244: Chapter 245 If a person dies, be prepared for wrath!

Switzerland, Duke Victor's private estate.

"Beep—beep—beep—!"

Inside the study, the encrypted direct line that represented Europe's military security level—a line that had not rung once in ten years—erupted into a piercing buzz without any warning.

Duke Victor strode forward and snatched up the receiver.

Before he could even speak, a roar came from the other end of the line—the European Joint Intelligence Officer, his voice completely distorted by terror:

"Your Grace!

The communication signals from Kabul Valley have completely vanished!

Our first cross-border heavy rescue force of over two hundred men... they have been completely wiped out!"

The intelligence officer's voice was filled with a despairing tremor:

"Five military fighter jets, five attack helicopters.

When entering the tri-border area, they encountered a dense, unknown anti-aircraft network; we couldn't even recover the wreckage!"

"Bang—!"

Duke Victor's face, which had maintained the elegance of old-money nobility for years, twisted completely in that instant.

He swung his pure silver cane, violently smashing the priceless antique desk in front of him.

Wood splinters and expensive ink splattered everywhere instantly.

"Is it really necessary for those lunatics in the US government to take things this far?!"

Like an enraged lion, Duke Victor paced back and forth in the study, his eyes filled with terrifying bloodshot veins and fury.

He spun around, staring intensely at his aide, who had turned ashen-faced, his voice raspy with rage:

"They have no idea what kind of fire they are playing with!

Do you think Shen Du is just some... business representative leaving with our hundred-billion-euro agreement?"

The Duke grabbed the aide by the collar, slamming his most lethal trump card into the man's face:

"He is the grandson of that supreme official from The Eastern Power!"

"Setting aside whether the cooperation can continue.

If, because of our incompetence, this executor representing the East dies on the flight path back to Europe..."

Duke Victor violently pushed the aide away.

A flicker of deep trembling passed through his eyes as he spat out the most terrifying strategic catastrophe, word by word:

"This is not some commercial conflict of interest at all!

If this matter isn't handled well, we are currently lighting the fuse for a world war with our own hands!"

"Stop hiding! Tear away all those damn political disguises!"

Duke Victor loosened his tie and brutally issued the most cold-blooded strategic order to the staff team at the center of Europe's underground power:

"Using those outdated, retired aircraft models to probe them is the greatest provocation to a major power!

Now, initiate the highest level of geopolitical pressure immediately!"

He slammed the table, his knuckles turning white from the force: "Get me the encrypted direct line to the Prime Minister of Turkey!"

"Tell him, forget about any airspace agreements or border frictions!

Tell him to immediately deploy all main battle tanks; even if they have to crash into each other, I want that ruin in Kabul Valley completely flattened!

Scramble the newest fighter jets from their airbases immediately; I want them to force a carpet bombing and tear open that anti-aircraft network!"

The aide trembled, attempting to warn him:

"Your Grace, Turkey has always been sensitive about deploying troops to other countries' borders; they will most likely delay..."

"If he dares to give me bureaucratic excuses at a time like this, if he dares to stall for even half a second!"

Duke Victor's eyes erupted with terrifying killing intent as he issued the most extreme ultimatum of war blackmail:

"Tell him this word for word: If Shen Du dies on his border line,

I, Victor, swear to God that every force in Europe will instantly drain their economy,

drag all of Turkey into the flames of war, and leave them with nothing but ashes!"

Without a moment to catch his breath, the Duke immediately turned, continuing to make moves like a completely crazed warmonger:

"At the same time, patch me through to the private lines of the Saudi Arabian Sheikh and the UAE leadership!"

"Tell their royal guards and border heavy armored units to set out immediately.

Cross the border directly from the south and north, and encircle Kabul Valley!"

A massive sense of oppression instantly enveloped the study in the estate.

Duke Victor's voice was like a judgment from hell, setting the cruelest bottom line for this game:

"If any of these Middle Eastern despots dares to use 'diplomatic neutrality' or 'regional conflict' to refuse to deploy troops..."

"Then tell them clearly:

To protect this executor, I, Duke Victor, am willing to single-handedly start World War III today!"

After hanging up those calls, which were enough to shake the entire geopolitical landscape of the Middle East,

Duke Victor's chest heaved violently.

He took a deep breath, and for the first time in a long while, extended his fingers, which were trembling slightly from nervousness.

On the dedicated keypad, he dialed the number that, as one of the world's "rule-makers," he rarely initiated contact with:

Shanghai, China, the Shen Family residence.

As old monsters standing at the very pinnacle of the power pyramid, they had clashed across the distance in years past.

But now, the situation had completely slid into the abyss.

Duke Victor had to prepare for the worst before the thunder struck.

His gaze crossed the vast ocean, cutting into the Shen Family compound in Shanghai, China.

The solemn hall was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

A personal translator, with a grave expression, held the encrypted satellite phone that was flashing red lights continuously, walking quickly through the long corridor.

He walked straight to the side of Elder Shen, who was sitting steadily in a grand armchair, bowed his head abruptly, and whispered:

"Chief, an urgent transoceanic call from Duke Victor. The situation is critical."

Elder Shen closed his eyes, slowly rotating two walnuts in his hand that were polished by the passage of time.

Intelligence about Shen Du's private jet crashing at the border and all parties mobilizing their forces had already been placed on his desk hours ago.

The old man's face was as calm as a placid lake; he didn't even lift an eyelid.

The translator did not hesitate, directly pressing the answer button and decisively switching to speakerphone mode.

On the other end of the line, Duke Victor did not even wait for the translator to finish the most basic greeting.

He bluntly tore away all hypocritical diplomatic jargon.

In a hurried tone that was almost like bowing his head in admission of fault, he laid out the bloody battle situation completely:

"Respected Elder Shen.

First, I must express my deepest apologies for the complete failure of the European side's first rescue attempt!"

"Our force of over two hundred heavy special forces and fighter jet formations—

they hadn't even managed to see the shadow of your grandson before they were shot down directly by a terrifying anti-aircraft network in the dark, and they were completely wiped out."

Duke Victor's voice was filled with a tremor of being backed into a desperate corner:

"Just moments ago, I issued a death order to the Turkish officials and the UAE side.

Forcing them to immediately mobilize heavy troops to break the deadlock."

The other end of the line fell into a brief, deadly silence.

Then Duke Victor gritted his teeth and threw out the desperate conclusion he dared not say, yet had to:

"But... the situation on the ground has completely spiraled out of control.

I am sorry, I can no longer... guarantee the safety of your grandson."

Facing these words, which were almost a declaration of despair,

the translator beside him, with a tense expression, very patiently and accurately translated the Duke's apology and helplessness, word for word.

The vast Shen Family living room instantly fell into a deathly silence.

"Click."

The two walnuts that Elder Shen had been rotating at a steady speed in his hand suddenly stopped.

The old man kept his eyes closed and did not speak immediately.

This was not because he did not understand the Duke's accented English.

It was because this old man, having weathered countless storms, felt a fury as deep as an abyss churning in his chest.

He even felt a trace of absurdity.

Shen Du had gone to Europe representing the national will, clearly just for a multinational commercial interest negotiation aimed at breaking a technological blockade.

Those capitalists and politicians on the other side of the ocean had actually gone completely insane.

They dared to directly tear off all masks of civilization, forcibly overturn the table, and turn a negotiation into a kill mission targeting the executor from the East!

A full sixty seconds of silence made the oppressive atmosphere in the living room almost solidify into substance.

Even the translator beside him felt waves of suffocation.

One minute later, this old man, who had held the reins of power in the East for decades, finally slowly opened his eyes.

In those cloudy eyes, there was no grief for life or death, only a bone-chilling, cold killing intent.

He did not let the translator relay his words, but spoke directly into the speakerphone of the satellite phone.

In standard English, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, he set the final tone for this call, and for the entire Western world:

"If he is dead, then prepare to face the wrath!"

The moment his words fell, he gave Duke Victor no room for any response or plea for mercy.

Elder Shen abruptly reached out and snatched the burning-hot satellite phone from the translator's hand.

With a "snap," he forcefully pressed the hang-up button.

The dial tone, completely cut off, became the most cold-blooded ultimatum issued by this Eastern tycoon.

That crisp hang-up sound not only represented the Shen Family's complete rejection of any diplomatic mediation from the West.

It was more like a red button that shattered the world order, completely awakening the dragon that had been dormant in the East.

At this very moment.

In the turbulent South China Sea, a top-secret, highest-level directive from the supreme command center in Kyoto was received.

A massive steel fleet, which had been on an ocean-going cruise, instantly broke its conventional sailing formation.

Accompanied by ship whistles that shook the sky,

dozens of main destroyers, frigates, and nuclear submarines hidden in the deep sea

directly and forcibly entered combat readiness status.

The massive fleet, like a group of completely enraged deep-sea monsters, plowed violent white wakes across the sea surface.

They turned their course with murderous intent and headed full speed toward the other side of the ocean!

Meanwhile, in the hinterlands of the Northwest border.

Amidst the vast yellow sands that blotted out the sky, army clusters covering the mountains and plains had already formed battle lines.

The tracks of hundreds upon hundreds of tanks unreservedly crushed the desolation of the Gobi.

The earth-shaking roar of low-quality diesel engines completely tore apart the tranquility of the Northwest.

Large torrents of armor directly skipped all tedious international notification procedures.

The vanguard forces requested passage through Afghanistan.

The cold artillery blade pointed directly toward Iranian territory!

This was not a family venting their anger through the abuse of power by an old man, but an absolutely irresistible national will!

When the politicians and capital groups on the other side of the ocean decided to use anti-aircraft missiles to shoot down that Gulfstream jet,

this encirclement had completely transcended the scope of international commercial disputes, or even local friction.

Shen Du's trip to the West was as an "executor" carrying the mission to tear through the technological blockade and holding a hundred-billion-euro breakthrough agreement!

Forcibly shooting down the executor's private jet with military means on the flight path back to his country

directly snapped that red line which absolutely could not be touched.