Chapter 638 - 499: Betraying the Alliance: Return, or Die

However, Shen Ning’Er stopped him.

"What’s wrong?" Wu Qingjing’s brow furrowed slightly.

As the Speaker, he didn’t believe there was any rule forbidding him from entering a female officer’s tent. Besides, he was looking for Gao Neng. Under normal circumstances, Shen Ning’Er would never have stopped him.

Unless there was something inside the tent he wasn’t supposed to see.

"He’s tired. He’s resting," Shen Ning’Er said, her tone as steady as ever.

"This is urgent!" Wu Qingjing looked at Shen Ning’Er, then added after a moment’s thought, "We just had an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council. Although I’m still the Speaker, my command authority over this war has been revoked. Do you... understand what I’m saying?"

"..." Shen Ning’Er fell silent.

Then, she slowly stepped aside from the tent’s entrance.

Wu Qingjing nodded and walked inside.

Inside the military tent, a young man was standing.

A very handsome young man.

You couldn’t find a more handsome man in the entire Human Alliance.

However, contrary to what Wu Qingjing had expected, the young man wasn’t asleep in bed. Instead, he was standing stock-still like a statue, about two meters from the entrance.

"Gao... No, wait, this is..." Wu Qingjing started to speak, but he immediately sensed something was wrong.

He knew Shen Ning’Er’s personality. If Gao Neng wasn’t resting, she would have absolutely no reason to prevent them from meeting.

Unless this "Gao Neng"...

’...is a fake!’

"That’s right. It’s a gene weapon, under my control," Shen Ning’Er said, stepping into the tent. Her voice was perfectly calm.

"You can control Gao Neng’s gene weapon?" Wu Qingjing was taken aback. After all, according to Gao Neng, he was the only one who could control them.

"All it takes is energy manifestation and a special ’wave frequency’," Shen Ning’Er explained with a nod, glancing at the gene weapon.

The gene weapon immediately stepped back.

"I see. So Gao Neng was willing to tell you this ’wave frequency’... Wait. If this isn’t Gao Neng, then where is the real Gao Neng?" Wu Qingjing had been about to nod, but his expression suddenly changed.

"On the Northern District Battlefield," Shen Ning’Er answered without concealment.

"The Northern District Battlefield?! You mean..."

"When we retreated from Ice City, this gene weapon was the one that came back with me," Shen Ning’Er said, pointing to the construct.

"Gao Neng didn’t come back?! Then... where did he go? What is he doing?" Hearing this, the color finally drained from Wu Qingjing’s face.

"I don’t know," Shen Ning’Er replied, shaking her head.

"Nonsense! How could you not know? No... I mean, how could you let him go without asking where he was going or what he was doing?!" Wu Qingjing was frantic.

He was truly frantic.

Gao Neng was the Human Alliance’s only hope for ultimate victory.

If Gao Neng hadn’t returned from the Northern District Battlefield, a troop withdrawal from the North District Fortress now would put him in the most dangerous situation imaginable.

As this realization dawned on him, Wu Qingjing’s expression shifted again. "This is madness! Why didn’t you stop him? You’re a soldier! He can act recklessly, but you can’t!"

"Uncle Wu, we have three problems we need to solve right now." Shen Ning’Er showed no intention of arguing the point with him.

"Oh? What three problems?" The words Wu Qingjing had been about to say caught in his throat.

Because he noticed something.

Shen Ning’Er seemed even calmer than he was.

"First, if your command authority is revoked, the withdrawal of the North District army will be inevitable. The first problem we need to solve, then, is the morale of the military and the public," Shen Ning’Er began.

"The morale of the military and the public? Yes, you’re right... So what should we..."

"It’s simple. As long as my troops and I remain, the morale in the North District won’t collapse. I will lead my forces to hold the line. Besides, I still have ’Gao Neng’." Shen Ning’Er pointed to the gene weapon standing nearby. "With him here... the people’s spirit in the North District will hold!"

"That... I absolutely refuse. Gao Neng is already in grave danger. If I were to leave you here as well..."

"Let’s move on to the second point, Uncle Wu," Shen Ning’Er interrupted.

"..." Wu Qingjing fell silent.

He looked at Shen Ning’Er carefully.

In her eyes, he saw no trace of fear or despair, nor any anxiety or panic. There was only a fortitude that radiated from deep within her.

An eighteen-year-old girl...

Her state of mind was somehow more mature than his, the Speaker of the Supreme Council.

’Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration?’

But the truth was, some people were simply like that. The greater the danger, the calmer they became, as if they were born to be battlefield commanders.

"Alright, speak!" Wu Qingjing’s composure finally returned. He was the Speaker of the Supreme Council; he couldn’t possibly allow his state of mind to be bested by Shen Ning’Er’s.

"Second, based on the battle at Ice City, I’m certain there is a high-ranking alien spy in the Supreme Council. If I’m not mistaken, Councillor Liang is very likely..."

"No, it can’t be him!" Wu Qingjing immediately refuted. "Liang Qi was my student. I know him too well. He may be ambitious, but he isn’t malicious by nature. I watched him grow up. From his birth to his education, there’s no way he could be a high-ranking spy cultivated by the aliens..."

"If not him, then what about the supporters behind him?" Shen Ning’Er pressed.

"You mean Councillor Tang and the others..."

"In the battle for Ice City, we should have had victory firmly in our grasp. The facts show that the city gates were already breached. But at that exact moment, an illusion of the Fairy Dragon Bai Feixue appeared, and then your command authority was revoked. Is that a coincidence? And who was it that profited from all this?"

"It was... Liang Qi!"

"Correct. Command of the Human Alliance cannot be left in Liang Qi’s hands. Regardless of whether he’s a spy, he’s mired in this mess. Uncle Wu, you need to investigate this matter as quickly as possible and retake command. Otherwise, the Human Alliance stands to lose more than just the North District," Shen Ning’Er stated firmly.

"You’re right, you’re absolutely right... Ning’Er, I... I’m getting chills just thinking about it!" By the time she finished, Wu Qingjing’s face was drenched in sweat.

He had only been seeing the North District...

...but Shen Ning’Er was seeing the entire Human Alliance, the war as a whole.

’How terrifying!’

If Liang Qi was truly being controlled by a high-ranking alien spy...

...it wouldn’t just be the North District at stake.

The Human Alliance could truly be finished.

"The third point is the most important one," Shen Ning’Er said, looking at Wu Qingjing seriously.

"Go on! What’s the most important point?" Although Wu Qingjing had regained his composure, the thought of the current situation brought a heavy pressure down on him.

"Protect the resources."

"Protect the resources?! You mean? They wouldn’t..."

"To completely destroy the Human Alliance, conquering the Underground City is the real key. Uncle Wu, you should be well aware of this," Shen Ning’Er said with a nod.

"Yes... Yes, you’re right. That’s the most important thing. Nothing is more important than that." Wu Qingjing’s back was soaked with sweat.

"You and Governor Yuntian have the best relationship, Uncle Wu. I trust you know what to do. If it comes down to it, you must seal the passage between the Underground City and the City of Hope!"

"You want me to incite Governor Yuntian to defy the Supreme Council’s orders?!"

"You are the Speaker of the Supreme Council. As long as you hold that position, whatever Governor Yuntian does cannot be considered insubordination. Once you regain command authority, it will all be a non-issue."

"I understand. I’ll do it. But Ning’Er, what about you, all alone..."

"Please don’t worry, Uncle Wu. I will stand guard in the North District. I will keep watch... until he returns. Or until I die!" Shen Ning’Er’s gaze passed through the tent’s window, looking out at the white snow drifting in the distance.

’I believe in you!’

’Just as I believe in myself!’

’Because I know...’

’...that no matter what you’re doing, you will definitely come back.’