Chapter 122: Dark Clouds Over Huaxia

Chapter 112: Dark Clouds Over Huaxia

"Huaxia will never compromise with anyone or any force." Yun Shichu ended the communication after uttering these words.

He leaned heavily back into his chair, though the wooden seat offered him little comfort.

"Ha, this is nothing short of bullying," Yun Shichu muttered to himself, his wrinkled hand brushing against his forehead. "Bullying!" he repeated, emphasizing the word heavily.

He looked out at the sky; it was still as blue and clear as ever. Yet, when would the dark clouds hanging over Huaxia finally disperse?

Outside the door, many people were waiting, all anticipating the outcome of Yun Shichu’s communication.

The door opened slowly, and inside, Yun Shichu had already moved to the seat facing the tea table.

"Everyone, come in," Yun Shichu said, his tone restored to calmness. No one could have guessed what he had just endured.

As the group took their seats, it became clear that everyone in the room was a confidant of Yun Shichu—those labeled as the pro-war faction within Huaxia.

"What did they say?" The first to speak was Ju Yehe, an old classmate of Yun Shichu. At a time like this, it was most appropriate for him to be the one to ask.

"The situation... is not very good," Yun Shichu replied, though in his heart, he thought, "Not very good? It was absolutely outrageous."

Upon hearing this tone, Ju Yehe understood. Indeed, those people were never the type to act without seeing the prize; one could hardly expect good news from them, but he had hoped it wouldn't be this bad.

"What did they demand?" Ju Yehe felt compelled to ask on behalf of everyone, or perhaps for himself.

Yun Shichu took a drag from a cigarette—a motion so fluid that even Ju Yehe hadn't noticed when he had lit it. Exhaling the smoke, Yun Shichu slowly said, "Clones."

*Bang!* A sharp sound rang out. The Commander of the Jinling Military Region had slammed his palm heavily onto the tea table. "Dream on! Those bastards!"

Yun Shichu noticed that the edge of the table had actually cracked.

How could he not be furious? Yun Shichu could feel Commander Mu Fu’s rage, and he felt no less angry himself.

Ju Yehe now understood why Yun Shichu had said it wasn't very good—it was downright disastrous.

"And if we refuse?" Ju Yehe asked.

"This is a satellite hologram," Yun Shichu said, activating the holographic projection. Densely packed warships lay in wait in an unknown sector of space.

"Hiss!" Everyone in the room gasped in unison.

"Hmph, do they think our Huaxia soldiers are all scaredy-cats?" The gruff voice came from the Seventh Army faction of the pro-war group. If Liu Shaoyu were there, he would have recognized him: it was General Hu—or rather, Commander Hu, as he should now be called—who had a complicated history with Liu Shaoyu.

"Damn it! Your Seventh Army might not be afraid, but that's easy to say! What are we supposed to fight with? Where is the money coming from?" The one who had remained silent until now was the pro-war faction’s financial lead, Lian Liangzhe, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Finance.

Commander Hu felt somewhat embarrassed by the barrage of questions. It was strange; he had fought for so many years, yet he had never had to worry about money. In previous wars, he had never even had to ask them for funds.

"Has the nation's tax revenue really reached this point?" Truth be told, even Yun Shichu was not well-versed in the specifics of the treasury.

Lian Liangzhe looked awkward. The country did have money, but allocating it was not that simple. The reality was that there was effectively no money available for this.

"For us, that is how it can be understood," Lian Liangzhe replied after a moment of thought.

"It’s damn suffocating! A proper regular army, and we don't even have the money to fight a war. I might as well go be a pirate!" Commander Hu couldn't help but curse.

His words struck a chord with everyone present. Who didn't feel frustrated? To be a legitimate regular army and be treated like this was a mockery. Everyone harbored a deep resentment, though none had voiced it as bluntly as Commander Hu.

The left-wing faction loyal to the Old Dean seemed particularly dazzled by Commander Hu’s outburst.

"I’ll find a way to get the money. Those parasites! I’ll make them bleed this time, no matter what," Commander Hu muttered.

Yun Shichu felt a pang of concern. When Commander Hu spoke of "finding a way," one could guess exactly what he meant. In the past, Yun Shichu would never have permitted such actions, but given the circumstances, he had no better alternative. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the Seventh Army was on the verge of running out of supplies.

"In any case, I do not advise taking any radical actions," Yun Shichu said.

Commander Hu heard this as: "As long as it’s not radical, it’s fine." *That’s fine!* he thought to himself. *I, Old Hu, never do anything radical!*

***

"Where am I?" Liu Shaoyu’s consciousness was hazy. His last memory was of eating. Eating? Yes, eating.

With... the five-person squad. Right, the five-person squad. What happened? Liu Shaoyu felt a sharp pain in his head, as if he had been struck by something heavy. But... there was no memory of a struggle.

He tried to force his eyes open, but they wouldn't obey.

"Thomas, are you there, Thomas?" Liu Shaoyu tried to communicate with Thomas.

"I am currently experiencing an unknown breach. I am... unable... to function normally... initiating reboot," Thomas’s voice sounded strange to Liu Shaoyu—somehow, it sounded even more like an artificial intelligence than before.

"Oh, he’s awake. He’s resisting," Liu Shaoyu heard a female voice; it sounded familiar. He seemed to have heard it just a moment ago.

"Increase the magnetic field. Can’t you do anything other than seduce people?" This was another male voice, also familiar to Liu Shaoyu.

"Hmph, then I won’t come to you tonight. I’ll go find Hange instead, how about that?" It was the same woman’s voice.

Hange. Oh, right! Liu Shaoyu remembered. The voice belonged to someone named Amy. The name belonged to... the five-person squad.

Liu Shaoyu felt his thoughts becoming sluggish, almost beyond his control. Fragments—some illusory, some his own, some not—flashed before his eyes.

"Alright, increase the magnetic field. You know, keeping him in this state is very exhausting. You’ll have to feed me well tonight, Hange," Amy’s voice came again.

No answer, no sound. Liu Shaoyu didn't know if the conversation had ceased or if his own hearing had become too sluggish. There was only constant ringing in his ears and the sound of fragments passing by in a daze.

"Oh, his computer is so annoying. Why do Huaxia people still have computers like this?" The complaining voice was still Amy’s.

"Hmph, the Missioner always leaves behind little pranks," a playful voice replied. Liu Shaoyu could identify it as belonging to Hai Ye.

"Easy for you to say. If you're so capable, you do it. I really don't know who you're trying to seduce by looking in the mirror all day," Amy retorted, her voice tinged with hostility.

"Haha, I don’t need to seduce people like you do. Right, Lady Katie?"

"Enough, don't argue. Get to work. Our dear Missioner should be appearing soon," Katie’s voice came through.

Silence followed again. Liu Shaoyu was certain his hearing wasn't failing; it was just... Missioner? What did that mean? Was it him? But if they said he was about to appear, then it couldn't be him, could it? Why were they doing this to him? Could his current state be Amy’s doing?

Liu Shaoyu felt that thinking only made his head hurt more, and all his senses grew sluggish once again.

Missioner? Who on earth was it?