You were supposed to have a fake marriage with the diva, so how did you become her father?

The wave of spontaneous boycotts by American players came faster and was more aggressive than Lu Ran had anticipated.

The first to emerge was a military history subreddit on Reddit.

Someone posted a thread with a short title: "I played the Pearl Harbor level and then spent the whole weekend researching."

The article included a screenshot from the game, showing the USS Arizona sinking with thick smoke obscuring most of the sky. The angle at which the ship was listing was almost identical to that recorded in historical photographs.

The poster concluded with, "I used to think Pearl Harbor was just a page in a textbook. Now I know that behind that page are thousands of lives."

After the post was published, it quickly spread from the military section to the gaming section, and then from the gaming section to the main website homepage.

The replies flooded in like a tidal wave. Some posted links to the death list of the Pearl Harbor attack, some found screenshots of the original telegrams, and some even copied and pasted the entire Wikipedia entry about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor into their replies.

The situation escalated faster than anyone expected.

By the third day, a post on Reddit had started a boycott of Japanese products, with a simple and direct title: "After Pearl Harbor, I will no longer buy Japanese goods."

The post included a list of major Japanese consumer brands in the US, from Toyota and Honda to Sony, Panasonic, and Uniqlo, with a brief note following each name.

That post stayed on Reddit's trending list for a whole day.

The comments section had both supporters and opponents, but the sheer volume of discussion already demonstrated one thing—those American gamers who played the game and then researched it are now expressing their anger in their own way.

The real turning point came on the fourth day.

A number of highly interactive posts suddenly appeared on several major social media platforms, with highly consistent content—all of them were voices from American veterans and their families.

A retired navy officer posted a photo of his grandfather's medals after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The caption reads: "My grandfather survived on a warship at Pearl Harbor. He came back alive, but many of his comrades did not. This is the first time I've seen that experience recreated in a game. Thank you to the developers for not embellishing or sensationalizing it; they just presented the facts."

That tweet was retweeted over 100,000 times within twelve hours.

The comments section was filled with "respect" and "thank you for your service," and some people followed up on the topic by asking—since Pearl Harbor is a real event, why is the US government now supporting Japan?

The response within the U.S. military was faster than that from the civilian sector.

Several active and retired military personnel posted updates on their social media accounts, each more direct than the last.

An active-duty naval petty officer posted: "I've served for twelve years, and the first lesson I learned was about Pearl Harbor. Now, seeing the government supporting the country that attacked us back then, I feel that all my years of service have been meaningless."

The post was deleted shortly after it was published, but screenshots had already gone viral on other platforms.

By the fifth day, the matter had finally reached the U.S. Capitol.

That day, the House Armed Services Committee was holding a hearing on Asia-Pacific strategy.

The original agenda was to discuss the deployment adjustments of the U.S. military in the Indo-Pacific region, but less than twenty minutes after the hearing began, the senators themselves steered the conversation off course.

The leader was a congressman from Arizona, with gray hair, thick glasses, and a very loud voice. He first read a prepared opening statement according to the agenda, but when he got to the third page, he suddenly put down his notes, looked up at the Department of Defense officials sitting in the witness stand, and his tone changed abruptly.

"I have a question that's off-the-board. I've received so many letters from voters lately that my office inbox is about to burst. They're all basically the same—they're asking me why we're helping a country that attacked Pearl Harbor. I need an explanation from you in front of this committee."

The Defense Ministry official was caught off guard by the question.

He picked up the water glass in front of him, took a sip, and used this action to buy a few seconds before speaking a standard diplomatic phrase.

The gist is that the US-Japan alliance is a strategic choice based on current geopolitical realities, and historical issues have been resolved through post-war treaties and should not affect current cooperation.

After he finished speaking, the Arizona senator was clearly dissatisfied and pressed further, asking, "Do you think the families of the soldiers who died at Pearl Harbor will accept your explanation?"

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

Several reporters sat in the gallery, the sound of their notebooks turning pages ringing out crisply in the quiet.

In the days that followed, similar inquiries were repeated in several congressional committees.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held two closed-door meetings, discussing the topic for an entire afternoon, with the discussion ranging from "the strategic value of the US-Japan alliance" to "the potential impact of continuing to support Japan on the presidential election."

After the meeting, someone in the corridor said something very blunt to a reporter: "The election is so close right now. If we lose votes in a few key states because of helping Japan, that's not the outcome we want to see."

The pressure of the election is like a taut string, buzzing in every office in Washington.

The president’s own poll numbers fluctuated slightly in those weeks, with the numbers in several swing states remaining very close.

A memo leaked from within the campaign team was obtained by the media, and a line was circled in red: "The negative reaction to the Pearl Harbor issue among veterans has exceeded expectations. It is recommended to adjust the wording of public statements regarding Japan."

The White House press secretary's tone changed the day the memo was leaked.

At the morning press conference, a reporter asked, "Does the President believe that the US-Japan alliance needs to be reassessed?" The spokesperson's answer was much softer than before: "The US-Japan alliance is an important pillar in the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, historical memory has a profound impact on a country's sense of identity, and we respect the feelings of people from all countries regarding history."

This translates to "We will not sacrifice ourselves for Japan."

The changes happened rapidly and frequently in the next 24 hours.

First, the State Council adjusted its public stance on China's economic policies, downgrading from "strong concern" to "continued concern," a significant softening of its wording.

Then the Trade Representative's office released a statement saying that the details of the new round of tariff increases were still under evaluation and the implementation time might be delayed.

By evening, the Ministry of National Defense also took action. The schedule of the joint US-Japan military exercise, which had been heavily publicized, was quietly changed – from "strengthening joint combat capabilities" to "routine training activities". Without even issuing a proper press release, they simply updated a line on the official website.

The most eye-catching thing was a social media post by the president himself.

The message was extremely brief, accompanied by a photo of him waving in front of the national flag, with only one line of text: "We have always been a peace-loving country."

There was no mention of Japan, no apology, no explanation, just this one incoherent statement.

But everyone knows who he's talking to—those who want to understand interpret it as him cooling things down, while those who don't want to understand interpret it as him abandoning his allies.

After this post was published, the response from Japan was half a day slower than expected.

I guess the people in Tokyo stared at the screen for a long time, repeatedly confirming that they hadn't misunderstood.

Finally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a restrained statement, the gist of which was "noting the recent change in the US's stance, and Japan will continue to be committed to maintaining the strong relationship of the US-Japan alliance."

The statement contained not a single harsh word, but the sense of panic after being abandoned was impossible to hide between the lines.

Wall Street reacted much faster than the political establishment.

Less than two hours after the president posted that update, the American Depositary Receipts of several major Japanese automakers began to fall.

Toyota fell by nearly three points, Honda fell by more than four points, and Sony also fell by two points.

A trader, in a post-market interview, made a blunt observation: "The market is all about signals. The White House was supporting Japan, but now that support has suddenly disappeared. Who will dare to continue supporting them?"

Lu Ran saw the news the next morning.

He sat in his office with a cup of warm soy milk and two steamed buns in front of him, while his phone screen scrolled through various media reports on the changing stance of the US.

He read the president's post twice while biting into his steamed bun, and almost choked.

He suddenly realized that this move by the United States seemed like a joke.

First, they made a big show of standing up for their allies, issuing diplomatic notes, imposing tariffs, and launching military exercises to back them up—a series of powerful moves.

As a result, domestic public opinion exploded and the election situation tightened. He immediately changed his mind, threw his godson on the street, and turned around and left.

The whole process was as swift and decisive as an old lady at the market discovering that her vegetables are not fresh, turning around and leaving without saying a word.

He saved a screenshot of the post and sent it to Zhou Mingzhe, adding a comment: "American humor is all about turning your face faster than flipping through a book."

Zhou Mingzhe replied with an ellipsis, then added, "Japan is truly in a precarious position this time. After the US withdraws, the international public opinion that had temporarily retreated due to US pressure will rebound, and the rebound will be even stronger than the first wave."

Lu Ran put down his phone, stuffed the last bite of the steamed bun into his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

He stood up and walked to the window, looking down at the early summer in Shanghai, where the streets were already starting to heat up.

The sun came out, and the sunlight made the asphalt road surface turn slightly white. In the distance, a tricycle loaded with packages was slowly moving forward along the sidewalk, and the deliveryman's blue uniform was particularly conspicuous in the sunlight.

He didn't rush to plan the next move.

Since the US has removed the ladder itself, Japan will naturally fall down on its own, without needing to exert any more effort to push it.

He just needs to stand by and watch.

See how the economic data of that country is declining, see how the people of that country are digesting the reality of being abandoned, and see how the politicians of that country are explaining "the allies suddenly stopped playing".

The sunlight outside the window grew brighter and brighter, and the tricycle downstairs had already turned the corner and disappeared into the shadow of a row of plane trees.

Lu Ran stood by the window for a while longer, then turned around, walked back to his desk, sat down, and opened his computer to find today's schedule.

The list above includes several internal meetings and two emails that require replies; these are all routine tasks.

But he knew he probably wouldn't be too busy today.

Because he doesn't need to write the script himself for the next part.

After the US withdraws, the world's media machine will automatically take over.

European media outlets that were previously silenced by American pressure will now speak out again.

Those major powers that previously adopted a wait-and-see attitude will now readjust their stance.

Those grassroots forces that were previously hesitant about joining the boycott will now be reignited.

He just needs to wait and see the results.

...