Chapter 347: Chapter 346: The 1st Time Is a Warning, the 2nd Time Might Not Be
Northern Mongolia, the capital city.
Based on land area alone, Northern Mongolia’s 1.5 million square kilometers would make it a massive country.
But the country was quite peculiar.
It had a population of just over three million, only two land-bordering neighbors, and no access to the sea.
Though it bordered Celestial Xia and Mao Bear, it was extremely wary of these two neighbors and unwilling to cooperate with them, choosing instead to befriend the distant Huaqi and Ah San.
And though it was rich in resources, for the aforementioned reason, it lacked the ability or foundation for infrastructural and economic development. Its common people could only survive by herding sheep.
As a result, Northern Mongolia suffered from severe social polarization. Its luxurious wealthy districts were scenes of debauchery, while its sprawling slums were dilapidated and squalid. The entire country was not only stagnant but also suffering from severe desertification.
Gu Zhao flew all the way to the capital of Northern Mongolia, only to find the city shrouded in sand and dust. The sky was dim, the city was gray, and a layer of dust covered every street, building, and pedestrian.
Shaking his head, Gu Zhao swept his Divine Sense over the city, and its entire situation appeared in his mind’s eye. The wealthy district had soaring skyscrapers; the government district was spacious and clean; the tourist district was a riot of hedonistic lights; the commoners’ district was a mess of broken bricks and shattered tiles.
Naturally, he wasn’t going to take it out on the innocent and ignorant common folk. Instead, he took out a porcelain bottle and upended it over the government and wealthy districts.
WHOOSH—
A sound echoed from the sky. The people in the city below looked up to see a countless amount of sand and dust suddenly fall from above, like a cascading waterfall that blotted out the entire sky.
"Sand! A sandstorm!"
"Quick, take cover!"
It had to be said that the people of Northern Mongolia were well-practiced in dealing with sandstorms. Seeing the sand appear, though they didn’t know why such a severe storm had suddenly materialized, they still ducked back indoors with the utmost speed.
But then, many people discovered that the sand wasn’t sweeping through the entire city. It was concentrated over a few specific areas. Even though a cold wind was blowing through the city, the dust didn’t scatter aimlessly.
The dust filled the sky, drifting down slowly.
People not far from the city center looked through their windows and saw the already dim, gray, sand-filled sky grow even darker. Though it was still afternoon, the sky above had turned almost pitch-black.
"What a huge sandstorm! It’s almost as bad as the worst one last year!"
"I don’t think it’s as bad as last year’s. That time, the wind blew the roof right off my house and killed two of my sheep."
Because he was controlling the area where the sand was falling, Gu Zhao had his Divine Sense extended. When he overheard similar discussions, he was left dumbfounded.
’I knew life in Northern Mongolia was hard, but I didn’t think it was this hard.’
Gu Zhao shook his head and looked down. ’Let’s see what choice you make now.’
With that thought, he emptied the last of the sand from the porcelain bottle, then flickered away, leaving behind a government district and a wealthy district almost completely buried in sand.
When the people in the city below saw the dust gradually settle, the scene before them left them dumbfounded.
The streets were completely submerged. The Commander’s Mansion was surrounded by what looked like small hills of sand, and the skyscrapers had been given a new skin of dust...
In just a few moments, it was as if an entire year’s worth of kicked-up dust had been piled into this one small area.
...
No matter how weak Northern Mongolia was, or how undeveloped its communications were, the capital still had contact with the outside world.
Within just half an hour of the incident, news of the situation had spread.
However, Northern Mongolia had such a low profile on the world stage that, on the surface, this just looked like a particularly intense sandstorm. Although it was a bit strange that it only fell on specific areas, it didn’t immediately attract the attention of the wider internet community.
But it was a different story for foreign agencies, especially those of countries that knew a little of the inside story.
"Whew—"
Inside the Taoist Office, someone let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. He just sent the dust back."
Another person shot him a sideways glance. "What did you think he was going to do?"
The man gave a dry laugh. "He’s a young man, after all. I was just worried he might act impulsively."
"He’s a cultivator of the Tao; he won’t slaughter the innocent," someone said, shaking their head.
"But their leaders can hardly be called innocent," another person sneered. "Running a country into the ground like that? In terms of merit, they’re deep in the negative."
The first man nodded. "That’s why I was afraid Gu Zhao would just eliminate the problem for the people. The established international rules can’t restrain him."
"Consider it a lesson," someone chuckled. "A small lesson for them."
Zheng Hongsheng looked at the real-time photos being transmitted and a smile touched his lips. "If they know what’s good for them, they’ll contact us on their own initiative."
Hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up.
"Exactly!" Chen Yao said with a smile. "They were acting so recklessly and spouting nonsense before because they knew we wouldn’t act against them as long as they stayed within the rules. But if they keep messing around like this, it won’t be us they’ll have to answer to."
"Their wealth may be on the other side of the ocean, but this situation is a warning from an Extraordinary Being," one person laughed. "They can’t be sure that if this happens again, the outcome will be the same."
This time, Gu Zhao clearly dropped the sand on the government and wealthy districts, but he only piled it up around the perimeters.
Next time, who knows if he’ll just bury certain people in the sand directly!
This was a warning, a blatant warning!
The common people might not know or understand anything, but their leaders definitely would. And even if they didn’t, someone would make them understand.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean, people were also holding a meeting.
"They’re getting less and less subtle!" someone seethed. "This is not a good sign!"
"Today they dare to bury Northern Mongolia’s Commander’s Mansion, tomorrow they’ll dare to bury our White House!" Frank raged. "This goes against established international rules! They’re breaking the rules!"
Someone slammed the table in anger, but their eyes were filled with fear. "Protest! We must protest! For an act like this, they must give us an explanation!"
The group fell silent.
Lawrence sneered. "And how few rules have we broken? You can’t just invoke the rules when they stop working in your favor, can you?"
"Lawrence! Whose side are you on?" Frank glared coldly at Lawrence. "You secretly sent your own cousin to Celestial Xia. Are you planning to defect?"
Lawrence returned the sneer. "As if you didn’t send people to Celestial Xia yourself. I heard your agents not only found nothing, but were all sent back for misconduct, is that right?"
"WTF!" Frank slammed the table and shot to his feet.
"Enough!" The old man at the head of the table rapped his knuckles on it. "No infighting!"
Seeing the two of them quiet down, the old man turned to Lawrence. "The fundamental interests of the Lawrence Clan are still here. If your cousin has obtained any critical information, I hope you will share it."
"The other side knows everything about my cousin; there are no secrets. The only reason she can stay by Xiao Ya’s side is because of the Lawrence Clan’s reputation and her own sincerity. In fact, you could see it as an opportunity they’ve given us," Lawrence emphasized.
No one in the office spoke. Even the old man in the lead seat couldn’t help but fall silent.
"Judging by how the other side operates, if we play by the rules, they’ll play by the rules. We cannot break this tacit understanding." The old man thought for a moment, then sighed. "Give up on Northern Mongolia. Don’t provoke them."
The office once again fell into a dead silence.
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