I Am Extraordinary Alone
Chapter 147 - 145: Undercurrents Surge

Chapter 147: Chapter 145: Undercurrents Surge

Wei Tianyang’s change in his right hand caused panic among the people on the street. Of course, they knew about the Superpower Special Department, but it was a highly classified military unit worldwide; ordinary people, even military personnel, might never have seen them in action more than a few times—most had only heard of them on television.

Now, witnessing the transformation of a human body up close, some found it hard to accept. There were those who vomited on the spot, others turned and fled in terror, the street instantly descended into chaos. The seven burly men turned pale as ghosts, losing the ability to think and stood rooted to the spot, waiting for death.

At that moment, a military helicopter appeared in the sky, its rotor blades loudly beating the air even from a distance. Wei Tianyang looked up to see a woman standing in the helicopter’s doorway, gazing down below.

The helicopter descended rapidly, its blades churning the air and sending people’s street stalls flying, the scene becoming even more chaotic.

"Wei Tianyang!" Zhao Ling stood bent at the waist in the doorway of the helicopter, frowning at him.

Six soldiers armed with rifles jumped out of the helicopter and took a defensive formation to disperse the civilians around.

"Do you think life and death should be toyed with so carelessly? The greater meaning you pursue, is it really to take lives indiscriminately?" Zhao Ling asked.

Some recognized the Emperor and, frightened, immediately knelt, kowtowing. Others kept running, assuming that the arrival of the helicopter meant that troops or the law enforcement agencies were present, not stopping to watch the commotion, and continued to run.

Wei Tianyang glanced at the group of strong men again; they had knelt down, their foreheads pressed hard against the concrete, motionless.

"You should come down here more often and see, Fengrao City also has its less bountiful places," Wei Tianyang said.

He raised his right hand, and the black Bone Knife slowly retracted, transforming back into soft fingers.

"Come back with me. I’m aware of what’s happening down here and will handle it accordingly," Zhao Ling said.

As she spoke, she reached out her hand to Wei Tianyang.

Wei Tianyang, holding onto Yaha, did not board Zhao Ling’s helicopter but delved into objective reality, turned into a moth, and flew straight back.

"Your Majesty, the target has disappeared..." a soldier alerted cautiously.

Simultaneously, over Zhao Ling’s earpiece, a voice from the Special Affairs Bureau reported, "Your Majesty, Wei Tianyang has appeared back in his room."

She smiled, "Retreat."

The helicopter took off slowly, leaving a mess behind. The seven burly men remained kneeling, not daring to move, until they couldn’t hear any sound around them. Then, they cautiously raised their heads and carefully surveyed their surroundings.

The street was deserted, everyone had fled, leaving nothing behind, as if nothing had happened at all.

The next day, in the Lingxiao Palace meeting room, Zhao Ling sat at the head of a long table. The Venerables from the three institutes were split on either side, with Venerable Xu to her right, and Venerable Gu and Venerable Qin to her left. A seat was left vacant beside each Venerable, followed by the heads of the six bureaus and twelve institutes, filling the table.

The confidential secretary stood behind Zhao Ling, pushing his glasses up, and looked down the table. The 22 most powerful people in Yin Country were gathered here.

"Let’s skip the formalities in today’s morning assembly and get straight to the point. Wei Tianyang is now here with us. In two days, the chairman of the United Council, Presidents of the Western Alliance countries, and the Sethiyan Federation’s Chief Executive will arrive. What cards do we still have to play to ensure Wei Tianyang remains with us?" Zhao Ling said.

"Right now, Wei Tianyang is a hot potato. Keeping him would put us in a passive position internationally. The incident in Wuliang City, Chicken Snake Country is currently being explained to the outside world as an earthquake disaster. If we openly take him in, those Westerners will certainly reveal the truth about Wuliang City, and then Dayin will be accused of sheltering a superpower criminal against humanity," Venerable Gu commented.

The other attendees were silent, merely furrowing their brows in thought.

"Why don’t we consider this—if they took in Wei Tianyang, how would the other side react to our actions?" Venerable Qin suggested.

"The Western Alliance might arrest him on criminal charges, but once he is on their turf, it wouldn’t be impossible for them to build him a grand manor and call it a ’prison.’ After all, you can’t control how others treat their ’prisoners,’" Zhao Ling said with a laugh.

"The Sethiyan Federation is likely to remain silent, aren’t they? If Wei Tianyang ends up in West Soil, he would essentially be claimed by both the Western Alliance and the Sethiyan Federation, considering their long-standing alliance," Venerable Xu pointed out.

"Ministers of the Six Bureaus and Twelve Departments should also share their thoughts—this concerns the fate of our nation. We must use every resource available to keep him in Dayin!" Zhao Ling declared, her eyes sweeping towards the far end of the table.

"What does Wei Tianyang himself wish for?" The speaker was Lu Qingyun, the Minister of the Technology Department under the Foreign Affairs Bureau.

He was probably just over 40, handsome and composed, only he seemed somewhat fatigued.

The Director of the Foreign Affairs Bureau glanced at Lu Qingyun, then withdrew his gaze.

Zhao Ling did not speak, the venerable leaders of the Three Bureaus remained silent as well, leaving the question unanswered.

It was as if he feared they hadn’t understood him, Lu Qingyun added, "What I mean is... Wei Tianyang himself is under eighteen, right in the midst of his rebellious phase, and has not received formal education. In addition, he comes from a war-torn minor country with a rather complicated background. He cannot be judged by the standard of an ordinary eighteen-year-old..."

Lu Qingyun paused, then said, "He’s unlikely to distinguish clearly between opportunity and danger, nor does he have a concept of class and hierarchy..."

"Just say he lacks upbringing, no sense of respect or place, that would suffice~" Venerable Gu chimed in with a smile at this moment.

"What Venerable Gu means is exactly why I’ve been saying we need to understand his wishes first before we can..."

"So if he says he wants to go to the Sethiyan Federation, we just smile and wave goodbye?"

Before Lu Qingyun could finish, Zhao Ling interrupted him, her tone laced with irony.

The three Venerables smiled, the Directors of the Six Bureaus fell silent, and the Ministers from the Twelve Departments either remained quiet, looked at Lu Qingyun with mockery, or shook their heads.

"Wei Tianyang represents the interests of Dayin, we can’t possibly consider his wishes in this matter. Whether he is willing or not, he must stay. What we need to discuss is the problem after he stays. If you can’t even see this point clearly, then you shouldn’t be a Minister anymore."

The speaker was Li Zhongcheng, the Director of the Maritime Affairs Department of the Three Armies Bureau, who was around 50 years old with graying temples, a square face, and an imposing demeanor without anger.

"It’s a good thing I dispatched two superpower special forces last year to infiltrate Chicken Snake Country on a long-term basis to investigate the intelligence on the Heavenly Falling Objects. It’s through this rare opportunity that we made contact with Wei Tianyang, for which we even sacrificed a comrade. And now your one statement of ’see his wishes’ would mean that our comrade’s sacrifice was in vain!" Li Zhongcheng said with grief and indignation.

The Director of the Three Armies Bureau smiled and gave Li Zhongcheng an appreciative look.

"We don’t have many cards to play. Once we provide Wei Tianyang with a digital identity tag in public, we are bound to face criticism at the United Council, and our recently nurtured proxy agent in Chicken Snake Country might also be affected," Venerable Gu said calmly.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I have an idea," the Director of the Foreign Affairs Bureau started.

Seeing that no one else was speaking, he continued, "Isn’t Tiantai supposed to be here for a trial during this period? We could pin the Wuliang City incident on them."

"That won’t do, Tiantai is destined to be nailed down and finished, this pretext would be opposed by the Western Alliance. Furthermore, they might hypocritically send someone to Chicken Snake Country for a field investigation, and we’d end up looking like we’re making false accusations and persecuting," Zhao Ling shook her head.

"Sigh... In the past, Dayin did not have to consider the opinions of insignificant nations when taking action. If I wanted someone, I would simply take them. But now? We have to consider the opinions of other nations and worry about what’s said on the internet," Venerable Qin said, shaking his head.

Venerable Gu smiled with hidden meaning, "Indeed, since the Foreign Affairs Bureau was established in 2065 and we started doing business with the Westerners, we’ve ended up being restricted in every move we make. However, the Emperor’s life extension through the Heavenly Falling Objects, ensuring his eternal youth, is one of the few good things that have come out of this."

"Elder Gu, you can’t say that; without the Foreign Affairs Bureau, where would Dayin’s golden age be? By opening our doors and changing the system, introducing Western technology and new things, we have achieved today’s golden age of Dayin. There are more good things than just my eternal youth," Zhao Ling said with a cold smile.

"Venerable Gu, we’re here to discuss Wei Tianyang. It’s been nearly 50 years since Dayin’s reforms began, no need to go over it again," Venerable Xu said sternly.

"Hmph~ Yes, it’s been over 50 years. When the Emperor was this big, I was still a child. Who knows, when my unworthy descendant reaches my age, the Emperor might still be this young," Venerable Qin said with a laugh.

Zhao Ling looked toward the two Venerables to her left and said with a cold smile, "I just thought of an idea."

"Your Highness, please go ahead and share your thoughts," Venerable Qin replied.

"That day when the Westerners come here to negotiate, I’ll bring Wei Tianyang along, provoke him with a few careless words, and have those Presidents spill their blood on the spot..." A fierce smile crept onto Zhao Ling’s face.

All the major ’Players’ from the Three Bureaus, the Six Administrations, and the Twelve Departments shivered, as if struck by a bolt of lightning on a clear day, and looked toward Zhao Ling with a sense of horror.