32: The gaze of a nation

The year 2026, Dragon Country. A university lecture hall packed with young people.

An old professor from the history department was using this phenomenal livestream as a case study for his course, "Historical Reconstruction in the New Media Era."

Just moments ago, he had been talking incessantly.

"Students, please look. This immersive experience blurs the boundaries between reality and virtuality. The emotional impact it brings is..."

His voice stopped abruptly.

On the screen, that flag, stained with blood and fire, was slowly rising above the ruins, braving the artillery fire.

The classroom was deathly silent.

Outside the screen, something flickered in the old professor's cloudy eyes. He slowly lowered the pointer in his hand and stood up straight with trembling limbs.

He faced the projection screen, facing that flag fluttering in the smoke of gunpowder.

He raised his arm and gave a salute that wasn't exactly standard, but was incomparably solemn.

In the first row, a boy wearing glasses was the first to notice the professor's actions.

He froze for a moment, then, as if struck by something, he suddenly stood up from his seat, straightened his back, and followed the professor's example.

One, two, three... In the entire lecture hall, hundreds of students stood up one by one, like ripples caused by a stone thrown into a lake.

No one spoke.

They just stood there, gazing intently at that flag... At the same time, in countless corners across the length and breadth of Dragon Country.

In a noisy internet cafe.

A yellow-haired youth had just slammed his keyboard thunderously because he lost a game. Cursing, he clicked on Chen Xi's livestream, wanting to see what this most popular streamer was up to now.

He saw that flag.

He saw those saluting figures beneath the flag, standing like monuments.

The irritation and disdain on the youth's face instantly froze.

He watched the screen in silence for a full half-minute.

Then, he silently took off his headphones and placed them gently on the table.

Under the astonished gazes of those around him, he stood up and, facing that small, glowing screen, stood at attention awkwardly but with utmost seriousness... In a brightly lit office building.

A white-collar worker called "Linda" was secretly watching the livestream on her phone while wearing a facial mask.

When that hoarse bugle call sounded, the smile on her face vanished.

She watched those wounded Soldiers struggling to crawl up from the ground.

She watched that veteran with a broken leg propping up his body with his elbows.

She looked at the screen, at that red color that appeared exceptionally piercing against the gray sky.

Tears welled up without warning, washing away her expensive facial mask.

She could no longer sit still.

She stood up from her workstation, and there, in that forest of cubicles made of partitions, computers, and documents, she bowed deeply, deeply, to the small phone screen... In a home in a remote small town.

An old man with gray hair but a back that remained as straight as a poker was holding a chipped enamel teacup, watching the television hanging on the wall.

On the television was Chen Xi's livestream.

When that flag reached the top and flapped loudly in the wind.

The teacup in the old man's hand fell to the ground with a "clatter," spilling water everywhere, yet he didn't notice at all.

He suddenly stood up from that polished rattan chair.

He snapped his feet together.

His gaze instantly became as sharp as a knife, as if he had returned to that freezing snowfield decades ago.

He raised his right hand, fingers pressed together.

A perfectly standard military salute, engraved into his very bones.

"Salute!"

A hoarse low growl, suppressing endless emotion, escaped the old man's throat... In Chen Xi's livestream room.

After a bizarre minute-long standstill where not even a single punctuation mark appeared.

The bullet chat completely flooded the entire screen like a tsunami.

There were no "666"s.

There were no "Master Xi is awesome."

There were only two words.

【Salute!】

【Salute!】

【Salute!】

These two words were like a command, a supreme directive engraved in their bloodlines that spanned eighty-nine years of time and space.

They converged into a white torrent, washing over everyone's eyes.

Following that was a second wave, an even more surging outpouring of emotion.

【No regrets in this life to be born in Huaxia; in the next life, I still want to be a citizen of Dragon Country!】

【Waaaaah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have complained that today's lunch didn't taste good...】

【I just stood up. My colleagues next to me thought I was crazy, but now, they've stood up too.】

【The mountains and rivers remain, the country is prosperous and the people are at peace! This era of prosperity is as you wished!】

【Ancestors, can you see? We... we won!】

The popularity of the livestream room completely broke the one hundred million mark.

But no one was paying attention to that number anymore.

At this moment, this was no longer a game livestream room for mindless entertainment.

It had become a sacred, solemn online monument belonging to the entire nation.

Everyone was using their own way to pay their highest respects to that period of history forged with blood and fire... In a corner of Sihang Warehouse.

Chen Xi was still immersed in that massive torrent of emotion, a mix of tragedy and pride.

Suddenly, the cold notification sound of the system rang in his ear.

"Ding—!"

"Detected ultra-large-scale, ultra-high-intensity, sustained emotional resonance from the 'Universe-2026' observation group."

"Emotion types: Respect, Pride, Touched, Solemnity..."

"Emotion intensity judgment: Historical Peak!"

"Converting 'Audience Emotion Points'..."

In front of Chen Xi's eyes, that blue light screen that only he could see forcibly popped up.

The numbers representing the emotion points had completely turned into a blurred, crazily scrolling phantom.

Like an out-of-control counter performing an endless summation.

But Chen Xi only gave it an indifferent glance.

For the first time, he felt a sincere disgust toward this number.

Because he knew that behind every rapidly jumping number, it might represent the passing of a young life, and it was steeped in the deepest suffering of this nation.

He slowly closed his eyes and cut off all interaction with the system... The year 2026.

This phenomenal "National Standing" event swept through the entire internet of Dragon Country with viral speed.

#National Flag Rises at Sihang Warehouse#

#What We Fight For#

#Most Tear-Jerking Livestream in History#

One burning topic after another dominated the trending lists of all social platforms, followed by a row of bright red "Explosive" tags.

Countless screenshots and short videos circulated crazily on people's phones.

In the images, people of different locations, ages, and identities were standing and saluting the screen in unison.

Their backgrounds might be different, but their eyes all shone with the same light.

This was no longer a carnival about a game.

It had evolved into a nationwide discussion about patriotism and national spirit.

Some keen historians finally sensed a hint of something unusual from this frenzy.

The official account of the Dragon Country History Research Institute published an article co-authored by several senior professors, titled: "A Wake-up Call for 'Amusing Ourselves to Death': An All-too-Real 'Historical Game'."

In the article, they analyzed every detail in the livestream with a tone that was calm to the point of being cruel.

"...Whether from the perspective of the Soldiers' uniform styles, weapon models, or the level of restoration of the battlefield environment, this livestream has shown a disturbing level of realism. More importantly, those virtual characters called 'NPCs' exhibited micro-expressions, muscle reactions, and psychological stress in extreme environments that far exceed the current level of artificial intelligence..."

"...We call upon relevant departments to intervene and investigate. If this is merely a game, then its production company undoubtedly possesses power sufficient to overturn the existing technological system. And if... this is not a game, then what it represents behind it will be an ultimate proposition that all of us must face with the most serious attitude."

This article was like a spark thrown into boiling oil, instantly causing an explosion in the field of public opinion.