After Hirai Zhanhong completed his report, he obediently sat down on one of the chairs against the wall, a row reserved for assistants.
Though he too was an attendee, the two high-ranking officials, the Chief Executive Officer and the Political Supervisor, sat not only at the circular table but at the Chairman's side—one on each hand.
Indeed, the fate of individuals can vary so greatly! Hirai Zhanhong couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh to himself.
The meeting room was eerily silent, so much so that even the faintest breaths could be heard. A half-minute of silence followed, a customary pause, before the speeches began. The individual who was last in rank spoke first.
According to the East Tai company organizational regulations, the position of Security Superintendent must be held by a civilian. Beyond that, the other standing committee positions are filled by the following military personnel:
Chief of Staff of the Security Corps.
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Security Corps.
Minister of the Security Department at the Administrative Headquarters.
Commander of the Ground Security Force.
Commander of the Maritime Security Force.
Commander of the Airborne Security Force.
Director of the Administrative Division of the Security Corps.
The longest-serving commander among the four major security districts and garrisoned zones.
As for the Armed Guard, though a favored child of the Board of Directors, it had failed to secure a seat at the table.
When the three minutes passed, the Commander of the Northern Security District, Akiyama Koyu, was the first to speak. "My opinion is clear—eliminate them immediately, leaving not a trace!"
One by one, the other standing committee members followed suit with their opinions, all essentially the same: extermination, eradication, no second options.
When all eyes were on Hirai Hengyuan, however, he gazed at Hirai Tuli and gave a subtle smile. "I would like to hear the opinions of the CEO and the Political Supervisor."
Hirai Tuli quickly inclined his head. "Perhaps the CEO should speak first."
Kuroki Masaru, also bowing slightly, began his address. At his level, humility was no longer required.
"As the various commanders have stated, eradication is indeed necessary. However, I hope to contain the matter to a minimal scope and to maintain discretion, avoiding public disturbance and minimizing the negative impact. That is all I have to say."
"I fully agree with the CEO's perspective!" Hirai Tuli added, his voice gaining momentum. "Furthermore, I would like to offer an additional point: we must not only dismantle the rebel organization, but we must also get to the root of the matter. I do not believe that a mere handful of Green Alliance remnants could have caused such a situation. Moreover, their pursuit of anti-human research requires significant financial backing. Therefore, I have strong reasons to suspect..."
Once Hirai Tuli opened the floodgates, his words flowed non-stop. He couldn't help himself—decades of political oversight had turned into a professional affliction.
When he finally finished, Hirai Hengyuan had little left to add. Thus, he directly made his decision:
A "Pacification Advisory Group" will be established immediately. Hirai Hengyuan himself will serve as the group leader, with Kuroki Masaru and Hirai Tuli as deputy leaders. The other standing committee members of the Security Supervision Committee will be members, and the Commander of the Armed Guard will serve as a substitute member.
The Mu'en Gorge region will be designated as a militarized zone, with specific operations to be overseen by the Armed Guard Command.
All other matters not addressed will be subsequently announced by the Pacification Advisory Group.
The members of the Standing Committee exchanged uneasy glances, their faces a mix of rage and helplessness. D*mn it! How had they been so outmaneuvered by Hirai Hengyuan? The old man had summoned them to this midnight meeting, only for them to end up enhancing Hirai Zhanhong's position!
Hirai Zhanhong's vision blurred, and he nearly collapsed. Quickly regulating his breath, it took him several moments to bring his blood pressure back to normal.
Normally, as a member of the Hirai family, such trivial matters wouldn't have ruffled his composure. But those who had served in the armed forces knew this well: the military camp was dominated by the Akiyama clan!
From the eight senior military officials, it was evident that six had the surname Akiyama! The Hirai family had only one representative—Hirai Shūdo, the head of the Administrative Division of the Security Corps—but he was a mere pushover.
Another was Itagaki, the Minister of the Security Department, Itagaki Takuya—a man brimming with ambition.
According to Mōgi Tōtarō's founding principles: military power must never fall into the hands of foreign families!
Alright! From today on, Hirai Zhanhong would reverse the situation and reclaim the military power!
Hirai Zhanhong suddenly recalled his teacher's words—history is made by pivotal figures!
As is widely known, the East Tai Corporation was founded by Mōgi Tōtarō, but after his death, the Hirai, Kuroki, and Akiyama families formed an alliance, systematically pushing aside the Mōgi heirs. Thus, these three families came to control not only the East Tai Corporation but also the entire East Tai Colony.
The Hirai family held the reins of power, the Kuroki family controlled finances, and the Akiyama family governed the military. This was the division of power among the three families, a balance that maintained stability for a time. However, as time passed, this equilibrium began to erode.
Years ago, during a period of unrest, the Hirai family took the opportunity to expand their family security forces under the guise of the company, eventually forming the Armed Guard.
Since then, the Kuroki and Akiyama families had grown increasingly close, forging a tight alliance. Yet, even the leaders of the three families were keenly aware that if they ever turned on each other, the true beneficiaries might well be another family.
Thus, for all these years, the three families had engaged in covert rivalry, never openly contesting one another. To the outside world, they had to appear as one united entity.
Around 4:00 PM, Zhanhong and his group arrived at the final bubble cave, the intersection of three water routes. The humanoid salamanders grew increasingly agitated, emitting more complex and varied guttural sounds, alerting their master.
As usual, Hirai Zhanhong personally rewarded the creatures before signaling the group to prepare for combat. He stretched the steel chains binding their limbs to their maximum extent, and immediately, Zhang Xiao Ba appeared to be thrilled. For it, battle was pure joy!
Hirai Zhanhong knew very well that returning to the Mǎcāo Lǐng cave was equivalent to walking straight into a trap! However, the engineering team had taken most of the stealth equipment, and without retrieving it, moving the main force would be impossible.
He surveyed the group, then with a flick of his wrist, the octopus creature surged forward into the water tunnel. Its charge forced the rest of the group to quicken their pace.
Ten minutes later, the octopus creature charged headlong into the waterhole. Without any strategic positioning or speeches, the battle erupted immediately.
A swarm of tigerfish warriors came at them, their jaws gaping wide. Rows of sharp, elongated teeth made from titanium alloy gleamed menacingly.
The weapons Hirai Zhanhong had equipped Zhang Xiao Ba with were utterly bizarre—four solid rubber balls, strapped to its four limbs, resembling boxing gloves. However, in the water, these "gloves" were useless!
Had Hirai Zhanhong lost his mind? Of course not. If he had really equipped Xiao Ba with lethal weapons, it would indeed have been akin to getting kicked by a donkey.
The four rubber balls flew out together, knocking four tigerfish warriors away, but more tigerfish swarmed in, taking advantage of the opening. Xiao Ba moved its limbs, and the rubber balls swayed like clappers, knocking the tigerfish back with no lasting damage.
Seeing the charge of the tigerfish warriors, Hirai Zhanhong knew they were in trouble. His first instinct was to flip backward and pull Yao Yao into his embrace, shielding her.
Five tigerfish warriors reached them at lightning speed. He swiftly twisted his body, letting them latch onto his back armor.
A searing pain jolted through him, making him shudder, and cold sweat broke out across his body! D*mn it! The armor couldn't withstand the steel teeth—this was utterly unexpected. And this unforeseen event meant disaster was imminent!
According to Zhai Zhongren's intel, the Green Alliance technicians had confirmed that a 3mm stainless steel plate would suffice to resist the steel teeth. However, they had based their calculations on the bite force of an average person, adding a 0.5 safety margin.
In reality, the bite force of the tigerfish warriors was more than three times that of a human! Zhai Zhongren's intel had been flawed; he had reported the steel teeth as stainless steel, when in fact, they were titanium alloy.
Before Hirai Zhanhong could react, over a hundred tigerfish warriors had already surrounded them, biting and tearing savagely!
This time, they had not walked into a trap—they had willingly stepped into the jaws of the fish!
The intense pain quickly surpassed Hirai Zhanhong's ability to endure, but as it reached the threshold, his nerve cells automatically shut down the Na+ channels. The pain vanished almost instantly.
Quickly, he fastened the safety belts of both himself and Yao Yao together. Yao Yao felt the blood rushing through her veins; as long as she was with Hirai Zhanhong, she didn't care about the dangers!
She buried herself into his embrace, her serpent tail not idle, and with a sharp hiss, pierced through a tigerfish warrior biting his neck.
With his hands freed, Hirai Zhanhong immediately drew two hook-like daggers, and in a swift motion, swung them upward, disemboweling two tigerfish warriors.
Then, with a twist of his wrists, he reversed the daggers, stabbing downward, and two more tigerfish warriors were dispatched.
But the rest of the team was not so lucky. Most were bitten and struggled in vain, with only a few managing to retaliate. But their usual diving daggers failed to pierce the tigerfish warriors' thick armor.
This armor, appearing like a diving suit on the surface, was made from expensive materials, including high-strength fibers and high-molecular synthetic rubber, with a titanium alloy mesh layer added to critical areas.
Only three team members, equipped with the same hook-like daggers as Hirai Zhanhong, could pierce the armor, but even they could only scratch the surface. It was clear that strength was the key.
The humanoid salamanders were also under attack, but to Hirai Zhanhong's surprise, they didn't flee into the water routes. Rong Dayuan, leading his kin, headed straight for the rubble pile.
The collapsed stones had nearly buried the central part of the oval-shaped waterhole, with a thickness of more than 120 meters, but the gaps between the stones were wide enough for the humanoid salamanders to squeeze through. One group of tigerfish warriors blindly followed them into the debris.
Hirai Zhanhong had just dealt with the enemy behind him when several tigerfish warriors flanked him. Yao Yao's serpent tail pierced through one of them, impaling him through the chest.
Without pulling her tail back, she continued onward, spearing another warrior, like skewering a kebab!
Yao Yao still didn't retract her tail but began to twirl it in circles, as though gently swaying a fishing rod. The two tigerfish warriors on her tail were like bait on a hook.
This move sent an oppressive aura that no tigerfish warrior could ignore. The others immediately retreated, too intimidated to approach.
The tigerfish warriors attacking the octopus creature now hesitated, their once fearless charge turning into a tentative, probing engagement.
After their transformations, these tigerfish had become wholly bestial, yet they held an inherent reverence for power. The weaker their opponents, the more savage they became; the stronger the opponent, the more submissive they grew.
This shift in behavior made the situation even worse for the ordinary team members. The tigerfish, deliberately avoiding the stronger fighters, focused their attacks on the others. More and more of the vicious fish lunged at them, and once they bit, they would not release their hold—like being swarmed by a mass of leeches.
The weight on the ropes suddenly increased several times over. Xiao Ba, unable to bear it, was pulled downward. Hirai Zhanhong let out a silent sigh, his hook blade slicing through the ropes.
Now, the only thing he could do was exact vengeance on their behalf!