Chapter 89: The Price of Victory
Chapter 89: The Price of Victory
For a few seconds, absolute silence ruled over the room.
Everyone was still trying to imagine and understand the number this boy had asked for. To figure out if they had heard wrong or not.
"One hundred billion." Lian had said with complete calm.
One of the young officers nearly coughed.
The man who had been examining the battlefield remains just minutes ago was sure for a moment that he had misheard.
Even the silver-haired woman’s eyes had widened.
"This kid is crazy..." She whispered.
Everyone’s reaction was the same. Because this was an amount of money that all of them combined, over their entire careers, had not been able to earn.
This amount of money was unimaginable. A strange number that was only paid for the corpses of monsters that only the most powerful Awakened in the world could hunt.
And now this boy was asking for such an unbelievable amount of money for a single core?
Completely impossible!
Gareth stared at Lian for a few seconds, then sighed.
"First of all, that number is impossible. Even if we count all the monsters outside."
"I know. I was joking." Lian shrugged. He was not stupid enough to think they would pay that much for this core.
But he still wanted to try his luck.
Then he paused for a few seconds.
"But I want at least a hundred million." He continued with the same calmness.
This time, the room’s reaction was completely different. A few people looked at each other. Several officers quietly nodded. A hundred million was a very large number, but after seeing a city that had been almost single-handedly cleared...
"We’ll pay for the monster corpses, but that core..." Gareth nodded. This number was within the realm of possibility.
"And that unknown creature you mentioned... it needs to be examined first, then we’ll evaluate its value."
Lian did not object. In fact, he had expected such an answer from the beginning.
"No problem. But I want a guarantee." He then gave a small smile.
A few people in the room frowned.
"You don’t trust the government?" Gareth raised an eyebrow.
Lian stared at him for a few seconds, then answered very simply.
"No."
Silence. The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Some looks toward him became slightly hostile. Some saw this word as an insult.
But he continued.
"No, not after you decided to send a bunch of students into the middle of such a hell."
No one said anything. A few officers lowered their gazes. One of the scientists gave a fake cough. Even some high-ranking Awakened were frowning.
Not because of Lian’s words, but because he was right. If things had gone slightly worse... today, the bodies of several students would be on the morgue tables.
Gareth was silent for a few moments, then sighed. He had been sighing too much today.
He unclipped the metal badge on his uniform. A badge that represented his official identity, rank, authorizations, access, and decades of service.
Everything was condensed in it. He handed it to him.
"This is the guarantee."
"Well, now I can trust you." Lian took the badge, examined it for a few seconds, then laughed. He was largely satisfied with the result of his efforts.
And he became even more convinced that this city had been his paradise. Aside from all the stat points and Fragments he had received, now he was even going to get properly rich!
Maybe he could even earn the title of the richest 18-year-old in the world.
An hour later, everyone was transferred to the temporary operations headquarters. This time, the atmosphere was no longer friendly. It was an official and top-secret meeting.
Several senior officers, several specialists, several scientists, and several high-ranking Awakened sat around the table.
Lian was in the center of the room, and he was going to be fully interrogated. Everything he said would be recorded and then sent to the Federation.
And he began to explain. From when he entered the city. Everything from the very first day of his arrival.
About the disappearance of the people, about the Stalkers, about the abnormal behavior of the monsters, about the city hall building, about the underground shelter, about the Broodmother, about the eggs, about the white-eyed man, about that Immortal monster, and finally... about the core.
The more he explained... the stranger the scientists’ faces became. One of them kept taking notes. Another kept adjusting his glasses. A third even forgot several times that he was recording the meeting.
When the conversation reached the white-eyed man... the atmosphere completely changed.
And when Lian explained that the creature was probably one of the inhabitants of the Ruined Realm... several people completely lost color.
After the report ended...
"This is impossible." One of the elderly specialists suddenly said.
No one answered. They really wanted everything they had heard to be impossible. But unfortunately, it had really happened.
And this meant there were threats in their world bigger than they thought. Threats that they might not even be aware of.
And threats that might have lived among them for years.
No sentence could be heavier than this.
The meeting was nearing its end. A few seconds of silence passed.
Then the silver-haired woman stood up. She was one of the senior operations officers. Someone who rarely showed her emotions. Her gaze fixed on Lian.
And then she said.
"On behalf of the Federation... I thank you for your efforts." She paused for a moment, then continued.
"Not as a student. But as someone who saved a city and showed us that there are unknown threats in the world that need to be addressed."
The room fell silent.
This was the first time someone had officially said such a thing about a student.
And Lian realized that his position had changed compared to before.
When the meeting ended... he had only one question.
"Where are my teammates?"
"They’re in the infirmary, but they haven woken up yet." Gareth gave him a brief look.
Lian frowned slightly, and the commander continued.
"The healers couldn’t cure them. They have no physical damage. Their brains are fine. Their spirits are fine. But it seems they are under some kind of spell."
"They’ll be transferred to the capital in two hours. We have higher-ranking healers there."
Lian just nodded. But in his mind, the image of the white-eyed man appeared again. If that creature was really behind this, the problem might not be solved so easily.
He probably should have asked what exactly he had done to the humans before letting him escape. Though he doubted he would have received an answer.
A few minutes later... he went to the infirmary.
The hallways were quiet. White ceiling lights shone on the floor. The smell of medicine hung in the air.
Lian entered quietly. First, he saw Marcus. Lying on the bed. Various devices were on around him.
A few beds away was Claire. And a little further... Liana.
All three were still unconscious. Next to Marcus’s bed, Cassian was sitting. Tired, sleepless, and worried.
On the first day Lian had met Cassian, he had not expected this man to have such an obsession with protecting his teammates.
It was an obsession that clearly shaped a large part of his personality. And it was clearly connected to his past.
Next to Liana, Selina was sitting. She was also in a similar state.
Both were silently watching over their friends. At that moment, they noticed Lian’s arrival.
Both stood up almost at the same time.
Lian expected them to say something. Maybe thank him. Maybe ask questions. But something else happened.
Cassian bowed.
Selina also bowed.
A full bow. Not out of obligation, not out of ordinary politeness. But out of genuine respect and gratitude.
The room fell into silence.
Three people were still unconscious on the beds. Two were bowing before him.
And Lian... for the first time in a long while... truly did not know how to react.