Chapter 145: The Altered Situation (Part Two)

"Do you really think I cannot seize it?"

The room fell into silence. Mr. Liang had always maintained a gentle and elegant image. Purely in terms of temperament, he looked more like a professor with a scholarly aura, and it was rare to ever see such an assertive and dominant side of him!

Part of this was due to the political environment of Central Asia, which placed leaders under heavy constraints from the major families. Externally, the Central Asian region had always projected the demeanor of a great nation of rites and propriety. Consequently, successive leaders had historically been quite mild in both temperament and style of governance.

Today, however, Mr. Liang's sudden shift in attitude caught them off guard, leaving them momentarily at a loss for words. Mainly, it was because he held all the cards, making any forceful rebuttal impossible.

Old Huang's expression turned somewhat gloomy, but he finally forced it down, softening his tone. "Old Liang, is all this really necessary? Everyone seated here is a veteran who has devoted heart and soul to the country for many years. Isn't this a bit too dictatorial of you...?"

"Devoted heart and soul to the country?" Mr. Liang laughed bitterly. These people could actually utter such shameless words with a straight face. Although he had long known of their thick skins, he had never imagined it could reach this extent!

"Let's dispense with the useless talk." Mr. Liang couldn't even be bothered to debate with them; doing so would merely ruin his own mood. Now that the initiative rested entirely in his hands, he had no need for any hesitation. He stated bluntly, "My mind is made up. Those who agree will stay to continue the discussion; those who do not..." He pointed toward the door. "The door is right over there!"

"You!" Old Gong shouted angrily, "Old Liang, you are going too far!"

"Ha, and what if I am going too far?"

Damn it! The group stared at the utterly brazen Mr. Liang, boiling with rage yet completely helpless!

The calmest among them was Old Huang. He turned to look at his faction and suddenly realized a crucial problem: his group hadn't been entirely of one mind from the very beginning. He clearly noticed that at least ten people were simply sitting in their seats, sipping tea and refusing to meddle in the dispute!

This situation made him frown, and he suddenly recalled Mr. Liang's opening statement—that the primary investments would go to the Night Elves and the Orcs, while all other races must surrender their military command. What about those within this accepted scope, then?

This old fox! Old Huang suddenly realized that the opponent was deliberately dividing them!

On the opposite side, seeing Old Huang's expression, Mr. Liang knew he had figured it out. He smiled coldly. So what if he figured it out? This was an open stratagem, entirely above board!

Back when he, Old Li, Guo Zhenghua, and the Xie family were discussing the two-front deployment, they had begun researching the best choices outside of the Night Elves. Their first thought had been the human race chosen by the descendants of the Xie family, as it sounded more orthodox by name.

However, data analysts discovered that this race possessed overly balanced attributes, resulting in a low early-stage survival rate. This made Mr. Liang hesitate. Given the race against time, the faster the return on initial investment, the better. A race requiring long-term cultivation did not align with their current national conditions!

He needed a race with a high early-stage survival rate and a distinct advantage in mid-game planar contention. After much deliberation, they finally narrowed the list down to the Undead, the Void, the Orcs, Chaos, and the Naga!

The Naga were the first to be eliminated. After all, turning into amphibians sounded somewhat bizarre!

Next, the Void and the Undead were discarded. While these two races offered extremely powerful feedback through their warriors, Mr. Liang still excluded them. There were many reasons; foremost among them was that a certain Guo Lang was overly opposed to these two races. During the initial briefing for the first batch of soldiers, Guo Lang had published a rather positive manifesto, and crucially, it had gained a high level of approval, putting the leadership in a difficult position.

In truth... as a high-ranking figure, he naturally lacked such petty compassion. Since they were invading other planes, they should naturally choose the most efficient race. Concepts like conscience and moral baseline were mere nonsense!

Yet such sentiments could hardly be stated outright given Central Asia's national narrative of projecting peace. That blame lay with the government's consistent portrayal of a righteous image over the years; changing that impression now was no easy task.

Then came the Void and the Undead once more. They were hostile factions to the Night Elf race that had already been chosen for deployment. Consequently, choosing them would mean abandoning the Night Elves. But since the majority of the first returning soldiers were Night Elves, this was unfeasible. Therefore... they simply had to be shelved for the time being!

Afterward, Chaos suffered from an excessively high early-stage elimination rate and was also a hostile faction. Thus, Mr. Liang turned his attention to the Orcs. To be honest, upon reviewing this race, he was immensely satisfied. Whether in terms of early survival rates or mid-game planar competition, the Orcs held a tremendous advantage. Although data indicated they were somewhat weak in magic, it completely failed to overshadow their other strengths!

Furthermore, another crucial point emerged: according to intelligence reports, fully one-third of the returning descendants of the noble families belonged to the Orc race!

This made the choice almost perfect. Not only did this line of selection conform to the current national situation, but it could also fracture the influence of those powerful families—killing two birds with one stone!

"Why the Night Elves and the Orcs?" Realizing he could not stop it, Old Gong could only attempt to fight for alternatives through other channels. Frowning, he asked, "Has the supreme leader not looked at the database? Have you not had data analysts review it? The Undead are by far the most efficient race!"

Hearing this, Old Huang nearby mentally cursed him as an utter fool. By saying that, he was actively pushing that group of people right over to the other side!

Sure enough... the group of elders who had been quietly drinking tea without expressing an opinion suddenly began to speak up: "Hmph! We are a nation of rites and propriety. Central Asia has been the symbol of justice since ancient times; how can we possibly choose such a purely evil faction? Do we have no moral bottom line or principles left?"

"Er..." Old Gong's beard was practically bristling with fury. "What do you mean by an evil faction?"

"How is it not an evil faction?" A glowing-faced elder stood up. Enhanced by the Orc genetic serum, his entire frame had grown noticeably taller, towering over Old Gong by almost a full head. "Just look at your faction's name, and then look at the methods your faction uses to invade. It is utterly appalling and utterly devoid of conscience! Are you trying to make the soldiers of our great Central Asia behave just like your son?"

Damn it! Old Gong was rendered practically speechless with rage. As if your faction's invasions of other planes weren't appalling? What, were you planning to reform them through moral lectures? Are you fucking kidding me?

"Mmm, makes sense!" Mr. Liang watched these stubborn old men whose tempers had been rendered more straightforward by the Orc gene serum, suddenly feeling that this race wasn't half bad after all. Although they were somewhat unreasonable, at least they spoke with blunt honesty...

"My Central Asia is a nation of rites and propriety; we truly cannot choose such sinister and insidious races." Mr. Liang smiled warmly at the pale-faced Old Gong. "So let me offer you a piece of advice, Old Gong. Although we are invaders, we must leave ourselves a margin of grace. Going too far just might invite divine retribution!"

Divine retribution your sister! Old Gong turned his head away, refusing to engage with them any further. A few words in, and he had somehow become part of a sinister faction...

Old Huang cast a deep look at Mr. Liang. After a long silence, he finally asked, "Then, when will you give us the game capsules?"

Hearing the concession, the smile on Mr. Liang's face grew even brighter. "Rest assured, I still have that much credibility. Once you surrender your military command, the game capsules will be delivered at the very first moment!"

***

Meanwhile, upon his return, Guo Lang had sprinted straight for home without an instant to spare. Disregarding all surveillance, he unleashed his bloodline power entirely, mimicking Alice's terrifying speed. The sheer velocity with which he ran utterly stunned the monitoring personnel, leading Mr. Liang to cultivate him as a priority asset later on—though that was a story for another day.

When Guo Lang burst through his front door and laid eyes on his parents, he anxiously demanded, "What's going on?"

Lin Meiru was weeping uncontrollably off to the side, while Guo Zhenghua wore a grave expression. Seeing his son return, Guo Zhenghua immediately stood up. "Xiaolang, you must find a way to save Xiaoting!"

Guo Lang had only caught the gist of the situation during their brief phone call before racing back. His father had told him over the phone that Xiaoting had slipped into the game capsule while they were out, played it, and consequently—had been teleported away!

Guo Lang was frantic upon hearing this. What on earth was going on? How could such a thing happen? And why was there even a game capsule in their house in the first place?

Guo Zhenghua spoke in a heavy tone, "It was assigned to me by the military. I was actually planning to experience it myself, but your mother stubbornly refused to let me!"

No kidding! Guo Lang rolled his eyes. As if she would ever let you! You're this old and still feeling that hot-blooded? Assigned by the military? More like you demanded it yourself!

"And so... the game capsule was just left at home. But at first, we never imagined Xiaoting could get inside, because the instructions and slogans on top stated that it utilized database DNA technology and prohibited anyone under age from playing. We subconsciously assumed there was a minor protection protocol..."

Guo Lang slapped his forehead. "That's a fake game warning description, are you kidding me? Haven't you caught on yet, Dad?"

Sighing, Guo Lang comforted his mother. "Don't worry, Mom. I will definitely bring Xiaoting back safely!"

"It's all my fault for spoiling her too much. She really dares to do anything!" Lin Meiru sobbed.

Hearing this, Guo Zhenghua wore an equally anxious expression. Having participated in Mr. Liang's secret plan, he was acutely aware of the game's brutal survival rate. Even elite special forces veterans had a mere ten percent survival rate—which was the true reason he hadn't dared to enter himself, let alone a child like Xiaoting!

"Let's go take a look at the game capsule first!"

Nodding, Guo Zhenghua led Guo Lang down into the basement.

The moment Guo Lang saw the glowing indicator light on the exterior of the game capsule, his expression darkened even further, and an impulse to strangle someone flared in his heart.

"This damn fatty actually chose the Void!"