474: Chapter 474 Passed Unanimously

Russia's reaction was unlike anything everyone had anticipated.

No agonizing, no hesitation, no lengthy parliamentary debates.

The day after France and the UK announced their intention to transfer nuclear weapons, snow was still drifting over the Red Square at the Kremlin in Moscow.

The President of Russia sat in his office and picked up the secure line directly to Great Xia.

Elder Qin was on the other end.

The President of Russia only said one sentence.

"How many do you want?"

Elder Qin was silent for two seconds before replying: "You decide the quantity."

The President of Russia hung up the phone.

That afternoon, a spokesperson for the Russian Department of Defense appeared at a press conference and read an extremely brief statement.

"The Russian Federal Government has decided to transfer 80% of its nuclear weapons stockpile to Great Xia, including intercontinental ballistic missile warheads, tactical nuclear warheads, and related nuclear materials. The remaining 20% will be retained as a strategic reserve."

Having read this paragraph, the spokesperson turned and left.

No explanations, no answering reporter questions, not even a "thank you."

The reporters looked at each other in confusion.

That is how Russians do things.

No dilly-dallying.

If they want to sell, they sell; if not, they don't.

None of that nonsense like "we need to consider this carefully" or "this involves the core interests of national security."

That evening, the President of Russia held a very small dinner party at the Kremlin, inviting only the Secretary of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff.

The three of them drank vodka.

The Secretary of Defense asked: "Mr. President, aren't you worried? If we hand over 80% of our nuclear weapons, what if..."

The President of Russia downed a mouthful of alcohol.

"Worried about what?"

"What if we need them in the future?"

"Need them for what?" The President of Russia slammed his glass on the table. "Tell me, can a nuclear bomb defeat that person who can fly? No. Can a nuclear bomb let me live thirty more years? No. Can a nuclear bomb let Russians Cultivate? Also no."

He held up three fingers.

"These three things—Medicinal Pill, Cultivation Technique, Spirit Stone—whichever one you take out, they are all more useful than a nuclear bomb. You want me to hold onto a pile of scrap metal and refuse to live thirty more years? I'm not stupid."

The Chief of the General Staff drank silently without speaking.

The Secretary of Defense also stopped talking.

The President of Russia downed another mouthful.

"And have you thought about this? France and the UK have both handed them over. What will happen if we don't?"

The two men looked up at him.

"They will be Cultivating, and we won't. In ten years, their soldiers will all be Martial Artists, while ours will still be carrying guns. By then, Great Xia won't even need to attack us; France's immortal-cultivating soldiers will be enough to give us a hard time."

This sentence carried an obvious joking tone, but the logic was no joke.

The Secretary of Defense thought for a moment and nodded.

"That makes sense."

"Of course it makes sense." The President of Russia pushed the vodka bottle toward the Secretary of Defense. "Drink. Stop worrying. We'll deal with future matters in the future."

Russia's matter was settled just like that.

Clean and decisive, not even a day was delayed.

The eyes of the world finally fell on the last big player.

The USA.

The USA has one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world, with thousands of nuclear warheads, and the maintenance costs alone are tens of billions of eagle dollars every year.

Russia had already handed them over, so logically, the USA should have relented too.

But the USA is not Russia.

Russia has a president who has the final say.

The USA has a Congress where no one has the final say.

Washington.

Capitol Hill.

The Senate chamber was in an uproar.

The hawkish Senator McCain II was the first to jump up, slamming the table and shouting words that almost sparked the microphone.

"Nuclear weapons are the backbone of the USA! Whoever dares to sign the deal to sell nuclear bombs, I will personally throw them out of Capitol Hill!"

Applause rang out for a few seconds.

But not much.

Only about a third of the people in the hall supported him.

The expressions on the faces of the other two-thirds who didn't clap were complicated.

It wasn't that they didn't agree with Senator McCain II.

Nuclear weapons were indeed the backbone.

But the problem was, a backbone couldn't cure a herniated lumbar disc.

The Secretary of State sat in the corner without speaking, but the phone in front of him kept vibrating.

It was a message from his wife.

"Honey, did you see the live stream from Great Xia? Can the youth-preserving pill really make you thirty years younger? Can you think of a way?"

The Secretary of State flipped his phone over.

The debate lasted for a day.

To be precise, they argued in Capitol Hill for a day.

But what was happening outside Capitol Hill was much more exciting than what was happening inside.

The first day.

Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, and Houston—four cities erupted in large-scale protests simultaneously.

The slogans were varied, but there was only one core demand.

"We want to Cultivate!"

Some held handwritten signs: "Sell the nukes, buy me a Spirit Stone."

Some wore homemade T-shirts printed with the Great Xia flag and a line of text: "We want Cultivation, not nuclear bombs."

An old lady sat in a wheelchair with a piece of cardboard hanging around her neck, on which was scrawled a sentence: "I'm eighty-two. Give me a rejuvenation pill, and I can live to be one hundred and twenty. Nukes can't help me stand up."

After this photo was taken, it spread across the global internet within two hours.

The second day.

The scale of the protests increased fivefold.

Governors from seventeen states sent a joint letter to the President, demanding that the government advance negotiations for the transfer of nuclear weapons as soon as possible.

The number one trending topic on Twitter was #NukesForCultivation#.

CNN did a special poll, and the result was that 97% of USA citizens supported the transfer of nuclear weapons.

FOX also did one, 93%.

The two media outlets, which usually had opposing stances and practically wanted to fight each other, had surprisingly consistent data on this matter.

The third day.

Senator McCain II was still shouting "No compromise" inside Capitol Hill.

But his office was already surrounded by people.

Not people supporting him.

People who came to curse at him.

A big man holding a sign shouted in the crowd: "McCain, can your backbone cure my mom's cancer?"

Senator McCain II's assistant pulled the curtains shut.

That evening, President Jack made a decision.

A national referendum.

Since Congress couldn't come to a conclusion, the power to decide would be handed to the 300 million people.

There was only one issue: Do you agree to exchange part of the nuclear weapon stockpile for Great Xia's cultivation cooperation framework?

The referendum lasted for twenty-four hours.

On the day the results were released, the whole world was waiting for the referendum result of this former super Empire.

In favor: 95.3%.

Against: 3.1%.

Abstentions: 1.6%.

When Senator McCain II saw this number, he sat in his office without saying a word.

His assistant cautiously asked: "Senator, do you still want to continue opposing it?"

Senator McCain II was silent for a long time.

"95 percent."

He repeated the number in a very soft voice, "What am I going to do, go against 300 million people?"

He stood up, walked to the window, and opened the curtains.

The crowd outside had already dispersed.

Because they had won.

President Jack signed the nuclear transfer agreement that evening.

With this, all five permanent members had finished signing.