69: Chapter 69 Smiling Tiger? No, you're a Man-Eating Shark

Around the circular tactical conference table sat twelve high-ranking officers with two bars and three stars (colonels) or even gold stars (generals) on their shoulders.

Every single person here was a big shot in the Seventh Defense Zone who could cause an earthquake just by stomping their foot.

Sitting at the head of the table was the supreme Commander of the Seventh Defense Zone—Lu Tianhe.

He was an elderly man with white hair and beard, yet he was full of vigor; the faint, lingering aura of a Seventh-Rank Grandmaster was like a dormant dragon, suppressing everyone present so much that they dared not even breathe loudly.

"Report, Commander."

One-Eyed Old Ghost stood to the side, cold sweat dripping down his face, and saluted with gritted teeth: "The person has been brought here; this is Lieutenant Lin Yuan, who forcibly broke through the checkpoint earlier."

Lu Tianhe slowly raised his eyelids, his gaze like a torch, sweeping over the three of them, including Lin Yuan.

In that instant, Lin Yuan felt as if he had been pierced by X-rays, with all his secrets laid bare.

"Lin Yuan?"

Lu Tianhe's voice was very soft, yet carried an unquestionable majesty: "I know you. You are the heroic youth who just won the championship and performed a great service in District C. But I heard that you just pointed a gun at my Military Police Team leader?"

"It is good for young people to have spirit, but if you become arrogant because of your achievements and ignore military discipline..."

The old man's eyes suddenly turned cold: "I will personally strip you of your military status and send you to a military tribunal."

Faced with the questioning of the Grandmaster, Xiang Lie and Su Xiaoxiao were so frightened that their legs went weak, and they could barely stand.

But Lin Yuan took a step forward, his back straight as a ramrod.

He did not offer any excuses; instead, he directly pulled from his bosom the communicator (unlocked version) that belonged to the traitor Captain Li, as well as a few photos taken on Island 09.

"Commander, the reason I broke through the checkpoint is that there are some things that cannot be said outside."

Lin Yuan's voice was calm and powerful: "Energy Island 09 did not suffer a sea beast attack; it was a massacre meticulously planned by the Pantheon Cult."

"The garrison Commander, Captain Li, defected and shut down the defense towers, inviting the wolves into the house."

"This is the evidence."

The whole room was in an uproar!

"What? Captain Li defected?!"

"Has the Pantheon Cult infiltrated to this extent?"

"If that's true, then our energy supply line is..."

The officers' expressions changed drastically, and they began to whisper among themselves.

Lu Tianhe picked up the photos and looked at them. His expression darkened instantly, but as a Commander, he did not lose his composure immediately:

"This only proves that Captain Li had issues, but what does that have to do with you pointing a gun at the Military Police Team?"

"Because I don't trust them."

Lin Yuan looked directly into Lu Tianhe's eyes and said something that was enough to make the whole room explode:

"Before Captain Li died, he confessed that there is a 'protective umbrella' for the Pantheon Cult among the high-ranking officials of the defense line. I wasn't sure if the Military Police Team was clean, so I had to personally deliver the evidence to you."

"Insolence!!"

A short-tempered operations staff officer slammed the table and stood up, pointing at Lin Yuan and roaring: "Are you implying that there is a mole among those of us sitting here?! You are slandering superior officers! You are destabilizing the morale of the army!"

On the other side, a gloomy and thin intelligence chief didn't speak, but his viper-like eyes were fixed tightly on Lin Yuan.

Faced with everyone's anger and scrutiny, Lin Yuan remained calm on the surface, but deep within his mind, the system was running at full capacity.

【Gods Insight · Full-field scan activated!】

【Comparing mental fluctuation frequencies...】

【Searching for remnants of 'alien aura'...】

【Target A (Operations Staff Officer): Excluded. Mental fluctuation is purely anger.】

【Target B (Intelligence Chief): Excluded. Mental fluctuation is professional suspicion.】

【Target C...】

Lin Yuan's gaze appeared to be fixed on the operations staff officer, but in reality, his peripheral vision was rapidly scanning everyone in the corners.

Just as his line of sight swept past the very end of the round table.

Beep—!!!

A red alarm sounded suddenly in his mind, nearly shattering Lin Yuan's eardrums.

【Warning! Warning!】

【High concentration of 'Deep Sea Mental Toxin' reaction detected!】

【Target locked: Minister of the Logistics Department, Wang Hai (Senior Colonel)!】

【Danger level: Sixth-Rank Early Stage (Extremely dangerous)!】

【Match rate: 100% (Confirmed as codename 'Black Shark')!】

Wang Hai.

The chief steward of the Seventh Defense Zone, responsible for all material allocation and logistical support; he was always cheerful when meeting anyone, treated his subordinates extremely well, had an excellent reputation in the army, and was recognized as a "good guy."

When Lin Yuan entered the room earlier, he was the only officer who nodded and smiled at him.

"So it was him..."

Lin Yuan suppressed the murderous intent in his heart and lowered his head, pretending to be somewhat intimidated by the scolding from the short-tempered operations staff officer.

"Alright, Old Zhang, sit down."

Just then, that "mole" locked by the system, Wang Hai, stood up with a chuckle, trying to smooth things over.

He walked up to Lin Yuan: "What a fine seedling. Not only is your strength great, but you are also sharp. You have performed a great service this time."

"As it happens, the Logistics Department just received a batch of S-Rank recovery potions that were originally reserved for the special forces battalion. I'll have someone send two boxes over to you later; consider it a personal reward from me."

Wang Hai's voice was gentle and mellow, just like an elder who truly cherished talent.

But at this moment, in Lin Yuan's perception.

The hand resting on his shoulder was ice-cold, and deep within his seemingly benevolent gaze lay a nauseating stench.

Smiling Tiger.

Man-Eating Shark.

Lin Yuan could even feel a cryptic energy fluctuating within the other person, seemingly probing his true strength.

"Hold on... attacking now is suicide."

A flattered expression appeared on Lin Yuan's face:

"Tha... Thank you, Minister Wang! I only did what I should have done."

"Hahaha, no need to be so polite."

Wang Hai withdrew his hand and looked at Lin Yuan with a smile: "Then these pieces of evidence..."

"They are all here."

Lin Yuan pointed at the items on the table, then suddenly, as if remembering something, slapped his forehead:

"Oh right, Commander, Minister Wang."

Lin Yuan looked up, his eyes incredibly clear, and said in an extremely natural tone:

"Besides these, we also found a high-density encrypted chip the size of a fingernail in Captain Li's personal undergarments."

As soon as these words were spoken, Wang Hai's hand, which was adjusting his sleeve, paused imperceptibly.

"A chip?" Commander Lu Tianhe frowned, "Where is it?"

"Because the encryption level is too high, my team members were afraid that a brute-force decryption would damage the data." Lin Yuan pointed to Su Xiaoxiao behind him, "So she used a fake signal source to hide the chip."

"According to what Captain Li confessed before he died (actually, Captain Li only begged for mercy before he died), inside it... there seems to be a list of undercover personnel from the Pantheon Cult in the army."

Lin Yuan said this while staring at Wang Hai's face.

Wang Hai's expression remained perfectly managed, and he even showed a look of surprise: "A list? That's a big deal! It must be investigated thoroughly!"

However, with Lin Yuan's super hearing.

The moment Wang Hai heard the word "list," his heartbeat frequency soared from 70 beats per minute to 110 beats per minute!

Even a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster cannot fully control physiological instincts when facing a life-and-death crisis of identity exposure.

He panicked.

He panicked.

"A list?" Commander Lu Tianhe's expression turned serious, and he immediately ordered: "Then what are we waiting for? Immediately have the Technical Department..."

"Commander!"

Lin Yuan interrupted again, "I don't trust the Technical Department. I request that my team members handle the decryption in my independent barracks. Give me 24 hours, and tomorrow morning, I will personally deliver the list to you."

"This..." Lu Tianhe hesitated, looked at the determined Lin Yuan, and finally nodded, "Granted. I'll give you 24 hours. During this time, I will send the Military Police Team to protect your barracks."

"Thank you, Commander!"

Lin Yuan saluted and then turned to leave.

As he passed by Wang Hai, Lin Yuan deliberately stopped: "Minister Wang, when the list comes out, I will have to trouble you to help me check it."

The smile on Wang Hai's face stiffened for a moment, then returned to normal, becoming even brighter:

"No problem, no problem. Just go ahead and do it; if you need anything, come find me anytime."

Watching Lin Yuan's retreating figure, the smile on Wang Hai's face disappeared bit by bit.

"A list... Heh."

As soon as he entered the room, Lin Yuan immediately locked the door and activated the 【Anti-Interference Communication System】 he had just redeemed, blocking all eavesdropping.

"Phew..."

Xiang Lie sat down on the floor, soaked in cold sweat: "You scared me to death... Captain, you scared me to death just now! That chip was made up, right? Where would we have something like that?"

Su Xiaoxiao's face was also deathly pale: "And you said it right in front of Minister Wang... What if he becomes desperate and reckless tonight? That's a Sixth-Rank Grandmaster!"

"That's exactly what I want—to make him desperate."

Lin Yuan walked to the window, opened a slit, and looked at the lights that were still on in the distant command building.

"Although the chip is fake, his fear is real."

"With that Smiling Tiger's personality, he will never allow a 'list' that could expose his identity to survive the night."

"Even if there is only a one in ten thousand chance, he will take action to destroy the evidence, or... kill us to silence us."

Lin Yuan turned around, looked at his two teammates, and took out a pile of C-Rank high-explosive landmines he had prepared long ago from his storage ring, as well as the 【Forbidden Spell · Thunder Purgatory Scroll】 worth 20,000 slaughter value.

"Take out all your assets."

"We are going whale hunting."