Since the order had come down so suddenly,
the convoy transporting supplies didn’t have time to make multiple trips. Extended convoys could be seen speeding along roads across the country. In some places, the traffic management department even closed off roads to let the supply convoys pass.
As people across the country uploaded videos of this online,
the story began to spread,
and it soon caused a huge uproar.
“I got stuck behind a whole line of supply trucks on my way to work this morning for half an hour and ended up clocking in late. They looked like they were carrying iron and coal or something. What the hell are those drivers up to?”
“Wait, they’re transporting stuff in Capital City too? I thought it was only us here in Yunan getting stuck behind trucks. Some of them even have military escorts. Is the country about to make some big move?”
“There’s an old lady in my neighborhood who collects scrap. She tried to sneak onto a truck and steal some steel while the driver wasn’t looking, but they caught her before she could even climb aboard. I heard the soldiers accompanying the convoy had already loaded their shotguns. They scared the hell out of her—she wet herself, and she’s still locked up at the station!”
“It was just some steel. Isn’t that a bit much...? Could there be something else on those trucks?”
“You know, if they were just transporting ore or something, they probably wouldn’t need military escorts. I suspect there’s a good chance they’ve got guns hidden in there!”
“Damn, that’s actually possible. The Japanese have been acting up a lot lately. Could our country be planning a lightning raid?”
“What? What? The Season 3 Peak Tournament is about to start? If I enlist now, can I still make it in time to speedrun the Sakura dungeon?”
“Posting from Capital City. My dad works in the government. I’ll let you in on a secret: this operation is at a very high level. In theory, it’s comparable to the counterattack against Flatbread Nation last time. I can’t say any more than that. Let’s just say, those who know, know...”
Capital City, an upscale residential complex.
“Holy crap, is this for real? Is Great Xia actually going to launch a lightning strike against Sakura?”
Looking at the rumors going viral online, Wang Jingwei felt both shocked and uncertain.
Everything had been fine when he went to bed last night. How had things suddenly changed overnight?
While studying in Sakura Country, he had accepted plenty of benefits from them. After returning home, it was only natural that he became a spy planted in Great Xia by Sakura Country.
Over the years, with Sakura Country’s covert assistance, he had successfully landed a job in a government agency and was living quite comfortably.
Although he hadn’t yet leaked any classified information about Great Xia to Sakura Country, that was only because his current position wasn’t high enough. They hadn’t reached the point of activating him yet.
He knew very well that Sakura Country’s overall national strength was no match for Great Xia.
In the war a hundred years ago, Sakura Country had enjoyed a huge advantage in weaponry, bombing with planes and raking the land with machine guns, yet still hadn’t managed to crack Great Xia’s tough resistance with its millet and rifles.
Now, Great Xia had surpassed Sakura Country across the board in weaponry. And that was without even mentioning that Great Xia’s soldiers were all fanatics with extraordinarily strong fighting spirits...
If war really broke out, he feared Sakura Country might be speedrun before it even had time to surrender.
Wouldn’t that mean this senior spy would be purged along with it?
“No, no. I’m transmigrating in eight days and twenty-one hours. Even if they really do start fighting, I won’t be caught up in it!”
Wang Jingwei slapped his forehead and looked at the black countdown ticking down before him, quietly letting out a sigh of relief.
When the countdown had first appeared yesterday at noon, it had given him quite a fright.
But after getting himself checked out at the hospital, he’d found nothing wrong with him.
And since the countdown was running at exactly the same rate as real time, he soon came to believe that he was truly about to transmigrate.
“Go ahead and fight. I don’t care who lives or dies, as long as it doesn’t delay my transmigration...”
Just as he was thinking this,
a knock suddenly came from outside.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Who is it?”
“We’re here to check the water meter. Please open the door!”
Wang Jingwei cautiously crept up to the door and looked through the peephole. Sure enough, there was a repairman holding a tool bag.
But just as he relaxed and turned the doorknob,
“Don’t move! Blade Special Operations Unit!”
A squad of well-trained special operations soldiers immediately burst through the door. Two soldiers kicked him to the ground and pinned him down hard, while the others, armed to the teeth, rushed into the apartment to search it.
“I’m calling the police! I want to call the police!”
With his face pressed against the cold floor, Wang Jingwei watched the soldiers rummaging through the apartment and shouted in panic:
“Do you know who I am? You thugs broke into my home! I’ll call the police and have you all arrested! Just you wait...”
Smack!!!
A sharp slap silenced Wang Jingwei’s blustering.
“Wang Jingwei, twenty-nine years old. Studied in Sakura Country for three years. During that time, you received large sums of money from unknown sources, all transferred from accounts belonging to the Sakura government!”
“Following an investigation by the relevant Great Xia departments, your identity as a spy has been confirmed. You have committed treason under Great Xia law. Higher authorities have ordered the Blade Special Operations Unit to apprehend you. This is your arrest warrant!”
The special operations captain in the lead showed him the arrest warrant and brusquely handcuffed him.
Seeing the list of charges on the paper, Wang Jingwei turned ashen with terror.
“Impossible! I haven’t done anything. How could you have found out about me...?”
He didn’t understand.
He could accept getting taken out as soon as he showed his face, but how could he get taken out without even showing it?
It was true that he had accepted Sakura Country’s bribes, but he hadn’t even started leaking information yet. How could Great Xia have found out about him?
To arrest Wang Jingwei, Great Xia had deployed an entire Special Operations Unit. The commotion drew plenty of neighbors out to watch.
As the soldiers escorted Wang Jingwei to the vehicle, the onlookers began whispering among themselves:
“What did this guy do to get so many soldiers sent after him? Did he commit murder?”
“You don’t know? My husband works at a classified facility. This guy once asked him about his workplace. He definitely had bad intentions!”
“Oh, I always thought he looked like a bad sort. What decent person would have a name like that? Maybe he’s descended from that infamous traitor!”
The vehicle door closed.
Watching the scenery rush past the window, Wang Jingwei’s heart actually began to settle.
That’s right, he’d been arrested.
But... so what?
In less than nine days, he’d be transmigrating. Even if his identity as a spy had been exposed and he was locked up at the station, he’d still transmigrate to the otherworld by then.
Looking at the special operations soldiers beside him, he could hardly wait to see the looks on their faces when he vanished into thin air.
But as the military vehicle gradually headed toward the outskirts, Wang Jingwei’s expression began to change.
“Wait, did we take a wrong turn? We’ve already passed several police stations. Aren’t you taking me in?”
The soldier sitting beside him gave him a cold glance and replied icily:
“We have no obligation to tell you.”
Half an hour later,
the military vehicle stopped in an empty lot in the suburbs. With a cloth bag over his head, Wang Jingwei was escorted by two soldiers to a nearby spot.
“Wait, this isn’t a police station!”
“Where have you brought me? I demand that you take me to jail right now! I want a lawyer! I want a lawyer!!!”
Facing the agitated Wang Jingwei,
the special operations captain offered no explanation. He simply took out a notice bearing a bright red seal and read the verdict, word for word:
“By order of the highest authorities of our country, the criminal Wang Jingwei has been found guilty of treason, espionage... and six other charges. The sentence is as follows—”
“Execution by firing squad, to be carried out immediately!”
............
At the same time,
Capital City, Command Center.
Looking at the various high-energy materials laid out across the site, Lu Yang couldn’t help but quietly swallow.
Uranium-235, nuclear fuel, high-grade TNT explosives, plastic explosives... A total of more than three hundred kinds of high-energy materials had been arranged in order across the site.
Last night, he had merely mentioned that absorbing high-energy substances might allow him to make a long-distance call between the Cultivation World and Great Xia. Today, Great Xia had already gathered all these materials for him.
That was incredibly efficient!