Chapter 150 This Is Impossible

Just as Zhou Shu and his companions left, another great beauty stepped into the allocation room. It was none of the others, but the regal-looking chief commander of the navigation control room, Jinnan.

She initially wore a faint smile, but as she brushed past the Lotus Light Envoy and her subordinates, her expression darkened for a fleeting moment. The smile instantly returned to her face the moment she caught sight of Mark and Ran Bing.

She walked over, placed one hand on her hip, and remarked pointedly to Mark, "It seems I am not the only one wishing to express my 'gratitude' to the Dust-hunters."

Hearing this, Mark shook his head slightly, then joked, "If you aren't staying in the control room, are you just letting the Lighthouse wander blindly through the sky like this?"

Jinnan hadn't expected Mark to be so humorous. She let out a charming chuckle and said, "Given that the Dust-hunters have returned with a full haul this time, the Lord Governor has given instructions regarding today's council meeting..."

As she spoke, she tilted her head toward Ran Bing and gave a gentle tap in the air, "Bring your deputy along~"

Ran Bing looked utterly bewildered. She blinked, pointed at herself, and asked, "Me?"

"Yes, exactly you," Jinnan said with a smile.

Afterward, the three of them walked through the inner corridor toward the central elevator shaft—the dual-purpose military and civilian apparatus.

When encountering a monarch-class creeping beast, it served as the launch rail for the central electromagnetic cannon; normally, however, it functioned solely as an elevator connecting various core departments, accessible only to those with high clearance.

Upon entering the elevator, Jinnan scanned her palm print, and only then did the car begin its ascent. Since it was Ran Bing's first time here, she looked around curiously from left to right.

At that moment, Jinnan turned to Mark and said, "During the past few missions, the Dust-hunters have hardly gathered any surface samples. Research into the doomsday ecosystem has completely stagnated."

Mark thought for a moment before replying, "The delta zone two hundred kilometers away might hold what you are looking for. I will organize the next collection mission in a week, but do not forget—the primary duty of the Dust-hunters is to bring back supplies."

With a sigh, he added, "The creatures down below are becoming harder and harder to deal with. Their proliferation rate has exceeded our expectations. This time, we barely managed to escape total annihilation just while scavenging for supplies."

Mark's words startled Jinnan. This conflicted greatly with the preliminary reports she had received. She quickly asked, "What is going on? The reports I heard indicated that the returning headcount was virtually intact, and the supplies brought back were the largest in nearly three years. How could you have almost been wiped out?"

"We encountered a massive number of creeping beasts at the collection site. According to our reconnaissance and data calculations, creeping beasts should not have been present there, yet they appeared anyway..."

Just as they were speaking, the elevator arrived. Outside the central command hall stood on-duty city defense guards. As the doors opened, Mark fell silent; after all, some matters were not meant for ordinary ears.

Stepping out of the elevator, he said to Jinnan, "Anyway, this mission was bizarre. You'll find out when we give our mission report shortly."

Jinnan: "..."

Leaving half of what you had to say unsaid was utterly maddening!

Once they cleared the sky-ladder, Jinnan first had them freshen up their personal hygiene. Though there was no time for a full bath, they at least washed their faces and brushed away the surface dust.

Inside the central command hall, the aging Governor sat upon his high seat, while various department heads stood below.

Numerous city defense guards stood on guard around the perimeter, and dozens of ornamental fish swam leisurely inside a massive water tank.

The setting sun not only bathed the sky in a golden-red glow, but through the colossal observation windows, the entire central command hall was tinted with the very same hue.

"Let us begin," said Governor Morgan.

Victor, the commander-in-chief of the city defense, stood right beside him. The commander's right arm was a mechanical prosthesis, and the right side of his face bore severe burn scars, clearly marking him as a veteran of countless battles.

He glanced at the people standing below and said with a stern face, "Departments, begin your reports."

Hearing this, Ran Bing, attending the council meeting for the very first time, gave a slight cough to muster her courage. She took a step forward, snapped to attention, and reported, "Reporting to the Governor, the supplies gathered by the Dust-hunters this time mainly consist of controllable energy sources, compressed food, rare metals, and various items of Old World combat equipment."

With that, she immediately stepped back and resumed her upright, at-attention posture.

At this point, Jinnan took over, "According to statistics, these supplies can sustain the Lighthouse's minimum consumption for six months. However, the Lighthouse lost a portion of its medicine reserves while passing through the storm turbulence layer. For the next collection mission, we will require a larger allocation of medical supplies."

Half a year—this was undoubtedly good news for the Lighthouse. Even the stern-faced Governor revealed a faint smile, though it only made the wrinkles on his face more pronounced.

Victor spoke again, "Report on battle casualties."

Jinnan stepped forward once more, a gentle smile gracing her face. "The losses of the Dust-hunters this time were minimal, with zero fatalities. The number of injured among both the Upper and Dust citizens is in the single digits. Furthermore, according to the life formula, all of them possess treatment value and will not consume excessive medical supplies. Once recovered, they can continue to serve the Lighthouse."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of those present varied, but the majority looked pleased. The Governor, usually so stoic, let his smile blossom into pure joy as he uttered a single word: "Good."

Then, looking at Mark, he said, "Mark, you did an exceptional job this time."

Mark replied, "This was merely my duty."

However, one person's expression was decidedly out of place—Charles, the leader of the Light and Shadow Church, a handsome young man with blond hair.

He furrowed his brows deeply, casting a subtle, covert glance toward Mark, his eyes filled with a trace of resentment and impatience.

He felt this way not because Mark had performed well, but simply because the man upon the throne had praised Mark.

Fortunately, his individual attitude did not dampen the joyous atmosphere of the command hall, and because he concealed it well, no one else noticed.

Immediately afterward, Victor said with a hint of a smile, "Report on population replenishment."

Hearing this, Instructor Elon, his hair and beard completely white, stepped forward. "The premium population replenishment chain is operating in normal rotation. In accordance with the children-rearing teachings, combat personnel who have reached the age of sixteen and undergone doomsday military training can be deployed into combat immediately."

"The genetic optimization phase has also arranged for matched Upper Citizens to enter the Dawn Hall to execute breeding tasks. Each batch of replenished population is undergoing rigorous training corresponding to their age group."

Good news came one after another, and the smiles on Governor Morgan's face multiplied. The more prosperous the Lighthouse, the less pressure weighed upon him. Just as Victor was about to announce the next item, a voice broke in uninvited.

"Lord Governor," the blond-haired Charles took the initiative to step forward. He bowed slightly with graceful posture and said politely, "The citizens of the Lighthouse live in profound peace under the protection of the Lord of Light and Shadow..."

The moment he opened his mouth, it was the classic rhetoric of a religious zealot. Carrie, the Lighthouse's medical and ecological director, immediately yawned out of sheer boredom, while Ran Bing, standing beside her and attending her first council meeting, looked somewhat dazed.

Could a solemn council meeting really proceed like this?

On the other side, Charles continued to drone on: "The Lord of Light and Shadow sent down an oracle stating that the convoy would return intact and laden with supplies. Yet, despite this, Upper Citizens were still injured. I cannot help but wonder... have the Dust-hunters grown slack in the execution of their duties?"

Finally, his gaze locked directly onto Mark.

Mark didn't even dignify him with a look. Instead, he stepped forward directly and said, "Lord Governor, regarding the situation on the surface, the Dust-hunters have made a major discovery."

At these words, everyone perked up. Carrie, the medical and ecological director, instantly snapped out of her drowsiness, abandoned her yawn, and stared fixedly at Mark with gleaming eyes.

Mark had secured the maximum amount of resources with minimal casualties this time. Could it be that some change favorable to humanity had occurred on the surface?

Ignoring the thoughts of others, Mark stated bluntly, "The proliferation rate of the creeping beasts has exceeded our expectations. This time, we ran into a massive herd of beasts that had no business being there, and even among the variant strains, oversized specimens appeared. But most importantly, we discovered human beings on the surface."

Hearing this, everyone except Ran Bing froze in astonishment. The blond Charles, meanwhile, curved the corner of his mouth into a mocking smile and began to applaud. "Fascinating, truly fascinating. To have broken through a beast horde while hauling supplies is certainly heroic, but..."

The blond man walked up next to Mark with an expression that seemed to question Mark's sanity. "Captain Mark, you say there are people on the surface? That is simply impossible."

"We haven't encountered any surface survivors for over twenty years. Moreover, you claim that the proliferation rate of the creeping beasts has exceeded expectations and that they are fiercer than before. If that is true, it is even less possible for humans to survive on the surface."

"Captain Mark, your statements are logically contradictory. Could it be that scarlet rot... has impaired your judgment?"

At this moment, compared to the confusion of the others, the reactions of three young women carried a rather different nuance.

Ran Bing, having actually seen Zhou Shu—and having witnessed Zhou Shu slaughtering monsters—was desperately eager to prove that Mark's words contained no logical flaws. The surface creeping beasts were indeed terrifying and had exceeded expectations; it was simply that the surface human was even more formidable!

Yet, as the deputy commander of the Dust-hunters and Mark being her superior, her attempts at "self-testimony" were hardly convincing on their own.

Meanwhile, Jinnan watched Mark's figure, her arms crossed in deep thought. She recalled their conversation in the elevator—could that have been what Mark intended to tell her then?

She considered herself fairly well-acquainted with Mark and knew he wouldn't lie, giving it an 80% probability that what he said was true.

Still, the idea that humans were still surviving on the surface was far too mind-boggling.

The most shocked of all was the Lotus Light Envoy. A sudden realization had struck her: she thought of that individual who lacked identity credentials and whose shadow index had reached the danger threshold.

Now that she thought about it carefully, that person possessed an aura completely out of step with the Lighthouse.

She desperately wanted to step forward and warn the church leader, but it was already too late. Mark cast a cold glance at Charles, then suddenly broke into a smile.

"Perhaps. Fortunately, I have already brought that human up to the Lighthouse. My judgment may be limited, but by simply comparing the census of the Lighthouse and checking his records, it will be easy to tell whether he belongs here or not. Don't you agree, Lord Church Leader?"

Charles, who had been looking smug just moments before, turned pale with fury. "You—"

Before he could utter another word, Mark ignored him entirely, raised his head, and declared, "Lord Governor, the reason why only a few of us were injured this time, and why we brought back an abundance of supplies, is entirely thanks to the assistance of Zhou Shu."

"And Zhou Shu... is the surface human I spoke of."