46: Section 46

"You are incompetent, and you killed your teammates! Not only did you fail to cooperate when I came to support you, but you acted rashly and nearly got everyone killed! And you have the nerve to blame me?" Jing Yuan pointed at Luca and said, "Fine! Even if Charles arranged all this, if you have the guts, go up and curse Charles! Stop yapping at me here..."

Hearing the commotion, the people nearby gathered around.

Mark walked up, grabbed Jing Yuan, and signaled him to stop talking.

Mark said to Luca: "It's true that Jing Yuan's team didn't encounter Phage Beasts, but that was just luck. You saw it yourself just now—Jing Yuan alone was able to rescue you and break out. With his strength, he doesn't fear the Phage Beasts at all, nor does he need any underhanded dealings."

Luca didn't dare speak for a moment. He dared to curse in front of Jing Yuan, but what could he dare say in front of Mark? After all, Mark was a true high-level figure on the Lighthouse.

As for Charles, he only dared to call him "Charles" down below; on the Lighthouse, he only dared to call him "Lord Leader."

At this moment, Mo Cheng also walked over and said, "That's right! Jing Yuan drove a gravity body alone and led us out of the Phage Beast encirclement. His strength is beyond doubt. He absolutely has the capability to be this Deputy Captain."

Gao Ge, standing nearby, also said, "Among the Wasteland Hunters, strength speaks for itself. Whoever kills the most Phage Beasts gets to be the boss. Back then, Mark wasn't as senior as us, but he was amazing at killing Phage Beasts!"

"Alright, let's head back!" Mark stopped the conversation.

The lift platform began to ascend slowly.

Mo Cheng, Gao Ge, and Kun Jie began reporting the casualty figures to Mark.

Jing Yuan, standing nearby, naturally heard it too.

Their three teams also sustained casualties, but the total number of deaths, including Dust Citizens, was less than five. They also collected a small amount of supplies, which was normal compared to previous missions.

Of course, this number included the rescues performed by Mark and Jing Yuan.

If they hadn't intervened, the casualties might have been much worse when trying to break through the Phage Beast encirclement.

Luca's single team, however, had a death toll that exceeded the combined total of the other three teams.

This was mainly due to Luca's poor command, his reckless pursuit of merit, and his team's lack of competence. After all, his team encountered relatively few Phage Beasts.

Jing Yuan stood nearby, watching Luca's resentful gaze. He hadn't intended to pay him any further attention, but suddenly, he had an epiphany!

So this was Charles's true objective.

Jing Yuan now realized that the previous plan to select the Deputy Captain via an arena competition might not have been Charles's arrangement at all.

Just think about it.

If the Deputy Captain were selected through an arena competition, Jing Yuan would have a high chance of winning.

Although he would have to defeat veteran subordinates of Mark's faction to become the Deputy Captain, it would look like he was climbing the ranks by stepping over Mark's loyalists.

But just as Mark had said, as long as you won fair and square based on your own strength, what did it matter if you stepped over them on your way up?

After all, the Wasteland Hunters need capable people!

But now, switching to collecting supplies on The Surface as the selection method—the situation was entirely different!

Chapter 47: Final Selection

Collecting supplies on The Surface offered too much room for manipulation.

The choice of supply locations, the distribution of Phage Beasts, and the varying conditions at each location meant that every team would face different circumstances.

For example, this time Jing Yuan didn't encounter any Phage Beasts, while all the other teams did.

If everyone found out that Jing Yuan and Charles colluded to rig the process, what would they think?

Luca's outburst was a very typical reaction.

Regardless of his reasons for participating in the selection.

"During this selection process, because of the manipulation by you, Jing Yuan, and Charles, so many of my brothers died."

Would I hate you?

Who should I hate? I dare not hate Charles! So I will hate you, Jing Yuan; everything started because of you.

If Jing Yuan hadn't rescued Mo Cheng this time, and Mark hadn't rescued Gao Ge and Kun Jie.

Regardless of who in those teams lived or died, the survivors would realize that the deaths of so many comrades were merely to pave the way for you, Jing Yuan!

Wouldn't they hate you?

If you beat me in the arena, I lose a little face—that doesn't matter!

But for you to climb the ranks, you used schemes and tricks, sacrificing so many lives to pave your way!

Can I tolerate this?

By then, more than half of the entire Wasteland Hunters team would not support Jing Yuan.

Even if Jing Yuan became the Deputy Captain, the only person he could rely on would be Charles!

This was what Charles truly wanted.

Jing Yuan widened his eyes, looking at Mark and his group nearby.

He finally understood.

Perhaps the roster for the initial arena competition was just a way to let everyone know who belonged to whom!

Then the Light and Shadow Society spread the news that Jing Yuan had defected to Charles.

The goal was to push Jing Yuan toward Charles.

Mark was broad-minded and wouldn't care, but what about the others under him?

Fortunately, this incident did not proceed according to Charles's plan.

Jing Yuan followed his conscience and, while still having the capacity, went to rescue Mo Cheng's and Luca's teams.

Although Luca harbored resentment, some members of his team were still grateful.

Mo Cheng and the others were not only grateful for Jing Yuan's support but were also highly impressed by the strength he displayed.

As for Luca saying that Jing Yuan and Charles were secretly colluding to manipulate The Surface mission, they were only half-convinced.

Jing Yuan was indeed the ultimate beneficiary of this selection.

However, it was commendable that Jing Yuan did not shrink back or prioritize only his own interests during the crisis.

The lift platform slowly rose up to the Lighthouse.

Jing Nan, Charles, Elon, and others were waiting for them above.

Penny, Mo Dong, and others who had ascended earlier were also standing nearby.

Seeing Jing Yuan return safe and sound, Penny felt a wave of relief.

Charles glanced at Mark, then looked at the large number of people still standing behind him. His eyes flickered slightly, but he tried his best to control his expression and not let it show.

Charles had originally thought this plan would kill two birds with one stone.

First, it would reduce the number of loyal subordinates around Mark; second, it would firmly bind Jing Yuan to his side.

But Charles had miscalculated.

He hadn't expected Jing Yuan and Mark to be so individually powerful that they could actually rescue so many people from the Phage Beasts.

Charles looked at Instructor Elon beside him and said, "Instructor Elon, this selection uses the collected supplies as the assessment standard. However, judging from the situation here, no one should have collected more supplies than Jing Yuan."

Elon replied, "The supplies still need to be counted. There's no rush; we'll announce the results after the counting is complete."

After speaking, Elon signaled the people behind him to move the collected supplies away for warehousing and statistics.

"Very well, let's go wait for the results to be announced together!"

Charles led the Law Enforcers away first.

The rest of the people also walked toward the Armament Preparation Depot.

Mark came up to Jing Nan and whispered, "The Surface location chosen this time was two danger levels higher than originally planned, and the previous mission was the same. Do you want to look into what happened?"

Jing Nan was somewhat surprised to hear this. Collecting and organizing reconnaissance data had always been handled by the people in her Navigation Control Room and was under her jurisdiction.

For this kind of problem to occur twice in a row, it couldn't just be bad luck.

"Alright, I'll go back and look into it!"

The conversation between the two was overheard by Jing Yuan, who was walking behind them.

Jing Yuan also felt some doubt in his heart.

It seemed Mark had also noticed the problem, and he entrusted Jing Nan to investigate it.

Does this mean he trusts Jing Nan deeply?

Ever since he suspected that Jing Nan and Charles might be rivals, Jing Yuan had been considering whether to win Jing Nan over to deal with Charles.

Based on the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and considering that only Jing Nan could investigate matters concerning the Navigation Control Room.

But even if she found something, what then?

As the group entered the Armament Preparation Depot, the supplies began to be counted and stored.

The supplies Jing Yuan brought back far exceeded the total collected by the other four teams combined.

Jing Yuan won this Deputy Captain selection with an undeniable advantage.

Although he obtained the position of Deputy Captain, Jing Yuan was not happy.

He only felt himself sinking deeper and deeper into the power vortex of the Lighthouse.