208: The Navy's Dilemma and Lin Mo's Changes

Yang Dian only hovered in the air for a while, far from the sea area where the reclaimed island was located, when three bright lights shot up from the large destroyers protecting the sand dredgers and mud dredgers, flying straight towards him.

In a moment, three light blue mechs hovered in front of Yang Dian, and the person in the lead also opened his mech's faceplate:

"Director Yang, hello, I am He Ju, the person in charge of the ancient relic excavation operation. May I ask if you have any instructions for coming here?"

Hearing He Ju's respectful address, Yang Dian couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

He had seen He Ju's material, a Navy Captain.

A Deputy Director of a Second-Level City Special Administration Bureau would be roughly equivalent to a Colonel in the military.

So, by his calculation, his position should be lower than He Ju's.

Yet, He Ju was acting so humble in front of him.

'City-Level, truly the ceiling of individual power on Earth right now...'

With an inward sigh, Yang Dian first gave He Ju a friendly nod, then spoke:

"Lin Mo, a Second-Level Peacekeeper from my Fuzhou Paranormal Management Bureau, was conscripted here to participate in the excavation of the relic. However, his last contact with our Special Administration Bureau and his family was three days ago."

"So I came to see if something unexpected happened to him?"

Upon hearing the name Lin Mo, He Ju's heart immediately sank.

Just as Yang Dian suspected, Lin Mo had indeed encountered an accident.

On the other side, Yang Dian also frowned when he saw He Ju's slightly changing expression:

"Did he really have an accident?"

He Ju opened his mouth but hadn't spoken yet when he heard Yang Dian question again:

"Why didn't I see any relevant information in the relic excavation project log?"

He Ju looked at Yang Dian's darkening face, which seemed ready to fight at any disagreement, and couldn't help but sigh.

"This is my fault."

As he spoke, he turned and led Yang Dian towards the large destroyer.

"Director Yang, you should also know that after the Qi Revival, the world has changed greatly. Mutant creatures have appeared everywhere in the sea, on land, and in forests."

"Humans are, after all, terrestrial creatures. So, after discussions by the Think Tank, it was finally decided to increase resource allocation to the Army, Rocket Force, and Aerospace Force, and reduce investment in our Navy."

"You know about this, right?"

Yang Dian nodded.

He had seen corresponding information when he reviewed documents earlier.

Ten years ago, the Think Tank had conducted a simulation.

The simulation results showed that if marine Mutants fully rose, humanity would very likely lose control of the oceans.

Unless technology experienced explosive growth, or individual extraordinary power multiplied geometrically, leading to the birth of countless powerhouses among humans.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to reclaim control of the oceans from marine Mutants.

In this situation, the resources allocated to the Navy would naturally decrease.

He Ju, flying beside Yang Dian and keeping his attention on him, saw him nod, sighed, and continued:

"So, it's not easy for our Navy either."

"The higher-ups have reduced our resource allocation, so we can only find ways to secure resources ourselves."

"But how do we secure resources?"

"Although there are many Mutants in the ocean, we can't possibly use missiles and torpedoes to bombard them, can we?"

"Leaving aside whether we can hit them."

"Even if we could, a single missile would blow the Mutant into fragments, leaving us no chance to collect resources."

"Besides that, activities like yours in the Special Administration Bureau and Wuan Bureau, clearing City-Level Mutants and protecting the populace."

"The Army's large-scale clearing of mountain forest Mutants, and the Aerospace Force's exploration of the outer Universe – we don't get to participate in those Merits-earning activities."

"How many Mutants from the sea can come ashore?"

"So, at most, we only handle a couple of cases where Mutants attack fishing boats, and even then, we often don't encounter a single one for a month or two."

"After the Qi Revival for so long, the biggest Merits our fleet stationed here has earned was two months ago, when we apprehended William's group of drug traffickers and fought the Neptune Octopus."

"Can you believe that?"

"So we in the Navy are miserable."

"Neither father nor mother cares, even if we tighten our belts to the extreme, we can't make ends meet."

Yang Dian's eyes darkened slightly:

"So, after finally discovering an unknown civilization's relic this time, you want to keep it all to yourselves?"

"Even at the cost of concealing the actual situation?"

"Aren't you afraid of a court-martial?"

He Ju, who had been playing for sympathy, choked on his words:

"No one died, truly no one died."

"At most, I'll be demoted, or at worst, I'll be removed from my post."

"But if I can secure resources for my brothers, I'll accept being removed."

"You don't know how hard it is to watch other brother units enjoy the good life, with their weapons constantly updated and iterated, while we can only watch them feast and we have to subsist on husks."

Hearing that Lin Mo was not dead, Yang Dian also breathed a sigh of relief:

"So what exactly happened?"

"I can't explain the specific situation clearly," He Ju said, leading Yang Dian to land on the deck.

"Let me take you to see it."

He Ju led Yang Dian into the cabin and descended, eventually arriving outside a medical room.

Through the observation window, Yang Dian saw Lin Mo lying in a bathtub, his eyes tightly closed.

Just as he was about to ask why Lin Mo was in a bathtub, he saw Lin Mo 'whoosh' and dissipate into a puddle of blue liquid, floating and sinking in the bathtub.

At the same time, He Ju's voice reached Yang Dian's ears:

"See, it's just as we're seeing now."

"Lin Mo, due to some accident, occasionally dissipates into liquid."

"Sometimes it happens every three to five hours, sometimes every ten-odd seconds; there's no pattern whatsoever."

"It was also his active request not to inform your Special Administration Bureau or his family about his condition."

"He said he was afraid his daughter would worry."

Yang Dian cast a sidelong glance at him:

"He said not to inform, and you really didn't inform, even concealing his situation?"

He Ju was speechless by Yang Dian's words. After opening his mouth, he suddenly remembered something and, stiffening his neck, said to Yang Dian:

"Actually, it's not just me who wanted to keep the news hidden."

"Lin Mo also had a hand in this."

"According to him, he obtained incredible information from the relic, and if certain interested parties knew, it would cause big problems."

"It was only after his repeated requests that I finally decided to temporarily keep the matter hidden."

Yang Dian frowned.

"Incredible information, and it would cause big problems if interested parties knew?"

After muttering to himself, he turned his gaze back to the puddle of blue liquid in the bathtub:

"You mean he's in a communicable state?"

He Ju also looked at Lin Mo through the observation window:

"Yes."

After confirming, he looked at the nearby camera:

"Gonggong, connect me to Lin Mo."

As soon as He Ju finished speaking, the metal patch affixed to the outer wall of the bathtub began to flash like a marquee.

A moment later, a projection appeared in front of Yang Dian.

In the projection, Lin Mo looked at Yang Dian with a surprised expression:

"Why are you here?"