Chapter 122 - 95: The Nation’s Showdown, I Can Guard a Nation

"Second, if you need official intelligence support, Fei, we are willing to provide it wholeheartedly! We hope to cooperate with you based on a mutual understanding. After all, we bleed the same blood... For instance, regarding the arrival of the Neutral City, the government has intelligence that ordinary people don’t. We have a National Treasure Divine Artifact, an item exclusive to the government, and through the information from it..."

After that solemn opening, Li Yunlong started rambling on, and among the things he said, he even included information about the National Treasure Divine Artifact. Although Shen Fei already knew about the National Treasure Divine Artifact, he appreciated Li Yunlong’s earnestness. Furthermore, Li Yunlong mentioned that if not for the fact he had to relay it to Shen Fei, his own clearance level wouldn’t have allowed him to know anything about the National Treasure Divine Artifact. For that, Shen Fei was grateful.

Even though it’s the apocalypse, those permissions for things like killing, seizing treasures, and declaring war sound a bit ridiculous. But having the government’s official recognition is at least a gesture. I hadn’t expected the government to be so clear-sighted in the face of absolute power...

Uncle Sun had told him earlier that Li Yunlong would be visiting today, and Shen Fei had guessed that he was coming on behalf of the government to extend an olive branch.

After all, anyone determined enough could certainly have dug up information on me within the past seven days. It was easy enough to estimate my own strength by using Taiyi Zhenren as a benchmark. My power is no secret in the eyes of the government. Making a friendly gesture, or rather, proposing an alliance, is the wise choice.

And the reality was exactly as Shen Fei had guessed. Just as he finished inheriting all his Defense Towers, was set to inherit his second ability tonight, and had decided to stop lying low with the appearance of the Neutral City, the government came to him.

After listening to Li Yunlong, what pleased Shen Fei was that Li Yunlong hadn’t tried to force a connection by leveraging his father’s or Uncle Sun’s positions at the Tourism Management Office, nor had he spouted any bullshit about the greater good. Instead, he revealed the government’s greatest ace in the hole: the National Treasure Divine Artifact.

He didn’t reveal its detailed Attributes, but he did say that in version 4.3, the Divine Capital would inherit a large Neutral City without needing to conquer it. Li Yunlong had just said as much. This show of sincerity is decent enough. At least I find it agreeable...

Across from him, having said his piece on behalf of the government, Li Yunlong felt a bit apprehensive. The government had long deliberated and hesitated on how to approach the Cyan God—publicly recognized as the strongest individual. Whether to try a "hero saves the damsel" scenario, a "providing timely aid" approach, or a "union of the strong" proposal, all sorts of discussions had been ongoing for several days. Although his clearance level wasn’t high enough, he was invited to the discussions because of his relationship with Father Shen and his presence in Qing City.

Finally, after hearing from Uncle Sun that Shen Fei was willing to meet Wang Dapang, they felt this was the right moment. This proved he was no longer content to hide and was willing to see other people. Otherwise, things would have remained at a stalemate. Even though everyone knew it was him, no one dared to publicly blow his cover, and that couldn’t continue. So, seizing this opportunity, Li Yunlong expressed the government’s goodwill.

Of course, within the government, another faction had actually suggested capturing him directly. By comparing him to Taiyi Zhenren’s health pool, they’d deduced that Shen Fei’s health was likely also very low. However, the faction advocating for his capture was ultimately overruled. It even led to a shake-up in the top brass at the Tourism Management Office headquarters...

PHEW...

Having finally said the words he’d spent so long preparing, Li Yunlong let out a long breath. As Li Yunlong’s mind was racing, Shen Fei suddenly smiled.

The more I know about Shen Fei, the more immense the pressure becomes. According to the intel from headquarters, he’s used at most five or six Defense Towers in his actions this week. But this guy... he inherited five to six hundred Defense Towers from the game. In other words, the power he has shown is less than one percent of his true strength. Perhaps even less than one-thousandth. Because, according to Huang Yi, the more Defense Towers you have, the more Bond effects are generated...

"Sure, I have no problem with that! I’m a law-abiding, upstanding young man!"

"My previous goal was to protect a five-kilometer radius around the villa district. Now, my goal is to protect all of Qing City!"

"And if necessary, I can protect the entire Xia Country..."