Wasteland Border Inspector - Chapter 812

Chapter 812: Chapter 267: Phase 5 Defection, The Onset of the Storm!

Ding Yishan took out a stack of documents from his bag and started flipping through them. Harlem slowly picked up a kettle, poured himself a cup of hot water, and took small sips.

The four of them displayed different expressions, but fortunately, no one focused on his thoughts. They each remained silent, pondering without rushing to speak.

However, the atmosphere in the room grew increasingly oppressive, like dark clouds gathering before a storm, pressing down on them, making it hard to breathe.

No one knew if it passed for two or three minutes, or four or five minutes, but just as Cheng Ye was feeling restless.

Ding Yishan finally lifted his gaze, sweeping over everyone, and finally settling on him, his tone heavy and serious:

“Zhou Changhai has defected!”

What?

Zhou Changhai has defected?

Even though Ding Yishan turned his head, Cheng Ye had mentally prepared himself, but after hearing the full news, he still couldn’t believe his ears, almost jumping out of his seat in shock.

He even went to see Zhou Changhai in the afternoon. Didn’t they say he returned to the Buffer Zone, how did he suddenly… defect?

A Fifth-stage Inspector, choosing to defect at such a critical point when Happiness City was about to expand and reach its peak?

This is simply unfathomable!

“Zhou Changhai, along with seven Inspectors, left with him.”

Ding Yishan’s voice was so cold it sent shivers down one’s spine, “They had planned all this in advance, secretly leaving the range of Happiness City a week ago, with those left behind being carefully prepared stand-ins.”

“When they left, they took nearly thirty key personnel from Happiness City, involving multiple important departments, including the Deputy Director of the Inner City’s Public Works Bureau, Xi Yan; the Chief Engineer of the Core Energy Research Institute, Gu Zhiyong; the Head of the City Defensive Technology Department, Lu Yu… and the Level Five Researcher from the Inner City Research Institute, Zhang Shun!”

Boom!

Like a bolt from the blue, Cheng Ye only felt his head buzzing.

Every name Ding Yishan mentioned was a pivotal figure in Happiness City.

They might not hold the highest power, but they certainly grasped a wealth of key technologies and core secrets.

Especially Level Five Researcher Zhang Shun, one of the six core members of the Research Institute, on par with Shi Xu, and an elder of the Inspection Station’s Research Institute.

All these people were being coerced by Zhou Changhai to defect?

“Does he have the capability?” Cheng Ye subconsciously asked.

Had it been before, he might have doubted it, but after personally experiencing the strength of an Extraordinary, he found it hard to believe that a mere Fifth-stage Inspector could quietly take away so many key figures.

Zhou Changhai was just an opportunist, neither someone as ruthless as Cheng Wu nor possessing the prestige of Cheng Long. How could he accomplish this?

“He naturally doesn’t have the capability. It was an external force backing him, allowing him to complete these plans.”

Harlem picked up the conversation, his expression grim to the extreme. “Through special tracing methods, we have confirmed that Zhou Changhai secretly joined the Sea Province’s extremist organization ‘Starship’ seven years ago. Over the years, he continuously leaked critical information from Happiness City to Starship, with leaks numbering nearly a thousand times. He also secretly transferred large amounts of resources to assist Starship in completing a series of extreme plans.”

After speaking, he lifted his gaze, a complicated, indescribable look in his eyes. “And you, the Ten Thousand Orders Land Conch you previously contained was indeed the handiwork of the Starship Organization.”

As the words fell.

Cheng Ye was stunned again, but the initial shock in his heart dissipated entirely, replaced by a chilling coldness.

It was as if a net of conspiracy had long enveloped Happiness City, and no one managed to notice it in advance.

“What do they want to do with the Ten Thousand Orders Land Conch?” Cheng Ye asked gravely.

Harlem’s tone was cold, “If it weren’t for this time with the Satellite City expansion, and you accidentally activated the Immortal Object, completing containment ahead of time, once the Ten Thousand Orders Land Conch erupted, it would have encompassed Happiness City within its influence, turning it into a living hell.”

The abrupt emergence of the Immortal Object was specifically targeting Happiness City?

Doesn’t that mean…

“Then what about Yueye Shelter City?”

“Exactly because in the days we consolidated Yueye Shelter City, we found abnormal information from the last wave of infection and traced the source through special means, pinpointing the root cause.”

Harlem continued, “After an in-depth assessment, it was confirmed that the June infection wave was deliberately triggered and not a natural gathering. Starship used the infection wave to destroy Yueye, guiding a large number of refugees to perish via water routes, providing energy for the Immortal Object. During this period, the high ranks of Yueye had been infiltrated like a sieve, thus keeping the situation tightly under wraps without syncing any information with us.”

“When we took over Yueye and began sorting out this data and unmasking the hidden information, Starship, upon realizing the risk of their plan getting exposed, decided to retreat immediately. Alongside Zhou Changhai, there was one Fourth-phase, two Third-phase, and four Second-phase Inspectors. It was confirmed they had all joined the Starship Organization and based on each of their field routes, it can be inferred that Starship’s base should be set somewhere in the Sea Province, likely on an overseas island.”

He paused, coughing twice uncontrollably, “While we cannot yet determine whether the technical talents coerced away were originally Starship members or were forcibly taken for their utility, it is certain that Zhou Changhai had already left an area 1000 kilometers around Happiness City, and we have completely lost track of him.”

The massive influx of information surged like a tidal wave.

Cheng Ye’s gaze slowly moved from Ding Yishan to Harlem, and then to Towns and Lei Hu’s faces.

Given that it could gather these top four executives in one place, the authenticity of the information no longer needed to be questioned.

The fall of Yueye, it was orchestrated by this extremist group, Starship?

The deaths of over 300,000 people, merely to fulfill their nefarious plans?

The dissatisfaction and anger towards Yueye’s upper echelons hiding information all transformed into an unspeakable coldness, weighing heavy on his heart.

The cold-bloodedness and madness of these people had surpassed his imagination.

After pondering for a moment, he asked again, “Is Starship a fledgling organization? What is their objective in targeting us?”

As his words fell, the room fell into silence.

Ding Yishan kept his head down, flipping through the documents on the desk, Harlem shook his head slightly, Lei Hu, and Towns did not offer any reaction.

They didn’t know?

The mighty Happiness City, Stone Province’s overlord, couldn’t even acquire information about this evil organization, Starship?

“Starship is not a nascent organization, but to this day, there are no records of them within the Fire Alliance either. It’s only through special tracking methods that we have obtained their code name and some general information. ‘Starship’ refers to a colossal object visiting planets. They are unsatisfied with the slow restoration of human civilization and wish to forcefully usher in the next wave of evolution.”

It was Harlem who answered, “Where exactly their organization originated from, how many members they have, what their structure is like, whether there are other ongoing plans or hidden assets, we haven’t yet gotten further…”

Before he could finish, a “bang” reverberated, shattering the silence in the meeting room!

Lei Hu, clenching the Defense Communication with tightened fingers, slammed the device fiercely against the sofa armrest the next second.

He stood up abruptly, his burly figure casting a heavy shadow under the light, eyes wide with wrath, veins bulging on his temples: “We can’t just sit and wait! If we don’t know anything about Starship, how could the people below possibly track their movements? I’ll lead a team to the Sea Province tomorrow to dig them out!”

“What kind of bullshit Starship, I’ve personally dismantled no less than eight or ten of such evil organizations! They dare target Happiness City, do they think of us as pushovers?!”

His thunderous voice rumbled through, carrying an uncontrollable fury.

“I’ll go too.” Towns also rose slowly, his usually gentle gaze now deep as a pool, “Having stayed in the Buffer Zone these years, it’s high time to venture out, see what kind of entity this Starship is to coldly observe tens of thousands die for a single plan.”

Hmm?

Cheng Ye was taken aback, looking at the two in surprise.

Lei Hu’s fiery temperament made his volunteer to fight unsurprising, but Towns… how long has it been since he last stepped out of the Buffer Zone?

The Sea Province is thousands of kilometers away, and with the Starship Organization operating in secrecy, merely gathering information poses an unknown systemic risk on foreign and wild lands.

But before he could marvel at their bravery, Ding Yishan gently put down the documents he was holding, lifted his eyelids, and looked calmly at the two of them, his tone betraying no emotion:

“Are you planning to investigate Starship, or are you just trying to hide from the trouble?”

…