Chen Lin practiced his breathing and cultivation on the balcony, utterly unaware of the upheaval outside.
At that moment, inside Simple Village's Ministry of Defense.
The atmosphere was as heavy as lead.
Secretary of Defense Basong slammed his palm onto the conference table, making the teacups rattle. His eyes were bloodshot, his face twisted like a demon's.
"An unforgivable humiliation!"
Basong pointed at the flattened ruins on the large screen and roared at the assembled generals, "Huaxia's military slaughtered hundreds of our soldiers on our own soil and destroyed our businesses! This is blatant aggression!"
A senior intelligence official rose, his voice trembling. "Mr. Secretary, we've intercepted footage from the scene. That... that man in the black suit isn't human! He's... he's a biological weapon secretly developed by Huaxia!"
An edited video began playing on the screen.
The footage was shaky and blurred, but they could clearly make out a black figure weaving between the tanks. Every strike brought twisted steel and fiery explosions. The moment he crushed a shell with his bare hand, in particular, made everyone in the conference room gasp.
"Call an international press conference immediately!" A flash of crazed viciousness crossed Basong's eyes. "Release this video to the public! I want the whole world to see Huaxia's ugly face! I want their international reputation destroyed!"
Three in the afternoon.
Simple Village held an emergency press conference for a global audience.
With a grief-stricken expression and tears streaming down his face, the spokesperson denounced Huaxia's "atrocities" and announced that they would release a video offering "irrefutable proof."
Reporters from major media outlets around the world aimed their cameras at the large screen behind the podium. Everyone held their breath.
An earth-shattering scandal was about to break.
The video began playing.
A lush green meadow appeared on the