Chapter 586: The Land of Neon
Zhang Yi and the others arrived at the main hall of the Tianchang Conference Center, where it was already packed with people. Many factions from various cities were minglingâsome clearly knew each other and were engaged in conversation. After all, in the apocalypse, anyone who managed to become the leader of a faction was likely someone who once held power or influence. Most were former military officials like Chen Jingguan, and others were high-ranking local bureaucrats. Of course, there were also people like Zhang Yi and Xing Tian, who had carved out their own domains through sheer strength. Zhang Yi didnât have much contact with the world beyond Tianhai City, so he wasnât looking to socialize. He simply followed the staffâs guidance, leading Liang Yue, Zhou Keâer, and the others into the hall and quietly finding a place to sit. The venue was huge, designed like a lecture hall, capable of seating up to two thousand people for a conference. Zhang Yi chose a spot toward the middle-rear section and sat down to wait patiently for the gathering to begin. The factions led by Chen Jingguan, Xiao Honglian, and Xing Tian also took seats nearby. But even after waiting for quite a while, right up until 10:30, there was still no sign of Zhu Zheng arriving to host the meeting. Zhang Yi yawned, lazily leaning back in his cushioned seat, clearly bored out of his mind. Meetings in Huaguo rarely ever started on time. If they began within an hour of the scheduled time, that was already pretty good. Especially this time, when it involved integrating powers across the entire Jiangnan Regionâthere were far more variables to consider. Back when Zhang Yi was still working a regular job, he was used to waiting during meetings, so he wasnât bothered. He simply chatted casually with Zhou Keâer and Lu Keran. However, murmurs of unrest began to spread through the hall. Zhang Yi pretended not to hear them. What he didnât expect was that this meeting would be delayed all the way into the afternoon. And the reason wasnât that Zhu Zheng or the Jiangnan Region higher-ups were intentionally leaving them hanging. Something had happened. ... ... The clock turned back to 7:00 a.m. Zhu Zheng had woken early, completed his morning workout, and was having breakfast with his wife and children. But the meal wasnât going down smoothly. He had just received an urgent message from Tu Yunlie over in the Operations Department. Zhu Zheng only glanced at the message through his comms device, and his brow instantly furrowed, turning grim. He immediately set down his chopsticks and said to his wife, Li Yunping, âYou guys eat without meâI have to step out.â Li Yunping sighed, a little exasperated. âAt least eat something, or youâll be complaining about being hungry later.â But she wasnât surprised. This kind of situation had happened many times before. Ever since the apocalypse, the entire Huaguo relied on the six major military districts to hold things together. As the Commander of the Jiangnan Region, Zhu Zheng bore heavy responsibilityânothing could happen without his involvement. Li Yunping skillfully pulled a lunchbox from under the cupboard, filled it with some food, and ran outside to hand it off to Zhu Zhengâs driver. Standing next to the car was Zhu Zhengâs personal guard, Sun Luxuan. When he saw Li Yunping, he simply nodded in greeting. She didnât take offense. Sun Luxuan wasnât just any ordinary bodyguard. He was one of the top fighters in Blizzard City, and his sole duty was to ensure Zhu Zhengâs safetyâhe didnât concern himself with any other matters. Zhu Zheng got into a black bulletproof car, which sped toward the Operations Center. When he arrived, Tu Yunlie was already waiting at the entrance. Zhu Zheng walked up quickly, his tone serious. âWhatâs going on?â The two of them briskly headed toward the Commanderâs office. Tu Yunlie followed alongside and gave his report in a low voice: âPer your orders, I sent people to Linhai to investigate why their local factions never reported to Blizzard City.â âBut when our team got there, they discovered that all three factions in Linhai had been completely wiped out!â Zhu Zhengâs face darkened. They stepped into the elevator, heading to the top floor where the Commanderâs office was located. âLinhaiâs forces werenât exactly top-tier, but they still had thousands of members and over fifty Superhumans in total!â âTaking all of them out isnât something just anyone could pull off. Do we know who did it?â Tu Yunlie replied, âOur team ran into the attackers when they arrived.â His voice dropped lower. âI sent some of the best from the Yan Yun Guardâeven though there were only four of them, their combat power was solid. But three of them were killed in action! Only one, a guy named Chen Qi, made it back.â âAnd according to him, those people were speaking Japanese!â The moment the words left his mouth, Zhu Zhengâs eyes went razor-sharp. He whipped his head around. âYouâre sayingâtheyâre from the Land of Neon?â Behind him, Sun Luxuan pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose. A chilling murderous gleam flickered in his narrow eyes. It was an emotion etched deep into his bones. And now, in a world torn apart by chaos, the people of the Neon Kingdom dared to step onto Huaguoâs soil againânot only wiping out Linhaiâs Superhuman factions, but even killing members of the Jiangnan Regionâs Yan Yun Guard? This was tantamount to a declaration of war! Zhu Zhengâs expression turned terrifyingly grimâeven Sun Luxuan and Tu Yunlie felt the pressure. Though the old general had no Superhuman abilities of his own, the power he wielded could wipe the entire island nation clean off the map. If it was confirmed that these attackers were Superhumans dispatched by the Neon Kingdom, then this would be an outright escalation of war. Tu Yunlieâs voice crackled through the comms from inside his collar. âBased on the intel we have so far, their numbers are small. It doesnât appear to be a full-scale military deploymentâpossibly just an advance unit.â âPlease allow me to lead a team to wipe them out!â Zhu Zheng remained silent, his face unreadable. He was weighing the implications of the situation. The destruction of Linhaiâs Superhuman factions wasnât a huge loss in itself. The real problem was what this act representedâan indication that the island nation was once again setting its sights on Huaguoâs territory. Zhu Zheng didnât even consider Neon Kingdom a real threat. Just the power of the Jiangnan Region alone was enough to flatten that island. But launching an aggressive military strike came with serious consequences. Neon had ties to several other countriesâmaking this a highly sensitive matter that could easily trigger a wider conflict. Zhu Zheng pondered for a moment. Fortunately, the damage so far was still manageable. As Commander, he couldnât act on impulseâhe needed a clear plan before taking any action. âWhereâs that Yan Yun Guard survivor, Chen Qi?â Zhu Zheng turned to Tu Yunlie. Tu Yunlie rumbled, âHeâs already here, waiting to give you a detailed report!â Just as he finished speaking, the elevator arrived at the top floor. Zhu Zheng stepped out first. âThen what are we waiting for!â This was no trivial matter. He had to find out whether this was truly the Neon Kingdom launching a full-scale invasionâor just the actions of a rogue ronin faction. Those were two completely different situations.