Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 24 Confrontation
The heavy alloy doors closed silently behind him, and the conference hall was unusually quiet as Lord Morgan sat in the main seat.

His weathered eyes, calm yet penetrating, gazed at the approaching Red Collar. Victor stood silently on the platform below the steps.

Hong Kou stood a few steps away from the steps, her back straight, her red braid hanging down her back, her face still stained, but her eyes were unusually firm.

She did not avoid Morgan's gaze, nor did she speak immediately.

"Red Bandit".

He paused for a moment, his tone calm:

Why break the rules set by the lighthouse?

The moment this question was raised, the surrounding air felt colder.

Hong Kou took a deep breath, but the emotions surging in her chest had not subsided.

She didn't argue, she didn't beg for mercy, she just responded in the same clear and firm voice, word by word:

"Because my team members are still alive, Lord Morgan."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a power that penetrated people's hearts.

"He's still breathing, his heart is still beating, he wants to live! He lost his legs protecting the convoy and bringing supplies back to the Lighthouse, yet our Lighthouse's rules require us to first assess whether he's worth saving and calculate how much value he can still contribute in the future?"

Hong Kou's voice gradually rose in pitch.

"Lord! The Lighthouse's laws exist for survival. But when these laws become so cold as to negate those who have contributed to the Lighthouse, aren't these laws themselves killing the very meaning of our existence?!"

Morgan's expression remained calm, but his gaze became even more profound.

“Red,” Morgan’s voice remained calm, “do you know how much energy the lighthouse consumes per minute?”

Do you know how many resources it takes to train a new hunter or technician?

"You only saw the lighthouse and didn't treat your injured teammate, but do you know how many newborn babies will starve to death in order to save someone who will be unable to contribute in the future?"

Morgan's words left Red Cop speechless for a moment.

"Do you know how many people your actions today will kill?" Morgan's voice grew louder.

"If everyone acted like that, the lighthouse would have stopped functioning long ago!"

Hong Kou lowered her head, unable to think of any rebuttal.

In an effort to save one person, most people die as a result.

It's certainly an easy choice to make, but is this way of life really the only option?
"The Lighthouse's current resources simply cannot withstand such depletion!"

Morgan beckoned, and Victor, who was standing to the side, immediately stepped forward.

"From now on, Dawn will temporarily act as the commander of the Hunters. All contribution points in your personal account will be deducted and transferred to the Medical Department." Morgan's tone returned to calm, but it left no room for argument.

"Victor, carry it out."

“Yes,” Victor replied in a deep voice.

“I can accept the punishment, but Benny,” Red Cockles asked hastily.

“The lighthouse can be saved, but you must also bring back enough supplies to fill the lighthouse’s gaps.” Morgan waved his hand, leaning wearily back in his chair, as if the decision he had just made had exhausted his strength: “Go.”

Hong Kou bowed, turned around, and walked out of the meeting hall with firm steps. As long as Benny was treated, that was enough. Next time she went on a mission, she would do her best to bring back more supplies to make up for the Lighthouse's shortage.

The door closed behind her, shutting out the complex gazes from inside.

Under the cold light of the corridor outside the door, Dawn, Snow Peak, and several other team members waited anxiously. Upon seeing Red Colt emerge, they immediately surrounded him.

“Red Bandit! What did the city lord say? Benny, he…” Xuefeng asked anxiously.

Seeing their worried eyes, Red Knuckle gave a tired yet unusually bright smile: "Don't worry, Benny will be treated." "Then you..." Dawn looked at Red Knuckle with concern.

Openly defying the three laws will certainly have consequences that cannot be easily dismissed.

But Hong Kou just smiled and shook her head, indicating that it was nothing: "Now I should call you Captain."

"Call me captain?" Dawn asked, puzzled. He had always been Red Bandit's adjutant, so why was he now captain?

"The city lord has removed me from my command position and is handing it over to you as acting commander."

Po Xiao understood. In any case, the two of them didn't usually have a sense of hierarchy, and when they actually went on a mission, the hunters would still recognize Hong Kou as their captain.

"Also, we might not have had a break, as we'll be going back to the surface soon."

"Hey~ isn't this what we do?" Xuefeng and the others said that this was not a problem.

"Anyway, we'll still follow your orders next time we go on a mission."

In the conference hall.

Victor and Carrie had not yet left.

“Victor, select an outstanding individual from the city garrison to train as a hunter commander.” Morgan sat in his chair, looking as if he had aged ten years.

Victor's expression froze: "That Red Bandit?"

“Red Kou is too emotional. If she can break the rules once, she will do it again.” Morgan closed his eyes, having already made his decision: “Once we have trained someone to replace Red Kou, let her go far away.”

"We cannot allow this destabilizing factor to remain in the lighthouse."

"Yes." Victor remained silent, but still agreed.

At this moment, Carrie laughed and mocked, "Can your city defense army of useless trash even do a job? Do you even have enough men?"

"You!" Victor glared at Carrie. "If you hadn't tried to take down the white-haired woman's armor back then, how could the city defense forces have suffered such heavy losses?!"

Victor's hand was also severed by that white-haired woman at that time, and even today, the severed hand still aches faintly.

“I want to move? You’re the one who gave the order, Victor!” Carrie retorted, meeting Victor’s gaze head-on. “Who knew that the gravity body was connected to that woman? She noticed it as soon as I touched it.”

"Besides, that woman's gravity suit could easily kill a mutated Devouring Beast. Aren't you tempted? If you could have kept that gravity suit back then, you would have succeeded in researching it by now!"

"Enough!" Morgan opened his eyes and looked at the two of them, his voice low and somber. "Let's not talk about this anymore."

When the white-haired woman boarded the lighthouse, they did not claim the gravity object as their own.

Even the body of the first city lord, Gray, was taken away.

That woman was terrifyingly strong. Even without that strangely shaped gravity body, she could cut through the city's defense forces like butter, and she was practically beyond the realm of humanity.

"Is there any progress in the experiment?" Morgan asked Carrie.

Although no gravity body was found at the time, some red substance was extracted from its interior.

Carrie filled the red substance into the gravity body of the old world.

"No progress. I suspect that gravity body was made using the bodies of Devouring Beasts combined with Old World technology." Carrie crossed her arms. "How am I supposed to conduct research if you don't bring me a few Devouring Beasts?"

Morgan paused for a moment, then said, "Let the weapons development department focus on developing in this direction."

"With the power to fight the Devouring Beasts, the Lighthouse can survive more easily."

Carrie snorted coldly and walked out without looking back.

"In the end, doesn't it still depend on the hunters?"

(End of this chapter)