Chapter 686: Getting More and More Chaotic

When Chen Yongren arrived at the scene, the fire had already reached an uncontrollable level, the roaring flames lighting up the night as if it were daytime.

The little devils could only abandon firefighting at that point, doing their best to ensure the fire did not spread outward.

Besides Anteng Zhongsi, the other members of the Special Investigation Group were also present, staring blankly at the fire's location.

"Chief Commander!"

Seeing Chen Yongren approach, several of them straightened up and bowed deeply.

"Chief Commander!" Anteng Zhongsi staggered over to him.

Immediately his legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground, Anteng Zhongsi ignoring the pain, hurriedly crawling to Chen Yongren, grabbing his leg, lifting his head, with a tearful face he said: "Chief Commander, I'm sorry, I failed to complete the task you entrusted me with…"

"What on earth is going on? Why did the warehouse catch fire? You bastard, you're still here watching the show—quickly think of a way to put out the fire!" the instigator Chen Yongren shouted angrily.

"Chief Commander, please calm your anger, I… I also don't know why the warehouse caught fire…" Anteng Zhongsi struggled to his feet, knelt on the ground, and glanced at the blaze behind him.

He then added: "We've been doing everything we can to control the fire, but at present we cannot extinguish it; we can only wait for the fire to burn out on its own."

Having said that, Anteng Zhongsi again bowed deeply to Chen Yongren: "Chief Commander, I will take full responsibility for this; please punish me!"

"Tch, everything's already happened—what good would killing you do?" Chen Yongren couldn't be bothered to look at him properly, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the burning warehouse behind him, his gaze tinged with worry.

Such a prime opportunity to win people's hearts, Chen Yongren would certainly not miss it—of course he had to play his part well.

Even after making such a huge mistake, being forgiven would only make this guy more loyal.

But granting favor is one thing; later we also need to make him understand the seriousness of his error.

Only by combining kindness and authority can one master the art of governing people.

"What?" Anteng Zhongsi looked at Chen Yongren in disbelief.

He had thought the Yuan Chief would be furious, with the best outcome being dismissal from military service; he never expected not only to keep his post but even to save his life.

Zhongyuan Shen, standing nearby, hurried over to Anteng Zhongsi's side: "Anteng, hurry up and thank the Chief Commander for sparing your life!"

"Hai!"

Anteng Zhongsi, moved to tears, bowed respectfully to Chen Yongren: "Chief Commander, please rest assured, I will definitely get to the bottom of this and will not let you down…"

Even the little devil knows full well that, since his life is spared, he must earnestly investigate the cause of the fire.

"You previously guaranteed the warehouse wouldn't have any problems." Chen Yongren glanced at Anteng Zhongsi and said coldly.

Anteng Zhongsi hastily lowered his head.

"Why did the warehouse suddenly catch fire?" Chen Yongren asked.

Anteng Zhongsi replied, aggrieved: "I don't know either, sir—the warehouse holds only grain, not weapons or equipment; they can't just spontaneously combust."

Chen Yongren said with a dark face: "In other words, someone deliberately set the fire!"

Upon hearing this, Anteng Zhongsi thought for a moment, then his face changed dramatically: "Chief Commander, you mean there's an insider colluding with them, who set fire to the warehouse at night to destroy these pieces of evidence?"

"Are they crazy?"

"At a time like this, they still dare to do such things?"

Zhongyuan Shen curled his lip and said: "This only further proves they're worried we'll discover something, so they're rushing to destroy the evidence…"

"We're doomed!"

Having said that, Zhongyuan Shen lowered his voice to Chen Yongren: "Chief Commander, doesn't this indicate that the newly arrived troops also have their people among them?"

"What if they target the armory…"

If someone were to set off the weapons in this entire warehouse, let alone whether we could survive, the warehouse itself would be blown to ruins.

"Don't worry, they haven't gone that far yet—if those guys really wanted to destroy this warehouse, they'd have started by attacking the armory." Chen Yongren comforted.

"Once the armory is burned, the nature of this matter changes completely; as long as they're not stupid, they would never risk doing something like that."

Zhongyuan Shen and Anteng Zhongsi both felt increasingly that this affair was becoming more and more complicated.

At the same time, they also felt a little excited inside.

Commander Okamura has already ordered a thorough investigation into this; the deeper the case goes, the greater their merit will be.

Having said that much, Chen Yongren paused in thought, then said: "Zhongyuan, you should first arrange personnel to protect the safety of the armory."

"Without my order, no one is allowed to approach; anyone who dares to force their way in will be shot on the spot!"

"Hai!" Zhongyuan Shen snapped to attention, accepted the order, and ran off quickly.

Then Chen Yongren turned to Anteng Zhongsi, his face grim, and said: "Anteng, what happened before the warehouse caught fire?"

Upon hearing this, Anteng Zhongsi fell into thought, then said: "Before the warehouse fire, a miscellaneous storeroom caught fire first, causing quite a commotion at the time."

"The miscellaneous storeroom caught fire?" Chen Yongren's eyes lit up.

"Hai, because the firefighting was timely, the fire didn't spread." Anteng Zhongsi bowed deeply: "At the time I was still wondering why the miscellaneous storeroom caught fire, and then I suddenly received news that the supplies warehouse was on fire!"

"Tch, I get it now!" Chen Yongren clenched his fists, gritted his teeth: "The fire in the miscellaneous storeroom was no accident; it was a deliberate distraction they created."

"The purpose was to draw your attention, then take the opportunity to set fire to the warehouse!"

"Sorry, Commander!" Anteng Zhongsi regretted: "If I had been a bit more vigilant back then, this wouldn't have happened."

"Now isn't the time to talk about that; wait until the fire dies down a bit, then extinguish it quickly and ascertain the cause of the fire." Chen Yongren said irritably.

"Anteng, I hope this time you won't let me down…"

"Hai!" Anteng Zhongsi hastily straightened up.

"I'll first get through to General Okamura on the phone." Chen Yongren said.

Upon hearing that, Anteng Zhongsi's face filled with guilt; if it weren't for his own mistake, the Chief Commander wouldn't be going through all this trouble.

Watching Chen Yongren's retreating back, Anteng Zhongsi felt ever more moved.

Chief Director Sir truly is a good leader; from now on I will certainly redouble my efforts to repay the Chief Commander's trust!

Chen Yongren returned to his office and immediately placed a call to Okamura Ningci.

The call went through.

Upon hearing Okamura Ningci's voice, Chen Yongren immediately identified himself and then reported in full detail what had happened in the warehouse to that old devil.

Hearing this, Gangcun Ningci became even more furious, certain that Chen Yongren had not encountered danger, praised Chen Yongren's arrangement, and his resolve to root out those worms behind grew firmer.

Chen Yongren was not at all surprised by the fury of the old devil Gangcun, and directly said: "Please rest assured, General, no matter who is behind it and how great their power, I will root them out!"

The cooldown of the mind control skill is about to end; it's time to give the devils another good show!