Whether the cherry blossoms live or die? What does it have to do with me? What a brilliant move by a Chinese fashion icon!

Pretty Country, the President's Office.

Emperor Chuan's face was so gloomy it looked like water could drip off it. He leaned forward, hands braced on the wide desk, like a ferocious beast about to go berserk.

Arrayed before him, a crowd of high officials and dignitaries stood ramrod straight, their breathing adjusted to silent mode,

afraid that if their breathing was slightly too loud, they would become the unlucky soul dragged out as a sacrifice.

At this moment, the Director of Defense, several star-bearing generals, and the new Director of Intelligence—who had only taken office a few days ago and hadn't even warmed his seat yet—were all present.

The previous Director of Intelligence, having performed too incompetently regarding the Great Xia military exercise, had already been packaged up and thrown out by Emperor Chuan.

The new director had clearly learned his predecessor's lesson; he was currently hiding behind a potted plant, striving to minimize his presence.

?

"Are you all mute?"

Emperor Chuan's sharp eyes slowly swept around the office, as if choosing who he should chew out today.

"Do you not know why I called you here? Or do you think I invited you here to throw a party?"

Hearing this, everyone retracted their necks even further.

Emperor Chuan slammed the table and roared, "Who can tell me what the hell is going on with that damned volcano in Sakura?!"

"Why was it so volatile? Why did it erupt so suddenly?!"

"Before a volcano erupts, doesn't it need to hold a meeting, study the situation, and follow procedure?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was momentarily stunned.

The way he spoke, it was as if the volcano were his backyard grill, which he could light or extinguish at will.

But no one dared to voice that internal complaint.

Seeing no one speak, the newly appointed Director of Intelligence steeled his heart, switched from plant mode back to human form, and stepped forward.

"Mr. President, based on the monitoring and analysis of all the data we currently possess, the geological structure inside Mount Fuji had been very stable before the eruption. It should not have erupted suddenly at this point in time."

"But just minutes before it erupted, all the monitoring equipment set up in the surrounding area simultaneously recorded an incomprehensible, geometrically escalating surge of terrifying energy."

"The instruments didn't even have time to issue the highest level warning before they all failed due to energy overload."

"Everything happened too quickly and too suddenly. This completely exceeds our existing understanding of volcanic activity."

The Director of Intelligence finished in one breath, then quietly retreated, attempting to transform back into a potted plant.

"Does this conform to science?" Emperor Chuan pressed.

"Mr. President, obviously, this certainly does not conform to science." The Director of Intelligence could only step out again, his face filled with helplessness.

"However, we cannot entirely rule out the possibility that something theoretically impossible has actually occurred..."

After hearing this, Emperor Chuan was so angry he nearly laughed aloud.

He cast his gaze toward the others: "What about you? What do you think?"

In the huge office, you could hear a pin drop.

In the end, it was the Four-Star General who, encouraged by the others' "Brother, you go" gazes, bit the bullet and stepped forward.

He cautiously weighed his words and tentatively began: "Mr. President, is there a possibility that..."

"This is just a coincidence?"

"Coincidence?"

Emperor Chuan's volume instantly rose eight octaves. He glared fiercely at the general, his expression utterly spectacular.

"You mean that damned volcano chose not to erupt earlier or later, but specifically erupted when that crazy woman was about to order the start of the drill?"

"And coincidentally, this timing was exactly when Great Xia's announced twenty-four-hour countdown ended?"

"F*ck!"

Pointing at the general's nose, Emperor Chuan cursed loudly: "Do you dare swear upon God and your dear mother right now that this was a coincidence and has absolutely nothing to do with Great Xia?!"

The Four-Star General was flushed red, unable to utter a single word.

Of course, he also felt this coincidence was so unbelievable his grandmother wouldn't believe it, but the problem was, besides coincidence, how else could he explain it?

Should he tell the President that the Eastern Dragon was angry and had brought down heavenly punishment?

If he did that, tomorrow he would not be a Four-Star General, but a five-star patient at a mental hospital.

"You, answer me, does this really have anything to do with Great Xia or not!"

Seeing that the general had completely frozen, Emperor Chuan aimed his cannon at the Director of Intelligence pretending to be a plant nearby.

The Director of Intelligence jolted. He knew this was the moment that determined his fate.

He straightened up. His previously nervous face was instantly filled with solemnity and certainty.

"Mr. President, I believe this is absolutely related to them!"

"Great Xia must possess some kind of super secret weapon, completely unknown to us, capable of triggering tectonic energy!"

"They used this weapon to silently detonate Mount Fuji, using it to intimidate the entire world!"

This analysis was well-reasoned and perfectly attributed the responsibility to a tangible entity rather than an ethereal "coincidence."

After hearing this, Emperor Chuan's tense face finally relaxed somewhat. He nodded his head.

This was the answer he wanted to hear.

But immediately afterward, he suddenly asked, "Could it not be... that Great Xia truly has gods?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the air in the entire office solidified.

The Director of Intelligence, however, laughed, his smile carrying the confidence and disdain of a professional.

"Mr. President, rather than believing there are gods in this world, I would rather believe another rumor circulating among the people of Great Xia."

"Oh?" Emperor Chuan became interested.

"Great Xia's technological development in recent years has been too fast—unreasonably fast."

"So their own citizens jokingly say that Great Xia captured an alien on the far side of the moon, subjected it to brutal torture, extracted its alien technology, and that is why they Advanced so rapidly."

The Director of Intelligence shrugged: "To be honest, Mr. President, I would rather believe that is the truth. Otherwise, I truly have no way to explain how they managed to do all this."

"You have a point. I don't believe in any damned gods either," Emperor Chuan muttered.

"So what should we do now?" He looked around at everyone, asking the most critical question.

"Mr. President, in my opinion, before we completely figure out what terrifying trump cards Great Xia is currently hiding..."

"We must appear... cowardly... uh... be more moderate!"

"We should try our best to avoid any form of conflict with them. In fact, it would be best if we complied with their wishes."

"At least on the surface, we need to make them believe we are friends."

The Director of Intelligence offered his suggestion.

This suggestion was practically a great humiliation for Pretty Country, which had always considered itself the world's hegemon.

However, to everyone's surprise, Emperor Chuan nodded in profound agreement after hearing it.

Although he was arrogant and conceited, at his core, he was an extremely shrewd businessman.

He knew exactly when to show off and when to play the subservient role.

"You are right!"

"Let's do this!"

Emperor Chuan made the final decision.

Immediately afterward, he issued an order with unprecedented solemnity:

"Effective immediately, strictly monitor all volcanoes within Pretty Country's borders twenty-four hours a day!"

"Remember, ALL of them!"

"Especially that big guy, Yellowstone! I do not want to wake up one day and find my golf course has turned into a lava pool!"

At this point, the Director of Defense cautiously asked, "Then... Mr. President, what should we do about Sakura? They are our allies, after all..."

"Allies?" Emperor Chuan scoffed: "What does the fate of Sakura have to do with us?"

"They had bad luck and suffered a natural disaster. Pretty Country, out of humanitarianism, will at most issue a statement of regret, and that's it."

The officials immediately understood Emperor Chuan's meaning.

And so, two hours later.

Under the watchful eyes of countless nations and media outlets worldwide, Pretty Country was the first to step forward and issue an official statement regarding Sakura's recent misfortune.

Many countries assumed that Pretty Country, as Sakura's most steadfast "ally," would definitely stand up for its little brother and offer assistance immediately.

Unexpectedly, when they eagerly clicked open the statement and read the contents, everyone was utterly dumbfounded.

The statement read as follows:

"We express our deepest condolences and most profound sympathy for the immense suffering endured by the people of Sakura during this unfortunate natural disaster... (500 words of superfluous text omitted here)"

"But tragically, at the same time Sakura suffered its catastrophe, an unprecedented super wildfire suddenly broke out in the mountainous forests of the Yellowstone region within our own borders!"

"The spread of the fire is terrifying. After urgent assessment by our expert team, this blaze could potentially spread across the entire territory of Pretty Country, inflicting a devastating blow upon our nation!"

"Therefore, Pretty Country is currently preoccupied and must mobilize all its forces to fully suppress this massive forest fire that concerns the survival of our nation!"

"Hence, we are unable to provide any substantial aid to Sakura. We deeply regret this."

The entire statement was beautifully worded and sincerely emotional!

But translated, it meant six words: Not close, stay away!

Once this statement was released, the whole world fell silent.

Especially those who had just been excited that Pretty Country might stand up to Great Xia now felt a burning pain on their faces.