Translator: Ashish
Translation Checker: Silavin
Watching the middle-aged man with stubble being thrown out of Maple Leaf City, Thorns appeared a bit puzzled.
“Master!?” Thorns inquired.
With a smile, Yu Zi Yu did not directly respond. Instead, he shifted the conversation, asking, “Thorns, do you think the high-ranking officials of China will hand over the person responsible for planning the launch of nuclear missiles on Misty Mountains?”
“Uh…” Thorns was a bit taken aback by the sudden question, then became lost in thought.
After pondering for a while, Thorns replied, “Even if they do, it will likely be just a minor figure.”
“That’s enough.” Yu Zi Yu smirked before explaining straightforwardly, “I’m not after the mastermind, I want a statement from China. If they hand over a minor character for the sake of Maple Leaf City, the entire high-ranking officials of China will become a laughing stock. Their decision to yield to a Transcendent for the first since the beginning of the Era of Transcendence will severely damage their credibility.”
“If they refuse to surrender the mastermind, they would be sacrificing thousands of lives for the sake of protecting a high-ranking official. Moreover, their past actions, such as destroying Misty Mountains and causing harm to a city in an attempt to eliminate a Tree Monster, would subject Chinese officials to public criticism.“ The corners of Yu Zi Yu’s lips rose into a grin as he continued, “Whether they choose to hand over someone or not, for me, it’s the same. But for Chinese officials, either decision would be no different than a choice between life or death. So, no matter what kind of choice they may make, it would push them down the cliff. That’s a true checkmate.”
Thorns was slightly taken aback by Yu Zi Yu’s revelation, her gaze toward Yu Zi Yu becoming more complex.
For some reason, she felt that the Divine Tree understood Human nature better than she did.
[Indeed, if the general public were to learn about this, even just the rumors would be enough to put the high-ranking Chinese officials in a difficult position. But the question is, will the public really find out? Given the Chinese government’s means…]
At this moment, as if sensing Thorns’ thoughts, Yu Zi Yu smiled and added, “Rest assured, the Chinese government can’t hide this.”
Speaking of this, Qing Er’s image could not help but flash in Yu Zi Yu’s minds. [Given her intelligence, she would definitely know how to stir the pot.]
…
Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Federal Spiritual Energy Monitoring Bureau…
Even after the loss of the Spiritual Energy Monitoring Satellites, as an organization responsible for monitoring the entire China, they still had some control over the Sichuan Region.
Just ten minutes ago, they had received the shocking news.
“The thick fog from Misty Mountains is sweeping from north to south, and it has already engulfed one of our cities, Maple Leaf City. As of now, countless civilians’ fates remain unknown…” A heavy voice resonated in the conference room, causing the entire room to fall into a deathly silence.
Until a long time later, a faint voice suddenly broke the silence, “Is it the Tree Monster’s retaliation?”
“Probably.” Nodding her agreement, the Deputy Director of the Spiritual Energy Monitoring Bureau also fell into silence.
A city had fallen just like that.
Clearly, it was a big blow to them.
However, who could have expected that a monster could withstand nuclear weapons?
At this moment, not to mention them, even the high-ranking officials of China were unable to sit still. They were all like ants on a hot wok, continuously holding meetings.
*Haaaa…* Taking a deep breath, the Deputy Director of the Spiritual Energy Monitoring Bureau looked at everyone before speaking, suppressing the shock in her heart, “What should we tell the higher-ups?”
“The truth, of course,” an elderly man replied, heaving a helpless sigh.
“Uh…” The Deputy Director of the Spiritual Energy Monitoring Bureau froze for a moment, lost in thought.
[I guess, we have no choice but to tell the truth. But would the higher ups be able to withstand this blow? We’ve failed to destroy the Tree Monster, and now, we’re facing its retaliation. If my guess is right, that massive earthquake was also caused by that Tree Monster.]
Thinking of this, the beautiful Deputy Director could not help but break out in a cold sweat.
Others might not know, but how could she not?
Just because of that massive earthquake that swept through half of China, the losses suffered by China tonight were on par with America.
Eight cities had already been breached by Mutant Beasts. It could be said that all of this was due to that one Tree Monster.
Without it, China’s defenses would have held, and they would have lost two or three cities at most.
The Deputy Director of the Spiritual Energy Monitoring Bureau shook her head in a barely noticeable manner, knowing that half a year worth of China’s planning and construction had gone down the drain.
Even more importantly, China now had to face the omnipotent Tree Monster.
*Haaa…* Heaving a sigh, the Deputy Director of the Spiritual Energy Monitoring Bureau slowly got up and made her way to the highest office to report the current situation.
…
Meanwhile, not far from Maple Leaf City, on a highway, a middle-aged man covered in dirt was running like a madman.
His terrifying speed generated a gust of wind, but it also worsened Old Li’s injuries.
However, he could not stop.
Absolutely not.
The entire Maple Leaf City was depending on him.
More importantly, he had to report the information about the Tree Monster to the government.
Before that, he absolutely could not die.
With this in mind, Old Li clutched his chest and ran even faster.
…
In the blink of an eye, three days had gone by.
According to the old calendar, March 9th had been designated as the Dark Day for Humanity.
However, the true disaster had only just begun.
Horrifying Mutant Beasts emerged one after another, each stronger than anyone could have imagined, wreaking havoc on the entire world.
On the east coast of America, the enormous Sea Monster that had destroyed cities in the past had returned. More importantly, the Sea Monster started absorbing the nuclear radiation left behind by the nuclear strike, and surprisingly, its aura started increasing at a rate that was visible to the naked eye.
On the Dark Day, the strongest Mutant Sea Monster discovered by America since the beginning Era of Transcendence invaded once again, carrying an unquenchable rage.
The Tier-3 Transcendent, the ruler of the seas with a million Spiritual Energy, created enormous tsunamis, sweeping through several cities.
After three days and nights of fierce battles with the American Army, it eventually disappeared into the deep sea, leaving several cities in ruins.
In Japan, several terrifying Tier-2 Mutant Beasts emerged, almost pushing the entire country to the brink of destruction. Fortunately, these Tier-2 Mutant Beasts ran into each other, and actually started fighting each other, setting off an unprecedented battle.
As a result, Japan managed to survive with half of its territory. As for the other half, it had become a paradise for Mutant Beasts.
On the other side, in China, the country with countless ancient legends, a formidable presence had emerged.
However, compared to the powerful Mutant Beasts that most countries encountered, a colossal tree had emerged in China. It had single-handedly caused a massive earthquake that swept through half the continent.
Its power was several times more terrifying than the strongest Sea Monster encountered by America. This terrifying Tree Monster left all of Humanity in shock, and the horrors of that massive earthquake still haunt countless residents of China till this day.
Of course, various other formidable Mutant Beasts had emerged in various parts of China apart from the Tree Monster.
For example, a Tier-2 Mutant Rat King had emerged from the sewers of Shanghai, that led a tide of rats that swept through Shanghai.
The prairies were ravaged by packs of Wolves. Tens of thousands of wolves, led by several Tier-2 Alpha Wolves, were attacking the defensive walls of China.
In addition, deep and resonant roars that sounded to be coming straight from the prehistoric era could be heard coming from the depths of one of the forbidden zones of China, the Tianshan Mountains.
Some people even saw the blurry figure of a hundred-meter-tall, colossal White Rhinoceros roaming in the depths of the Tianshan Mountains.