In the Special Incident Handling Bureau's conference room, Liam took a long ti to calm himself, finally steadying his thoughts. He looked over at Jeremy and asked slowly, "So, what do you think we should do next? With our current strength, can we find that special artifact in the library?"
"We absolutely can't. We need much stronger power! In my opinion, what we're missing is an artifact with incredibly potent divine energy. This could be an item or a weapon, but obtaining sothing with such power is extrely difficult. To acquire such an artifact in an instance, we would have to defeat a monster of level 70 or higher. So, until I reach level 70, we shouldn't take any action."
Jeremy's reasoning was well-thought-out, but Liam felt that waiting for Jeremy to reach level 70 could spell disaster for Moonlight City. Clearing his throat, Liam shared his perspective directly.
"You're currently not even level 60, and the experience needed between levels 60 and 70 is imnse. Waiting for you to reach level 70 could take a year. I can't guarantee Moonlight City's safety for an entire year! So I believe we must take action as soon as possible."
Although Liam's tone remained calm, Jeremy could sense a hint of urgency.
Jeremy quickly responded, "You absolutely cannot take hasty action! And you can't allow yourself to feel rushed. We must handle this crisis with patience and caution. If we act too soon and alert our target, our entire effort will collapse, and all our work will be wasted. I assu you don't want to see that happen." Find your next read on empire
Liam's expression showed his frustration at Jeremy's caution. Standing up, he began pacing around the room.
"Why are you only telling this now? Shouldn't you have inford sooner? Or does the safety of Moonlight City an nothing to you?"
Jeremy hadn't expected Liam to lose his temper so abruptly.
Jeremy's expression beca slightly tense as well.
"I'm not part of your official forces, so I had no obligation to share this information from the start. Besides, I was concerned that revealing it to you would only lead to reckless actions. Your reaction now proves I was right. After hearing this intel, you're panicked and unable to provide any aningful assistance."
Having said this, Jeremy turned to leave. In his mind, Liam was no longer likely to be of much help. Just as Jeremy was about to exit the conference room, Liam called out from behind.
"Does anyone else know about this besides us?"
"No one else knows. Not even General Howard or Mayor Benjamin," Jeremy replied.
Liam's expression relaxed slightly at this, and he softened his tone. "I need to apologize. My reaction was indeed a bit excessive. I hope you can forgive ."
Jeremy, seeing Liam's sincere apology, chose not to press the issue. After all, it was understandable for soone to be shaken after learning such distressing news.
"Since you've apologized, I won't hold it against you. However, I'll reiterate: you can't afford to panic. You need to appear completely calm. I believe there are spies among us, working for the apocalypse ga planners. If they notice anything unusual about you, the planners will certainly respond."
Jeremy added this valuable piece of information, and Liam nodded, though he'd already suspected as much. Yet hearing it directly from Jeremy affected him nonetheless.
"Don't worry. As an intelligence officer, I can ensure I stay perfectly composed."
Finally, both n managed to regain their composure.
"If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave. I could use so rest—I just finished clearing out the Dark Swamp instance."
Liam nodded in silent agreent, watching as Jeremy left without another word.
Jeremy made his way back ho from the heart of Moonlight City, seemingly unaffected by the earlier events. To him, the confrontation and revelations with Liam were rely minor matters, distractions at best.
But for Liam, sleep was out of the question. He didn't go ho; instead, he sat in the Special Incident Handling Bureau's conference room for the entire night, contemplating the steps he needed to take to secure Moonlight City. But as dawn broke, he still hadn't devised a flawless plan.
Rising slowly from his seat, Liam sighed and muttered to himself, "It seems my intelligence isn't as sharp as I'd hoped. I'll need to find an opportunity to sit down with Jeremy again. He's likely capable of finding a way through this crisis. The wait-and-see approach he ntioned before was probably just a temporary asure. After all, waiting indefinitely will only increase the risks we face."
Liam suspected that Jeremy's previous solution wasn't the final answer. Resolving to engage with Jeremy further, Liam steadied himself and entered the bustling main hall of the Special Incident Handling Bureau. The bureau was already alive with activity, with agents arriving and getting to work, sorting and categorizing all the intelligence they'd gathered.
Liam scanned the room, confirming that everyone was diligently working. Just as he was about to return to his director's office, his secretary called out from behind.
"Director, there's an urgent order from the federal high command. You need to review it imdiately."
Liam turned, accepting the file marked "Ergency Orders" from his secretary. Clearly, no one but him had the clearance to open it. Without returning to his office, he opened the file right there, under the watchful eyes of the bureau staff. Inside was a critical directive from the federal high command.
After reading the contents, Liam's expression grew increasingly complex.
"Director, what kind of urgent order has you looking so conflicted? Could it be that even our elite forces need to be reassigned to the capital?"
One of Liam's trusted subordinates, noticing the conflicted look on Liam's face, imdiately understood that the order he'd received must be putting him in a difficult position. Not one to hesitate, he directly asked Liam about it.
But Liam gave no real answer; he simply replied in a calm, detached tone, "This matter doesn't concern any of you. Get back to your own tasks. I need to head to city hall."
With that, Liam left without further explanation. The urgent directive he'd received was, in fact, a command from the federal high command, instructing him to send Jeremy to the capital imdiately. Liam found himself unsure how to handle the situation. Technically, the Special Incident Handling Bureau reported directly to Mayor Benjamin of Moonlight City. Under normal protocol, a federal order like this would be delivered to Benjamin first. Yet, Benjamin had ntioned nothing about it, which struck Liam as highly unusual.
When Liam arrived at Benjamin's office, the mayor was calmly occupied with city affairs. Benjamin looked up, surprised to see Liam standing there.
"What brings you here, Liam? Has sothing major happened?" Benjamin asked, a hint of concern lacing his tone. Whenever Liam appeared unannounced, it usually ant there was troubling news.
"Mayor, haven't you received an urgent directive from the federal command?" Liam asked, his tone careful.
"An urgent directive?" Benjamin's brows furrowed in confusion. "I haven't received any urgent directives." As soon as he finished speaking, a change ca over his face as he began to realize the gravity of what Liam might be about to say.
"This is the urgent directive I just received from the federal high command. They bypassed you entirely, and I'm not sure whether I should proceed with executing it," Liam said, handing the docunt over to Benjamin.
Benjamin reviewed the docunt, his expression darkening further as he read. "This is highly irregular. Are you certain this directive is legitimate?"
"I can't be entirely sure," Liam replied, "but it ca through official channels. I don't believe anyone could forge an urgent directive through those channels."
Benjamin nodded, sharing Liam's assessnt. Despite the authenticity of the directive, the situation was too unusual for him to make a hasty decision.
"Here's what we'll do," Benjamin said, carefully choosing his words. "For now, hold off on executing this directive. I'll reach out directly to the federal high command to confirm. If this directive truly ca from them, they won't deny it."
In the end, Benjamin opted for a cautious approach. Liam nodded in agreent and quietly exited the mayor's office.
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