99: Chapter 99 Su Yun might be that monster!
Linhai Investigation Bureau.
Underground command room.
The air was filled with a mix of coffee, disinfectant, and the smell of burnt circuit boards.
Dozens of large screens were still looping data from the East Sea battlefield.
Mirage of the Sea Kingdom had disappeared.
The energy fluctuations of six S-Rank Strange Tales had dropped to zero.
Bai Cang's energy readings had broken through the System's upper limit.
The Rancher's energy fluctuations were immeasurable.
In the top right corner of the screen, a red warning had not disappeared.
[Target's status is too high; unable to establish a complete model.]
[Warning: Conventional assessment System has failed.]
[Warning: Do not measure this target using existing Rank standards.]
A technician stared at those lines of text, his lips pale.
He had already restarted the System seven times.
The result was the same every time.
It wasn't that the computer was broken.
It was their understanding that was broken.
Executive Jiang Xu stood in front of the conference table.
His complexion was poor.
His lips lacked color.
But his back remained straight.
The dark gold spear leaned against him, the patterns on its shaft occasionally contracting like a living thing.
Every time it contracted, the gravity in the conference room fluctuated slightly.
Chen Jianguo sat nearby, holding a thermos, not daring to take a sip for a long time.
Because the goji berries in the cup were floating up and down eerily.
He glanced at Executive Jiang Xu, then at the spear, and finally silently pushed his cup a little further away.
On the communication screen, the face of Commander Li Zhenshan was as grim as iron.
Behind him was the High Command's supreme conference room.
Several old men with stars on their shoulders sat in the shadows, no one speaking.
"Report."
Executive Jiang Xu didn't waste words.
"The semi-King-Rank Strange Tale, Mirage of the Sea Kingdom, is confirmed to have been devoured by The Rancher."
"The six S-Rank disasters from Neon are confirmed dead."
"Linhai's main urban area has been preserved."
"Before the projection of the Holy Source in the Sanctuary collapsed, it briefly blocked the tsunami."
"Bai Cang accepted a gift from The Rancher and obtained a fragment of the Sea Kingdom Authority; his combat power assessment exceeds that of a conventional S-Rank."
"Night Owl, two generations of Saintesses, and the Queen of Great Britain all participated in the East Sea defense line."
"The World-Swallowing Prison Wolf Law within me is stable."
"The Rancher still regards Great Xia as its pasture and does not allow large-scale destruction by external Strange Tales."
He paused for a moment and added, "It can currently be confirmed that it possesses clear territorial awareness, a desire for consumption, and an extremely strong instinct to protect its food."
After listening, Commander Li Zhenshan tapped the table with his finger.
Thump.
The sound wasn't loud.
But it made everyone's heart in the conference room sink.
"Your recommendation."
Executive Jiang Xu looked up.
"Continue to execute the 'Drive the Tiger to Swallow the Wolf' strategy."
Everyone in the conference room looked at him.
Chen Jianguo's eyelids twitched.
Ye Zhiwei stood quietly in the corner, the white cloth covering her eyes made almost transparent by the lights.
Su Yao sat nearby, not speaking.
Her complexion was even paler than the screen.
Executive Jiang Xu's voice was steady.
"We have no choice."
"Old Fengdu is reviving in Dahuang Prefecture."
"There is a King-Rank embryo under the ice coffin in the Northern Territory."
"Thirty-seven islands in the South Seas have lost contact."
"God-descension pollution has appeared within the Western Continent's Sanctuary."
"How long the Great Britain royal defense line can hold is also an unknown."
"The frequency of abyss activity globally is rising."
"The extinction-level crisis we face is not just one Rancher."
He said this, his gaze sweeping over the residual data of the East Sea battlefield on the screen.
"But The Rancher now has a clear behavioral logic."
"It protects its food."
"It devours Strange Tales."
"It does not want the pasture to be destroyed."
"It has no goodwill toward humans, but it has needs."
"This is the window of opportunity."
Commander Li Zhenshan was silent.
On the other side of the screen, an old man spoke slowly: "Are you suggesting that we lure semi-King-Rank or even King-Rank Strange Tales toward Dahuang Prefecture?"
Executive Jiang Xu said, "Not toward Dahuang Prefecture."
"It is to lure them toward the area where it can hunt."
The old man sneered: "Is there a big difference?"
Executive Jiang Xu replied calmly: "The difference is that the former is suicide, and the latter is a gamble with our lives."
Chen Jianguo's mouth twitched.
That made a lot of sense.
But it didn't sound much better.
After a moment, Commander Li Zhenshan asked, "What if it ascends to godhood?"
The temperature in the conference room seemed to drop instantly.
No one dared to answer this question lightly.
Su Yao's fingertips trembled slightly.
Executive Jiang Xu raised his eyes.
"If we resist now, we're just dying early."
This sentence was harsh.
So harsh it felt like rubbing everyone's dignity into the ground.
But no one refuted it.
Because it was the truth.
They had just witnessed that thing eat a semi-King-Rank Sea Kingdom.
That wasn't a battle.
That was feeding.
Commander Li Zhenshan looked at Su Yao.
"Su Yao, what do you think?"
Su Yao looked up.
There were bloodshot eyes.
In the past few days, she had hardly slept properly.
Memories of her past life, the reality of this life, the dead fish eyes in the reservoir, the scarlet giant eye under the East Sea—all of them were nailed into her mind like spikes.
She spoke slowly.
"I object."
She spoke very slowly.
"But I know objecting is useless."
The conference room fell silent.
Su Yao looked at the screen, her voice hoarse.
"In my past life, he destroyed the world."
"In this life, he Awakened earlier, yet he possesses reason."
"I came back to stop him."
"But now, I find I can't even make him stop in his tracks."
She lowered her eyes.
"He is too strong."
"So strong it's suffocating."
Executive Jiang Xu looked at her.
"That's why we must survive."
Su Yao looked up.
Executive Jiang Xu said, "You have seen the future."
"Then you should understand even more that the dead cannot change anything."
Su Yao did not answer immediately.
She thought of the reservoir.
She thought of the dead grass carp whose eyeballs she had desperately pressed down.
She thought of the tsunami that had materialized above Linhai.
She thought of that voice saying—
"You leeks, you'd better grow faster."
She suddenly smiled.
Very lightly.
And very wearily.
"Executive Jiang Xu, do you know what we look like right now?"
Executive Jiang Xu looked at her.
Su Yao said, "Lambs waiting to be slaughtered."
Ye Zhiwei stood in the corner and said softly, "But for now, at least he isn't eating us."
Chen Jianguo's mouth twitched.
At a time like this, he actually thought that made sense.
This world was becoming more and more absurd.
They used to hold meetings to discuss how to eliminate Strange Tales.
Now they were holding meetings to discuss how to quickly send other Strange Tales to The Rancher while it wasn't eating people yet.
The strategic level of human civilization had suddenly upgraded from 'disaster prevention and mitigation' to 'rational feeding.'
Commander Li Zhenshan finally spoke.
"High Command has decided."
Everyone sat up straight.
"Temporarily support Executive Jiang Xu's plan."
"Codename 'The Rancher' is listed as a top-level observation target."
"Do not actively provoke it."
"Do not disclose real intelligence."
"All intelligence on the revival of Strange Tales above semi-King-Rank shall be prioritized for evaluation on whether it can be guided to The Rancher's hunting range."
"Bai Cang is listed as a top-danger cooperation target."
"The arrest warrant for Night Owl is under review."
"Linhai City is temporarily designated as a special war zone."
He said this, his voice even deeper.
"Relevant information is classified as SSS-level top secret."
"Anyone who leaks it will be treated as guilty of treason."
"Executive Jiang Xu."
Executive Jiang Xu looked up.
"You are responsible for indirect contact with it."
Executive Jiang Xu said calmly, "Understood."
Commander Li Zhenshan looked at him.
"You are humanity's spear."
"Don't truly become its dog."
Executive Jiang Xu gripped the dark gold spear.
On the back of his hand, dark gold patterns flashed and disappeared.
"I only wield the spear for humanity."
The communication ended.
The screen went black.
No one spoke in the conference room.
Only the low humming of instruments tapped on everyone's heart.
Su Yao leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
She was tired.
Really tired.
Before her Rebirth, she thought knowing the future was an advantage.
After her Rebirth, she realized that the future was just another form of torture.
You know the disaster is coming.
But you can't stop it.
You know who will die.
But you can't save them.
You know that monster will destroy the world.
But when he opens his eyes early, you don't even have the courage to approach his true identity.
In the conference room, only the low humming of the instruments remained.
Su Yao opened her eyes and looked at Executive Jiang Xu.
"Are you really planning to keep contacting him?"
Executive Jiang Xu stood by the window.
Post-rain Linhai looked like a city that had just crawled back from the brink of drowning.
Buildings were still dripping.
Streets were still clearing obstacles.
Countless ordinary people were relighting the lights in their homes.
"It's not contact."
His voice was very flat.
"It's observation, it's guidance, it's utilization."
Su Yao sneered.
"That sounds nice."
"You know what kind of thing he is."
"He is not a weapon, not an ally, not even a disaster that can be negotiated with."
Her fingertips trembled slightly.
"He can save Linhai today because he protects his food, but he can also destroy Linhai tomorrow because he's bored."
Executive Jiang Xu turned around.
"That's why we cannot just do nothing."
Su Yao stared at him.
"You have been modified by him."
When this sentence fell, the air instantly grew colder.
Chen Jianguo subconsciously looked at Executive Jiang Xu.
Ye Zhiwei also tilted her head slightly.
Executive Jiang Xu did not deny it.
The dark gold patterns flashed and disappeared on the back of his hand.
That was not spiritual energy.
Nor was it the power an Awakened should originally have.
That was the Law of the abyss.
It was the Law the World-Swallowing Prison Wolf had left in his body.
It was also the bone The Rancher had personally stuffed into his body.
"Yes."
Executive Jiang Xu said.
"So I know better than any of you how dangerous he is."
Su Yao's voice was hoarse.
"Then you still want to gamble?"
Executive Jiang Xu looked at her.
"Su Yao."
"Did you return through Rebirth to kill him, or to let more people survive?"
Su Yao was stunned.
Executive Jiang Xu continued, "If we go to war with him now, Linhai will die."
"Great Xia will die."
"Humanity might not even have the qualification to wait for the day he ascends to godhood."
He gripped the spear, his tone cold and hard.
"I don't trust him."
"And I don't submit to him either."
"But as long as he can eat those closer disasters, I will send the disasters to his mouth."
Su Yao was silent for a long time.
Finally, she said softly, "You will eventually be dragged into the abyss by him."
Executive Jiang Xu replied calmly, "Then before I fall completely, I'll drag a few more Strange Tales down with me."
When this sentence fell, the conference room fell silent again.
No one knew what to say.
Because what Executive Jiang Xu said wasn't a heroic statement.
It was a suicide note.
Just then.
Executive Jiang Xu's phone rang.
The screen displayed the caller—Gu Lang.
Executive Jiang Xu frowned imperceptibly.
Gu Lang should be at Linhai No. 2 High School right now.
His mission was to act as bait, continuously protect Su Yun, and simultaneously maintain the stability of the Sequence 033 Corpse-eating Dog.
Logically speaking, now that the East Sea incident had just ended, he shouldn't be contacting him proactively at this time.
Unless there was a problem at the school.
Executive Jiang Xu answered.
On the other end of the phone, Gu Lang's voice was lowered to the extreme, yet it carried an uncontrollable terror.
"Su Yun might be that monster!"