43: Traitorous acts

Shen Xiaochuan leaned against a broken wall and opened his virtual panel. Instead of using the main channel, he entered a string of shortcodes to connect to White Snow Princess's encrypted communication.

"Were the coordinates exposed? Is it true or false?"

A few seconds later, a reply came: "It's true. The signal originated from within the Eastern Theater; the spy has not yet been caught. That video has been pushed server-wide, and you've been labeled the 'Puppet God King'."

He stared at those words for two seconds, his fingers unconsciously tightening. He knew someone was targeting him, but he hadn't expected them to move so quickly. Forty-seven Huaxia Gods had been captured, and an edited confession video was released, pinning all the blame on him.

He activated the Anonymous Crawler Program of Mechanical Core X-07 to dive into the data layers of the Blue Star Channel. The System quickly locked onto the upload source—a Japanese account that, after three jumps, was eventually traced to the Bloody Sakura Region.

The video began to play.

In the footage, several Huaxia Gods knelt on the ground, their foreheads pressed against the cold floor. One person's voice trembled: "We voluntarily submit to the Japanese Shinto... Shen Xiaochuan is just lucky; in reality, he is a Puppet of the South Alliance... We are willing to renounce our nationality in exchange for green cards and pledge loyalty to the New Order."

The background consisted of iron cages and falling red cherry blossoms. The camera slowly panned across, showing at least ten people kneeling in surrender, while the rest were locked in cages. Some closed their eyes in silence, while others lowered their heads without a word.

This three-minute video exploded across the internet after being forwarded eighty thousand times. Channels for the US, the UK, and Kimchi Country all pinned it to the top of their feeds, and the hashtag #Puppet God King shot to the top of the trending lists.

Shen Xiaochuan paused the playback and zoomed in on the face of one of the captives. The man's lips were moving slightly, repeating a single phrase. He pulled up the lip-reading System, and the result showed: "My wife and children are still in Donghai Village..." He then looked at another person. That man's fingernails were digging deep into his palms, his knuckles white, his face expressionless except for a slight twitch at the corner of his eye. The System prompt read: "Highly suppressed emotions."

He knew all of these people. Three of them had once defended a city for him in the novice zone and gifted him incense value; another had covered the retreat for everyone during the crystal core battle and had yet to recover his combat power.

They hadn't truly defected; they were forced to submit.

He closed the video and accessed the internal broadcast channel—a channel only audible to the Believers of Skydome City.

"I'm going to say one thing, so listen clearly."

"Something happened at the front lines, and I know about it. Some were captured, some knelt, and some wanted to live—I don't blame them."

"As long as I am still alive, I will definitely rescue every single Huaxia God, regardless of what they have said."

The broadcast ended, and he immediately dialed Anna's number.

"Prepare a medical team and have them on standby. Have Lolia take stock of the healing medicines, and tell Chen Yan to assemble five thousand elites, all equipped with lightning-element gear, to line up tomorrow morning."

After hanging up, he contacted White Snow Princess again.

"Find out the spy's identity, block all external channels in the Eastern Theater, and prevent further leaks."

The other party responded: "Understood. We are currently tracing the signal residue; it will take time."

He put away the panel and walked toward Skydome City. Dawn was just breaking, and the wind swirled sand against his clothes. The copper gears on his sleeves rattled softly.

When he returned to the city gate, Yang Lie happened to be passing by with a patrol team.

Shen Xiaochuan nodded in acknowledgment and headed straight for the main hall. On the way, he met Karl. The old man wanted to report on the security situation, but he waved him off, saying, "We'll discuss it later."

As he stepped into the main hall, the System popped up a new message.

[US Trump has released an announcement: In three days, troops will be dispatched to attack the Huaxia Divine Domain, citing the reason as "clearing out a Puppet regime."]

[The UK responded, announcing the formation of a Multinational Peacekeeping Force.]

He pulled up the map. Red dots appeared on the US Divine Domain, and the UK, Japan, and Kimchi Country also had their offensive routes marked. They were expected to complete their assembly within seventy-two hours.

He walked to the edge of the city wall, pulled out his thunder blade, and thrust it into the ground. The blade vibrated slightly before becoming still.

In the distance, the lights of Skydome City were still on. Artisans were still working overtime, the kitchen was steaming, and someone was distributing breakfast. The city wall reinforcement was at 67%, and the foundation for the Faith Energy Tower was complete.

He opened the Faith Mall.

Controllable Nuclear Fusion Device—Buildable, requires 8 million faith points, currently possesses 7.62 million.

Heroic Spirit Summoning Scrolls—Lu Bu, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu were all on the list, with prices ranging between 3 million and 5 million.

Technology Category: Antimatter Engine Blueprints, Quantum Shield Generator, Dongfeng-41 Divine Realm Edition Modification Pack.

His gaze fell on the prerequisite tasks for the "Pangu Creation Project."

[Detonate the core of the combat zone to create an artificial seismic belt and block the enemy's advance.]

[Conditions: Controllable Nuclear Fusion Device x1, Zhao Wuwei alive, Heroic Spirit Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng available.]

He was still a bit short.

He exited the mall and checked the data on the enemy's strongest gods. Leading the US was Joseph Black, with the S-rank talent "Rule Modification," whose divine domain was covered in legal barriers;

For the UK, it was Alicia, with the dual godhead "Space-Time Weaver," who had once frozen a battlefield single-handedly for ten minutes.

He noted the locations of the two, marking them as priority strike targets.

At that moment, Anna walked in.

"The medical team is in position, and the medicine inventory is complete. Lolia says a new batch of three hundred sky-rending blades can be delivered tonight. Chen Yan's team has gathered at the training grounds."

Shen Xiaochuan nodded.

"Go and get some rest; we might have to fight continuously for a while."

Anna hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice, "That video circulating outside... is it true?"

Shen Xiaochuan's heart tightened as those images flashed before his eyes again. But he looked her straight in the eyes and replied:

"You know they were forced. But others won't believe it."

"Then let them not believe it. I will prove it with my actions; I will let them see with their own eyes who the real traitor is."

He stood up and strode toward the city wall. The wind blew against him, fluttering his robes.

Below the wall, the soldiers were lined up neatly, their weapons wrapped in lightning talismans. The sound of hammering came from the Blacksmith Shop, where Lolia and her apprentices were working hard.

He looked toward the east.

Did Zhang Benyifeng think a few captives could crush him? Did he think a single video could throw him into disarray?

He raised his hand and lightly stroked the hilt of his blade.

His faith points were still growing, +1 per second, and he was currently 380,000 short of 8 million. At this rate, it would take about twenty hours to unlock the Controllable Nuclear Fusion Device.

That was enough.

He didn't have to wait until then.

He could move ahead of schedule.

He could kill one person first.

He walked down the city wall, his footsteps growing heavier with each stride.

The main hall doors slowly closed.

On the city wall, a flag rose with eight large characters written on it: "Those who offend Huaxia shall be punished, no matter how far away."

Shen Xiaochuan stepped into the command room and turned on the global communication.

"All captains, proceed to the main hall for a meeting immediately."

"Logistics team, speed up the preparation of food and medicine."

"Tang Keke, prepare to coordinate with the Thundercloud Tactic."

"Lilith and Lilia, unify the meals tonight and raise the standard by one level."

"Zhao Wuwei, I want to see you."

Just as he hung up, a System prompt sounded.

[Encrypted message from White Snow Princess has arrived]

Content: "The spy has been confirmed as a logistics officer named Lin from the Eastern Theater; he has been detained. He transmitted coordinates outward three times, the last time being exactly when you left last night."

"It is recommended to change all encryption keys immediately and vet all relevant personnel."

After reading it, Shen Xiaochuan forwarded the message to Karl.

"Arrest the people on the list and interrogate them in isolation. Do not alert others."

He stood up and walked to the strategic map on the wall. The location of the Japanese underground base was marked in red, with forty-seven points of light representing the captured gods concentrated in the central area.

Zhang Benyifeng was right there.

With a cold expression, he drew a line on the map with a pen. The starting point was Skydome City, crossing the Northern Wilderness and pointing directly into the enemy's heartland.

This wasn't a rescue.

This was a counterattack.

He put down the pen and looked out the window.

The sky was fully bright. The morning light spilled onto the city walls, giving off a metallic luster.

He took one last look at the Faith Mall.

The Controllable Nuclear Fusion Device was still waiting to be unlocked.

But he had already made his decision.

He picked up his thunder blade and walked out of the main hall.

On the training grounds, five thousand elites were already lined up in full gear. Chen Yan stood at the very front, leaning his long spear against the ground.

Shen Xiaochuan ascended the high platform, and his first words were powerful and resonant:

"Prepare for a surprise attack."

"Target: The Japanese underground base."

"If they are alive, I want to see them; if they are dead, I want to see their bodies."

"Anyone who dares to block the path shall be killed without mercy."