At noon, Guan Tong and Chen Na returned to the foot of the valley in Pinglu.
He didn't go back to Bandzhen. There was nothing left there but ruins, rubble, and earth contaminated by radiation.
The few surviving Sakura Prayer people, along with the remaining residents of Antu, had all been taken in by Beixing under the principle of proximity.
As many had said, Sakura Prayer had essentially been wiped out as a nation. But from the current state of things, Suroma wasn't faring much better.
Even before this nuclear explosion incident, Suroma's internal situation had been like an impenetrable black box to the outside world.
After the intelligence departments of Beixing and Xisiya exchanged information, they reached a consensus that Suroma's population had a serious problem.
Suromans were human too. With Bruce subjecting them to one twisted scheme after another, the death rate had to be astronomically high.
If there had been more usable people, the Suroma government wouldn't have needed to "import" ordinary citizens from several smaller nations during the Door Maze Rule Period.
The civil war that followed caused another population bloodbath. Satellite imagery alone captured deaths from the civil war numbering in the seven digits.
Seven-digit deaths, plus double or even several times that number of wounded, was a devastating blow to a nation whose total population had already dwindled to mere tens of millions.
And then Bruce pulled that "heaven-earth unity" stunt. Except the ones who ended up dying alongside him weren't Guan Tong, but countless Suromans.
Bombs planted in several core cities had all been detonated. The death toll was temporarily impossible to calculate.
Considering that every nation's population was now highly concentrated in core cities with complete infrastructure, that number was bound to be absolutely staggering.
Yelanka's statement to Guan Tong that "a world war won't break out" was seriously understating things.
At this point, Suroma wasn't in any position to fight a world war. Simply keeping the nation from being completely destroyed by this strike was already a monumental task.
Still, Guan Tong didn't think Suroma would be wiped out entirely, because some of its backbone remained.
The thousands of Ascendants Bruce had reverse-teleported using the King's Domain had all given up fighting Guan Tong after Bruce's death.
They had been under Bruce's direct control. With Bruce dead and their controller gone, they were essentially free now.
Then there were the resistance fighters like Roy and Verin. Guan Tong knew these true patriots would choose to leave the deep mountains and rebuild their nation.
It would certainly be difficult, though. After all, the core cities were already contaminated by nuclear fallout. The survivors who wanted to rebuild would have to start slowly with the abandoned cities that had poorer infrastructure.
Guan Tong didn't dwell on this issue for long. He didn't really care what happened to Suroma as a nation afterward.
From beginning to end, all he had wanted was revenge. Now that Bruce and his core decision-making circle were all dead, there was no reason to pay the matter any more attention.
"Brother Guan, has Coal Ball gotten bigger again?"
Back at the valley, Guan Tong let Coal Ball out to run free.
Chen Na looked at the cat's size, which now towered over her by a significant margin. She couldn't even imagine it as the tiny black kitten that once fit in the palm of a hand.
Coal Ball still remembered Chen Na. It rubbed against her side, then turned its head to look at Guan Tong with a hint of inquiry in its eyes.
"Go on," Guan Tong said.
Coal Ball let out an excited cry and bolted toward the lush forest in the distance with powerful strides from all four legs.
Chen Na pouted. "It just ran off like that? I wanted to play with it a while longer."
"It likes exploring the forest on its own."
"Hmph, what a wild cat!"
"Xiao Na, come with me."
Guan Tong led Chen Na to the living room on the first floor of the shelter.
She immediately spotted a person lying in the corner, bound hand and foot by Shadow. His eyes and mouth were completely sealed. He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't see anything.
"Brother Guan, this person..."
"He's Bruce's trusted subordinate, the researcher Heisen. I'll interrogate him later."
Guan Tong manipulated Shadow to toss the man out onto the open ground outside. He didn't want Heisen staying here, in this place where he intended to pay respects to the dead.
Then he took out some items and placed them on the table.
Chen Na looked at them, curious and wanting to ask, but seeing Guan Tong's solemn expression, she swallowed her questions for the moment.
Guan Tong didn't keep her wondering for long. He soon explained each item one by one.
He picked up a photograph. In it was a picture of Adam with an infant girl.
"This is Adam and his daughter, Ai Ya. Adam never officially joined the Troupe, but before he died, he already said that once that operation was over, he would join... In my heart, he was already one of us."
Chen Na nodded. She didn't know Adam very well and had no particular feelings for him, but she knew this was a time to stay silent.
Guan Tong picked up several sketch drawings next, his expression darkening. "These are a few prophecy paintings left by Moon Key, another member of the Troupe. They're also the only things she left behind."
Chen Na looked at the drawings. The content of one of them shocked her. "Those war mechs going through the teleportation gate... isn't that..."
"Yes," Guan Tong said. "She had already prophesied that Bruce would use a teleportation gate to launch a surprise attack. She just didn't prophesy... No."
He shook his head. "This is my fault. It was a misjudgment on my part. I thought Bruce would set the other end of the teleportation gate on Beixing. If I had discovered the teleportation gate in the rainforest earlier, Bandzhen wouldn't have ended up like this, and Moon Key wouldn't have died."
Chen Na tugged at Guan Tong's sleeve. "Brother Guan, don't blame yourself. How could this be your fault? It's obviously because Bruce was too despicable."
"...I always knew he would stop at nothing, but I still let my guard down. I'll remember this lesson."
After saying this, Guan Tong touched the ring on his left hand.
Uenoshi inside it was currently suspended between life and death.
Although time didn't flow within the ring and her petrified state would keep her in that condition indefinitely, the longer this dragged on, the more dangerous it undoubtedly became.
Moreover, if it went on too long, like Aaron, the younger brother of Black Star and White Star, back then, even if she recovered, her strength would fall far behind.
Guan Tong didn't care about the strength levels of his Troupe members. He was just worried that without power in the future, survival would become very difficult.
Therefore, he wanted to obtain that crucial "Ghost Orchid Nectar" as soon as possible to try to revive Uenoshi.
He knew that kind of black hole specialty wasn't something he could reach with his current strength. Even in the distant future, he couldn't see much hope.
But he didn't need to be so rigid. Why did he have to go get it himself? Could he obtain it through other means?
Like a transaction, for instance.
That was one of the reasons he had asked the Administrator in the Star Sea Court database earlier whether any human civilization in the universe had reached level 10.
If one existed, then if he could somehow make contact, might there be a chance to obtain what he wanted through them?
Guan Tong knew that if a level 10 human civilization existed in the universe, the humans of that civilization would surely be vastly different from those of Tianshui Star, Earth, and other civilizations.
But considering they all originated from human civilization, what if they were willing to lend a hand, or engage in a reasonable trade?
However, this hope was currently very slim. The Administrator refused to reveal anything, strictly following protocol.
According to the Star Sea Court Civilization Convention, even information on how mid-level civilizations upgraded wasn't open to low-level civilizations, let alone high-level ones... or the level 10 arbitration civilizations at the very apex.
And speaking of transactions, Guan Tong certainly wouldn't overlook the rule currently unfolding on Tianshui Star.
An extraterrestrial civilization's merchant group... arriving at Tianshui Star's orbit at 3 PM...
He knew all this, yet held little hope.
Because he guessed that this extraterrestrial civilization probably wasn't very high-ranked either. It was unlikely to be a level 9 or level 10 civilization, and probably lacked the ability to do what the Administrator called "Deep Dive of Consciousness."
For now, all he could do was observe and see.
Chen Na didn't want Guan Tong to dwell in sadness. After the two fell silent for a moment, she took the initiative to change the subject.
"Brother Guan, I wonder what the extraterrestrial civilization coming this afternoon looks like?"
"We'll find out when they get here. There should be a global live stream."
"Really?"
"Alright, Xiao Na. Pick a room in the shelter and fix it up as your own."
"Okay!"
Chen Na happily ran off to inspect each room one by one. Guan Tong looked at the items on the table again and put them away.
Having avenged his comrades, the nerves that had been wound tight for so long could finally relax a little.
Though many crises were still approaching, their arrival dates unknown, at least for now he could catch his breath.
And he certainly wasn't the only one feeling relief. Perhaps the whole world felt the same way.
Everyone understood that with Bruce dead, the greatest obstacle to true global unity had disappeared.
Perhaps in the near future, humanity truly would cast aside national boundaries and establish a genuine unified government to address external threats to their home planet.
"Brother Guan!"
At that moment, Chen Na waved from the second floor.
"I like the better view up here. Make me a room on this floor!"
"Alright."
Guan Tong went up to the second floor and carved out a space for Chen Na to generate a room.
She had expected it, but she still gaped in awe when the walls materialized out of thin air.
"That's so amazing... Can this shelter change shape however it wants?"
"The total volume won't change easily, but as the owner, I can decide how to allocate that volume. Alright, go take a look inside."
Once the room was fully generated, Chen Na walked in and circled around twice, looking thoroughly satisfied. "Awesome! I'm going to fill this place up completely, hee hee."
Guan Tong was infected by the young girl's positive energy. The gloom that had weighed on his heart loosened a little, and a smile crept onto his face.
Chen Na then began decorating her room on her own. She went down to the storage room on the first floor and picked out some furniture and appliances Guan Tong had stored there before, hauling them up to her room, busily occupied.
Guan Tong, meanwhile, went alone outside the shelter. He looked at Heisen lying on the ground but decided not to interrogate him right away.
He checked the time. It was 12:10 PM. Less than three hours remained before the extraterrestrial civilization's merchant group arrived at Tianshui Star.
He opened his Terminal Panel, finally deciding to take some time to look at this rule's hidden rule.
[Hidden Rule Twenty-Seven: The Art of Deception]
[Hidden Rule Content: In some civilizations of the universe, trade equals deception, and the goal is profit. Civilizations adept at this craft have developed it into an art form. Territories acquired through a single contract exceed those conquered by a thousand star-fleet battle groups.]
[Note: There was once a civilization that traded away its home planet for a grain of sand, claiming it was a joke. But once signed, a trade contract cannot be unilaterally changed. After refusing to honor the transaction, that civilization was forcibly compelled by the Star Sea Court. Remember, the Star Sea Court only recognizes contracts.]
"..."
Guan Tong finished reading the hidden rule and thought to himself that sure enough, nothing good ever came out of these rules for humanity.
Interstellar trade in itself was neutral, neither good nor bad.
But when it was shoved into a doomsday rule, the odds were high it could be judged as bad.
Now the content of the hidden rule proved exactly that.
"So it seems this extraterrestrial merchant group coming to trade with humanity is most likely the kind of civilization mentioned in the hidden rule, one that has 'developed deception into an art form.'"
With that thought, Guan Tong couldn't help but lament humanity's turbulent fate.
They had just been promoted to a 1st-level civilization. Before even making contact with the broader universe, the Fire Thief had already sent a deceptive civilization to prey on humanity.
There was no doubt this was a very dangerous move.
Because humanity had always placed tremendous importance on extraterrestrial civilizations. This was technically the first formal contact with a civilization they could properly communicate with, so they would certainly want to present goodwill.
With one moment of carelessness, that goodwill could be exploited by con artists, inflicting massive losses on all of humanity.
"...Although the higher-ups of various nations and the dispatched negotiation teams wouldn't be completely without defenses, if they could be reminded, they'd be even more vigilant."
After thinking it over, Guan Tong logged onto the Administrator account on Ascendant Home using his computer.
His regular clients in private messages had already sent him messages hours ago, asking if he had hidden intelligence for sale.
Guan Tong posted in the Administrator's Domain section. Soon, seven regular clients initiated purchases.
There had originally been eight regular clients. One was missing now. No need to guess who that was, someone from Bruce's camp.
The remaining seven weren't exactly promising either.
With Bruce gone, if humanity truly formed a unified government in the future, they'd only need to buy one copy.
At that rate, the client count would probably plummet to one to three?
Guan Tong couldn't predict accurately, but he wasn't going to feel discouraged about it either.
They'd cross that bridge when they came to it. If clients dwindled, he'd just raise the unit price.
A monopoly plus inelastic demand was that powerful.
The moment news of his hidden intelligence sale went out, the internet was flooded with demands urging the authorities to release the information publicly as soon as possible.
It had to be said, today's netizens' emotions were swinging like a roller coaster.
First they were excited and thrilled by the new interstellar trade rule, then shocked and terrified upon learning of Suroma's catastrophe, thinking a world war was breaking out that very day.
But soon after, the Humanitarian Defense Alliance led by Beixing quickly issued a statement explaining the situation.
Once the public learned that the explosions were all Bruce's doing, everyone agreed the man was utterly insane, completely deserving the title of the greatest traitor in human history.
Whether there would be a successor to that title was uncertain, but he was definitely unprecedented. Compared to Bruce, even the most brutal rulers of the past looked like harmless little rabbits.
However, a very small minority raised questions about Guan Tong. Did he know about the chip inside Bruce's body before killing him?
These people felt that if Guan Tong knew and killed him anyway, then he bore some responsibility for the millions of Suromans who died in the explosions.
This voice never gained traction, because there were too many major events happening. People's attention quickly shifted back to the extraterrestrial merchant group.
Especially after the authorities publicly released the purchased intelligence content, the public felt the money had been wasted. Everyone thought, "Well, obviously! Who wouldn't be on guard when doing business with strangers?"
In that atmosphere, when 3 PM arrived, the extraterrestrial civilization's merchant group appeared in orbit right on schedule.
Its appearance was extremely sudden, as if it had teleported directly there. None of humanity's various space detection instruments had detected its trajectory.
An orbital communication link connected to humanity's receiving stations. It seemed to use some kind of translator, emitting human speech with perfect pronunciation.
"Dear new neighbors of the Star Sea, greetings! We have arrived in orbit around your home planet and will soon dispatch a ground delegation."
The human side replied warmly, "Greetings, extraterrestrial civilization! You are welcome to land. The commercial reception team formed by various human nations is ready to welcome you."
After the message was sent, the other side replied with a question tinged with surprise, "By 'delegation of various nations,' do you mean there are many humans?"
The human side found this question somewhat odd and replied, "Yes, that's correct. Is there something wrong?"
Extraterrestrial civilization: "Does your civilization have many Awakened Ones?"
Human side: "What do you mean by that question?"
The extraterrestrial civilization's tone grew even more confused, "Do you mean to say that your civilization's representatives and interstellar contact persons are not Awakened Ones?"