212: The first victory shook the empire.

The hatch closed, and Chen Wang's hand was already on the control stick.

He did not start the engine, merely watching the large screen in the center of the arena ahead.

The screen was still black, but the kindling system's radar suddenly displayed a signal coming from the direction of the Imperial Capital.

"It's here," Amy whispered, her fingers hovering over the communication monitor screen. "It's Yan Shiduo's dedicated channel; he's preparing a holographic broadcast."

Lin Wei looked up at the data. "The signal is very strong, covering the entire North District. He intends to regain control of the situation using the official channel."

Chen Wang didn't speak, looking at the four people in the vehicle.

Su Ling was replacing the barrel of her sniper rifle, her movements swift.

Su Wan packed away the medical kit and applied a layer of gel to her reddened skin.

Amy's fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the console, the rhythm steady.

"Let him broadcast," Chen Wang said. "We'll handle the aftermath."

Three seconds after he finished speaking, the large screen suddenly lit up.

Blue light flooded the screen as Yan Shiduo's holographic image slowly appeared.

He stood behind the main control console, a military saber stabbed into the table, his expression cold.

"Do you think that winning one gladiatorial match is enough to overthrow the Empire?"

His voice came through the loudspeakers, deep and powerful. "The Empire does not rely on violence. Rules, discipline, obedience—these are the foundations of civilization. Your actions are merely the resistance of beasts."

Su Ling raised her rifle, aiming the scope at the equipment behind the screen.

Her breathing was steady, her finger resting on the trigger.

"Is he done yet?" she asked.

"Not yet," Chen Wang said, staring at the kindling system's signal analysis. "The broadcast is coming from the third underground level of the Imperial Capital, the main control center. There's a delay, which means he's hiding inside."

"I'm not shooting the person," Su Ling whispered. "I'm shooting his mouth."

She pulled the trigger.

The bullet flew out, piercing through the snow mist, and struck the projection device.

Sparks exploded, glass shards flew everywhere, and Yan Shiduo's image distorted instantly before turning into static.

The entire arena went quiet for a moment.

Then, Amy pressed the red button on the console.

This was the virus command she had planted in Chapter 204.

The data packet, disguised as a tracking signal, had long since infiltrated the Imperial communication network, jumped seven times, and now finally breached the core firewall.

The virus did not attack the defense system but instead directly took over all external display screens.

Every electronic screen, traffic sign, and surveillance panel in the Imperial Capital flickered, and then simultaneously displayed a red background with a silver logo—the wuling emblem.

A mechanical voice emanated from every speaker, playing on loop: "wuling type 100, Registration Number: Freedom."

Once, twice, three times.

The screens on the high walls surrounding the arena also changed.

The private terminals in the noble boxes, the interfaces of patrol mechs, and the maps in the underground command room all displayed the same symbol.

Lin Wei looked at the data sent back by the kindling system. "The virus has covered 93% of public terminals, spreading 21% faster than anticipated. They didn't expect us to use their own broadcast protocol to counterattack."

"This isn't a technical victory," Amy said softly. "It's the collapse of trust. From today on, no one will believe the Empire can control information anymore."

In the Imperial Capital's underground command center, alarms rang incessantly.

Yan Shiduo stood before the main control console, the thirty-seven screens in front of him all displaying the wuling emblem.

He ripped off his headset and threw it to the ground. Drawing his military saber, he slashed fiercely at the console, leaving a deep gouge in the metal tabletop.

"Investigate!" he roared. "Find that tank! Mobilize all air and ground units, blockade the surrounding three kilometers!"

An officer tried to report, "Leader, our communications are still..."

"I said—destroy it!" Yan Shiduo interrupted. "At all costs! Repeat, at all costs!"

His voice came through an uncut backup channel, breaking up as it entered the type 100 tank's communicator.

No one spoke inside the vehicle.

Su Ling pressed the last armor-piercing round into the magazine and tapped the rifle body lightly.

Lin Wei marked this virus attack path as "Tactical Library - Counterattack Sequence 01" and set it to auto-archive.

Su Wan looked at the scattered remains of mechanical soldiers outside the window and whispered, "May your souls no longer be controlled."

Amy was still tapping on the console, her expression changed.

She opened her personal log and wrote next to the date: "Futures Index Benchmark Day. Imperial credit, zeroed starting today."

Chen Wang sat in the driver's seat, fingers tapping lightly on the control stick.

He did not order a withdrawal, nor did he start the engine.

The kindling system's map showed no new enemies approaching, but the energy fluctuations in the northwest direction suddenly intensified.

He knew this was just the beginning.

In the civilian district of the arena, someone quietly raised a phone.

The camera focused on the combat vehicle in the center of the battlefield.

The vehicle body was covered in ice shards and smoke dust, the tracks bore signs of explosions, but the wuling emblem remained clear.

"Can they really win?" a young man whispered.

The woman beside him shook her head. "I don't know. But when I see this vehicle, I feel like I can still survive."

In the noble box, a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses stood up and straightened his suit tie.

He glanced at the torn recruitment list on the ground and turned toward the exit.

His footsteps were light, and he didn't look back.

Inside the vehicle, Lin Wei suddenly spoke: "The signal has changed."

She pointed to the communication module. "The Empire's main frequency band is reorganizing, and a new encryption protocol is being generated. They've learned to be smart and won't use public channels again."

"Then let them hide," Amy said. "The deeper they hide, the harder they'll fall."

Su Ling recalibrated the sniper scope and checked if the thermal imaging was functioning normally.

She noticed a faint reflection on a distant high tower, possibly an observation point.

"Someone is watching us," she said.

Chen Wang nodded. "Let them watch. Remember the look of this vehicle."

He activated the kindling system's recording function, packaged all the combat data, and marked it as "Public Archive."

Then he pressed the upload button, sending it through the civilian relay network built by Star Pupil to all unencrypted channels.

The file title consisted of only one line: "Arena Footage: wuling type 100, Reporting for Duty."

Ten seconds later, the first forward appeared.

Thirty seconds later, three remote shelters received the signal.

Within one minute, fifteen underground radio stations began broadcasting the video.

Chen Wang closed the upload interface and placed his hand back on the control stick.

The combat vehicle remained in place, engines on standby, weapon systems kept active.

He knew the real confrontation had only just begun.

Amy suddenly laughed. "I just posted a new contract on the black market. The underlying asset is 'Yan Shiduo's military saber,' with a delivery date in three months. Seven people have already placed orders."

Lin Wei looked up. "Do you think he'll come?"

"It's not that he'll come," Amy said. "It's that we'll go."

Su Ling pulled the bolt, completing the final check.

She looked at Chen Wang. "Next time we meet, I'm hitting his face."

Chen Wang didn't reply.

He looked at the jumping energy peaks on the map, his fingers slowly tightening.

The mechanical arm at the bottom of the combat vehicle unfolded, contacting the ground, and began collecting energy signals.

The kindling system prompted: New type of electromagnetic pulse residue detected, source unknown.

Chen Wang pressed the record button.

Just then, the main control console screen flickered.

The wuling emblem disappeared.

In its place was a string of jumping numbers, starting from 0001, jumping faster and faster.

Amy immediately opened the decoding interface. "This isn't an Imperial signal, nor is it our program. It's trying to access the kindling system."

Lin Wei quickly entered commands. "Firewall activated, but it's mimicking the data characteristics of the type 100. It knows who we are."

Su Wan stepped back half a step. "It's learning."

Su Ling raised her rifle, aiming at the main control console screen.

Chen Wang stared at the string of numbers, his voice very low: "Don't turn off the screen."

When the numbers reached 8974, they suddenly stopped.

The screen went black.

The next second, five red dots appeared on the edge of the kindling system radar, forming a fan-shaped encirclement, 3.2 kilometers away, moving extremely fast, with no flight trajectory and no heat source.

Amy analyzed rapidly, "Not mechs, not drones. Their movement style... it's like they're sliding along the ground."