"A bunch of trash!"

Charas cursed angrily, slammed the communicator in his hand on the couch, paced back and forth for a moment, and closed his eyes.

Soon, a pale golden light appeared not far from him, and an old man in a gray robe slowly appeared.

Before the guy could speak, Charas stepped forward in a hurry, stared into his eyes and said aggressively.

"Your people are messed up again! Why make me say again! Can't you guys get some decent weapons!? Or do you have no one to use except the scaly fishmen?!"

Arzu's face was equally ugly.

He is not a true forerunner, but an apostle in the "Second Templar", unable to completely shield human emotions from pure rational thinking.

But even so, he still patiently waited for the guy to finish complaining before expressing his dissatisfaction in a cold tone.

"I have to remind you that the sea is your territory, you have lived here for two centuries, and we have only been here for a short time. I can do it for you to solve some of the troubles that you can't do with your hands, but don't you think we're just as omnipotent at sea as we are on the road? If that's the case, what are we looking for you to do, Charas's expression was a little uncontrollable.

"But that's ......"

This time, Arzu didn't wait for him to finish his sentence before he cursed.

"Don't be there, 'That's it, do you have to make it clear?' You're moving too slowly!"

Charas looked at Arzu in astonishment, and for a moment forgot who was asking whom he was asking.

Taking a deep breath, Arzu calmed his heaving chest and continued as he stared at the stunned Chief of Staff.

"The alliance is trying to establish an encirclement network against us, leaving less and less time for us, we must open our strategic space to the sea before the encirclement network is formed, the study of the brood on the Tiangong is a must, what about the coral city you promised me?

Another two months have passed, when exactly will we be able to start our research!

Hearing Arzu suddenly mention this stubble, Charas's expression was also a little embarrassed, and he coughed lightly to try to explain.

It will take a little time...... There are still concerns within the Federation, and I've worked hard to speak for you."

He needs to use his friends in the north to help him get some things right, but that doesn't mean he has to fall on them entirely.

To put it bluntly, it's just taking advantage of each other.

Admittedly, he longs for eternity while gaining power, but he has his own rhythm to do it, and this is the safest.

It's too slow."

Arzu shook his head, disappointment written across his face.

"I trust you and give you the greatest support, whether you want technology or assistance, we will help you without reservation, and even provide you with our most precious 'telepathic interference technology'. And what did you give me? Spend two months playing your boring game of officialdom? Do we have to wait until you take the presidency before we can move on to the next step?"

Without waiting for Charas to explain, he continued in grief.

"If I had a submarine or a warship, we wouldn't be able to use those ugly fishmen. Why did our plan fail? It's all because of you! Charas! Because of your weakness and incompetence! Again and again let my subordinates be singled! If you give them a little support—"

"That's enough!"

His face finally hung up, and Charas interrupted his rebuke in annoyance.

"I've helped you to the best of my authority, do you want me to cross the command and order the Federation's fleet to fire at the Alliance's targets? No one will pay attention to me at all! This is not your place! There's no puppet here who has been hollowed out by Nago, I can't do whatever I want, I have to be within the rules—"

"Do you do something outside the rules within the scope of the rules? That's your fatal flaw, you want to do anything

Yes, but I don't want to take any risks. If you want me to say, if you really fear your ridiculous set of rules, don't borrow our strength from the beginning, but like your beloved Mr. President, to enlist the support of the majority."

Arzu chuckled softly and walked in front of the dear ally, staring at the shaky pupils and speaking slowly.

"I can see that your men are starting to suspect you."

Subconsciously taking a step back, Charas frowned.

"My men?"

Arzu nodded, his ethereal gaze suddenly turned to the direction of the window, and continued as if nothing had happened.

The destroyer was heading towards the place where the incident occurred...... I'll guess, first of all, he definitely wasn't there to help us, and if he really had this intention, he wouldn't have waited until we were done. 「

Destroyer? You say Dongwen?" Charas looked at him in surprise and muttered to himself, "Didn't I tell him to return to Comfort Island to be on standby?"

It seems that I guessed correctly," looked at Charas, whose face gradually changed, but Arzu only sneered coldly at his ally, "It's a pity, Mr. Charas, I'm sorry that your officialdom game has been lost. You don't have a chance to be president of the Union, you don't have a chance, but you don't have a chance to hold on to the power you crave...... How about considering the title of Führer?"

Before a stunned Charas could speak, Arzu dropped his last words.

"This is your last chance, so let me see if you have the courage to bear the consequences of your choice."

"If you're a coward, I'd better change an ally as soon as possible, hehe."

At the same time as that sentence fell, the golden phantom began to fade gradually, like a wisp of dissipated green smoke into the air.

Charas was startled and hurriedly shouted.

"Wait, wait!"

The phantom didn't wait for him, didn't even bother to listen to what he said, and disappeared directly into the room, no matter how he called, there was no response.

"This guy!"

Charas clenched his fists.

At this moment, a drop of cold sweat suddenly appeared from his forehead and dripped on the carpet.

It was put on the table!

From the very beginning, the guy was sure that this group of mutants would fail.

And he who doesn't fully trust the torch will definitely arrange a warship to watch the final result by the same as before.

Now his men have begun to doubt his motives, and even begin to doubt whether what he is doing is right.

As the pretending guy said, he no longer had a chance to continue speculating as a wall-to-wall grass.

This time the skeptical gaze did not come from the centrists, but from his side-

The officers who supported him in this big gamble.

Now he has only two paths to choose from.

Either confess everything to those who support him and those who doubt him, and accept the punishment of those who have set the rules themselves.

Or take advantage of the fact that the initiative is still in their own hands, and pull those who still support them to finally gamble......

Charas felt his palms drenched in cold sweat.

Just then, there was the sound of footsteps at the door, followed by a knock on the door.

He spoke, almost reflexively.

"Come in."

The door was pushed open, and an officer walked in and gave a respectful military salute.

"Mr. Charas, Mr. President would like you to visit the Presidential Palace. There are some doubts he would like to discuss with you about the investigation of the Gold Coast."

The Gold Coast?

Charas was stunned for a moment, and it took him a while to remember that it was the research ship that had gone to Haiya Province to establish an outpost.

Realizing this, he couldn't help but want to laugh.

When has it been, and these guys are still investigating that thing?

But this

There were outsiders inside, did he laugh out loud, calmed his breath for a moment, turned to look at the officer standing at the door, and said gently.

"Please tell me, Mr. President, that I have some business to attend to here, and that I will go over and meet with him before dusk."

"Yes!"

The officer saluted again and turned to leave the room.

The door was closed.

Looking at the room that had fallen back to silence, Charas paused for a moment, and finally walked over to the couch and picked up the communicator lying on it.

Dialing a string of numbers cleanly, his eyes no longer hesitated, and his voice did not hesitate.

With one order after another, he quickly completed everything he needed to do before he could embark on the gamble.

Actually, there is nothing to hesitate at all.

Arzu was right, he was a weak and incompetent fellow.

But coincidentally, the officers and main combat factions who pushed him to the front of the stage are actually not "iron-blooded tough guys", they are all grasses who take one step at a time, and the people who want benefits but dare not take responsibility are not only themselves?

At least I have a little bit of strength over them, and I can still make some decisions when it's time to make them.

There is no reason why he should lose this bet!

Port of the crater.

At the end of the ceremony, Chief Inspector Ning read out the friendship statement of the roundabout and the port of fries and the alliance in front of everyone, and the midnight chicken killing read out the administrator's blessing to the local survivors on behalf of the alliance.

And in the end, as promised by the coalition, the fresh water supply pipeline was not affected by the sudden alarm.

Clear water still flowed from the end of the inverted hammer handle, as solid as the rocky order.

It was the abrupt alarm that seemed to be a misunderstanding.

At first, the crowd around the square was a little panicked, thinking that something big had happened.

However, when they saw the band continue to play and the ribbon-cutting ceremony continued, they all gradually settled down and re-immersed themselves in the atmosphere of the celebration.

The celebration ended.

Midnight Killer, who was standing next to the fountain, grinned and looked at Governor Channing, who still had an incredible expression on his face.

"Look, I'll just say it's fine."

With a stomach full of questions, Channing saw that the commander of the alliance seemed to know something, and finally couldn't help but ask.

"What the hell is the explosion just now......

Midnight Killer groaned for a moment and said bluntly.

"Mutants, I'm afraid."

"Mutants?!" Channing was stunned, looked at him in surprise, and blurted out, "How can there be mutants in the southern seas?!"

He did hear of aquatic mutants with gills and scales, but that creature didn't really live in the sea, but built its nest on the shore.

The islands in the southern seas are far from the coastline, and even boats floating on the water are not safe without means of driving away the aliens.

Looking at Channing with an incredulous face, Midnight Killer didn't explain, just took out a tablet from his arms and handed it to him.

Just now, Voldemort had shared the footage he had taken near the seabed freshwater pipeline to his terminal equipment through the radio station on the Rourou.

Looking at the battle footage broadcast on the screen, Channing's Adam's apple moved involuntarily.

It's really a mutant......

And there are so many!

The filthy waters were filled with severed limbs and weapons, as well as aquatic xenos that had been drawn by the smell of blood.

In addition, there is a huge sea monster "Laken" rolling in the water, which seems to have been attracted by the aquatic mutants.

While the possibility of synthesizing videos is not ruled out, these people clearly don't play the kind of trick that can be easily debunked.

"There's nothing strange about that

Yes, the southern seas are right next to Haiya Province, and it's no surprise that the Torch Church has spread that bunch of garbage to the Dead Coast."

Looking at Channing, whose eyes were glued to the screen, Midnight Killer suddenly continued as if he remembered something.

"Oh yes, just two months ago, a group of mutants tried to attack our port, but luckily we were targeted before they even landed."

"This ...... That's amazing news." Channing looked at him in surprise, and the expression on his face became noticeably unnatural.

Mutants.

This is no joke.

The area where the explosion occurred was less than a hundred nautical miles from the roundabout, and since they could swim there, it was entirely possible that they could swim there.

Although there are some defense forces on the island, and they can mobilize reserves if necessary, if it is faced with a surprise attack by a thousand mutants, I am afraid that they will not even have time to issue guns to the boys.

The consensus of the settlements in the southern seas is to build up defense forces at sea, and this is a strategic policy that has been established since the days of Vault 70.

That is, place the Federation's fortress in the sea beyond the island, and the steel fleet to block the threat from the wasteland.

Thanks to this defense mechanism, few Marauder speedboats have been able to get within a hundred nautical miles of the islands for the past two hundred years.

Now, however, it seems as if the defense mechanism has failed.

It's been two accidents in a row......

Looking at Governor Chanin, whose expression changed, Midnight Killer continued.

"And what's even more intriguing is that on the same day, your Maritime Patrol patrols patrolling the nearby waters disappeared en masse...... Of course, I'm not blaming you for not reminding us that our safety is our own business, but you don't seem to know what's going on there. If I'm not mistaken, it should be one of your patrol areas."

"I remember a drill two months ago," Channing coughed lightly, "it was probably a coincidence."

This sentence sounds like a justification for the Federation, but it also seems to be convincing itself.

"I can't rule it out," Midnight Killer said after a pause, "but I think the Fed Navy should know what was going on there, after all, the patrol came back the next day, and the blood on the beach hadn't been cleaned up at that time...... Didn't they warn you about the mutant threat?"

Channing's expression gradually became a little untenable.

"No...... Our main enemy is Vault 70, and their main object of beware is their submersible."

After a pause, his expression gradually became solemn, and he muttered to himself.

"There's something strange about this...... Why would mutants be interested in undersea pipelines?"

"I think you should be more mindful of why the fleet that is supposed to protect you is so selectively ignoring this apparent threat. Bringing mutants ashore is no joke, especially the scaly ones, and I've heard that they have a worse taste for torturing their prey than the greenskins."

That's all there is to it.

The midnight kill did not continue on this embarrassing topic.

He knew that although Channing didn't say it, he must have it in his heart. Whether or not a problem is revealed as a problem is more important than whether it is properly solved. Otherwise, it has already happened twice, and it is very likely that it will not just happen a third or a fourth time, but countless times when people don't know it.

The Federation Fleet has acquiesced in mutant military operations within its jurisdiction for some purpose without the approval of Command and without the permission of the settlements in the Southern Seas.

"Of course, this is just a kind reminder that we never put our safety in the hands of others, and whether or not the Federation's fleet provides us with the necessary support, we will deal with the scaly ones in our own way."

Glancing meaningfully at the governor, Midnight Killer turned around and prepared to return to the ship with the brethren of the Jungle Corps.

Looking at his back, Channing's throat moved, and after struggling for a moment, he finally couldn't help but speak.

"Wait a minute, please."

Midnight Killer stopped and turned back, casting an inquiring gaze at him.

"What's wrong?"

"I think...... We need to strengthen cooperation in the field of security, which may be more urgent than cooperation in the economic field. 「

Squeezing a slightly embarrassed smile on his face, Channing coughed lightly and continued in an unspeakable tone, "If we are attacked by mutants, I hope to be able to count on your support...... Of course, the same is true if you are attacked, and as long as we receive an alert, we will share it with you."

Now that the Coalition has the means to locate mutants and eliminate danger before they attack the pipeline, it is clear that they have established a patrol system that includes intelligence search and interception strikes.

Whatever the reason, the Federation fleet's two consecutive failures have made it impossible for him to trust those guys anymore.

Now that the crater is exposed to the threat of mutants, he needs to add a firewall to the local survivors.

A more reliable firewall.

In exchange, he could share the intelligence network of the crater with the Alliance, and the warning signals received by the other islands would also be received by the port of chips.

In a sense, this is equivalent to the two sides sharing a map view and signing a mutual defense agreement verbally.

Although the crater does not have its own army and fleet, the port itself can also be used as a military installation.

Probably understood the meaning of Channing's words, a surprised expression appeared on the face of the midnight killer, and then he smiled heartily and immediately agreed.

"No problem! If the opponent is a mutant, we will strike whenever and wherever we want, not to mention that you are our partners."

After a pause, he continued.

"Of course, we're two hundred nautical miles away from you, and if we wait for the attack to happen, we'll probably be too late. I suggest that you build an 800-metre airstrip next to the island, whether it is concrete or steel, and if our planes can land next to your island, we will be able to support you as soon as possible. 「

Having carefully written down this piece of advice, Channing nodded and said.

I'll get someone to arrange it as soon as possible."

At the same time that the Jungle Corps was evacuating from the port of the crater, the Federation destroyers, who had learned about the situation from the coalition planes, were continuing towards the sea where the battle took place.

There are some things that are not clear in the communication channel, and you must confirm them with your own eyes.

There was silence in the bridge.

Whether it was Captain Dongwen or the officers under his command, they were all silently staring at the endless sea in front of them at this moment.

In fact, whether it is the captain himself or his subordinates, they have heard of the friends in the north who have been helping them to solve some troubles.

However, what they didn't expect was that it was a mutant who did it!

What made it even more difficult for them to accept was that the place where it happened was only a hundred nautical miles from the crater......

"There must be some misunderstanding here...... adjutant said in a cold sweat."

"Anyway...... The higher-ups aren't going to use those guys."

There's always a better way.

It's really not possible, and it's not impossible to let the Federation's fleet do it.

Dongwen didn't speak, his eyes still staring intently at the undulating waves in the distance.

At this moment, his pupils suddenly shrank slightly, and he saw a mutilated arm suddenly emerge from the churning waves.

Soon he discovers that there is more than just one......

Mutilated corpses undulated with the waves, blue scales and skin indicating their identity.

One by one, the xenos attracted by the smell of blood chased and gnawed at their corpses, ignoring the warships that were close at hand.

Stand in the east

The adjutant next to Wen swallowed and struggled to squeeze a word out of his throat.

「…… Mutants."

And not one or two......

So many corpses, at least a thousand!

Realizing this, a cold sweat couldn't help but slip down his chin.

If these mutants were allowed to swim more than 80 nautical miles southeast along the pipeline, the consequences would be unimaginable......

Dong Wen stared silently at the terrible situation on the sea, and then glanced at the flickering signal on the sonar screen.

It was a "Laken".

As if sensing the telepathic signal from the warship, it writhed its wounded body and fled in the direction of the north.

More than a dozen strangely shaped submarines chased after it, and it was supposed to be something made up by the Alliance. Although the submarines were not in great condition, presumably having suffered some damage from previous battles, they did not seem to intend to let go of the prey that swam to their mouths.

After promising to support them in his previous communication with the pilot, Dongwen looked at the adjutant on the side and ordered.

"Launch the torpedo."

After a pause, he added.

"Also, use a trawl to scoop up the corpses of a few mutants."

The adjutant nodded solemnly and gave a military salute.

"Yes!"

With the order to fight, a torpedo was thrown from the launcher into the sea and galloped towards the target locked by the sonar.

Without any suspense, the torpedo easily hit the target, and the explosion of air and fire instantly tore apart the huge body, and only one shot sent the scarred Laken away.

The Alliance's submersibles made strange movements, gesturing at the robotic arm, as if to express their gratitude.

Instructing his lieutenant to send them a communication sound wave to say that he was not welcome, Dongwen walked out of the bridge alone and went to the deck of the destroyer.

At this time, a speedboat with a federal flag approached from a distance and approached his destroyer unhurriedly.

Dongwen glanced at the man standing on the speedboat, recognized the guy's name, and had the impression that it seemed to be called Muda, who was the captain of the sea patrol.

As he looked at the man, the man looked at him, and then at the trawl net thrown into the sea.

Having made up his mind, the man beckoned the speedboat to approach the destroyer, grabbed the ladder on the hull and climbed to the deck.

Dongwen didn't stop him, just watched in silence.

"Great harvest, it seems that you have a lot of loot, but fortunately you found out about the problem in time and didn't let this group of swimmers swim to our island."

Squinting at the blood-stained sea, Mu Da, who walked in front of him, had a hint of mockery in his voice.

"The inhabitants of the crater are waiting for me to come back and tell them what happened here, how about I be handed over? That way I don't have to go to the net myself."

Dongwen didn't take his words, and said after a moment of silence.

"Looks like you know something."

"Did I hear me right, you're asking me? It turns out that the person who has been watching from the side is actually me? Muda looked at him with a surprised expression and said with a smile, "Why don't we just change ships, you will drive my speedboat, and I will drive your destroyer."

Although it was just an exaggerated joke, the captain thought about it for a moment as if he was taking it seriously.

"It's not impossible."

"Come on."

Mu Da laughed and looked at the vast sea in the distance.

"More than a thousand mutants, driving into our territorial waters, while our fleet watched and applauded them...... You know everything, and you want an answer from me, and I understood two months ago, and I can't count on you at all."

Dongwen was silent for a long time, then sighed and said.

"I'm sorry, brother."

"I can

It's not your brother," Mu Da glanced at him, "You don't have to say sorry to me, but you should tell the more than 100,000 survivors on the crater, and the millions of residents of the entire Federation, who are paying for you...... Of course, they also raised me."

Perhaps out of shame, the captain slowly closed his eyes.

Seeing that he hadn't spoken for a long time, Mu Da continued to speak.

"Hey."

"Huh?"

"Tell me the truth," Muda continued, looking at the captain who looked at him, "The person who blew up the Ocean Current Power Station is really a resident of Vault 70."

Dongwen was silent for a while, and then spoke slowly.

"Probably not."

Muda stared into his eyes.

"That's you?"

"It's not."

Dongwen shook his head, didn't wait for a moment, but sighed again and said.

「…… But it doesn't make a difference."

Muda frowned.

"What do you mean?"

7 Without answering the question directly, the man said pointedly.

"We should have gone to extinguish the fire, and we acquiesced to the flames that had been lit, hoping that it would take care of the troubles that we could not afford to solve by ourselves. I should have noticed that sooner or later, if we hesitate, we will also become trouble."

Muda couldn't help but ask.

"So why are you doing this?"

Dongwen said calmly.

"Because there's only one chance, and if we're not decisive, the survivors of the Federation will never band together to drag those pretending to be ghosts off the altar. And once their administrators come back and take out those weapons that were in the vault, there will be no more of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

And now? Are we more united?"

Mu Da stared intently into his eyes, and seeing that he couldn't say a word for a long time, his eyes gradually wrote disappointment.

"We need someone else to shit for us, and then another person to wipe our butts for us, just because you hide it from me, I hide it from you."

After chewing his lips for a long time, he squeezed out the last half of the sentence in disappointment.

「…… How do you convince me to continue believing in you?"

Dongwen looked into the distance, not wanting to look at those disappointed eyes, and reached out to gently straighten the officer's hat on his head.

"I'm saying this precisely because I don't think it's good, and I don't expect you to continue to believe me...... But please give me another chance."

Muda could feel that the words were not meant to him, but more like to the survivors of the roundabout behind him.

The disappointment and ridicule in his eyes faded, and he asked in a serious tone.

"What else are you going to do?"

"Make up for your mistakes."

At this point, Dongwen paused for a moment, took out a thumb-sized card from his bosom, and handed it to the patrol leader.

It was a memory card that held a recording of the conversation he had with Charas, as well as an audio he had recorded himself after that.

It contains some things that everyone in the Federation fleet knows a little bit about, but they dare not pick out.

He knew that this alone would not convince everyone.

But he believes he can convince at least some of the guys like himself.

Muda looked at him puzzled and asked.

"What is this?"

Staring into his eyes, Dongwen said solemnly.

"Take it to the harbor of Anle Island and give it to the people who are waiting for me there."

Looking at the memory card in his hand, Mu Da was silent for a moment and looked at him and asked.

"Why don't you go yourself?"

"I'm going to the North Island."

Looking in the direction of the north, his gaze gradually became firm, and his voice no longer had any hesitation or hesitation.

At this moment, he imitated

Buddha is a true captain.

"We've got cracks in our cabin."

"Someone must step up and correct the mistakes that have been made before this rift expands beyond repair!"