Chapter 141: The Cunning Old Fox Yang Shuo

"Did you know about the time of the 'Burning' all along, yet fail to notify the public to take refuge?"

The Sky Viper organization mobilizing a faction to strike at outsiders could not possibly be a secret to the governments of various countries; it was very likely even carried out under their surveillance.

Before the Burning—no, even now, having already entered the apocalypse, the authorities still possess their own satellites and underground classified facilities... Sky Viper has a New World plan, and even protected a batch of the supplies and people they needed in advance.

Everything about this reveals that this disaster... is more like a conspiracy to cull humanity.

Exterminating ordinary people and leaving behind the elite is Sky Viper's plan.

Then, do the governments of various countries also intend to kill off a portion of the population... perhaps due to power struggles, perhaps because of so-called overpopulation, or perhaps simply out of a desire to preserve only a select few.

"I don't know," Yang Shuo pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "We need to know how to take that new step. No one can predict disaster. What I can say is that before the Burning occurred, we were already preparing for war, preparing to attack a certain target."

"Preparing for war; then do you know the cause of the disaster now?" Liu Mu always felt his words were disjointed, but she didn't know if this Chief just liked to sigh like that.

"I still don't know," Yang Shuo's expression grew even more solemn. "The losses of the entire country are far more severe than you imagined. What I can guarantee you is that after the disaster, over ninety percent of our manpower and resources were put into rescue efforts. To ensure as many people were saved as possible, all surviving active-duty military forces in the country were deployed. Because of this, there was no spare capacity to clear out organizations like Sky Viper, and national defense also nearly collapsed."

Seeing Liu Mu's worried look, he added in a timely manner, "This is a disaster for all of humanity. The situation in other major powers is no better than ours, and some small countries have directly perished. The latest international situation we have grasped is that the lower the latitude of a country, the more severe the disaster. The Giant Sun Fragments seem to have aimed at densely populated areas and the country's important facilities, striking almost all of humanity's technological achievements."

"All of humanity?" This was different from the situation Hong described. Liu Mu furrowed her thick, long eyebrows. Plus the 'outsider' analyzed by the system, at least one side was lying.

"Correct, that is what you wanted to express, isn't it? Child, this is indeed an extermination plan aimed at humanity," Yang Shuo clasped his hands and placed them on the table; this was his habit when thinking about problems. "We even set up scenarios for an alien invasion, but it cannot be verified at present."

"Because those important facilities were destroyed?"

"Correct. Communication between countries is difficult, and what is even more difficult is that the moon and Mars bases, which humanity spent years of effort and vast amounts of money and scientific research power to establish, have also lost contact. Even the satellites have almost all lost contact. All of this is as if..."

【Aliens have shut down Earth's communications, equivalent to covering humanity's 'eyes'.】

"As if someone covered humanity's 'eyes'?" The system in her mind suddenly summarized. Liu Mu said offhandedly, "Could it be the work of an enemy country? I mean, have you really contacted other countries? There couldn't really be aliens, could there?"

Yang Shuo looked as if he were looking at an elementary school student, but he remained full of patience. "As early as the 1980s, we had already grasped evidence of the existence of aliens. To speak truthfully, on Earth before the disaster, there was no country that could threaten us. Whether in military power, the field of technology, or exploration beyond Earth, this was the result of generations of effort."

Liu Mu heard regret in his words and couldn't help but frown. "Yang Shu, are you saying that other countries don't possess more information than we do, but no one can be certain if the Burning is related to an alien force?"

If that is truly the case, then does Yang Shuo not know enough, or is Sky Viper too secretive? Or did Hong lie to achieve certain goals?

Or perhaps... there is someone in the high command withholding information from the military.

She did not doubt the level of information Yang Shuo could access, but if someone deliberately withheld intelligence about the 'outsiders', then these people were very likely related to Sky Viper. Whether they were friends or foes to each other didn't matter, but they were definitely human traitors aiding the evildoer!

"Everything I said today is a conservative conclusion," Yang Shuo only said this and did not state his position directly, just as his words implied.

"But I don't think humans themselves could do something so self-destructive." Liu Mu only started from her own perspective. "In five thousand years of history, I've never seen a few mutations. If it were me, I'd believe it was done by aliens. How do you old folks have no imagination at all? There are suspicious points everywhere—the Red Mist, the Fragments—and I don't even know what you all are actually doing."

The atmosphere of the conversation eased because of Liu Mu's complaints, but Yang Shuo did not relax. "Now, let Yang Shu ask you a question."

Liu Mu leaned against the back of the chair, her hands, which had been under the table, finally lifted up, and she yawned while holding the back of her head. "Go ahead, I'll answer what I know."

It seemed nonchalant, yet it was exactly the same as Yang Shuo's previous caution.

"Xiao Mu, if one day I am no longer here and the Barrier encounters a crisis, can you guard Haicheng for me?"

"Huh?" She had thought Yang Shuo was going to ask about the ship, even if it was about the aftermath of the special operations team. Liu Mu never expected that this Chief, who was protected by at least a platoon every day, would ask such a question.

"Hey, I'm just a scavenger, you're a big Chief, there's no need for that..."

Liu Mu sat up straight in a flash, even more nervous than when she was being interrogated, and waved her hands repeatedly. "Such a large Barrier, you have to leave it to your own people; I can't do it."

"I said if," Yang Shuo did not give her a chance to evade. "For example, if some unknown disaster arrives, I am gone, and the Barrier is in chaos, can you protect everyone?"

"This..."

Liu Mu was very conflicted. She had no great hero complex. Even if she wanted to build her own faction, it was to avoid being controlled by others in the apocalypse, to live well, and to protect the small group of people she wanted to protect—nothing more.

Furthermore, according to Yang Shuo's meaning at this moment, it was clearly to have her take over the entire Haicheng Barrier, or even Haicheng itself...

"Yang Shu, don't joke with me. I can't even handle my own affairs; how would I have the ability to manage the lives of so many people?"

"Then let me put it another way," Yang Shuo did not seem to intend to give up. "If you want to keep what you have in your hands now, agree to my request. If not, I cannot provide shelter for your Victory Resource Recycling Group. How do you choose?"

... This old man was threatening her. Liu Mu restrained her smile and began to consider the cost of this matter. "Yang Shu, if I say I agree to you, can you believe it?"

"Of course, you are an honest Merchant," Yang Shuo actually did not hesitate in the slightest. "Liu Mu, I will ask one last time: if one day I am no longer here and the Barrier is in chaos, can you protect everyone for me and guard Haicheng for us?"

This time, it took Liu Mu a long while to nod slightly, and she answered in a low voice, "Fine, I will guard Haicheng."

All along, she had made the most advantageous and selfish plans, yet at this moment, she lost to a military district Chief who seemed to know nothing of craftiness, lost to so-called human collectivist sentiment.

"Humanity can only go on by watching over and helping each other. Xiao Mu, you must remember what you said today. That day... perhaps it is not too far off."

The words Yang Shuo left at the end made Liu Mu unable to let go. Did this Chief foresee something, a major event that even he was powerless to stop?

No, no, no!

In the cafeteria where only Liu Mu remained, she scratched her head frantically. What honesty, what lack of craftiness—Yang Shuo was clearly calculating something much more profound.

It was possible he had been calculating her from the very first meeting.

Small favors, business convenience, position, shared combat experience, glimpses of the conspiracy, and huge material benefits... in the end, he pulled her, an innocent 'passerby', into it.

By the time she came to her senses, she could no longer stay out of it.

Yang Shuo is clearly a cunning old fox!

This thought was even more certain when Liu Mu saw the medal in front of her.

"Is this... a reward for me?"