“Did you all hear that?”
Deep within the Mangja Mountains, inside a cave.
Roy, Verin, and the others had gathered together. They looked at one another, confirming that they had all heard the rumbling sound earlier.
It was not thunder, but the sound of an explosion coming from an extremely distant place.
One person’s face filled with fear. “Could Bruce have gone completely insane and started bombing the mountains because he couldn’t find us?”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Roy cursed. “Would Bruce waste his bombs for that? Even if he threw every single one into these mountains, he couldn’t level them!”
“Roy is right.” A resistance member who had done some research on explosives nodded in agreement. “To level the Mangja Mountains, not even all the nuclear bombs in Suroma would be enough, let alone all the nuclear bombs in the entire world. And...”
Everyone looked at him. Verin asked, “Don’t leave us hanging. And what?”
The resistance member looked uncertain. “Judging from the sound, I think the explosion happened somewhere outside the mountains. It wasn’t near the Mangja Mountains.”
“Could the fighting outside have started again?” someone guessed.
Everyone exchanged glances and shook their heads one after another.
Ever since they had gone deep into the mountains to live, they had essentially been living like self-sufficient wild men.
To avoid being discovered by Suroma’s government forces, everyone had abandoned their network devices and cut off contact with the outside world.
As a result, they had absolutely no idea what had happened beyond the mountains during this period.
Even after the Star Sea Access rule was released, when the entire outside world had been engaged in heated discussions about topics such as the Awakened Ones and the “real universe,” hardly anyone in the mountains had paid much attention. They only felt that as long as the rule was not dangerous, everything was fine, completely removed from the whirlpool of public opinion.
It was not that everyone did not care. After witnessing countless comrades die horrible deaths, and after feeling powerless in the face of Bruce’s absolute power, many of them had fallen into despair.
People who could not escape despair might take their own lives, while those who managed to emerge from it might become numb and heartless.
Roy had previously contacted Guan Tong through private messages because he did not want to give up. He still wanted revenge and wanted to leave the mountains, so he had begged Guan Tong for help.
However, after sending that private message, he had destroyed his phone. He did not know whether Guan Tong had replied. Apart from waiting anxiously for a turning point every day, there was nothing else he could do.
“No matter what happens, everyone needs to stay sharp over the next few days and keep watch at all times...”
Before Roy could finish speaking, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the cave entrance.
He also heard the voice of a little girl.
“Brother Guan, I sense that there are many Ascendants inside this cave. The people you’re looking for should be here.”
Everyone hurriedly stood up in alarm when they heard her. The next moment, Guan Tong and Chen Na appeared within their line of sight.
“Shadow God!”
Although Guan Tong was wearing an eyepatch over his left eye, Roy recognized his face immediately.
After the other resistance members recognized Guan Tong, they all secretly breathed sighs of relief, and their tense muscles relaxed.
Regardless of what they thought, Guan Tong was objectively still their lifesaver, so they needed to treat him with proper courtesy.
They were also very curious about the short-haired girl following Guan Tong. Judging from what the girl had just said, it seemed that she was the one who had discovered their location.
“Little Shadow God, you...”
Roy wanted to say something, but he saw that Guan Tong’s expression was grave and that he had no intention of making small talk.
“I came here just to tell you one thing,” Guan Tong said. “Bruce is dead, but before his death, he planted bombs in all of Suroma’s core cities.
“These bombs are controlled by signal chips. Bruce implanted the chips inside his own body and linked them to his vital signs. Once his vital signs disappear, the chips will automatically send out a signal and detonate all those bombs.”
Roy and the others were left dumbfounded. Verin asked, “Does that mean the explosions we heard just now were...?”
Guan Tong remained silent.
After a brief silence, curses rang out one after another throughout the cave.
“That animal Bruce! How dare he do something like this? Does he really think this country belongs to him?”
“That bastard is definitely going to hell!”
“Our country... How did it become like this...?”
Many people could not stop tears from streaming down their faces as they cursed.
If someone asked which group in Suroma loved their country the most, the answer would certainly be these resistance members.
They could have submitted to Bruce’s absolute power like everyone else, but for the sake of their own future and the future of their country, they had still chosen to resist bravely.
Bruce was dead now, but his act of dragging the entire country down to be buried with him still caused the resistance members unbearable heartache.
Guan Tong said nothing more and turned to leave. Roy, who had just recovered from his shock, called out to him.
“Wait! Then what do we do now? What should we do?”
“You can continue staying in the mountains, or you can leave. That is your own business. You must make the decision yourselves.”
After Guan Tong and Chen Na left, everyone looked toward Roy, their Camp Leader.
Verin patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him. “Roy, let’s leave.”
Roy looked at Verin for a moment, then nodded firmly. “Bruce is dead. No one is hunting us anymore. We’re leaving. We’re going back.”
He looked at the others and shouted at the top of his voice, “Let that bastard Bruce go to hell! We’ll rely on our own hands to rebuild Free City on top of the ruins!”
Everyone instantly became excited and raised their arms, shouting together, “Rebuild Free City! Rebuild Free City!”
...
“Brother Guan, what are we going to do next?”
After leaving the Mangja Mountains, Chen Na asked him this question.
Guan Tong had first sent Shi Jingyi back to Beixing. After all, she still had work to do and her own cultivation to pursue. Once the operation was over, she could not remain away from home indefinitely.
As for Chen Na, after Guan Tong had taken her away from the Countermeasures Research Office base, she had stayed by his side the entire time.
“Also...” Chen Na scratched her head. “Sister Silver Fox contacted me through the Mind Network. She wants to know what happened. Should I tell her?”
“Tell her the truth,” Guan Tong said. He had also received an inquiry from Yelanka through the Mind Network.
Clearly, Bruce had planted far too many bombs. Once they detonated all at once, they immediately attracted the attention of the highest decision-makers in every country.
Presumably, these people were more concerned about this incident than they were about the new rule released today.
Thinking of the new rule, Guan Tong also realized that he had not even checked the Hidden Rule yet.
In the past, he would always check it immediately after every new rule was released. But right now, he was in no mood to do so.
“All right, then I’ll tell her.”
Chen Na closed her eyes and began communicating with Silver Fox through the Mind Network.
Guan Tong looked at Chen Na, feeling extremely pleased.
Whether in terms of ability or temperament, this young girl had exceeded his expectations.
Under the pressure brought by a complicated situation and an overwhelming number of enemies, she had been able to make the correct judgment immediately. That alone showed that she possessed remarkable composure under pressure.
Moreover, her Perception was astonishing in both the speed and range with which it could locate Mind Power.
He had merely watched her fly over the Mangja Mountains for a few minutes, yet she had accurately located Roy and the others.
With such terrifying reconnaissance abilities, if he were the person in charge of the Countermeasures Research Office, he certainly would not want to let her go.
However, Gao Liangwei had still allowed him to take her away.
Although there were factors such as respecting Chen Na’s own wishes and the fact that she had resisted and did not want to participate in training, Guan Tong could still understand that this counted as the Countermeasures Research Office doing him a favor.
He turned his head toward the vast sky in the distance, which had been reddened by the flames, then sighed and contacted Yelanka through the Mind Network, explaining the situation to her.
As expected, Yelanka was utterly shocked after learning the truth.
“He actually treated the entire country as his personal property... That lunatic!”
Even by listening only to her voice, Guan Tong could sense the intensity of Yelanka’s anger. He could tell that she must have been trembling with fury.
Bruce was the king of Suroma, while she was the Administrator of the Xisiya Empire. As the highest decision-maker of a country herself, she could understand Bruce’s dark thoughts more deeply than anyone else.
Only a highest decision-maker who believed he was the master of the country could do something like this.
This was no longer merely narcissism, but an utterly pathological desire for control.
However, looking back now, there had been signs of everything all along.
From Bruce controlling every movement of his son, Gaelid, and forcing the latter to willingly inhale alien spores and become a parasitized form...
To modifying every Ascendant and member of the decision-making class, tampering with their memories, and building something called the Gaia System...
If he could do all those things, then what was so strange about planting bombs throughout the country and linking their fuses to his own life?
“...But looking on the bright side, at least this means a world war won’t break out. We have you to thank for that, teacher.” After stabilizing her emotions, Yelanka said this.
Guan Tong remained silent.
“We’ll discuss this matter later. I still have to return to the rule discussion meeting.” Yelanka paused, then asked, “Teacher, are you going to the venue?”
“What venue?”
“The rule mentioned that an extraterrestrial civilization’s merchant group will arrive at three in the afternoon. At that time, all the countries will form a joint delegation to receive them.”
“...I probably won’t go,” Guan Tong said. “I have something more important to do.”
“Something more important than the rule...?”
Yelanka sounded surprised, but she did not press him and ended the communication.
By then, Chen Na had already finished communicating with Silver Fox and informed her of everything.
Silver Fox had said that she would report it immediately and contact Chen Na again once there were results.
Chen Na came before Guan Tong, raised her head, and asked the same question as before.
“Brother Guan, what are we going to do next?”
Guan Tong rubbed her head. “We’ll go back and pay our respects to the Troupe members who died first. I want to tell them that we’ve avenged them. Then...”
He thought of Heisen, whom he had tied up completely and thrown into the Wordless Book shelter. Naturally, a series of interrogations for that man would be unavoidable.