Chapter 1794
by 林方方Chapter 1794 Deception
Nightwatcher Headquarters.
Conference room.
“It’s been three days since the Gold Coast attack… the public opinion situation is very unfavorable now.” PR Department Director Zhong Xianzhi began gravely, “Thousands of people missing, a disaster of this scale cannot be suppressed. The relatives of the missing have reported to the police one after another, causing quite a stir.
Although we’ve claimed it was a tsunami, other areas in the same waters that day were completely calm. Only a two to three kilometer stretch of coastline experienced a tsunami that somehow swept away so many people at once – it simply doesn’t make sense.
Public opinion is now trending toward conspiracy theories. Although we’ve been constantly controlling comments online, the victims’ families have gathered independently, marching and protesting, demanding that officials immediately organize teams to search the sea and give them answers.”
“The local Nightwatcher team has also reported that many civilian organizations have crossed the Gold Coast blockade line to conduct their own investigations, though they haven’t found anything,” Chen Han nodded and said.
Logistics Department Director Yue Jiulin immediately added, “We’ve already dealt with all traces of Poseidon in advance, so they definitely won’t find anything.”
“What I mean is, they’re taking this matter very seriously…”
Destiny Monk sat at the center of the conference table, his brows slightly lowered, calmly listening to the statements of the other seven executives.
After everyone else had finished speaking, Destiny Monk slowly opened his mouth:
“Continue to suppress the social impact of this incident.”
Destiny Monk was a man of few words. After saying this, he showed no intention of speaking further. The executives exchanged glances, all seeing the helplessness in each other’s eyes.
“Are we really not taking any measures against Olympus?” Chen Han couldn’t help but ask.
“We will, but not now.”
“But those ordinary people are in Olympus, who knows what might happen? If we move one day earlier to rescue them, we might avoid more casualties.”
“I agree with Chen Han’s view,” Shao Pingge nodded and said, “Great Xia is no longer the Great Xia of the past, and Olympus is not the Olympus of yesteryear. In terms of combat power, we’re not inferior to them… We should rescue those ordinary people sooner to avoid complications.”
“I said, now is not the time.” Destiny Monk stood up, his gaze calmly sweeping across everyone, “If there’s nothing else, let’s adjourn.”
He picked up the documents on the table and was about to walk out, leaving the seven executives looking at each other in bewilderment.
Creak—
Just then, the conference room door was pushed open, and a deep red figure stood in the doorway.
“Commander Lin?!” Chen Han’s eyes lit up at the sight.
Destiny Monk looked at Lin Qiye standing outside the door and said flatly, “Is it over? Did Youliliang Bai succeed?”
“He hasn’t finished yet… I received Min Junliang’s call and came over immediately.” Lin Qiye glanced at everyone in the conference room and said to Destiny Monk, “Let’s talk in the office.”
The two returned to the office. Lin Qiye closed the door and immediately spoke:
“Why aren’t we rescuing them?”
“The risk is too great.” Destiny Monk didn’t beat around the bush and spoke frankly, “Although our combat strength is not inferior to Olympus now, they are in the mist after all, and it’s their home turf.”
Lin Qiye pondered, “You want to follow the original plan, wait for Teacher to come out of seclusion, and then attack Olympus?”
“Waiting for Zhou Ping to achieve the supreme state gives Great Xia an extra layer of insurance, which is naturally the safest approach.”
“But it will be three more days before he comes out of seclusion…” Lin Qiye said gravely, “Three days is too long for ordinary people. Can they really hold out in Olympus until we get there?”
Destiny Monk looked at him for a moment, “So? Are you planning to risk all of Great Xia’s top fighters for these few thousand people?”
“Sacrificing ordinary citizens to protect our strength is not the original intention of the Nightwatchers.” Lin Qiye spoke resolutely, “When Great Xia only had five human powerhouses years ago and faced an invasion of outer gods, didn’t they still charge to the front lines at the risk of their lives? Did they ever worry about their own survival?
Today’s Great Xia is several times stronger than before, yet now you want us to protect our strength while watching ordinary citizens being tortured to death by outer gods?
If that’s the case, what have we been desperately trying to become stronger for?”
Destiny Monk was not moved by Lin Qiye’s words at all and coldly replied:
“Precisely because this strength was hard-won, we must preserve our current fighting power… Our enemies are not just Olympus.”
The two stood in the office staring at each other, deadlocked for the moment.
After some time, Lin Qiye took out an emblem from his pocket, placed it on the desk, and said solemnly:
“If dark night finally comes, I shall stand before tens of thousands, sword drawn against the abyss, blood staining the sky… If I, Lin Qiye, cannot fulfill the content of this oath, then I am not worthy to be Commander-in-Chief.”
With these words, Lin Qiye placed one hand on the straight sword at his waist and turned to walk out of the office.
Destiny Monk watched the departing deep red figure, his brows slightly furrowed…
“Wait,” he suddenly said.
Lin Qiye paused.
“Are you determined to go?”
“Yes.” Lin Qiye replied without hesitation, “If anything happens… I alone will bear the consequences.”
Destiny Monk’s expression became somewhat complex. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke:
“I’m sorry.”
Lin Qiye frowned and turned back puzzled, “Why are you apologizing?”
“I lied to you all.” Destiny Monk slowly said, “I told those Nightwatcher executives that the ordinary citizens were still alive to stabilize morale… In fact, by last night, of those six thousand four hundred people, only a little over two hundred remained alive.
Those remaining won’t survive more than an hour. Even if you rush to Olympus now, you simply can’t save them.”
Hearing these words, Lin Qiye felt as if lightning had flashed through his mind, leaving him frozen in place.
“If you don’t believe me, see for yourself.”
Destiny Monk handed the list from his desk to Lin Qiye. On that densely packed list of victims, strands of cause and effect extended into the distant void… Following those causal threads, there was no trace of life at the other end, with only a meager two hundred people remaining, their life forces as faint as candlelight.
Destiny Monk looked at Lin Qiye’s grim face and said word by word:
“Now… do you still want to risk the lives of the living for these corpses?”