Hou Liming never expected things to escalate to this point. Since the establishment of the Central Federation, there has never been a coup d'état, not even once. It's something that hasn't happened in millions of years, and there's no memory of it in their genes.
Let alone him, even his own father might not have realized that those peasants actually dared to launch a coup!
Moreover, the results were more astonishing than I had imagined.
In less than four hours, all four districts were heavily guarded, and the mid- to high-ranking officers received no information whatsoever; most of them were placed under house arrest. This mobilization capability exceeded everyone's expectations.
The scions of prominent families, like Hou Liming, were initially dumbfounded, wondering if these commoners had gone mad.
"What happened, Hou Laosan?"
Countless video pop-ups appeared, all questioning. "Didn't you say that bastard Xu Min had already agreed? How did it escalate like this? How are you going to clean this up now?"
"Where did these peasants get their guts? Suppress them, we must suppress them! Are we giving them too much face?"
"The key issue is that so many rank-and-file soldiers were involved. If we suppress them all, wouldn't that create chaos?"
"Use the Disintegration Program to only punish the ringleaders, and give the rest a warning. Are we really going to compromise with these bastards?"
The noise made Hou Limin feel like his head was about to explode.
But most people shared his opinion: they felt they had really given those peasants too much face. How dare they do something like this? Did they really think they were all grown up?
Just then, an elderly voice interrupted many people.
"Have you ever considered what they're relying on to dare to make such a big move?"
Everyone was stunned. The old man was an elder of the Xu Household. He was already old, but this time the family had forced him to stay and take charge of the overall situation. He was originally very dissatisfied with this arrangement, thinking that the higher-ups were being too cautious. But now it seemed that they were still being conservative. The problem was far more serious than he had imagined.
"What does Elder Xu mean?" Hou Limin asked, frowning.
"Didn't you guys ever consider that they might have already solved the Disintegration Program?" Elder Xu looked at the group of young councilors who hadn't yet reacted and was speechless. He really didn't know how these guys were raised by their families.
"How could that be?" Hou Limin retorted almost instinctively.
The others instinctively echoed, "Yes, the Disintegration Program is heavily guarded; those guys have absolutely no chance of accessing it. Besides, it's all stored in a decentralized manner. If there's a problem in one place, we'll immediately notice. How could those people possibly escape?"
Elder Xu sighed as he looked at the group's resolute yet guilty attitude.
At this point, what's the point of avoiding the problem?
Yes, the Disintegration Program was designed with multiple layers of security. According to the original logic, it was absolutely impossible for outsiders to intrude. Otherwise, the Central Federation would not have been able to remain stable for so many years. But nothing in this world is absolute. He didn't know what method the other party used to silently eliminate that threat.
But how could someone launch such a large-scale coup without having resolved this hidden danger? They're not stupid.
With a sigh, news quickly arrived from soldiers: in the West District's database area, in multiple secretly sealed data spaces, those responsible for guarding and organizing the data were dead, and a large number of Disintegration Program had been destroyed!
The moment the message was sent out, the entire conference room's network went silent!
Many people had considered this possibility, but they still couldn't believe it—a safety mechanism that hadn't malfunctioned in millions of years had failed today. Was fate playing a cruel joke on them?
"How dare they?" Hou Limin's eyes were bloodshot, his expression as ferocious as a wild beast.
Everyone else started to get anxious too. They all knew that without Disintegration Program, this matter would escalate into a huge mess.
"Immediately send the special forces from the Jade Dynasty Realm back to their units and suppress them immediately!!" Hou Limin roared ferociously, "These bastards, not a single one of them can be let go!!"
"Nonsense!!" Before anyone else could agree, Elder Xu immediately rebuked the other party.
"What does Elder Xu mean?" Hou Limin was stunned by the scolding and asked with a grim expression.
"Don't you even consider the situation? Are you really going to destroy the Central Federation before you're satisfied?" Elder Xu said sternly. "The four major districts have been completely sealed off in just four hours. Before the siege, none of the middle and upper management received a single message. Don't you have any idea how weak your control over the grassroots is? Even now, the city defense troops haven't been mobilized. Don't you understand what that means?"
Many people fell silent. The city had armed forces, but they showed no intention of deploying to confront them. It was unrealistic to say they were all under control; the only possibility was that they had been persuaded to join the rebellion.
What does this mean?
The rank-and-file soldiers and the armed forces within the Data City had all joined this coup!
Just how dissatisfied must they be with them?
Elder Xu sighed inwardly. Over the years, the scions of aristocratic families had gone too far, their greed becoming increasingly unsightly. In particular, to maintain the power of several virtual worlds, their exploitation of those below them had become increasingly excessive. Like water dripping on a stone, the resentment and discontent had accumulated little by little, even if it didn't erupt on ordinary days. Otherwise, how could such an effect be achieved just because someone took the lead?
"So what?" Hou Limin said sternly, "Most of the power at the higher levels is still in our hands. As long as a few special forces from the Virtual Realm return to their posts immediately, these rabble can be wiped out in an instant. Once Xu Min and the others are beheaded, will the people below still dare to cause trouble?"
These words softened the expressions of some people. Indeed, the elite families had monopolized resources for so long, and their accumulated top-tier combat power was far superior to that of ordinary people.
"Ha, back to the team?" Elder Xu sneered. "I announced the news of your return to the team an hour ago. Guess how many people have responded?"
These words sent a chill down everyone's spines. Hou Limin was also taken aback. "What... what do you mean?"
Elder Xu grew increasingly disappointed with these young people, even with such a basic common sense being explained so hastily. He sighed, "Do you really think that we scions of noble families are all of one mind? This time, Chen Qing of the New World released a million slots, but who were the first people sent there? How could those who stayed behind not have complaints? When it came to distributing the benefits, we made them stay behind, and now that something's happened, we want them to take the blame for this kind of suppression of the lower classes. Do you think everyone is stupid?"
"Aren't they going to do anything about it?" Hou Limin asked incredulously. "What if the family falls?"
"So what if they fall?" Elder Xu said sternly, "Do you think everyone is like you, who got their positions by relying on family benefits? Most of those who stayed behind are marginalized members who fought their way up in the virtual world. For them, a New World is more important than a powerful family. If this coup succeeds, they won't be purged. On the contrary, if they step in to suppress it, what if they end up taking the blame to appease public anger? Do you think those who climbed up step by step wouldn't understand such a simple power dynamic as you do?"
"This"
Elder Xu's words were like a bucket of cold water, completely extinguishing everyone's guilty anger!
"Are we just going to compromise like this?" Hou Limin asked in disbelief.
"Whether they'll compromise or not depends on whether they're willing!" Elder Xu sneered, feeling that these guys still hadn't figured it out.
The situation is more serious than these youngsters realize. Public resentment has completely erupted, and the marginalized members of the Virtual Realm are sitting on the sidelines watching the show, with perhaps a few even directly involved.
Most importantly, how was the Disintegration Program broken?
Elder Xu didn't believe it was possible to rely on Xu Min and his group. He was joking. Even someone of Zhang Zhengyuan's level back then couldn't obtain any information about the Disintegration Program. Now, with Xu Min and his group of kids, there was no way they could break through this crucial safety barrier.
Only external forces have the opportunity.
Without even thinking, he knew it must have been Chen Qing who did it, the Mr. Wang he left here!
But how did he, an outsider, manage to do that?
Um, I meant it's almost the last volume, not that it's nearing its end. It's still a long way off. Mofang will fill in all the plot holes in this book. The story is a bit scattered, and it didn't quite achieve the effect I envisioned, haha, but Mofang will try its best to weave it all together.