Chapter 189: Passing the Buck

Since he now knew that the Soul Crystal Mine could provide a sufficient quantity of materials for his Life Soul Artifact, Zhou Chu intended to find out the specific location of the Soul Crystal Mine as soon as possible.

Zhou Chu guessed that since the Soul Crystal Mine could be the most classified of secrets within the Shenxia Empire, its location must be within Shenxia territory.

This matter brooked no delay; Zhou Chu planned to immediately inquire about the Soul Crystal Mine during his upcoming meeting with Long Aofei.

Not many days later, Long Aofei indeed came to Zhou Chu's dormitory again.

After resolving the Calamity crises on the two front lines in the southeast, this Grand Commander of the Exorcism Army could be said to be feeling lighthearted and carefree.

Added to that, the work of recruiting new members for the Exorcism Army was also nearly prepared.

With nothing to do today, he just happened to drop by Zhou Chu's place for a visit, and incidentally, to notify him of the time and location for the Military Competition.

After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Zhou Chu pretended to say casually, "Chief, I've been thinking lately, does our Shenxia Empire have any secret weapons or special resources for countering the Calamity? I feel that relying solely on conventional means to completely defeat the Calamity is too difficult."

Long Aofei smiled and said, "Isn't your Demon Sniper Squad one of Shenxia's secret weapons? However, you have indeed hit the nail on the head with this question; to achieve a comprehensive victory in resisting the Calamity, relying on you alone is far from enough."

"In fact, regarding national security, the Military Department and some other social institutions have indeed made quite a few efforts over the past few decades. But precisely because of the limitations of certain special factors, no significant results have been achieved."

Long Aofei looked at Zhou Chu, fell silent for a moment, and then slowly began to speak: "You are actually already a backbone force in the military now, and with your current military rank, you already belong to the upper echelons of the Military Department. Therefore, regarding matters of national security, there are some situations you should also know."

"Then today, I will give you the bottom line. The country does indeed have some relevant classified matters, but I cannot disclose too much about what they specifically are at the moment. You only need to know that these secrets are crucial to the country's future and the resistance against the Calamity, and the higher-ups are watching them very closely."

Zhou Chu felt that Long Aofei was still holding back on some relatively sensitive topics, and he must still have had his concerns.

He just didn't know if the special factors he mentioned included the Soul Crystal Mine.

After all, this was what he was most urgently wanting to know at the moment.

Seeing that Long Aofei did not want to disclose too much, Zhou Chu originally intended to change his approach to inquire further.

But upon further reflection, the only person he knew in the military with a rank of Field Officer or higher was Long Aofei, and it would be even less likely to ask the highest chief of the Military Department.

After weighing the options, Zhou Chu still decided that it would be better to find out from Long Aofei.

So he continued to probe: "I've heard that a Field Officer rank is considered high-level in the military, so one should be able to access quite a few secrets, right? Now that I have been promoted to Field Officer, do I have the qualifications to learn about these special resources?"

Long Aofei smiled, patted Zhou Chu on the shoulder, and said, "You kid have quite the ambition. A Field Officer rank can indeed access more secrets, but you can't know everything. Like some top-secret information, even at the Field Officer level, it depends on whether you have that clearance."

Hearing Long Aofei say this, a trace of frustration could not help but well up in Zhou Chu's heart.

Principal Yu Dafu was not a member of the military, so he did not understand the specific situation inside the military.

Even officers with a Field Officer rank did not know every secret.

It was estimated that depending on what one was responsible for in the military, the things one could access would also be different.

Moreover, for even higher-level secrets, one needed to possess the corresponding clearance.

For a moment, Zhou Chu truly felt that there was no hope of learning about the Soul Crystal Mine from Long Aofei's mouth.

However, Zhou Chu did not want to give up just like that.

Since Long Aofei did not want to disclose it voluntarily, why not take the initiative himself?

Having made up his mind, Zhou Chu took a deep breath, but still said cautiously, "I've also heard a term called 'Soul Crystal Mine'; does this have anything to do with the empire's classified resources?"

Upon hearing the four words "Soul Crystal Mine," Long Aofei's expression changed instantly, his eyes full of shock and vigilance. He stared fixedly at Zhou Chu and said in a deep voice, "Where did you hear this term?"

Zhou Chu's heart skipped a beat; he hadn't expected Long Aofei's reaction to be so intense. It seemed that the top secrets must indeed include the Soul Crystal Mine.

But he still feigned composure and blurted out nonsense: "Last time when I was in the Nightmare Land, I heard that King-level Evil Demon mention it. I felt curious at the time; I didn't expect it to be a top secret of Shenxia. Since it's so sensitive, I won't ask."

To avoid letting Long Aofei harbor suspicions about him, Zhou Chu had a flash of inspiration and immediately shifted the blame onto the Vampire Queen.

In any case, the Vampire Queen had already become his loyal servant, so even if she were blamed, she would certainly be willing.

Long Aofei stared at Zhou Chu for a good while, as if confirming whether what he said was true or false.

After a long time, he couldn't help but frown and ask again, "Are you sure this is what you heard from that King-level Evil Demon?"

Zhou Chu naturally had to persist at this moment, so he affirmed without blushing or skipping a beat: "Absolutely true! It's just a pity that the Evil Demon ran too fast; otherwise, I would have definitely recorded a confession if I had caught her."

It actually really was related to the Calamity Invasion.

Long Aofei immediately had no intention of doubting Zhou Chu further.

Before this, he had thought that a secret kept for decades had been intercepted by another country's intelligence agency, but after hearing that it came from the mouth of a Calamity Evil Demon, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

It seemed that news regarding the mine being discovered and mined had not spread to other countries.

Then, the Calamity Invasion incident involving the Soul Crystal Mine also had a logical basis.

The situation Zhou Chu described was undoubtedly extremely important intelligence, which would be of great help for the next step in resolving the crisis involving the Soul Crystal Mine.

Now that the possibility of a leak to other countries had been ruled out, Long Aofei was already deeply convinced of Zhou Chu's words.

However, matters concerning the Soul Crystal Mine were no small affair, and he could not make a decision privately; he had to report it to the highest chief of the Military Department.

Long Aofei then used the excuse of going to the restroom to personally make a phone call to the highest chief of the Military Department.

……

At this time, the Military Headquarters in Daxia City.

The Chief's office.

The highest chief of the military, Wu Guangzhou, was sitting in front of a large desk, reviewing a pile of documents.

The phone rang abruptly; he put down the documents in his hand and picked up the receiver.

"Hello, Chief, this is Long Aofei."

"Oh, it's Aofei, what's the matter? Calling in such a hurry." Wu Guangzhou's tone was gentle, without the airs of the highest chief.

"Chief, there is a situation I need to report to you. Zhou Chu told me that he heard the term 'Soul Crystal Mine' from that King-level Evil Demon in the Nightmare Land last time. I feel that this matter has not yet been detected by other countries' intelligence agencies!" Long Aofei said hurriedly.

Wu Guangzhou's eyes sharpened instantly; he pondered for a moment and said, "Are you sure he really learned it from the Evil Demon? It wasn't leaked through other channels?"

"I asked carefully, and looking at him, it doesn't seem like he's lying. Moreover, I also suspected at first that it was leaked by another country's intelligence agency, but hearing him say this, it is quite reasonable. After all, the Calamity Aura in the mine cannot be faked," Long Aofei said.

Wu Guangzhou pondered for a while longer and said slowly, "If that's the case, then the intelligence provided by Zhou Chu is indeed important. The matter of the Soul Crystal Mine must never be leaked; once it is known by other countries, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Since Zhou Chu already knows about the Soul Crystal Mine, we cannot keep him in the dark anymore; that would be detrimental to the development of the situation."