102: Chapter 102 A piece of clothing worth millions

The Sakura Country people were eliminated, and besides Chen Aoyun, only Adar from Ottoman remained on the arena.

Adar, who had only secured second place thanks to the intervention of a Dragon Country spirit, walked toward Chen Aoyun with a grin, leading his own spirits.

"Brother, you're a stand-up guy. If it weren't for you, I would have failed to live up to my country's expectations."

Adar, beaming, walked up to Chen Aoyun and spoke to him like an old friend. However, the moment he reached Chen Aoyun's side, the [Sultan] at his side struck without warning!

It was sudden enough, but unfortunately, the white-tier [Sultan] had combat power that was far too low, and there was only one left. It was shot dead by [Emperor Liu Bang] before it could even reach the two Great Emperors of Huaxia.

"You dare to launch a sneak attack with just this white-tier spirit?" Chen Aoyun raised an eyebrow.

Adar replied in a devil-may-care tone, "I just saw your spirits were unstable after the big battle and wanted to test the waters... It seems you were prepared."

"Shameless."

"If it were you, wouldn't you do the same?"

"I would."

National interest comes first; alliances and sentiments have to take a backseat. If it were Chen Aoyun, he would certainly have attempted the same thing.

After shooting down the last Ottoman [Sultan], Adar was also teleported out of the arena by a beam of light.

At this point, only Chen Aoyun and the Huaxia two Great Emperors' faction remained on the entire arena!

At this point, the Dragon Country had finally won first place in the Game of National Destiny after thousands of years of struggling and being at the bottom!

In the real world, the entire Dragon Country was in an uproar.

On the arena, Zhao Hongxiu, Fan Ling, Zhao Tianming, Li Gaoyuan, and Chen Aoyun stood side by side. Even the 'deceased' Xiao Zhenghong was resurrected at this moment, along with the previous Dragon Country [Strategist] and the [Roleplayer] who had lost their life while that Strategist was playing the game—all of them were resurrected.

A vigorous aura of National Destiny shot straight into the clouds. As a reward for first place, a full ten hu of National Destiny would belong entirely to the Dragon Country.

If one counted the National Destiny gained from [Divine Judgment], the Dragon Country had won a total of twenty-three hu of National Destiny in this Game of National Destiny!

Twenty-three hu of National Destiny was an astronomical figure for the Dragon Country, whose National Destiny had long since bottomed out, and it also prevented disasters that might have occurred in the real world due to insufficient National Destiny.

Then there were the experience rewards.

Waves of pure, misty white fog enveloped everyone.

Regardless of whether they had persisted to the end, all Dragon Country participants in this Game of National Destiny, including the previously 'dead' [Strategists] and [Roleplayers], received experience rewards.

Zhao Hongxiu jumped two levels in one go from lv3, becoming a lv5 [Roleplayer].

Chen Aoyun's [Strategist] level also went from lv0 to lv4.

"Don't be in a hurry to choose Strategist abilities. Hold off. Wait until we reach the Support Group base, and after you've learned more and understand more about the knowledge of the Game of National Destiny, then you can decide on your abilities."

[Vertical and Horizontal Chessboard]: Increases the movement speed of chess pieces on the board by (Level X 5 + 10)%.

[Beautifying Citation]: Mutual disguise between 'True Martial Skills', 'Legendary Techniques', and 'Fantasy Skills'. The skill's ability remains unchanged, but the required Construction Power changes. It can be used (Level ÷ 5) times per Game of National Destiny.

[Nowhere to Hide]: Dispels the fog of war on the board, revealing the locations of all national chess pieces. Lasts for (Level + 1) minutes. Can only be used once per Game of National Destiny.

...

After Chen Aoyun leveled up, these Strategist abilities appeared in his mind one by one.

[Vertical and Horizontal Chessboard] was the reason Sakura Country had always had a speed advantage previously.

And by relying on [Nowhere to Hide], Sakura Country had also discovered Zhao Hongxiu, who was hiding in the central area and hadn't returned to change her torch.

"These are all very useful abilities!"

Although the abilities were tempting, Chen Aoyun still followed Zhao Hongxiu's advice and did not rush to make a selection.

Besides National Destiny and experience, as first place, a golden treasure chest slowly descended from the firmament!

"It's an off-field item! The off-field items in a golden treasure chest are at least T1-level items, and there's even a chance they are T0-level! Don't be in a hurry to open it; we're still being broadcast live. Don't let other countries see what's inside."

Zhao Hongxiu usually didn't seem to talk much, but she was no less sharp than Chen Aoyun. With a wave of her hand, the treasure chest vanished into Chen Aoyun's sleeve.

After putting away the treasure chest and receiving the final rewards, Chen Aoyun's consciousness began to withdraw from the world of the Game of National Destiny.

The slight dizziness faded, and Chen Aoyun had returned to that initial noodle shop.

The area around the noodle shop had long been cordoned off by layers of Dragon Country armed forces. Heavily armed soldiers formed a solid mass, the sky was filled with surveillance drones, and there were even heavy tanks and armored vehicles on the streets...

The return of a [Strategist], especially one who had won first place in the Game of National Destiny for the Dragon Country, justified even the most extravagant security measures.

The guarding soldiers cleared a path, and the Support Group Leader, Group Leader Chen Feng, dressed in military uniform with a resolute demeanor, walked out from the crowd.

"Hello, [Strategist] Chen Aoyun. I am the Support Group Leader, Group Leader Chen Feng. I'm the one who was babbling nonsense during our first conversation."

Chen Aoyun: ?

Then he suddenly remembered what he had said when he first became a [Strategist]: "I'm not listening to your babbling anymore, and I don't need your analysis. I understand the current chess game better than you do, because I have spirits in my heart that you Support Group people don't know about!!!"

At the time, Chen Aoyun was preparing to seize the 'Twin Trees', but the Support Group's advice was to conserve strength.

Thinking back now, he had been relying on his knowledge of Huaxia history and hadn't taken the Game of National Destiny seriously; he had been a bit too arrogant.

But this Group Leader Chen Feng was something else—remembering a casual remark so clearly?

"I've already resigned from the company on your behalf, treating it as your retirement; the state will pay you a pension. I also checked you out of your shared apartment. The landlord wanted to waive your rent, which I felt was unnecessary, but the landlord simply refused to accept the money and kept an item of clothing you had worn as a keepsake. I've already had your remaining personal belongings moved to the Support Group base."

Chen Aoyun looked shocked and pointed at his own head, "Me? Retired? And what the hell is with the landlord keeping my clothes as a keepsake?"

A military armored vehicle passed through layers of security and stopped in front of Chen Aoyun.

Group Leader Chen Feng personally opened the car door for Chen Aoyun, "Get in. Once you're in the car, you'll soon know why the landlord didn't want the rent but wanted an item of your clothing."

His manner was forceful yet contained concern.

After transmigrating, Chen Aoyun was an orphan. Whether to learn more about the Game of National Destiny or for his own safety, following Group Leader Chen Feng was definitely the right choice.

Once in the car, there was a capable-looking woman with glasses sitting inside.

She wasn't wearing a military uniform but a professional outfit. The woman introduced herself, "He Xiaoyun, Deputy Leader of the Support Group. From now on, I'll be your superior. Uh... 'superior' isn't accurate. You don't have an official position at the National Destiny Strategy Base, so let's call me your liaison."

He Xiaoyun extended her hand, and as they shook hands, the armored vehicle had already driven out of the noodle shop street.

What did it mean to have red flags fluttering and a sea of people? Through the car window, Chen Aoyun finally got to see it.

Both sides of the road where the vehicle was traveling were packed with people. Countless Dragon Country people were waving banners and slogans in their hands, shouting something at the vehicle.

"You are the hero of the Dragon Country; those people have all come spontaneously to support you. Celebrities and idols have to take a backseat; you are now the person with the highest popularity and the most buzz in the Dragon Country!"

"On Xianyu, an item of clothing you wore was verified as authentic by the Dragon Country officials, and it was bid up to a price of 2 million, and it's still climbing..."

He Xiaoyun opened the tablet in her hand and handed it to Chen Aoyun to look at. The 2 million bid price under a windbreaker that was clearly a knock-off was extremely glaring.

"This wouldn't happen to be that piece of clothing the landlord kept, would it?"

He Xiaoyun didn't speak, which was as good as an admission.

Thinking of the kind landlady who had treated him well, Chen Aoyun didn't say anything more.

The Support Group base was in another city.

For safety reasons, there were no transfers along the way. Three days later, Chen Aoyun finally arrived at the Support Group base, his butt nearly sore from the bumpy ride.

This was a building complex hidden deep in the mountains, beneath a Dragon Country military base.

Although the location was remote, the military base was densely populated, and the supporting facilities on the surface were quite numerous.

They arranged the largest and most comfortable room for Chen Aoyun and scheduled a full curriculum of classes, with He Xiaoyun accompanying him every day.

The Game of National Destiny was a complex system, and it could have all sorts of plotlines and messy rules.

The more he attended the classes, the more Chen Aoyun felt the complexity of the Game of National Destiny.

On the first day of class, Chen Aoyun saw Fan Ling; on the second day, Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong, as well as those [Roleplayers] who had fought side by side with Chen Aoyun, also appeared in the classroom.

On the third day, Chen Aoyun didn't have class; instead, he was arranged by He Xiaoyun to go into a special room.

The room contained complex and dense wires and pipes, as well as inscriptions that looked somewhat magical.

Not entering the room with Chen Aoyun, He Xiaoyun said to him from outside the room, "This is a room where you can enter the Star Chess World. You still have a treasure chest that hasn't been opened, don't you? You can open the treasure chest here, and you don't have to worry about being broadcast live."

"The items you obtain will remain in this room. In the next Game of National Destiny, if necessary, the Support Group can directly use the items you obtained in this exhibition room. It's actually embarrassing to say, this exhibition room has been built for a thousand years, and you are the first... no, the second person to enter this exhibition room."

The exhibition room was used to store off-field items; it was the foundation and cheat sheet for a country to conquer the Game of National Destiny.

The second person to enter the Dragon Country's exhibition room? Then who was the first person to enter the exhibition room?

When he asked He Xiaoyun, she answered very sincerely that she didn't know.