238: Chapter 236 Disaster Strikes, Don't Panic, Immortals Are Here.

The game had lasted for about half an hour.

The Captain glared at his fleet, which he usually treated as a precious treasure, as it was being wantonly toyed with by the giant. Unable to bear the humiliation, he several times wanted to put a bullet through his head.

Finally, he put it into action, but he didn't die.

He stuffed the muzzle into his mouth and prepared to pull the trigger, but the ship's swaying sent him flying. In the chaos, a shot pierced through his thigh.

The intense pain and the warm blood flowing down his thigh awakened his desire to survive.

After a medic came stumbling over and bandaged his wound, the thought of washing away his humiliation with his life disappeared from his mind.

Living is quite good.

Afterward, the Captain immediately contacted the nearest country, Ying Country.

Because of a personal relationship, he went directly to the Queen to request support.

Although he didn't know what conventional forces the Queen could help him with—other than nuclear weapons, which were impossible to launch—he had no other choice, did he?

Missiles couldn't break the Mountain Rock Giant's skin, machine gun bullets were all deflected, and the fighter jets the pilots desperately tried to launch were swatted into pieces like mosquitoes.

At this point, calling for help was more about seeking psychological comfort than an actual hope of being rescued.

As the saying goes, "there is strength in numbers," and that was likely the case for the Captain.

To prevent the Queen from suspecting he was telling a bad joke, he immediately ordered his Soldiers to transmit the filmed video as soon as the interrupted communication was restored.

It didn't take long for the Queen's reply to arrive—the Royal Navy had been fully mobilized.

To be honest, although he had some expectations, he still found it hard to accept when the reality was right before his eyes.

Your scrap metal navy is coming to save us?

They won't even make it in time to collect the bodies while they're still warm.

On second thought, his irritation faded.

What else could she send?

If she really launched nuclear weapons, he wouldn't know if the Mountain Rock Giant lived or died, because he would have been vaporized by the high temperature long before that.

Moreover, this matter had nothing to do with the Queen; she could have ignored it entirely.

The Captain was actually wrong about that.

After calming down, the Queen had a rough guess in her heart.

This big fellow appearing in the waters near Ying Country... could it be coming for Hogwarts?

Modern weapons were almost useless, which fits the description of a "calamity" mentioned by Mr. Dumbledore.

In other words, America's carrier fleet was essentially taking the bullet for Ying Country.

The Mountain Rock Giant would land in the kingdom sooner or later.

Instead of letting the cities inland be reduced to ruins later, it was better to attack with full force from the rear while America was pinning the monster down at sea.

Considering this, she ordered the Navy to set out.

If it really had nothing to do with her, sending troops would be close to madness.

But in the end, Ying Country's fleet didn't come in handy.

A while after the communication was hung up, the Mountain Rock Giant must have gotten tired of playing, or perhaps found it boring; it turned its head, dove into the seawater, and disappeared.

The shaken Captain only dared to be certain that the damn bastard was gone after the waves on the sea surface had calmed down.

After this ordeal, although the fleet's loss of ships and personnel wasn't too severe, the supplies they carried were basically exhausted, so they could forget about executing their mission.

After contacting the Queen to inform her of the situation and express his thanks, he turned the fleet around to return home.

Zhang Mu floated high in the sky, watching the fleet being slowly submerged by the horizon. He lowered his altitude to the sea surface, cast the Shadow Technique on the Fallen Spirit submerged in the water, and let its upper body emerge.

"You really know how to have fun, don't you?"

Floating down to sit on the broad shoulder, he looked out at the azure blue: "Are you hurt?"

Cheerful spiritual fluctuations reached his mind.

The Fallen Spirit didn't have clear logical thinking; its expression could only be conveyed through different fluctuations of Mental Energy.

As its master, Zhang Mu easily understood the information contained within.

"It was very fun?"

"Alright then." Patting the stone shoulder beneath him, he said, "Where were you staying before you were summoned?"

"A black room?"

"Was the Fallen Spirit from last time also you?"

It didn't seem to quite understand this question. Its right index finger scratched its head in confusion, and the skin fragments it scraped off fell toward Zhang Mu.

"Stop scratching." He used his Mental Energy to sweep away the rain-like debris with distaste. "Don't you have any idea how big you are?"

"Yes, yes, yes, you're big, you're big, okay?"

Standing up, Zhang Mu flew into the sky: "Before you receive new instructions, just wander around the nearby waters. I have to go to Ying Country; I expect the Queen is already worried sick."

The Fallen Spirit's body slowly submerged.

Zhang Mu, meanwhile, rushed at full speed to the Queen's palace.

...

"Your Majesty, the Mountain Rock Giant has disappeared. The American fleet's supplies are heavily depleted, but personnel casualties are light."

Li stood outside the small pavilion and spoke calmly, while the Queen listened in silence.

"Why?" She put down the coffee she had been holding for several hours, yet the cup was still full. "It messed around like a child for a while and then just left?"

After another moment of silence: "Li, is there any news from Mr. Dumbledore?"

"We tried to call Toby's phone at the station entrance, but the Academy and the outside world seem to be in a state of complete isolation, so it failed."

"Sigh... I don't know..."

"Ma'am, how have you been lately?"

The Queen turned around in pleasant surprise as Dumbledore, wearing his robe, walked over from the garden gate.

"Headmaster, thank you for your concern." The tense string in her heart quietly relaxed. "I was doing quite well, but some accidents just occurred, leaving me in a very bad mood. Your arrival, however, has driven away this trouble."

Sitting across from the Queen, he smiled: "Are you worried about the calamity?"

"There's no reason not to be."

The old man stroked his white beard: "This time, the calamity descended in Huaxia."

"Huaxia? We didn't receive any news at all!"

"He stepped in."

Although Dumbledore didn't name names, the Queen still instantly guessed who it was.

"That young man from last time?"

"Hahaha... Ma'am, he is no young man."

"The same age as you?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure." He pondered for a moment and shook his head, saying, "Once people of the Mountain Gate reach a certain level of strength, their appearance is frozen."

"Mountain Gate—is that the name of their organization?"

"Yes, just as Hogwarts is the name of our Academy."

The Queen nodded to show she understood, then quickly asked about the urgent matter: "Headmaster, regarding the calamity, will it land in the Kingdom?"

"It will."

"What preparations do we need to make?"

"Whatever it was before, it stays the same now."

Stunned for a few seconds, she said in surprise, "We don't need to do anything?"

"Of course we do, but we will handle it." He raised his hand and pointed toward the laptop on the table. "I believe you already have a sufficient understanding of the calamity's power. The little toys of the new world indeed have high potential, but to deal with a calamity, you still need to continue your efforts in development."

The Queen could not deny it.

Not long ago, she had seen with her own eyes that missiles were barely enough to give the Mountain Rock Giant an itch.

After all, it's normal for some skin flakes to fall off during the scratching process, right?

Yet after a round of saturated strikes from the American fleet, the Mountain Rock Giant hadn't even broken its skin.

"Then, where will the calamity land? I need to evacuate the local citizens in advance."

"Don't worry, I will guide the calamity to come ashore in an uninhabited area."

Dumbledore stood up and continued, "Release the video of the calamity. What is hidden will eventually be revealed; there is no need for unnecessary actions."

"I will handle it immediately."

"Then, Ma'am, farewell."

...

Humanity's capacity to accept novel and abnormal events is actually far beyond what humans themselves believe.

Many people would think: Oh my god, the supernatural? Extraordinary powers?

Then the world would be thrown into chaos, people would have no heart for work, everyone would focus on the supernatural events, and society's operations would nearly come to a standstill.

It's not like that.

If you ask why, it's because people still need to eat.

Immortals and wizards have been in the public eye for about a few months now.

Everyone thought the hype wouldn't fade, at least not in the short term.

But in reality, after only a month or so, relevant discussions on the internet were rapidly declining.

The reason was simple: very few people had actually encountered an immortal or a wizard in real life.

After focusing on it almost manically for a period, everyone eventually discovered that their lives hadn't changed at all; they still ate and drank as usual.

Waking up the next day, it was still the same sky, the same sun.

Even if the Kunpeng flew over the city, the residents would marvel for a bit and then do nothing more.

This matter was essentially the same as a Lamborghini passing through a remote mountain village—it was just a novel thing they hadn't seen before.

At most, it gave people a bit more bragging rights when chatting with neighbors on the street corners after dinner.

It was clearly impossible to expect them to chase after it while ignoring their families and work.

On this point, the various streamers within Huaxia felt it most poignantly.

No matter what fancy tricks they played, no one cared anymore.

Just as they were feeling disappointed, an opportunity came.

Someone transferred a few-minute-long video from the foreign internet.

The production quality of the footage was fine, but the content seemed old-fashioned and dull, so no one noticed it at first.

Until a few minutes later, the small text in the video description was seen—published by the official website of the Ying Royal Family.

If it were any other website or if there were no standard source, no one would have given it a second look either.

But the official website of the Ying Royal Family was different.

Who didn't know that the first to lift the veil of the supernatural was the Ying Royal Family?

What they posted certainly wasn't a lie.

And so, Huaxia, which had been quiet for a short while, became lively once again.

Only this time, compared to before, the commotion was mixed with a bit of dread and scattered panic.

The thermal weapons that humanity took pride in were completely useless; the video made this point exceptionally clear. Cutting-edge naval power became mere toys in front of the Mountain Rock Giant.

Although the calamity was still far from Huaxia, who knew when it might arrive?

The atmosphere of panic spread rapidly across the internet and soon spilled over into reality—some people went to supermarkets to buy large quantities of food and drinking water.

This kind of thing is like a single tug affecting the whole body.

Once the dam breaks, the following flood follows closely behind.

Purchasing turned into hoarding and looting.

...

Su City, Municipal Building.

The Director, who had been sent home by the Kunpeng, and the experts from the Imperial Capital who had arrived by special plane, concluded their discussion in the top-floor meeting room.

"What's with all the nonsense? Don't you know how much the items on this list affect the country? Set out immediately!"

The Director looked embarrassed: "Don't be in such a rush. I can't just go to the Mountain Gate whenever I want; I have to contact Immortal Xu first."

"What Little Xu says is right. Even if you're visiting a friend, you should bring some fruit before knocking on the door, right?"

"What, are you saying I lack upbringing?"

"You said it yourself."

The two old men slapped the table and stood up, rolling up their sleeves as if to start a fight, while the assistants nearby quickly stepped between them.

During this time, a young student quietly approached the Director: "Director Xu, did the Kunpeng bring you back?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

"What does the Kunpeng rely on to change its form? Can it communicate with people? What about its body temperature? What does it eat at the Mountain Gate? And..."

The Director's scalp went numb from being pulled by the arm and questioned, and his brain worked rapidly to find a way to escape.

*Knock knock—*

There was a knock on the door. The Director was overjoyed; it was like being given a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.

He quickly broke free and ran to open the door.

"Director." The young man outside handed over a report. "Something happened."

The noisy and chaotic room suddenly went silent, and all eyes swept over.

The Director closed the door with his heel and flipped open the report as he walked toward the conference table: "Oh, it went over there, haha, and even ran into America's fleet."

Upon hearing this, the old men stopped their bickering: "What happened?"

"Here, see for yourselves." He spread the folder on the table, turned it around, and pushed it forward.

The white-haired heads crowded into a circle and quickly finished reading.

"How can you still laugh when something this big happened?!" an old man asked in shock.

The Director waved his hand cheerfully: "I guessed this day would come. Immortal Xu said the calamity was going to Ying Country. I figured it would be known to the public sooner or later, so I already prepared countermeasures in advance."

An old man ran over and smacked him on the back of the head: "What are you dawdling for? Go get it done!"

"Yes, yes, yes."

The Director, who had just been full of confidence, stood up submissively and jogged all the way to his office, picking up the landline on his desk: "Activate the emergency plan."

Putting the phone back, he didn't want to return to the meeting room to be a punching bag, so he simply sat in his office chair to rest.

"What a hassle. Immortal Xu didn't give me a way to contact him either. Shouting loudly only works inside the Mountain Gate. Hiss... would going to the entrance of the Mountain Gate work?"

Might as well give it a shot. He'd try anything.

The Director first notified his secretary to prepare a plane, then returned to the meeting room: "Everyone, I have a way. Let's go."

...

A white-collar worker in a high-rise building, while slacking off for a few minutes by the window, was surprised to find the supermarket entrance across the street surrounded by a crowd.

They were desperately squeezing inside.

What are they doing?

The office worker thought to himself that he hadn't checked his phone all morning—had he missed another trending topic?

He doubtfully pulled out his phone and immediately saw the video of the calamity toying with the carrier fleet.

After scrolling through the comments section for a while, he roughly understood what the people in front of the supermarket were crowding for.

"Should I also go and stock up a bit?"

His finger unconsciously swiped the phone screen as he frowned.

"Eh?" Before he could make a decision, an advertisement suddenly popped up on the app—a notice from the Special Investigation Bureau: Do Not Panic.

Curiously clicking it, he saw a three-minute video.

The content was very concise—a stone fell from the sky to the ground, the Kunpeng fought a great battle with the Mountain Rock Giant, and finally, a white-clad figure swung a sword in mid-air, and the giant fled into the sea.

The video description—This notice is being released nationwide simultaneously.

What does that mean? Every TV station and app are showing it together?

Before he could figure it out, the giant LCD screen on the outer wall of the supermarket opposite jumped to the same footage he had just seen on his phone.

The LCD screen took up almost half the wall. Unquestionably, the crowd at the entrance could see it clearly.

The air went silent for a moment, and then, as if the previous crowding had never happened, they turned and dispersed into the streets to the left and right.

The office worker estimated that not just outside, but the displays inside the supermarket should be playing it synchronously as well.

It was just as he expected.

A moment later, a large crowd of people walked out of the supermarket doors.

Their hands were completely empty, as if they had only come here for a stroll.

Raising both hands high for a stretch, the office worker yawned: "Another peaceful day. Back to work."