59: Section 59

Mark walked up to Morgan, lowered his head, and said, "City Lord, we failed to complete the mission this time. I have let you down!"

Morgan was indeed very disappointed, but he did not show it in public.

"It is enough that everyone returned safely!"

Elon was nearby directing the scene: "Quick! Get the wounded to the medical area!" He then walked over to Mark's side and said, "Child, you should go get treated quickly as well!"

"Teacher, I'm fine."

Charles was secretly gloating on the side, but on The Surface, he wore a look of consolation: "Captain Mark, there's no need to worry too much. Although you failed to bring back the supplies, Vice-Captain Jing Yuan's side had a bountiful harvest. Overall, the Wasteland Hunters still achieved victory."

Charles was truly a master of instigation.

The high-ranking officials present all knew that whether the maintenance equipment and materials were brought back didn't matter; the City Lord's medicine was the key to this mission.

And Mark had messed it up.

Charles saw the disappointment in Morgan's eyes, and it made him especially happy.

Since Captain Mark had failed this mission, there was naturally no reason for a grand welcome.

But since everyone was already there, should the crowd be dismissed on the spot?

That was naturally impossible, so instead of a warm welcome, everyone stood on both sides of the road, watching.

Under the gaze of so many people, the Wasteland Hunters felt humiliated.

It was practically a public execution.

Many of the Wasteland Hunters who followed Mark blamed this humiliation on Captain Mark's incompetence.

Because on the other side, the team led by Jing Yuan had returned in total victory.

However, since they were all fellow Wasteland Hunters, they couldn't openly praise one while belittling the other.

Although no one spoke of it, Mark's prestige had hit Rock bottom this time.

Jing Yuan escorted the supplies to the distribution room and then went to the medical area to find Mark.

Mark only had some minor injuries that were easily bandaged and treated.

"Captain, what happened?"

Mark was still immersed in regret. "The Phage Beasts on The Surface were far more numerous than we thought!"

"Thought?" Jing Yuan was puzzled. Was Mark the kind of person to be so reckless?

"Captain, were you misled by the reconnaissance data again?"

Mark suddenly stared at Jing Yuan, a realization dawning on him.

Mark felt intense self-reproach because his erroneous command on The Surface had led to the heavy casualties that followed.

But if the reconnaissance intelligence given to him was flawed, Mark, holding incorrect data, would inevitably lead his command in the wrong direction.

Seeing Mark's surprise, Jing Yuan had already guessed as much. He said, "Captain, don't be so quick to blame yourself. This is a serious issue. For discrepancies to occur time and time again, it's no coincidence."

Mark immediately stood up. "I'm leaving for a moment!"

After Mark left, he went straight to the Navigation Control Room to find Jing Nan, but she wasn't there.

Jing Nan was in the Data Room.

Mark's crushing defeat this time had also struck Jing Nan as very strange.

She remembered what Jing Yuan had mentioned to her last time, so the first thing she did upon her return was go to the archives to re-verify the data.

Mark arrived directly at the archives and knocked on the door.

Jing Nan was not surprised.

She let Mark into the archives and showed him the data she had found.

After reading the files, Mark was also enraged.

"This intelligence is missing key sections. Lady Jing Nan, don't tell me this was a technical error!"

The department Jing Nan oversaw was responsible for intelligence gathering. Since the intelligence was faulty, Mark naturally questioned Jing Nan first.

"I will investigate this thoroughly and give you an explanation!"

Deep down, Mark trusted Jing Nan, but such sabotage had not only caused deaths and injuries among the Wasteland Hunters but also resulted in the failure to retrieve the supplies. It was simply too much.

"You don't need to give me an explanation; you need to give one to the Wasteland Hunters and to the Lighthouse." Mark let out a long breath and said, "Jing Nan, handle this well. The information for the next mission must be accurate. The City Lord can't afford to wait much longer."

"I understand."

...Inside the Law Enforcement Office, Loriv was reporting the situation on The Surface to Charles.

Loriv said he would report truthfully, and indeed, he did.

He included the fact that Jing Yuan had hit Rock on The Surface, and that Rock, harboring a grudge, had tried to use the Phage Beasts to kill Jing Yuan—he told him everything.

More importantly, Rock had attacked Loriv in an attempt to save himself.

Loriv emphasized Rock's shamelessness and also highlighted that Jing Yuan had saved him.

He added, "Jing Yuan said at the end that he saved me only because he promised the Leader. I think that while Jing Yuan is arrogant, he is still completely obedient to the Leader."

"Did he ever ask what your mission was?"

"He did, but we didn't tell him!"

"Then does he know you obtained the medicine?" Charles asked while toying with a medicine box in his hand.

"He doesn't know. He didn't ask about it later either."

At that time, after Fann and the others obtained the medicine, each of them carried one box.

Rock had suddenly come up with a malicious plan to lure the Phage Beasts to attack Jing Yuan.

Because Jing Yuan had saved him, Loriv felt that Jing Yuan's actions were beyond reproach.

As for the deaths of Fann and Rock, they had brought it upon themselves.

However, Loriv didn't realize that his words meant nothing to Charles.

Charles didn't care about the deaths of Fann and Rock simply because he didn't care about them to begin with, not because they had deserved it for their misdeeds.

"You did well this time. You may leave!"

"Yes!"

After Loriv left, Charles called Fan Lü over and said, "Jing Yuan helped us complete the mission this time. Give him some contribution points. Also, arrange for the people he wanted!"

"Yes!"

...Charles left the Law Enforcement Office and went to the upper level of the Lighthouse, to Morgan's residence.

This area was the City Lord's private space. Aside from a few people close to Morgan, no one else was permitted to approach.

Charles found Morgan and saw him sitting behind his desk, looking troubled.

Charles stepped forward and said with a look of concern, "Father, Captain Mark failed the mission this time, but please do not blame him too much. After all, everyone has moments of failure. I believe that in the next mission, he will surely be able to bring the medicine back."

Morgan did not speak.

Charles took out a medicine box and said, "Father, I still have a box of medicine here. It should last until Captain Mark's next mission."

Morgan's eyes visibly brightened as he asked in confusion, "How do you have this medicine?"

Charles said, "Previously, I was worried about an accident in the medicine storage room, so I secretly took a portion to keep personally as insurance. If Captain Mark had brought the medicine back this time, I wouldn't have brought it out. Unfortunately..." Charles showed a hint of regret, then followed it with a look of relief, "Fortunately, I kept a backup."

Charles's relief was faked, but Morgan's relief was genuine.

"You truly are thoughtful."

"It is only what I should do. As the helmsman of the Lighthouse, your health is the most important matter."

While the father and son were chatting, Jing Nan walked in.

"City Lord!"

"Jing Nan, why have you come as well?" Morgan looked toward her.

Seeing Charles there, Jing Nan's expression flickered slightly. "I came to report some matters to the City Lord. Since you are busy now, I will come back another time."

"It's fine, go ahead and speak!"

Jing Nan took out a tablet, hesitated for a moment, and said, "My apologies, I forgot to bring a certain file. I should still come back to report another time!"

"Mm. That's fine too." Morgan looked at Jing Nan and smiled, "We can talk about work next time. Since you are both here, stay and talk with me for a while!"

...When they left, Charles and Jing Nan walked together.

Charles keenly noticed that Jing Nan was deliberately hiding something from him.

"Jing Nan, what did you want to report to the City Lord just now?"

Chapter 61: Jing Nan's Mission