169: NATO split

Shen Xiaochuan had just hit the publish button, and the screen's light still lingered. The Main Hall was silent, save for the hum of the System running. He didn't move, his eyes fixed on the Blue Star Channel, waiting for a response.

The first comment appeared quickly: "Is something wrong with this guy's head?"

Three seconds later, a second one: "Building a city in fifty-odd days? He's talking in his sleep."

Then more people started cursing. Some said Skydome City was just ruins and that the video was fake. Others claimed it was edited. Several big accounts from the NATO side took the lead in mocking him, their words quite nasty.

Shen Xiaochuan smiled slightly.

He had known it would be like this. When an unremarkable person suddenly claims to be powerful, the first instinct of others is disbelief.

He was in no rush.

His faith points were constantly rising, increasing by 1 point every second; though not much, it never stopped. Now, he could afford any of the good things in the mall. Truly powerful items didn't need to worry about being unrecognized.

He opened the back end of the Faith Mall and clicked into the "perfect grade Weapons" category. Scrolling down, he saw a black bead with dark red patterns on it—the Evil Spirit Fire Bead.

This was something he'd obtained during a wasteland mission earlier; he hadn't given much thought to exactly how he'd gotten it. The System described it as an S-rank consumable with immense power, capable of piercing through Divine Domain barriers. He hadn't used it yet, and now was the perfect time to test the waters.

He clicked "List Item."

He set the price at one hundred million faith points.

Only one for sale.

In the remarks, he wrote a few words: "Only one, first come first served."

Confirm.

Almost simultaneously, a notification popped up on the Blue Star Channel:

【Player "Shen Xiaochuan" has listed an item: perfect grade Weapon · Evil Spirit Fire Bead (1 unit), Price: 100,000,000 faith points】

The channel exploded instantly.

The people who were laughing just a moment ago suddenly went silent.

Someone asked: "Can you actually buy this?"

"Impossible! Individuals can't list weapons like this!"

"Let's see." A player named "Northern Hunter" paid immediately.

A three-second countdown.

Failed.

Prompt: Item has been sold.

Everyone was stunned.

Refreshing the page, the item was already gone.

The channel was silent for a few seconds, then became even noisier.

"Holy crap! It really sold?!"

"Who bought it? So fast?"

"That's not the point... This thing can actually be traded? And it can break Divine Domain defenses? Who would dare act out in the future?"

Watching the scrolling messages, Shen Xiaochuan finally typed a line of text.

He activated a global broadcast.

"I am Shen Xiaochuan," he said in a calm tone. "That fire bead just now was sold by my own hand." He paused. "The next target could be any one of you Gods currently besieging the Huaxia Divine Domain."

He continued writing: "I'm giving you one hour. Every army facing our Divine Domain must withdraw completely."

He added emphasis: "Otherwise, I make no guarantees as to where the next fire bead will land. Even for a King-level Divine Domain, it will be the same."

Send.

Pin to top.

Server-wide push notification.

The entire channel went quiet instantly.

As if their mouths had been plugged.

Shen Xiaochuan turned off the voice input and cranked the volume to the maximum. He wanted to hear the reaction of every country clearly.

Five minutes later, the first message popped up in the NATO group.

Italy: "We need to reconsider our current actions."

No one replied.

Half a minute later, Portugal posted a map showing their frontline troops had retreated ten kilometers.

Greece said: "We signed a defensive Alliance, we didn't come here to start a war."

Poland immediately objected: "Withdrawing now is admitting defeat! Is what he says necessarily true? One bead can destroy a King-level Divine Domain? Who is he kidding!"

Germany said nothing, but the System showed that its three main legions were moving back toward their home country.

France was the most silent, finally saying: "I suggest calling an emergency meeting."

Shen Xiaochuan leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the tabletop.

He knew that while these people claimed not to believe it, they were already afraid in their hearts.

He opened the surveillance and switched to the Divine Domain signals of the NATO countries. These were interfaces left behind by White Snow Princess, allowing him to see their deployments and energy fluctuations.

Italy had already begun defensive repositioning, their lights changing from red combat readiness to yellow standby.

Spain was shutting down its artillery batteries, their energy levels dropping steadily.

Even the UK had stopped testing its new airships.

Only the US hadn't moved.

Not only had they not moved, they had added seven layers of barriers around their primary Divine Domain, clearly strengthening their defenses.

Shen Xiaochuan watched for two seconds and sneered.

"You think barriers are useful?"

He didn't say anything more, but copied the broadcast from earlier, changed the title, and sent it again.

This time, he added an image.

In the image, a black bead fell from the sky, pierced through the clouds, and smashed into a glittering golden temple. After the explosion, the ground cracked open, and the light of the Godhead was directly extinguished.

Below it, he wrote only two words: "Reference."

He'd had the System generate this image based on the projected data of the fire bead. It wasn't necessarily accurate, but it looked terrifying.

After sending it, he closed his eyes as if resting.

In reality, his ears were constantly listening to the activity on the channel.

Twenty minutes later, Italy spoke again.

"I propose that we immediately cease all military operations against Huaxia."

"Reason: The situation has spiraled out of control."

"If we keep stalling, we might become the next target."

This message was automatically sent to the public channel.

Soon, Austria, Finland, and Norway all voiced their support.

The Netherlands asked: "What if the US doesn't agree?"

No one answered.

But everyone understood in their hearts.

This Alliance was maintained by interests and strength. Now that a greater threat had emerged, the original balance was shattered.

Shen Xiaochuan opened his eyes and looked at the data stream.

Denmark had already disconnected from the NATO combat network.

Sweden announced it was entering an "observation period" and canceled all joint exercises.

Even Canada was quietly shifting its border troops.

He picked up his cup and took a sip; the water was lukewarm.

It had only been forty minutes.

There were still twenty minutes left of the hour he'd set, yet more than half the countries were already preparing to withdraw their troops.

True fragmentation isn't about arguing; it's about no one speaking, then silently walking away.

He opened the map and marked the abnormal movements with red dots. They were everywhere across Western Europe and the East Coast of North America. Some entire units were withdrawing, some key facilities were losing power, and some had simply cut off communications.

The US was still standing its ground.

But its influence had already weakened.

Shen Xiaochuan set down his cup, his finger resting on the broadcast command.

He still had one card he hadn't played.

As soon as one more country formally withdrew, he could issue a notice: "NATO Collapse Countdown Initiated."

He wouldn't even need to lift a finger; the news alone would crush them.

He didn't want to be a hero, nor did he want peace. He just wanted everyone to know one thing—

You can mess with me, but the price is more than you can afford.

Just as he was thinking this, his phone vibrated.

System Prompt: High energy accumulation detected in the eastern sea region of North America, suspected charging of a new US military weapon.

He frowned and zoomed in on the image.

Sure enough, a mass of grayish-purple energy clouds appeared over the Atlantic. Below was the US Seventh Divine Domain Fleet. Radar showed thirty capital ships already in formation.

They were gambling.

Gambling that he wouldn't dare take action.

Gambling that the fire bead was fake.

Gambling that he wouldn't be willing to spend a hundred million to blow up a city.

Shen Xiaochuan laughed.

He opened the mall records and checked the transaction from earlier.

Buyer ID: Hidden.

Payment Method: Full faith points.

Transaction Time: 19:47:33.

Postscript: Thanks boss, make the delivery fast.

He shook his head and wrote a new broadcast message.

He wrote only one sentence:

"While you're charging up, have you thought about the delivery fee?"

Send.

Pin to top.

Total silence across the board.

Three seconds later, that mass of energy clouds began to dissipate.

One by one, the US fleet ships shut down their engines and the formation broke up.

The sea surface returned to calm.

Shen Xiaochuan withdrew his hand and sat back in his chair.

He knew this wasn't over yet.

The US wouldn't admit defeat, and NATO wouldn't dissolve immediately.

But the seeds had been planted.

Thoughts of suspicion, fear, and self-preservation would grow in the hearts of every God.

They would no longer easily trust the Alliance, nor would they blindly follow orders.

From today on, no one could simply pull together a massive army to besiege someone.

Because he had shown them the consequence.

The lights in the Main Hall flickered, and the sand table displayed the global Divine Domain dynamics.

The Huaxia Region was still golden, steady as ever.

On the NATO side, large patches of red dots faded, replaced by sporadic yellow dots and broken lines.

Like a solid iron plate beginning to crack.

Shen Xiaochuan looked at the screen, his finger still resting on the broadcast command.

He didn't move.

He didn't speak.

He just sat there quietly, watching those countries fall silent one by one, then quietly retreat.

A breeze blew in from the window, fluttering his sleeve.

The copper gear pendant swayed gently.