Chapter 660: Web of Betrayal

“Lord Yenir, something here doesn’t feel right…”

Trailing behind Yenir, Ming Luo eyed the code on his uniform with a hint of confusion.

After infiltrating, each person was issued a standard uniform, as if they were staff. His serial was b1089, while Yenir’s was b2666.

Clearly, these numbers weren’t given in order of entry; they reflected one’s displayed strength.

Contrary to what Ming Luo and the others had expected, they weren’t locked up in prisons, confined in mysterious labs, or dumped into an enormous underground facility.

Once suited up, they were simply assembled in a vast hall stretching over a kilometer, with the awakened left free to whisper among themselves.

There had to be a reason for Base Two’s issues, but he couldn’t fathom what these Rebels were planning.

“They must have something to say…”

“These Rebels must be here to announce something or set things in order.”

Yenir replied calmly, his gaze immediately locking onto the high platform at the hall’s center and the several white, MRI-like machines surrounding it.

If they weren’t used for immediate experiments, then it meant that what they were facing might not match the grim “treatment” Nie Fei had described for the awakened who were sent in to be killed.

Sure enough, amidst the uneasy murmur of the crowd,

a squad of officers in uniform marched in unison from the opposite end of the hall.

A shrill burst from the microphone cut through the chatter, momentarily silencing the room.

“Silence!”

“Please welcome Colonel Huang Yuzhang, head of Base Two in the Tianjin Battle Zone, to address you!”

Inside the hall, numerous awakened from outside turned to watch the Colonel ascend the platform. Though unsure of his purpose, they instinctively fell silent in fear.

In the Tianjin Battle Zone, the Rebels still carried considerable authority; people were long accustomed to Military management.

“Bang bang”

The microphone was tapped.

Ascending the platform, the middle-aged Colonel Huang Yuzhang scanned the room with authority. Without wasting words, he spoke in a deep, commanding tone:

“Awakened of the Safe Zone in the Tianjin Battle Zone, I know you’re puzzled about why the Military brought you here and what they truly intend.”

“I know some of you, with your swift flow of information, have already heard about the unrest in the Capital.”

“And I believe you’ve all heard the nationwide announcement from the Capital just a day ago, proclaiming our victory in the National War across Asia!”

“This is truly something to celebrate!”

He paused briefly.

Below, Ming Luo and the others stared in shock at the Rebel Colonel’s words.

He had never imagined his counterpart would begin by praising Yenir in such an official tone!

Before Ming Luo could react, Yenir’s face suddenly darkened as if he recalled something important.

Sure enough, as the crowd nodded and even cheered that this was a good thing, the Colonel’s tone abruptly turned severe:

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a lie! It’s a sham!”

“If we had truly won the National War, that should be celebrated! The Capital’s rewards would have been just!”

“But it’s all fake!”

As his voice rose, the entire hall of awakened displayed stunned expressions; many were left with their mouths agape, unable to understand how this Colonel could utter such words.

“Fake!? How can the Capital deceive us!?”

“And wasn’t there a system announcement!? How can a system be fake!?”

“Exactly! What on earth is going on!?”

In the ensuing chaos, people instinctively refused to believe the Colonel’s statements, especially those quick-witted awakened who realized that if his words truly represented the Military of the Tianjin Battle Zone, then he was denouncing the Capital Military for lying!

“Silence!”

Beside the Colonel, a coolly detached Third-Stage mid-level practitioner sharply admonished the crowd.

Seeing that the audience remained unfazed, the Colonel scoffed and, regaining his commanding tone, continued:

“I know it’s hard to believe, but when the Military learned the truth, it pained them deeply!”

“Behind this so-called National War victory was actually a long-conceived act of treason—an outright betrayal of our country!”

“Some among the Capital’s high-ranking Military colluded with foreign powers, becoming traitors!”

“They agreed to cede all coastal Battle Zones, and in return, handed over vast resources to Japan, South Korea, and even to minor Southeast Asian countries, signing a series of humiliating treaties just to secure this victory!”

“And for what? To boost the stature of a puppet—someone dubbed as the Number One sequence, Yenir!”

“A precocious brat, hailed by them as possessing the strongest innate talent ever witnessed!”

“I tell you, all of this is a sham!”

“It was all orchestrated to elevate a political upstart, making it easier for them to target the heroes of Huaguo!”

Unperturbed by the risk of exposure, the Colonel recalled the assignment he’d been given, and from then on, he let the survivors below absorb his words in silence.

Even the most elite awakened were only at the Third-Stage. The fragments of information they received about Huaguo’s internal affairs were just whispers. That’s why, from the outside, Yenir’s actions seemed downright bizarre.

First, he killed Zhang Meng’s son, then persecuted Zhang Meng, provoked a committee member, and later unleashed a killing spree in the East Sea!

If the authorities had endorsed him, these actions would have branded him and his supporters as irredeemable.

Yet, before the Capital Military could release any of these revelations—before the scandal could fully break out—they never disclosed the true situation. Of course, they couldn’t.

Thus, to the outside world, many of Yenir’s actions appeared utterly inconceivable, irrational!

“Selling out our country!? Treason!?”

“Officer, what is the meaning of this?! How can the Capital Military betray us…”

With one explosive revelation after another, the common awakened in the hall were rendered speechless. Such information was far beyond what people of their rank could grasp.

Faced with doubt and incredulity, the Colonel exhaled as if in resignation and forced a bitter smile:

“Frankly, if Huaguo hadn’t reached its most critical moment, our Military would never have wanted to expose these traitors!”

“You should know that ever since the end times, the Tianjin Battle Zone has been a haven for our heroes and veteran soldiers in their twilight years.”

“Those who once sacrificed and served our country not only spent their final days here but also formed Huaguo’s last line of defense, enabling us to stand and defend our homeland when it mattered most!”

“Yet, when faced with us, these new awakened from the Capital simply weren’t content with the existing order!”

“They saw us as burdens—obstacles in their path to oppress and exploit the people!”

“That’s why they’d rather betray our country, target the old heroes and established Third-Stage practitioners, and even disgracefully sell out Huaguo to fuel their own ambitions!”

“And Yenir is merely a tool in their scheme! He isn’t a genius, nor did he fight for you in the National War!”

“Just look at how quickly the National War ended—you should know by now that something was amiss from the start!”