Chapter 243

The hall of the Kyoto National Convention Center had been rearranged.

The stage where Zhao Kaiyuan launched the Xuanming-2 yesterday had been removed and replaced with a thirty-meter-long curved signing table.

The table was covered with deep blue silk, seventeen small national flags were neatly arranged, and a palm-sized Xuanming-2 battery was placed under each flag.

Exactly 2:00 PM.

Heads of state and representatives from various countries entered one after another.

Russian President Putinov arrived first; this leader, known for his toughness, was rarely seen wearing a custom suit today.

He walked to the Longguo seat and reached out to Feng Yan, who had been waiting for a long time:

"President Feng, you really gave the whole world a scare this time."

Feng Yan shook his hand with a smile: "Mr. President, we just wanted to share good things with everyone."

"Share?" Putinov raised an eyebrow, "Buying half the world with a battery? That's a good deal."

The two looked at each other and smiled, understanding each other without words.

Following him was Saudi Crown Prince Salman; this Middle Eastern oil tycoon had a complex expression today.

The energy minister following him kept staring at the Xuanming-2 battery on the table, his eyes looking like he was watching the executioner who would end his family's century-old industry.

"Mr. Feng," Salman spoke in fluent English.

"My grandfather started with oil, and my father built this country with oil."

"Now..." he picked up the battery on the table, "this little thing has turned oil into history."

Feng Yan responded calmly: "Your Highness, energy should not be a weapon, but a bridge. We are willing to use this bridge to connect all countries that aspire to development."

Salman was silent for a few seconds, then nodded slowly: "I hope you are right."

At 2:30 PM, representatives from seventeen countries were all in place.

The global live stream camera turned on.

The chief representative of Longguo stood in the center of the signing table, facing the camera, his voice steady and powerful: "After multiple rounds of consultation, seventeen countries have officially signed the 'Clean Energy Alliance Treaty' here."

"A new type of partnership based on energy cooperation, technology sharing, and common development."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room: "Now, I invite all representatives to use the Xuanming-2 battery in front of you to jointly light up the light curtain symbolizing the community of human destiny."

Seventeen people picked up the batteries simultaneously and inserted them into the special interface on the table.

"Hum—"

A low resonance sounded.

Behind the signing table, a giant light curtain ten meters high slowly lit up.

At first, it was a faint blue, then it gradually intensified, presenting a vast starry sky pattern.

As the stars twinkled, the outlines of the seventeen signatory countries emerged in turn, finally converging into a line of three-dimensional characters:

"Community of Human Destiny—Clean Energy Era"

The light from the curtain was soft and firm, illuminating the entire hall.

Even more shocking was the real-time display on the data bar:

【Current Power Source: 17 Xuanming-2 batteries】

【Estimated sustainable lighting: 872 days】

【Total energy consumption: 0.0003%】

"Eight hundred-plus days..." a representative from a small European country muttered.

"Can this little energy light it up for over two years?"

The technical consultant next to him said: "Actually, it can light up until the battery shell ages. But this doesn't show battery life, but the absolute abundance of energy."

The live stream comments were already crazy:

"How much did those special effects cost?"

"To the person above, these aren't special effects; it's really lit by that battery."

"So in the future, we won't need power cords for concerts, just give everyone a battery?"

"Think bigger, this is going to reshape the world order!"

Eagle Country, White House Oval Office.

President Carlson stared at the footage on the screen, and the coffee cup in his hand fell to the ground with a "pop."

Brown liquid splashed all over the Persian rug, but no one dared to come in and clean it up.

"They used a battery..." Carlson's voice was hoarse.

"Used a damn battery to buy half the world?"

Secretary of Defense Murdoch stood to the side, his face equally ugly:

"Mr. President, just received intelligence that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar have officially notified us that they will gradually reduce oil supply to our country."

"What?!" Carlson turned abruptly, "How dare they? We have a security treaty!"

"The treaty doesn't say we must buy their oil," the Secretary of State said with a wry smile.

"And the electricity price Longguo offered... is one-tenth of our domestic price. Our manufacturing industry simply cannot compete."

The Secretary of the Treasury handed over a report: "Worse, seventeen investment banks on Wall Street have started to reduce their energy stock holdings."

"ExxonMobil's stock price plummeted 23% at the opening today, and it's still falling."

Carlson slumped in his chair, staring at the smiling representatives from various countries on the screen.

He remembered three years ago, also in this office, when the Director of Intelligence said confidently: "Longguo's mechs are just a gimmick, and fusion energy is at least fifty years away."

Two and a half years ago, a military report said: "The Penglai aerospace mothership project will inevitably fail due to cost overruns."

One year ago, think-tank analysis: "Longguo's technological explosion is unsustainable and is about to hit a bottleneck."

All of them were wrong.

"We..." Carlson closed his eyes, "what exactly did we miss?"

No one answered.

Because the answer was on the screen, that light curtain lit by seventeen batteries, that light curtain that was reshaping the rules of the world.

At the signing ceremony, the process entered the substantive stage.

The chief representative of Longguo began to read the core terms of the treaty:

"First, zero barriers in the energy market among member states; Longguo will supply fusion power at cost."

"Second, unified technical standards. All equipment connected to the alliance power grid must comply with the safety specifications formulated by Longguo."

"Third, establish a joint security mechanism. If a member state's energy infrastructure is attacked, the alliance has the right to take collective defense actions."

Every time a clause was read, the shutter sounds of reporters in the audience became denser.

The third clause was particularly sensitive; this was almost equivalent to a disguised military alliance.

But no one raised an objection, because everyone knew that if you took someone's cheap energy, you had to pay something.

"Fourth, establish a Clean Energy Development Fund, led by Longguo, with each member state contributing proportionally, to assist developing countries that have not yet joined the alliance in their energy transition."

This clause was very clever.

It both demonstrated "great power responsibility" and expanded the alliance's influence; whoever is aided today might become a new member tomorrow.

"Finally," the representative paused, "the alliance will establish a Standing Council, with Longguo serving as the first rotating chair country for a five-year term."

Five years.

Enough to establish an unshakable leadership position.

On the plane, Foot-Chicken representative Sato Ichiro lowered his head, his fingers digging into his palms.

He knew that once this treaty was signed, Foot-Chicken would be completely marginalized.

No, not just marginalized, but excluded from the new world system.

"Now, I invite all representatives to sign the treaty."

Seventeen special pens were delivered to the table.

The pen body was silver, the tip was a miniature laser engraving head, and what was signed was a permanent mark etched directly onto a special alloy plate.

Putinov signed his name first.

Then Salman.

Then the representatives of the other fifteen countries.

Finally, the Longguo representative solemnly wrote in the center position.

"Signing complete!"

Applause thundered.

Almost simultaneously, the hot search lists of social media in alliance countries refreshed at the same time:

#ElectricityPricePlummets90%#

#ThankYouLongguo#

#NewEraIsHere#

Moscow, Russia, an ordinary family.

Housewife Anna was cooking dinner when her phone suddenly popped up a text message notification from the power company:

【Dear user, due to connecting to Longguo's clean energy network, the electricity price has been lowered to 10% of the original price starting today. Your electricity bill for this month is: 37 rubles (approx. 3 yuan RMB)】

Anna stared at the screen, stunned for five seconds.

Then she rushed into the living room screaming: "Ivan! The electricity bill! The electricity bill is only 37 rubles!"

Her husband jumped off the sofa: "What? Is the system wrong?"

"No! Look at the news!"

The TV was broadcasting the signing ceremony live.

Ivan watched for a few minutes, then sat down slowly, muttering: "So we don't have to worry about electricity bills for heating anymore? Can we keep the air conditioner on 24 hours a day in the summer?"

Anna flipped through her phone excitedly: "Electric car charging is also cheaper! We can change our car!"

The same scene played out simultaneously in millions of households in alliance countries.

And in non-alliance countries, the style was completely different.

Tokyo, Foot-Chicken, long queues formed at the power company.

"Why won't you lower the price for us?"

"We want Xuanming batteries too!"

"The government is incompetent! Why didn't we join the alliance?"

The protests grew louder and louder.

Defense Ministry, third floor underground, secret conference room.

Foot-Chicken Defense Minister Yamamoto, Eagle Country Intelligence Director Davis, and White Elephant National Security Advisor Singh sat around a small round table.

"Our oil reserves are only enough for three months," Yamamoto spoke first, his voice dry.

"Industrial electricity prices have risen by 300%; if this continues, all factories will have to close."

Davis said with a cold face: "We aren't doing much better. Wall Street predicts that if the Longguo alliance continues to expand, our GDP will shrink by 15% within five years."

Singh was more direct: "In the disputed areas on the White Elephant border, Longguo mechs are patrolling every day now."

"Our soldiers don't even dare to stick their heads out. Last time a new recruit stuck his head out to look, a mech used a laser to carve 'I was here' on his helmet."

The three fell silent one after another.

After a long time, Yamamoto said slowly: "We can't copy Longguo's mechs, and we can't build fusion batteries... there's only one path left."

"What path?" Davis asked.

Yamamoto took a document out of his briefcase, titled: "Breakthrough Action—Joint Military Intervention Plan."

Davis flipped through it quickly, his face turning paler: "Are you crazy? This is practically suicide!"

"Waiting for death is also death," Yamamoto's eyes were cold.

"At least if we give it a try, there's a chance to break Longguo's rhythm and buy ourselves some breathing room."

Singh took the document, read it for a few minutes, and suddenly smiled: "Interesting. Using our stock of old equipment to fight an asymmetric war?"

"Even if we lose, we can drag Longguo into the mud and delay their Heaven's Punishment project?"

Yamamoto nodded: "Exactly, and we don't need to win; we just need to make Longguo hurt. Hurt enough that they have to divert resources from deep space defense to homeland defense."

Davis hesitated.

He remembered President Carlson's words: "At all costs, break Longguo's rhythm."

Maybe... this really was the only way?

"I need to ask the President," he said.

"We do too," Singh closed the document.

"But there isn't much time left. Every day that passes, Longguo's alliance consolidates a little more."

Almost at the same time, Dragon Chant Control Center.

Chen Guang stared at Torch Dragon-3's monitoring screen, his brows furrowed.

"Abnormal communication traffic, very high encryption level," he pulled up the spectrum chart.

"The source is the Foot-Chicken Defense Ministry, the recipient... Eagle Country and White Elephant."

Wang Hao leaned over: "What are they plotting again? Don't tell me they still want to steal our technology?"

"Doesn't look like it," Chen shook his head.

"This encryption mode is the highest military grade, and the communication time is very short, no more than three minutes each time, as if they are rapidly exchanging decisions."

Li Yang also walked over: "Did you intercept the content?"

"Torch Dragon-3 is decrypting it, but it needs time," Chen paused.

"But there's a very strange detail; they mentioned unsealing stock equipment and assembling old fleets."

Feng Yan had just returned from the signing site and paused when he heard this.

"Stock equipment?" He walked to the screen, "What exactly does that refer to?"

"Preliminary analysis, it might be..." Chen marked a list.

"Fifty old destroyers sealed by Foot-Chicken, two retired Nimitz-class aircraft carriers from Eagle Country, and those tanks that have been sitting idle in White Elephant for ten years."

Wang Hao laughed: "Are they planning to open a museum?"

Feng Yan stared at the list, silent for a moment, then said slowly: "Notify the Navy to strengthen monitoring in the East Sea and South Sea directions. Also..."

He looked at Li Yang: "Move the launch of the Heaven's Punishment base module to tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Li Yang was stunned, "The original plan was next week, and there are three final ground tests left to do."

"There's no time," Feng Yan turned, looking at the darkening sky outside the window.

"I have a premonition that some people... can't wait to jump over the wall like a dog."

Outside the window, the night view of Kyoto was brilliant.

And far away on the East Sea, three Foot-Chicken submarines were quietly leaving port, their destination unknown.

On Torch Dragon-3's monitoring log, a red mark was added:

【Abnormal military movement detected—Risk assessment: High】