In a city in Suroma, a gathered crowd was facing off against several mech-shaped war weapons.
"Stop resisting immediately!"
Mechanical voices kept blaring from within the mechs as they advanced relentlessly. With nowhere left to retreat, the crowd erupted into a cacophony of shouts.
"Let's fight them to the death!"
"Better to die fighting than die in that damn door-opening experiment!"
"Everyone, charge together!"
The crowd launched a spontaneous assault, but since the vast majority were ordinary people without Mind Power items or special abilities, they could only rely on their firearms.
Scattered bullets slammed into the mechs, producing nothing but a series of clanging sounds. They couldn't penetrate the armor at all.
Ordinary Suromans didn't have large-caliber weapons in their hands. Relying only on automatic handguns and semi-automatic rifles, they posed absolutely no threat to the meticulously engineered war mechs of Suroma.
"Thump, thump, thump, thump-"
The mechs fired off multiple stun grenades, which detonated amidst the crowd, knocking many people to the ground and stripping them of their ability to resist.
Following that came countless smoke grenades and tear gas canisters, all non-lethal attacks.
It wasn't that these war mechs were merciful, but rather that the people remotely controlling them didn't want to kill. They still needed these people to keep opening doors to obtain Coordinate Resonance Anchors.
If not for that, a few direct strafing runs from the autocannons would have been more than enough to scatter and eliminate these barely-formed groups of ordinary people.
Before long, once the crowd had lost its combat capability, several vehicles equipped with large grappling claws drove up. The claws scooped up the unconscious people one by one, dumping them into the cargo beds to be hauled away.
Similar scenes were unfolding in several core cities across Suroma.
Bruce's forced participation of ordinary people in the experiments, combined with that forum post on Ascendant Home, had ultimately ignited a wave of resistance among Suroma's ordinary populace.
Armed confrontations had erupted in cities across Suroma. Ordinary people spontaneously tore down walls, took to the streets, and banded together into collectives to resist the suppression forces dispatched by the government.
A de facto civil war had already broken out in Suroma.
Inside the Hall of Halls, Bruce was listening through his earpiece as the commander-in-chief responsible for suppression operations reported the situation to him.
"Your Majesty, the riots in the majority of cities have already been suppressed. Only a few two or three remote cities remain unsettled, still awaiting the deployment of war weapons."
"There won't be any major problems, right?" Bruce asked.
The commander-in-chief said, "These ordinary people have no power. Even if a small number of Ascendants join in, they cannot contend with our suppression forces. I'm only worried about..."
"Worried about what?"
"Your Majesty, because someone posted online and there are some fugitives, this matter has already been exposed to the entire world. If other countries intervene, the suppression won't go so smoothly."
If it were only online posts, people might question their authenticity, and the Suroma government would deny them outright.
But the few Suroman fugitives who had appeared in other countries were ironclad, irrefutable evidence in human form.
As luck would have it, the Suroma government had long since sealed the borders, strictly prohibiting citizens from leaving.
Before the forced experiment incident was exposed, many Suromans had been driven to despair. They simply chose to open a door themselves before being captured.
If they got lucky and opened into a safe space, they'd just walk right through.
Quite a few Suromans had managed to bypass the border lockdown this way, using Spatial Folding to reach other countries and complete this alternative form of escape.
Still, only a minority of Suromans had that kind of luck. Most opened doors into dangerous spatial scenes.
Hearing the commander-in-chief's concerns, Bruce let out a cold snort. "I'd like to see who dares to intervene. Even Beixing wouldn't necessarily make up their mind to go to war with Suroma over foreigners. Their own citizens wouldn't support it either."
He furrowed his brows after speaking, recalling Chadock's failure, and felt a flicker of uncertainty.
His original plan had been to use Beixing's internal intelligence to dispatch Chadock's "anti-Mind Power" squad to capture Shi Jingyi.
Shi Jingyi's identity was special. If they managed to capture her alive, this hostage could be used both to threaten Guan Tong and to negotiate with Beixing.
But due to faulty intelligence, Chadock's squad had come up empty. Shi Jingyi hadn't been in secluded meditation at home at all.
What's more, Guan Tong seemed to have anticipated this, having Shadow lie in wait at her residence beforehand.
In the end, not only did they fail to capture the target, but they also wasted two collective teleportation-type items.
Especially the instant teleportation item Chadock had used for extraction, which was extremely precious. The entire nation of Suroma possessed no more than a double-digit number of them.
Bruce didn't know whether this incident would make Beixing resolve to enter the fray, but as things stood, the situation didn't look optimistic.
"Complete the nationwide suppression swiftly."
After giving his orders, Bruce cut the communication and notified the defense and intelligence departments to monitor the border lines closely from this moment on.
If any foreign force attempted to intervene, he needed to receive the news immediately.
Meanwhile, in Xisiya, Yelanka was having an outdoor conversation with Yishan.
Sigaochin stood at a distance, silently watching the two of them.
"You want me to record a video?" Yishan pointed at herself, her expression one of disbelief.
"That's right," Yelanka said. "A civil war is breaking out in your Suroma. The ordinary people refuse to be persecuted to death and are rallying together to oppose your father."
Yishan revealed a mocking smile. "Ordinary people, heh... What good can their resistance possibly do? Can they pose even the slightest threat to Bruce?"
"You're not wrong. Most of the resistance was suppressed by the war weapons or modified body units your father dispatched at the first opportunity, but some are still holding on.
If there's no external support, these holdouts will be suppressed soon enough as well. So I want you to record a video, expose your father's crimes, and use your identity as the princess to call upon Suroma's Ascendant community to join the resistance."
Yelanka spoke bluntly, without any pretense.
When she had agreed to shelter Yishan, she had done so for her identity, not for the girl herself.
Although Yishan had a poor reputation among the Suroman populace, she was still the princess. Moreover, after the wedding incident, many people had developed a measure of sympathy for this woman who had been doubly betrayed by both her father and her husband.
Leveraging this, having her record a video to rally Suroma's Ascendant community into the tide of resistance against Bruce would greatly increase the probability of the latter being overthrown.
Afterward, if other countries fanned the flames, Bruce, relying only on himself and a few trusted subordinates, would find it very difficult to contend against so many forces.
Yishan was tempted by the idea but still hesitated. "Even if I call on them, will those Ascendants listen? They're all terrified of Bruce. Would they really dare to oppose him?"
"Even if only one out of ten responds, that's enough."
On this matter, Yelanka was far more optimistic.
"And once one person takes the lead, they can drive others along. Once the momentum builds, your father's intimidating hold over their minds will naturally dissolve."
"...Alright, I'll do it!" Yishan made her decision. "But remember, if Bruce is overthrown in the future, I want to be the new king of Suroma. Your Xisiya has to support me."
Yelanka gave no definite answer.
She was thinking to herself, "If Bruce falls, will Suroma really have a new king at all?"
......
Countermeasures Research Office base.
The large conference room, which usually went unnoticed when no meetings were being held, was now bustling with people and noise.
Within just a few minutes, dozens of people had come and gone.
The reason was simple. On the wall facing the corridor, a large hole had been carved out, tall enough for a person and wide enough for three.
This was Gao Liangwei's order, to conserve teleportation items by breaking through the large conference room's wall.
During this Rule Period, the large conference room would serve as a shared "information hub" for all departments. All message relay and coordination between departments would take place here.
Even Gao Liangwei himself, the person in charge, didn't use teleportation items or tunnel through walls to reach his own office. He simply worked here.
As a result, although the Countermeasures Research Office's overall efficiency had dropped considerably, it could still maintain operations without delaying too much work.
"Warning! Unauthorized personnel intrusion!"
A piercing alarm suddenly blared, startling everyone. They all jumped to their feet.
Gao Liangwei also looked up from his computer to inquire about the situation.
Before long, the base's security department reported that a Manchidon citizen had opened a door at home. After passing through a random Spatial Folding, they had ended up inside the Countermeasures Research Office base.
Everyone was stunned by the news. The probability of such an event was extremely low, but it was indeed possible.
According to this rule, any heavily fortified base, building, or hidden location could potentially have someone randomly open a door into it. The Countermeasures Research Office base was no exception.
The security department reported that the Manchidon individual had been taken into custody.
Upon questioning, they learned this person had been starving at home for days. Unable to break through the walls and receiving no government rescue, rather than starve to death, they had decided to bet everything on a single door-opening gamble.
And it had landed them in the Countermeasures Research Office base.
Admittedly, this Manchidon citizen had gambled correctly. At the very least, they wouldn't starve here.
After learning the full details, Gao Liangwei shook his head helplessly.
He knew that the two nations of Manchidon and Namelica had been hit hard by this rule. They had sought help from other countries right at the start of the rule period.
But every other country was too overwhelmed dealing with this rule to provide any rescue.
As such, these two nations would certainly have many ordinary people without food stockpiled at home. With no way out, they'd choose to open doors, hoping to get lucky and land in a safe scene to save themselves.
The door-opening commotion subsided quickly, but soon after, several more significant incidents occurred in succession.
Li Meng, working in the conference room as the head of the intelligence department, received two crucial pieces of information from departmental personnel within a span of just three minutes.
Even though he was always composed, his expression drastically changed upon hearing these two pieces of news. He immediately went to report to Gao Liangwei.
"Director, Yishan of Suroma has released a video declaring that a civil war has erupted in Suroma. She claims she will lead Suroma's ordinary people and Ascendants to overthrow Bruce's tyrannical rule, and she's calling on all nations to provide assistance!"
Gao Liangwei's expression turned grave upon hearing this.
He had known about the internal turmoil in Suroma before, but the government there had been refusing to define it as a civil war, calling it a public security issue instead.
Now that Bruce's daughter Yishan had jumped out to declare it in a video, the matter no longer had room for debate. It was formally classified as a civil war.
With that, nations could no longer pretend not to see it, and the Human Consortium would be obligated to make a statement.
However, Li Meng's other piece of news made Gao Liangwei even more alarmed.
"Also, the academy reported that Shi Jingyi's residence has been damaged, and her whereabouts are unknown."
"What?" Gao Liangwei's face darkened. "Someone attacked an academy Lecturer?"
Li Meng said, "The specifics are still unclear. Patrol drones captured footage of her courtyard in complete disarray, with signs of damage on the walls. After the academy received the news, they sent a female teacher who was close to Shi Jingyi to check on her, and that's when they discovered she wasn't at home."
Gao Liangwei frowned deeply.
If she were merely absent with wall damage, it could still be possible that Shi Jingyi had broken through the wall herself.
But a courtyard in total disarray indicated that outsiders had done this. Shi Jingyi wouldn't have trashed her own courtyard.
Li Meng said seriously, "Director, Shi Jingyi is no ordinary Lecturer... and she has a close relationship with Guan Tong. If we don't investigate this promptly, it could have enormous consequences."
Gao Liangwei pondered for a moment. "You're right. Contact Zhang Minglu, who's assisting with the anchor experiments, right away. Have him send Silver Fox and her team to investigate this immediately, and have them get in touch with Guan Tong to inform him."