First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 227
Chapter 227: Finale: Trust
Lian Sheng looked at him, then tilted her head to glance at the bridge outside. She scratched her cheek and smiled: "You think I'd believe you? Shouldn't you go find Mr. Maxwell first?"
"I can't contact him." The man paced a couple steps, judging Lian Sheng to be just a young, ignorant soldier, and said: "You wouldn't understand. Contact the Alliance for me. I'll explain everything to them."
Lian Sheng disliked his attitude: "Without clear explanations, telling you to contact the Jade Emperor himself would be useless. Our squad is the one staying in District 16—I'm the captain, what I say goes. No matter what happens in the end, we're the ones executing the mission. Understand?"
The man froze, clearly not expecting Lian Sheng to be so assertive.
Lian Sheng turned away: "How do I know you're not bluffing us? Did Maxwell suffer setbacks recently? Or did something happen? Who would fall for the same trap twice? General Barite is your father—your identity makes your words unreliable."
The man asked: "What would I bluff you about?"
Lian Sheng: "Like Maxwell, who failed and gave you leverage. Looking at his current situation, I can only say he's pitiful. As for the Alliance, while not particularly useful, delaying our operations would still help. If you could provoke us into action, even better. This is peaceful District 16—if we attack first and damage urban infrastructure, exposing the Alliance's wolfish ambitions, public opinion would overwhelmingly side with you. With Gelen's internal and external troubles, wouldn't that be good news?"
As she spoke, the man's face grew increasingly pale, as if struck by her words.
Lian Sheng balanced on a rock with one foot, rolling it back and forth with her toes, then continued: "I don't know why someone as shrewd as Maxwell chose to trust you. Was it because he trusted you that things ended up like this? But it was your betrayal that put the Alliance in a disadvantageous position. Now our next steps are severely constrained—we can't take unnecessary risks."
Truthfully, she knew nothing about Maxwell's situation—even within the Alliance, there were no concrete details. Hundred Meter Flying Dagger had only mentioned a speculation in passing.
But she figured it must be something like this. If Maxwell chose assassination, he must have been absolutely certain about some aspect—perhaps the trustworthiness of a person, or the reliability of intelligence.
If this man had made a deal with Maxwell, then after verifying mutual sincerity, Barite's location would have seemed guaranteed. So he was likely the one who conspired with Maxwell, only for the plan to fail miserably.
Clearly, something had gone wrong during the operation—they just didn't know what role he played. Was he double-crossing? Triple-crossing? And why had the operation failed?
The man interrupted: "From how you talk, you know Maxwell? Have you met him in person?"
Lian Sheng grinned: "More than that. We lived together for a while."
Before he could relax and try bonding over this, Lian Sheng added: "We have some... history."
The man: "..."
Lian Sheng: "Let me ask you one question—did you betray Maxwell?"
"I didn't betray him. There was just... an issue with the intel. My father is an extremely cautious man—more than I anticipated." The man, who had been keeping his hands in his pockets, now pressed them to his forehead. "But he really is in District 16 right now. I just don't know his exact location."
"Assuming the earlier failure was because General Barite deceived you... You said you sneaked out, meaning your actions are already exposed. Right?" Lian Sheng said. "So this time, how do you know it's not a trap within a trap?"
The man frowned: "That kind of assumption is meaningless."
So what if it was a trap within a trap? So what if they were deceived again?
Even if it happened over and over, as long as they saw a glimmer of hope, they would still go.
But the Alliance wasn't like them. The Alliance wouldn't take that risk—they were two different nations.
Lian Sheng said: "Here's what we'll do. Leave us a way to contact you. We'll investigate first, then get in touch."
The man was wary: "I can't give that to you."
"Right now, you have no intel—just that General Barite is in District 16. You said yourself you have no authority, no connections, no means to act. Even if your intel is true, and District 16 is gradually being taken over by Barite, you can't expose yourself to him—you're even more vulnerable than we are. You have no bargaining power." Lian Sheng said. "Show some sincerity. Otherwise, how are we supposed to contact you? Or do you think we should make a decision right here, right now?"
"I'm vulnerable, but you're the ones risking your lives..." The man trailed off, then finally conceded in defeat: "Just trust me. With my father here, District 16's surveillance is extremely tight—all electronic devices are monitored. Anything linked to you, no matter how secure my equipment is, would implicate me. So don't try contacting me directly."
Lian Sheng paused: "What if there are developments? Shouldn't we tell you?"
"Since you already know everything, just report it upward. I have nothing more to say." The man closed his eyes and repeated: "Don't contact me. I just wanted to tell you about this. What you decide is the Alliance's business."
He wasn't doing this with a clear conscience. No one could imagine—not even he himself—how much courage it took to make this decision.
Having failed once, he was trying again. If he failed a second time, he didn't dare think about a third.
He didn't know how to face his father's eyes—the man who shared his blood.
He wanted to choose the easier path but couldn't convince himself. Maybe it would be better if his father just killed him—at least then he wouldn't have to endure this torment.
Having said this, he prepared to leave. Lian Sheng called after him: "Where are you going?"
The man said: "Anywhere. Don't worry—I won't expose myself before this is over."
He left abruptly, leaving Lian Sheng alone beneath the bridge.
Ji Ban asked: "Should I drive over to pick you up?"
Lian Sheng checked the time: "Sure."
Zhao Zhuoluo rapped the table: "You should go somewhere crowded first. Staying in such a secluded spot feels unsafe."
Lian Sheng thought he had a point, so she ran up the slope back to the main road. She found a busy intersection and sat on a small bench by the street, waiting for her ride.
After yesterday's incident, none of them dared move alone anymore—afraid something might happen without backup. So the whole group came to pick her up in one vehicle.
Lian Sheng climbed in and fastened her seatbelt, noticing Zhao Zhuoluo sitting beside her. Having walked all morning, her new shoes still didn't fit right. She adjusted the seatback, took off her shoes, and sat cross-legged, yawning: "Mind if I lean on you?"
Zhao Zhuoluo pulled a pillow from the overhead compartment and handed it to her.
"What's our relationship?" Lian Sheng patted his leg. "I've even touched your legs before—why so shy?"
Zhao Zhuoluo turned away toward the window.
Lian Sheng: "What?"
"Yeah, what? It's not like you'll lose flesh." Cheng Ze turned from the front seat, reaching over to pat Zhao Zhuoluo's leg: "Zhuoluo, is your leg more tender than mine? What's the big deal? It's not like you'll bruise."
Zhao Zhuoluo clicked his tongue and swatted him away: "What are you doing? Get lost!"
Cheng Ze and Fang Jianchen pounced, trapping him between them with sinister grins as they reached for him.
Zhao Zhuoluo kicked and cursed: "All of you, get lost!"
Lian Sheng chuckled, sitting sideways as she messaged their contact.
It took a long time to outline the situation and her speculations.
Even she thought it sounded far-fetched—the Alliance likely wouldn't buy it. Too bold, too crazy, too dangerous.
Maxwell had believed because of years of friendship and fervor, coupled with desperation. But what connection did the Alliance have with this man? No interaction, no acquaintance, no understanding.
Maxwell's trust had brought him nothing good. Now it was the Alliance's turn to choose—why should they believe him?
Of course, they could still investigate. What if it was true?
The Alliance's rear command was monitoring frontline updates in real time, discussing them without delay.
Though Lian Sheng's team wasn't on the frontlines, they were still a mech-equipped squad deep in Gelen territory—a unit of particular concern. Their words naturally carried weight.
Yet when everyone gathered to discuss the proposal, they were baffled.
Under normal circumstances, this would have been dismissed as a joke. But once it was seriously considered for feasibility... hesitation set in.
Was there room for maneuver? Reluctantly, they had to admit there was.
By the time Lian Sheng's team returned to the airport, they'd received a response from command.
They were to investigate first, verifying the intel's accuracy. This required local assistance—but the only Alliance soldiers in District 16 were their squad.
If they found nothing, so be it. With limited intel, no action could be taken—they'd have to wait and reassess.
Without data or leads, being in District 16 was useless.
The ten of them scoured news and data on their optical computers, stumped. Without some breakthrough, they might as well discard the intel—unless they planned to conduct door-to-door inquiries? District 16 was vast—the war might end before they got anywhere.
By the next afternoon, the Alliance contacted them again through secure channels, sending a string of numbers and several websites.
After initial negotiations, Maxwell actually handed over the citywide surveillance access codes—valid for seven days—along with contacts of trusted personnel.
This was practically baring his throat to them. If this operation was exposed, Maxwell—already teetering on the edge—would plummet without a chance to flail.
Even now, he chose to trust his old friend without hesitation. It made Lian Sheng suspect he had nothing left to lose—Maxwell's future looked bleak.
They didn't know his plans, but at least now they had a direction. With the data in hand, they sprang into action.
Lu Mingyuan marveled: "Maxwell's got nerves of steel."
Lian Sheng said: "We've seen it before. Cautious yet reckless—he's the type to change history."
They spread out their optical computers. Without proper analytical tools, their data processing speed and functions were limited. The analysts commandeered everyone's devices for the search.
The team crowded together, pitching in.
Fang Jianchen slumped on the table: "Where should we start? Water? Electricity? Immigration records?"
Lu Mingyuan: "That's too much work—District 16 is huge. And there'd be too many matches, given how mobile the population is. Even people with multiple properties might just be vacationing elsewhere."
Zhou Shirui said: "Surface-level data can be doctored. If Barite is really here, even if the odds of detection are low, he'd have altered these records. Water, electricity, or immigration lists probably won't yield anything useful."
Lian Sheng said: "Trash."
The others froze.
Fang Jianchen slammed the table: "Why are you insulting people?"
Lian Sheng: "I mean trash."
Fang Jianchen kept slamming: "I said why are you insulting people?"
Lian Sheng also stood and slammed the table: "I said start with the trash! Why do you keep taking everything personally?"
Fang Jianchen: "..."
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