rough layout of the base.

The surface spanned about 130,000 square meters, and the underground had been completely hollowed out, echoing with the sound of flowing water.

At its core, it resembled an inverted honeycomb. Given the shield’s radius, the underground might extend over a hundred meters.

In other words, Base Two was like a colossal super nail, stubbornly anchored in place!

A coastal Safe Zone that extended so far underground… Could it possibly lead straight to the sea!?

“An… L-shape!?”

Before Yenir could ponder further, a squad of soldiers suddenly surrounded their group, shouting sharply:

“Why are you still carrying weapons?!”

“Line up! Everyone must remove all clothing for inspection!”