200: Chapter 196 Anger
Magic Sea Calendar, the 26th day, 6:17 AM.
Inside the operations conference room of the main ship, the Renaissance, eight people sat around a steel-gray long table.
Before the door had even closed, Zheng Yuanshan's voice slammed into the room.
"Who authorized this?"
It was not a question. It was an interrogation.
The elderly man stood at the head of the long table, his hands pressed against the surface, his eyes beneath thick brows locked onto everyone present. His temples were completely white, and his square face bore no excess expression, but the sense of oppression made Director Zhou Ming, who was closest to him, instinctively straighten his back.
"The Magic Sea Commercial Bank—who authorized it to go live?"
On both sides of the long table, the seven standing council members remained silent.
Director Lin Su spoke first, her speed as fast as ever: "I was woken up by a private message from a subordinate at 5:00 AM this morning. I was stunned when I saw the announcement. The signatory is the Comprehensive Coordination Department. Acting Director Liu, this..."
She looked at Acting Director Liu Zhenghua across from her.
Acting Director Liu Zhenghua's face was livid, his hands laid flat on the table, fingers slightly curled.
"Posted on behalf. The end of the announcement says 'Posted on behalf of Liu Zhenghua'—but I did not post this announcement. I went to sleep at 10:00 PM last night."
He paused for a moment.
"It was Director Sun Zheng. He used the official permission port of the Comprehensive Coordination Department. He has this permission."
Zheng Yuanshan's breathing grew heavier.
"He has the permission—but he has no authority to unilaterally release an announcement of this magnitude." His voice lowered, sounding even deeper: "The Magic Sea Commercial Bank project was indeed proposed by Director Sun Zheng at the council meeting two days ago, and I did approve it—but I approved the preparation plan, which involves establishing the institutional framework, risk control mechanisms, and capital pool planning first, and then going through the full process before submitting it for council review!"
He slammed his palm onto the table.
The steel-gray metal table emitted a dull, vibrating sound.
"It was not to be snuck online in the middle of the night! And certainly not—"
He grabbed the life ring projection, enlarged the terms of the special rebate event at the end of the announcement, and jabbed his finger at it.
"100% rebate for the first 100,000 people? 20% rebate for the first 3 million? What is Director Sun Zheng going to pay them back with? His own head?"
No one answered.
Director Lin Su spoke up: "Old Zheng, where is Director Sun Zheng? He should be on duty at the Defense Department this morning."
Zheng Yuanshan turned to the guard at the door: "Go to the Defense Department and find Director Sun Zheng. Tell him to come here immediately."
The guard acknowledged the order and left.
Silence fell over the command hall. The seven people had their own thoughts, but their gazes shifted back and forth between that announcement and the hundreds of thousands of comments below it in the Symphony Realm.
"How many people have deposited so far?" Director Zhou Ming asked.
Acting Director Liu Zhenghua pulled up the limited data available in the backend, his voice raspy: "As of 6:00 AM this morning, based on the discussion heat in the Symphony Realm… conservatively estimated, the number of depositors is over ten million."
Ten million people.
Calculating at an average of 100 karma points per person, that's one billion karma points.
This number made the expressions of everyone present change.
Seven minutes later.
The guard returned.
He stood at the door with a strange expression. It wasn't the standard reporting expression after carrying out an order, but rather a kind of… hesitation, not knowing how to speak.
"Speak." Zheng Yuanshan stared at him.
"Report, Chief—Director Sun Zheng's Houseboat is not at the original coordinates."
The air in the command hall solidified.
The guard continued: "I checked through the Fate Platform positioning, and Director Sun Zheng's account… has been disconnected. The Houseboat… is not within the range of the Revival Society fleet formation. The Personnel Records Department urgently retrieved his last disconnection record, which shows the disconnection occurred at 12:04 AM. There has been no trace of connection since then."
12:04 AM.
Three minutes after the announcement was released.
Zheng Yuanshan slowly stood up.
The elderly man's movement to stand up was slow, but everyone present could feel a sense of oppression crushing over from his direction.
"Acting Director Liu Zhenghua," his voice was unnaturally flat, "the main account of the Magic Sea Commercial Bank—is it the Revival Society's public account, or is it Director Sun Zheng's personal account?"
Acting Director Liu Zhenghua was stunned for a moment. Then his pupils suddenly contracted.
"We… haven't reached the step of establishing a unified public account during the preparation stage. I'm afraid Director Sun Zheng used a temporary solution to fill in…"
He didn't finish.
But everyone understood.
The account number written in the announcement—YG0532****25.
If it wasn't the Revival Society's public account.
Then it was Director Sun Zheng's personal account.
The karma points of millions of people had all been transferred into one person's pocket.
And this person had now vanished into thin air.
The deathly silence in the command hall lasted for a full five seconds.
Chief Prosecutor Chen Tianjiao was the first to smash the life ring recording tablet in his hand.
"I worked with him for half a month—how dare he?"
Director Zhou Ming stood up abruptly: "The karma points of millions of people! Can he swallow that all by himself? Can he get away? Wherever the Yanhuang Civilization is located, wherever our Revival Society assembly order points, we strike!"
"The fact that he ran means he has an exit strategy." Director Lin Su's voice was cold, "A person who has been steady for half a lifetime would not do something without a backup plan."
Zheng Yuanshan did not participate in the argument.
He stood there, his white-templed profile reflecting the light of the projection.
He was silent for ten seconds.
He couldn't figure it out.
Director Sun Zheng had known him for less than a month on this Magic Sea, but this person's speeches at every council meeting were flawless. Steady, cautious, never stealing credit, never overstepping authority. The Defense Department ran like clockwork under his management.
Such a person.
Why?
For one billion karma points?
On this Magic Sea where everyone's life hangs by a thread, where can he go with one billion karma points? What can he do? Does one person need that much gold-tier equipment?
It makes no sense.
But the facts are right in front of us. The person has run away, and the money is gone.
Whether it makes sense or not is no longer important.
"Issue an announcement." Zheng Yuanshan's voice returned to calm, "Now. Immediately."
He turned to Acting Director Liu Zhenghua: "You write it, I will review it. Release it in the name of the entire council."
---
Seven minutes later.
A new pinned announcement popped up on the Revival Society official post. Red bold border. Issuer: Revival Red Federation · Joint Governing Council.
[Emergency Announcement—Solemn Declaration Regarding the "Revival Society Magic Sea Commercial Bank" Announcement]
[1. The "Announcement on the Official Establishment of the Revival Society Magic Sea Commercial Bank" released last night (Magic Sea Calendar, 25th day, 23:59) was not reviewed or approved by the Joint Governing Council. It was unilaterally released by the former Director of the Defense and Security Department, Director Sun Zheng, using his official authority, and does not represent the position of the Revival Red Federation.]
[2. After emergency verification, the deposit account (YG0532****25) listed in the announcement is not a Revival Society public account, but Director Sun Zheng's personal account. All karma points transferred to this account have not entered any of the Revival Society's public fund systems.]
[3. Director Sun Zheng has left the Revival Society fleet early this morning, his Fate Platform account is disconnected, and his current whereabouts are unknown. The council has initiated a comprehensive investigation.]
[4. Effective immediately, all business of the "Revival Society Magic Sea Commercial Bank" is declared invalid. Please, all Survivors, stop transferring any karma points to this account immediately. The terms such as "100% rebate for the first 100,000" and "20% rebate for the first 3 million" mentioned in the previous announcement are all false promises and constitute deliberate fraud.]
[5. The Revival Red Federation bears the responsibility for regulatory negligence in this incident. The council will announce the complete investigation results and follow-up plan within 24 hours.]
[—Jointly signed by all members of the Revival Red Federation · Joint Governing Council]
The moment the announcement was released.
The refresh speed of the replies below the Revival Society official post jumped directly from normal to thousands per second.
Then to tens of thousands.
The Symphony Realm completely exploded.
[Wind-Chasing Youth (Yanhuang Civilization): No… I just deposited 188 points in there last night??? You're telling me now that it's a personal account???]
[Sea Chicken Farmer (Yanhuang Civilization): 320. I deposited 320 points. My entire life savings. Now you're telling me I was scammed??? Revival Society, are you joking with me???]
[Small Noodle Shop Owner (Yanhuang Civilization): 57… only 57 points, but that's what I saved for almost a week…]
[Dream Maker (Yanhuang Civilization): Revival Society, tell me this is April Fool's, right? Right??? Hurry up and say this is an activity to test user loyalty, right!!!]
[Fishing Light Song (Yanhuang Civilization): I'm breaking out in a cold sweat. I grabbed a spot in the first 10,000 early this morning and deposited 400 points. 400 points… that's enough for me to open my Spatial Backpack for two months plus the cost of upgrading a set of silver-tier equipment.]
[Storm Eye (Yanhuang Civilization): I deposited 2,300 points. Our team of eight pooled our public fund and put it all in. Now everyone looks at me like I'm their sworn enemy.]
[Iron-Faced Ruthless (Yanhuang Civilization): Revival Society, hurry up and say you made a mistake, okay? Otherwise, I'm really going to jump into the sea. The convention says suicide allows you to keep your merits; I don't have many merits anyway. I don't care anymore. Really.]
[Salted Fish Turnaround (Yanhuang Civilization): Does anyone know how to withdraw? I sent "Withdrawal + 57" to that account, no response. I've sent over a dozen messages, all read but not replied to.]
[Iron Straight Man (Yanhuang Civilization): Stop sending them. The person has run away, what are they going to reply to you with? Wake up, brothers.]
Panic spread through the Symphony Realm like a plague. Every time it refreshed, thousands more desperate comments appeared.
Zheng Yuanshan stood in the command hall, watching the rapidly scrolling comment section on the projection, silent for a long time.
He still couldn't figure it out.
Director Sun Zheng. A person who never said an extra word at council meetings. His plans were flawless, and the Defense Department was well-managed. In half a month of working together, this person had never once overstepped his bounds.
Why?
One billion karma points? On this Magic Sea, what can one person do with one billion karma points?
This amount of money is impossible for him to spend personally.
So it wasn't for money.
Then what was it for?
Zheng Yuanshan clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. He had already thought of the worst answer—organized, premeditated, someone behind the scenes.
However, reality didn't give him time to think.
Just eleven minutes after the Revival Society announcement was released, a new post popped up in the Symphony Realm.
Issuer: Director Sun Zheng.
Online.
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