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Has the world gone mad, or have I?

Netizens from every federation were dazed by the sudden turn of events...

Official statements from both sides differed; the Western four federations all claimed that the Central Federation deliberately schemed, with ill intent, pretending to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing from the start.

But the Central Federation’s stance was righteous and outspoken; the official announcement said, "We have repeatedly emphasized that the Huazhong technical shutdown was to blame, and all those crisis talks from the outside world are just excuses to attack us. This war was entirely planned by the ambitious of the Western Camp. We in Huazong rose up to resist and to defend our homeland. Some Westerners’ ambitions have shattered, and now they are trying to blame us with slander, the shamelessness of which is appalling. "

In the public networks, the comments from citizens of both sides grew increasingly fierce.

"No matter how much you argue, it was you white-skinned pigs who started this invasion war first, and now you have the nerve to say it was our conspiracy?"

"Right, weren’t many people boasting about coming over to enslave us and calling us all sorts of names?

It was that ID called ’Yellow Monkey Manor,’ right?

I’ve locked onto you; wait and see. No matter the cost, I’m willing to pay.

I just bought four new mining robots named White-skinned Pig.

Your family of four will get one each... "

"Hey, the guy above, isn’t his daughter only seven years old? Our labor laws don’t support that, do they?"

"Slaves have labor laws?"

"Hahaha..."

"It is truly repulsive. How are you any different from those who were shouting about enslaving us before?"

"No difference... The only difference is, we won."

"Right, we never said we were the good guys, haha..."

"Where did this saint come from upstairs? Why are you playing the moralist now? Didn’t see you stand up and speak righteously when the other side was shouting their mouths off?"

"Where would she get the courage to speak uprightly? Haven’t you seen her ID? She’s got a green card from the Western Europe District."

"Ah, that explains it..."

Online communities were swarmed with posts from Central Federation citizens, while those white supremacists active on the web before the war seemed to have vanished, afraid of being targeted.

In the Digital Life Era, the internet is very developed; anonymity is hard to come by, and tracing someone’s information can become very easy, especially when many from the West, who had previously made extreme comments on international communities without concealing their IDs, were so brazen.

And now, they desperately wished they could delete their past comments clean because many found out that people from the Central Federation were inquiring about their addresses...

As the four federations each made declarations of surrender, the domestic outrage surged like a tidal wave, almost enough to overwhelm the administrative center.

On the side of the Central Federation, it was all cheering and jubilation. Despite the market turmoil caused by the previous chaos, the officials announced that every citizen who had suffered property loss would be compensated, and Digital City would be open for free for seven days.

But the most important piece of news was that the new Virtual Realm would open in three days, and it would be available to... all citizens of the Central Federation!

This announcement was just as explosive as the surrender of the four federations.

Winning the national war was a moment to puff up with pride, but given the Central Federation’s usual style, many had guessed there wouldn’t be too excessive of demands and ordinary citizens just wanted to vent their frustration, with actual benefits being limited.

However, the opening of a new world was different this time.

The Virtual World had always been a place for the wealthy, out of reach for many lower-class citizens, even unthinkable for a lifetime.

Most people’s lives consisted of spending their entire existence in mining areas or power stations and maybe occasionally showing off in Digital City, without even the chance to reproduce.

Even those who graduated from top universities, with high degrees, able to settle in the research sections of Digital City at a young age, leading a life that seemed respectable to outsiders, found it incredibly tough to enter the Virtual World.

The Virtual Realm, a world where one could experience true life, from childhood to adulthood, learn martial arts and literature, encounter beloved ladies, and chase their own life stories, not just be a screw in a factory...

A life of riding on Flying Swords, with robes fluttering and swords at the hip, wandering the world heroically, was something many dared not even dream of.

And today, the officials were saying that this time the Virtual World would be open to all citizens?

For a while, discussions about this topic even surpassed the ones about the recent victory in the national war!

At this moment, it wasn’t just the public fantasizing about the future; the officials at the top levels were also envisioning a wonderful future....

-------------------------------

"These devils are pretty decisive...."

In the conference room of the higher-ups, a familiar voice spoke. If the King of Qin were here, he would certainly recognize it—it was Elder Hou Tianhua from the Hou family!

The very person who was torn into pieces by the King of Qin’s divine wind was now sitting in the conference room, unharmed. And most of those sitting around him were the same people who had been waiting for Chen Qing at the teleportation point.

They were the important figures of the various noble families.

"They aren’t stupid, especially that guy Cady. He’s a very shrewd politician with an incredibly keen intuition. Although young, his maneuvers are even craftier than many of the older generation of politicians," said Hou Tianhua with a slight smile.

"Elder Zhang isn’t coming back?" asked a middle-aged man.

"He probably won’t be back for now," Hou Tianhua said with a smile and a shake of his head. "He doesn’t care about the power here. To him, a new world where he can start a new journey and a road he can continue to tread is more important than anything else."

In fact, anyone who has reached a certain level in their cultivation develops this kind of obsession.

In the Zhuxian World, whether it was him or Zhang Zhengyuan, they had both reached the end of the road.

Without new opportunities, they could only watch helplessly as they aged and, no matter how vast their cultivation, would eventually turn to dust and smoke.

That was something people like them could least tolerate, especially a genius like Zhang Zhengyuan.

Fifty years ago, he had already reached the pinnacle of Zhu Xian.

The lack of further progress over the years wasn’t due to the lack of effort or insufficient talent but because that world. .. had almost run out of paths.

"Are Chen Qing’s techniques truly unbreakable?" another council member frowned and asked.

When the plan was initially formulated, the key individuals of the Federation had all established techniques with the other party....

"They should be unbreakable," Hou Tianhua shook his head. "Didn’t you see that he himself did not break them?"

Everyone fell silent. No one liked being bound. They wanted to bind Chen Qing, yet they were not very keen on being bound by him. The Central Federation’s official stance was incredibly domineering, accustomed to holding the initiative. To be passive like now was unprecedented....

"Let’s first talk about how to negotiate with that group from the Western Camp next."

"What’s there to talk about?" sneered one individual dressed in a military uniform. "They are the surrendering party, what right do they have to make demands?"

"Don’t be so absolute," sighed Hou Tianhua. "Cady is a smart man. His arranging for everyone to surrender immediately shows that they’ve seen through our true situation. Chen Qing won’t help us annex the four federations, and without Chen Qing’s help, we can’t manage that either.

Since it’s not feasible, there is actually a limit to what we can demand. "

"We should use our best steel for the cutting edge. Our main focus remains on Chen Qing’s world.

We only really need the four federations’ energy resources.

The upcoming negotiations should focus on energy compensation.

As for the other conditions, especially those concerning face-saving measures—if the price they offer is right, whatever steps they want to take can be granted, as long as they don’t involve matters of principle. ..."

"Elder Hou is still so pragmatic...." said the man in military uniform with a laugh.

The others also nodded in agreement.

"What about the compensation for the casualties?"

Upon mentioning this, the atmosphere in the hall grew somewhat somber.

Indeed, the victory had been complete, annihilating much of the Western Camp’s elite combat strength.

The Sorcerer Team, which the Central Federation had long feared, was also wiped out.

As a conservative estimate, the four federations would be unable to reestablish a military force to rival that of the Central Federation for at least the next fifty years.

In many future matters, they would lack the confidence to contend with the Central Federation.

But the cost of this victory was not small. The internal chaos resulted in at least three hundred thousand casualties, and many officers were kept in the dark and ended up in trouble.

For example, the previously most promising heir of the Hou family, and also... the excellent commanders of the command center.

In the effort to capture number one, including Wu Xiaoli, all were deceived, and all died tragically. There had to be some explanation for the sacrifice of these people.

Just as the hall fell into silence, suddenly, an announcement came from outside the conference room.

"There is a non-Federation individual requesting to enter the conference room...."

The attendees looked over, their expressions growing stern.

The conference room was, of course, encrypted, and the person waiting outside to enter was none other than Chen Qing!