Chapter 391 - 333: The Celestial Capital’s Anomaly

After a brief silence, Su Tianhai made a decision. ’So, I’ll just keep governing. The common people are never to blame. Besides...’

A strange light glinted in Su Tianhai’s eyes. ’In this chaotic situation, maybe I can finally try to do some of the things that benefit the people—things that were impossible under the stable old order?’

’For instance...’

’...the issue of overdue wages for employees of the various capitalist families, for the factory workers... He was sure that Mr. Zhu would absolutely support this decision!’

Reaching the doorway, Su Tianhai paused without turning back. "What are you still doing here? Didn’t you hear what Great Goddess Nuwa said? Let’s do what we’re supposed to do!"

Only then did the officials snap out of it, scrambling to rush out of the room. The Security Corps soldiers withdrew in an orderly fashion, with two soldiers quietly falling in behind each official... accompanied by a single civilian drone.

...

On the drone carrier.

Chu Bamboo watched with great interest, his eyes scanning the apprehensive faces of the Security Corps soldiers assembled before him. These soldiers had just been re-outfitted. Some were the elites who had followed Zhao Xu to the Third Corps, while the rest were reservists who had been urgently called up.

Of course, for various reasons, they hadn’t managed to assemble the full two thousand men. Right now, there were just over eleven hundred on the aircraft. Still, Chu Bamboo was quite satisfied.

"Director-General!" Zhao Xu came up to Chu Bamboo and saluted. His face was flushed with excitement and his lips trembled. "Are we... are we about to conquer the world now?"

Originally, Zhao Xu had felt that Chu Bamboo’s mobilization was far too hasty. But after seeing the state of the Third Corps, he started to feel... maybe conquering the world wasn’t as difficult as he’d always imagined?

"We can’t get swept up in theories of quick victory." Chu Bamboo patted Zhao Xu’s shoulder and gently shook his head. "Experience from the war teaches us that the ’quick victory’ mindset and the ’quick defeat’ mindset are two sides of the same coin. Anyone who thinks they can win easily will, after the slightest setback, immediately spiral into despair, believing we’re defeated and have no hope of winning."

Zhao Xu’s expression froze as if doused with cold water. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn’t find any words and simply retreated.

Chu Bamboo frowned, his gaze sweeping over the assembled men. He noticed the Security Corps soldiers were far too relaxed, too at ease. Their confidence was brazenly on display. ’Apparently, Zhao Xu’s way of thinking is the popular one? Unbelievable...’

"Hive," Chu Bamboo said into his phone, his tone placid. "Give them a little ideological session."

"Affirmative." Hive instantly understood Chu Bamboo’s meaning. Or rather, its warfare module already contained content for just such a purpose.

"Mr. Zhu!" Hu Kaikang strode over, dragging a bruised and battered woman behind him. It was none other than the Hehuan Sect’s director for Jinghai City, the Jiangnan Miao Girl, Su Xiaoqun.

"?" Sensing Chu Bamboo’s confusion, Hu Kaikang explained nonchalantly, "When I was mobilizing my forces, I discovered the Hehuan Sect was up to something behind the scenes. I followed the trail and ended up catching this woman. I was going to kill the Witch, but... she started screaming about her father, so I figured..."

After all, in Hu Kaikang’s eyes, part of Chu Bamboo’s purpose here was to recruit Su Tianhai. Naturally, he had to give Chu Bamboo some face.

Chu Bamboo: "..."

’The Demon Sects really are taking advantage of the chaos... But the All-Powerful is basically crippled, and now the Hehuan Sect is too... well, with this woman out of the picture, doesn’t this mean Hai Mingyue can take control of the Hehuan Sect in Jinghai City?’

Chu Bamboo thoughtfully pulled out his phone, wondering if he should give Hai Mingyue a call. ’As for the last one, the Five Poisonous Creatures... Their power is primarily rooted in the Yun Gui region and the Ten Thousand Mountains. It’s not that they don’t have a presence in Jinghai, but it’s nowhere near enough to stir up any real trouble.’

Still, Chu Bamboo glanced at the weakened Su Xiaoqun, a strange expression on his face. ’Did he literally beat her until she cried daddy?!’

"But... you took her down that easily? You really are something else..." Chu Bamboo rubbed his temples and looked at Hu Kaikang again. He felt he might need to reassess Hu Kaikang’s actual strength.

"...You might have the wrong impression of me because of what happened with the All-Powerful!" Hu Kaikang stewed for a moment before forcing the words out. "I’m actually pretty strong... Seriously, don’t look at me like that. I really am strong!"

Hu Kaikang felt like crying but couldn’t shed a tear.

After a short silence, a flicker of understanding finally dawned in Chu Bamboo’s eyes. ’Right. The God Worship Sect’s power is rooted in Jiangnan, and Jinghai City is so close to their main base, the Celestial Capital. The city’s importance is undeniable.’

’In that case, it’s only natural for Hu Kaikang to be powerful. The only reason he met with such a fate before was simply because the Fifth Apostle is ridiculously overpowered.’

"Lock her up," Chu Bamboo said after a slight pause. He then turned to Huo Qiming, who was leaning against a metal wall, staring at the distant Z-3 with Eunuch Huang by his side. "What about the others...?"

"Hm? Oh!" Huo Qiming was startled out of his reverie. He pursed his lips and sighed. "The die-hards have been locked up. As for Vice Xin... although, as you said, he’s one of the stubborn ones, he volunteered to be placed under Great Goddess Nuwa’s surveillance. He said he wants to maintain stability in Jinghai City after I leave. I thought about it... and decided to come ask you. If you agree, we can release the part of the Extraordinary Chain on him."

"...Fine." Chu Bamboo thought for a moment, then nodded. ’It really doesn’t matter to me. After all, I might not even come back to Jinghai. Or rather... there’s a high probability I’ll die in the Celestial Capital on this trip.’

Huo Qiming breathed a sigh of relief and made a call.

Then, after a moment’s hesitation, Huo Qiming continued, carefully studying Chu Bamboo’s expression as he spoke. "Also, I’ve dismissed most of my subordinate secretaries..."

Huo Qiming felt the whole situation was absurd. It was only after spending some time away from Chu Bamboo that he had finally managed to think things through.

’No, why am I even following Chu Bamboo? I know he’s doomed to fail. If it comes to one last battle and we lose, it doesn’t matter if I die... but my subordinates...’

’Thinking it over, he finally felt like he’d been played by Chu Bamboo. Every move Chu Bamboo had made had fallen just within the lines of his morality, but by the time he stopped to look back, he realized he’d already gone too far to turn back.’

All his complicated thoughts and feelings could only be summed up in a single sigh.

Chu Bamboo didn’t say a word. He just patted Little Mushroom Head, who had jumped up beside him. Then, with a wave of his hand, Hive projected a holographic screen inside the drone carrier. Part of the screen displayed a map, while other sections showed live feeds from drones still flying over Jinghai City.

The drone carrier’s speed was astounding. To Chu Bamboo, it felt as if only a few minutes had passed, but he could already see it in the distance... Celestial Capital!

But the moment his eyes fell upon the Celestial Capital, Chu Bamboo’s expression froze. He instinctively rubbed his eyes and looked again. When he saw that it was still there, he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Wait... what the hell are those two things?!"

Besides the vast, bustling main district of Celestial Capital City, the most eye-catching features... were two massive pillars that reached for the heavens.

The two pillars were rooted in the Celestial Capital... like a pair of blackened Golden Cudgels from myth, they shot straight into the clouds, their final destination completely hidden from view.