CR CH26

Chapter 26: Sudden Turn of Events

“Zzzt—”

The silver-white mechanical doors slowly slid open, producing a faint grinding noise.

Uniformed personnel were bustling back and forth within the battleship’s central lobby. Once the mechanical doors sealed shut again, the ambient clamor was completely cut off from the outside.

“Reporting, all currently monitored statuses are functioning perfectly normal.”

As a subordinate’s voice delivered the status report through the communication device, Yuri removed his cap and ran a hand through his red hair.

“Understood. Keep monitoring the data continuously. Report any anomalies immediately.”

The main control room was dimly lit and dead silent, save for the rhythmic pulse of energy rippling within the walls constructed of specialized materials. A neat array of small monitors was arranged across the room like a dynamic jigsaw puzzle, showcasing live combat feeds. Yuri casually lifted his eyes after hanging up the transmission, only to freeze dead in his tracks as if he had just seen a ghost upon getting a clear look at the silhouette seated before the main control console a short distance away.

“Captain?”

Before that person could even turn around, the mechanical doors behind him slid open once more.

“Why are you pulling me? What did I say wrong? Those old fogies are just armchair quarterbacks talking big without breaking a sweat! Every single time…”

“Alright, quit shouting. Look at yourself, throwing a tantrum like a noisy child.”

Zhao Hengyi’s booming voice spearheaded the arrival, his face a mask of displeasure. The several individuals following behind him were all clad in formal dress uniforms, looking as though they had just wrapped up a highly formal meeting. Wei Jiangming was pushing him forward into the room, his brows knitted tightly together with a somewhat helpless expression on his face.

“Cough, cough.”

Zhao Hengyi had initially intended to clamor a bit more, but upon hearing the highly suggestive coughing beside him, he seemed to sense something. He directed his gaze toward the main control console, and the moment his eyes locked onto a flash of silver-white, his aggressive bluster instantly deflated by more than half.

“Captain,” the few of them called out subconsciously.

“Captain, why are you here?” Wei Jiangming looked puzzled as he specially activated his device to glance at the time. Only after confirming it did he ask, “Isn’t today a rare day off for you?”

Eileen knew exactly what was going on. Standing at the rear of the crowd with a knowing smile, she let out a couple of soft clicks of her tongue before finding an empty seat to sit down.

Noticing the dark, fatigued circles beneath his eyes, Tang Min tilted her head back with a sigh: “Did you skip resting again yesterday?”

“It’s obvious at a single glance.” Yuri stood beside her, setting his water cup down with an emphatic clunk as he raised his voice: “Captain, what are we supposed to do if you drop dead from sudden exhaustion? Can’t you spare a thought for us… Ow!”

A thick, heavy book slammed precisely against his head. Ling Kongmiao let out a gentle yawn, his tone dripping with cold displeasure.

“Rest assured. When that time comes, I’ll package the lot of you up and take you with me.”

The virtual interface closest to him was displaying a battle feed of a certain squad. The situation appeared somewhat tense. The person in the frame hurriedly turned their head, their deep, sharp forest-green eyes narrowing slightly beneath the glare of the lights.

The teammates walked over to stand behind Ling Kongmiao. The main monitors had been brought up to showcase the finest prospects who possessed exceptionally outstanding combat capabilities, with members of the Ability Division accounting for the vast majority. The entire wall was densely packed with live combat footage.

“This batch of candidates from the Ability Division has quite a few standouts, but there are only two whose comprehensive rating scores as high as 9.8: Liang Chong from Squad A306 and Ji Yang from Squad A416.”

Yuri leaned over next to Ling Kongmiao, pointing at the top two small frames. Seeing that one of them had already gone dark to indicate a completed mission, he nodded with satisfaction: “Particularly this Liang Chong. He’s a top graduate from the Command Department of the Federal Capital’s First Academy. His foundation is incredibly solid, ranging from actual combat to theoretical knowledge, and his attitude is highly proactive.”

Eileen took a sip of her tea, and as if recalling something, she added another question: “Is this the child you’ve been personally mentoring?”

The Special Assistance Unit had been dispatched this time to serve as an emergency response force, for which the Federation had granted a certain amount of compensation. Consequently, they held a few slots for targeted recommendations in their hands. As the absolute ceiling of front-line combat strength, the Special Assistance Unit naturally held a priority status higher than any other combat unit.

Yuri made no attempt to conceal his stance, clearly favoring this prospect. He had likely already held a private talk with him.

“Yes,” Yuri nodded, looking toward Eileen. “A rare child who doesn’t neglect any subjects. His first choice is also the Special Assistance Unit.”

Tang Min stared at the screen for a moment, locking onto a target: “Jia Yun from the Regular Division, Squad A06, has the highest single-person rating, but his personality is a real issue. There’s truly nothing good to say about his teamwork capabilities.”

She pointed at a specific monitor. The scene on the screen depicted a certain ruined site where Jia Yun was slaughtering everything in his path with cold, indifferent eyes, his strikes decisive and efficient. Low-level mutants of this caliber posed no difficulty for him whatsoever. His teammate, Qi Xiuyi, casually trailed behind him to deliver the finishing blows like a stray cat scavenging for scraps.

Wei Jiangming pondered for a moment: “There’s still some time before the final assessment. A few dark horses with high potential might still be able to catch up.”

The disparity within the Z01 Baseline Troops was severe; the top tier and the bottom tier of the combat leaderboard practically existed in two entirely different worlds.

While everyone was lost in their own thoughts, Ye—who had remained completely silent up to this point like an invisible shadow—suddenly pointed at the screen in front of Ling Kongmiao, his tone uncharacteristically hesitant.

“Captain, who is this?”

Everyone followed his gaze, and a figure frantically scrambling to evade danger filled their vision.

Zhao Hengyi had the strongest reaction. He froze for a moment before slapping his thigh, his expression instantly becoming incredibly tense: “Good heavens, why is this kid here?”

As he spoke, he lowered his head, utilizing his clearance to open the safety system and continuously refresh the interface: “How is the safety system not showing any response? Has a distress signal not been sent out yet?”

The young man in the footage was currently running for his life in a disheveled and frantic state. A thick, lumbering, two-headed mutant serpent was smashing through the cafeteria walls and windows, while a pack of mutated wolves pursued him relentlessly from behind.

Low-level mutant species possessed extremely low threat coefficients and moved sluggishly, making them an opponent that the members of Z01 should be entirely capable of handling.

Tang Min looked at Zhao Hengyi with a hint of curiosity: “What’s wrong? Low-level mutants should be something they can handle with ease. There’s no need to be this anxious, is there?”

Zhao Hengyi kept shaking his head, his eyes glued to the monitor: “Oh, you don’t understand…”

However, they didn’t get to wait for any updates from the safety system; Yuri’s communication device rang first.

Receiving a transmission at a time like this was never a good sign. His brows knitted together as he immediately accepted the call. Before he could even utter a word, a somewhat panicked voice erupted from the other end.

“Report! Coordinates: A-class Planet-Zhou-07, Mission Serial Number 7869, Location: Lizhou Demi-Beast Academy. Monitored data is anomalous; energy mutation values are rising continuously. The monitoring sensors will fail in ten seconds…”

The atmosphere in the main control room turned suffocatingly heavy in an instant. The combat feed belonging to Jiang Tianji began to flicker wildly, emitting a sharp, piercing “Zzzt—” noise. The red warning alarms blared to life. After a brief period of distorted, struggling static, the screen plunged entirely into darkness.

Ling Kongmiao rose abruptly, the silver-white tips of his hair cutting a sharp, hurried arc through the air.

“Use my authorization to open the emergency warp space. Secure all data values recorded prior to the sensor failure.”