37: Section 37

It was all an accident.

It was an accident that Mark encountered Phage Beasts while collecting supplies.

It was an accident that Jing Yuan went to chase the Ground People, and it was also an accident that he attracted Snake Dogs.

However, after Charles learned of these events, he was particularly happy because things had developed in the direction he hoped for, believing that Jing Yuan was working for him.

"So it turns out that the Leader has quite a few informants among the Wasteland Hunters."

"Everyone is working for the Lighthouse; of course, the Lighthouse needs to know if the people on the ground are doing their best."

"Then does the Leader think I have done my best?"

"Of course. Originally, I thought Mark would only encounter Phage Beasts while retrieving supplies. I didn't expect you to be even more valiant than I imagined, actually drawing in a whole pack of Phage Beasts."

Charles's words held a hidden meaning; could he have known in advance that Mark would encounter Phage Beasts?

"Although you attracted the Phage Beasts, you also resolved the crisis. Procedurally, you have no issues. Of course, if anyone suspects you, I will also exonerate you!"

"Then I should thank the Leader?"

"No need to be polite; after all, you are working for me."

Charles didn't even pick up on Jing Yuan's sarcastic tone, still immersed in his own joy.

"What if I say it was all an accident?"

"Of course it was an accident!" Charles said, still smiling. "An accident that nobody wanted to happen! Wouldn't you say so?"

"The Leader is truly thoughtful."

Charles said with a smile, "You did well this time, and I will fulfill my promise. In a few days, I will suggest to the City Lord to appoint a Deputy Captain for the Wasteland Hunters; make sure to seize that opportunity when the time comes."

"Deputy Captain?"

Jing Yuan remembered Fan Lü mentioning it last time—that after returning from the mission, Charles would arrange an opportunity. Could it be this Deputy Captain position?

"Only by raising your rank can you stand on equal footing with Mark in the future!"

"Although I killed a Phage Beast this time, my contribution isn't enough to be appointed as Deputy Captain, is it?"

"You don't need to worry about that. If I want you to be the Deputy Captain, you will definitely be one."

"Fine! Then I'll be waiting."

With that, Jing Yuan turned and left.

On the way back, the more Jing Yuan thought about it, the more something felt off.

Could Charles have been behind this incident?

Any normal person would think that even if Charles wanted to target Mark, he couldn't possibly control Phage Beasts!

If Jing Yuan didn't know Charles's personality and his jealousy towards Mark, he wouldn't have suspected that this mission to The Surface was related to Charles!

After all, how could Charles interfere with things on the ground?

It was already plenty for him to arrange one or two informants.

As for controlling Phage Beasts?

People really treat him like the lord of light and shadow!

But if it really was related to Charles, even if he couldn't control The Surface, could he still interfere with the Lighthouse?

Which parts of the process could be manipulated from the Lighthouse?

After leaving the Church, Jing Yuan went directly to the outside of Mark's residence.

Unfortunately, Mark was wallowing in self-reproach and refused to see guests, so Jing Yuan could only head back for now.

Outside Mark's residence, Jing Yuan ran into Ran Bing, who had also come to look for Mark.

Mark still refused to see anyone.

Seeing this, Jing Yuan could only shake his head.

Jing Yuan stepped forward to find Ran Bing and asked, "Ran Bing, can I talk to you?"

"What do you want to talk about?"

Jing Yuan gestured for Ran Bing to move to a secluded spot.

Seeing no one around, Jing Yuan asked, "I've just joined the Wasteland Hunters and don't quite understand how each mission is arranged. I wanted to ask, is there a reconnaissance mission before every outing?"

"Why are you asking this?" Ran Bing was also confused.

With Jing Yuan suddenly asking about this, she didn't know where to start her answer.

"I know that previous Rookie Assessment missions would choose a relatively safe Coordinate. But from what we encountered on The Surface, that Coordinate was clearly unsafe. This doesn't meet the standards for a Rookie Assessment; even if it was to collect energy, there's more than just that one Coordinate with energy."

Once Jing Yuan said this, Ran Bing also realized something was wrong.

"You're right. This mission seemed safe at first, but a new type of Phage Beast appeared. This isn't normal."

"So I want to know, was there reconnaissance before the mission? And who is responsible for collecting information near the Coordinates?"

Ran Bing thought for a moment and said to Jing Yuan, "Reconnaissance isn't done before every mission; it depends on the conditions. For this mission, there was indeed advance reconnaissance, but they didn't find any trace of Phage Beasts."

"No traces?" Jing Yuan knew this was nonsense as soon as he heard it. With so many Phage Beasts—not just one or two—how could they have found no trace!

"Which department is responsible for this work?"

"The Navigation Control Room!" Ran Bing explained, "The Lighthouse has radar and optical telescopes to scout The Surface conditions. All of this is handled by the Navigation Control Room, and they also arrange the Coordinates and resource collection."

"You mean... Jing Nan!"

The Navigation Control Commander is Jing Nan.

"Right! I'll go find Jing Nan and ask about the situation."

"Don't go yet!"

Seeing Ran Bing about to leave for Jing Nan, Jing Yuan quickly stopped her.

Jing Yuan wasn't quite sure about Jing Nan.

In the original story, Jing Nan seemed to have a good relationship with Mark on The Surface, and there were scenes of her defending Mark later on.

But Jing Nan is, after all, Morgan's daughter and Charles's older sister.

A child raised in such a family couldn't possibly be a simple person.

In the only two instances of interacting with Jing Nan, Jing Yuan felt that this woman's mind was very deep.

Jing Yuan looked at Ran Bing; this young girl was uniquely naive on the Lighthouse, just as naive as Mark, no wonder they were a pair.

"Don't go to Jing Nan yet, and don't tell anyone what we just discussed. Let Mark have a couple of days to recover, then we'll find him to discuss it."

Ran Bing listened to Mark in everything, so in this situation, she also wanted to wait for Mark to make a decision.

"Okay!"

Jing Yuan arrived at the Wasteland Hunters' Maintenance Depot; the other Team Members were still going about their business.

Having casualties when going to The Surface was already a common occurrence for the Wasteland Hunters.

Mark couldn't accept this outcome because he was the Captain and held the responsibility.

As for the others, unless their own friends had died, they didn't seem particularly sad.

Jing Yuan met Mo Dong and the other two here; they had performed well in this mission and had collected supplies, so they would 100% pass the Rookie Assessment.

However, because of the high number of casualties this time, the Wasteland Hunters canceled the final round of the assessment, and all rookies were recruited.

On the Lighthouse, rules are a curious thing; they exist when they say they do, and they don't when they say they don't.

"Jing Yuan!"

The blonde-haired Penny appeared behind Jing Yuan.

Chapter 38: A Small Gathering

Jing Yuan turned to look at Penny; her emotions were a bit low, as she was also a sensitive person.

"Penny!"

"Thank you for this time. You saved me time and again; if it weren't for you, I might not have come back."

Jing Yuan smiled faintly. "Don't talk about saving lives; it's just mutual help between teammates. If I were attacked by Phage Beasts, you would also shoot to save me, right?"

"Of course."

Jing Yuan looked at Penny, and as they gazed at each other, the atmosphere felt a bit strange.

Fortunately, at that moment, Chu Feng walked over with two people and said, "Jing Yuan, let me introduce two people to you!"

Seeing this, Penny hurriedly said, "You go ahead and get busy!"

"Okay, see you later!"

"See you!"

Chu Feng looked at Penny's departing back and joked, "She's really pretty, what a pity!"

"Pity what?" Jing Yuan asked.