13: Section 13

Berry was also stunned when he heard this.

The Leader didn't mention there would be this part!

The Team Members called over by Berry looked indignant, all of them staring at him.

But what could Berry do? He was just a low-level lackey.

At this time, Mark, who was eating nearby, saw his Team Members in trouble. As the Wilderness Hunter Commander, he naturally couldn't pretend not to see.

Mark stood up and walked over, asking, "Lord Light Bearer, I wonder what mistake these people have made?"

Vandy glanced at Mark. "Captain Mark, didn't you hear? These people were privately discussing your unfairness."

Mark glanced at those people. He usually pretended not to hear any gossip. Otherwise, according to the Lighthouse's laws, they would not have a good time.

Mark didn't care about this. To protect these people, he shook his head and said, "I didn't hear anything."

The Light Bearer pointed at Berry and said coldly, "Come, say what you just said again."

At this time, Charles actually appeared in the cafeteria as well.

Seeing the commotion here, he naturally walked over curiously to ask, "What happened?"

Seeing Charles walk over, Vandy immediately saluted and replied, "Lord Leader, these Wasteland Hunters Team Members were privately talking about Captain Mark. According to the Lighthouse laws, criticizing a superior is punishable!"

The hierarchy on the Lighthouse was strict. If superiors could be talked about at will by subordinates, they would inevitably lose their authority.

Without authority, how could one lead a team?

Criticizing a superior—this matter could be big or small.

"What did they say?"

Vandy looked at those people again and said sternly, "Say what you just said again."

Facing Charles and Mark, two high-ranking officials of the Lighthouse, the Team Members led by Berry became timid, losing all of their previous arrogance.

"Speak!" Charles looked askance at Berry, his voice low and drawn out, as if threatening.

Berry said in a panic, "They were all saying that Captain Mark took someone to The Surface privately. Others said that Captain Mark had just pre-selected Jing Yuan to join the Wasteland Hunters, so there was no issue of taking him to The Surface privately. Some people felt unhappy; they believed that anyone entering the Wasteland Hunters should be strictly screened. Why should a spot be given directly? They said Captain Mark is unfair!"

This series of answers was heard by everyone in the cafeteria.

This wasn't the Wasteland Hunters cafeteria, but the cafeteria for the entire Upper Citizen District, with people from all walks of life.

Jing Yuan saw this scene and found it quite interesting.

From the moment these people started talking about Mark, Jing Yuan sensed something was wrong.

On the Lighthouse, who would want to target Mark all the time?

Weren't these people arranged by Charles?

He arranged it, and then he called the Law Enforcer to punish them!

When those people were talking just now, where was the Light Bearer's group?

How did they hear it?

"Presumptuous!" Charles raised his voice. He seemed stern, but he actually wanted everyone to hear.

"How Captain Mark makes arrangements naturally has his reasons. According to what you said, as the dignified Wilderness Hunter Commander, even if he wanted to take someone outside the Wasteland Hunters to The Surface, or if he wanted to arrange a spot for someone to join the Wasteland Hunters, is that not allowed?"

Charles's words shocked everyone; he seemed to be defending Mark!

"Everyone here, everything you eat and use, which of it wasn't brought back from The Surface by Captain Mark risking his life? Now that Captain Mark has only made a few small mistakes, should he be criticized by you few?"

What Charles said wasn't false; Mark had indeed rendered great service to the Lighthouse. However, his last sentence directly characterized it as a "small mistake"!

The crowd, unaware of the truth, thought Mark had really made a mistake and that Charles was making excuses for him!

But even more people thought: even if Mark had rendered great service to the Lighthouse, could he do whatever he wanted because of that?

This was exactly the effect Charles wanted.

Mark didn't say a word about this.

Jing Yuan had gone down secretly; telling the truth would likely be disadvantageous for him.

So Mark wanted to take the blame for this matter. To him, it was just a matter of being fined some contribution points.

Jing Yuan stood aside and smiled helplessly.

Charles arranged for people to spread bad rumors about Mark, then arranged for people to punish those spreading the rumors, and finally twisted the truth to say Mark was arrogant because of his merits.

He directed and acted out a good show all by himself.

"The Leader's words are too heavy. I didn't collect the resources alone. Even if there is merit, it belongs to all the Wasteland Hunters!"

How could Mark not know that Charles was deliberately targeting him?

But once these words were out, people in other occupations were unhappy again.

So only you Wasteland Hunters have the highest merit, and the rest of us in other occupations are just freeloaders!

"As for the matter of Jing Yuan going to The Surface..."

Jing Yuan sensed the wrong atmosphere around him. He realized that with Mark's character, he would likely take the blame for the private trip to The Surface.

If he said it, Charles would win this wave of public opinion attack.

Thinking that this matter started because of him, Jing Yuan didn't feel right just sitting there.

He stood up, walked toward Mark and Charles, and said loudly, "Lord Leader! I want to report something!"

Chapter 13: Fiercely Rebuking Charles

Charles looked at Jing Yuan coldly, wondering how he dared to stand up and speak at this time.

But with everyone watching, Charles still asked, "What do you want to report?"

Jing Yuan pointed at the Wasteland Hunters Team Members being held by the Law Enforcers and said, "These people aren't just criticizing a superior; they're spreading rumors, maliciously slandering a superior, and shaking the army's morale! Lord Leader, for such an egregious situation, should they only be punished with ten lashes?"

"Oh?" Charles said sarcastically, "Could it be that what they said isn't the truth?"

"No!" Jing Yuan said loudly to the people around him, "Everyone! My name is Jing Yuan. I am the person they said Captain Mark took to The Surface privately! I want to tell everyone that Captain Mark took me to The Surface for a special mission! According to Lighthouse regulations, if there are special circumstances on The Surface that need to be handled, non-Wasteland Hunters members can be taken along. Going to The Surface without special circumstances is a violation! As for saying Captain Mark directly arranged for me to join the Wasteland Hunters, that is complete malicious slander. I applied for the Wasteland Hunters and am also waiting to participate in the assessment!"

Jing Yuan pointed at Berry and the others, rebuking them, "So they aren't just criticizing; they are maliciously slandering! The circumstances are extremely egregious!"

When Jing Yuan said this, everyone was dumbfounded.

This was originally a small matter, but if Charles used it to make a fuss, it could be big or small.

Now that Jing Yuan had stood up and said this, things became complicated.

Charles gritted his teeth, momentarily without a countermeasure.

On the Lighthouse, who dared to oppose him so blatantly?

"Furthermore!" Jing Yuan continued loudly, "Is being one of the Wasteland Hunters some kind of great job? Did I go to The Surface for a tour? Being one of the Wasteland Hunters means facing the threat of Phage Beasts on The Surface! You could lose your life at any time! If it weren't for the survival of the Lighthouse, who would want to be one of the Wasteland Hunters? Who would want to go to The Surface?"

Jing Yuan turned to look at Charles and smiled. "If Captain Mark had arranged for me to enter a good place like the Law Enforcement Office, you could curse him for abusing his power. But joining the Wasteland Hunters—what kind of 'good place' is that? Yes, the contribution points for Wasteland Hunters are a bit higher, but don't forget, those are traded for with lives."

Jing Yuan spoke very directly, but he also made everyone understand a fact.

Being one of the Wasteland Hunters means you will die! And there's a high probability of it!

If there were a choice, who would willingly go?

At the same time, he was also telling everyone that the Law Enforcement Office has no threat of death—that's the real cushy job!

"Right! We Wasteland Hunters are all risking our lives!"

Immediately, some Wasteland Hunters Team Members stood up.

"Right! What's wrong with our contribution points being a bit higher when we trade our lives for them?"

The majority of people present were Wasteland Hunters. Jing Yuan's words struck a chord with them, and for a moment, the crowd was indignant!

Mark seeining this, signaled everyone to be quiet and not to get too excited.

Charles, however, asked, "The Lighthouse has the Lighthouse's rules. Since it was a mission, may I ask what mission you were executing?"

Jing Yuan stared at Charles and said word for word, "If you want to know what the mission was, we can go see the City Lord immediately. If the City Lord allows it, you can know. If the City Lord does not allow it, with your status as Leader, you are not yet qualified to know!"

Wow!

Everyone thought Jing Yuan was so brave!

On the Lighthouse, who didn't know that Charles was City Lord Morgan's son? Although everyone had publicly abandoned the family relationships of the old world, privately... everyone just knew.

For Jing Yuan to rebuke Charles to his face, saying he wasn't qualified to know even as the Leader—this must be an extremely secret mission.

Even Mark was dumbfounded.

Seeing Jing Yuan's confident look, Charles was also stunned.

Go see the City Lord?

After the last incident, Morgan had noticed that Charles was making small moves to deal with Mark.

Morgan had already warned Charles.

So when Jing Yuan mentioned going to see the City Lord, Charles hesitated.

If Jing Yuan really had a special mission, then Charles's move would undoubtedly be lifting a stone only to drop it on his own feet.