They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 378 The Shaking World

"Let me put it this way, Your Majesty. We do not seek to occupy your land, nor do we wish to enslave your people."

The culture of Nathan Island, your beliefs, and the sacred tree itself are all unique.

What we want to do is cooperate.

He held up one finger, pointing to the chaotic scene outside the hall, illuminated by searchlights.

"We will help you rebuild your homes and provide everything that this era needs."

Power grid, communications, a defense system covering the entire island... We will connect you to the outside world, but the choice is yours.

You can learn about the world, or you can choose to continue to keep your distance.

"In exchange, we need permission to study the Divine Tree."

It is not about destructive excavation or plunder, but about exploring its mysteries together with you without harming its fundamental nature.

At the same time, we hope that Nathan Island can become a special 'cultural exchange zone for people with different backgrounds'.

He picked up the identity card that Ron had discarded, gently wiped off the dust, and handed it back to King Nathan.

"This card is not a brand of slavery, but a certificate, a pass."

This signifies that from now on, Nathan Island will be under the protection of a major Eastern power.

If there's another 'Behemoth,' they won't be facing an isolated island anymore.

King Nathan silently accepted the card.

The card's cold texture and the image it bears create a feeling that is both absurd and incredibly real.

She turned her head, her gaze passing over Zhuge Qing's shoulder.

Her guards, Garcia, Mochizuki Satoru, Anthony, and Guna, were all injured and looked exhausted, but the despair in their eyes was gone.

The silent soldiers clad in crimson armor stood like statues all around.

Ron, who was trampled underfoot by Xiao Zizai like a dead dog, and his subordinates who had completely lost their will to fight, became the most vivid footnotes under this barrier.

The stark reality is more convincing than any words.

They clearly possessed the power to conquer Nathan, yet they gave them an opportunity...

Zhuge Qing is right, times have changed.

Everything that happens today will only repeat itself in the future.

"I need to guarantee the absolute safety of the Nathan people and the complete preservation of their faith in the sacred tree. Any research must be conducted under my supervision."

King Nathan took a deep breath and said to Zhuge Qing.

"make a deal."

……

Outside the royal city, the battle had long since ended.

Those once-arrogant genetically modified soldiers are now being bound by the specially made magical artifact "Binding Immortal Rope" by the members of Na Du Tong, and are silently walking in a line toward the designated detention location.

They are Behemoth's sharpest spear, mythical weapons walking among humans, and perfect creations combining technology and supernatural abilities.

They have always been instilled with the absolute power of themselves and the company.

But today, they have seen the real "god".

Those suits of armor that descended from the sky each exuded a suffocating sense of oppression.

Their attacks, whether supersonic blade storms or cryogenic rays capable of freezing the air, all seemed utterly laughable in the face of that armor.

The opponent didn't even use any fancy abilities; they simply used pure strength, speed, and an unbreakable defense to completely shatter everything they were so proud of.

A "hero" codenamed "Glacier" slumped to the ground, looking at his palm, which could only release absolute zero cold air, now trembling slightly uncontrollably.

Just half an hour ago, his chill was enough to freeze Garcia's blade, but when he tried to do the same to the red armor, the other only paused for half a second.

The thin layer of ice that had formed on the surface of the armor evaporated instantly under the high internal temperature, and the subsequent heavy punch broke half of the bones in his body.

That wasn't a battle, that was a crushing defeat.

Just like their crushing of the islanders of Nathan Island...

Ron was escorted by two team members, staggering across the ruins he had created himself.

He saw the despair of "Glacier", the numbness of those genetic soldiers, and in the distance, he saw the personnel from All-Tong using some equipment he had never seen before to quickly scan the battlefield and collect data.

Everything was orderly and chillingly efficient.

His mind replayed everything that had happened in the past few hours.

From the communication request he scorned to the identity card he thought was a final mockery, to the armor that resembled a demon god... every link was perfectly aligned, and everything was under Zhuge Qing's control.

He was not defeated by his enemy, but by his own arrogance and ignorance. Behemoth will pay an unimaginable price for his foolishness.

The company had no choice but to accept this loss, because the value of these "heroes" and soldiers was too high to be abandoned.

And Ron will become the biggest laughingstock in the company's history.

……

Meanwhile, several high-speed boats disguised as fishing vessels were speeding away from the waters off Nathan Island at maximum speed.

The people on the boat were deathly pale, their hearts pounding, as if an invisible demon was chasing them.

They were spies from major powers around the world, lurking here with the intention of reaping the benefits.

But what they saw was a terrifying show that could overturn the world order.

"The message...the message must be sent back immediately!"

A blond man trembled as he operated an encrypted satellite phone, his voice distorted by excitement and fear. Minutes later, secret intelligence centers around the world simultaneously sounded the highest level of alarm.

Reports marked "top secret" were delivered to the desks of world leaders as quickly as possible.

[Destination: Nathan Island.]

[Combatants: Behemoth Expeditionary Force vs. Nadutong (Eastern) Task Force]

[Result: Behemoth suffered a complete defeat.]

The report was concise, but every word carried immense weight.

"More than double digits, at least three models of powered armor. Individual combat capability assessment... surpasses Behemoth S-class hero."

"It is suspected that some kind of information weapon was used to completely annihilate Behemoth's carrier battle group on the high seas within minutes."

"Cyber ​​warfare... Behemoth's proud 'Hound' cyber infiltration force was wiped out by the enemy in the early stages of the war, and the defense line collapsed instantly."

There was deathly silence in the conference room.

A white-haired general ran his fingers over the documents repeatedly, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

The report states that these suits of armor are all the same model, which suggests that Nadutong likely possesses the capability to mass-produce this weapon.

"Mass production...which means they don't just have the few dozen we've seen."

Where are their production lines? How much are they in stock? A hundred? A thousand? Or perhaps an entire army of armored warriors?

“What’s even more terrifying is information warfare,”

Another intelligence chief's face turned ashen.
"In modern warfare, whoever controls the information controls the initiative."

Behemoth's 'hounds' could practically do whatever they wanted in the cyber world, but they were 'instantly killed'... What does this mean? It means that on that battlefield we can't see, the opponent has already possessed godlike power.

"We're not even sure if this is their full strength..."

That last sentence weighed heavily on everyone's hearts like a boulder. Just how enormous is the iceberg hidden beneath the surface?
Panic began to spread.

"We must find out! Use all diplomatic channels to ask the East! What exactly is this thing!"

The order was swiftly issued. However, faced with probing questions from various countries, some forceful and others subtle, the spokesperson for the major Eastern power simply delivered an official statement in their usual calm tone at a routine press conference:
"We have always advocated peace and development and opposed any form of hegemonism."

Regarding the issue of the supernatural realm that everyone is concerned about, we welcome relevant organizations from various countries to come to our country for friendly and equal cultural exchanges and technological cooperation.

We are willing to share our experiences and work together to promote the harmonious development of human society.

These words were spoken so succinctly, yet everyone understood the underlying meaning.

Want to know? Sure.

Shed your arrogance, set aside your probing and hostility, and come to ask in person with an attitude of "learning" and "communication".

The leaders of the major powers gritted their teeth as they issued orders to their respective countries' supernatural organizations: immediately dispatch a top-level delegation to the East to visit "Na Du Tong".

……

Zhuge Qing, who had stirred up the world's affairs, was now standing leisurely beside the giant roots of the Nathan Island Divine Tree.

The smoke of war is dissipating, replaced by the busy figures of the Nadutong Engineering Corps.

A small, modular research base is rising up beside the sacred tree.

His mission is complete; now it's time to reap the rewards.

……

In another world

The Void Circle, the Palace of Night.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi looked at the [Divine Tree Analysis Data] transmitted back by Zhuge Qing on the huge holographic screen in front of him and smiled.

"Interesting...this is really interesting..."

His finger traced across the screen.

"So that's how it is. In essence, it is indeed an aggregation of souls. But it's more than that... Using the subjective concept of 'loyalty' as the benchmark for soul fusion, forcibly blending countless independent wills together, is truly a genius design."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi stroked his chin and said, "This is determined by the special properties of the innate Qi."

Because it is an energy that can be distorted by subjective consciousness. And the distorted energy, in turn, affects a person's body and soul.

Similar to shamanic practices and divine masks, these methods alter one's will and body while embracing a spirit.

The sacred tree on Nathan Island uses its unique energy to select kings and guards who possess the potential for absolute loyalty.

Over countless years, its "qi" has continuously permeated and transformed them, engraving the concept of "loyalty" into the very essence of their souls. When they die, this "formatted" soul will seamlessly merge into the tree, becoming nourishment to enhance its power...

This eventually forms a unique cycle. Theoretically, given enough time, the roots of this tree could indeed spread to the entire planet, turning it into a giant 'Nathan Island'.

It's just a pity that... the people who designed this system underestimated human nature.

First, there is the collective will of ordinary people, which is the inner vision of the Heavenly Dao. Nathan wants to turn Earth into a world of superhumans, which touches upon the fighting spirit of ordinary people.

That's why movements like witch hunts and the suppression of Buddhism occurred in the history of the "Under One Person" era.

The second is loyalty, just like Elijah, who betrayed the sacred tree because of his loyalty to the king.

Is the human self really something that can be so easily standardized and formatted?

He shook his head, seemingly feeling sorry for the unknown designer.

However, a system that can stably integrate a massive number of souls and operate around a specific concept... does indeed provide him with an excellent reference.

Because his current research project is something similar, namely the Hogyoku...

(End of this chapter)