The Farming Saint in the Starry Wasteland (Elizabeth Schofield) novel Chapter 426

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Chapter 426 The Man Behind This

Chapter 426 The Man Behind This

Deon’s expression barely shifted, though the faint smile at his lips faded slightly.

Maverick kept talking, his voice taking on a desperate edge, “Colonel Barron, every single one of those people is completely above my pay grade. I panicked. My first instinct was to reach out to you, to talk through our options. But I couldn’t get through to your end.”

He let that land for a moment.

“I tried so many times. Easily fifteen, twenty calls. None of them connected.” He dipped his head, his voice soaked in helplessness and wounded bewilderment. “But those people were pressing me from every direction, arid they all wanted an answer right then. I had no other choice. I had to reverse the decision. If I hadn’t, my position would’ve been gone on the spot.”

He lifted his eyes carefully and watched Deon’s face when he finished.

Deon was quiet for a few seconds.

Those seconds hammered against Maverick’s chest like something alive.

Then Deon smiled.

It was colder than before, the kind of cold that settled between your shoulder blades,

“Mr. Jensen,” he said, his voice unhurried and smooth, “are you blaming me for not picking up?”

Maverick waved his hands immediately. “Absolutely not, Colonel Barron, please don’t misunderstand me. How could I blame you? You were obviously busy. You had more important things to handle. I’m just a small fish in a big pond. I would never expect you to keep your eyes on every little thing I deal with.”

“Small fish,” Deon said lightly, with a quiet laugh. “Mr. Jensen,/you’re far too modest. The Director of the Kingdom Interstellar Route Authority is hardly a small fish.”

Maverick didn’t dare respond to that.

Deon studied him for a moment, then said, suddenly and simply, “Change it back.”

Maverick blinked. “Sorry?”

“The decision,” Deon said. “Change it back.”

The smile on Maverick’s face locked into place and stopped moving.

“Colonel Barron, that’s… that’s not possible.” He swallowed. “The system only allows one modification to any approval result. Once it’s been changed, it’s locked.”

Deon’s eyes cooled.

“Mr. Jensen, are you joking with me right now?”

“No, no, not at all!” Maverick rushed to clarify. “Colonel Barron, I would never joke with you. It genuinely only allows one change. It’s a hard system restriction in the Interstellar Route Authority, designed to prevent repeated modifications from causing inconsistencies. I didn’t realize when I made the change that it would…”

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11:15 am

MA

Chapter 426 The Man Behind This

He didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was perfectly clear.

Deon stared at him, and his gaze had the qualify of a blade pressed flat

+5 Free Come

Maverick held that stare and kept the apologetic smile plastered across his face, letting it grow more and more diminished.

“Colonel Barron, if you don’t believe me, I can pull up the system documentation right now. One modification, that’s the hard limit. My hands are completely tied.”

Deon said nothing.

The silence stretched between them and pressed down on the air like something with weight.

After a long, suffocating pause, Deon spoke.

“Mr. Jensen,” he said, his voice still slow and easy, carrying something underneath it that made the scalp crawl, “I heard you’ve had a busy evening. Something happened at home? Your father–in–law collapsed?”

Maverick’s pupils contracted sharply.

How did Deon know?

He’d been out of that building for less than half an hour. Dilfus had just been loaded into the ambulance.

“Colonel Barron,” his voice went tight, “you…”

“Just making conversation,” Deon said, cutting him off, that deeply uncomfortable smile drifting back to the corner of his mouth. “Relax, Mr. Jensen. I’m only saying that everyone has things happen in their personal lives. But there’s a point to be made here.”

He paused.

“Some things are fine to do. Some things aren’t. And when you do the ones that aren’t, you carry the consequences.”

Cold sweat surfaced along Maverick’s brow.

“Colonel Barron, I really wasn’t trying to…”

“That’s fine.” Deon waved a hand, his tone dropping into something flat and disinterested. “If you’re truly without options, then we’ll simply have to find someone who has them.”

Maverick’s stomach dropped.

“Colonel Barron!”

But the connection was already dead.

The device screen read “Call Ended” in cold, steady letters.

Maverick sat there holding the device, completely motionless.

Find someone who has options.

What does that mean?

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11:15 am

MA

Chapter 426 The Man Rehind This

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