At the Countermeasures Research Office base, Li Meng emerged from the interrogation room and went to find Gao Liangwei.
"Head, we've gotten everything out of him. Right after the new rule was announced, someone contacted this Big Bear King and paid him a high price to use his platform to attack Guan Tong online."
"Who was the client?" Gao Liangwei asked.
Li Meng shook his head. "They were very careful. All communication was done through private messages on Ascendant Home, so we can't trace their identity. Combined with the intelligence we've gathered before, it's very likely the work of Suroma."
That Suroma was pulling strings behind the scenes to drive the public opinion storm against Guan Tong was something Beixing's officials knew full well.
The purpose was twofold: first, to isolate Guan Tong and strip him of public support, which would at the very least cut off the source of his faith power enhancement. As for the other reason, it was to divert global attention away from Suroma's civil war.
Even if Bruce's tyrannical rule had reached the point where he no longer cared about outside perception, and even if he had ensured through modified techniques and other means that core personnel wouldn't leak information or betray him... being stared at by countless hateful eyes still carried considerable pressure.
Now that the public's attention was focused on Guan Tong, that pressure had been redirected.
It was the same tactic as in peacetime when something major happened, and a celebrity scandal would be quickly dragged out to grab the public's attention.
It was just that this time, Suroma had combined public opinion with the rules so seamlessly that it formed an unbreakable scheme. Even if Beixing wanted to defuse it, they were powerless to do so. All they could do was keep the official apparatus from adding fuel to the fire.
"Actually, there are some people inside the research office who aren't satisfied with the official propaganda department either," Gao Liangwei said at this point.
"What do you mean, Head?"
"Since we've already designated Suroma as a hostile nation, we should be fully mobilizing our propaganda machinery to take the offensive."
"That's true."
Li Meng also felt that was the right approach.
The two nations were separated from open war by nothing more than a single sheet of paper. Historically, at times like this, the propaganda wars between both sides would already be raging fiercely.
But clearly, Beixing's officials were still exercising restraint.
"I think the decision-makers are worried that with both the world war and the Doomsday Rules coming down at once, human civilization might completely collapse. That's why they can't bring themselves to make a decision," Li Meng said.
"The decision-makers are focused on the fact that the Fire Thief stated in this rule that humanity has opened the door to the real universe," Gao Liangwei said. "It's like a dividing line. The rules after crossing it are bound to be vastly different from what came before. The decision-makers want to observe the changes a bit longer."
Li Meng suddenly understood. "So that's it."
Many people inside the base had discussed this topic and reached a preliminary conclusion.
That conclusion was that the rules before this 【Star Sea Access】 rule were mostly related to the limits of individual human beings and disasters affecting the mother planet of human civilization.
For example, rules like Sleep Deprivation, Fasting Therapy, Five Senses Elimination, The Liar's Self-Punishment, and Digital Detox... all pushed humans to the limits of their physical and mental endurance, testing whether humanity could hold on.
Rules like Snow in June, Earth Dragon Rolls Over, Death Race, World Number One, and A Bright Moon Rises Over the Sea were about surviving disasters or competing between individuals.
Although there were also some extraterrestrial civilization products involved in the rules, such as Nightmare Beasts, nano-intelligence, the Dialoguer, Demons, and so on... they purely brought disaster. Upon closer thought, what they brought humanity wasn't necessarily all harm.
The Kimos Star puzzle related to the Nightmare Beasts was the first time humanity learned that the Fire Thief hadn't only descended upon Tianshui Star but had also brought the disasters of the Doomsday Rules to other cosmic civilizations.
The nano-intelligence and the Dialoguer had also brought humanity many technological and cognitive breakthroughs, even profoundly affecting the overall pace of development of human society.
Even the most dangerous and most hateful Life-Hunting Demon had people who profited from it—those who won in the novice gambling rounds and chose to give up participating in the formal gambling rounds all left the Gambling Space successfully with their won stakes.
Therefore, the researchers at the office speculated that before 【Star Sea Access】, most of the rules were still only related to human civilization itself.
But when an "Awakened One" appeared within a civilization, the Fire Thief seemed to consider that civilization as having reached a certain standard, and thus released this rule.
With rules going forward, they might undergo significant changes along with "humanity opening the door to the real universe."
With this kind of boundary shift and an unpredictable future, it was perfectly normal for Beixing's decision-makers to be unwilling to enter a full-scale war with Suroma. They wanted to first see what would happen once human civilization crossed that dividing line.
"Head Gao!"
At that moment, the office door was suddenly shoved open, and Zhang Minglu rushed in urgently.
"Section Chief Li is here too? Something huge has happened!"
Li Meng and Gao Liangwei rarely saw Zhang Minglu this panicked, and they both immediately turned serious.
"What is it?" Gao Liangwei asked.
"Awakened... Han Qiu has released a video across the entire internet, publicly declaring that he is that Awakened One!"
.....
A video several minutes long burst onto the scene, its popularity instantly dwarfing Guan Tong, Super Big Bear King, and others, rocketing to the top of the rankings on every platform.
In the video, a well-dressed Han Qiu faced the camera with a calm and natural expression.
He spoke: "Everyone, I am Han Qiu. The reason you all know me is probably through that wedding between Yishan and me."
Mentioning that wedding, he put on a sorrowful expression, as if deeply wounded.
"That grand wedding was supposed to end in happiness, but it turned out the way it did. It truly breaks my heart... But what saddens me even more is that Yishan has misunderstood me as well. I tried to contact her again, but she refused to communicate with me."
Han Qiu fell silent for a long moment, as if steadying his emotions, then perked up and moved on to a new topic.
"I was down for quite a while, but now that this rule has been released, I know I can no longer stay silent. Because... I am the Awakened One mentioned by the Fire Thief in the rules."
In the video, Han Qiu's expression was serious, with not a trace of wavering or guilt in his eyes. It was completely like someone stating an irrefutable fact.
"...Admitting this takes a great deal of courage. Previously, I never wanted to reveal myself, but watching countless people around the world argue endlessly over related topics, I knew I could no longer play it safe. I had to step forward."
"And I also want to make an official declaration: I, Han Qiu, hereby formally announce that I will hand over the right to use the Star Sea Court database query to the public, with a democratic vote deciding whether or not to use it."
"I am deeply aware that becoming an Awakened One was only possible with the help of others, so I will never abandon anyone. I, Han Qiu, swear here and now that I will do everything in my power to ensure everyone survives to the very end—whether ordinary people or Ascendants. All of us will reach that new world together, free of the Fire Thief and free of the Doomsday Rules!"
The video ended with his impassioned declaration. Han Qiu, thanks to that "Century Wedding" with Yishan, had long been a globally famous figure.
After the wedding, some said he was dead, others said he was still alive. But since there was no news of him, the discussions quickly died down.
No one expected that not only was he alive and well, but his return to the public eye would drop such a bombshell.
In an instant, the entire internet erupted into frenzied discussion about him.
"So Han Qiu is the real Awakened One?!"
"I always thought it was Shadow. Could I have been wrong...?"
"Shadow probably really isn't! That's why he never gave a direct response. He must think that with all that fame and not being the Awakened One, admitting it would be too embarrassing!"
"Isn't Han Qiu a wanted criminal in Beixing? I used to think he was just a pretty boy who rode on a woman's coattails. How is he suddenly the Awakened One now?"
"Just for the fact that he's willing to hand decision-making power to the masses, this ordinary person fully supports Lord Han Qiu! There aren't many Ascendants in this world with that kind of social responsibility!"
A tidal wave of support erupted, and all the traffic related to Guan Tong was instantly siphoned away to Han Qiu.
Many people believed Han Qiu was very sincere. He showed his real face and real name on camera, spoke very frankly, and promised to help everyone—he looked reliable at first glance.
In contrast, Guan Tong, despite his teaching career, remained mysterious and enigmatic.
He almost never appeared on camera. Even when issuing statements, he only used text posts, and his content had nothing to do with being approachable. He had never once made a promise like Han Qiu's "never abandon anyone."
In direct comparison, Han Qiu—with his real-face appearance and elite image—won nearly unanimous public support almost immediately with his vow to never abandon or give up on anyone.
Even if there were some dissenting voices, they were quickly drowned out by the roar of his supporters, unable to gain any traction.
Even more shocking was that public support for Han Qiu didn't just stay on the internet.
In the real world, from Beixing to Suroma, from Suroma to Xisiya, and even several smaller nations, people spontaneously took to the streets to rally support for Han Qiu.
This tight coordination between online and offline pushed Han Qiu's popularity to an extremely high position within a single day, catching every nation's officials completely off guard.
At that moment in Suroma, as the Minister of Intelligence hurried into Bruce's office, the latter was watching Han Qiu's video.
"Your Majesty..."
"It seems we've become the tool Han Qiu used to gain leverage," Bruce said expressionlessly. "He used the momentum of the public opinion campaign we pushed against Shadow to launch himself to the peak of popularity."
With that, Bruce looked at the Minister of Intelligence. "And I've received reports that large numbers of people have taken to the streets in several cities of Suroma to promote him?"
The Minister of Intelligence was sweating profusely. "Yes, I urgently investigated. These people are mainly previous victims of the rules, along with some ordinary citizens... They genuinely seem to trust Han Qiu."
"Trust alone isn't enough to reach this level. I'd say it's more like faith," Bruce said. "He's developed this many people in secret, and you didn't know a single thing about it."
The Minister of Intelligence turned pale. "Your Majesty, I... it's our failure to do our job properly..."
Bruce didn't respond, his gaze returning to the video on the screen.
"Han Qiu can't possibly be unaware of what would happen to these people he's developed if they were exposed. 'Never abandon anyone, do everything in my power to ensure everyone survives to the very end'... How ridiculous."
Bruce knew Han Qiu's nature well. Anyone could be a target for the latter's manipulation, but being able to manipulate people while spouting righteous nonsense with a straight face was, admittedly, a talent in itself.
"Arrest everyone who's been promoting him."
"I'll do it right—"
"I didn't say for you to go." Bruce cut off the Minister of Intelligence, his gaze growing colder as he looked at him.
"You don't want to undergo modification, do you?"
"Th-this, Your Majesty, I..."
The Minister of Intelligence hadn't expected Bruce to suddenly bring this up. He truly didn't want to undergo modification. He wanted to remain a whole person.
"Then you're unfit for the position of Minister of Intelligence, a role that requires absolute loyalty to hold," Bruce said.
The Minister of Intelligence's eyes widened. He was Bruce's trusted subordinate! When the Senate had rebelled, he was the first to stand against them. Wasn't that loyalty enough?
He remembered clearly that many department heads at the time had believed the Senate would win and had all betrayed Bruce!
Looking at Bruce's expressionless face, he finally understood what it meant: those who aren't absolutely loyal are absolutely not loyal.
To the Bruce of today, he no longer trusted anyone with free will. He only trusted human machines willing to undergo modification and under his absolute control.