October 22nd, morning.
The "wedding of the century" between Yishan and Han Qiu had an impact far greater than anyone could have imagined in terms of its consequences.
Guan Tong and Adam's sudden attack turned the wedding into a nightmare. After the Suroma government released videos of the scene's carnage, everyone was shocked by the sheer number of casualties.
The video was split into two segments. In the first, the ceremony hall of Wensilisa Castle was completely destroyed, the entire floor stained crimson with blood, resembling a scene from a bloody horror film.
The second segment showed the situation in downtown New Covenant City. Many half-human, half-snake monsters were locked in fierce combat with Suroma's official Ascendants, while missiles from some war weapons struck buildings, and flames engulfed the screaming people inside.
There was also a pitch-black ferocious beast, its hide tough enough to repel blades and bullets, capable of shooting long vines from its body to attack armed aircraft in the sky. It was clearly not a creature from Tianshui Star, but more like an alien monster from past Doomsday Rules.
The beast's allegiance was revealed at the end of the video. The footage captured "Shadow's" appearance, and the beast ran toward him as if recognizing its master. Then, "Shadow" destroyed several war weapons, which crashed down, smashing and burning an entire street, causing even more casualties.
"Shadow's" appearance in the second video proved that the chaos in downtown New Covenant City was not isolated—it shared the same origin as the attack on Wensilisa Castle, all stemming from a single coordinated plan.
"This is a terrorist attack against Suroma, without a doubt."
After both videos finished playing, the Suroma organizer declared solemnly on the news channel.
"'Adam' Liesert, 'Shadow' Guan Tong, and 'Yamata no Orochi' Uenoshi—their attack on Suroma is an undeniable act of terror. The Suroma government has officially announced that these three individuals will be listed as terrorists under charges of crimes against humanity, and a global warrant has been issued."
"But even more shocking is that within the empire, there were people who actively cooperated and provided information and intelligence to these terrorists. And the providers were actually members of the national decision-making body, the Senate."
"His Majesty King Bruce has already obtained sufficient evidence and has placed several implicated Senators under legal isolation for review. If the trial passes, they will be dealt with according to the 'Empire Treason Act,' and there will be no leniency based on the perpetrator's identity..."
At the Countermeasures Research Office, inside the meeting room.
Director Gao Liangwei and a group of department managers were all intently watching the news broadcast on the large screen.
When the broadcast ended, Gao Liangwei turned off the screen and looked at everyone. "What are your thoughts on this matter?"
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what to say.
It was Zhang Minglu who spoke first. "Although we previously speculated that Guan Tong and Adam would go to the wedding, we didn't expect it would cause such massive destruction... With casualties this severe, I'm afraid..."
"These two videos are heavily edited," Li Meng said. "I'm not denying the heavy casualties, but many intermediate process clips are missing, and a significant portion of the deaths were actually caused by the Suromans themselves."
"That's right. Especially the devastation in downtown New Covenant City—wasn't that mostly blown up by Suroma's own war machines? Were the people operating them all crazy, firing missiles recklessly without considering what happens if they miss or hit residential buildings?"
"Now that Suroma has issued a global warrant for Guan Tong, how we handle this is also a problem."
"If you ask me, we should just ignore it. When Beixing demanded the extradition of wanted criminal Han Qiu, did Suroma hand him over? No! So even if we know where Guan Tong is, even if he's staying right in Beixing, we definitely can't hand him over."
"Exactly. If Suroma had extradited Han Qiu to Beixing earlier, this tragedy would never have happened."
"Speaking of Han Qiu, look at the official statement from Suroma. They only mentioned that the king counterattacked the attackers and that Yishan was hospitalized for excessive shock. There's no mention of Han Qiu's situation at all."
"The king counterattacked the attackers? What a load of fiction. Could he really take on Adam and Guan Tong? The truth is probably that he escaped in time."
"Hard to say. The abilities and exclusive items of national leaders are all top-secret. For all we know, the king possesses some kind of powerful item or ability. With the population of an entire country supporting him, his strength would inevitably grow."
The participants discussed for a while, then finally looked toward Gao Liangwei, waiting for him to sum things up.
Gao Liangwei pondered and said, "Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened; heed only one side, and you will remain in darkness. We can't just accept Suroma's version of events. We need to get first-hand information from Guan Tong."
Li Meng nodded in agreement. "The Director is right. No matter what others think, I personally lean toward trusting Guan Tong. He will definitely be able to provide the truth."
Gao Liangwei looked at Zhang Minglu. "Dr. Zhang, can you contact him and get the information?"
Zhang Minglu showed a troubled expression. "I'm afraid..."
"If you're not comfortable, you can have Silver Fox or Chen Na contact him instead. Their relationship with him is quite good, isn't it?"
"Alright, I'll take care of it."
"I'll be going to the Xisiya Empire tomorrow to participate in the Human Consortium meeting." Gao Liangwei stood up. "The top decision-makers believe that before the new rules are released, we need to stabilize the international environment as much as possible."
.......
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the window of the small courtyard room, gently falling on Guan Tong's face.
His brow twitched slightly, and he opened his eyes, feeling as if he had just had the most solid, restful sleep since arriving in this world.
*Creak—*
The bathroom door opened, and Shi Jingyi walked out, wringing her wet long hair.
She glanced at Guan Tong and smiled. "Finally awake? It's already one in the afternoon. You've slept a full thirteen hours... Was it really that exhausting?"
Guan Tong sat up and looked at Shi Jingyi, who was wearing a bathrobe. Thinking back to everything last night, he surprisingly felt no sense of shock at all.
From their kiss at the cemetery, to returning together to her small courtyard in Pinglu, to the intimate harmony they shared after dinner—everything had happened so naturally.
"Because... your bed is too comfortable." Guan Tong struggled for a few seconds before barely coming up with an answer.
Shi Jingyi chuckled, sat down in front of the mirror, and took out a wooden comb to brush her hair.
Guan Tong felt a stirring in his heart. He walked up behind her and took the comb from her hand. "Let me comb it for you."
"Mm."
Guan Tong gently combed through Shi Jingyi's long hair. A faint fragrance of green grass emanated from the strands, better than any shampoo scent.
He sniffed lightly. Shi Jingyi looked at his reflection in the mirror and teased, "Haven't you gotten enough of the scent from yesterday?"
"What do you think?"
Guan Tong tossed the question back. Shi Jingyi said nothing, gently closed her eyes, and sat quietly.
Guan Tong didn't say anything more either. He slowly continued combing her waist-length hair.
The slightly sweet and fresh scent of rain in the air, the warm sunlight spilling across the wooden floor, the silky strands of hair flowing through his palm like satin—Guan Tong felt as if time had frozen in this moment.
He understood with crystal clarity what a "moment of happiness" truly meant. In this instant, he forgot the Fire Thief, forgot the Doomsday Rules, forgot the dangerous enemies, and only remembered the continuous present moment.
"If only time could stop right here."
This line, so often heard in movies, suddenly slipped out of Guan Tong's mouth.
He frowned slightly, somewhat annoyed with himself for breaking the stillness of this moment.
Shi Jingyi didn't open her eyes. She laughed softly and said, "If it stopped right here, wouldn't you have to comb my hair forever?"
That wouldn't be so bad, Guan Tong thought to himself.
Over and over, Guan Tong lost count of how many times he had combed. It wasn't until Shi Jingyi helplessly turned around and took the comb back that she said, "My hair is already dry. If you keep combing, it'll all fall out."
"Impossible. Your hair quality is amazing—the best I've ever seen."
"Oh? Have you seen a lot, then?"
......
"Alright." Shi Jingyi took a few hair ties from the dressing table drawer and tied her loose hair into a high ponytail. "Let's go spar. It's been so long since I've had an opponent—my hands are itching."
Guan Tong sighed. "Fine."
"With that lackluster attitude of yours, how about this—if you win, I'll let you make one request." Shi Jingyi encouraged him.
"What's there to ask for..." Guan Tong hadn't finished when he looked at Shi Jingyi's high ponytail and her glossy, rosy lips, feeling a uniquely captivating charm.
He cleared his throat and changed his tune. "Then it's settled. No backing out."
Shi Jingyi snorted with a laugh. "Don't act like you've already won. I've gotten a lot stronger lately. And if I win, I'll have a request too."
"No problem." Guan Tong was halfway into his eager mood when he suddenly remembered his reserve Mind Power seemed insufficient. He had used too much back in Suroma and hadn't had time to replenish it.
To spar with a top-tier expert like Shi Jingyi, I'm afraid...
"No backing out. You said it yourself." Shi Jingyi glanced at him, smiled, and walked out the door with her hands behind her back.