Seeing the scene, General Philip and the staff officers were all shocked.

Eight thousand people—just getting them all settled was already a huge challenge. Yet Logan had brought them all back in one go.

"What on earth did that kid do?" General Philip felt like what he was seeing wasn't real, it was just too crazy.

As a soldier, he knew very well what Logan must have done behind the scenes to save so many people.

"Unless there was a large-scale, thorough search, it's impossible to save that many people," one staff officer said, looking worried. "Did Logan really find a surviving military force?"

"That's impossible." another staff officer said, shaking his head. "If there were any surviving troops, they would have come back with our people already. And besides, there are so many monsters out there. They could never have broken through the beast tide." His face was full of disbelief.

"No! There's one possibility—just that you didn't think of it that way." Philip General sighed at that moment. "If we could just reduce the number of monsters to a minimum before they killed these survivors, that would be enough."

Philip's words were simple, but to the staff officers, they sounded like a fairy tale.

The officers started talking among themselves, trying hard to figure out the truth behind it, but the more they thought, the more confused they got.

"This doesn't make sense, does it? Intelligence said that within 500 kilometers of Saint Heart City, there were as many as 200,000 monsters forming the beast tide!"

"How could a high school student possibly reduce their numbers like that? The military couldn't even escape safely with such a huge monster attack!"

"Wait, look—these survivors don't look like they just barely survived. They're all a little tired and messy, but they don't seem scared at all. In fact, they look pretty lively."

The officers couldn't figure out what was going on, so they all turned their attention to the group of survivors.

What they saw was surprising: the survivors were laughing and chatting, with adults playing with children.

"This doesn't look like people who just escaped the beast tide. Or maybe they didn't even face it directly at all." Philip said, lighting a cigarette. The more he thought, the more ridiculous it seemed. He finally grabbed the megaphone and shouted: "This is the Saint Heart City command center. I'm Philip. Please have your leader step forward and report the situation!"

Philip's voice was strong and clear. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their eyes toward the vehicles outside the city wall.

At the foot of the watchtower, reporters also put down their recording devices and quickly set up their cameras and phones, pointing them directly at the front of the vehicle line.

Everyone was eager for this historic moment, hoping to capture the scene of Logan stepping out of the military car.

While the reporters and cameramen were guessing which military vehicle Logan would get out of, the doors of the first three armored cars opened up one by one.

Colonel Owen, Colonel Schreiber, and Colonel Izumi stepped out together.

Since the biggest achievement of this mission belonged to Logan, Schreiber wisely stood behind Owen. After all, Owen represented Twilight City—the city where Logan was from.

But Colonel Izumi didn't care about that. As soon as he got out of the car, he waved at the reporters, making sure everyone could see him.

People waited for a long time but didn't see Logan. Their faces showed disappointment.

Owen ignored the stares and picked up the walkie-talkie, switching to the command center channel and shouting: "Twilight City Guardelite Team has returned! Colonel Owen reporting. We rescued 8,573 survivors and 1,321 military vehicles. Report complete. Please give instructions, sir!"

Standing in the command center, General Philip watched the three men and said quietly: "Where's Logan?"

Owen picked up the walkie-talkie again, his face serious. "Report, sir! Logan did not return. He asked me to deliver a message to you in person. Please allow me to go through."

When they heard that Logan hadn't come back, everyone looked surprised.

Saving so many people, but the hero didn't return—this made the reporters go wild.

Inside the command center.

General Philip listened quietly as Owen, Schreiber, and Izumi gave their reports, lighting cigarette after cigarette. "Logan is going to stay with Bell, that madman, at CEM38 and CEM27? Are they crazy or just stupid?"

At this, General Philip slammed the ashtray onto the table. "Don't you know the second wave of the beast tide is coming? It's a million monsters! How can they hold two bases with that?"

His anger filled the air, and the staff officers around him turned pale, not daring to say a word.

Behind Owen, Colonel Izumi and Colonel Schreiber also started to sweat under the pressure.

"General, Major Bell asked me to ask you three questions." Owen said. "He said, after you hear them, no matter what the answers are, you'll make the right choice."

After saying that, Owen took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to General Philip.

When Philip saw the questions, he was shocked at first, then immediately angry.

Everyone around him noticed his expression and took a step back, afraid of being caught in the storm.

Finally, General Philip tore the paper into pieces in front of everyone and sat back down on the sofa, looking much older.

"Bell's eyes are still sharp. The fools in the council will regret it someday." After saying that, General Philip waved his hand, telling Owen and the others to go rest.

After Owen and the two colonels left, the Lord of Garen City called General Philip right away. His first question was: "Why didn't Logan and Major Bell come back?"

"Garen, do everything you can to prepare the defenses. Use every power you can. Strengthen all the fortifications. CEM38 and CEM27 will hold the beast tide for three days." After saying that, Philip hung up without saying another word.

Bell's three questions were really tricky.

First question: If you had three more days, could you reduce the casualties in Saint Heart City's Guard?

Second question: If the beast tide was bigger than expected, would you be willing to trade two bases for more space to retreat?

Third question: If all my assumptions were true, and I could hold for three days, would you still say no?

As a commander, General Philip couldn't refuse Major Bell's offer.

Because no matter if Bell succeeded or not, many lives in Saint Heart City would be saved.

Sacrificing a group of prisoners to save more people in the city was a good deal.

But General Philip still felt uneasy. He made the decision a commander should make, but he couldn't accept the cold version of himself, especially since he really admired Logan and Major Bell.

"You two brats, come back alive!" After saying that, General Philip quietly put out his cigarette and stared out the window.

On the other side.

As soon as Owen, Schreiber, and Izumi left the command center, they were stopped by Sawako and Yelena.

The two girls asked questions nonstop. Schreiber and Izumi looked embarrassed, looking to Owen for help.

In fact, Bell and Logan often only talked to Owen.

Schreiber and Izumi didn't know why Logan and Major Bell hadn't returned, and they felt really awkward.

"Colonel Schreiber, did you forget the mission the Duke of Storm Wind City gave you?" Even Yelena, who was usually kind, started to show her anger toward Schreiber.

Izumi, seeing this, quickly pulled Schreiber's sleeve and said proudly: "Miss Yelena, we saved eight thousand people and brought them back to Saint Heart City. Even if you're a noble, you should treat us with some respect."

BANG!

Before Izumi could finish speaking, Sawako kicked him in the face.

"How dare you ask us to be polite? I told you to protect Logan, did you do that? Where is Logan? Tell me!" Sawako hit Izumi with tears in her eyes, full of anger.

Just a moment ago, they had already gotten the latest satellite map.

According to the beast tide alert from thirty minutes ago, the wave coming from deep inside Lost World had already started moving toward Saint Heart City. It should have reached CEM27 base by now.

Owen knew that Yelena and Sawako were close to Logan, so he stepped forward to report on Logan's situation.

But before Owen could finish, everyone noticed the temperature drop suddenly. They all shivered.

Owen slowly turned his stiff neck and saw Natalia's cold eyes right away. "City Lord, I…"

"Don't explain. I'll ask, and you'll answer." Natalia's cold tone made Owen's skin crawl. He nodded stiffly.

Natalia: "Did Logan get hurt?"

Owen: "No!"

Natalia: "How many people did they leave behind? What level are they?"

Owen: "About a hundred. They were all prisoners who followed Major Bell before. The weakest among them is at Master 3 star level."

Hearing this, Natalia's face turned even colder. "Only a hundred people? They actually think they can stop a beast tide of a million? Even a Legend-level warrior would be crushed under that!"

She turned around and walked straight toward the WF101 checkpoint.

Before leaving, she gave Owen an order: "Go tell General Philip that I'm going to support them."

Then, in front of everyone, Natalia turned off her phone.

Only after Natalia left did Schreiber and Izumi finally relax.

Just now, Natalia's presence had almost made them feel like they couldn't breathe. It wasn't about rank or power — it was pure, overwhelming strength crushing them.

In front of Natalia, whether it was Schreiber or Izumi, they felt completely powerless, as if their lives were in her hands.

"Owen, you have to deal with this kind of superior every day?" Schreiber lightly patted Owen's shoulder, full of sympathy.

Izumi stood beside him and quietly helped Owen up. "Your job sure isn't easy."

…

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