Feng Qi initially thought that the figures detected by the drone were scouts from the Institute of Technological Research who had accidentally exposed themselves.
But he couldn't shake off his doubts.
Given the elite nature of the Institute of Technological Research's subordinate combat squads, they shouldn't have made such a fatal mistake.
To clarify the situation, he brought Mu Qing and Lü Yue along to investigate.
He hadn't expected to run into an old acquaintance—Li Xingchen.
At that moment, he finally understood what was going on.
The sudden exposure of this scouting team was clearly orchestrated by Li Xingchen.
His goal was to let Feng Qi know of their presence.
After a brief skirmish, only about twenty members of the original hundred-man squad remained.
The survivors were all warriors who had been embedded within the Shadow Force, working undercover for the Dawn Organization.
They were also potential allies.
All of them were former frontline soldiers.
Due to injuries and disabilities, they had undergone complete mechanical transformation with the help of the Institute of Technological Research in order to keep fighting.
Their internal organs had all been replaced by technology.
The only thing that still proved they were human—aside from their unmodified brains—was their consciousness.
After the battle, waves of spiritual energy surged around Li Xingchen's body.
The energy washed down from his neck, cleansing the blood that had stained him.
He then pulled out a cigarette, lit it with practiced ease, and exhaled a stream of white smoke before turning to Feng Qi with a grin.
The sight was eerily familiar to Feng Qi.
Back when he first established the Dawn Organization in that other timeline, he had been caught in a life-or-death situation.
At that time, Future City had launched a massive manhunt against the members of the Dawn Organization.
He had inadvertently walked into a dead end and had nearly lost his life.
That was when Li Xingchen had appeared.
Just like today, he had backstabbed his own team to help Feng Qi escape.
It was also then that Feng Qi realized that there were hidden allies like Li Xingchen lurking within the Institute of Technological Research.
The last thing he remembered from that timeline was Li Xingchen being led to the execution ground.
That scene was still vivid in his mind.
Taking two steps forward, Feng Qi extended his hand.
As their hands met in a firm handshake, a smile appeared on his face as well.
"Never thought you'd be leading the scouting mission this time."
Hearing this, Li Xingchen chuckled and nodded.
"Compared to the other squads in the Institute of Technological Research, the Shadow trusts me more. Besides, we're all cybernetic soldiers—our life signals are extremely weak and difficult to detect. If I hadn't deliberately simulated and transmitted multiple life signals, you probably wouldn't have noticed us either."
After listening to Li Xingchen's explanation, Feng Qi confirmed his suspicions.
After some casual conversation, Li Xingchen's expression grew serious.
"By the way, there's something you need to know. During the most recent core meeting at the Institute of Technological Research, someone proposed using nuclear strikes against your forces. Though the proposal was temporarily rejected, nuclear weapons are already in production. And not just ordinary ones—these are spiritual energy-enhanced nuclear warheads."
"Nuclear weapons?"
Feng Qi was stunned upon hearing this.
He didn't know much about nuclear weapons—only what he had read in history books.
He knew that before the Great Cataclysm, nuclear weapons had influenced global power structures.
The few recorded instances of their use had demonstrated their terrifying destructive power.
However, since they no longer fit the needs of the post-Cataclysm era, they had been phased out and disappeared from the stage of history.
Feng Qi's expression became grim.
A nuclear explosion had an immense blast radius.
If one were detonated directly above his army, it would be catastrophic for the Dawn Army.
Beyond the initial explosion, there would be devastating shockwaves, extreme heat, radiation, and severe electromagnetic interference.
He had anticipated the possibility of the Institute of Technological Research using aerial bombardments against them.
But he had never considered nuclear weapons.
After all, they were supposed to be relics of history—entirely eradicated from this era.
However, he quickly realized why the Shadow had rejected the idea of launching a nuclear strike on the Dawn Army.
The answer was tied to its long-term plans for the future.
If it chose to use such weapons, it would face pressure from all directions—including dissenting voices within Future City itself.
This would weaken the Institute of Technological Research's authority and influence.
It would also severely hinder its ability to secure resources, directly impacting the Shadow Force's future strategies.
Still, this was not something Feng Qi could take lightly.
If they reached a point where both sides had no choice but to fight to the bitter end, there was no telling whether the Shadow Force would decide to use the spiritual energy-enhanced nuclear warheads it was currently preparing.
At that thought, he suddenly turned to look at Mu Qing.
He wasn't sure whether his Blood Source Form could withstand a nuclear detonation at its core.
But he was certain that Mu Qing absolutely could.
When it came to carrying out the contingency plan of "retrieving the head," there was no one better suited than Mu Qing.
Feng Qi had thoroughly studied the capabilities of the Brain Retrieval Squad.
As one of the Crimson Research Institute's most elite combat forces, their overall strength was on par with the core teams of top-tier battle squads.
Especially their leader, Gu Ke.
As a Rune-Enhanced Human, he had once fought Lü Yue in a previous timeline.
That battle had ended in a draw.
Although Lü Yue hadn't drawn his sword, Gu Ke had also held back.
This was precisely why the Brain Retrieval Squad had successfully recovered his head in every timeline.
However, those previous operations were small-scale actions—this time, it was war.
And war was an entirely different matter.
Wars were full of uncertainties, and death lurked everywhere.
Even a powerful squad like the Brain Retrieval Team was nothing more than a lone raft in a raging sea.
Expecting them to carve a path through thousands of soldiers and reach him at the critical moment was simply unrealistic.
But the battlefront had already been set into motion, and he had no choice but to press forward.
The threat of a nuclear strike was real, but he would not falter.
Nor would he naively hope that the Shadow Force would abandon the use of such a weapon.
This campaign was like an arrow already loosed from its bow—there was no turning back.
Even if the Dawn Army suffered devastating losses under a nuclear attack, as long as some warriors kept pushing forward, it wouldn't be over.
After exchanging information with Li Xingchen, Feng Qi fully grasped the challenges ahead.
Before parting, Feng Qi glanced at Li Xingchen and asked,
"Old Li, how are you planning to explain things when you get back? You lost almost your entire team on this mission."
Hearing this, Li Xingchen took a long drag from his cigarette, exhaled the smoke, then grinned.
"Don't worry, I'm good at this. You don't need to concern yourself with it."
"One more thing," he added. "The Institute of Technological Research is entering its war mobilization phase. Soon, all core members will be implanted with tracking and surveillance devices, so I won't be able to contact you through normal channels anymore. Check your email regularly—if I have any intel, I'll drop it there."
"Appreciate it."
Li Xingchen turned and casually waved before leading the remaining soldiers into the distance without looking back.
With that matter settled, Feng Qi, Mu Qing, and Lü Yue made their way back to the front of the advancing army.
Before they even got close, the rich aroma of cooked meat wafted through the air.
Feng Qi glanced to his side, and just as he expected, Mu Qing's eyes were already gleaming with anticipation.
Once they returned to the army, they ate lunch, after which Feng Qi pulled out his tablet to continue reviewing the drone surveillance footage.
Many reconnaissance soldiers were also monitoring the drone feeds, not just him.
In the upper-right corner of the screen was a message window.
Whenever an unexpected discovery was made, a message would pop up in the window.
Clicking on it would immediately switch the screen to the footage reported by the soldier.
After a few moments, Feng Qi exited the drone interface.
After some thought, he opened Future City's public forums.
As the largest online community in Future City, the forum received an overwhelming amount of posts daily.
Even government departments frequently monitored it to gauge public opinion and collect citizen feedback.
At the moment, nearly every discussion on the forum revolved around the war.
A large number of Future City residents were posting their thoughts.
Low-Level Cultivator: I still don't understand what's happening. Why is Star City attacking us? Future City and Star City have been brother cities for hundreds of years, helping each other countless times. We even worked hard to connect our cities via subway. How did it suddenly come to war? And more importantly, I can't access Star City's forum anymore. It looks like they've locked down the city and restricted external internet access. We have no way of knowing what's happening on their end.
Lone Wolf: I have a friend in Star City. Before the lockdown, he managed to send me a message saying that Future City has already been infiltrated by Domain forces. He only just found out himself. Before we could talk more, the call got cut off.
Golden Legend (Replying to Lone Wolf): Are you an idiot? Future City got infiltrated? From what I've heard, it's Star City that's been compromised. In fact, their military and major institutions are already under Domain control. That's why our city isn't sending representatives to negotiate. What's the point of talking to the Domain forces?
Windwalker (Old Day City Resident): This is driving me crazy! A war is about to break out, and no one is trying to mediate? Our forums in Old Day City are exploding—everyone is calling for high-level officials to step in and stop this. How did it come to this? Why are humans fighting humans? Could the rumors be true? Has Star City really fallen to the Domain?
Reverse Death (Winterfell City Resident): There are too many suspicious things about this war. Maybe everyone's got a point, but the dominant narrative across all cities suggests that the Super Virtual Game is actually a mind-control device. The widespread promotion of the Super Virtual Game "Dawn" in Star City over the years had already planted the seeds of hidden dangers.
The root of this war lay in Domain forces manipulating former players who had used the Super Virtual Device, using them as a means to launch an attack on Future City from the shadows. At first glance, this seemed like a logical explanation for Star City's sudden and inexplicable actions. But had anyone considered another possibility?
The following is just my personal opinion, so don't get too worked up. I think we should examine this issue from both perspectives. What if the real infiltration target was Future City? What if Star City had uncovered this hidden threat and was mobilizing to reclaim Future City from the grasp of the Domain forces? Just because something seems logical on the surface, does that mean it's true? Do any of you actually know what's really happening behind the scenes?
You're all just looking at surface-level logic, but do you really have enough information to judge the truth? Of course, this is just my personal opinion—I only hope people won't blindly jump to conclusions based on conspiracy theories. Before you understand the truth, don't be so quick to take sides and attack others.
Fierce Beast (Replying to Reverse Death): You idiot!
—
Right now, all major cities had their attention locked on Future City.
A massive influx of people flooded Future City's online forums, protesting and voicing their opinions.
Meanwhile, the internet in Star City had already been shut down by Feng Qi.
The purpose of this was to prevent interference with the battlefront's strategic planning.
He had no interest in waging a battle of public opinion against the Domain forces—he wanted a real fight, one with blades and bullets.
Through Future City's forums, he observed the conflicting voices of people from various cities.
Some fiercely condemned and criticized Star City's military operation against Future City.
Some were analyzing the possible underlying causes of Star City's decision to attack.
Others protested and called for city representatives to mediate and prevent an all-out war.
Many argued that humanity should stand united rather than fight among themselves.
Even more people, while advocating for a peaceful resolution, also expressed confusion about the sudden emergence of this war. They sensed that there were many unknown factors at play.
Amidst the flood of opinions, Feng Qi noticed a number of rational voices trying to rise above the noise.
However, such voices were easily drowned out and struggled to gain real influence.
Still, their existence proved that most citizens across the major cities did not want this war to happen.
Humanity's last remaining strongholds were the five great cities—if even one of them was lost, it would severely impact the future survival of the human race.
A full-scale war between cities could halt human progress for decades, or even cause civilization to regress.
This was nothing less than a disaster for all of humanity.
These anti-war sentiments were clearly one of the key reasons why the Shadow Force was hesitant to authorize a nuclear strike.
At this point, public opinion manipulation was losing effectiveness.
Even if the Shadow Force could easily control certain narratives, they could only influence minor details—they couldn't alter the big picture.
For example:
If a civilization faced an external crisis, manipulating public opinion to execute a suspected spy would be widely accepted.
However, if those in power decided to surrender land and tried to justify it through propaganda, the public would never accept it.
No matter how much you control the narrative, people would never agree to betray their homeland.
A similar situation was unfolding now.
The overwhelming consensus across all major cities was that war should be avoided at all costs.
People believed that all issues could be resolved through other means—humanity should coexist peacefully, rather than turn against each other.
At the same time, the Shadow Force appeared to share the same stance.
They also did not want war.
They did not understand why this war was happening.
Some even believed that even if Star City had fallen under Domain control, both sides could still coexist peacefully and stay out of each other's way.
If war was inevitable, it should be fought in the distant future, not now, when both sides were still laying the foundations for their future plans.
—
After browsing for a while, Feng Qi closed Future City's forums.
He then opened Star City's forums.
After verifying his clearance, the Star City forum interface appeared on his screen.
Compared to the discussions in other cities, the tone of Star City's citizens was completely different.
"Dawn Army, advance! Crush them all!"
"If I met the enlistment requirements, I'd be on the front lines too! Crush the Domain scum! Dawn Army is invincible!"
"After years of enduring, it's time to fight back! We're all comrades on this battlefront—charge!"
—
Seeing these aggressive and passionate messages, Feng Qi couldn't help but smile.
Look at that—how warm and friendly our Star City citizens are.