"What!?"
"Climb the mountain again? The volcano is about to erupt!"
"Going up now is just going to get us killed! Whether we can kill Lin Beichen is one thing, whether we can come down again is another!"
The team members, hearing Griffin’s demand to prepare to climb the mountain again, all looked at each other, some of them panicking and voicing their opinions.
In fact, it’s not that they fear death, but they think there might be a better way. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, no one wants to rashly climb the mountain. After all, surviving to collect the bounty is the only thing that matters; everything else is empty talk.
"Enough!"
"Stop arguing. We haven’t even confirmed if the figure on the mountain is Lin Beichen. What’s the point in discussing the consequences of going up the mountain now?"
Kendia angrily interrupted the discussion among the team members.
Everyone finally quieted down and refocused their attention on the live broadcast screen on their phones.
Sure enough, after Griffin from the Atlantis Intelligence Group communicated, one of the television reporters in the helicopter aimed the high-powered camera at the spot where the fleeting figure had appeared.
The scene became tense, everyone stared at the screen, afraid to miss anything, even activating the phone’s screen recording function so they could replay if they missed anything in real time.
The reporter adjusted the camera angle and magnified the lens continuously, while the helicopter also adjusted its angle in search of the previous sighting.
Because the sky was filled with thick smoke, visibility was greatly obstructed, and the network was also experiencing interference, making it difficult to locate the previous angle.
After a long moment, finally, a figure appeared on the screen, precisely the one that had flashed by earlier!
The figure was sitting cross-legged, motionless, resembling a monk meditating in a temple.
But the image was still not very clear and the distance was quite far.
However, the figure’s physique and attire could be discerned!
"That’s Lin Beichen!"
"He’s still on the summit after all. We kept looking back and searching different paths on our way down, and couldn’t find him. Turns out he’s still up there!"
"Could he be dead already, sitting there motionless?"
"And look! The soil around him has cracked, seemingly scorched by the hot lava to the point of smoking!"
"Can he survive at such a temperature?"
Helena and the others discussed the live footage, each expressing their thoughts, but one viewpoint was shared among them.
That is, under such temperature, Lin Beichen was likely already dead, sitting on the summit!
Suddenly, the camera switched from the figure to a female reporter holding a microphone, explaining the situation of the boiling lava activity at the center of Jingli Mountain’s volcano crater.
Then the footage returned to normal, and the reporter resumed the volcano commentary, no longer following their request to focus on Lin Beichen.
"What’s going on??" Kendia asked puzzled, looking at Helena, while everyone shared the same confusion.
"It’s possible the reporter isn’t from our country and can only comply for a moment, not indefinitely," Helena answered awkwardly, as she wasn’t sure what method Griffin used to get the reporter to agree to adjust the globally live-streamed footage to show a figure resembling a person.
Maybe only those who knew Lin Beichen would recognize the figure, others who hadn’t seen him would simply think it was a place that looked like there was a person, and wouldn’t think much of it.
After all, who could imagine someone meditating at the volcano crater!
"Shit! Forget about money at this point!"
"Quick, contact the Fin group for more ideas. If we are to ensure Lin Beichen is dead, we must be willing to bear the cost!"
"We need precise footage! At least we need to see the surroundings to make a plan to climb up!" Kendia said seriously to Helena, then opened up the recording playback to identify the figure’s back one last time.
It was difficult for them to believe without a 100% confirmation, and asking the team to go to the volcano crater needed a strong convincing reason.
Under the team’s request, Helena dialed Atlantis through the satellite phone again.
Griffin, who was connecting another call, promptly hung up due to the satellite phone’s priority and chose to answer Helena’s call.
Seeing Helena again, Griffin couldn’t help but angrily shout: "Is the reporter issue still not resolved?! You better have new information for me!"
In his view, if the Minister intervened, nothing couldn’t be resolved; even wiping out a country, Griffin suspected, was within the Minister’s decision rights.
A global times reporter can’t be dealt with?
Though prepared to be scolded, Helena was still somewhat nervous.
"It’s resolved, but not completely! The footage was brief, we didn’t expect him to switch it again, it’ll take another twenty minutes to pinpoint Lin Beichen’s exact position on Jingli Mountain and plan a route." Helena explained.
"Ten minutes! This is your last chance!"
"But..."
Before Helena finished, the call was hung up.
Moments later, Helena told the team: "We have just one last chance, ten minutes!"
"Enough!" Kendia replied firmly.
Sure enough, this time the global live broadcast focused again on the figure, and the helicopter descended to a dangerous low altitude, getting closer to the volcano crater!
The risk was extremely high, if the engine or instruments sucked in volcanic ash, it could lead to catastrophic failure, yet the reporter continued aiming the footage methodically at an empty spot in the volcanic terrain of Jingli Mountain.
"Hey! What’s that!"
As the helicopter approached, the footage became clearer, and the reporter holding the high-powered camera was shocked, seeing a figure sitting cross-legged on the volcanic surface!
Adjusting the lens continuously, she was astonished!
"It’s a person!"
The global livestream, the reporter’s onsite explanation revealed there was a person sitting cross-legged at Jingli Mountain’s volcano crater!
Instantly, the livestream platform attracted global attention, crashing the servers!
On various platforms, everyone was racing to re-broadcast the footage!
Simultaneously, regardless of the platform, the screen exploded with comments!
"No way! There’s actually someone sitting at the volcano crater, like a sage in enlightenment!"
"Do you think he’s still alive?"
"Impossible, this must be a stunt by Divine Light Country or a ploy by the broadcast platform for hype!"
"I agree with the above, the temperature around the crater can’t be bearable for a person, it’s clearly a setup by the reporter for popularity!"
"Wait a minute everyone!"
"This is the live feed from the Global Times, which is highly reputable worldwide, as authoritative as an announcement from the United Nations!"
"Under such authority, would they fake for little hype? It’s not possible!"
"No, look, it’s not just one outlet reporting, Global Times, Divine Light Country Union Report....!"
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"But someone cultivating at the crater, compared to a TV channel faking it, I’d believe the latter!"
People worldwide debated the live broadcast of Jingli Mountain, causing near-standstill traffic, work stops, and school closures, everyone glued to their phones watching the live footage.
....
....
At this moment, in a conference room of Great Xia Country’s security bureau.
The large projector on the wall was showing the live feed of Jingli Mountain’s volcano crater, with attendees seated below, each a head or key officer of the security bureau’s various departments!
Various experts were also present, covering the entire special operations command system, now gathered together, watching the live feed.
And leading the group, was Song Xiangdong!
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦