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Chapter 322 The General's "Relics"

"Fuck! What happened? Our Global Hawk has lost contact! Just a second before it transmitted its last image!"

The atmosphere of jubilation that had just filled the White House's underground bunker was shattered by a gasp. The technical officer in charge of monitoring Zone Zero stared at the static-filled screen in front of him, his face ashen.

"It's not just the Global Hawk! All our drones and sensors deployed around Nebraska have failed!"

"What?" The president's smile froze instantly. He strode behind the technical officer, staring at the pitch-black signal blind spot. "What does this mean? What happened there?"

"I don't know, sir! An extremely powerful energy pulse, unlike anything we've ever seen before, instantly engulfed the entire Zero Zone. All our equipment was destroyed. The situation there is now completely blank!"

"Damn it!" The president slammed his fist on the control panel. "What was the last image?"

Technical officials quickly retrieved the last frame of the image before the drone was destroyed. The image was extremely blurry due to intense energy interference, but it was still faintly discernible that in the center of the blasted crater, a dark blue light was gathering, and something seemed to be slowly growing out of that light.

The outline of that thing looked like a... spire?

"What is this? A new monster?" a general asked, frowning.

"No, whatever it is!" A greedy glint flashed in the president's eyes again. "Ten million merit points, and this is what we got! This must be an 'epic drop'! It's General Marcus's last 'relic'! We must get it!"

He immediately turned to the generals in the operations room and ordered, "I command! Immediately mobilize the 5th and 7th Armored Brigades of the 'Pioneers,' the closest units to Zone Zero, and the 34th Infantry Division of the National Guard, and advance towards Zone Zero at full speed! I want you to rush into that pit within twelve hours and bring back whatever's inside!"

"Mr. President! This is too risky!" The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a gray-haired veteran, immediately stood up to object. "We know nothing about the situation inside! The intensity of that energy pulse exceeds the EMP of a tactical nuclear explosion! Sending a large force in rashly could result in total annihilation!"

"I don't care! This is an order!" The president's eyes were red. "We just recovered ten million merit points! The whole world is watching us! We absolutely cannot stop! This is our best chance to overtake China! We must seize it!"

Just then, a cold and steady voice rang out throughout the entire fortress via an encrypted connection.

"I veto this order."

The entire fortress fell silent instantly.

Everyone looked at the main screen where the sound had come from. On the screen was Li Zhenguo's expressionless face.

The president's face instantly turned a deep shade of liver. He stared intently at Li Zhenguo on the screen, forcing out a few words through clenched teeth: "Minister Li... what do you mean by this? You are interfering in the internal affairs of the United States of America!"

"Mr. President, please understand." Li Zhenguo's voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable authority. "According to the agreement we signed, during the war, all military operations in the North American theater must be subject to the unified coordination and command of the 'Earth Alliance Command.' And I am the Commander-in-Chief."

"You!" The president trembled with rage. "That's our territory! That's our army! What right do you have—"

"Based on your so-called 'epic drop,' it could very well be a massive trap that could drag the entire North American continent into the abyss." Li Zhenguo interrupted him. "Until we figure out exactly what that thing is, no unit is allowed to approach within 50 kilometers of Zone Zero. This is an order, not a suggestion."

"You are challenging my authority! You are challenging the bottom line of America!"

"I am acting in the name of your soldiers and your people," Li Zhenguo said coldly. "If you insist on sending your troops to their deaths, then from this moment on, China will suspend all material supplies and cultivation techniques support to the North American theater. You should think it over carefully."

After saying that, Li Zhenguo directly and unilaterally cut off the communication.

"ah--!!"

The president let out an angry roar and swept everything on the table to the floor.

The generals and staff throughout the fortress all lowered their heads, remaining silent as if trembling with fear.

For the first time, they felt so clearly the humiliation and oppression brought by that Eastern man.

……

Zone Zero, on the edge of the giant crater.

A strong wind whipped up acrid, acrid dust.

Olaf, the berserker from Northern Europe, lay sprawled on the ground, panting heavily. His body was covered in wounds of all sizes, and his massive battle axe was dulled.

Before him lay the corpses of several F-rank "Rippers" that he had just killed with his own hands.

Not far away, the man in the black combat suit and wearing the Grim Reaper mask stood silently, like an emotionless statue.

"Too slow."

A cold voice came from beneath the mask.

Your anger remains weak and powerless.

Upon hearing this, Olaf struggled to lift his head. He looked at the figure, which was both godlike and demonic, and his eyes were filled with resentment and anger.

"Who are you? What gives you the right to talk to me like that?!"

"Who I am is unimportant." The masked man slowly turned around, his gaze, hidden beneath the mask, seemingly able to pierce through one's soul. "What matters is whether you want to live. Whether you want to become stronger."

"Of course I want to!"

"Then stop lying on the ground like a piece of trash, complaining." The masked man's voice was completely flat. "Stand up, pick up your axe, and come with me."

After saying that, he turned around and walked deeper into the giant pit.

Beside him, the black-clad youth carrying an iron sword, Jian Wuchen, had been waiting there for some time.

"Are you sure you want to bring him along?" Jian Wuchen glanced at Olaf, who was lying on the ground, half-dead.

"The master's plan requires all sorts of 'seeds'," the masked man, Marcus, said in a hoarse voice. "And I am responsible for selecting those 'seeds' that can take root and sprout in the cruelest hell."

Jian Wuchen didn't say anything more.

He merely glanced at Marcus indifferently.

"You didn't die. But your squad, they're all dead."

Marcus's body suddenly stiffened.

He stopped walking.

"That was part of the deal." His voice grew even hoarser. "They traded their lives for the chance to destroy the 'core.' And you, with your power, saved me, the 'variable,' at the last moment."

"So, you are now working for him?"

"I work for those who died." Marcus raised his head and looked at the blue spire slowly taking shape in the center of the giant crater. "I want to see with my own eyes what they gave their lives for."

Jian Wuchen's lips curled into a subtle, unnoticed smile.

He pointed to the ground, where Olaf was still hesitating.

"And what about him?"

Marcus turned around, his cold gaze falling on Olaf.

"He is my first 'student'."