Coup

At this‍‍⁠​‌‍‍⁠‌​⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠‍​⁠⁠‍‍​‍‍ hour, Eternal Cloud Planet was at its deepest and coldest point of the night. But the pitch-black sky above the capital was set ablaze with artillery fire, illuminating the darkness like a scorching brand.

The entire imperial palace was shrouded in a bloody haze—gunfire, curses, and screams echoed everywhere. A coup was unfolding outside. A forced abdication.

The Third Legion had rebelled.

Even before Huo Chao’s video surfaced, a massive army had already surrounded the palace. The moment his video was released—right after His Majesty declared war on the Illusory God Church—they finally had a righteous banner to rally behind.

For months, Pei Changyun had deliberately refrained from responding to Setlin’s online slander. He had retaliated to a certain extent, but never fully, because he was waiting. Waiting for the hidden rats to expose themselves.

After all, he didn’t believe for a second that the Church would attempt to overthrow him based solely on Setlin’s words. That meant there were far more traitors lurking within the Empire. Pei Changyun originally planned to catch them slowly, and he already had a list of names in his hand. But he hadn’t expected them to grow impatient, to tear off their masks so soon and reveal their true colors.

Something must have happened in Bright City to push the Illusory God Church into desperation.

Yet at this moment, neither the Church nor the rebelling army knew that Pei Changyun had already secretly departed with the royal fleet and was already speeding toward Holy Dew Planet.

Because it was a secret operation, Pei Changyun had temporarily activated a signal blockade in Holy Dew Planet’s direction, which was why he hadn’t received Huo Xianfeng’s message. Right now, he was quietly watching the downloaded video—Huo Chao’s supposed resurrection.

Over and over.

Again and again.

The Emperor did not seem concerned with the bloodshed unfolding around him. He paid no attention to the peril of his own situation, nor to the overwhelming doubt and condemnation sweeping across StarNet.

At this moment, Pei Changyun only sat there in silence, staring unblinkingly at the face on the screen.

Three hundred years.

For the first time in three hundred years, Pei Changyun looked at him so closely.

Until now, he had never allowed himself to actively seek out anything related to Huo Chao. He wouldn’t look at his photos, his belongings—not even his own memories of him.

He had been too afraid to touch them.

But now, Pei Changyun had no choice. He couldn’t avoid it.

Memories, suppressed for centuries, surged like a flood bursting through a dam, roaring to consume him.

—Because that was Huo Chao’s face.

Every single detail was identical.

Even the way he paused between sentences, his enunciation, the natural rhythm of his speech—everything was the same.

A living, breathing Huo Chao. Standing there. With a heartbeat. With breath.

For a fleeting moment, Pei Changyun wanted to believe it was real.

If Huo Chao had truly come back to life, then no matter what he said—no matter how much he resented or accused him—it wouldn’t matter.

It would all be fine.

But Pei Changyun knew it wasn’t real.

Even if this person’s every feature, every habit, every tiny detail had been flawlessly replicated—he was not Huo Chao.

Just a fake.

Because Huo Chao would never say those things about him.

Huo Chao would never use false words to slander anyone.

Pei Changyun tightly closed his eyes.

His hand clenched over his chest and his fingers messed around into the fabric of his clothes. His brows furrowed, little by little, as if he were enduring something unbearable.

Perhaps he was suppressing longing.

Or perhaps, he was suppressing pain.

But he made no sound—not even in his breathing.

It wasn’t until the suffocating weight nearly crushed him did Pei Changyun finally open his eyes. His breaths came quick and shallow, the deep green of his irises contracting and expanding as he forcibly suppressed the tide of emotions inside him.

Time crawled on.

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“Here.”

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Later, when the Empire was established, Long Dream was upgraded—it was directly linked to the main defense system of the imperial capital.

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Don't copy

Long Dream paused, as if receiving a signal.

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“Connect.”

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There was still a lingering fierceness in his brow, a remnant of the battlefield’s bloodshed, but the moment he looked at Pei Changyun, he instinctively lowered his head, his expression shifting to one of deep respect and excitement.

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For Pei Changyun, this was an acceptable result—a barely tolerable one.

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“Do not rush, Zhao He.”

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Zhao He stiffened.

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“Your Majesty, should you perhaps…”

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But no one could change Pei Changyun’s decision. His words remained unfinished because, in that moment, the Emperor simply cast a fleeting glance his way—and Zhao He fell silent.

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“What is it? Did discovering I am a Beta suddenly give you an Alpha’s sense of superiority?”

Bang—!

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It was true—Pei Changyun was a Beta.

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“Now, go and do your job properly.”

Pei Changyun didn’t give him a chance to explain. His voice was cold as he issued a final decree.

“If this happens again, Zhao He—you will never appear before me again.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

Buzz—

The communication cut off.

Long Dream’s voice rang out again.

“Your Majesty, you know that’s not what he meant.”

Pei Changyun closed his eyes.

“Yes, I know.”

Of course, he knew.

He knew that the confidant he had handpicked would never harbor disloyalty. He knew that Zhao He’s concern was for his safety—that going to Holy Dew Planet was far too dangerous, especially with only a small royal fleet. If he fell into an ambush, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Pei Changyun knew all of this.

He never doubted his own judgment.

But what he needed now was absolute authority—not concern, nor worry.

He had long since discarded those feelings.

The Emperor had no intention of continuing the conversation.

Once the brief surge of emotions was forced down, he threw himself back into the war that had already begun.

“How did the war declaration speech perform?”

Before leaving Eternal Cloud Planet, Pei Changyun had used the capital’s signal systems to broadcast his declaration of war.

It had two purposes.

One was to make the Illusory God Church believe that he had been pushed to the brink, acting recklessly in desperation.

The other was to create the illusion that he was still on Eternal Cloud Planet.

To achieve the former, Pei Changyun had only expressed skepticism about Huo Chao’s so-called resurrection—he had ignored all other accusations and focused entirely on the war declaration.

He had expected poor results and had prepared for the possibility that the public would not believe him.

But—

Long Dream had yet to respond.

“…?”

Pei Changyun frowned, sensing something unusual. His expression tensed.

“What’s wrong?”

“The effect… is a bit strange.”

Long Dream struggled to find the right words as it processed the data.

“Your Majesty, your public approval rating has broken historical records ten minutes ago.”

Although the Empire was an imperial system, Pei Changyun had retained some features from the old Alliance, such as public approval rating statistics. The calculation mechanism was highly complex, but it was relatively fair and representative.

“—It’s three times what Marshal Huo Chao had at his peak during the Alliance era.”

Pei Changyun had never surpassed Huo Chao in personal approval ratings before.

“…?”

The Emperor was utterly baffled.

What kind of development is this???