Chapter 570 Feigning Ignorance
Minister Shao manages the base's industry and commerce and logistics, and does not participate in operational meetings on non-critical matters.
With a population of 300,000, the base had an astonishing amount of grain and military equipment stored in it. From the beginning of preparations for war, supplies were of paramount importance.
All mission supplies within the base must go through the logistics department, and any amount exceeding a certain threshold must be personally confirmed by Minister Shao's signature.
He was certainly very aware of the base's recent movements.
"The military defenses outside the base city and behind the mountain have been increased fivefold. At the military factory, the base commander has issued a strict order to produce ammunition and firearms equipment 24 hours a day without interruption."
Minister Shao opened the document: "All combat teams of the Operations Department were mobilized collectively, changing their strategy from probing contaminated areas to searching for supplies. The sentries stationed at the space station construction site were urgently recalled..."
Such numerous arrangements give the impression that a storm is brewing and the base is preparing for a major battle.
As high-ranking personnel at the Dawn Base, those present were clearly all in the know.
Minister Shao was naturally unhappy that everyone was keeping it from him.
"Is she a Dark Guide?" Minister Shao asked again in a deep voice.
Minister Duan and Minister Han, sitting opposite each other, remained calm and unhurriedly tidying up the documents on their desks.
Minister Bai picked up his teacup, took a sip, and didn't reply.
Commander Shen straightened up, staring at Minister Duan in shock, his words written all over his face.
When did Minister Duan discover this?
The atmosphere was eerie.
Everyone pretended to be deaf and dumb.
Minister Shao saw it all; there was nothing he didn't understand.
“I understand the importance of S-class guides, but if she really is a dark guide, have you considered the risks of simply letting her carry out missions with all the other S-class guides?”
If the Dark Guide's mental power gets out of control, all the S-class Sentinels present could potentially become her puppets.
Minister Bai put down his teacup and sighed, "It's not what you think."
"What is it?"
Minister Shao's words were like knives, "From the very beginning, I found it strange that after finally producing an S-class guide, our base didn't assign anyone to protect her, but instead allowed her to join Team Zero for duty missions without us even knowing her..."
Minister Han clearly didn't want to continue this topic, so he tapped the table and said, "I told you it's not what you think. Yun Zhao's mental power is very special. Her existence... is itself a kind of balance."
"Balance?" Minister Shao enunciated each word clearly. "Balance what? Balance the sentries and the guides? Or balance—"
He paused, but ultimately didn't continue.
—Or is it about striking a balance... between us and the 'sources of pollution'?
Cold sweat beaded on the forehead of the base leader, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the table. He advised, "I didn't mean to hide anything. There are many things we're not sure about right now. Although it's a bit risky, we can only find a way out if we try."
They only observed in secret and never sought confirmation from Yun Zhao.
At that time, the matter of the Dark Guide had just been exposed when Xie Tu and Yun Zhao went to find Jiang Mu.
The diary had been in Yun Zhao's possession all along. Clearly, the three of them had known about the Dark Guide for a long time, but pretended not to know and had been investigating in secret.
He only handed over his diary when he could no longer hide it.
Knowing something but not reporting it means there's definitely something to hide.
The base leaders weren't fools. After thinking it over carefully, they formed a guess based on some clues.
However, there was no way to verify this with Yun Zhao at this time. If the matter were brought up, it might force Yun Zhao to leave, resulting in the base losing an S-level guide.
This is obviously a situation that no one wants to see.
After weighing the options and receiving assurances from Xie Tu that Yun Zhao posed no threat, Chief Shen and the two ministers, Bai and Han, decided to feign ignorance and wait for the combat team to uncover the truth.
Keeping it from others was a last resort.
Because such behavior is seen as extremely risky by others, the world has only a superficial understanding of the Dark Guides, recognizing only the terrifying aspect of this group.
As Minister Shao said, if the Dark Guide gets out of control, it could lead to the complete annihilation of the 5S squad.
Without even thinking it through, saying it would definitely be met with collective opposition from the base's top leadership.
However, the situation is different for Chief Shen and Ministers Bai and Han.
They accepted Yun Zhao's identity as a dark guide and trusted their own judgment.
Because a century ago, the Shen family produced a dark guide who served the country and its people, protecting the homeland...
Minister Han rubbed his temples wearily: "Minister Shao, this is the decision of Dawn Base. We are not taking a risk, but grasping at the last hope."
Minister Shao sat upright at the conference table, pondering the reasons why everyone was protecting Yun Zhao, and he was just about to speak.
At that moment, the alarm clock in the conference room suddenly went off.
Five minutes have passed.
"The important matter comes first."
Minister Duan, who had been silent until now, interrupted their conversation.
She dialed the front-line phone, confirmed that the 5S team had not yet come out, and immediately ordered, "Reinforcements One and Two, enter Zone 4 immediately, and notify everyone to evacuate!"
"yes!"
After issuing the order, Minister Duan picked up the documents, stood up, and said to Chief Shen, "The spread on the 6th is a bit unusual. I'll go back to the command center to monitor the situation."
Chief Shen nodded, then sighed softly, "You can go ahead and get back to work."
Minister Duan nodded, looked around, and left with the documents in his arms.
Her back was as straight as a pine tree, her dark blue military uniform outlining her neat shoulder lines, and the red-crowned crane badge on her epaulettes gleamed with a dark silver light, its wings outstretched as if it would take flight at any moment.
Minister Bai glanced at it, then got up and left the conference room.
The two emerged one after the other, their footsteps neither too light nor too heavy, carrying the precision and restraint unique to soldiers. They walked along the corridor to the corner and entered the elevator together.
The unspoken understanding was ruthlessly exposed by Minister Shao in the meeting room.
They were both intelligent people, and Minister Bai, too lazy to beat around the bush, asked the moment the elevator doors closed, "You don't seem surprised at all?"
Minister Duan remained calm throughout Minister Shao's questioning, showing no curiosity whatsoever about their conversation.
That's true. Yun Zhao belongs to the Operations Department, and as one of her subordinates, she definitely knows more than they do.
Minister Duan had no interest in beating around the bush, and said in a businesslike tone, "What's so surprising? Do you think I'd kick them both out at the same time?"
"two?"
Minister Bai was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing after realizing what he meant.
But when he thought of his daughter and that clingy girl, he couldn't quite manage a smile.
A few days after the 5S team left, Bai Yu's application documents came through, and she packed her things and went to western Sichuan with the sentries at the outpost.
Wei Xu was also with them.
He stubbornly followed her out.
When Minister Bai found out, his face turned horribly ugly. He couldn't stop Wei Xu from staying at the base, so he could only watch helplessly as the two of them got into the car together.
Bai Yu herself has little ability to protect herself, and her parents are constantly worried about her safety.
Wei Xu was, after all, a highly experienced senior sentry; with him around, his daughter's safety was more assured.
Even if Minister Bai was unwilling, he could only turn a blind eye.
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