244: Chapter 244 No way, no way...

The news, which was simultaneously pinned to the top by Xia Country's official media matrix, was extremely concise.

There were no long-winded officialese or flowery diplomatic rhetoric.

Just black text on a white background, a few brief words.

"To further deepen the exchange of top-tier international talent, following friendly communication, Mr. Tony has successfully completed all residency and nationality change procedures through the Special Talent Recruitment Program."

"Starting today, Mr. Tony officially becomes a legal citizen of Xia Country, enjoying all the legal rights and interests of our citizens."

"Welcome, Xia Country's Iron Man."

Seeing this, countless people's fingers froze on their screens, their eyes widening like copper bells.

They repeatedly confirmed every word of the heavy phrases: "nationality change," "special talent," and "Xia Country citizen."

After a long silence, uncontrollable laughter erupted in subways, offices, and university dorms across the country.

"Pfft—cough cough cough!"

"Oh my goodness! What kind of 'special talent' is this?! The country's move is like washing your feet in the ocean—it's way too wild! They recruited him specifically to be Xia Country's Iron Man, didn't they!"

"Before he was the Iron Man in the movies, now he's the Iron Man in reality. The Other Side of the Ocean spent a fortune on special effects, and in the end, our Xia Country used a real mecha suit to 'freeload' the person and the IP together? What do you call this? This is reality imitating fiction!"

"The Other Side of the Ocean: We have superhero movies! Xia Country: Sorry, we have superheroes."

The comment sections across the entire internet turned into an ocean of joy, with countless netizens laughing so hard they rolled on their beds, slapping their thighs in celebration.

In stark contrast was the internet sky The Other Side of the Ocean, which had completely collapsed.

For the netizens and fans The Other Side of the Ocean, at this moment, it felt as if the sky had fallen and their totems of faith had shattered into pieces.

The superhero they were so proud of had actually abandoned his original nationality in reality and put on a real mecha suit emblazoned with the Xia Country emblem!

This was like tearing down their pride as citizens of a hegemon and stomping on it ruthlessly!

After the extreme shock came a frantic, defensive backlash, like a beast whose tail had been stepped on.

Public opinion The Other Side of the Ocean completely boiled over.

The top trending spots on Twitter, Facebook, and major forums were washed in blood within minutes by a glaring hashtag—

[Traitor Tony!]

Extreme netizens and exasperated high-level officials began to frantically manipulate public opinion.

They occupied the so-called moral high ground, pouring out their rage in the comment sections with the most vicious and filthy language.

"Traitor! You have betrayed the land that birthed and raised you!"

"Boycott everything about him! Remove all his movies!"

"The Other Side of the Ocean gave him fame, fortune, and supreme honor, yet he turned around and went to Xia Country? He doesn't deserve to be Iron Man!"

Wave after wave of anger followed, with cyberbullying sweeping through like a tsunami.

They tried to use overwhelming moral kidnapping to cover up the unspeakable fear and powerlessness deep in their hearts.

They attempted to use their spit to save the empire's last layer of dignity, which was as thin as a cicada's wing.

However, in the international public opinion arena, a sudden surge of commentary emerged like a sharp, peerless blade, easily tearing through all hypocritical moral pretenses.

"Why are you all shouting about traitors? What's wrong with changing nationality? Which international law says you can't?"

"You keyboard warriors, please get the situation straight! What Xia Country gave him wasn't a check or some crappy costume."

"That is a genuine, flight-capable, earth-shaking Iron Man mecha suit!"

"I'll just ask you one thing: if it were you, and a real mecha suit was placed in front of you, and the only condition was to change your nationality, would you do it or not?!"

As soon as this comment came out.

The international comment sections, which had been as noisy as boiling water, actually fell into a bizarre silence for several minutes.

Those extreme netizens who were banging on their keyboards and shouting about "national honor" and "faith in freedom" froze with their hands in mid-air, their eyes fixed on those few lines of text.

They really wanted to refute it.

They really wanted to type out tough words like "I'd never change," "What even is a mecha suit," and "Faith is priceless."

But when the shadow of that armor appeared in their minds, their fingers simply couldn't press down.

That was a real mecha suit!

In the face of absolute technological dominance, that so-called moral high ground appeared laughable and fragile.

A sense of powerlessness and intense jealousy completely overwhelmed the netizens who had been shouting the loudest.

In the forums The Other Side of the Ocean, the cursing gradually weakened, replaced by a pervasive sense of bitterness and despair.

Meanwhile, the carnival on the domestic internet not only didn't stop but reached a new level of heat as the foreign internet went silent.

In the festive atmosphere, a domestic netizen with the ID "West Depot Flower" suddenly posted a comment on a forum.

"Wait! Brothers! Have you thought about it!"

"Tony is now a bona fide Xia Country citizen! And he has a real mecha suit!"

"Then that thing we talked about in God Lin's comment section before..."

"The Spring Festival Gala!!!"

The second this comment was posted, the replies below it were like an ignited powder keg.

"Holy crap! Right! God Lin personally replied before, saying the suggestion was pretty good!"

"Oh my god, oh my god! I can see it now! Tony wearing the real mecha suit on the Spring Festival Gala stage on New Year's Eve, facing billions of viewers worldwide..."

"He flips up the mecha mask and sings 'my people, my country' in his broken Xia Country language!"

"Just imagining this scene gives me goosebumps all over!"

"No, if he really goes on the Spring Festival Gala, wouldn't those people The Other Side of the Ocean have a heart attack on the spot?"

"A petition of ten thousand to the Spring Festival Gala director team! It must be arranged!"

The expectations of domestic netizens were pushed to the max, and countless people even rushed to the official Spring Festival Gala account to spam the comments.

The Xia Country netizens, having visualized that insane scene, were so excited they were about to faint.

And this topic spread at a viral speed, quickly becoming a new trending topic.

When screenshots of this topic were translated into English by meddlers and carried over to the foreign internet along with the domestic netizens' witty comments...

Those netizens The Other Side of the Ocean also suddenly remembered.

A few days ago, on Xia Country's social networks, there had indeed been such a seemingly absurd proposal.

At that time, there was no such thing as Tony changing his nationality; there was only the Iron Man mecha suit, yet they had already felt incomparable despair and humiliation.

And now?

In the hearts of countless netizens The Other Side of the Ocean, only one terrifying thought remained.

No way, right? No way...