In a university dormitory in Shacheng.
“Heh, some devoted son can stop defending them already. Your mom’s even cut your power, and you’re still at it?”
“Getting upset, are we? I make a few fair points and someone can’t take it. Forget the United States—even Sakura Country has never imposed nationwide power restrictions. How can anyone still refuse to admit the truth?”
“So what? You think I haven’t emigrated because I don’t want to? If I hadn’t finished college yet, I’d have gotten the hell out of here on the spot!”
Su Yutong hammered away at her keyboard, venting the darkness in her heart with wild abandon.
After all, it was only the internet.
No matter what she said online, it wouldn’t have any effect on her in the real world.
She already had plenty of grievances about being born in this backward country. She could only hate that she hadn’t been born in a highly developed country like the United States.
This nationwide power restriction had only deepened her resentment toward the country.
Fortunately, she had already secured a Graduate Recommendation Slot. Once she finished her graduate studies in the country, she would definitely go to the United States and breathe in the free air there!
............
As time passed,
news of Great Xia’s nationwide power restrictions soon crossed the ocean and reached the White House in the United States.
At that moment, President Mitro was berating the director of the Intelligence Agency.
“Fuck! Are you all a bunch of pigs?!”
“I gave you three days to thoroughly investigate what Great Xia was transporting. And your conclusion is that those convoys were carrying nothing but industrial Materials like iron blocks and copper blocks?”
“Even if I used my grandmother’s toes to think, I’d know Great Xia wouldn’t go to all this trouble just to transport those things. What the hell are you people good for?!”
Under the scolding,
James kept his head bowed and didn’t dare say a word. Sweat poured down his forehead.
According to the reports sent back by the spies, the convoys moving around Great Xia really were carrying materials such as iron blocks, cables, and steel frames.
Although he also knew this was most likely a smokescreen by Great Xia, they wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble and made such a commotion just to transport these things...
But those people from Great Xia were far too good at keeping secrets. The spies planted by the United States Intelligence Agency simply hadn’t had enough time to uncover more information!
Just as he lowered his head to reflect on his life, a phone call interrupted Mitro’s tirade.
“Haven’t I told you? Don’t call me when there’s nothing going on...”
Mitro frowned and began to reprimand the caller, but his expression suddenly froze when he heard the news on the other end:
“Wait, you’re saying Great Xia just announced that it would impose power restrictions nationwide for five days, with electricity supplied for only eight hours a day?”
“Is the source reliable?”
“What? It was posted by the Great Xia Official Website itself, and people back home are already in an uproar?!”
He hung up.
President Mitro’s expression quickly shifted from gloom to delight. His lips curled into an uncontrollable grin as he laughed:
“Good! This is absolutely wonderful!”
“Imposing large-scale power restrictions nationwide at a time like this means something must be wrong inside Great Xia. This is a godsend!”
Great Xia had developed rapidly in recent years. No matter how many times he tried to suppress it, he had never succeeded. It was clearly making a bid to become Blue Star’s number one power and challenge the United States.
Right now, public sentiment among the United States’ working class was running high.
Many people were protesting the blood-bar policy. Some had even compared the books and declared that the United States was worse off than Great Xia, leaving him in a constant state of frustration lately.
He’d been worrying about how to solve the problem, and then Great Xia had suddenly stabbed itself for no reason—and even handed him a knife.
If he couldn’t seize this opportunity, he might as well retire as soon as possible!
“Pass down my order: have the United States media immediately make a huge fuss over Great Xia’s power restrictions. Make sure the public shifts all its attention to Great Xia!”
“Nobody understands Great Xia better than I do. There must be a serious problem within the country, or they wouldn’t impose nationwide power restrictions for no reason!”
“Send out your Intelligence Agency spies and dig up their scandals. If there isn’t enough time, make something up—just get it out there!”
“And contact the other countries while you’re at it. This is a great chance to damage Great Xia’s international reputation. I’m sure they’ll know what to do...”
“Yes, Mr. President!”
............
Before long,
one country after another issued statements.
【Button Times: Shocking! Great Xia suddenly imposes nationwide power restrictions. Basic public services may be on the verge of collapse, and the glossy facade has finally been torn away!】
【Korea Official Statement: We ask our citizens to rest assured: Korea has the world’s most advanced power-generation technology, and our electricity supply is more than ample. We would never need to impose nationwide power restrictions like Great Xia, at any time!】
【Sakura Country Official Statement: Sakura Country is deeply concerned about the recent hardships faced by the people of Great Xia. Should Great Xia need assistance, Sakura Country is willing to donate ten tons of paper cranes free of charge as a token of our well wishes.】
【......】
【Flatbread Nation Official Statement: Flatbread Nation has a comprehensive strategy for dealing with power plant damage. If Great Xia is willing to pay a high price, we may consider sending our advanced engineers to Great Xia to provide guidance.】
Faced with Great Xia’s announcement of nationwide power restrictions, countries were eager to flaunt their superiority.
Great Xia rarely made mistakes, so when these countries finally caught it in a bind, they made a huge fuss over it.
With official statements from various countries fanning the flames,
quite a few domestic public intellectuals also jumped in, posting inflammatory remarks online that reeked of fawning over foreign countries.
【No Donuts: As the largest developing country on Blue Star, Great Xia can’t even guarantee its citizens basic access to electricity and has to impose power restrictions. This has truly opened my eyes.】
【Thinking back on my time in the United States, I can’t help but sigh over what a wonderful period it was. Everything there was free, and electricity use wasn’t restricted either. It makes me wonder: when will our country ever reach the level of the United States?】
Within half an hour of being posted, this highly praised post had quickly garnered tens of thousands of likes on Little Red Book.
The comments were full of people clamoring to emigrate. Others hoped Great Xia would follow the United States’ example and abandon its backward ideas.
Some went even further, claiming that Great Xia had fallen to its current state because there were too few women in the upper echelons. Otherwise, even basic electricity wouldn’t be restricted.
When Lu Yang came across the post, he was so angry at the comments that he laughed.
In his previous life, he had been betrayed by traitors and driven to the brink, with no way out but to jump off a cliff.
Now, Wang Jingwei, who had persecuted him in his previous life, had already been eliminated ahead of time by the Special Operations Unit. From the execution video, it was clear the man was well and truly dead.
But looking at the vile comments section, he realized there were still plenty of ingrates in the country.
Once he transmigrated to the Cultivation World and established himself there, he would definitely Teleportation things from the Cultivation World back to Great Xia, helping people everywhere cultivate.
These ingrates dared to spout off online even in peacetime. Once Great Xia made cultivation techniques widely available, who knew what kind of trouble they might cause!
He had already suffered the cost of betrayal once.
He didn’t want the things he fought so hard to obtain to end up being enjoyed by a bunch of ingrates for free.
Besides, spies from various countries had been far too active inside Great Xia recently.
Cultivation concerned Great Xia’s national fortune. There was no room for carelessness. Anything that might leak information needed to be nipped in the bud.
“Elder Wang, it’s about time. We can start deporting the overseas immigrants.”
“As for the dissenting voices coming from within the country, I suggest the Cybersecurity Department track and record their identities, then send them abroad along with the others.”
“If they think Great Xia is no good, then give them a chance to breathe foreign air. Let’s hope they don’t regret it when the time comes!”