Apocalypse: Reborn with a Soul Sync Farming Space System-Chapter 143 Bringing Him Along

For a moment, no one moved as if everyone was holding their breath for the moment to come.

The soldiers standing around the wooden crates exchanged uncertain glances, as if suddenly realizing that whatever lay inside those boxes would decide far more than the fate of a few rifles. The Wayne soldiers had already made accusations in front of everyone, and if the contents inside proved their claim false, the humiliation would not be easily washed away.

"Did you not hear the commander?" Enzo’s voice cut through the hesitation like a blade. "Open them."

Two soldiers stepped forward immediately. One of them bent down and pried at the metal clasp while the other held the crate still, and the sharp scrape of metal against wood echoed through the quiet camp as the lid slowly loosened.

The sound alone seemed to pull the attention of everyone in the camp.

The Wayne soldiers leaned forward while the Lennox soldiers narrowed their eyes in anticipation.

Even the men standing along the walls found themselves staring at the crate as if it held the answer to every accusation that had been thrown around since morning.

The lid finally lifted, and the soldier froze immediately. His face paled instantly.

His brows slowly pulled together as he stared inside the crate.

"What is it?" the Wayne soldier who had spoken earlier demanded impatiently.

The man did not answer immediately.

Instead, he looked up slowly, confusion flickering across his face. "Commander..."

Ling Xuan’s gaze sharpened. "What?"

The soldier hesitated before speaking again. "It’s empty."

For a brief moment, the entire camp went silent. The Wayne soldiers stared at the crate as if the word had not fully reached their ears.

"Open the others," Ling Xuan said calmly.

The order snapped everyone out of their stupor.

The soldiers hurried toward the remaining crates and forced them open one after another. Wood creaked, metal clasps snapped loose, and lids were lifted quickly under the watchful eyes of everyone present.

Each crate revealed the same thing.

Nothing but empty space.

Murmurs spread through the soldiers like ripples across still water.

"That’s impossible..."

"They said the crates were full."

"Where are the weapons then?"

The Wayne soldier who had earlier demanded punishment felt his throat go dry as he stared at the empty crates before him, his mind struggling to understand how the evidence he had relied on so confidently had vanished before it could even be examined.

Captain Rowan let out a cold laugh.

"So this is your evidence?"

Roy stepped forward behind him, his glare sweeping across the Wayne soldiers. "You almost started a war inside the fortress over empty boxes."

"Doesn’t that prove how despicable you are? You knew we were investigating so you put out empty boxes for us to find!" The Wayne soldier refuted.

Ling Xuan walked forward slowly and stopped beside the opened crates, her eyes lowering briefly as she examined the inside of one of them.

Her gaze shifted slightly toward the soldiers who had discovered the boxes earlier.

"You said these were found in the northern district," she said.

"Yes, Commander," one of the Wayne soldiers replied nervously. "Near the meteor impact site."

Ling Xuan straightened slowly.

The northern district? A place where the surveillance network had not yet been fully restored. A place where almost anyone could move unseen if they knew the patrol routes.

Her eyes darkened slightly. "So the rifles were removed before these crates were discovered," she said quietly.

Ling Xuan turned around and faced the gathered soldiers.

"Seal the area where the crates were found and search every building within that district," she ordered calmly. "No one enters or leaves without being inspected."

"Yes, Commander!"

Enzo immediately began issuing orders to the soldiers around him.

The last crate was closed again.

Ling Xuan remained standing beside the crates for a few seconds longer, her gaze lowered slightly as if considering something that the others could not yet see, before she finally straightened and turned back toward the gathered soldiers.

Her gaze moved slowly across the camp, pausing briefly on the Wayne soldiers before shifting toward the Lennox men, and finally settling on the two figures who had remained silent through the entire ordeal.

Neither Chris nor Alexander had spoken since they entered the main camp, which Ling Xuan found weird.

Ling Xuan’s eyes lingered on Chris for a moment. "You remain suspended until the investigation concludes," she said evenly.

Chris inclined his head slightly. "Understood."

She then turned to Alexander. "The expedition will depart tomorrow morning."

Deep down Ling Xuan already suspects Alexander or Chris to be the real perpetrator.

Alexander’s expression remained composed. "I thought we were leaving today."

"I can’t leave this mess you all have created." Ling Xuan said.

Several of the nearby soldiers glanced at each other in surprise, because although some had heard rumors that the commander intended to leave the fortress soon, the confirmation that the expedition would proceed even after the morning’s chaos only made the atmosphere feel more uncertain.

Ling Xuan began walking toward the exit of the camp.

"Prepare the vehicles and supplies," she instructed Enzo without looking back. "We leave at first light."

Enzo nodded immediately. "Yes, Commander."

Before she could take another step, Chris spoke. "I will join the expedition."

The words caused several heads to turn towards him simultaneously.

Alexander’s eyes narrowed slightly, his jaw clenching. ’I can’t lose control now... I can’t lose control.’ He chanted in his head like a spell.

Ling Xuan stopped. For a brief moment, she did not turn around. When she finally did, her gaze met Chris’s directly.

"You are suspended from command," she said calmly.

"I am aware," Chris replied.

"Then why would you leave the fortress while an investigation is ongoing?"

Chris’s expression remained composed, yet his voice carried enough weight that even the soldiers standing further away fell silent to listen.

"Because if I remain here," he said slowly, "people will assume I am hiding behind authority to tamper with the investigation."

He paused before continuing. "And if I remain in the fortress while both you and Mr. Wayne leave, others may believe that the Lennox family intends to take advantage of your absence."

Ling Xuan stared with a hardened gaze. She was aware he wanted to come along because of Laurel; she saw the memories of him trying to tell Laurel to let him come along. ’Sly man. Of course, he would find a way to follow.’

Chris clasped his hands behind his back. "So it is better that I leave with you," he finished calmly. "That way no one will believe I intend to monopolize power inside the fortress while the commander is gone."

Alexander let out a quiet breath through his nose. "You are very considerate of public opinion," he said lightly.

Chris glanced at him. "Unlike some people, I prefer stability."

The air between the two men tensed instantly.

Ling Xuan observed them both in silence for a moment.

From a political standpoint, Chris’s reasoning was sound. Leaving him inside the fortress while the investigation continued would only feed the suspicion already spreading among the civilians, while bringing him along ensured that he remained under her watch.

"Very well," she said at last.

If Chris was surprised he didn’t show it, though the soldiers around them seemed to relax slightly.

"You will accompany the expedition," Ling Xuan continued. "Until the investigation concludes, you remain under my supervision."

Chris nodded. "That is acceptable."

Alexander said nothing, though his bombastic side eyes lingered briefly on Chris before shifting toward Ling Xuan.