Chapter 123: The Actors
"That civil war over there, they won't last much longer. According to local analysts, they'll likely be reduced to guerrilla warfare in another month or two. The American military's air superiority is too great, and they inherently hold the overall advantage," Liu Zhen continued.
"Have them strategically withdraw to the Mo Xi Country below. Their ranks include a large number of Mo Xi people, and it's highly probable the American regular army won't pursue them there."
"Alright."
"Then how do we resolve that mess with Bai Mo?"
"The subordinates' suggestion is to continue the war of words, and at the same time, create some major entertainment gossip news to divert attention."
"That's good too. It's time those actors served the country. They're certainly skilled at diverting attention; a juicy scandal immediately captures national interest."
"Isn't this quite good? At least we have a useful anesthetic..."
The next day, a certain tabloid paparazzi team received incriminating materials from an unknown source. The material exposed the popular domestic young idol Yi Mou Mou, currently holding a concert in Tianlan, simultaneously cheating on three young models. Facing a sales crisis due to a lack of hot scoops, they immediately fabricated a sensational news story.
This small media outlet, which originally had few followers, gained massive attention under the instigation of certain interested parties.
"Damn it! This level of public opinion manipulation." In a certain Huaxia basement, several people gathered around a computer screen, watching the news and discussing their next move.
"They control the vast majority of mainstream media. Relying solely on hackers and 'water army' will ultimately be insufficient." The leader, a man with blond hair and blue eyes, spoke in perfectly fluent Huaxia.
"Then how do we deal with that person? The civil war isn't over yet, and most of our elite ability users are still tied up by those special forces. During the previous Huaxia internal unrest, he alone killed four high-tier ability users. With our current strength, killing him is almost impossible."
"Our goal is to make the Huaxia leadership abandon their cooperation with him, not to kill him. You must understand this point. A researcher lacking human and material support, even if a genius, can hardly compare to a professional team with ample backing."
"However, according to our spies' reports, Bai Mo initially connected with the upper echelons because he developed the use of Spirit Stones, making it possible for a group of elderly leaders, aged seventy or eighty, to begin cultivating. This single point has firmly branded him as part of the current leadership's faction. Without a matter of life or death, they won't choose to abandon him."
"Such close ties of interest... it's quite troublesome. The most stable bond of alliance with politicians is immense self-interest. They can even plot against their own sons, but the one thing they will never betray is their interests."
"What's more, he's currently a public deterrent for the Huaxia leadership, a card they can play. They still have need of this person, so for now, they can't even use a scheme to sow discord, despite his achievements overshadowing the master."
"You have a point. Have our people cease the related attacks for now and suspend the public opinion hijacking plan."
"Yes, sir."
Tianqing, Dao Academy New Building.
"Zhen Dao, have you noticed that ability users causing trouble in various places seem to be increasing lately?" Liang Gong asked, looking exhausted. "In the past few months since I returned, I've flown six or seven times to different locations to handle those ability user crime cases."
"It's all the same. I only just got back a few days ago myself."
"Oh, right, have you redeemed any cultivation information from the system using Contribution Points?"
"Of course. But I really didn't expect so many things were created by Captain Bai. Numerous small cultivation techniques, and descriptions of various cultivation stages. Speaking of which, it seems we haven't seen him since he returned from Italy, have we?"
"It seems so. But isn't his name rarely attributed to these materials? How did you come to think he made so many of them?"
"You can tell by the writing style..."
"I didn't know you could discern that."
"Of course. Among my daily martial arts practice, reading novels is one of my pastimes. I especially love reading martial arts and wuxia genres, but truly good authors are too rare. After reading so much, even if an author uses an alias, I can easily discern their writing 'flavor.' But recently, I feel this skill has been greatly enhanced and has become a new ability of mine."
"There's such a strange ability?" Liang Gong asked, laughing.
"My brain seems to have developed the ability to identify authors from text. Give me any two passages, and I can instantly tell if they're from the same hand."
"It seems your brain's Spirit Energy-transformation is progressing rapidly, and you're developing related abilities."
"Bai Mo once vaguely mentioned in the paid materials that there are several thresholds for brain Spirit Energy-transformation. After passing a certain threshold, the brain develops certain sensory abilities. It seems I'm lucky; I've passed this one. Oh, by the way, have you been following the news these past few days? Our Captain Bai seems to have become an undercover agent, hidden deep away, silently dedicating himself to the nation." Liang Zhen Dao suddenly remembered this report from the news.
"Didn't the internet say he was a mad scientist and a murderer?" Liang Gong, who frequently browsed online, semi-jokingly said. "I believe the 'mad scientist' part. As for the 'murderer' they're portraying, I read the news; it boils down to him just cleaning up a few petty thugs. It's not like he was overly calm after killing them, right? Although I haven't interacted with him much, given his personality, it's quite understandable for him to go for a stroll after committing murder."
"Liang Gong, you also don't seem to treat killing as a big deal?"
"Have we seen too little blood in the missions we've undertaken recently?" Liang Gong retorted with a serious expression. "When dealing with enemies, we can't afford to hold back."
"True. A martial artist's first instinct should inherently be to solve problems with violence. I've been practicing martial arts for over a decade, and I actually forgot this fact."
"Oh, right, Zhen Dao, are you interested in participating in the second phase of the 'Martial Edict' compilation project? I saw it on the Contribution Point mission board."
"I already signed up. The four national martial arts grandmasters — Mo, Li, Hua, and Lei — issued the mission, organizing martial artists across Huaxia who are interested in the Martial Edict to participate in the symposium."
"I won't join that kind of excitement. I used to be an ordinary person, completely clueless about martial arts. Zhen Dao, let me ask you a question, one Bai Mo asked me earlier."
"What's wrong? Did he give you some difficult problem?"
"What he probably wanted to express was, if one day there's a civil war in Huaxia, whose side would I be on?"
"Huaxia civil war? His thought process is truly unique, thinking so far ahead."
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