Apocalypse: Reborn with a Soul Sync Farming Space System-Chapter 140 The Weapons are Found

Alexander slowly turned his head and allowed his gaze to travel across the civilians gathered around the square, studying the anxious expressions on their faces as if weighing the fragile balance that held the fortress together, because every person standing there knew that the walls protecting them from the infected outside were only as strong as the unity maintained within them.

His eyes drifted back toward Chris, and although his tone remained composed and almost thoughtful, the implication hidden within his statement settled over the crowd like a slowly tightening net.

"And if those rifles are no longer inside the armory," Alexander continued after allowing the silence to stretch long enough for people to absorb the weight of his earlier words, "then they are somewhere within this fortress."

For several seconds the civilians stared at him, as if their minds struggled to process what he had just suggested, but once the meaning fully settled in, the murmurs began spreading through the crowd in restless waves.

"That is right, the weapons have to be here somewhere."

"I heard the crime for stealing is death or expulsion, doesn’t this mean the master and soldiers of the Lennox would be expelled or executed?"

"That is if the commander will be able to do so."

People began glancing nervously at the soldiers standing on both sides of the square, because suddenly the missing rifles were no longer an administrative problem hidden within armory records and paperwork, but a potential danger already lurking among them, and the thought that armed men might already be moving quietly within the fortress walls stirred an unease that quickly grew into fear.

Alexander remained still while the whispers spread, his posture calm and controlled, yet his silence only seemed to deepen the anxiety growing among the civilians as they exchanged uneasy glances with one another. "If those weapons fall into the wrong hands," he said at last, his voice softer now yet somehow even more penetrating, "they could turn the fortress itself into a battlefield."

That single sentence changed the atmosphere of the square.

Several civilians instinctively stepped backward as if distance alone might protect them from the possibility of violence, while others turned toward the soldiers around them with visible suspicion in their eyes. Even the men holding rifles seemed subtly affected, their fingers tightening around their weapons as the tension between the Wayne and Lennox soldiers began to thicken.

Chris watched Alexander without interrupting him, his expression remaining calm while the murmurs continued spreading through the crowd, but inside his mind, the intention behind those carefully chosen words had already become unmistakably clear.

Alexander had not openly accused him again, yet every sentence he had spoken guided the civilians toward the same conclusion, slowly planting the idea that the missing weapons were not merely lost but potentially hidden somewhere inside the fortress and possibly connected to the Lennox military force.

Fear was an effective tool. Once civilians began imagining hidden rifles and secret conspiracies among armed soldiers, they would not patiently wait for explanations or investigations to unfold, because fear rarely allowed people the luxury of patience.

Chris allowed his gaze to sweep slowly across the crowd, observing the shifting expressions and listening to the whispers growing louder with every passing second.

"What if the Lennox soldiers hid them somewhere?"

"They could be planning something."

"We can’t ignore this."

"I say we search the Lennox’s barracks and home!"

The tone of the square was changing rapidly, moving away from disciplined disagreement between military factions and edging dangerously close to uncontrolled panic among civilians who no longer felt certain about the safety of the walls around them.

Chris inhaled quietly.

The trap had been carefully constructed.

If the tension continued growing unchecked, discipline among the soldiers might begin to fracture, and once that happened it would take very little to ignite violence.

"Then we search for them."

Chris’s voice echoed across the air, calm yet firm enough to cut through the rising murmurs like a blade, and the sudden steadiness of his tone caused many of the civilians to fall silent almost immediately.

Alexander’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at him.

Chris continued speaking in the same measured manner, his voice never rising yet commanding the attention of everyone present.

"If weapons were transported through the fortress during the night, they must have passed through checkpoints, patrol routes, and surveillance zones, because five steel crates filled with rifles and ammunition cannot simply walk across several districts without the authorities noticing them."

He gestured lightly toward the soldiers standing nearby, his movement slow and controlled.

"Search the vehicles, the supply depots, and every military barracks."

Then his gaze returned to Alexander.

"Starting with mine."

The statement caused a visible ripple to move through the civilians gathered around the square, and several people immediately began whispering again, though this time their voices carried surprise rather than suspicion.

"He’s allowing that?"

"Even the Lennox barracks..."

"But who will dare search? It shouldn’t be the Lennox men, else they might sweep the whole event under the carpet."

"If my soldiers are innocent," Chris said calmly, "then we have nothing to hide."

For a brief moment, the balance within the square shifted again, because Chris’s willingness to open his own command to investigation had undermined the suspicion Alexander had carefully cultivated among the civilians. But if he did it himself it would still raise suspicion he could only hope Laurel would come before everything worsened.

Alexander studied him in silence, clearly recognizing the significance of the move. "I’m afraid the search has to be conducted by the Wayne soldiers."

One of the Wayne officers suddenly stepped forward, his expression sharp with impatience. "Mr. Wayne is right," he said loudly. "To ensure fairness, we will have to take this issue into our hands. Even if it is out of our jurisdiction."

Chris turned his head slowly toward him, his expression unchanged.

"Shouldn’t you wait for the commander?," he replied calmly, "Only the commander can investigate this matter, not the Waynes. Except you doubt her competence."

The officer’s jaw tightened.

"That wasn’t what I meant."

"Then we wait for her."

The distance between the two military factions seemed to shrink subtly as several soldiers adjusted their stance, positioning themselves between the civilians and the center of the confrontation as if preparing for the possibility that the situation might spiral out of control.

Alexander watched the exchange quietly, his expression darkening a bit at Chris’s sudden strategy to use Laurel’s authority to push him back.

Then suddenly a shout broke from the far end of the square. "The weapons are found!"

Every head turned towards his direction simultaneously.