Chapter 1576: "Scheming Ling"

Now that everyone lacks nuclear weapons and top-tier thermal bombardment, this is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for most non-nuclear nations in the world... especially those least affected by the nuclear strikes.

War will not stop because the nuclear war has ended; on the contrary, the truly tragic and chaotic war has only just begun.

And the combat power Yang Xiao displayed on the ocean not long ago is no less than a human-shaped nuclear weapon in this era... Chen Ling believes that the interested parties above have long since realized this.

It is reasonable for them to recruit the Nine Juns, hoping they will rush to the battlefield as unconventional weapons to crush the opposition.

"So, what are your thoughts?" Chen Ling asked.

"I... refused," Yang Xiao said, head bowed. "I know doing this is wrong, I know my evasion is the act of a coward... but... I don't want to kill people."

After Yang Xiao finished speaking, he was silent for a moment, then murmured, adding:

"Besides... aren't we supposed to save humanity?"

"Becoming a killing machine for war..."

"Can that also be considered saving them?"

Chen Ling looked at him with a complex expression and did not respond.

When this question fell into the ears of the other Nine Juns, they also fell silent... It was a heavy, realistic, and quite sensitive topic.

Is defending one’s country justice? Is saving humanity justice? When the group of people most capable in this era stands at the crossroads of morality, ethics, and responsibility, the scale for judging right and wrong loses its utility. Everyone’s choice can only be based on their own heart.

"Yang Xiao is the first, but he won't be the last," Chen Ling’s gaze slowly swept over them. "If nothing goes wrong, you will all receive such invitations... or rather, orders, one after another."

"I don't know what each of you is thinking. I won't interfere with your choices, and I don't care..."

"After all, the battlefield that decides the fate of humanity is not at this moment..."

"But in the future, hundreds of years from now."

The tent fell into silence again, so quiet that only the sound of the wind wailing outside remained.

Ring—ring—

Just then, another phone rang.

This time... it was from Lu Xun.

Lu Xun sighed and answered the phone, but after the person on the other end said a few words, he froze.

He hummed a few times, hung up, and turned to look at Chen Ling:

"I need to go back for a moment."

"Alright."

Chen Ling didn't ask what Lu Xun was going to do. It was true that he had gathered and united the Nine Juns, but they were not his subordinates. Moreover, Chen Ling trusted Lu Xun; as the leader of the Nine Juns, he should be able to handle his own affairs.

Seeing Lu Xun about to leave, Wu Tongyuan was the first to stand up:

"Old Lu, I’ll go with you?"

Lu Xun looked at him helplessly. "You can't come along for this... You follow Director Chen for now; I’ll contact you when I’m done."

Wu Tongyuan, who had already stood up, froze in place... Ever since Lu Xun had fished him out from abroad, he had been inseparable from him. Now that he couldn't follow, he felt a bit at a loss.

"Oh... okay, you go ahead." Wu Tongyuan scratched his messy hair.

Lu Xun seemed to be in a hurry. Ignoring the rain outside, he simply said goodbye to Chen Ling and the others, then hurried along the path out of Shennongjia, waved his hand to summon starlight, and disappeared from the spot...

The whole process was as natural as hailing a taxi.

Chen Ling turned back to the others:

"The night is already deep..."

"How about we just make do here for the night?"

This exploration camp in Shennongjia was not small. Besides the main tent that had just been blown away by Chen Ling and Xuan-yu Jun, there were several other tents originally left for the staff. After all, not everyone had Lu Xun’s ability to "summon starlight" to leave, and it was quite troublesome to walk out of the mountains in the middle of the night.

After looking at each other, they nodded without much hesitation:

"That works."

"Let’s just stay here for now."

"Saving the fate of humanity isn't something that needs to be done tonight."

"I happened to bring some instant noodles when I came. I saw a portable stove nearby, let’s cook some noodles."

Everyone’s opinions were surprisingly unified and surprisingly fast, as if an invisible hand in the dark was pushing every one of them to stay...

Thus, everyone automatically dispersed.

Su Zhiwei and Yang Xiao went to search the camp for sleeping bags, Wen Ruoshui went to boil water with the portable stove, and Qi Muyun returned to the area where the tent had been blown away to find his backpack... After all, his instant noodles were in the bag.

As for Ji Xuan, he was still unconscious in the center of the tent, motionless like a corpse.

Wu Tongyuan stood blankly in place. He had wanted to help do something, but the others’ decisions were so fast that they had assigned tasks to each other in a single breath and then went out to get busy...

Soon, only the unconscious Ji Xuan, himself, and...

a smiling Chen Ling remained in the tent.

……

That’s right.

Chen Ling did it on purpose.

From the moment Lu Xun left, he had begun using a thought storm to influence their minds without them realizing it, making them all stay the night. Even the ideas for their task assignments were pushed by Chen Ling... Even the phone call Lu Xun had just received was Chen Ling’s doing.

He first used the Aurora Jun’s ability to make Lu Xun receive the call, then disguised himself as the director of the 749 Bureau, telling Lu Xun that an emergency had occurred with extremely high confidentiality, and only Lu Xun should return.

Chen Ling knew very well that he wasn't familiar with Wu Tongyuan; their interaction had previously been limited to a few words during the exploration process. If Lu Xun were here, Wu Tongyuan would inevitably follow him, and Chen Ling would lose the opportunity to probe for Wu Tongyuan’s weaknesses...

Chen Ling couldn't just ask Wu Tongyuan to his face in front of Lu Xun and the others: What are your weaknesses? How can I kill you?

If the person Chen Ling asked was Yang Xiao, Yang Xiao would likely answer directly, as he trusted him enough. But Wu Tongyuan’s inner self was extremely sensitive and introverted; if he asked like that, it might instead make him wary of him.

Seeing everyone else busy and only himself standing there blankly, Wu Tongyuan scratched his head in confusion...

Especially when he turned his head and saw a pair of ruby-like eyes smiling and narrowing at him, he had an inexplicable feeling that something bad was about to happen... It was like a young girl suddenly being stared at, feeling completely uncomfortable.

"Uh... well... Director Chen, it’s quite cool today." Wu Tongyuan awkwardly started to find a topic.

"Yeah, very cool."

Chen Ling stood at the tent entrance, a pair of vermilion earrings swaying slightly in the wind. He didn't look at Wu Tongyuan again, but looked at the wind and rain in the mountains, saying leisurely:

"I saw your methods for dealing with those people in the mountains... your 'mathematics' is quite impressive, isn't it?"