End of Days Game: I'm the Only One Who Can See the Hidden Cues - Chapter 378

Chapter 378: Chapter 378: The Factional Struggles Within Military Headquarters
The investigators from Military Headquarters assigned to monitor Kean’s every move quickly compiled and reported all his activities from the day.

Upon learning that Kean appeared to be collaborating closely with The Person in the Mirror, the various factions within Military Headquarters began taking their respective actions.

In truth, there were intense factional struggles within Military Headquarters. Since the major families of the Federation sought to exert greater influence within the headquarters, each family had ensured their members were embedded in its structure.

In addition to the offspring of civilians backed by these families, each major family had effectively formed its own faction within Military Headquarters.

Currently, the headquarters was led by Marshal Daniel, who himself did not belong to any of the five major families of the Federation. This independence allowed him to maintain the headquarters as a powerful and relatively autonomous force within the Federation.

However, at the mid-levels of the headquarters, the major families wielded considerable influence.

The first to receive the report about Kean, naturally, were the mid-level managers in charge of intelligence investigations. The intelligence apparatus within Military Headquarters was known as the Military Intelligence Bureau, and its director, Shen Feng, was a member of the Lannister family.

Although Shen Feng was not a core member of the Lannisters and was only distantly related to Kean, he was nonetheless inclined to side with him. As a result, Shen Feng immediately suppressed the report.

“You no longer need to continue your previous mission,” Shen Feng instructed. “Although Kean is suspected of collaborating with The Person in the Mirror, we have no concrete evidence. From now on, your task is to investigate The Person in the Mirror.”

As the director of the Military Intelligence Bureau, Shen Feng ordered the reassignment of all personnel who had been monitoring Kean.

This decision, unsurprisingly, provoked opposition from the intelligence officers.

However, Shen Feng forcibly overrode their objections.

“Your current operations are meaningless when it comes to safeguarding the security of the capital,” he asserted. “The real threat to the capital’s safety lies in The Person in the Mirror and the monsters within the apocalypse game’s instances. That’s why I’m directing you to investigate The Person in the Mirror.”

“If you still insist on opposing this, then feel free to take your objections directly to the senior officers at Military Headquarters. Let the generals at the top make the final judgment,” Shen Feng said, his tone incredibly firm.

His unyielding stance left the intelligence officers with no choice but to remain silent. After dismissing his subordinates, Shen Feng immediately dialed Kean’s number.

At that moment, Kean had already returned to his home. He was handling various personal matters and was confused when he received Shen Feng’s call.

Why is he calling me? Does Military Headquarters need my help with something? Kean was unsure of Shen Feng’s exact position, as the Military Intelligence Bureau was a highly secretive and important branch within the headquarters, and the details of its personnel were not made public.

Despite his confusion, Kean answered the call.

“I have something important to tell you! You must listen carefully! While I’m speaking, you must not say a word. I won’t answer any of your questions. Once I’m done, I’ll hang up,” Shen Feng’s serious voice came through immediately after the call was answered.

The gravity in Shen Feng’s tone made Kean feel a little uneasy. He began to worry that the military had discovered his cooperation with The Person in the Mirror.

With a nervous heart, Kean listened intently, hoping for some clarity.

“The Military Intelligence Bureau has been monitoring your every move. It appears you are working with The Person in the Mirror. I don’t know whether this is true or not. I only have one thing to say to you: you need to be very careful. If anything happens to you, I won’t be able to help.

And if you really are cooperating with The Person in the Mirror, you will drag down the entire Lannister family. None of the Lannisters will come to your rescue. Consider this a warning.”

Shen Feng finished speaking in a quick, clipped manner, then abruptly hung up the phone.

At that moment, Kean’s emotions were in turmoil. He hadn’t expected to be under constant surveillance by the Military Intelligence Bureau. But it didn’t take long for him to piece things together.

There were many enemies of the Lannisters within Military Headquarters. While Shen Feng was in charge of the day-to-day operations of the Bureau, he couldn’t prevent other intelligence officers from monitoring Kean’s movements.

Kean slowly lowered the phone from his ear, deep in thought. He began contemplating his next course of action.

Although Shen Feng might temporarily help prevent further investigations into him, Kean knew that the Lannisters’ enemies within Military Headquarters wouldn’t give up so easily. He would have to tread carefully from here on out.

I can’t cooperate with The Person in the Mirror for now. I need to actively cooperate with the people at Military Headquarters. Only then will they believe that their suspicions about me were baseless.

Once he made up his mind, Kean quickly sent a message to The Son of the Sun. He wasn’t going to help set up the trap for Jeremy in the deep parts of the Endless Abyss instance anymore.

For the next week, Kean planned to work with Military Headquarters personnel to clear out some of the lower-difficulty instances. Of course, Kean would avoid any Apocalypse Game instances related to The Sun. He would only focus on those that had no connection to it.

When The Son of the Sun received the message, he was deep inside the Endless Abyss instance, working with The Person in the Mirror to set up a trap for Jeremy. If The Son of the Sun wanted his plan to succeed quickly, he needed Kean’s assistance.

So, when he read Kean’s message, he was furious.

“I knew I shouldn’t have trusted Kean! He’s nothing but a liability!” The Son of the Sun shouted in anger, his voice echoing through the room filled with members of The Person in the Mirror.

The members of The Person in the Mirror, who were present, shared mixed feelings at that moment.

Although The Person in the Mirror had been working with Kean for a long time, they all understood that Kean had his own independent thoughts and motivations. Therefore, they were able to accept Kean’s decision, even though it wasn’t what they had hoped for.

However, they were also facing immense pressure. They desperately needed Kean’s help, and if he wasn’t able to assist them in this situation, they would indeed be very disappointed in him.

The Son of the Sun, though deeply angry, knew that his rage wouldn’t solve any problems. After taking a moment to calm down, he spoke directly to The Person in the Mirror.

“Since Kean can no longer help us, we’ll have to try even harder. Jeremy and his companions could arrive here at any moment. We need to finish setting up the trap in the Endless Abyss as quickly as possible!”

Under The Son of the Sun’s leadership, The Person in the Mirror quickly completed the trap in the depths of the Endless Abyss instance. But whether or not the trap would succeed ultimately depended on the specific circumstances of the battle.

Jeremy’s faction was incredibly powerful. Additionally, this time, Jeremy had the help of other allies.

If The Son of the Sun and The Person in the Mirror didn’t perform exceptionally well during the fight, even with the trap in place, it was very likely that they wouldn’t be able to defeat Jeremy.

Over the next few days, The Son of the Sun engaged in countless discussions with The Person in the Mirror, going over every detail of the upcoming battle. They simulated their encounters with Jeremy repeatedly, analyzing various scenarios.

The results of these simulations were deeply disappointing for both The Son of the Sun and The Person in the Mirror.

The Son of the Sun suddenly realized that, on their own, they wouldn’t be able to trap Jeremy. And with Jeremy’s abilities to divert attention and draw them into prolonged engagements, it would be very easy for Jeremy’s allies to eliminate The Person in the Mirror while The Son of the Sun was occupied.

This meant that, without Kean’s help, their entire plan would be impossible to execute.

“What should we do now?! I can’t see any hope for our plan to succeed!” The Son of the Sun was feeling incredibly overwhelmed. He hadn’t expected to face such enormous trouble.

The mood among The Person in the Mirror was equally bleak. One of them stepped forward and addressed The Son of the Sun.

“If we can’t defeat Jeremy with just our own strength, perhaps we can seek the aid of the great Sun? The power of The Sun should far surpass that of Jeremy.”

In reality, most of The Person in the Mirror hoped that The Sun would intervene directly. Although The Sun hadn’t been fully resurrected, even a partial resurrection of an Apocalypse Game architect was enough to exert tremendous power in the real world.

The Son of the Sun didn’t immediately reject the suggestion, but he didn’t agree to it either. He simply couldn’t be sure if The Sun would be willing to assist them in the battle.

He gave a calm response: “I understand. I will discuss this with the great Sun. However, I can’t guarantee that The Sun will agree to help us.”

The Son of the Sun’s answer was exactly what The Person in the Mirror had expected. They knew it was impossible to predict what The Sun might decide.