“That was the process of your engagement? You captured a member of team China, named Zhao Yingkong?”

In the flagship of the United States Seventh Fleet, team East Sea had switched on the communication device with team Celestial. In the situation where the sneak attack campaign had gone successfully, the moment that team East Sea’s fate would be decided had come. They had to make the final decision on whether they would use this member to negotiate with team China or follow Adam’s scheme.

“Yes, her name is Zhao Yingkong. Our psyche force user could search the router layer of her consciousness, so such basic information was easy to confirm.” Miyata Kuraki said feebly.

A large majority of the black runes on the man’s body had disappeared, with the remaining ones being extremely faint. His complexion looked extremely poor, and looked much more terrible than Koinu Maosu next to him, who was missing an arm.

“I’m very curious. This girl, Zhao Yingkong, is one of the powerful members of team China based on my information. She seems to have been a genius of the assassin clan before. Pardon my presumptuousness, I don't believe it’s possible for you to capture her with your team's power, especially with just two of you. This…” Adam's warm voice was transmitted over. However, these words made all of team East Sea’s faces pale.

Miyata Kuraki hesitated, before sighing, “The Ghost Knight has two separate enhancement paths. What I enhanced was ‘heart’. The katana rends the fleshy body, while the heart rends the soul. If the soul is weak, or if the soul already has some problems, it’s not impossible to be knocked unconscious by me. Or, do you mean that this is team China's trap?”

“Let's not discuss now whether it's a trap. I’ll ask, what is your next step? How do you plan to deal with this team China member?” Adam suddenly asked.

Miyata Kuraki looked at those around him, looking intentionally at Sora Aoi. The girl gave him a serious nod, before he said seriously, “We plan to negotiate with team China. Although one of us died, our past points are enough to offset the negative points. Our team East Sea has prepared a long time for the final battle, and we’ve captured a member of team China. We’ll use this to threaten them. If so…”

“You can’t be THAT naive, right?” Adam's voice resounded. “Do you think there's a team that will give up on several tens of thousands of points and rank S and above ranked rewards? Even if they'll give it up, it’ll only be in the circumstances where both sides are equal. Do you think other teams will respect a team without sufficient deterrence?”

Miyata Kuraki immediately didn’t say a word. Not just him, but all of team East Sea’s faces turned ashen. Only that muscular baldie was irritable due to missing an arm, and immediately exploded, “I remember you told us before that team China, amongst the three strongest teams, is very hypocritical, pretending to be kind and righteous. Even if it’s just a pleasant front, they wouldn’t abandon their comrade, right?”

“Yes, I did say that.” Adam laughed. “Buuuuuuuttttttt, with your experience and intelligence, all you can do is parrot me. The so-called hypocrisy and pretending to be kind and righteous depends on what enemy is being faced. Do you think team China can maintain that hypocrisy upon facing team East Sea?”

“What does that mean?” Koinu Maosu was stunned.

“You Japanese like to refer to Chinese as… yellow monkeys, right?” Adam maintained that warm laughter, “I don’t know what kind of education you received from young, or what kind of environment shaped you. Respecting the enemy is respecting oneself. But, don’t you think it to be quite shameless to keep imploring the other side to maintain their hypocrisy and let you off when you keep shouting yellow monkeys, and are in a position of weakness?”

“Alright, we’ll put aside this topic of shamelessness for now. Just as both sides would consider power, they would consider enmities as well. When you use humiliating forms of address like yellow monkeys, do you think team China will have a good impression of you? The enmity from feuds looks amusing to onlookers. Only, those involved won’t be clear headed, and are just idiots trapped in hatred. If you can’t let go of this enmity, do you think team China will treat you like an ordinary team? You all are bitter enemies! Even if they’re righteous in name, team China definitely won’t spare any of you!”

Koinu Maosu’s face immediately turned pale. The ache in his arm also ceaselessly reminded him about the monster that was team China’s leader. A fear of death immediately assailed his heart. His pained moans began more obvious.

Sora Aoi’s complexion was also ashen, and after a long while she asked, “Then… what about that Chu Xuan from team China? He has intelligence on par with you, right? Won’t he think through it? They’ve lost a main combatant, and they may have casualties fighting us. He should be aware of that. After all, the final battle is coming…”

Adam interrupted her. “It’s simple. With that uncommunicative, unfeeling, unexpressive man’s thinking process, he’ll probably come up with a method of battle that won’t produce casualties and directly erase your team. If your hearts are still fantasizing about this or hoping to come to a settlement with team China, then first get rid of the blood in your body. Don’t let that Yamato people blood of the Japanese flow through you. That way, team China may let you off like they do a dog…”

“Shut up!”

Miyata Kuraki stood up coldly. He unsheathed his katana and pointed at the communication device. He slowly said, “You can kill us, entrap us, or anything else, but don’t humiliate our spirit.... Perhaps you foreigners will find it strange, and think there’s something mentally ill with us, but… we carry the Yamato spirit in our hearts! Even in death, we won’t accept humiliation!”

Adam’s voice didn’t even pause, continuing, “Yamato spirit, is it? Coincidentally, your bitter enemies also have some Chinese spirit in their hearts. How do you feel? Will they let you off?’

Miyata Kuraki shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Adam… I can’t hand over team East Sea’s future to you. If team East Sea survives this, I hope we can cooperate with you in the Angel Alliance. It’ll be a true cooperation, one where we’re not used like weapons by you.” So saying, the katana abruptly fell, cleaving the communication device in two.

The majority of team East Sea remained silent, with only the muscular baldie and a few others being startled. Koinu Maosu wailed, “Miyata Kuraki! Are you mad?! How will we predict team China’s situation if you destroy Adam’s communication device? Are you trying to get us all killed?!”

“Perhaps we will die.”

Miyata Kuraki turned to speak to everyone. “Everyone! My decision has been made! We’ll make peace if team China wants peace! We’ll fight if they want to fight! We won’t beg like dogs even if we die! That’s my sole request to. Otherwise, I’ll help you all in kaishaku after you all seppuku [1]. I definitely won’t abandon everyone even in death. Let us fight together to the death!”

***

At the same time, in the world Adam was in, he was currently smiling gently at the device before him issuing crackling sounds. Only after a long while did he press a switch on the device to stop the sound.

“Adam, has Xuan seen through you making moves behind the scenes?” Song Tian was sitting besides Adam. He muttered while sitting there with his eyes shut.

“Not yet… No, maybe he has seen through it, or maybe not. How miraculous, what is real is fake, while what is fake is real. With just merely a team member being captured, all my plans have been rendered ineffectual. Now, I don’t even know what he’s thinking, and I’m at least not clear about whether he knows about my existence.” Adam smiled bitterly.

“Why?” Song Tian asked curiously.

“Because team East Sea captured someone who should not have been captured based on what we know of Zhao Yingkong’s strength. There are too many intentional details about her capture, but it’s because of this that I don’t know what Xuan is thinking. Does he know I exist? When did he find out? When team East Sea began that open and above board plot? Or when team East Sea sneak attacked? Or, does he just not know, and is merely laying down this scheme before us like he does usually?”

Song Tian opened his eyes. He looked at Adam, “Then forget it. Team China is team China after all. We’ll do our best in the final battle. You’ve already tried your best and have even stirred up their racial sentiments. I’m familiar with these Japanese. Their warped militaristic mind-set will definitely make them fight to the bitter end!”

“I keep feeling like there’s a seemingly important detail I missed out.” Adam couldn’t stop smiling bitterly. He looked at the sky, saying to Song Tian after a long while, “You Chinese have this saying, right? If I was born, why did the heavens give birth to another greater genius…” [2]

[1] Kaishaku is a Japanese tradition to behead one who has performed seppuku, a Japanese ritual suicide usually done out of shame, at the moment of agony.

[2] The actual quote is "Since (Zhou) Yu was born, Why did (Zhuge) Liang have to be born too?" It was a fictional lamentation of Zhou Yu in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, lamenting the cruel cosmic joke that caused his great rival to be born in the same era as himself. It is used to comment on someone who keeps losing to the same opponent.

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