At this time of the day, Hengyunxing was at its darkest and coldest in the early morning. But the pitch-black night sky over the capital was illuminated by the fierce artillery fire, like a hot iron.
The entire palace was plunged into a bloody cloud, with fierce gunfire, insults, and screams everywhere. Now a coup d'état was taking place outside.
The Third Legion rebelled.
Before Huo Chao's video appeared, a large number of troops surrounded the palace. When Huo Chao's video came out, His Majesty the Emperor had just declared war on the Phantom God Cult, and they finally had a slogan for justice.
In the past few months, Pei Changyun deliberately did not respond to the slander that Saitelin had made online. He made some counterattacks, but did not fight back completely, just to wait for the hidden ghost to come out.
After all, he didn't believe that the church wanted to overthrow him just based on a few words from Setlin. So there were still many ghosts hidden inside the empire. Pei Changyun originally planned to catch them slowly, and he already had a list of names in his hand. But he didn't expect that the other party would tear off the mask so impatiently and reveal the fox's tail.
It seems that something happened in Mingcheng, which made the Phantom God Cult anxious.
But at this time, neither the church nor the rebels who were forcing the emperor to abdicate knew that Pei Changyun had secretly left with the royal fleet and was speeding towards Saint Dew Star.
Because it was a secret operation, Pei Changyun temporarily turned on the signal shielding in the direction of Shenglu Star, so he did not receive any news from Huo Xianfeng. He was now quietly watching the downloaded video of Huo Chao's resurrection.
Over and over again, over and over again.
His Majesty the Emperor didn't seem to care about the bloody scene at the moment, didn't care about his extremely dangerous situation, and didn't care about the overwhelming doubts and abuses on the Star Network... At this moment, Pei Changyun just stared at the face of the man in the video quietly without blinking.
After three hundred years, Pei Changyun finally looked at that person so carefully again. He had never taken the initiative to look at anything related to Huo Chao before, not looking at that person's photos, not looking at that person's things, and even memories, he didn't dare to take the initiative to touch them.
But Pei Changyun had to look now, had to feel the surging memories like a flood breaking through a floodgate, roaring and engulfing him.
—Because that was indeed Huo Chao’s face.
Exactly.
Even the person's sentence-punctuation habits, pronunciation preferences, and the stress of each sentence are the same.
The living Huo Chao was standing there, with a heartbeat and breathing.
In fact, for a moment, Pei Changyun hoped that all this was true. As long as Huo Chao was really alive, no matter what that person said about him, it would be fine.
It's all right. It doesn't matter.
But Pei Changyun knew that was not the case. Even though every part and every detail of that person was a perfect copy of that person, he was not Huo Chao. He was just a fake who looked very, very similar.
Because Huo Chao would never say that about him.
Huo Chao would never use false words to slander anyone.
"… "
Pei Changyun closed his eyes deeply, clutching the fabric on his chest, his brows knitted tighter and tighter, as if he was trying desperately to endure something. Perhaps he was enduring longing, or perhaps he was enduring pain.
But he made no sound, not even a breath.
Pei Changyun didn't open his eyes until he was almost suffocating. His breathing was rapid, and his deep green pupils kept shrinking and expanding. He finally tried his best to suppress the countless surging emotions.
A long time passed, until the sky began to turn pale, and the sound of gunfire outside gradually disappeared.
"Long dream."
"yes."
A mellow and soft mechanical sound echoed in the room.
Generally speaking, Class B manually controlled mechas are not equipped with highly intelligent AI, but at the request of Huo Chao, Jiang Jinsheng still installed one specifically for Pei Changyun. Later, when the empire was established, Changmeng was upgraded again and directly connected to the main brain of the capital's defense system.
"What's the situation in the capital?"
"It's basically as you expected, Your Majesty. The specific situation..."
After a pause, Chang Meng seemed to have received some signal.
"Secretary General Zhao He requests to communicate with you."
This is a newly created secret communication channel, so the message can be received.
"catch."
The next second, the Secretary General in a black mechanical suit was projected out. Zhao He had a stern expression, and there was an unknown blood stain on his face. Although he was a civilian secretary general, Zhao He came from the military and was an alpha soldier who could kill and fight.
"His Majesty!"
There was still some bloody anger between his brows, but when he looked at Pei Changyun, he subconsciously lowered his head with a respectful and excited look.
"We have roughly controlled the situation inside the palace. We have arrested more than half of the people on the list who were involved with the church. A few of them were too good at escaping, and our people are still chasing them. As for the work of comforting the people, the relevant departments are also proceeding in an orderly manner according to the scheduled arrangements..."
"Um."
This answer was considered good news for Pei Changyun.
Zhao He gritted his teeth and said ruthlessly,
"We are running out of time. There are still some guys buried deeper that we haven't dug out yet. We can only kill a batch first."
"Don't rush it, Zhao He."
At this moment, Pei Changyun seemed to have turned back into the calm and majestic emperor.
"First, do the things at hand. Don't let anything go wrong while I'm away."
Zhao He was shocked.
"yes!"
However, he still wanted to dissuade her again.
"Your Majesty, would you like to bring more..." More troops.
Alternatively, don't go to Shenglu Star, it's best to stay in the safe Hengyun Star.
But no one could change Pei Changyun's decision, so the secretary general only said half of his words. Because at this moment, the emperor only glanced at him and successfully silenced him.
"Zhao He, you seem to be questioning me all the time lately."
His Majesty the Emperor narrowed his eyes carelessly.
"What? After you found out I'm a beta, did you start to feel superior to an alpha?"
boom!
The Secretary General immediately knelt down, his forehead banged heavily on the ground, and big beads of cold sweat flowed down.
It is true that Pei Changyun is a beta, but the reason he is able to suppress countless genetically powerful alphas is not because of pheromones or muscle power, but rather the supreme imperial authority honed over hundreds of years in mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
The murderous aura and power and majesty that emanate from his bones are what make countless alphas subjugate and admire him.
"Now go do your part."
Pei Changyun did not give him a chance to explain, but just gave him an ultimatum in a cold voice.
"If there is a next time, Zhao He, you won't have any chance to appear in my sight."
"… yes."
Buzz—
Communications closed.
Chang Meng's voice appeared again—
"Your Majesty, you know that's not what he meant."
Pei Changyun closed his eyes.
"Ok, I know."
Of course, he knew that the confidants he had personally selected would never have any other intentions. He also knew that Zhao He meant that it was extremely dangerous for him to go to Shenglu Star, and he only brought a small royal fleet with him. If he encountered an ambush, the consequences would be disastrous.
Pei Changyun knew it all. He never doubted his own judgment, but what he needed now was absolute authority, not care and worry.
That kind of thing... He no longer needed it.
His Majesty the Emperor did not intend to continue this topic. After suppressing his brief emotional surge, he devoted himself to the war that had already begun.
"How was the effect of the war speech?"
Before Pei Changyun left Hengyun Star, he used the capital's signal to issue a declaration of war. He had two purposes: one was to let the Illusionary God Cult discover that he had been forced to lose his mind, and the other was to create the illusion that he was still on Hengyun Star.
In order to achieve the former effect, Pei Changyun only questioned the resurrected Huo Chao, and did not respond to the others, focusing on declaring war. He personally expected that the result would not be too good, and he was prepared to not be trusted by the people.
However, Chang Meng's reply did not come yet.
"…?"
Pei Changyun frowned, thinking that something unexpected had happened, and his expression immediately became nervous.
"What's wrong?"
"The effect is... a little strange."
I don't know how to describe the long dream. It goes through some
"Your Majesty, your public support statistics broke the historical record ten minutes ago."
Although it is an imperial system, Pei Changyun has also retained some of the alliance's unique systems, such as the statistics of public support. This system calculation mechanism is very complicated, but relatively speaking, it is fair and representative.
"—It is three times as much as it was during the Huo Dynasty Marshal Alliance period."
Before this, Pei Changyun's personal data had never exceeded Huo Chao's.
His Majesty the Emperor: “… ?”
What is this development
Pei Changyun's first reaction was that their empire's star network system had also been invaded, or something had gone wrong.
"what happened?"
"Looking for the reason..."
Chang Meng searched around and seemed to have found something.
"Your Majesty, there is a private Xingbo account... It has become a hot search on the Star Network. It seems to be related to Marshal Huo Chao. According to statistics, the number of fans of this Xingbo account has increased from zero to 300 million in just a few hours."
The relationship between Xingbo and Xingwang is probably similar to the relationship between a social application software and the entire empire's virtual network. The former may only be used by a small number of people, but the latter is something that people across the empire cannot do without every day.
This is equivalent to the fact that people all over the country are watching someone’s Starbucks account at the same time and having heated discussions.
"?"
Pei Changyun was surprised. He had never come into contact with those entertainment software, so he didn't know much about them.
But being on the hot search list of the entire Star Network is no small matter. You have to know that a few hours ago, the hot searches on the entire Star Network were such big things as #Huo Chao's Resurrection# and #The Empire Declare War on the Phantom God Cult#.
He frowned, thinking that things were not simple.
"What Xingbo number? Call it up and let me see it."
The next second, a huge picture was projected in the emperor's private study. It was someone's Xingbo homepage, and the avatar was a hand-painted Q version of the picture, with the rising sun hidden in the clouds.
The id is [Why did Xiao Yunyun ignore me today]
Below is a long list of follower numbers, which are still increasing rapidly in real time.
At this time, Chang Meng directly contacted the official operator of Xingbo with the emperor's authority and confirmed the identity of the Xingbo account.
"Your Majesty, this is confirmed to be Marshal Huo Chao's account. The background has real-name authentication and the original facial recognition records."
At this time, the Xingbo operator immediately seized this wave of traffic and directly added a golden Marshal Huo Chao certification V logo to the account that had nothing.
Pei Changyun: “…”
He suddenly had a bad feeling. But the emperor didn't know much about this thing, so he just swiped it randomly and saw a line -
Below is a string of invalid purchase links, but the words can still be seen: "Love Book" limited time price 99.99.
[In six months, the most indifferent and heartless man in the world will be completely devoted to you and stay true to you until death!]
The top comments in the comment section were made by passers-by at the time.
"It must be a scam. How much did they charge for the advertisement? How can anyone believe in such a rubbish guide?"
"Such a clichéd strategy... The target of pursuit is too miserable."
"This piece of crap costs nearly a hundred bucks, and I won't even buy it for nine bucks and ninety-nine!"
But further down, the commentary direction changed.
"Ah, ah, I beg you for the same Love Manual as Marshal Huo Chao!"
"Help me, this is too awesome! I also want to own the Love Manual that can make His Majesty the Emperor a widow for three hundred years!!!"
"Why! Why is the purchase link invalid!!! Is the manufacturer still alive?! Print one million copies immediately!!! Don't make me beg you on my knees!!!"
Pei Changyun: “…”
He kept expressionless and continued to scroll down.
It is human nature to gossip. At this time, all the war slanders are no longer important. Everyone's attention is focused on the exposure of the shocking love affair between the Marshal and His Majesty the Emperor.
"What collusion with the Zerg, what deliberate seduction, it's all nonsense! It's obvious that Marshal Huo Chao was desperately trying to catch up with her with the Book of Love, okay?!!!"
"Am I the only one who wants to know who the Xiao Feng mentioned by Marshal Huo Chao is? There are actually people in this world who can make Marshal Huo Chao lose every time."
"Hahahaha help me, I'm dying of laughter, why is Marshal Huo Chao either getting beaten by Xiao Feng or chasing after Xiao Yun Yun every day!!!"
"Wow, am I the only one who feels sorry for little Yunyun who has been a widow for three hundred years? How lonely it must be late at night, although betas shouldn't have too many needs in that regard?"
Pei Changyun: “…”
Twenty minutes later, the Emperor couldn't bear it any longer and closed the Xingbo page. His whole body was stiff, his forehead was throbbing, and after forcing himself to endure for a few seconds with an expressionless face, he finally couldn't help but grit his teeth -
"Huo! Chao!"
All the sadness and grief Pei Changyun had just felt suddenly disappeared because it was so embarrassing.
How embarrassing!!!
Pei Changyun had never been so embarrassed in his life. The emperor had lost all his face because of that idiot Huo Chao, and he had brought shame upon the whole nation.
"Your Majesty, the space jump is about to start. Please prepare defensive measures."
"… good."
Three hundred years later, the Empire has made some achievements in space shuttle devices. Although it cannot shuttle directly to a fixed point and time like the Phantom God Cult, or even transport a large number of troops, it can achieve short-distance light-year jumps. However, the channels are limited, so it can only transport small fleets, not large battleships and aircraft carriers like the First Legion.
This is also the reason why Pei Changyun only brought a small royal fleet.
When preparing to start the space jump, Chang Meng briefly lifted the signal blocking and received the video file sent by Jin Yuan.
"Your Majesty, do you want to upload to the StarNet?"
“… Pass it on.”
Even if Huo Xianfeng didn't give this video, Huo Chao's Xingbo account had already been exposed. Now that things have come to this, let Xiaofeng show it to everyone.
After all, Xiaofeng’s appearances in the star blog [Why didn’t Xiao Yunyun pay attention to me today] are no less lengthy and frequent than Xiao Yunyun’s.
Since we are going to die together, let's all die together. His Majesty the Emperor has given up everything.
One person’s star blog leads to the social death of three people.
In fact, a Xingbo account could not suppress all the voices of doubt, because the things in Xingbo were just daily life, and there were still many doubts about the Zerg and the events of the year that could not be explained.
"Xingbo accounts can also be faked, how can Marshal Huo Chao have such a stupid personality!"
"How do you explain the living Marshal Huo Chao in the live broadcast?"
"Pei Changyun is so disgusting. He actually used this method to whitewash himself. Did he think that he could erase the fact that the Zerg invaded that year?!"
"… "
But the appearance of Jin Yuan and Huo Xianfeng was the real counterattack and evidence.
It must be said that Pei Changyun saw it at a glance. Although Huo Xianfeng's few sentences were short, every word was on the point. In addition to the spectators who were obsessed with CP, there were more technical experts and analysis experts who came out.
This wave of top traffic attracted everyone's attention and allowed more people to seize the opportunity.
One analysis after another began to overwhelm the watered-down black material—
Xiaofeng's identity has been found, that is Huo Xianfeng, the king of the Zerg.
The Zerg are out for revenge, not invasion. This just confirms what Huo Chao from the Phantom God Cult said, that he was born in the church, so he was able to get to know the injured King Bug.
Only Xiaofeng, who was closest to Huo Chao, knew about his Xingbo account. Even Setlin's slander that Pei Changyun had given the forbidden abyss to please the king insect was refuted, as Huo Chao had taken the initiative to transfer control of the forbidden abyss.
Perhaps the Phantom God Cult never imagined that they would have to work so hard for hundreds of years to finally obtain Huo Chao's genes, and then work non-stop to create clones, and carefully write several inflammatory articles to push the fake Huo Chao and the former Alliance Speaker in front of everyone.
However, as soon as the dirty water was poured out, it was washed away completely by a few words from Huo Chao's Xingbo account and Huo Xianfeng.
A few hours ago, Marshal Huo Chao came back to life, and the Emperor declared war angrily. The people of the empire were panicked, thinking that the world was about to change. But a few hours later, the people of the entire empire were happily eating melons.
—Things in the world are so unpredictable.
At this moment, even the old academicians in the Central Temple could not avoid gossip. After all, unlike the people far away in the empire, they knew who was the first to expose Huo Chao's trumpet.
They originally thought that the cooperation between the Empire and the Zerg was some kind of deal between Pei Changyun and Huo Xianfeng, but now it seems that Huo Xianfeng and Huo Chao have a close relationship.
But now was obviously not the time to ask. In just a few hours, the other side had launched four or five long-range attacks. They had originally thought that a big battle would happen, but the other side simply launched a large number of missiles and various long-range weapons.
"It seems that there is no need to deploy a defensive barrier now. We can use satellites to intercept the missile swarms."
Jiang Ci and the teachers calculated Mingcheng’s current energy reserves and prepared to sort them out and report the situation to Zhou Jiuya.
"The energy consumption of the defensive barrier is too high. It has not been closed for a while. In just one week, it has used up one-third of the energy of the entire Ming City. That is enough to power all the mecha warships of the First Legion for a month."
Because the First Legion is now cut off from the Empire's material transportation, fortunately Mingcheng itself is a military factory, so there is no need to worry about material and energy reserves for the time being. However, if it is to support subsequent large-scale wars, it must be used in a planned manner.
"But it's strange. Now they are just testing it with long-range attacks?"
Jiang Ci felt that this didn't make sense, because this test was meaningless. At this time, Huo Xianfeng's voice suddenly entered the central temple.
"No, their troops came during the third round of missile bombing, but they withdrew halfway."
"how do you know?"
Jiang Ci was surprised.
"We have been monitoring with satellite radar and have not found anything..."
Having said this, he suddenly fell silent.
Because in the next second, Jinyuan sent back the images of the Phantom God Cult's army, and they seemed to be in a hurry to return.
"Satellites are not very reliable. Zerg scouts have discovered a large amount of metal energy fluctuations and are now tracking them."
The satellite belonged to the Phantom God Cult, and they thought they had control over it, but could it be possible that the other party had let them take it on purpose? After all, the church gave up Mingcheng so easily, it was impossible that they would not have left some tricks behind.
Jiang Ci grasped the key point: "You tracked him down too?!"
"No, I just asked Jin Yuan to take a remote picture at that time."
Perhaps because he had an accident last time when he rashly entered the Holy White Tower, Huo Xianfeng's style of doing things has become a little more stable now.
"I have the coordinates of the Holy White Tower. They should not be returning to the Holy White Tower. This army should have a second base. But I am very concerned about the reason why they turned back halfway."
"—probably because the coup attempt at the palace a few hours ago failed."
Zhou Jiuya strode into the central temple. He had been paying close attention to the situation on Hengyun Star, and naturally knew what great changes had taken place in the empire in the past few hours.
Huo Xianfeng grasped the key point instantly, his brows tightened.
"You mean they were planning to attack Mingcheng when they were forcing Pei Changyun to abdicate?"
"right."
—That makes sense then.
Huo Xianfeng nodded.
Zhou Jiuya closed his eyes and felt deeply frightened, because at this moment, he could roughly see the extremely sinister killing move of the Phantom God Cult.
Huo Chao's video first caused chaos in the entire empire, and then directly forced Pei Changyun to abdicate. Pei Changyun might not be able to protect himself in the face of overwhelming doubts and the rebels waving the banner of justice.
If Huo Xianfeng had not appeared and suppressed the First Legion just now, it would have been faced with war without any preparation.
With their troops in disarray, they are likely to lose.
Huo Xianfeng raised his eyebrows.
"That's no problem. Once we find their base, we'll attack them!"
Jiang Ci: “…”
He was about to say something when Nora came in again, carrying Dr. Wen in her left hand and dragging several large medical testing instruments in her right hand.
"Huahua~ I'm back~"
When she brought Doctor Wen here for the first time, she was in such a hurry that she brought only one person but no tools. Doctor Wen had to work very hard to explain things to the girl.
So Noila nodded and went back to get it herself, but she didn't quite understand, so she came back to carry Dr. Wen back and choose.
Doctor Wen: “…”
All in all, it was a tough new experience.
At that time, Jiang Ci thought that war was coming and had no time to care. It was not until now that he saw the kind Uncle Wen, for the first time, showing an expression that the world was not worth it.
"Come... come here, A-ci."
Doctor Wen's voice was weak.
"I... I'll check you..."
Jiang Ci: “…”
sorry.
(End of this chapter)