Chapter 144: No, You Are Not

Bai Qingchu was a research scientist, with his whole heart devoted to his work. He had no useful advice to offer on matters like these.

Meng Gaozhuo handled equipment. Of them all, he was usually the greasiest and most unkempt, always covered in grime no matter the occasion—clearly a man who paid little attention to worldly affairs.

Gu Dalong, the head of the Production Department, was even more thoroughly an expert in agriculture and animal husbandry. He was also the least conspicuous of them all. Among the Eight Departments of the Celestial Pillar, the Production Department was the most low-key, and there was even less for him to say.

As for the Medical Department, there was no need to mention it. At meetings like this, it was nothing more than a token department.

Thus, during this meeting, the three department heads barely spoke at all. They could only sit in as observers, perhaps offering their opinions from time to time.

“Captain Cao, you held a respectable position in the Old Era and have seen more of the world than most. What is more, you survived alone in the wasteland for over a year. Do you have any advice for us?”

The virtual figure once again turned his gaze toward Cao Fusheng.

For some reason, he always wanted to hear Cao Fusheng speak, constantly finding ways to draw him into the conversation. Simply hearing the man’s voice seemed to put him at ease.

Cao Fusheng, meanwhile, was deeply puzzled. By all rights, merely being allowed to remain here as an observer after reporting his circumstances was already strange enough. Now they wanted him to give his opinion as well. What exactly were they trying to pull?

Were they truly that unconcerned about appearances?

Did no one suspect that he might also be a spy sent by the Northern Heavenly Kingdom?

“I believe that with Captain Cao Fusheng’s pride and ability, he must have some original insights to offer,” Bian Qiu said calmly.

Hearing such words from two figures of immense importance—the Boss and the formidable Bian Qiu—the department heads all instinctively turned their eyes toward Cao Fusheng, making him increasingly uncomfortable.

It was quite like sitting on a bed of needles.

“Before that, I have a question. Are you really not worried about appearances? You already surprised me by allowing me to remain here as an observer. Now you want me to give my opinion as well. Haven’t you considered that I might actually be a spy sent by the Northern Heavenly Kingdom?” Unable to restrain himself, Cao Fusheng voiced his doubts. Otherwise, he could not shake the uneasy feeling in his heart.

As the saying went: when someone offers kindness without reason, they either have ulterior motives or are plotting theft.

If there was a question, it had to be settled on the spot. Otherwise, he might only realize afterward that someone had dug a pit and coaxed him into jumping in.

“No, you are not,” Bian Qiu and the virtual figure said in unison.

The two exchanged a glance. Bian Qiu looked puzzled, while the virtual figure seemed somewhat guilty.

One was a Celestial Pillar executive—or, more precisely, its chief. The other was a man of distinguished status in the Old Era, whose security classification had been extraordinarily high, and who was now the most authoritative department head in the Celestial Pillar.

Their states of mind were entirely different when they spoke those words, but their starting point was the same.

Bian Qiu said it because he trusted Cao Fusheng’s character. The captain of the Swordfish Special Forces was immensely proud, the sort of pride etched into his bones. Even betrayal and a succession of turbulent reversals had failed to change it.

He would never become the hound of an evil cult.

The virtual figure had spoken from trust as well, but his trust was vague and insubstantial. It was as though another person were constantly shouting inside his mind: Believe this man. You must believe him.

And so the chief had added those words entirely on instinct.

“All right. Your trust in me is… well… rather nerve-racking. But to be honest, you are overestimating me. I have no useful advice to offer. After all, I know nothing about your situation here. You two should be the ones who know how best to make arrangements.” Cao Fusheng shrugged helplessly. As the saying went, one could not win a hundred battles without knowing both oneself and one’s enemy.

At present, he did not even know himself—or rather, this place—well enough to make the simplest assessment. As for the Northern Heavenly Kingdom, of which he knew only scraps, he could hardly offer any constructive advice.

Still, this preliminary meeting had allowed him to glimpse a few clues. In name, the Celestial Pillar had eight department heads, and all of them seemed highly capable.

In reality, however, the true decision-makers were Bian Qiu and the Boss. The others could simply be understood as employees.

Each was responsible for his own field, but none possessed final decision-making power. They could not even influence the Boss.

Only Bian Qiu seemed capable of standing on equal footing with the Boss—and perhaps even overstepping him.

The virtual figure was not surprised. Expecting a man who had only just moved into the Celestial Pillar and had not yet spent a single night there to offer any advice was indeed asking too much.

“Then I will make the arrangements. Minister Ruan, you will be primarily responsible for verifying personnel information. Compile a list of survivors who arrived relatively late. They are our principal group of suspects. Then investigate the initial survivors who entered with us. The possibility is smaller in their case, but we cannot overlook them.”

“As for Minister Xun, your workload may be even heavier. Review all surveillance footage from every monitored area over the past two years. Do not let the slightest clue slip through your fingers. This will be a tremendous undertaking, so assign more personnel if necessary. Our immediate crisis has only just been resolved—we cannot afford to relax.”

“Law enforcement personnel will switch from a three-shift rotation to a two-shift rotation. Everyone else will be sent out on mobile patrols. From this moment on, your authority will be expanded to include inspections of the operational forces. The units rotating through the thirty lower levels must also submit to your supervision. However, to prevent the Law Enforcement Department from being suspected of policing itself, cancel security at the upper levels and deploy three operational-force groups to monitor the department’s movements.”

“From this moment onward, sever all signal transmissions between the interior and exterior. Only designated individuals may be granted the authority to reopen them. Minister Bian, I need not explain how much work this will require of you. The problem first appeared within the operational forces. I trust you have your own rules and methods for conducting a purge.”

Bian Qiu lowered his head and gave a quiet assent. If one looked closely, one could see the hand hanging at his side slowly tightening.

It was the prelude to anger.

Before long, the operational forces would be swept by a storm of bloodshed.

No one doubted Bian Qiu’s methods. He would rather kill the wrong man than let anyone escape.

The virtual figure then turned toward Lu Yuan, head of the Coordination Department, and said in a solemn voice, “Minister Lu, the corpse tide is receding. You can begin making plans as well. Take stock of our supplies and formulate routes and objectives. After all, our internal cycle has been consuming provisions too rapidly over the past several months. We still need to send some personnel outside to gather supplies.”

“One more thing. Now that this so-called Northern Heavenly Kingdom has begun to act, we have already lost the initiative. We cannot afford to surrender the advantage that remains. I will personally select the members of the Third Division. They will be responsible for reconnaissance beyond our perimeter. First, they will identify the threats in our vicinity and determine the precise locations of the tunnels. Second, they will ascertain the Northern Heavenly Kingdom’s exact position.”

“That will be all for now. Those with nothing to report may return and put these orders into action. Remember, the difficulties we face this time will be no less dangerous than the threat of the corpse tide. They may be even more perilous, because our enemies are human. The struggles mixed into this conflict will be far more complicated.”

The department heads replied in unison, “Understood!”

One after another, they left the meeting.

Cao Fusheng glanced around and saw that he no longer had any business there, so he prepared to return. He needed to hurry back and explain the situation to Han Shuqing and Gao Yi.

He could not leave them suspended in anxiety forever.

Just as he was about to depart, a voice sounded from behind him once more.

“Captain Cao and Minister Bai, please stay behind. There are a few things I would like to ask you.”