208: Chapter 208 A Perfect Plan!

The Other Side of the Ocean.

The sun had not yet risen, and the night remained heavy.

But inside the headquarters of major news media outlets, lights blazed, and chaos reigned.

The "Chengying Mecha" video released without warning by Xia Country officials had directly blasted every editor-in-chief out of their warm beds.

In the office area, the constant ringing of telephones, the frantic clicking of keyboards, and the exasperated roars blended together, nearly lifting the roof off.

"Quick, pull that damn celebrity scandal off the front page and replace it with news about the Xia Country mecha!"

"Where's the verification department? Is this CG special effects or not? Call our informants in Xia Country; I need concrete intelligence!"

"Fuck! Don't worry about whether it's real or fake, just publish it first, or else our competitors will snatch all the traffic and hype!"

Within a mere ten minutes, reports with sensational wording and bold, viral headlines quickly rushed onto the homepages of major portal websites The Other Side of the Ocean.

"Xia Country Creates a War Behemoth? Chengying Mecha May Become the Terminator of Land Warfare!"

"Sci-Fi Enters Reality: Xia Country's south heaven gate project Exposed for the First Time; Where Does the West Go from Here?"

"A Century-Defining Deterrent or a CG Hoax? Xia Country Military Releases Mecha Video!"

...

In the early morning, as the people The Other Side of the Ocean rubbed their bleary eyes, held their coffee, and habitually swiped their phone screens...

They were greeted by an overwhelming flood of push notifications.

The tone of the comment sections quickly shifted from collective confusion to large-scale panic and total mental breakdowns.

"My God! What kind of monster is this?!"

"Is this really not a trailer for some sci-fi blockbuster? How can something that completely defies the laws of physics exist in reality!"

"One shot shattered a three-meter-thick bunker? If our soldiers encounter this thing on the battlefield, what else can they do besides kneeling and praying? Tickle it with rifles?!"

"Yesterday it was Controlled Nuclear Fusion, today it's heavy mecha. Has that Lin Yuan from Xia Country mastered some alien technology? Have we been left behind by the era!"

The mood of panic, like a highly contagious plague, did not subside with the rising sun; instead, it spread rapidly from the common netizens to the elite classes.

By the time the stock market bell rang for opening...

There was no buffer, no struggle.

The stocks of traditional military-industrial giants The Other Side of the Ocean plummeted the moment they opened.

Within minutes, the market value of the three major military-industrial giants evaporated by hundreds of billions of dollars.

"Sell! Sell it all! I don't care about the price, liquidate everything immediately!"

"Circuit breaker! Boss, the circuit breaker mechanism has been triggered; we can't sell at all!"

Inside the exchange, countless traders in suits held their heads, staring blankly at the screens as the hall was filled with wails of despair.

Capital markets have no borders, but capital knows best how to seek profit and avoid risk.

With the most tangible plunge, they cast a vote of extreme terror against the steel behemoth in the Xia Country video.

The collapse of the stock market completely ignited the frenzy of the people The Other Side of the Ocean.

On various social media platforms, extremist netizens began to frantically attack the verified accounts of the military and the government, flooding the comment sections with angry questions and insults.

"We pay hundreds of billions in taxes for military spending every year—what on earth have you built?! Have you built useless generals who can only drink coffee in their offices?!"

"Xia Country has even built a steel monster! What exactly have you researched?!"

The entire social order The Other Side of the Ocean was faintly on the verge of spiraling out of control because of a video lasting only dozens of seconds.

...

The Other Side of the Ocean, a certain White Building.

An underground secret meeting room.

It had been less than twenty-four hours since yesterday's emergency meeting triggered by nuclear fusion.

Several big shots standing at the top of the pyramid were once again urgently summoned here.

Unlike yesterday's anger, the atmosphere in the meeting room today was suppressed to the extreme, with an ill-concealed fear even permeating the air.

*Bang!*

The big shot sitting in the main seat slammed a palm onto the long table, causing water in the cups to splash.

"Yesterday it was Controlled Nuclear Fusion, today it's mecha!"

The big shot's voice was hoarse, carrying an irrepressible irritability.

"Who can tell me if this damn steel monster is actually real?!"

Hearing this, several high-ranking officials lowered their heads, cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads, not daring to look the big shot in the eye.

At this moment, a high-ranking official in a dark suit spoke up, bracing himself:

"Based on current information... we cannot be entirely certain of its authenticity."

"After all, considering strategic logic and engineering spans, we cannot rule out the possibility that Xia Country has meticulously concocted a strategic deception."

After hearing this, the big shot in the main seat gave a cold snort.

"Cannot be certain?"

"Then find a way to test it!"

The big shot's gaze became extremely sinister, his fingers interlaced, knuckles turning white from the grip.

"We cannot be scared out of our wits by a single video! And we certainly cannot let our allies feel that we are afraid of Xia Country!"

"We must find a way to see if this mecha is a cross-era weapon of war or just a strategic trick that is strong on the outside but weak on the inside!"

Hearing this, everyone's minds began to race.

On the right side of the long table, a high-ranking official narrowed his eyes slightly, a viper-like coldness flashing in them.

"The Indochina Peninsula."

His words caused many gazes in the meeting room to shift toward him at once.

He continued unhurriedly:

"There is a small coastal country near that sea area. Those monkeys have been very envious of the resources on Xia Country's southern islands lately."

"Even if Xia Country claims to have developed Controlled Nuclear Fusion, oil remains an extremely important strategic material as a basic chemical raw material in the short term."

"As long as the benefits are enticing enough, and with us backing them up, those greedy monkeys would dare to take a bite of anything."

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of several high-ranking officials in the meeting room lit up simultaneously.

They all nodded in agreement.

This was undoubtedly a brilliant move that allowed for both offense and defense.

Let a proxy step on the mines!

If Xia Country remains idle during the conflict or performs poorly and only dares to protest, then it proves the mecha video is a complete CG intimidation tactic and Xia Country is just a paper tiger.

And if Xia Country really sends out the mecha...

Then the ones dying would still only be the soldiers of that coastal country.

As for those The Other Side of the Ocean, they could not only sit back and watch but also use satellites and reconnaissance planes to collect the mecha's actual combat limit data from a distance.

Furthermore, in international public opinion, they could hype up Xia Country's 'bullying' and 'great power hegemony,' seize the moral high ground, and unite other countries to impose sanctions on Xia Country.

It was simply a deal with everything to gain and nothing to lose!

After hearing this plan, the big shot in the main seat finally relaxed his tense face, revealing a satisfied, cold smile.

"Very good, this plan is perfect!"

The big shot made the final decision and directly issued the order.

"Go and coordinate with those monkeys immediately. Tell them that we are their backing!"

"As long as they dare to provoke substantial friction in the Southern Sea Area, we can provide all necessary strategic weapon support from behind!"

"I want to see for myself whether this mecha of Xia Country is real or fake!"