Chapter 1380
Chapter 1380 - 1376: Pretending
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Lu Ping’an’s recollection of his Siberian journey:
A happy-go-lucky trip, admiring the Northern region’s scenery unfamiliar to Southerners, building snowmen and having snowball fights with friends, casually hunting something along the way, and finally bringing home some local specialties... Brothers, it’s time to eat again!
The Siberian journey that made headlines:
Red Star Republic Official Media: In the southern Siberian region of our country, the Southern Military Region Special Forces 317 is organizing a large-scale live-fire exercise. Civilians uninvolved are urged to keep their distance. This exercise is led by the Northern Military Region and the Sloan Garrison District, with one Marshal and two Admirals personally overseeing the drills.
Translation: The encirclement has been laid out, a Quasi-God and two eighth-tier powers have entered the field, those who don’t want to die better scram.
Civilian news from the Eastern Country: It seems that a "Divine Treasure" has appeared up North, and their heads are cracking open. It looks like our people are there too, apparently because an ancient Evil God has resuscitated. Some champions of justice are currently besieging it, and around that revived Evil God and God’s Treasure, a legendary tale is unfolding. It’s said that the official forces have even entered the fray.
The reality and rumors always have a subtle gap, "Evil God" Lu Ping’an probably hadn’t imagined before he set off that his casual sightseeing trip would turn into a major political and Jianghu incident.
He was merely one factor, after all, there were certainly others in pursuit of the Moon God’s Legacy, but his presence led to a spree of chasers and hunters entering the mix, and his actions essentially confirmed the value of the Moon God’s Legacy, attracting even more hounds...
"...I personally, have become a power unit?"
Lu Ping’an had to face the reality—both in terms of external influence and actual impact in this world, his actions could not be considered as mere "personal behavior", but must be seen as a quasi-political and military entity... In fact, there had already been a round of diplomatic rhetoric at the state level.
Compared to that God’s Relic, the sudden appearance of multiple Rule-level or higher combat powers within one country’s borders was even more alarming.
Lu Ping’an was still accustomed to operating in the ungoverned Foreign Domain; on Earth, any movement of someone at the Rule-level would draw many cautious and anxious glances, let alone him who was now considered the equivalent of an eighth-tier power combined with several seventh-tier forces.
The personal trip that Lu Ping’an imagined simply did not exist. The reality was that once he took action, it represented an invasion by a super armed group from this world... If the other side overreacted, a declaration of war as a response would be justifiable.
"You... Do you realize what you’ve done?!"
"Er, I didn’t know before, but now I more or less understand."
After being lectured by his comrade Tie from the secret battlefield, Lu Ping’an suddenly grasped that he couldn’t mess around on Earth anymore.
Typically, as professionals grow, they would establish intricate ties with their nation and local powers along the way, being clear about these "unspoken rules" to avoid making things difficult for others.
However, the growth of Lu Ping’an’s team was too rapid, and there wasn’t a supervisory body with direct authority over him... It’s likely that after Lu Ping’an returns, he will certainly be dragged into a conference room for a thorough "guidance".
"No, even if I were to restore communication with the homeland right now, I couldn’t make contact..."
After exchanging information and understanding the current situation, Tie Hao felt increasingly burdened and hastily removed the battery from his satellite phone.
If this "Nuclear Bomb" was a civilian, that would be one thing, but the other party was clearly official power, and they were the type to shake hands and sign contracts with national bosses recently... He suspected the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was probably overwhelmed now. Unsanctioned military incursion into an Allied Country in pursuit of the Deity’s Treasure, sparking high-level bloodshed—this wouldn’t look good if word got out.
"...If I made contact, they would 100% want me to return."
Lu Ping’an stroked his chin, feeling a bit helpless about the current situation but also very pragmatic.
While enjoined with an official identity, enjoying special treatment, he would also have to take on extra responsibilities and obligations because of it. Once in touch, forget about reinforcements, he’d get an earful first... Um, considering Lu Ping’an’s current identity and strength, they might not criticize him openly, but he would certainly be gently "persuaded".
Now that he’s connected with the Eastern Country’s officials, they’d definitely want him to leave the country immediately, and he really couldn’t refuse.
So, just as comrade Tie Hao said, "being out of contact" is currently the best choice.
Thinking of this, Lu Ping’an fished out his modified superphone (with integrated satellite phone functionality) and "accidentally" dropped it on the ground, then "accidentally" stepped on it and crushed it.
He dug out the SIM card from the pile of debris, silently pocketed it, and then turned his gaze towards Iron Hao.
"...I owe you my life and I’ll help you. Besides, going back like this wouldn’t satisfy you."
The other party was candid, even overly friendly, but if you consider the Eastern Country’s security department manual, which treats "enhancing our nation’s top-tier individuals" as a national interest, then everything made sense.
"You also don’t need to worry about... Perhaps some people will talk behind your back when you return, but as long as you benefit from it, it’s a good thing for both of us and our countries. You didn’t actually need to destroy your phone; they probably aren’t expecting to contact you right now."
Hearing this, Lu Ping’an felt the situation was rather delicate; the other side was almost too practiced...
"Helping our people abroad to acquire growth resources is the daily work of our intelligence department."
Okay, no need to guess anymore, that’s exactly how it was done.
No wonder the Red Star people were furious. It seemed that this sort of thing happened often... The reason being, in this day and age, top combat power is like a country’s new warships, missiles, and fighters, except they can search for and utilize resources to upgrade themselves.
Since the Earth is only so big with limited resources, it’s natural for official powerhouses to hunt abroad for growth. At that point, being part of the officialdom, they would naturally seek assistance from their official foreign intelligence agencies.
And the officials were more than happy to do so, as growth is a professional’s top priority. Having these official professionals owe favors was also a key part of establishing connections.
"...You play the game quite well."
Faced with such reality, Lu Ping’an didn’t know how to comment, but from the attitude he sensed, the other person was trustworthy.
"Oh, then let me tell you something. The departure of the Moon God is somewhat related to me; we had a talk in Wanjing..."
"She should be on Mercury 42 by now, probably becoming part of the planet’s defense system. Oh, that’s our world, to be precise, it’s the world under Lady of the Forest of the Proper God, but in reality, the officials have begun to invest heavily..."
"You haven’t heard? You’ll know when you return. It appears it will be promoted as a key cultural propaganda project..."
"This divine treasure? It’s a ’kickback’ from the other side, pretty important to me. After getting it, advancement would be just a year away..."
Lu Ping’an didn’t hide anything, but the more Iron Hao listened, the tenser his face became.
All these secrets, involving national grand strategies, secret pacts with deities, and the Proper God Church’s covert plans—was I, a frontline intelligence officer, supposed to know any of this?
But he noted it all down carefully, daring not to miss a detail.
There were things that didn’t need to be spelled out too distinctly. Iron Hao enlightened Lu Ping’an that he wasn’t alone... Now that he had ascertained his position, Lu Ping’an also needed to adjust his attitude somewhat, at the very least, to respond accordingly.
These matters, especially those involving the deities and Lin Nu’s Church, would flow through Iron Hao to the relevant departments, of course, via private channels.
After all, the departure of the Moon God was, in a way, directly caused by Lu Ping’an... If it were publicly acknowledged, the Red Star would have no choice but to seek revenge; it would be akin to a slap in the face.
Lu Ping’an seemingly spoke carelessly, but in reality, he also wanted the official departments to be informed, to avoid further misjudgments.
𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂
As for whether it would affect Lu Ping’an’s status and relations?
"As long as I can consume resources to grow rapidly and continuously prove my value, none of these would be problems."
The departure of the Moon God indeed had cost the Red Star... But since the Eastern Country and its overseas territories were benefiting from it, then perhaps it was better to have more of such events.
— End of Chapter 1380 —