126: Chapter 126 Questioning

At this point, tears began to fall from Lin Wan's eyes:

"The 12 members of the Mecha Reconnaissance Team..."

Her voice choked up:

"Wiped out."

"All mechas... completely lost."

These words hit everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

"What?!" The defense captain stood up abruptly, "12 mechas?! That is our last main force!"

General Chen's face turned livid: "Go on."

"Team leader Chen Feng..."

Lin Wan's voice trembled violently:

"When he was covering our retreat, by a Mantis Insect..."

She couldn't continue.

That bloody scene appeared before her eyes again—Chen Feng was split open down the middle by the sickle of a Mantis Insect, and the fire of the mecha explosion illuminated his smile before death.

"He said... let me go back alive... tell you... the Swarm is evolving..."

Zhao Tiezhu turned around and punched the wall fiercely.

"Old Chen..." His voice was frighteningly hoarse.

Lin Wan tremblingly took out a blood-stained roster from her bosom.

That was the roster of the reconnaissance team. The cover was soaked with blood, and the edges of the paper were charred and curled.

Zhao Tiezhu took the blood-stained roster, voice hoarse:

"The Seventh Reconnaissance Team, established for three years, has carried out 37 missions in total."

He opened the roster, which densely recorded the battle damage of each mission.

"Casualty rate 99.5%."

"Original members 201 people."

He raised his head, looked at Lin Wan, with unspeakable sorrow in his eyes:

"Now only Lin Wan is left..."

Professor Li tremblingly took off his glasses and wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve.

Zhao Tiezhu turned his back to the crowd, shoulders trembling violently.

Suppressed sobbing sounded in the conference room.

General Chen opened his eyes, his eye sockets red, but did not let tears fall.

He looked at Lin Wan and said hoarsely:

"You've worked hard, child."

"You did well."

Lin Wan couldn't help it anymore, knelt to the ground with a thump, and cried loudly:

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... It's all my fault... I couldn't save them..."

"I could only watch them die... one by one..."

General Chen stood up with crutches, limped to Lin Wan's side, and placed a trembling hand on her head:

"It's not your fault."

"For you to come back alive is already a miracle."

He turned around and looked at Su Mingyuan:

"Young man, thank you for saving Lin Wan."

"Now," the old man's voice became serious, "It's time for you to tell me—"

"Who on earth are you?"

"Where do you come from?"

"What is your purpose in coming to our shelter?"

Hearing General Chen's words, a trace of surprise flashed in Su Mingyuan's eyes, but he showed no fear at all and said straightforwardly:

"We come from another world."

The conference room was quiet for a full five seconds, and no one spoke.

Then Staff Officer Liu let out a short, choking laugh.

"Another world? How is that possible!"

Even Sister Li, the material administrator who had been lowering her head, couldn't help raising her head, her eyes full of suspicion.

"I know you don't believe it." Su Mingyuan's voice was very calm, "If it were me, I probably wouldn't believe it either."

He paused and continued:

"But we have no reason to lie. Coming here is because I accidentally opened a portal. Saving Lin Wan is because she helped us first before. As for the purpose..."

Su Mingyuan looked at General Chen:

"We don't need to get anything from you. We just want to learn more about this world, nothing more."

Lin Wan couldn't help speaking out: "General, what they said is true! I saw them fighting the Swarm with my own eyes. Those weapons, that fighting style, are definitely not things from our world!"

"Lin Wan." General Chen raised his hand to interrupt her, his gaze never leaving Su Mingyuan, "I have my own judgment."

Only the wailing sound of air leaking from the ventilation duct was left in the conference room.

The old man stood up with crutches, the sound of his metal prosthetic limb hitting the ground being particularly harsh in the small space.

He walked up to Su Mingyuan, those cloudy yet sharp eyes stared at each other for a full ten seconds, and then slowly spoke:

"Young man, you saved Lin Wan, and I am very grateful. But gratitude is gratitude, and trust is another matter."

He paused, his voice turning cold:

"A year ago, we saved a group of people, more than two hundred people. We shared food, gave them a place to live, and treated them as compatriots. Three months later, they sacked the granary, took away all the reserves, and killed dozens of our guards." General Chen's crutch heavily poked the ground, "If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have let the children go hungry now."

Staff Officer Liu lowered his head, and Wang Meng's face looked as ugly as if he were going to kill someone.

General Chen stared at Su Mingyuan and asked word by word:

"In this world, no one helps others for no reason. So tell me—what do you really want?"

Just as Su Mingyuan was about to speak, Staff Officer Liu stood up abruptly.

"General!"

Staff Officer Liu pushed his gold-rimmed glasses, his voice cold and hard:

"I think we should lock them up first and interrogate them slowly."

General Chen didn't express his stance immediately, but just looked at Su Mingyuan with a frown.

"General!" Staff Officer Liu interrupted him, his tone becoming even more urgent, "Think about it, the insectoid race has ruled this world for a hundred years, and their intelligence is constantly evolving!"

He pointed at Su Mingyuan and the others, his fingers trembling slightly:

"Who can guarantee that they haven't been parasitized? These people are well-equipped, yet they suddenly appeared in the insectoid-occupied zone and happened to save Lin Wan—all of this is too coincidental!"

Lin Wan couldn't help it: "Staff Officer Liu, you've gone too far!"

"Am I wrong?" Staff Officer Liu sneered, pushing his glasses, "Did you forget? Three years ago, the Northern Base was destroyed precisely because someone was parasitized. Those parasites can perfectly control the host, making them look exactly like normal people!"

He pointed at Su Mingyuan and the others:

"They say they come from another world? You believe that kind of talk? I think nine times out of ten they are controlled by parasites, specially here to spy on our shelter's intelligence!"

Sister Li, the material administrator, muttered in a low voice: "It's not entirely unreasonable... Who would appear in the insectoid-controlled zone for no reason nowadays?"

Defense captain Wang Meng also frowned: "With such good equipment, it is indeed a bit suspicious."

Lin Wan looked at the increasing suspicion on the faces of the people around her, her throat feeling as if it was blocked by something.

She took a deep breath and stood up abruptly:

"Staff Officer Liu! They saved my life! If they were people of the insectoid race, I would have died long ago!"

Staff Officer Liu turned to her, his lenses reflecting the pale light of the incandescent lamp, making his expression unreadable:

"Lin Wan, you are still young and easily exploited by others. Maybe they just want to approach our shelter through you."

"I am not a child!" Lin Wan gritted her teeth: "I saw them fighting the Swarm with my own eyes, their weapons can easily kill the Mantis Insect!"

"Easily kill?" Staff Officer Liu shook his head, his tone suddenly turning solemn, "That makes it even more suspicious. Our mecha warriors have to put in some effort to deal with a Mantis Insect. A few ordinary people like them, holding weapons of unknown origin, can easily kill it?"

He looked around, raising his voice a bit:

"Either their weapons are ridiculously powerful, or the insects are cooperating with them in a performance."