Before a certain underground room at New Covenant, Han Qiu stood waiting outside.
Before long, Paul walked out from inside.
His demeanor was completely different from when he first arrived at New Covenant. The fear and cowering that had once been there were all gone, replaced by a sense of security that came from having a backup plan.
Han Qiu said, "Are the followers I prepared for you to your satisfaction?"
"Very much so!"
When Paul entered the underground room, he hadn’t expected there to be dozens of people inside.
And Han Qiu had thoughtfully arranged these dozens of people in order from low to high Mind Power upper limit, making it easier for him to use his [Absolute Will] ability to control them.
Now that he had control over these dozens of people, his Mind Power upper limit had surged significantly. And with dozens of potential substitutes for death, his fear and worry about dying had been dissolving day by day.
"Where did you get so many Ascendants?" Paul couldn’t help but ask.
He thought Han Qiu was truly remarkable—able to navigate Suroma smoothly despite having a face from Beixing, and still able to pull off all kinds of sneaky moves right under the noses of the Security Investigation Bureau’s special agents. It was really not something an ordinary person could do.
Even if Suroma didn’t value its own Ascendants as highly as Beixing did, surely the authorities would have noticed the disappearance of dozens of Ascendants?
"Every snake has its path, every mouse has its hole. Don’t worry about how I did it. But since I’ve kept my promise, it’s time for you to keep yours, Paul."
"... "
Paul looked at Han Qiu’s smiling face and understood what that meant.
He was supposed to spy for Han Qiu, to get close to King Bruce and figure out what the latter was plotting.
This was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous task, because Bruce was nothing short of a cold-blooded monster.
Even Paul, who had single-handedly built the “Fire Thief Worship Cult,” felt an incredible sense of shock at just how deep Bruce’s cold-bloodedness went, after experiencing the “Array Action” incident.
Getting close to someone like that—once his use ran out—he would definitely be disposed of like trash.
Back then, Paul had agreed to Han Qiu only because he had no way out and no choice. He hadn’t had a single follower around him, and he faced the risk of death at any moment.
But now...
A thought suddenly surfaced in Paul’s mind.
Should he try using his ability on Han Qiu?
If it succeeded, he could naturally get rid of the danger.
At that point, with those dozens of “original followers” in the warehouse, he could take them all and leave Suroma, finding a small country to secretly rebuild the Fire Thief Worship Cult.
Or maybe, to avoid drawing attention, he could change the name to something else, like “Doomsday Rules Mutual Aid Association.” It wouldn’t really matter—the essence would be the same.
As long as he learned from the lesson of his last failure and stopped being so flashy, stopped publicly opposing the Human Consortium, and just lay low to develop slowly, he might even achieve ultimate success in the end.
“Paul, what’s wrong?” Han Qiu said with a faint, almost teasing smile. “Your breathing seems a bit heavy. Thinking about something exciting?”
"...No, I just..."
As Paul spoke, a resolve hardened within him, and he used his ability.
His [Absolute Will] ability was intangible and colorless—a purely mental-type ability.
The conditions to activate it were minimal, as long as the target was within a certain range.
After Paul used his ability, he found that Han Qiu in front of him showed no reaction at all, as if nothing had happened.
He froze, confused in his heart: “What’s going on?”
Han Qiu’s reaction even made him wonder if he had actually used his ability or not.
But the depletion of his own Mind Power was solid proof that he had used it.
Paul looked at Han Qiu. The faint mockery lurking in the depths of the latter’s eyes made a sudden, immense fear bloom in his heart.
Whether this person had items that guarded against mental attacks or possessed some special ability, it was terrifying either way!
He felt that, in Han Qiu’s eyes, he was completely transparent, with everything about him laid bare.
In an instant, Paul lost any thought of opposing Han Qiu. He lowered his head and said, “I understand. I will keep my promise. I’ll help you figure out Bruce’s secrets.”
“Very good.” Han Qiu patted Paul on the shoulder. “I’ll find a suitable opportunity to get you in. Don’t worry about the danger. Bruce went through all that trouble to capture you alive, which means he has a use for you. So he definitely won’t harm you easily... But.”
“But?” Paul looked up, meeting Han Qiu’s pitch-black pupils.
“But my patience with allies also has its limits. If you repay kindness with enmity again, I can’t guarantee what I might do to you.”
“Even if she’s not mentally unstable, which she clearly is. Even if she were willing to cooperate, she probably couldn’t provide any valuable intelligence.”
Outside the door of the old farm warehouse, Ye Dang said to Guan Tong.
“I understand those people in the Senate. They’ll use special agents or other intermediaries to insulate themselves from risk, so they won’t leave any leverage for an assassin. The Black Widow might not have even seen the face of the Senator she answers to.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Guan Tong said. “The video we shot and the recordings from Andrew’s computer will be enough.”
From the very beginning, his and Adam’s goal in this operation wasn’t just simple revenge. It was also to gather as much evidence as possible.
Because revenge alone wouldn’t solve the problem; it might even create more.
With Guan Tong’s strength, he could of course have killed Andrew and the Black Widow on the spot without saying a word.
But doing so wouldn’t help change the perception of the majority of Suromans. Instead, the Senate, Bruce, and others would label him as a bloodthirsty killer and mobilize more people to oppose him.
If that happened, Adam and Guan Tong’s enemies would only grow, and they might even end up in a situation where the whole world was against them.
Adam was very familiar with this kind of smearing. He had been a victim of it himself. His transformation from a front-line hero fighting parasitized forms to a wanted fugitive scorned by the masses in Suroma had been entirely orchestrated by those people’s hands.
And neither Adam nor Guan Tong were willing to treat ordinary people, who were unaware of the truth and completely manipulated by public opinion, as their enemies.
Besides, more than simple physical destruction, what the two of them wanted to see was for these upper-level manipulators—who loved to twist public opinion, calling a stag a horse and confusing right and wrong—to experience the taste of being consumed by the very public opinion they manipulated, and being pushed down by everyone.
“If we’re going to make this public, we need to do it quickly,” Adam suggested. “The Senate must know about this by now. They’re probably preparing their countermeasures. We can catch them off guard.”
“As for the platform, it’s best to use Ascendant Home. Posting there means we don’t have to worry about attacks from Suroma’s hackers.”
“Alright.”
To give the Suroma higher-ups no time to prepare, the two of them got to work immediately.
Just over ten minutes later, a post with a downloadable attachment appeared on Ascendant Home.
The title of the post: [Truth Explanation of Certain Events During the [A Bright Moon Rises Over the Sea] Rule Period]
Guan Tong used “Shadow’s” account to explain the situation in detail.
Apart from some necessary privacy concerns, he included everyone involved, such as Andrew, Gill, and Joiessen, in the post.
But he didn’t stop there.
In the latter part of the post, he directly pointed his finger at the highest levels of Suroma—the Senate and King Bruce.
“…If this series of events hadn’t been approved by the Suroma Senate and the King, they would never have escalated to this level.
King Bruce’s televised speech, as well as his hypocritical act at the National Cemetery memorial service with everyone else, were all intended to make the matter a done deal and shut down any other speculation or debate.
But paper can’t wrap fire. The more people a matter involves, the more likely a flaw will appear.
And in this major case that involves so many, thousands of Ascendants died unjustly for the selfish motives of these individuals. Who will console their innocent souls?”
At the very end of the post, Guan Tong issued a global call.
“…In the attachment with this post, I have gathered the evidence. Once you download and review it, your hearts will be clear as a mirror.
I, ‘Shadow’ Guan Tong, hereby issue this appeal, hoping that people of all nations, including the Suromans, will see through the true face of these cold-blooded schemers. Only by removing these black sheep can humanity, as a whole, better survive in this perilous era.”
After Guan Tong finished writing the post, Ye Dang looked at it and was a bit surprised.
Although there had been speculation about “Shadow’s” identity, this was the first time Guan Tong had personally admitted it.
“Are you really going to do this?” he asked.
“This is the only way to show my resolve,” Guan Tong said seriously. “I want people to understand that the harm Bruce and these people pose to humanity as a whole is no less than the Doomsday Rules. If we let them continue running rampant, humanity will eventually be driven to a dead end.”
“…I support you, you know that,” Adam said. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to say this for a while now. Once I rescue my wife and children, I’ll join that organization you’re building and explore the truth with you.”
Guan Tong nodded. “Mm, I look forward to that day coming soon.”
As soon as the post was published, it instantly triggered an online earthquake.
In just a few minutes, the post shot to the top of the rankings—not just on Ascendant Home, but on every social media platform.
Including multiple platforms within Suroma, the discussion around the post continued to explode, reaching a level of popularity that was hard to imagine.
No one would have expected a past Doomsday Rule to make a “comeback” with such heat, even greater than during its original active period.
There were two reasons for this.
First, Guan Tong had provided evidence this time.
The reason his previous statements were questioned by many was the lack of evidence. Even if many people wanted to believe him, it was ultimately just empty words.
But this time was different. The attachment to the post contained several heavyweight pieces of evidence.
There was a video Guan Tong had recorded of his confrontation with Andrew, containing a complete record of Andrew’s deathbed confession.
There was also a video of the Black Widow, the Ascendant assassin. Although she hadn’t revealed who was behind her, her words to Adam and Guan Tong were enough to prove she had been arranged by the Suroma higher-ups to silence Andrew at a critical moment. That was enough.
Additionally, the recordings from Andrew’s computer were solid proof that Joiessen had contacted him and ordered him to “fall in line.” With these recordings, it was proven that the official statement from the Suroma authorities was a lie, and King Bruce’s televised speech was also a lie.
The second reason for the high popularity was that this matter didn’t just involve Guan Tong and Suroma.
After all, the 2,999 Ascendants who died in the “Array Action” came from every country in the Human Consortium except Beixing!
Xisiya, Lury, Manchidon, Heilanja... all of them had sent personnel to participate.
These Ascendants with high Mind Power upper limits were the pillars of their respective countries, or even the future hope of their nations. They were incredibly precious and had only made the sacrifice for the sake of all humanity.
Now that Guan Tong had presented the evidence, the deaths of these Ascendants had become a massive tragedy—Ascendants who had sacrificed themselves for humanity had instead died in the schemes of a few, their power used in an attempt to kill “Shadow.” It was practically absurd.
Earlier, when Beixing and Guan Tong had issued statements accusing Suroma of lying, the higher-ups in other countries had harbored doubts.
But without evidence, and with Suroma’s national strength being what it was, they hadn’t moved.
Now that Guan Tong had presented irrefutable evidence, would these countries not seek justice for the Ascendants they had lost in the operation? Even if their higher-ups were intimidated by Suroma’s power, the domestic populace would never allow them to back down.
With these two reasons, the popularity of the matter couldn’t be low. The second reason, in particular, involved every country in the world, including Beixing, which hadn’t sent Ascendants to participate.
In fact, not long after Guan Tong’s post was published, discussions about it were flooding major platforms in Beixing, clearly with an invisible hand pushing it.
The comments from Beixing people in various comment sections were a mix of elation and fury.
“There’s evidence now! All those who said the Beixing authorities had no backbone are speechless, right? If we had sent Ascendants, it would have been sending them to die!”
“It really was the Suroma higher-ups who were lying? Damn, the Senate and that King are truly something else, being able to spout lies on live television.”
“Look how calm he is in the video, not even a blush. No wonder he got to the top. If it were me, I’d be too ashamed to show my face after doing something like this!”
“Shouldn’t they send King Bruce of Suroma to the International Court and sentence him to death? So many powerful Ascendants died for nothing. Even I, an ordinary person, feel heartbroken just thinking about it…”
“This is too insane. If Suroma doesn’t give a proper explanation, I bet they’ll be ganged up on by the whole world. Even with their advanced tech, it won’t save them!”
“The whole world? I think Beixing alone could crush them. But don’t the people of Suroma have anything to say? Can they really tolerate having a person like that as their king?”
The people of Beixing were happy to have cleared the accusation of being “cowardly,” while also being furious about the heinous deeds of Bruce and his ilk.
Meanwhile, on Ascendant Home, under Guan Tong’s post, there were many people speaking out in his defense.
“I knew Shadow God was right! Even when everyone else was doubting, I never did. Loyalty!”
“They’ve pushed ‘Shadow’ to the point of revealing his own name. You can tell he’s absolutely furious.”
“The comment above me? Do you even need to ask? If it were you, and you’d worked so hard to neutralize a Doomsday Rule’s disaster, only to get backstabbed and nearly killed, wouldn’t you be angry?”
“If it were me, I’d be livid. I wouldn’t feel satisfied until I’d taken down at least a thousand!”
“You seem a bit extreme there.”
“Teacher Guan Tong! Do you remember me? I’m the student you taught when you were a substitute teacher!!!”