106: The fear of crawling

Raven's projection vanished, but his final warning echoed in the silent room like a curse.

Reno turned pale and could no longer suppress the churning in his stomach; he was the first to rush to the metal trash chute in the corner, retching violently. His burly body shook with convulsions, as if he were trying to vomit out his very soul.

Su Li furrowed her brows and forced herself to pull up the video footage from moments ago, replaying and freezing it frame by frame. Her lenses reflected the cold stream of data as she attempted to use logic and formulas to deconstruct that squirming fear that transcended understanding.

Chen Feng said nothing.

He simply pulled up his transaction records and stared at the long string of astronomical numbers following the entry for "undead crystal." His fingers traced the tabletop unconsciously, and for the first time, a look of deep fear and self-doubt—one even he hadn't noticed—flickered in his eyes.

His greatest reliance, the cornerstone of his destiny-altering path, turned out to be a ticket straight to hell.

"Bang!"

With a loud crash, Reno slammed his fist against the alloy wall, producing a dull, heavy thud.

"What the hell is this?!" He turned around, his eyes bloodshot like a wounded beast, and roared at Chen Feng. "The things we traded our lives for are actually poison?! Boss! We have to stop all transactions immediately! Now!"

This was the most visceral fear, and the simplest solution.

"Are you insane?!" Su Li immediately countered shrilly. She looked up from her data analysis, equally emotional. "Stopping the transactions is suicide! Everything we have now is built on these trades! Without undead crystals, what will we use to trade for energy? How will we sustain the entire base? What we lack isn't panic—it's data! I need to analyze the entire process of Law Contamination and find its patterns! Not just use my fists like you!"

She tried to suppress her panic with rationality, but her slightly trembling voice betrayed her inner turmoil.

"Patterns? By the time your bullshit patterns are analyzed, will we have already turned into that pile of rotten meat on the wall?!"

"You're just a reckless brute who only knows how to fight!"

"You cold-blooded calculator!"

An argument was on the verge of exploding.

"Shut up, all of you!"

A cold shout, like a freezing current that turned everything to ice, instantly choked off all sound.

This was the first time Chen Feng had shown such a stern side to his core team.

He slowly stood up and looked around at the two of them, who were stunned into silence. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable weight.

"Fear is the emotion of prey."

"We are not prey."

His gaze slid from Reno's anger to Su Li's alarm, finally settling on the squirming mass of flesh on the central screen.

"From now on, 'Law Contamination' is not a curse, nor is it poison," Chen Feng said, emphasizing every word. "It is a technical problem we need to overcome. Do you understand? A technical problem!"

An hour later, Hanhai Trade Headquarters, top-floor conference room.

All core members were present, including Lao Mo, who had just been cleared to leave the medical pod.

Chen Feng wasted no words and played the entire video of the "Law Contamination" for everyone.

The suppressed shrieks and nauseating images brought the atmosphere in the conference room to a breaking point.

After watching, Lao Mo remained silent for a long time, subconsciously stroking his cold mechanical arm repeatedly, as if confirming the physicality of his own body.

Chen Feng broke the silence.

He issued no orders but looked at everyone with a gaze that was terrifyingly calm.

"I know what you're thinking."

"Fear, doubt, even the desire to quit."

He paused and continued, "But we must save Eve because she is our only hope of breaking the technological blockade. Without her, we will eventually be crushed by the Alliance's technological superiority."

"This path was never a smooth road paved with flowers from the start. Now, the cliff has simply moved closer to us."

Chen Feng's gaze swept over Reno, Su Li, Lao Mo, and everyone else present.

"I am leaving the choice to you."

"Whether to gamble everything and keep moving forward... or disband on the spot and run for your lives."

"I need your answers."

The entire conference room was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned by Chen Feng's words. They had expected the boss to offer reassurance, orders, or even empty promises, but they never imagined he would place the survival of Hanhai Trade in their hands.

The first to step forward was Reno.

The fear and anger on his face had faded, replaced by a tempered resolve. He walked up to Chen Feng and bowed deeply.

"Boss, you saved my life." He looked up, his eyes bloodshot but incredibly clear. "Wherever you go, I follow. Even if it's hell, I'll level it for you!"

Su Li pushed up the glasses on the bridge of her nose, her eyes shimmering with complex light behind the lenses. She didn't look at Chen Feng, but instead at the organizational chart of Hanhai Trade on the tactical board.

"My revenge has not yet been taken; Hanhai Trade cannot fall," she said calmly. "I choose to stay. However, I require the highest level of risk control authority."

"Granted," Chen Feng nodded.

Everyone's gaze fell on the last person, Lao Mo.

The silent technical director slowly stood up, a trace of almost fanatical light appearing on his weathered face for the first time.

"Boss... this... this phenomenon..." He pointed at the screen, his voice trembling with excitement. "It defies every law of physics I know! I want to study it! I must study it!"

As Chen Feng watched the team's morale coalesce once more, it felt as if a crack had opened in the massive boulder weighing on his heart. The fear of the unknown still existed, but at this moment, a heavy sense of responsibility held it firmly down.

This team's trust was his only shield against that squirming fear.

He turned, walked to the large tactical board, picked up a pen, and wrote two words at the very top.

[Survival]

[Countermeasure]