For Gong Changfa, his relationship with Shen Feng was neither good nor bad. In the beginning, he had even been an opponent of Shen Feng. However, Shen Feng was now the leader of China, and obtaining the meteorite would ultimately strengthen China.
As a result, He Qiuan, in order for his allied forces to gain a foothold in the Arctic Ocean, had revealed Shen Feng's location. This was going too far.
There was a saying in China: "Brothers die outside the wall, but unite to defend against the enemy."
On a smaller scale, the Chinese people had a habit of acting based on the closeness of their relationships. However, at critical moments, even with deep-seated hatred, they would unite.
But now, He Qiuan seemed to have forgotten this saying. Shen Feng represented China's strength, yet his location had been betrayed.
He Qiuan's actions had thus incurred Gong Changfa's displeasure. He watched as his friend, who had gone through hardships with him, was gradually being misled by others, to the point where he could no longer distinguish right from wrong.
However, when He Qiuan heard Gong Changfa's questioning, he replied, "I am doing this for the future of China, and even for the future of all humanity. The meteorite can bring us more opportunities. But Shen Feng wants to launch such a valuable thing to the moon. Isn't this ruining humanity's future?"
He Qiuan did not believe he had done anything wrong. He believed he was doing the right thing. Perhaps his methods were lacking, but future generations would surely admire his decisions. As for the conflict with Shen Feng, it could be explained later.
Upon hearing this, Gong Changfa took a deep breath and said, "You fellow, you've truly been brainwashed. You're walking down the wrong path, yet you don't realize it! Have you forgotten your original goal?"
Facing his friend's questioning, He Qiuan earnestly said, "Of course, I haven't forgotten my original dream. It's just that we don't have enough strength now, and we are no match for Shen Feng. In this situation, I can only resort to any means necessary!"
After hearing this answer, Gong Changfa said nothing more. He simply shook his head and left.
As the allied forces of China prepared to depart, He Qiuan, feeling very uneasy, approached the army commander, Chen Yide. Although his beard was now white, he still wished to go to the battlefield, so he appeared here. After the esper left, he would be in charge of leading these people.
"Mr. Chen, I have a few questions that I haven't been able to figure out, so I'd like to ask you some questions." He Qiuan appeared rather unhappy at this moment.
The reason for his current state was the words spoken by Gong Changfa earlier that day. He suddenly had doubts: were his actions truly right?
He had been doing things according to Mr. Chen's advice all this time, and he had never felt any problems before, but now he was experiencing unease.
Therefore, unable to resolve this matter, he could only seek out Chen Yide for clarification, hoping to get a satisfactory explanation to dispel his doubts.
"Yan Sheng, feel free to ask any questions you have. I will certainly explain them with my knowledge!" Chen Yide said earnestly.
"I feel like I've been working for the welfare of the people, but now it seems I haven't done anything good. The people under me are still not getting enough to eat. In this situation, I still have to lead a large number of soldiers into battle. This is a place of ice and snow, with frozen soil all year round. Yet, the people under me are poorly fed and clothed. I wonder if I am doing the right thing?" He Qiuan said, very uneasy.
He Qiuan had always disliked looking back at his actions because his gaze was always fixed forward. He only needed to move forward and never look back at the path he had taken.
As he looked back at what he had done, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have accomplished nothing significant. Apart from recapturing a few insignificant cities, he had done nothing else, not even ensuring that the people under him could eat their fill.
He had sidelined Gong Changfa, taken control of all his soldiers, and his word was law in Yanjing, with no one daring to disobey his orders. Yet, the people's lives had become increasingly difficult. He had seen this, believing that hardship would eventually pass, and once the great cold period ended, everyone would become prosperous. But now, he realized that all his efforts over the years seemed to have been in vain.
Today, after hearing his friend's question, he finally examined himself and discovered that all his efforts had been futile, and he had unknowingly strayed onto the wrong path.
Upon hearing this response, Chen Yide said, "How can you have such thoughts? I can tell you directly that what you have done has never been wrong, because you are the future master of China. This is just the final darkness before dawn. If we persevere, we will surely succeed. And if we don't get the food, how can we compete with Shen Feng? The final harvest will be his, not ours! So, only by fighting desperately for the meteorite can we have a chance to fight!"
He Qiuan naturally understood this. Since the doomsday descended, many humans had faced immense suffering, and they often had no solutions to these hardships. However, there was one exception: Yuzhou. It seemed that in the face of various crises, Yuzhou always had a way to resolve them. Whether it was zombies, mutated beasts, or mutated birds and insects, nothing could stump them. Even during the great ice age, they could use their esper abilities to produce large amounts of food.
Therefore, it was clear to anyone that from now on, once the great ice age ended, Shen Feng, who had been accumulating strength, would use his overwhelming power to either march north or east, directly occupy the Chinese region, and become the de facto ruler of China. This immense power was awe-inspiring. If nothing unexpected happened, this script was already laid out before everyone, and they were destined to be mere supporting characters.
No one wanted to go from being a powerful overlord to a subordinate of someone else. Therefore, they wanted to oppose this situation, and there was only one ultimate solution: to seize the meteorite. As long as they obtained the meteorite and survived to the end, they could develop their own strength.
However, He Qiuan still said, "But, after doing all these things, I suddenly realized that what I've done seems too excessive. Not to mention anything else, Gong Changfa is my friend, and I couldn't have gotten this far without his support. Yet, in the end, I sent him to teach children combat in a school. This is like treating Han Xin, 'When the birds are gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbits are dead, the hounds are cooked!'"
"I understand. He must have said something to you. I can tell you directly that his relationship with Shen Feng is too close. If I hadn't sidelined him, he would have colluded with Shen Feng and betrayed you. Don't listen to his nonsense! You can only trust yourself; others are untrustworthy!" Mr. Chen said.
He Qiuan thought about it and indeed, if Gong Changfa hadn't been so close to Shen Feng, he wouldn't have sidelined him.
Chen Yide continued, "I've said it many times before, Shen Feng is too lenient with his subordinates but too cruel to his enemies. Such unfair distribution of rewards and punishments will harm the people. Therefore, for the future of China, you must shoulder this responsibility. You must defeat Shen Feng and become the master of China!"
Hearing this, He Qiuan's spirits lifted, and he strengthened his resolve, preparing to lead his people into the Arctic Ocean.
Gong Changfa, as a powerful esper, had also set out. However, he didn't have much hope for these united espers, because he understood that even though they were numerous, there were few true powerhouses among them.
"I have left markers. If those children see my markers, they should be able to find their way here, and then they will need to set things right!" Gong Changfa thought to himself.
He was constantly preparing to pull back his misguided friend, because in the current situation, continued internal conflict would only lead to the waste of valuable strength for China. Therefore, it would be best for everyone to sit down and discuss, rather than engage in conflict. However, in the current situation, China had already split into two factions. If the relationship between the two sides was not handled properly, civil strife would erupt in China, and China's strength would inevitably weaken. This was not what he hoped for.
However, Gong Changfa could only deal with matters concerning the espers. Therefore, the situation with the army would have to be left to some children to handle. He had left many markers along the way, which they would see if they were observant.
At this time, a powerful figure from North America emerged. He created numerous icebergs in the northern Atlantic, blocking the sea and creating a barrier between the Arctic Ocean and the Atlantic. It was then that everyone was astonished to discover that this person was an eighth-level esper. He had reached the eighth level without anyone noticing.
This esper's name was Taifrey.
It turned out that North America also knew the importance of a powerful esper. Therefore, they had been secretly cultivating their strong individuals over the years. They had gathered all the purified crystals they obtained, ultimately creating an eighth-level esper. Now, with a single move, he had blocked a narrow stretch of sea, preventing sea beasts from flowing out of the northern Atlantic. Thus, the sea beasts were trapped in the Arctic Ocean and could no longer escape.
"This sea area has now been blocked. Although there are still many icebergs and floating ice on the sea surface, the sea beasts cannot escape at all. In many areas close to the shore, the sea beasts are at risk of being stranded. They can only flee in the deep sea. We will definitely be able to catch them!" Tom said with satisfaction.
However, Andov from Europe sent a message stating that there was still one person who had not entered the fray and was waiting for the opportune moment to reap the benefits. That person was Shen Feng. He was currently observing everything from the sky, so if they fought too desperately, Shen Feng would surely benefit.
Tom thought for a moment and said, "In that case, let's not fight desperately for now. Let's first force the sea beasts into one place. It would be best if we could force these sea beasts to spit out the meteorite. If the sea beasts truly understand our intentions, then this battle will not need to happen!"