8: Whether the prophecy is true or false, we will find out tonight!

Divine Summer Dragon Abyss Pavilion

The atmosphere in the conference room was so oppressive it felt like water could drip from it. The massive circular screen wall was divided into several displays:

On the left, Su Chen was in the deep water area of the port, where several tentacles, like agile giant pythons, easily coiled around entire cattle and pigs, stuffing them into its sharp-toothed maw with astonishing speed.

On the right were horrifying photos of the tragic sinking of the Three Nations Joint Fleet: twisted steel, burning oil slicks, and floating debris were shocking sights.

In the center were the terrifying keywords that had just been deciphered.

Army Marshal Lei Zhen, an old general known for his iron-blooded toughness, now had a livid expression.

He slammed his fist heavily on the thick solid wood conference table,

emitting a loud 'bang' that made the teacups on the table hum.

“Absolutely preposterous!”

His voice was like a wounded lion roaring,

“We are sitting here, actually discussing the words of a beast?! It just tore apart three of the most advanced fleets! Its displayed power is out of control! This so-called ‘prophecy’ is nothing but a ruse to lure the tiger away from the mountain!”

“It’s frantically devouring our resources, it’s accelerating its growth! When it grows to an unimaginable extent, we will be the first to be destroyed! I propose—”

He suddenly stood up, pointing his finger at the image of the giant beast devouring flesh on the screen,

“Immediately activate the ‘Dragon Slaying’ contingency plan! Concentrate all strategic strike power and completely eliminate it while it's still in the port! Extract its genes, and eradicate future troubles forever!”

Navy Marshal Qin Zhenshan slowly raised his head, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

He pushed aside the teacup in front of him, placed his hands on the table, and leaned slightly forward:

“Marshal Lei, please calm down.”

“Academician Chen's communication record is clear, coherent, and precisely directed. The intelligence displayed by the Kraken far exceeds our cognitive scope. The structure of the information it conveyed is by no means an animal's instinct!”

“Its mention of the Shadow Scale Clan and the monster characteristics highly align with the fragmented information about unknown creatures from the edge of the Endless Sea that we've sporadically collected in our top-secret archives!”

He brought up a blurry sonar recording and several blurry photos, projecting them onto the central screen:

“Look! This is the outline of an unknown creature captured by the ‘Explorer Seven’ five days ago at the edge of the Mariana Anomaly Trench. The reflective properties of these scales... and the shape of these claws... how similar they are to the Shadow Scale Clan described by the Kraken! And this skull fragment... its density and structure are definitely not from any known Earth creature!”

“Furthermore, Captain Li Weiguo and all the officers and soldiers of the Ship Name have consistent testimonies: it possesses destructive power, yet it showed astonishing restraint when guided and fed by us! If it truly harbored ill intentions, at sea, the Ship Name would have long turned into dust at the bottom of the ocean! I believe the Kraken currently harbors goodwill!”

“At least, its objective aligns with the potential threat we currently face! We cannot destroy our own Great Wall!”

“Goodwill? Qin Zhenshan! You've been deceived by this monster!”

Lei Zhen sharply interrupted, turning abruptly to Intelligence Director Lin Feng,

“Lin Feng! Tell them! What has this ‘benevolent’ monster brought us?!”

Intelligence Director Lin Feng pushed up his glasses, his expression grave as he brought up a new intelligence interface.

The screen was instantly filled with various encrypted cables, surveillance screenshots, and angry speeches from leaders of various countries.

“Latest intelligence.”

Lin Feng’s voice was low and clear,

“Due to the annihilation of their fleets, public opinion in the United States, Japan, and Korea has completely erupted, and the hawkish factions have fully dominated their cabinets!”

“The heads of state of the three nations are currently holding an emergency video summit. Preliminary assessment indicates they are highly likely to reach an agreement to formally accuse us at the United Nations, using the reason that ‘Divine Summer secretly developed and uncontrollably released a super biological weapon, causing significant casualties and property losses to the three nations,’ and initiate the highest level of joint sanctions! Even more seriously...”

He paused, emphasizing his words,

“The main naval fleets of the three nations have assembled outside the disputed waters, and air force movements are frequent. We cannot rule out the possibility of a ‘preemptive’ military strike against important coastal targets in our country, under the guise of ‘eliminating human threats’!”

“International pressure... is like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami!”

“Did you hear that?!”

Lei Zhen looked around the room, “For this uncontrollable monster! We are being pushed to the brink of war! Is it worth it?!”

“Then should we just sit back and watch the disaster it predicted unfold? What if it’s true?!”

Qin Zhenshan slammed the table and stood up, refusing to back down.

“Gambling the fate of the entire nation on a monster’s prophecy?! What a joke!”

The conference room instantly erupted.

Army and navy generals, supporters and opponents, fierce arguments raged like a storm.

The air was thick with tension,

the sound of slamming tables, angry roars, and intense rebuttals intertwined.

Just at this tense, almost out-of-control moment—

“Enough!”

A cold snort, not loud, but imbued with supreme authority,

was like ice water poured into boiling oil, instantly freezing the entire conference room!

Everyone's gaze, as if drawn by a magnet, instantly converged on the main seat.

There sat Divine Summer’s former God of War, now the Director of the Xuanji Bureau—Qin Zheng.

(Full name of Xuanji Bureau: National Administration for Coordination of Special Phenomena and Abilities Affairs)

Qin Zheng, as Divine Summer’s God of War, although severely wounded in a battle and losing all his strength,

still held his chest straight, his silver hair meticulously combed, and deep wrinkles etched on his gaunt face,

each seeming to hide a thrilling past.

(PS: Regarding Qin Zheng, this is all I can write, I hope everyone understands)

He slowly scanned each angry, anxious, and bewildered face, his profound gaze seemingly able to penetrate people's hearts.

Only heavy breathing remained in the conference room.

“The truth of the prophecy,”

Qin Zheng’s voice was not loud, but it clearly struck everyone’s hearts, steady as a mountain,

“will be revealed tonight.”

His gaze fixed on Lei Zhen and Qin Zhenshan, his two students:

“Lei Zhen, Qin Zhenshan.”

“Teacher!”

Lei Zhen and Qin Zhenshan instinctively straightened their backs.

“Order: The Eastern Theater Command and Northern Theater Command are to immediately enter Level One combat readiness! All warships, radars, and sonar arrays, keep a close watch on the direction of Busan Port in Korea and our eastern waters! Not a single suspicious sampan is to be missed!”

“Yes!”

The two responded in deep voices.

His gaze turned to Academician Chen's communication screen:

“Academician Chen.”

“Here!”

Academician Chen on the screen immediately responded.

“Continue to meet the Kraken’s food demands! At the same time, closely monitor all its physiological indicators, energy fluctuations, and size changes! Data, synchronize in real-time to the Dragon Abyss Pavilion! I want to know its growth every minute!”

“Understood!”

His gaze finally fell on Intelligence Director Lin Feng: “Lin Feng.”

“Yes, Chief!”

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, fully respond to the international public opinion storm! Insist on ‘unknown deep-sea giant beast attack,’ and that we are also victims! The wording can be strong! At the same time,”

Qin Zheng’s eyes were sharp as knives,

“prepare a ‘deep-sea giant beast attack warning and basic defense suggestions’ regarding what might happen on Korea’s east coast tonight, and anonymously send it to Korea’s highest security department.”

“This is all we can do. The rest depends on their own destiny.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping across all the generals present, that gaze heavy as a thousand pounds.

“Before the results are revealed tonight,”

Qin Zheng’s voice was resolute, every word as if carved in steel,

“no one shall take any hostile action against the Kraken in any form!”

He stood up,

his tall figure, illuminated by the screen's light, like a stabilizing force in the ocean.

“All responsibility will be borne by me!”