The governments of Western Europe, cornered by public pressure, finally released the complete video of the giant wolf being wounded at a joint press conference led by the president of Yanpai.
The instant the heavy warhead struck, the giant wolf howled in agony, flesh and blood flying.
"We can hurt it," the French president said from the podium. "It is not invincible. We have the ability to keep our citizens safe."
Those words quelled the panic a little.
But only a little.
Meanwhile, the discussion on Huaxia's internet took a familiar turn.
"This so-called Fenrir..." A prominent research blogger posted a lengthy thread, accompanied by detailed images comparing passages from historical texts—
"A wolf's body, two wings, enormous size, and a savage disposition—"
"Isn't this just the Qiongqi from the Western Mountains Classic in the Classic of Mountains and Seas?"
"Qiongqi resembles a tiger with wings. Another account describes it as a wolf with wings. It eats people, starting with the head."
The post ended with a line in bold:
"The Classic of Mountains and Seas is the true encyclopedia of the world's monsters. The whole world owes Huaxia's ancestors an apology."
It was shared over a million times.
The comments were filled with the same declaration—
[Cultural confidence!]
[People used to call the Classic of Mountains and Seas mythology. What about now?]
[Classic of Mountains and Seas: you've been treating me as a storybook for thousands of years.]
[So what about the even scarier things recorded in it? Qiongqi is already ridiculous enough. If a Taotie shows up...]
[Stop, stop, I'm scared.]
Chen Siyao locked her phone and rubbed her temples.
Xiangliu's whereabouts in the Pacific were unknown. Qiongqi was licking its wounds in the mountains of Europe. Against these creatures, the world's conventional military forces were practically useless.