Chapter 041 The Failure of the Nuclear Strike Plan

Earth.

Day 23 of the game, 1:30 a.m.

SE City, capital of the BZ Nation.

This vast, modern metropolis is situated in the Han River basin of northwestern BZ, in the center of the CX Peninsula. In truth, this land was once inhabited by a small Eastern Yi nation called Zhenfan during the Zhou Dynasty of China. In 1394, King Yi Seong-gye of CX relocated the capital to Hanyang and renamed it Hanseong. Later, BZ renamed it SE City, signifying its status as the nation's capital.

At this moment, high above the city, a streak of light could be seen racing across the distant sky—a nuclear missile, aimed directly at the heart of SE City.

Yet, the missile did not fall and explode within the city itself. Instead, it detonated high above, its immense flash illuminating the heavens, but leaving SE City entirely unharmed. Even the thunderous roar of the explosion was muffled several times over before it reached city ears.

Though the blast caused no damage, its spectacle shocked all the Chosen Ones hiding within the city, rousing them from their uneasy slumber and imprinting upon them a scene they would never forget.

The missile exploded nearly a kilometer above the city center, unleashing an enormous mushroom cloud. Yet, both the force and the sound of the blast seemed to be stopped by an invisible shield that separated SE City from harm.

Through the fiery sky, one could faintly discern a translucent membrane enveloping and protecting the city.

"Attention all players! Attention all players!

Player number 3467 has violated the rules by deploying a large-scale weapon of mass destruction, severely undermining the spectacle and relative fairness of the current hunting game.

By my decree, the main offender shall have all four basic attributes reduced by half as punishment.

Additionally, accomplice number 7845 will have all four basic attributes reduced by one tenth.

Any further violations, whether by principal or accomplice, will be handled directly under Rule Six.

Rule Six will now be distributed to every participant. Please check your notifications."

Immediately, all Chosen Ones in SE City—and indeed, worldwide—received three consecutive global announcements from the god, along with the supplementary Rule Six.

Initially stunned, the Chosen Ones of SE City gradually pieced together what had just occurred, silently memorizing the numbers of the two involved.

A Chosen One had actually gained control of a nuclear missile?

And used it against the very city they themselves were in?

In the end, only the god’s intervention spared them.

Once they understood the situation, cold sweat drenched every survivor in SE City; the sense of lingering dread was overwhelming.

When news spread that the culprit had been penalized by having all basic attributes halved, the BZ survivors smirked with schadenfreude, cursing the offender as deserving of such fate.

Some even shouted that the god should have simply erased the person outright.

This same scene played out in every major metropolis of the world, except in a few countries like China where Chosen Ones were fewer. In those crowded cities, the Chosen Ones could only sigh in awe.

Perplexity abounded—hadn’t the god just issued Rule Six not long ago? How could someone already dare defy it so brazenly?

The sharper among them guessed that the missile-wielding Chosen One had not targeted just one city, but launched simultaneous strikes on multiple cities around the world. The difference in timing was merely due to distances.

Those who arrived at this realization felt a growing fear and respect for Player 3467, praying they would never have to face such a person.

A madman—utterly reckless and terrifying.

The good news, however, was that the god had crippled the man by halving all his basic attributes. He was essentially finished; there was little chance of him stirring up further trouble.

JL Province, China.

Deep within the Changbai Mountains, at a large military base.

Both Huang Feng and Zhao Ming received the god’s global announcement and immediately reviewed Rule Six.

Only now did Zhao Ming realize what button he had pressed. Seeing his own four basic attributes slashed in half, he felt his strength drain away. Hatred for Huang Feng welled up in his chest; he wanted nothing more than to grind him into dust.

He doubted he would survive much longer and no longer bothered to pretend, glaring venomously at Huang Feng from across the room.

If looks could kill, Huang Feng would have died a hundred deaths by now.

But as for the true mastermind, Huang Feng, he didn’t spare Zhao Ming a glance. He simply sighed, checking the changes to his own basic stats.

Though each attribute wasn’t halved directly, they had still been reduced by ten percent—a change he could clearly sense.

Huang Feng’s stats before and after:

Physical: 426 → 383
Mental: 130 → 117
Strength: 147 → 132
Speed: 137 → 123
Combat power: 470 → 423

He still had three unused enhancement opportunities and five full-heal chances remaining.

Though every stat had dropped, it was within what Huang Feng could accept. Had he been penalized as Zhao Ming was—with a fifty percent reduction—he would not have remained so calm.

He felt immense relief that he hadn’t carried out the act himself; otherwise, the advantage he’d built early on would have been squandered by his own recklessness.

Through this incident, he understood: the god truly would make adjustments according to events and possessed a will and temperament of its own—not merely a pre-programmed system, but a being with moods and emotions.

The god had a certain tolerance; though it punished him as a warning, it was only a warning.

“It seems I’ll have to act myself from now on. The longer I wait, the less significant my initial lead becomes.”

With this realization, Huang Feng decided that the clever tricks he’d planned likely wouldn’t work. He resolved to first secure the complete Foundation Guidance Technique.

After pondering, he glanced at Zhao Ming, bound tightly with steel chains in the corner. Ignoring the man’s murderous glare, Huang Feng simply smiled, turned, and left the command room alone.

Meanwhile, on the lunar base—

At this moment, except for those in China and its survival bases, nearly everyone in every other survival base was celebrating merrily.

Outside each base, countless survivor projections were displayed on giant screens. Those inside could freely choose any Chosen One on Earth to monitor, knowing their every move if they wished.

In the survival base dominated by M Nation citizens—

Laughter and cheers rang out.

“Ha! I’d love to see the faces of those Chinese now. Just the other day, I saw one of them showing off in front of us.”

“Damn that god! Why didn’t he just erase Huang Feng? Ten percent off his stats is far too lenient.”

“Don’t worry. Now that he’s been weakened, several of our players’ combat stats are close to his. One has already pieced together three types of Foundation Guidance Technique fragments. Soon, he’ll have the complete technique, and his growth will soar—he’ll leave everyone else in the dust.”

“Our players aren’t like those Chinese, who act as if they’re playing house. Real life-and-death hunts aren’t won by playing house.”

“Exactly! The ultimate winner will definitely be one of our M Nation Chosen Ones.”

“Huang Feng’s not cut out for greatness. Look—he hasn’t even dealt with Zhao Ming. He’s soft; he won’t make it to the end.”

In the survival base dominated by DY Nation citizens—

Here, too, was laughter.

“Serves him right!”

“Only pity is, the true mastermind didn’t get the punishment he deserved.”

“God, you should have erased Huang Feng on the spot!”

“Those Chinese are all despicable and shameless.”

“If only Huang Feng had suffered the same fate as Zhao Ming, losing half his stats! That would be perfect.”

In the BZ Nation’s main survival base—

Here as well, the mood was jubilant.

“The thought that the first nuclear missile landed on our SE City had me breaking out in a cold sweat for our Chosen Ones. Thank the god for intervening—otherwise, BZ would’ve been eliminated from the game ten years early.”

“It’s all that Chinese guy’s fault—Huang Feng deserves to die a thousand times over.”

“Well, the god did punish him, didn’t he?”

“Not harshly enough!”

In every nation hostile to China, much the same sentiments prevailed.

Meanwhile, in China’s survival base—

Every face was grim. After all, they had witnessed everything on Earth as it happened.

“Damn it, the god actually intervened in the end.”

“Careful what you say. The god could be listening to us right now. Who can resist watching the live feed with the chat on?”

“Good thing Huang Feng’s stats weren’t drastically reduced. He was smart enough not to act personally, or we’d be in real trouble.”

“Huang Feng, you must hold on. Right now, you’re our best hope.”

“Come on, Huang Feng! The whole nation is counting on you!”

…