Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

093 – Betting

The news that a Chinese aircraft carrier fleet, which was alone conducting a search for the Liberal Clan in the Pacific, was attacked by unidentified monster and suffered a serious damage, immediately spread worldwide.

Upon hearing this news, governments around the world convened emergency meetings to find countermeasures against the new monster that emerged from the depths.

The largest meeting, presided over, unsurprisingly, by the Chinese Communist Party, which had lost one of the few aircraft carrier fleets, was evaluated as the most powerful Awakener force globally, thanks to the extensive Central Military Commission’s history with the enormous human resources of 1.4 billion people and Awakeners created by sacrificing lives across numerous gates beyond Asia.

However, despite possessing such powerful Awakener forces, the members of the commission expressed reluctance regarding battles in the deep sea.

Even ‘Poison Emperor’ Zhai Tianlin, the top Awakener affiliated with the commission, who received evaluations comparable to or stronger than Myung-jun through the Isolation Project, stated that fighting in the deep sea was challenging.

“If it’s about wiping out creatures throughout the nearby sea, it might be possible, but…”

Already troubled by the control issues of his poison, facing the sea, which diluted his main ability, ‘poison,’ posed a significant challenge.

Even if we could gather all the crystals in mainland China and pour poison indefinitely, it might be possible to deal a blow to the enemy, but if such a method were used, there was a risk that the sea itself would be polluted to the point of being unusable.

When Poison Emperor made this decision, other Awakeners within the commission expressed similar opinions.

“Close combat Awakeners won’t even be able to enter the deep sea without special equipment. Some can breathe underwater, but dealing with both respiration and water pressure is a completely different issue.”

“Long-range Awakeners are the same. In shallow waters, the speed and range of projectiles drop by more than half, and the power decreases significantly. Moreover, aiming is difficult in the lightless deep sea. To operate in the deep sea, you would need to use special submarines, and attempting long-range attacks from within them is a reckless act.”

During the meeting, the suggestion of luring the target into shallow seas instead of the deep sea for an attack was also proposed, but the opinion that it was difficult prevailed due to the size of the target.

“If it can split Shandong into three parts, the head alone must be at least several hundred meters. Considering the whole body, it could be thousands of meters long. Imagining how thick the skin must be to withstand the water pressure in the deep sea is difficult.”

As Doxiao, who gained the title ‘Sword of Devastation’ after completely leveling an apartment complex made of reinforced concrete with a single sword, spoke. Then, General Zhang Feng, commander of the 1st Artillery Division in the Eastern Front, who attended the meeting, responded.

“Can’t we use a nuclear bomb? Lure it into shallow waters, open its mouth, put a nuclear bomb inside the belly, and detonate it…”

“That’s like hanging a bell around a cat’s neck, General.”

Zhang Feng momentarily got agitated and almost stood up before sitting back down. He was also one of the individuals well aware of how powerful Awakener beings were in the changing world.

He was well aware that a considerable number of people gathered in this meeting room possessed the power to annihilate his entire mechanized division, which he commanded, with ease.

Observing this, Doxiao smiled as if expecting it and spoke.

“General, it seems like you have little experience facing these monsters. Essentially, these monsters have resistance against conventional weapons used by humans. Even the weakest of them can easily withstand the defense of conventional firearms used by humans.”

“I know that well. But what about a nuclear bomb?”

“With a nuclear bomb, we can easily wipe out monsters up to Rank 6 or lower. However, General, what we are discussing here is dealing with monsters beyond that, possibly exceeding Rank 8 and even reaching Rank 9. Moreover, these monsters are waiting for humans in the extremely disadvantageous environment of the deep sea.”

In deep sea, swordsmanXip, archery, pyrotechnics, and electricity, were useless, even the newly acquired power of awakener would be of no help.

Watching all of this in silence, Central Military Commission Chairman Xi Runfeng sighed towards the empty air.

“All is lost. There’s no way to intervene…”

Even if the Isolation Project, which sacrificed countless lives, succeeded, Chairman Xi had hoped that the People’s Republic of China could seize the changed world domination after the Gate incident.

The power of awakener, an ability that could build a formidable force as long as there was a vast land where Gates could occur and an unlimited supply of manpower, could potentially overturn the balance of power between nations, which had already solidified to an almost impossible level, replacing traditional military forces.

And, as Chairman Xi anticipated, the Isolation Project, which traded the lives of millions of people, had achieved tremendous success.

Although different from the approach of Myung-jun, who could annihilate the entire U.S. Seventh Fleet with his individual firepower, it was sufficient for the Communist Party to cultivate an Awakener capable of annihilating the U.S. carrier fleet.

‘Poison Emperor’ Zhai Tianlin.

In an Internal Affairs history full of high-rank Awakeners, he was the only Rank 7 Awakener ever created.

Before his potent poison, thick metals, as well as giant rocks and concrete, melted away, turning numerous monsters into a handful of blood in front of him.

Perhaps a formidable opponent who could even oppose Cha Myung-jun, who considered the world’s strongest.

However, even this formidable person was suggesting that avoiding the fight might be the wisest course of action.

Ultimately, Chairman Xi, who pondered over the situation, made a bold decision.

“Immediately recall all naval forces under our jurisdiction to the harbors. This includes even the navy operating in the South China Sea.”

“All of them?! If that happens, our influence in the South China Sea will be…”

“It won’t decrease. Currently, all naval forces worldwide are fleeing from the seas. If we withdraw alone, our influence won’t diminish.”

“But we can’t abandon the seas. Even though our reliance on oil has significantly decreased since the emergence of Crystal Reactor, we can’t completely give up the petroleum industry. Even if Awakeners don’t need it, the People’s Liberation Army still requires oil.”

“Of course, I’m not suggesting giving up. Now, with the United States abandoning maritime domination, it’s a golden opportunity for the People’s Republic of China to showcase its strength worldwide. So, capturing the sea monster that swallowed Shandong should be done by us, the People’s Republic of China, not any other country.”

“But with the power of the Internal Affairs, it’s practically impossible…”

The subsequent response from Chairman Xi left everyone in the meeting room stunned with its content.

“Let’s overflow the Gates.”

“Gates, you say?!”

Gate Overflow, the unprecedented catastrophe that left a massive scar with a radius of hundreds of kilometers in the heart of the Amazon, was being deliberately suggested by the highest-ranking official of the party.

“It’s possible that the sea monster that has appeared this time is a byproduct of the Gate Overflow in the deep sea. This means, by triggering the overflow of Gates, we can summon even stronger monsters. The risks are undoubtedly significant, but if you can hunt down the monsters that come out of the detonated Gates, it may yield greater results than hundreds of Gate conquests.”

“But that’s…”

Officially acknowledged as the strongest Awakener in China, aside from Zhai Tianlin, the Sword of Devastation Doxiao, faltered at the end of his words. Having witnessed the aftermath of the battle in the Amazon, he couldn’t imagine controlling an overflow disaster.

However, Chairman Xi Runfeng spoke with a determined voice.

“Without risks, there are no results. Now is the time when humanity is doing its best to overcome an unprecedented disaster. If we don’t take risks now, when will we? If we succeed, maybe the first Awakener surpassing even Myung-jun, considered the world’s strongest, will be born in our People’s Republic of China.”

After saying this, Chairman Xi suddenly stood up from his seat. Bending at the waist towards the Awakeners in front of him, he spoke.

“The future of 1.4 billion people depends on you. I know that each of you has been standing here, risking your lives countless times. But I ask you once more. For the future of the People’s Republic of China, please sacrifice your lives for me.”

Of course, it was a kind of political performance he unfolded. From the beginning, he had only one thought in his mind, to use this opportunity to defeat the United States and grasp the domination of the world.

He knew very well how to handle individuals who had been educated to live for the Communist Party from the moment of their birth.

As intended by him, the Awakeners, who witnessed his abrupt actions, looked at him with grateful expressions.

At that moment, Zhai Tianlin, the strongest Awakener among the government-affiliated Awakeners, urgently ran towards Xi Runfeng, grabbed his hand, and helped him stand up.

“Please stand up, Chairman. You shouldn’t bow your head to the likes of us.”

The rest of the Awakeners also began to stand up one by one, shouting towards their leader.

“If it’s the Chairman’s request, we will do it no matter what!”

“For the Party, we can sacrifice our lives as much as needed!”

“Let’s do it! Is Myung-jun anything special? We can do it too!”

The emotion that began to spread like a contagion turned into a massive wave, spreading throughout the entire meeting room.

Then, from the raised Chairman’s mouth, a formidable statement burst out.

“Then, starting today, we will sequentially overflow three Gates. With your current determination and enthusiasm, I believe you can defeat any enemies that come out from the Gates.”

“Thank you for your trust!”

“Xi Runfeng! Xi Runfeng! Xi Runfeng!”

“Long live the People’s Republic of China! Long live the great Chinese Communist Party!”

Amidst thunderous applause and cheers, the meeting came to an end.

Later, after leaving the meeting room, Xi Runfeng extended his hand towards an attendant with an irritated expression.

“A wet towel.”

“Yes!?”

“A wet towel!”

As the attendant hurriedly ran to fetch a wet towel, Xi Runfeng roughly wiped his hands as if trying to wash away even the dirty mud. Then, with a displeased look, he glanced in the direction of the meeting room, where cheers could still be heard.

“Why grab my hand… as if you will infect me with poison? If it weren’t for the Awakeners, I would have strangled him!”

That was his true sentiment. Awakeners were nothing more than tools. The real monster to grasp world domination had to be the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China, under his command.

Reflecting on the anger towards the United States, the presence that orchestrated such a show, Xi Runfeng muttered in a low voice.

“Even though the semiconductor struggle ended in failure, this time is different. This time, I will definitely pull them down from their position as the masters of the world.”

As he spoke, a deep-seated resentment towards the United States, a superpower that had repeatedly foiled his plans, was vividly visible on Xi Runfeng’s face.

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