In a secluded residence on the outskirts of the capital, Kean was leisurely lying on a sofa with his eyes closed, enjoying a moment of relaxation.
Directly in front of Kean was a massive mirror, displaying the situations inside several instances around the capital. Although these instances were not of particularly high levels, the monsters within them had undergone significant enhancements. Moreover, these creatures had gained powerful abilities directly under the command of "The Sun."
Players participating in the apocalypse game who ventured into these instances were facing enormous difficulties, with even elite players struggling to escape safely. In fact, these players had been drafted from various regions by the higher-ups of the Federation.
The elimination of these elite players would directly cause the rapid collapse of the defensive forces that the Federation's leaders could personally control.
"Our plan is progressing far too smoothly. Could it be that the strength of you humans is really this fragile? Or are the higher-ups of the Federation holding some hidden cards in reserve?"
The image in the large mirror before Kean suddenly shifted. The Son of the Sun appeared directly in the reflection, speaking the previous words.
Kean slowly opened his eyes, smiling as he responded, "You're overestimating them. The higher-ups in the Federation are fools. Their intelligence is not as high as you think. All they're doing is sacrificing the lives of the apocalypse game players they can control, without any real purpose.
We just need to wait a bit longer, and those fools at the top will exhaust their last resources. Once they've played all their cards, we can wipe them out entirely!"
Kean had in fact completely betrayed humanity. He was now collaborating not only with The Son of the Sun but also with The Person in the Mirror. He even intended to assist them in eliminating the Federation's leadership.
In Kean's mind, as long as he could bring down the Federation's leaders, he would be able to seize all the valuable weapons and items they possessed.
Moreover, Kean could gain a significant amount of experience during this process, allowing his level to rapidly increase. As long as Kean's level surpassed Jeremy's, he believed he could kill Jeremy in the final showdown.
Although Kean spoke these words with great confidence, The Son of the Sun did not entirely trust him. There was still a hint of hesitation in The Son of the Sun's demeanor.
"Even if our plan is progressing very well, we still have to remain vigilant. I'll lead The Person in the Mirror into other instances. We must ensure that all the instances are significantly more difficult than before."
During this emergency meeting, the Federation's leaders unanimously agreed that they needed to secure more assistance. Consequently, they promptly urged the military headquarters and the intelligence agency to take action.
The military headquarters decided to redeploy armed forces stationed in other cities across the Federation, while the intelligence agency would pull all its elite operatives to reinforce the area around the capital.
Under these circumstances, the situation around the capital might improve somewhat, but it would only be a slight improvement and would not be enough to completely reverse the overall crisis.
After the emergency meeting concluded, military headquarters issued the orders to the generals in each city. Upon receiving the new directives, General Howard immediately met with key figures in Moonlight City. Present at the meeting were Mayor Benjamin and Liam. As soon as the three of them gathered, General Howard spoke bluntly.
"The situation in the capital is far worse than we anticipated. Even though Moonlight City has already sent some troops back to the capital, the security situation there hasn't improved. Therefore, military headquarters plans to redeploy even more soldiers from Moonlight City back to the capital. You must prepare for this, as the security of Moonlight City will be left in your hands."
Hearing these words, both Benjamin and Liam's expressions turned grim. Liam felt that the military headquarters was overlooking their concerns.
"I think sending these troops back to the capital will do nothing to help its defenses. These soldiers are simply not equipped to deal with the high-level monsters inside those difficult instances. Keeping the troops stationed in cities outside the capital would be far more reasonable.
I just don't understand why the military headquarters can't see such a simple truth," Liam said, his frustration evident.
General Howard sighed at Liam's words. "Many people understand that reasoning, but the situation in the capital is extremely dire. The military headquarters has no other options. This is the only way to temporarily reassure the Federation's higher-ups."
Howard had a thorough understanding of the internal dynamics within the military headquarters.
The military headquarters was under immense pressure from the Federation's leaders, so it had no choice but to take some form of action, regardless of the circumstances. Hearing this, Liam could only respond with a resigned tone.
"That's the reality of the situation, but how can we possibly ensure Moonlight City's safety with our current resources? The monsters in the instances surrounding Moonlight City have also become significantly stronger."
Liam's words left Howard and Benjamin in a moment of silent contemplation. After a while, Benjamin finally spoke, his voice slow and measured.
"It seems we have no choice but to place our hopes on Jeremy. At the very least, Jeremy is much stronger than before. As long as he can swiftly clear out the most dangerous instances, we can still secure Moonlight City's safety."
In the end, the three of them could only rely on Jeremy to safeguard Moonlight City. However, they all knew this was a highly risky strategy, as their cooperation with Jeremy was not particularly solid or dependable.