Lin Feng fell silent for a moment after listening.
He did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned his head, his gaze seeming to pierce the elevator's metal walls and settle on the enormous cold-storage chambers scattered throughout the underground complex. In his perception, those millions of faint sparks of life were sleeping. Weak as they were, at least they were still beating.
"I just read the underlying data logs for the entire base." Lin Feng's voice was even, without a trace of reproach.
"If you hadn't implemented the hibernation plan, given how quickly the Abyss was infiltrating us from within through emotional resonance, the entire Earth would have collapsed from the inside three days ago. The Defense Army would have turned against us, the refugees would have mutated, and that old geezer, Star Sea Survivor, would have been worked to death in the control room."
Lin Feng reached out and gently ruffled Su Li's hair, his gesture casual yet full of reassurance.
"Su Li, remember this. On the knife-edge between a civilization's survival and extinction, there are never any dignified choices. There's only 'stay alive' or 'die together.'"
"You made the decision a commander should make. If I'd been awake, I might not have stopped at freezing them. I'd have cut down the troublemakers leading the unrest and spreading panic."
Su Li froze for a moment, then much of the gloom in her eyes cleared.
Yes, this was how Lin Feng operated. He never cared about claiming the moral high ground. He only cared whether the people he wanted to protect could live to see tomorrow.
"But." Lin Feng shifted his tone, a cold gleam flashing through his eyes. "Now I'm awake. These days of swallowing humiliation are over."
"Ding."
The elevator gave a soft chime as it arrived at