Chapter 647: Reaction

Han City Defense Line, Second Base Group.

The dim interior of the base, a biting chill.

Built forty-five meters underground, the base complex, converted from civil defense works, carried a large population.

Since the garrison of Pure Tile Platform Base withdrew here, the originally somewhat empty base group inevitably became crowded.

In the underground building complex constructed of mixed concrete, footsteps sounded one after another.

A middle-aged man wearing a national defense military uniform, with double diagonal shoulder straps, looked urgent.

"Move aside! I have an urgent report!"

He charged straight past the guards blocking the way.

The man's face fierce, he shoved open the door of the meeting room where a meeting was in progress.

The soldiers behind him, under his brute force, were knocked to the ground.

"Emergency report!"

"The Twin Star Base sent another message, claiming that the intruder in their base is suspected to be Lin An!"

"Request our support!"

The urgent report and the sound of the door being pushed open rang out simultaneously.

Inside the meeting room.

Dozens of eyes turned in unison; the staff officer still analyzing the report stared blankly at the soldier who had rushed in.

The meeting was interrupted.

The people who had been arguing over the plan stared in shock and closed their mouths.

"You... what did you say?"

"Who let you barge in?!"

On the main seat, a middle-aged woman dressed properly, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, sank her face and countered.

"Didn't I say? During the meeting, any situation must be reported to me through the secretary-general."

He frowned instinctively.

Looking at the officer who had barged in without permission, a deep dissatisfaction flashed in her eyes.

As the newly inaugurated President of Daehan, she was strongly averse to the military's attitude after the apocalypse.

The authority of the regime comes from layered institutions.

In frantic haste, utterly unbecoming, where is the bearing of a high-level official?

Layered reporting, isn't it the same?

The officer delivering the report noticed Park Geum-hui's complexion; he forcibly suppressed his excitement, only able to clench his fists.

That old woman!

Didn't you hear what I said?!

Lin An! Lin An has appeared in the Busan war zone!

Isn't this the trivial matter you usually discuss in meetings?

A fire burned in his chest.

The middle-aged woman before him replaced the former president, Lee Eun-ji.

After taking office, she ignored military protests and enacted a bunch of nonsense systems, supposedly to restore normal governance.

Establish a sound government institution.

But she doesn't even look at what time it is now.

Upon hearing such news, she still has the mood to blame him for lacking manners?

Word by word, he stared fixedly at everyone present and repeated:

"The Twin Star Base requested aid one hour and fifteen minutes ago, asking to dispatch the nearest Awakened Ones from Busan to intercept the intruder."

"Our side refused; twenty-five minutes later, they claimed the intruder was Lin An and provided related evidence."

"After repeatedly verifying the information, our department can confirm..."

"Lin An has truly appeared in the Busan war zone!"

Having said it all in one breath, the reporting officer felt his heart burn with anxiety.

Previously, their military still thought Twin Star Base was playing some petty tricks.

But now, he only felt this was a rare opportunity!

"Lin An...?"

Unlike the shocked expressions of others in the meeting room, Park Geum-hui in the main seat merely frowned doubtfully.

This name... sounds very familiar.

Standing behind her, the secretary responsible for providing materials lightly coughed, realizing that this newly installed supreme ruler seems to have a poor memory.

He cautiously bent down and quickly whispered a few reminders into Park Geum-hui's ear, lest she embarrass herself publicly.

Half a minute later.

Park Geum-hui suddenly realized and let out an "oh," prompting everyone to silently curse her.

Only now remembering?

You got the position only because the former president, Lee Eun-ji, voluntarily "committed suicide."

And the culprit is none other than Lin An.

Park Geum-hui actually forgot the name Lin An for a moment, truly leaving them speechless.

Ignoring everyone's varied expressions, Park Geum-hui wore an indifferent look, frowned, and asked:

"Is it true or not?"

"So what?"

"What does this have to do with us?"

The questioned defense official's expression froze, and he almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.

You're still asking if I'm telling the truth? Didn't I make it clear enough!

The military has repeatedly verified it!

As for that latter remark, it left him feeling somewhat powerless with anger.

What should we do? What should Lin An do in the Fushan war zone?

If it weren't for the fact that the other party is the president, he really would want to smash them with a rifle butt.

Suppressing his inner resentment, he could only reply in a low, hurried voice:

"We should immediately dispatch troops, even mobilize all available forces, and go all out to kill Lin An!"

"Although we don't know why he appeared in Fushan, this opportunity must not be missed no matter what!"

"Once he escapes from the Twin Stars Base, it will be hard for us to track him down!"

I thought I had made myself clear enough.

Who would have thought, Pu Jinhui sitting in the main seat still kept a furrowed brow, as if it were a trivial matter:

"Didn't you military say the front lines are strained and manpower is insufficient?"

"Twin Stars Base... what's it to them?"

"Lin An is there, right? I've heard this person seems to have some ability."

"The journey is so far; why run over there? What if we encounter mutants on the way?"

"Or are you saying the military previously deceived me?"

"Just because I want to subdue the Han River Castle Cathedral, you lied about lacking manpower?"

Just as his words fell, the secretary-general behind him turned pale with shock and hastily interjected in a low voice:

"Your Excellency President, Lin An has on him a large amount of materiel swindled from us!"

"The military means we must retrieve it!"

Stiff at the doorway, the defense official's face darkened to the point of almost dripping water.

Watching Pu Jinhui's utterly indifferent expression, he began to suspect that he and his companions had backed the wrong person.

Even a three-year-old child understands the significance of capturing Lin An.

The woman before him actually lacks any strategic awareness whatsoever.

If it weren't for the auction incident, the original government's prestige would have suffered greatly.

They had no choice but to try to select a new ruler from the 'civilian' populace to quell public anger.

Otherwise, even if the military were beaten to death, they wouldn't seek someone with extremely high prestige in the civilian religious forces like Pu Jinhui.

There was no sign of being persuaded as imagined.

After hearing that, Pu Jinhui remained uninterested:

"I know he defrauded us of a large amount of supplies."

"But how do you prove the items are on him? That much materiel wasn't traded to the Huaxia war zone, was it?"

"Even if we catch him, what good would it do?"

Having said that, she ignored everyone's strange expressions and wanted to continue the meeting.

She isn't as foolish as she appears; she thinks very clearly.

She is not an Awakened One.

The military's concern for Lin An is likely because they want to retrieve the props and equipment that were swindled.

But what does that have to do with her, not even a penny's worth?

Her supporters are ordinary civilians.

If too many casualties occur during the capture operation, wouldn't that undermine her prestige?

She clearly remembers how the former president voluntarily apologized.

As the overt ruler's attitude surfaced, the atmosphere in the meeting room instantly turned somewhat eerie.

He secretly sighed,

The astute secretary-general sensed the mutual scheming between the two sides; first he gave a appeasing glance to the military representative, then he lowered his head and whispered:

"Your Excellency President."

"Capture Lin An and kill him. Not only can it compensate for the losses, but it can also enhance your prestige."

"You think, the former criminal Li Enzhi's mistakes, in your hands can be compensated..."

"Huh?"

Pu Jinhui, hearing the voice, unexpectedly lifted his head to glance at the secretary-general, his eyes suddenly lighting up.