382: Chapter 370: It can't be banned, it needs to be promoted.

The squad of Soldiers guarding the stone statue suddenly became "supermen" in human cognition.

Although not as powerful as Spider-Man, with spider silk and wall-crawling, their raw strength had increased, creating a clear gap between them and ordinary people.

No matter how hard an ordinary person trained, it was impossible for them to unconsciously leave fingerprints on a rifle's body just by gripping it.

Intelligence quickly reached Kremlin Palace, and the President immediately ordered a helicopter to pick up the squad.

The helicopter traveled through the night, landing at the airport against the rising sun of the next day; a long-waiting private car picked up the Soldiers and took them all the way to Kremlin Palace to meet the President.

Although he knew such an important matter couldn't be a joke, the President still felt it was surreal.

So, the first time he saw the Soldiers, he had them perform a demonstration.

The Captain stepped out of the formation and borrowed a gun from a nearby Guard.

The President gestured, and the Guard unloaded the bullets before handing the gun to the Captain.

He didn't say much, nor did he do any preparation like gathering strength; he grabbed the gun and applied slight pressure with his right thumb.

"Crack—" Along with a crisp sound, the sturdy gun body felt like plastic, as a finger-sized hole was pressed into it.

The President stepped forward and took the gun, staring intently at the internal parts beneath the hole for a long time: "What is the limit of your strength?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency the President, we haven't tested it yet."

"Go immediately... no, Secretary."

"Here."

"Go summon some testing equipment and relevant experts."

"Yes!"

The Secretary took the order and left.

While waiting for the equipment to be moved in, the President and his Aides discussed the matter.

"Does this count as transcendent?" The President handed the gun to them.

After the Aides took turns observing, one of them said: "Based on our current definition of transcendent, they don't count."

"Yes, the most prominent feature of the transcendent is the use of 'energy' to release various magics, techniques, and so on—like the Examiner's gigantification, the Sword Qi of Immortal Xu from the Mountain Gate, the sandstorm of Mr. Dumbledore from Hogwarts, and oh, the massive fireball summoned by Mr. Gao.

Compared to them, no matter how great the strength, it doesn't cross that line into the transcendent realm."

A colleague nearby voiced his agreement: "Correct.

Although their strength clearly exceeds that of a normal person and cannot be reached through training, it's still far inferior compared to the transcendent."

One Aide offered a personal view: "I've heard that in the mythology of China, there's a concept of 'Attaining the Dao through Strength.' Perhaps it's feasible?"

Most of the Aides didn't understand Chinese culture, and their eyes were somewhat blank; clearly, they didn't understand what 'Attaining the Dao through Strength' meant.

The President didn't understand either and was about to ask when he was interrupted by the Captain.

"Your Excellency the President, I have something to say."

Everyone's gaze shifted over, and the President nodded: "Speak freely, don't be formal."

"After leaving the mountain peak, in my mind... that stone statue spoke a sentence in my mind."

"The stone statue? Spoke?" The Aides were slightly surprised.

The President ignored their surprise and hurriedly asked: "What did it say?"

"To those who forsake God, I shall reclaim my blessing."

"What does that mean?" the President asked subconsciously.

The Captain scratched his head: "It should be literal.

If we betray God—uh, that stone statue—he will take away our power."

His explanation didn't enlighten the President; instead, it made him more confused.

"God?"

"That's how it referred to itself."

The President scanned the rest of the Soldiers: "You all..."

The Soldiers straightened their backs: "Yes, it spoke to us as well."

The President and the Aides looked at each other, for a moment not knowing how to react.

God?

Hasn't that already been proven to be transcendent?

Everyone was confused. One Aide intended to ask in detail, but he was interrupted by the Secretary arriving in a hurry, followed by workers and experts.

The President waved his hand: "First, finish the testing."

The experts seemed to have already learned about the situation from the Secretary; each was incredibly excited, even helping to assemble the equipment.

Once everything was ready, they couldn't wait to start working.

The Captain took the lead, stepped onto the treadmill, and started running.

Experts surrounded him with pens and recording manuals, sketching and writing from time to time.

The treadmill slowly sped up, and the Captain accelerated his run accordingly, soon reaching the machine's maximum power.

Seeing that the Captain was still running steadily, one expert asked: "How do you feel? How far are you from your limit?"

"I feel like I can go a bit faster."

The experts whispered among themselves for a few moments and had the Captain get off the treadmill for the next test.

The second test was strength.

The Captain threw a simple, direct punch at the pressure counter; the numbers climbed steadily as the experts recorded them.

Afterward, he completed various tests such as jumping, body flexibility, grip strength, and so on. Then the experts used CT and other instruments to perform a comprehensive physical examination on him.

The results came out shortly after.

The President hurried over: "How is it?"

"Mr. President." The lead expert turned around. "According to the test report, their strength has indeed increased significantly, but their physique has not synchronized."

"Please report using non-technical terms."

"It means they've become stronger, but their physical condition is still the same."

The President's face darkened slightly. Was there any difference between those two statements?

Fortunately, the lead expert immediately explained: "Setting aside exertion techniques, the essence of human strength training is training muscle tissue.

Normally, if a person's strength increases, their muscle fibers must become thicker."

After pausing for a few seconds to let everyone digest this, he continued: "The current situation is that this Soldier's strength is several times greater than before, yet his muscle fibers remain the same. This doesn't fit the principles of science."

One Aide understood: "Are you saying we cannot replicate this method of becoming stronger through research and analysis?"

"That's for certain." The expert looked perplexed. "After all, they didn't obtain their strength through training at all; it's more like... it's as if... as if God directly bestowed strength upon them."

One Aide pondered for a long time and chimed in: "Just now you said their physical condition is still the same?"

"Correct."

"Action and reaction are equal and opposite. If he uses strength far beyond the limit his body can withstand, won't something happen?"

"Of course it will." The expert shrugged and pointed to the Captain, who was surrounded by doctors. "We just took a CT scan; there are varying degrees of cracks or fractures in his hand and leg bones."

The President looked at the Captain, whose face was as ruddy as usual, with a surprised expression: "Doesn't he feel pain?"

"Theoretically, his body's protective mechanism should make him faint directly, but... you've seen the reality."

The Captain, lying on a makeshift bed receiving emergency treatment, heard their conversation and said loudly: "I have some ideas."

The group hurried to the bedside and listened intently.

The Captain thought for a moment: "Our strength increased after we knelt and bowed to the statue, so if we want our physique to increase synchronously, we might have to bow again."

The experts discussed for a moment, and the lead expert suggested to the President: "Their current condition is very dangerous. I believe it's necessary to try."

"Dangerous?"

"Yes.

You must have heard rumors, like a mother lifting a car in a desperate attempt to save her child. I can't be sure if the rumors are true, but there is a theoretical possibility.

Our bodies have a protective mechanism—pain.

In daily life, pain constantly reminds you to protect your body.

For example, the strength of a normal person's teeth can easily bite through their tongue, but if you consciously try to bite your tongue, you'll find you can't bring yourself to do it. Another example is punching a wall; you'll instinctively pull back your strength.

But they..."

The expert scanned the Captain and the Soldiers: "They seem to have lost the ability to feel pain.

In other words, if you throw them into water, they wouldn't even try to surface until they choked to death."

After hearing this, the President immediately ordered the Secretary to prepare a vehicle.

The motorcade was quickly ready, and the whole group got into the cars and rushed to the airport.

...

Three days later.

Several helicopters flew over the mountain peak where the stone statue was located. The President and a few others used ropes to land, while the experts and Aides, who had never experienced such a thing, were assisted by the Soldiers.

The weather today was fair, with the bright sun hanging high and no wind or snow.

The Soldiers of the mountain-top squad hurriedly came out of their tents and lined up to salute.

The President solemnly returned the military salute, then led everyone to the stone statue and looked down at it.

After staring into those clear eyes for a long time, the President turned to the Captain: "What should we do?"

"Just kneel and bow." As he spoke, the Captain led his team members forward.

The President's face showed excitement. If it really works, then I can also...

The Captain and the others knelt on the snow and bowed repeatedly.

"Is it working?"

The Captain didn't answer; his expression was confused, as if he was doubting something. He then bowed a few more times, and after confirming his suspicion, he stood up and said helplessly:

"It seems... useless."

"Why?!" His hope dashed, the President's tone sounded panicked.

One Soldier frowned, trying hard to recall the situation that day, and said hesitantly: "Could it be... because we aren't pious enough?"

The Captain was thoughtful.

That day we thought we were going to be struck dead by lightning, and our hearts were filled with fear, so our apology was very sincere. But today...

He looked up and explained his deduction.

"Then, what counts as being pious?" an Aide asked urgently.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be standing here doing nothing," the Captain shrugged.

"Sincerity is a state of mind." An expert wrapped in a thick military coat stepped forward. "We could get some psychologists to try."

The Captain, who had personally experienced the "miracle," rejected this: "I don't think human guidance can fool its eyes; instead, it might bring disaster.

Like the vortex that day, it will use lightning to punish us for lying."

The President's heart was eager, but hearing this, he wavered again.

A few days ago, they had seen the dark clouds gathering in the sky very clearly via satellite.

That was a force of nature; once targeted, there was only death—no other possible outcome.

Although he understood the severity of the consequences, with "transcendence" right before his eyes, the President was truly unwilling to give up.

"Your Excellency the President, your phone." Just as he was hesitating, the Secretary walked over from not far away with a satellite phone.

"Who is it?" the President asked while reaching out.

"Mr. Neo."

"Him? Why is he contacting me now? Is it because of the neglected visiting delegation?" He muttered as he put the satellite phone to his ear, "Hello, Mr. Neo."

"Hello, Mr. President."

"Is there something you need?

I'm sorry, I'm very busy right now. If it's not urgent, I'll..."

"Mr. President, that thing—don't touch it recklessly."

The President's eyes narrowed slightly.

A spy?

Test how much he knows.

"I don't quite understand what 'thing' you're referring to."

"You understand perfectly, don't you?"

"How much do you know?"

"Heh." Neo on the other end of the phone didn't keep him in suspense. "I know the stone statue was angered by your Soldiers and intended to bring down lightning as punishment. Fortunately, the Soldiers' apology was timely.

It not only appeased its anger but also bestowed some power upon the Soldiers."

The President's face darkened, absolutely certain in his heart that there was a traitor nearby, and one of high status, very close to him.

Who was it?

It had only been about three days since the incident, and the people involved were right in front of him...

"Don't go around suspecting people." Neo seemed to have guessed what he was thinking. "To be honest, even if I really bribed your people, a few days wouldn't be enough for the news to reach America."

"Then you..."

"Mr. Gao. Mr. Gao told me."

"Mr. Gao..." The President was silent for a few seconds. "What else did he say?"

"The stone statue is not harmful, provided you don't offend it; otherwise, you will taste what is called divine wrath."

Divine wrath...

Thoughts surged in the President's mind, but his voice betrayed nothing: "Since Mr. Gao told you, I suppose China and Ying Country also..."

"Yes, they already know."

The Aides listening intently suddenly became tense.

From Neo's words, it could be inferred that the stone statue was a treasure. Since it was a treasure, fighting for it was inevitable.

Seventeen has not been in this world for long; although its specific strength couldn't be confirmed, it likely wouldn't be stronger than the combined force of the Mountain Gate and Hogwarts.

If they allied and came...

Everyone was very worried, but Neo's next words successfully dispelled their concerns.

"Please rest assured, Mr. President, no one will go to Russia to seize the stone statue."

"Is that so?" the President's tone was calm, making it impossible to tell if he believed it or was scoffing.

"Yes, because we have our own stone statues."

The President was stunned, and after coming to his senses, he asked in surprise: "There's more than one stone statue?"

"Hmm? Why did you think there was only one?"

"No, I mean..."

"Alright, Mr. President, I've passed on Mr. Gao's entrusted words... oh, right, remember not to hide the existence of the stone statue, and don't block off the area where the stone statue is located.

Not only that, you must also promote its abilities within your country."

"And the reason?"

"Seventeen will tell you soon. Goodbye, Mr. President."

Neo hung up the phone, and the President confusedly handed the satellite phone back to the Secretary.

"Divine wrath? Promote it? What on earth is Neo up to? Is he fooling me? Or is he telling the truth?"

The President felt like his brain was overloaded and about to explode.

An Aide stepped in at the right time: "He said Seventeen would explain soon; I expect it will be after the Selection Trials are over.

One of the five contestants has already passed; the remaining four won't take much longer to have results. We might as well wait patiently."

The President thought for a moment and agreed: "Reasonable, let's do that.

Secretary."

"Here."

"Order the nearest city to prepare a conference room and video playback equipment. We'll wait there."

"Yes!"