Chapter Twenty-Three: Great Xia, Utter Nonsense!

At this moment.

With the conclusion of the Great Xia press conference, a tremendous upheaval was already sweeping across international networks!

“Is what Great Xia said true? Are deities really about to descend?”

“It seems real enough. They released a video and even showed bone fragments…”

“Haha, that’s hilarious! Surely no one actually believes this?”

“It’s 2201, and there are still people who haven’t seen the Avengers? With videos like that, any effects studio could churn out five a day!”

“Exactly! What does a lousy video prove? Look at that resolution, tsk tsk. It’s just some bones filmed underwater. Give me Photoshop and I could draw it myself!”

“And those bone fragments—come on, don’t tell me people are actually that naive. The Free State already pulled the laundry detergent trick ages ago!”

“Right! Great Xia is so lacking in creativity. At least show some compelling evidence. I wouldn’t be surprised if those bone fragments were just picked up off the street.”

“No, don’t talk nonsense. I believe in the existence of deities. I believe in Jesus! Enough talk—I’m packing up to welcome the coming gods!”

“Exactly. Even if deities exist, they must be as benevolent as in the old legends. How could they invade us? Disaster? Great Xia people love to exaggerate.”

“As my Indus White Elephant Nation has always said, Great Xia folk just love to lie and boast…”

The international web was abuzz with controversy.

Most fell into two camps.

One camp refused to believe, convinced Great Xia was lying.

The other, mostly religious, believed in the gods Great Xia spoke of. Yet it was less about trusting Great Xia and more about believing in the existence of compassionate, loving deities from myth. Some had even begun packing their belongings, preparing to welcome their arrival.

As for the disaster Great Xia warned of?

They didn’t believe it at all.

How could gods exist?

And even if they did, surely they would be benevolent and loving, like the gods of myth—the righteous and unyielding Hercules, the all-forgiving Jehovah…

Great Xia must be lying!

Inside the Supreme Command Center of Great Xia.

“It seems he’s already making plans for the next step.”

Through the glass window, Elder Jin watched Lin Fan guiding the ancient martial arts disciples in cultivating the God-Slaying Demon-Exterminating Technique, his gaze complex. “Sometimes I wonder if this child is really a young man. He lacks any of the impatience of youth.”

“Heh, you’d best not treat him as one. This fellow has probably endured far more than any of us.” Chen Yan smiled wryly, then glanced at his phone, his expression instantly sour.

“Are these people idiots?” Chen Yan handed his phone to Elder Jin. “We’ve laid the facts before them! Shown them the evidence—videos, bone samples, and even the coordinates of the corpse so they could investigate!”

“We sent them detailed analyses of the bone samples, word for word!”

“And yet, these people are so stubborn!”

“They believe nothing!”

“They say the videos are faked, the bone samples are just pig bones we picked up.”

“Even,” Chen Yan’s face was incredulous, “someone went to those coordinates, their submersible saw the skeleton, but insisted we planted it ourselves—a staged performance!”

“And those analyses—any expert can see the bones’ hardness is extraordinary. Yet the Free State’s people would sooner believe it’s a new material developed by Great Xia than accept it as the bones of a deity.”

“Are these people so eager to die at the hands of gods?”

“We warned them out of kindness, and now they accuse us of deceit?”

“Some even mock Great Xia for losing its mind… It’s incomprehensible!”

Chen Yan clenched his fists.

A devoted scientist, he was unaccustomed to the malice of human nature, unable to imagine how these nations could so brazenly invert truth and feign ignorance.

Great Xia, out of goodwill, had warned the world in advance.

Yet not only were their efforts unappreciated, they were met with ridicule and insult.

“Heh, let them believe what they wish.” Elder Jin was unmoved, his voice cold. “Lin Fan already said, even a living Buddha cannot save a damned soul.”

“We’ve revealed every piece of evidence, left nothing out—that’s the utmost of benevolence.”

“To be honest, given what they’ve done to us before, we could have kept silent and let them suffer unprepared.”

“It’s only because Great Xia has always treated others generously that we’ve returned good for evil. If it were them, they wouldn’t do the same.”

Elder Jin paused for a moment, then continued, “Let them keep mocking and cursing. We only need to prepare ourselves.”

“In three months’ time…”

“I want to see who still laughs at Great Xia!”

“I want to see how many nations turn around, begging for our help in humiliation!”

Hearing this, Elder Chen put aside his frustration and nodded. “I’ll go arrange the next steps. Shang Weitian from the Ministry of Commerce has told me about his plan to secure steel resources. I’m ready to cooperate!”

Only with sufficient steel could the construction of the Iron Great Wall begin.

There was no time to lose!

Without waiting for Elder Jin’s reply, Elder Chen turned and hurried away.

Now, every second was precious!

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

A top-level remote conference was urgently convened ten minutes after the Great Xia press conference concluded.

“Everyone, you’ve seen the Great Xia conference, haven’t you?” Sitting at the head of the table, Free State leader Puchuan looked at the faces on the screen and spoke gravely, “What do you make of Great Xia’s claims?”

As soon as he finished, the participants quickly voiced their opinions.

“Great Xia speaks utter nonsense!”