Under the official cover-up, a massive crisis was concealed. On the other side of the planet Tai Xing, the thrilling showdown of [Beast Emperor Duel] continued. If there were a "God's Eye" looking down from above, it would seem like a peaceful scene sitting atop a powder keg.
However, the massive Close Range Attack Ships were deployed, and even if the local authorities attempted to tightly seal the information, some still leaked out. Photos of the Close Range Attack Ships taken by the public were posted on the interstellar network, but they did not attract much attention as the public's full attention was on the [Beast Emperor Duel].
Chen Gu had the ability to easily deal with a Seventh Power Level [Psychological Spy], his power level and profession could crush the opponent. However, wanting to take action without alerting the other Eighth Power Level individual in the same villa... of course, it was Milgray who helped cover up.
Milgray had now recovered to a level equivalent to an ordinary Ninth Power Level. With her by his side, the principal and Aviloya felt assured letting Chen Gu come to the Freedom Alliance alone.
After that night, no new voices came from Star State and Houjou Kouji.
One of the top three online media outlets in Star State had originally scheduled an "exclusive interview" with Houjou Kouji for noon today, leveraging their strong connections.
Both sides were looking forward to this exclusive interview — it was a talk show program, and the host had prepared many questions they believed to be sharp. Hostility towards the Confederation had become a "tradition" within Star State, and this interview's theme was no exception.
But come this morning, the program's producer suddenly received a call from Houjou Kouji's agent: the exclusive interview was canceled.
The program team was baffled: What happened? You were counter-attacked by the Confederation people in the public opinion yesterday, and today you need us to cheer for you, and yet you are backing down?
The producer wanted to fight for it, but Houjou Kouji's agent gave no explanation and simply hung up the phone.
"That coward!" the producer cursed: "He must have been scared witless by Chen Gu and doesn't dare to retaliate, he's not fit to be a Star State member!"
His assistant was even more enraged and cursed: "He's not a Star State member in the first place, they were just a group of dogs we raised for Star State!"
But they were right about one thing: Houjou Kouji was truly frightened.
Although he was a professional too, he was after all just a star of the Behemoth Alliance, not someone like Chen Gu who emerged from dark battles. A Seventh Power Level just died silently in front of him, and Houjou Kouji's previous arrogance was like a bright balloon, bursting with just a pinprick.
He realized one thing: Chen Gu truly dared, truly could, and truly would kill him!
Houjou Kouji retreated, didn't dare to release any statements the whole day, and even the verdict on questioning that segment of surveillance video set yesterday was not emphasized anymore, just letting his fans battle alone against the facts shown in the surveillance video on the interstellar network.
The Eighth Power Level accompanying Houjou Kouji was also very disappointed with him: "He's already scared, we've already lost this match."
Ironically, there was an official in the team, not a professional, who suggested to the Eighth Power Level: "Sir, we need revenge, Star State has never swallowed grievances! You are the most powerful among us, if you strike and kill a partner around Chen Gu, you can restore Houjou Kouji's confidence!"
There was half a minute of awkward silence in the conference room. The Eighth Power Level, who had just been criticizing Houjou Kouji for lacking courage, now dared not retaliate against Chen Gu and the Confederation either...
He didn't have the courage either!
With the strength Chen Gu showed, going there would just be a death sentence. I'm not being timid; I'm just not making unnecessary sacrifices! That's how we Star State people always have been, retreat when we need to when things can't be done, surrender when we have to, it's not shameful!
Sacrificing one's life for righteousness, bravely sacrificing oneself for all of humanity? Don't be ridiculous, this is not a movie.
Thus, throughout the day, the public opinion on the interstellar network completely reversed, and the photo Houjou Kouji released earlier was considered insidious and with ulterior motives.
This caused the team match tonight to lack sufficient attention...
And Chen Gu, quietly exercised in his training ground. The Eighth Power Level still wasn't strong enough; Chen Gu still hoped to quickly reach the Ninth Power Level, even though Chen Gu knew well how challenging this step was. Didn't he see how long Ding Zhou and Rainbow were stuck at this power level?
But Chen Gu still believed in an old saying: Success comes from the accumulation of seemingly insignificant efforts.
And for two consecutive days, various media kept frantically reaching out to Houjou Kouji, hoping to interview him, while Houjou Kouji became a turtle hiding in his shell, refusing to come out.
Finally, after two days passed, the day of the personal match finale arrived.
The confrontation was between Chen Gu from the Confederation and Houjou Kouji from Star State.
This match was highly anticipated; two hours before the match started, platforms that obtained broadcasting rights began airing special programs prepared exclusively for this match, combined with various analyses from the hosts.
These special programs edited exciting competition videos of the two contestants, and the hosts inevitably mentioned the ongoing public opinion battle between the two recently.
But reaching this point, even if the platform secretly arranged for the hosts and guest commentators to split into two camps to maintain the buzz, supporting either Chen Gu or Houjou Kouji—those truly choosing Houjou Kouji were pitifully few.
Even in Houjou Kouji's hometown, Star State, among the three largest broadcasting platforms, the support rate for the two was seven to three. Houjou Kouji only accounted for thirty percent...
Everyone isn't foolish; supporting Houjou Kouji would be telling all fans post-competition that their intelligence is questionable, wouldn't it?
All platform ratings skyrocketed; this final showdown became an incredibly delicious piece of capital cake. Those sharing the cake: the Alliance, broadcasters, sponsors, etc., were all beaming with joy.
The match only started at eight in the evening, but Houjou Kouji arrived at the stadium by six-thirty, always thinking of sneaking out. The Eighth Energy Level stood cold-faced at his door: "Don't dream about it, I won't let you out!"
Houjou Kouji was hysterical: "You cold-blooded executioner, you'll kill me! I just want to go out and explain to Chen Gu that what happened previously was a misunderstanding..."
The Eighth Energy Level sneered, looking at him with contempt: "Are you going to beg Chen Gu for forgiveness?"
Houjou Kouji did not deny it, shouting: "So what? It's not you going on stage for the competition; I don't want to die!"
"Humph!" The Eighth Energy Level sneered, ignoring him, only firmly locking the door.
At seven-thirty, a man in black quietly arrived at the door, nodded to the Eighth Energy Level, who then opened the room door. The man in black walked in, Houjou Kouji was almost drunk, glaring with bloodshot eyes, angrily asked: "Who are you, who let you in?"
"I am you. More precisely, from now on, you are one of my many identities."
The eyes of the man in black became eerie and deep, the power of [Brain Domain Hacker] activated, a vast spiritual power spread out, enveloping Houjou Kouji, easily extinguishing all his consciousness...
...
Chen Gu arrived at the stadium around seven-thirty. Outside, there were hundreds of thousands who didn't manage to buy tickets but still came to the scene, gathered outside the stadium. When they saw Chen Gu, they erupted in cheers throughout the day, nearly causing a stampede.
Chen Gu entered his lounge inside the stadium, accompanied by Qing Ruyan, who said along the way, "Judging from these past two days, Houjou Kouji is already frightened to his bones, you'll win this easily."
Chen Gu casually replied, "Even if he weren't scared to death, I'd still win easily."
Then, he spoke to Milgray, who hesitated to speak, "Don't worry, I won't underestimate the enemy. I know what you want to say, 'Capture rabbits with full force'—that's the hunting experience of the superior life form, isn't it?"
Milgray gave a sidelong glance at him, rolling her eyes, then laughed too, as she was indeed intending to remind Chen Gu earlier.
...
At eight, the atmosphere reached a climax amid the cheers of the crowd as Chen Gu and Houjou Kouji walked out together. Chen Gu seemed slightly surprised when he saw Houjou Kouji, and during the pre-match handshake, he whispered in his ear, "Your Star State is indeed ruthless; you just extinguished an elite player like this? Is this a special skill derived from [Brain Domain Hacker]?"
The opponent was shocked, his face turning grim; he was hoping to surprise Chen Gu during the match but didn't expect to be seen through immediately.
With a faint cold smile on his lips, Chen Gu turned and entered his generator.
Although it's still the shell of Houjou Kouji, the spiritual wave is completely different, and Chen Gu's [Brain Domain Hacker] immediately saw through it all.
"Houjou Kouji" also entered his linker, muttering to himself: This kid is difficult to deal with.
"The match begins!" the referee commanded, and two behemoths were released. Houjou Kouji's behemoth was a dinosaur-shaped creature two hundred meters long, but its forelimbs were much stronger than those of ancient dinosaurs from mother planet. Moreover, on the back of this beast were six huge bone plates, which concealed six folded appendages that could unexpectedly extend in combat, slender and sharp, posing a high threat.
But today when the beast called [Mandragor] emerged, the audience let out a collective gasp, clearly seeing that all the plates outside Mandragor, the teeth in its mouth, and the horn on its head were replaced with a hard alloy.
It could even be inferred that its internal skeleton might have been replaced with this metal. This transformation is different from ordinary metal component transformations and should be the latest technology within Star State, using metallic elements to replace all bones and bone protein.
Combat Rooster leapt out, momentarily startled by the odd-looking creature, but soon Chen Gu took control of Combat Rooster, launching a set of seamless combat techniques.
Mandragor was taken by surprise and continually hit by Combat Rooster's claws and wings, rumbling and retreating before heavily crashing to the ground.
Chen Gu quickly took the upper hand first.
