Chapter 118: Charles Announces to the World

Chapter 118 Charles Announces to the World

Charles quickly convened a global video conference, during which he revealed the existence of the dimensional pendant and exaggerated the effects of the Magic Spring. In his account, the Magic Spring was portrayed as miracle water, capable of instantly curing someone bitten by a zombie with just a single sip.

That wasn’t all. Charles also claimed that Ji An’s ability to develop so many groundbreaking inventions was due to the assistance of the Magic Spring.

In Charles’s narrative, the Magic Spring was omnipotent—as if possessing it could eradicate zombies and dominate the world.

His intentions were clear: if he couldn’t have it, he would destroy it. Charles had always been that kind of lunatic.

After the meeting, Charles sat at his desk, laughing uproariously, doubling over in amusement. He genuinely seemed to find the situation hilarious, but he didn’t realize how terrifying his behavior appeared to his assistants and staff, who shivered in fear, convinced that his violent frenzy had worsened.

The young assistant, watching the flood of messages pouring in after the conference, swallowed hard and uttered fearfully, "Commander-in-Chief Charles, representatives from the Y, F, D, E, and YW bases have all sent urgent inquiries about the dimensional pendant and the Magic Spring. If you have time now, they wish to speak with you immediately to discuss the matter in detail."

Charles didn’t stop laughing. Wiping tears from his eyes, he roared with laughter and said, "Connect them all! Every single one! Hahaha! If the Eight-Nation Alliance could do it once, I can make it happen again! Xia Nation is about to fade into obscurity. From now on, this beautiful planet will no longer have those yellow-skinned, black-haired monkeys [derogatory]!"

The assistant bowed his head and began contacting the representatives.

Within Xia Nation, the situation was equally turbulent. Charles’s conference was like a bomb dropped into a lake, turning everything upside down.

Even bases that had already defected to the Capital Base sent messages asking whether the claims about the dimensional pendant and the Magic Spring were true.

At this point, there was no point in hiding anything. After discussions, Ji An and the others publicly acknowledged the existence of the dimensional pendant and the Magic Spring, clarifying that the Magic Spring could not cure zombification. They explained that while his research on spatial technology had been inspired by the pendant, all other inventions were entirely his own.

Moreover, the Magic Spring had already been incorporated into nutritional rations and was not being hoarded.

Ji An’s speech was met with mixed reactions—some believed him, while others did not.

Among the earliest to defect, the Luo City Base, represented by Owen and Jiang Fuzhong, immediately sent messages expressing their trust in Ji An and their support for all his decisions.

He Tao also voiced his belief in Ji An, as did the laboratory team led by Wu Youyang, including Na Boyu, Zhou Fanxiu, and Bai Na. Even Han Yaokun expressed his trust and support.

Many others, including private messages from friends like Little Stone, Little Rose, and Yuan Mingan, also stood by Ji An.

Seeing so many people still willing to believe in and support him moved Ji An deeply.

Gu Jinsheng said, "Anyone with eyes can see your contributions. Those who still doubt you now are either blind or ill-intentioned. Their intentions are impure—don’t let them bother you."

Thunder Dragon wrapped its leathery and thick-skinned tail around the unicorn, pulling it close, and nuzzled its large head against the unicorn’s pristine white mane. With disdain, it said, "These people are clueless! At a time like this, instead of uniting against external threats, they’re sowing division! An’an has done so much for this apocalyptic world—even foreigners have noticed, in a frenzy, desperately craving to join our Xia Nation nationality. Yet these Xia Nation people still aren’t satisfied!"

The unicorn said nothing, only gently nuzzling Ji An with its large head. Though Ji An couldn’t physically feel the softness of its fur, the gesture still comforted him, warming his heart.

Ji An said softly, "I don’t care. I won’t hear their words anyway. But I’m worried about unrest within the base. We need to stay vigilant and ensure M Nation’s spies don’t exploit this opportunity to destabilize the situation."

"Mm, I’ll keep an eye on it," Gu Jinsheng replied. Then, suddenly, he added, "Xiao An, what do you want for dinner tonight? It’s been a while since I cooked for you myself. How about I make something delicious tonight?"

"Seriously? Now’s the time to think about food?" Thunder Dragon scoffed. "Gu Jinsheng, you really never miss a chance to sweet-talk your partner, huh?"

Ji An’s face flushed slightly. Thunder Dragon’s eyes gleamed as it watched his shy reaction. "An’an, so you like bootlickers? You should’ve said so earlier! I might not be able to be a bootlicker, but I can be a bootlicking dragon. I’ll charge straight into M Base right now and take out that deranged maniac."

Thunder Dragon’s flippant personality made Ji An fear it might actually attempt a solo assault on M Nation. He quickly reassured it, "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad. Charles will bring about his own downfall sooner or later."

Thunder Dragon grumbled, "Fine. I’ll let that psycho live a few more days."

Meanwhile, several newly defected bases were privately plotting in the shadows, their leaders holding secret video calls.

Guang Jia, Commander-in-Chief of the Hope Base, said, "Do you believe Gu Jinsheng and Ji An’s statements? Something as miraculous as the Magic Spring—capable of reviving the dead and healing the mortally wounded—do you really think they’d willingly add it to nutritional rations for people like us, far from the power center?"

Hao Rui, Commander-in-Chief of the Anhe Base, replied, "No matter how pretty their words are, I’m not buying it. Ji An claims it’s added to the supplements, but adding a fraction of a percent still counts as ‘adding.’ Diluted that much, what good would it even do?"

Commander Shao Hao of Happiness Base also said, "Look at the things Ji An has produced—nutrient solutions, med-pods—all so miraculous. How dare they claim it's not because of the Magic Spring? They’re outright scamming us."

These people completely forgot how many lives the nutrient solutions and med-pods had saved, how many disabilities they’d cured.

It didn’t matter to them. Even if they had used these things themselves, they wouldn’t care. As long as the Magic Spring wasn’t in their hands, they believed Ji An and the others had hoarded it and refused to share.

Hao Rui, not completely consumed by the immense benefits of the Magic Spring, retained some rationality. He said, "But even if a few of our bases rebel, it’s useless. Thunder Dragon could annihilate us in seconds."

Guang Jia’s eyes gleamed. "That’s the reality. Do you really think Ji An and Gu Jinsheng’s words alone could convince many? Those on our side are just too weak to act recklessly."

Shao Hao added, "What we need to do now is unite with others who feel the same. Though our bases are small, together we form a considerable force. Even a powerhouse like the Capital Base would have to take us seriously."

"Good. Let’s rally other bases now."

Many bases harbored similar thoughts—some already aligned with the Capital Base, others not. These bases secretly communicated, some worried they’d get shafted in the split and refusing alliances with larger bases, while smaller ones, afraid of being crushed by the Capital Base, sought alliances with bigger ones, happy to take scraps rather than nothing.

Some alliances had already formed but hesitated to act first for various reasons, while others, fearing they’d miss their chance, made the first move.

Happiness, Harmony, Hope, and a dozen other small bases, fearing they’d be left with nothing, quickly formed an alliance and immediately sent a communication request to the Capital Base.

Though lacking the capabilities of the M Base, their tone mirrored Charles’—all bark and bite. "The space and Magic Spring are treasures of all China, not the personal property of Ji An and Gu Jinsheng. Don’t feed us lies about adding the Magic Spring to nutrient solutions. Cut the bullshit."

Ji An wasn’t angered at all. Deadpan, he replied, "And if I refuse to hand them over? What then? Go to war with us?"

"Ji An, don’t be so selfish," Guang Jia narrowed his eyes. "Countless others share our dissatisfaction. If you don’t give us a proper answer, you’ll have a full-scale revolt on your hands."

Hao Rui added, "If you remain obstinate, don’t blame us for starting a war, even if it burns the world down."

Ji An suddenly chuckled, like he was picking lunch. "When shall we fight? How about today? It’s 3:50 PM now—let’s pick a nice round number, say 4 PM?"

The faces of Guang Jia, Hao Rui, and Shao Hao went purple with rage. They hadn’t expected Ji An to provoke them so blatantly.

In their minds, even if the Capital Base refused, they’d at least try to placate them with promises of benefits, avoiding outright rebellion during such turbulent times. But Ji An defied expectations, declaring war outright. Didn’t he fear inspiring more rebellions?

Clearly, Ji An had no such concerns. Grinning, he gave a mock salute through the screen like an old friend. "See you soon—in ten minutes."

The call ended, leaving the three gaping at each other.

Guang Jia muttered in disbelief, "How dare he? Does he really think we won’t fight?"

Hao Rui frowned. "Is he serious? Will he actually attack our bases soon?"

Glancing at his watch—eight minutes until 4 PM—he added, "The Capital Base’s hovercrafts are incredibly fast. They could reach M Base in minutes. Eight minutes is more than enough."

Shao Hao narrowed his eyes. "He won’t come. He’s calling our bluff."

Guang Jia sneered. "Then he’ll be disappointed. Our alliance forces are ready. If he doesn’t come tonight, we’ll burn their gates down tomorrow."