269: Chapter 269 Declaration of Victory

After speaking, he turned and left, his leather shoes making a crisp clicking sound on the marble floor. Two attendants hurriedly followed.

The conference room door was slammed shut heavily.

On the screen, Sinwar watched it all quietly.

Then, he spoke slowly to the camera—effectively addressing the remaining fourteen UN Security Council member representatives in the room, as well as the global audience watching the meeting via live stream:

"Then let it be so."

"Please tell Minister Lavitz, and tell the Squid Nation government: Your 'final offensive' has failed. Your tanks have become steel coffins. Your ace battalion commander broke down and cried before the cameras. Now, you don't even have the courage to sit at the negotiating table and listen to the conditions."

"It doesn't matter."

"We will be waiting in the tunnels. Waiting in the ruins. Waiting in every corner of the city."

"As long as you want to fight, we will accompany you. For every person you want to die, we will send as many coffins."

"Until one day, you finally understand—"

Sinwar's voice wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

"This is not a peace agreement negotiation."

"This is a declaration of victory."

"And we have already won the first round."

The screen went dark.

Inside the conference hall, a dead silence lasted for a full minute.

Then, Zhao Gang sighed softly and took off his simultaneous interpretation headset. Beside him, the Russian representative lit a cigar, took a deep drag, and exhaled smoke.

The French Chairman rubbed his temples and said with difficulty into the microphone: "This meeting is... temporarily adjourned. All parties are requested to maintain restraint and avoid further escalation of the situation."

But everyone knew that these words were already hollow and powerless.

The negotiating table had been overturned.

The war would continue.

That night, the headlines of major global media outlets all featured the same image:

On the left was the back of Barak as he slammed the door and left.

On the right was Sinwar's face as he stood before the ruins, calmly saying, "Then let the fighting continue."

The headlines were varied, but the core meaning was the same:

《Negotiations Collapse, Gaza War Enters New Phase》

Sinwar Sets Sky-High Conditions, Squid Nation Representative Leaves in Anger》

《Declaration of Victory: Gaza Resistance Organization Refuses to Surrender》

On social media, the hashtag #ThenKeepFighting rose to the top of global trends at an astonishing speed. Sinwar's final words were edited into short videos, set to stirring music, and went viral on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.

Within the Squid Nation, public opinion was completely split.

One group believed Sinwar's conditions were "preposterous" and "absolutely impossible to accept," supporting a tough government response. Another group—especially the families of soldiers and anti-war groups—began to question: If the war continues, how many more children will die? How many more tanks will be lost? How much more face will be lost internationally?

"They dare to set such conditions because they know they can fight!" a father of a fallen soldier cried out in a television interview. "Our generals are still boasting about 'absolute superiority'! Where is the superiority?! In those merkavas that were blown into scrap metal?!"

In Gaza, Sinwar's speech was broadcast repeatedly by underground radio stations. In every tunnel, every shelter, and on every radio that could still receive a signal, his calm and firm voice echoed.

"...Until the aggressors learn to respect..."

A young warrior listened to the broadcast, silently polishing the rifle in his hand.

A mother held her sick child, tears falling silently, but there was a light in her eyes.

An old man knelt before his collapsed home, using a trembling hand to draw a symbol on the ruins—the Arabic word for "steadfastness."

Naypyidaw, Presidential Palace.

Zhang Cheng turned off the live broadcast.

The office was quiet. Old K stood to the side, while Li Lanzhi sat on the sofa, holding a cup of tea that had already gone cold.

"What do you think?" Zhang Cheng asked.

"Sinwar's conditions are set too high," Old K analyzed objectively. "Full military withdrawal, lifting the blockade, 50 billion in reparations, an apology from the Prime Minister... The Squid Nation government can never accept this. It's equivalent to making them admit defeat and bear all the consequences."

"And so?"

"So the war will continue. And it might escalate." Old K brought up an intelligence brief. "The Squid Nation military is already mobilizing reserve forces, calling up two additional divisions. Lavitz is under immense domestic pressure; he must use a decisive victory to salvage the situation—even if it means more brutal bombings and more civilian casualties."

Li Lanzhi put down her teacup, her voice very soft: "Sinwar knows this, doesn't he?"

"He knows," Zhang Cheng nodded, walking to the window and looking out at the brightly lit city. "That's why he deliberately set conditions the other side absolutely cannot accept. He didn't go there to negotiate; he went there to declare war—to tell the Squid Nation in front of the whole world: You can't break us, so prepare to be dragged down by us."

"But the people of Gaza..." Li Lanzhi's voice choked slightly, "how much longer can they hold on?"

Zhang Cheng remained silent for a long time.

Then, he turned around, his expression complex.

"Lan Zhi, some wars aren't about winning. They are about telling the other side: You can never win."

"Sinwar is using the ruins of Gaza, the lives of his warriors, and the suffering of every civilian to teach the Squid Nation a lesson—you can destroy our cities, but you cannot destroy our will. You can kill our people, but you cannot kill our convictions."

"This lesson is very expensive. But some people think it's worth it."

He walked back to his desk and opened the system interface.

Golden light flowed, showing a point balance: 4.15 million.

It was 50,000 less than before because he had spent 100,000 to exchange the DF-21D for Houssa, but the system had rewarded him with more—destroying tanks, armored vehicles, destroyers, and even the 'successful humiliating negotiation' had earned him points.

Zhang Cheng's finger slid across the screen, bringing up a detailed map of the Gaza region.

Three permanent summoning coordinates were still flashing.

"Old K," he spoke, "send an encrypted message to Sinwar. Tell him: The conditions were set well, and the performance was great. But next comes the real test."

"Ask him what else he needs. Weapons? Medicine? Food? Or..."

Zhang Cheng paused.

"More people?"

Old K nodded and turned to carry out the task.

Li Lanzhi walked over and took Zhang Cheng's hand: "You plan to keep supporting him? Even if it means going against the entire Western world?"

Zhang Cheng looked at her and smiled.

"Lan Zhi, from the moment I decided to intervene in the Middle East, I was already going against the West."

"It's just that before it was in the shadows, and now it's semi-public."

He looked out the window, toward that distant, burning land in the West.

"As for Sinwar... he is not my puppet. He has his own will, his own people, his own war."

"All I can do is ensure that when he swings his fist, he has hard enough iron in his hand."

"And as for iron, I have plenty of it here."

On the system interface, the equipment exchange list was dazzling. From individual anti-tank missiles to air defense systems, from drone Swarms to long-range rockets, from medical kits to water purification equipment...

As long as he had enough points, he could arm an army.

An army sufficient to give any aggressor nightmares.

Zhang Cheng selected several options, checked them, and confirmed.

[Exchange: 1,000 sets of 'Kornet-M' anti-tank missile systems, 2,000 missiles]

[Exchange: 500 sets of 'Igla-S' portable air defense missiles]

[Exchange: 200 'Locust-2' suicide drones]

[Exchange: 500 tons of medical supplies, 1,000 tons of food]

[Total points consumed: 80,000]

[Confirm deployment to coordinates: Gaza Strip?]

Zhang Cheng clicked "Yes."

Then, he added a message for Sinwar:

"The goods are on the way. Use them to make Lavitz understand—"

"It's not that some conditions can't be discussed."

"It's just that they need to be exchanged for more coffins."