Unafraid to be smashed to pieces

Zhou Jiuya‍​‌⁠‍​‍‌​​‍‍‍‌‌‍‌‌​‌‍​⁠⁠ hurriedly finished relaying the key information before he left—he was extremely busy. Not only did he have to prepare for the impending war, but he also needed to stabilize the military’s morale amid chaos.

Although people like them knew that the so-called “Huo Chao” was fake, too many others didn’t. After all, it was the Illusory God Church behind this. Even Zhou Jiuya himself almost believed, for a moment, that the real Huo Chao had returned when he first saw the video.

Watching Zhou Jiuya hang up, Huo Xianfeng didn’t rush to act. Instead, he reopened the video and carefully watched it from start to finish. It wasn’t just a video—it was a live broadcast. And this kind of live stream couldn’t be faked with projection technology, which was why so many people believed it.

Huo Xianfeng hadn’t expected that in just a little over half a month, the opposition had managed to make the clone appear fully grown.

If the video released by Stelin two months ago was like a pebble tossed into a stream, then “Huo Chao’s resurrection” was a meteor crashing into a lake—its impact was nothing short of a catastrophic tsunami.

Because the so-called savior, the one who had been placed upon a godlike pedestal, had personally declared before the world that their Emperor was, in fact, a usurper and a traitor.

“The Ark that was meant to carry the survivors was a secret project jointly created by the Alliance Council and His Holiness the Pope. But the situation back then was too critical—I never expected it to be stolen by him.”

“If Pei Changyun hadn’t lured the Zergs in advance, the Skynet system would have been completed in time. Our homeland wouldn’t have become a wasteland, our loved ones wouldn’t have died in misery, and we wouldn’t have been forced into exile on alien planets…”

“I trusted him too much. I never thought that the Dawn Legion, which I built with my own hands, and the countless sacrifices made for the Alliance’s democracy, peace, and freedom, would all become the foundation for his dictatorship.”

Huo Chao’s appearance lasted no more than half an hour before the former Alliance Speaker, Stelin, took over, delivering an unbroken stream of accusations.

He exposed Huo Chao’s origins, claiming that he had been the Pope’s most beloved adopted son. For the sake of the Alliance’s peace, he had entered the military but had hidden his identity to avoid relying on the Church’s power. And Pei Changyun had known all along, which was why he deliberately approached him.

“That despicable usurper even stole the Forbidden Abyss, which the Church painstakingly restored, and handed it over to the Zergs as a bargaining chip.”

Moreover, Pei Changyun had never given a direct and effective explanation regarding the First Legion’s joint invasion of Bright City with the Zergs. This issue was brought up again and was now weaponized as irrefutable evidence against him.

On top of that, they provided a trove of historical records—ones that were, in fact, real. Huo Chao and Pei Changyun’s backgrounds, the unfinished Skynet project, the Ark’s joint construction by the Illusory God Church and the Alliance’s factories—all of it was true.

The entire broadcast was meticulously crafted—70% truth, 30% falsehood. Every claim seemed to match real historical events, but each one was twisted to mislead the public, erasing Pei Changyun’s three centuries of sacrifice and dedication while absolving the Alliance’s upper echelons and the Illusory God Church of any wrongdoing.

There was no denying it—this move by the Illusory God Church was incredibly insidious.

And lethal.

“This is complete bullshit!”

By the end, Jiang Ci couldn’t help but curse.

Huo Xianfeng paused the video and let out a cold laugh.

“When you want to accuse someone, you’ll never lack an excuse.”

The battles and fights he had experienced were all direct physical fights. But this time was different. This time, the enemy was using a dagger hidden beneath silk.

“Right now, nearly all of Pei Changyun’s most trusted officers—the people closest to him—were once Huo Chao’s most loyal followers. The Illusory God Church’s move is striking straight at his heart.”

After all, back in the day, no one in the Alliance could rival Huo Chao’s prestige. Even before the Zerg invasion, he had spent a decade fighting in wars, almost single-handedly quelling the entire Alliance’s civil unrest.

He had executed corrupt officials who had slaughtered Ye Shu’s family, wiped out countless nobles who treated people as disposable, and won the love of the entire Alliance’s population. That was why, even when Huo Chao had openly broken away from the Alliance, they hadn’t dared to touch him.

Jiang Ci closed his eyes. He knew just how dangerous this move was—not just because of the slander, but because, at this moment, they seemed to have no way to fight back.

Huo Xianfeng turned off the video and connected to the Forbidden Abyss.

“Let’s go—”

Jiang Ci was stunned. “Go where?”

Five minutes later, he saw the answer with his own eyes.

At the center of the First Legion’s base, Zhou Jiuya was in the midst of calming the troops. That video hadn’t just caused a storm in the Empire—the ones reacting the most violently were, of course, the First Legion. After all, most of them were once veterans of the Dawn Legion.

So Zhou Jiuya had gathered everyone, including the large group of teachers who had been stationed at the Central Temple. The Legion Commander was giving a speech, attempting to soothe them, but the effect was clearly lacking. Even Ye Shu, standing to the side, looked as if he was about to step in and say something.

Just then, a deafening hum rang out overhead. Everyone instinctively looked up—only to see a towering SSS-class mecha approaching at high speed before landing with a thunderous crash.

The impact was so strong that it felt like an earthquake, shaking the ground as if an 8.0 magnitude tremor had struck. The crowd, once full of heated emotions, instantly fell into stunned silence.

Then, from within the massive mechanical giant, a deep and familiar electronic voice rang out—

“Long time no see, everyone.”

Zhou Jiuya froze.

No—not just him. In that moment, everyone was frozen in place.

This was the first time the First Legion had truly seen the Forbidden Abyss resurface. When they had entered Bright City back then, the Zergs had buried it underground. Afterward, it had remained sealed in the Central Temple.

In a way, the presence of the Forbidden Abyss itself was synonymous with Huo Chao.

Now, under the gaze of countless eyes—many of them brimming with tears—the massive mecha slowly bent onto one knee, placing a single hand over its chest as the cockpit door opened.

But the one who stepped out was no longer Huo Chao.

It was Huo Xianfeng.

From the chest of the mecha, countless beams of blue light shot outward, scanning Huo Xianfeng’s figure before projecting it high above the crowd.

At that moment, the Zerg King stood in the palm of the Forbidden Abyss, arms crossed over his chest, looking down at everyone with an air of absolute superiority.

“I don’t think this even needs explaining, but watching you lot get played like fools by the enemy is just—tsk!”

Huo Xianfeng clicked his tongue and his expression barely changed, yet somehow it seemed like it dripped with disdain.

“I swear, if that idiot Huo Chao saw his men acting like this, he’d probably claw his way out of the grave, grab my leg, and sob until he wiped his snot all over me. So fine, I’ll say a few words.”

That single “tsk” of his, amplified through the Forbidden Abyss’s speakers, echoed clearly in every soldier’s ears.

Ye Shu: “…”

Zhou Jiuya: “…”
First Legion: “…”

Jiang Ci pressed a hand to his forehead.

Ah, that familiar punchable tone—it really was that bastard Huo Xianfeng.

Huo Xianfeng rarely explained himself, let alone to irrelevant people. Even when Pei Changyun was under attack by Stelin, he had barely spared a glance, leaving him to handle it himself.

But this was different.

The war had already begun, and Huo Xianfeng had no need for allies who would only drag him down.

“The Zergs didn’t invade Earth. This is revenge. Their real target is the Illusory God Church—for conducting illegal experiments on Zergs! Everyone else was just collateral damage. As for Pei Changyun deliberately approaching Huo Chao—what a load of crap!”

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Even Huo Xianfeng found it hard to say that embarrassing name out loud. He turned his head away, clearly feeling very ashamed, but his voice was still clear.

“His ID was Xiao Yunyun, why are you ignoring me today… As for everything else, look it up yourselves.”

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The entire scene fell into dead silence.

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Except, of course, for Huo Xianfeng.

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—So this was the real personality of Marshal Huo Chao?!!!

“Ye Shu…”

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The Legion Commander hesitated for a moment, then leaned in to take a look. A second later, his eyes burned, and he immediately turned away, covering his face with one hand.

No!
This had to be an illusion!
That absolutely could not be his esteemed Marshal!!!

Huo Xianfeng, of course, didn’t bother mentioning that before meeting Pei Changyun, Huo Chao’s previous ID had been The King’s Dearest, Most Cherished Friend.

Utterly cringeworthy. Disgustingly sentimental. An eye bleaching experience.

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“I assume you all know that for S-class and above mechas, control permissions cannot be transferred unless the previous owner manually authorizes it, or the internal AI system is reset and reformatted?”

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“Your Emperor has already declared war, and yet the so-called strongest legion of the Empire is still busy fighting among itself? I honestly don’t know how Huo Chao ended up leading such a pack of traitorous incompetents. All of you put together can’t even stand up to half an hour of enemy propaganda.”

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“Oh, calling you cannon fodder would be too generous. Pei Changyun has been funding you for three hundred years, and he still hasn’t given up on you? What a saint. He might as well have burned all that military funding—it’d probably have done more good as offerings to some deity.”

“…”

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No one had ever just opened with a full-scale verbal nuke.

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The First Legion, restructured from the Dawn Legion, had endured countless battles. To them, and to all citizens of the Empire, they had always been the pinnacle of honor.

But now, they had been utterly humiliated. And the worst part? They couldn’t refute a single word.

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Unlike his dear Zergies, who were loyal and obedient.

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“Understood.”

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Huo Xianfeng briefly reflected on his performance just now and found it quite satisfactory. He’d rate his coolness at 99 out of 100. The one missing point was all because of Huo Chao’s revolting username.

The King, currently in his courtship phase, walked in confidently, expecting to be met with the admiring gaze of his partner.

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Hearing Huo Xianfeng enter, Jiang Ci immediately thrust the tablet at him, eyes alight with excitement.

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Huo Xianfeng: “…”

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I forgot.

That idiot friend had not only exposed his own embarrassing history but also his.

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“The King would never do something so—”

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“Ahhh, as expected of Xiao Feng! Even putting kids to sleep is something he’s better at than me, damn it! Next competition: who can soothe more kids in a minute! I will definitely win!!! [Cheering] [Cheering] [Cheering]”

With just this one sentence, the mighty King who was spit roasting everyone moments ago was left completely choked.

“…”

Huo Xianfeng froze in place for a few seconds, then turned his head away, silently cursing Huo Chao a hundred times in his heart.

“Oh… this. I remember now. That child was one Huo Chao picked up from the battlefield.”

“—So it was you?”

Jiang Ci stared straight at him, refusing to let him change the topic.

Huo Xianfeng remained calm.

“Tsk… But that was only because human cubs cry too damn much.”

“You can actually coax a child?!”

Jiang Ci caught onto the most shocking part of the story and was completely stunned.

After all, Huo Xianfeng didn’t look like the gentle, nurturing type. With his cold, arrogant face, he was more like Zhou Jiuya—someone who had no clue how to deal with kids and would just scare them instead.

Noticing Jiang Ci’s strangely skeptical expression, Huo Xianfeng suddenly felt doubted. And how could the King’s abilities ever be doubted?!

He let out a scoff and said disdainfully,

“What? Taking care of cubs isn’t hard.”

—He could even hatch eggs.

And in a way, hadn’t he raised Huo Chao too? Sure, he hadn’t put much effort into it, which was probably why Huo Chao ended up in that state.

Jiang Ci continued staring at him. At that moment, he felt like Huo Xianfeng’s expression practically screamed—

“There is nothing in this world that Huo Xianfeng cannot do!!!”

“Alright, stop looking at that brain-rotting, eye-bleaching nonsense.”

Huo Xianfeng snatched the tablet from Jiang Ci’s hands and tossed it aside. He realized he had miscalculated—before exposing his idiot friend’s secret Starnet account, he should’ve deleted all content related to himself first!

“Jiang Ci, Pei Changyun just declared war. I’m planning to—”

Jiang Ci pressed a hand to his forehead and felt a bit lightheaded. Seeing this, Huo Xianfeng immediately cut himself off and leaned down, placing a hand on Jiang Ci’s forehead.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“A little dizzy.”

Jiang Ci frowned.

“Maybe it’s because the forced connection to the SSS mecha was a bit too much of a burden on me.”

That explanation made sense.

It was normal for mecha pilots to experience dizziness, especially when piloting high-class mechas. The stronger the mecha, the higher the mental threshold required for synchronization. Even if it was one’s own mecha, prolonged piloting could still cause mental strain and dizziness.

Back when Huo Chao first piloted the Forbidden Abyss, he had also experienced dizziness. Unless one completely overextended their limits, the usual solution was simply to sleep it off.

Hearing that his beloved A-Ci wasn’t feeling well, Xiao X immediately flew over, scanning Jiang Ci’s head and running a quick diagnostic.

“Apart from a slight spike in mental power threshold, all other data is normal. The dizziness is most likely due to exhaustion… But A-Ci, I still recommend that you see Dr. Wen for a check-up.”

Xiao X had medical functions but it was only effective for minor injuries and common illnesses. As a professional childcare system, its top priority was to eliminate any potential risks for its young master.

“Your mental power threshold has been increasing too fast. While that’s a good thing, I’ve searched through records from both the Empire and even back to the Alliance era, and I’ve never found a case like yours. It’s best to find out the cause.”

Huo Xianfeng frowned.

“The mental power threshold has increased? By how much?”

“489.”

Xiao X provided the exact number.

“Total value has already exceeded 1,100 and is still continuously increasing.”

Huo Xianfeng wasn’t very knowledgeable about human mental power thresholds or health conditions, so they definitely needed a professional human doctor. Without hesitation, he prepared to turn the Forbidden Abyss around—

“Alright, we’re going to find Dr. Wen.”

But just then, the First Legion’s radar alarm blared in the distance!

“Alert! Alert! A large wave of missiles detected approaching at high speed! Estimated arrival in five minutes!”

“Alert! Alert! A large wave of missiles detected approaching at high speed! Estimated arrival in five minutes!”

Jiang Ci’s expression immediately turned serious.

“The defensive barrier of Bright City consumes too much energy. Ever since the Central Temple’s main AI was repaired, it has been deactivated. Reactivating it will take time—our only option right now is to intercept with anti-air artillery.”

As soon as his words fell, the wartime alarms outside rang out one after another, and the ground emitted a dull tremor. Hundreds of fortress turrets rotated out from the legion’s base, aiming at the sky, automatically targeting, ready for positioning and interception.

The start of this war was somewhat too sudden; at least Huo Xianfeng hadn’t expected the other side to directly attack Bright City. But this also saved him the trouble of seeking them out.

Huo Xianfeng squeezed Jiang Ci’s hand.

“Before we find any abnormalities in the mental threshold, A-Ci, you might not be suitable for piloting a mech in combat.”

“…Alright.”

Jiang Ci had no objections. He knew that in such a dangerous battlefield, if something went wrong with him, it wouldn’t just be himself that he’d be dragging down.

“Then I’ll go to the Central Temple to handle satellite interception.”

Five minutes later, Jiang Ci was taken to the Central Temple by Bai Ze. He hurriedly strode through the door, looked up, and saw Nora carrying Dr. Wen on one shoulder at the entrance.

“Flowie~~~”

The girl waved frantically at him, grinning widely.

“Over here—”

Jiang Ci: “…”

Author’s note:

That night, Huo Chao’s alt account gained several hundred million followers, skyrocketing to become the empire’s top influencer, hahaha.