Before him stood Zhang Heng, Cheng Xiao, Wang Xia, and Ming Yanwei—four people in total. There were still over thirty hours left until the seven-day time limit, and Chu Xuan had indeed left Shanghai, where he had been holding the fort, heading straight for this Japanese-occupied territory in the Northeast. Of course, there was no such thing as an occupied zone anymore; since the Japanese Kwantung Army suffered a devastating blow from Zhang Heng and the others, this area had devolved into a lawless, chaotic wasteland. Deserters, routed soldiers, bandits, refugees—it was a living depiction of hell unfolding, and small-scale civilian unrest like this was beyond the capacity of just Zhang Heng and his companions to stop.

"Now you see? This is why I wasn't entirely in agreement with your large-scale military actions,"

Chu Xuan stated coolly. "Even the harshest rules are preferable to a complete absence of order. The reason Zhuge Liang didn't annihilate Cao Cao at Red Cliffs in Romance of the Three Kingdoms was precisely this: once chaos completely takes hold, the short-term devastation far exceeds the destruction caused by a war itself... But, what’s done is done. Now we just wait for the two major political parties to quickly arrive and occupy this region."

Zhang Heng, Cheng Xiao, and Wang Xia exchanged glances; they could only nod in resigned agreement. When the three of them first delivered that crushing blow to the Kwantung Army, they had felt a flicker of excitement, a sense of vengeance finally served.

But the ensuing chaos left them inexplicably panicked and flustered. They couldn't fathom why their actions had triggered such a terrifying chain reaction; now, the better part of North China was completely engulfed in rioting.

And they could only watch it unfold, helpless. In just a single day and night, at least hundreds of thousands of lives in North China were lost to the riots, a number that was still climbing.

"So,

there is no conventional method that can end this unrest in a short time frame. There is only one method that will work."

Chu Xuan looked at the group, speaking with gravity. "We must use information shocking enough to suppress this chaos."

Cheng Xiao quickly pressed, "What information is shocking enough? Are we expected to go kill another city full of rioters?" Chu Xuan shook his head. "Killing a city of rioters would only worsen the situation. Areas not yet in turmoil would descend into chaos, compounded by the marauding Japanese deserters. Such riots are impossible to stop now. The only way forward is to generate a piece of information that shocks both the rioters and the Japanese soldiers... Tokyo Sunk. What do you think?" Zhang Heng, Cheng Xiao, and Wang Xia looked at each other again, sighing silently as they accepted Chu Xuan's proposal.

They couldn't muster even a whisper of protest. Earlier, they had considered how to persuade Chu Xuan—while bombing Tokyo was clearly inevitable, they had hoped there might be a way to minimize casualties, as the hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians were blameless. That was their original intention, but now, watching all of North China drown in turmoil, they found themselves speechless.

Human nature is selfish; their own people mattered far more. In comparison, who cared about the citizens of Japan?

After a brief consultation, the five of them simultaneously summoned their Green Devil Skates and soared overseas. Zhang Heng had initially considered leaving Ming Yanwei on the mainland, but seeing the widespread riots across North China, leaving a woman with little power there would be perilous. Thus, he reluctantly brought her along as they flew toward Tokyo.

During the flight, the group naturally exchanged words, but we shall skip the descriptions here to avoid tedious detail.

Suffice it to say, after flying for over two hours, the Japanese archipelago came into view. Looking down from the sky, it was broad daylight. The silhouettes of the cities on the islands were faintly visible. Near what appeared to be Tokyo Bay, tiny sesame-seed-sized black dots dotted the sea—ships anchored outside the harbor.

Chu Xuan remained silent, guiding his Green Devil Skate downward. The other three exchanged glances and followed closely on their own skates. Only when Chu Xuan neared the sea surface did they realize his target wasn't Tokyo Bay directly, but rather a distant sea vessel far beyond the port.

Zhang Heng and the others were puzzled, not knowing why Chu Xuan intended to intercept this ship. But before they could react, Chu Xuan landed on the deck, immediately drawing two Gauss Pistols. He raised both hands slightly, adopting the initial posture of Gun Fu, which terrified Zhang Heng and Cheng Xiao into hastily landing their skates and positioning themselves in front of him.

As soon as he landed, Zhang Heng declared, "Don't massacre the innocent. Our goal is just deterrence; letting these people go shouldn't matter... Even though we are about to bombard Tokyo, indiscriminately slaughtering people right here..." Zhang Heng's sentiment reflected a common mindset: out of sight, out of mind. Whether it was his prior large-scale killing of Japanese soldiers or the impending bombing of Tokyo, these were acts directed remotely. If he truly had to slaughter so many people up close with a blade, even having overcome his psychological flaw, his ordinary human sensibilities wouldn't allow it. This was why he spoke as he did now.

Chu Xuan frowned but remained silent. Cheng Xiao, observing clearly, quickly interjected, "Chu Xuan, after we bombard Tokyo, someone needs to relay the news, right? Otherwise, the world's major powers won't know Tokyo has been leveled, and all our threats will be meaningless. I understand what you mean—there must be spies from global powers inside Japan who can transmit the message. But have you considered the power of this Modong Cannon? If its power is unimaginably immense, obliterating the areas where those spies are located, or even fracturing the crust of the entire Japanese archipelago, then no one would be left to signal the outside world. This ship is a sea vessel, after all. It must have a telegraph or something similar. If we spare this ship and don't destroy it, they can send word out after we flatten Tokyo..."

Hearing this, Chu Xuan slowly holstered his pistols.

Only then did Cheng Xiao and Zhang Heng collectively breathe a sigh of relief, but Chu Xuan's voice cut through. "I was initially planning to punch a few holes in the deck. Since you requested it... then make four holes in the floor. Make them slightly larger than a horseshoe, and as deep as a horseshoe is tall. As for the placement, mark it according to the four hooves of this horse."

With that, Chu Xuan took out the bizarre-looking Modong Cannon—four skeletal horse legs supporting a massive cannon, a sight too strange for words.

Setting aside the frustration of Zhang Heng and Cheng Xiao, the vessel soon halted its journey. After Wang Xia and Chu Xuan eliminated a dozen crewmen, the entire ship was under their complete control. It turned out to be a civilian oil tanker sailing toward the Chinese mainland, carrying only a permanent crew and a number of international tourists and civilians. Thus, Chu Xuan and the others' plan to seize control proceeded exceptionally smoothly.

Once everything was set, Zhang Heng and Cheng Xiao dug the four small indentations into the deck. To gauge the required size and depth, they had to carve these pits directly using their hands and arrows. This ground was not soil; it was solid steel.

Cheng Xiao employed techniques from the Nanto Suijaku Ken style, while Zhang Heng used his enchanted arrows for excavation. Such hard labor was certainly inferior to Chu Xuan's Gauss Pistols, which could have blown open the four spots with just a few shots.

But these were minor details. By the time Chu Xuan and Wang Xia emerged from the cabin, the bow of the tanker was pointed directly toward Tokyo Bay. The oddly shaped four-legged cannon stood planted in the freshly dug indentations. Behind the bow were crowds of awestruck tourists and civilians watching from a distance. Especially upon seeing the grotesque appearance of the cannon, many burst into ridicule. The thing truly looked bizarre, resembling little more than a horse skeleton crudely covered in sheet metal, making it impossible to imagine this was the advanced artillery they had never encountered—and Zhang Heng and the others felt the same way.

"I imagine Zheng Zha must be heartbroken," Cheng Xiao muttered quietly beside him. "He genuinely loved that Skeleton Nightmare Horse, but with how Chu Xuan has modified it, Zheng Zha will probably weep every time he uses the Modong Cannon."

As Cheng Xiao was once again quietly grumbling about the conflict between Chu Xuan and Zheng Zha, Wang Xia suddenly spoke to Chu Xuan, "Chu Xuan, what about the recoil of this cannon? Those four legs look like brittle scaffolding. Can they really withstand the immense power of the Modong Cannon?"

"No issue. The reason we used Zheng Zha's horse to construct the Modong Cannon is because it can counteract gravity. That's why we needed to dig these four small pits; only when the legs are seated in these indentations will the excess force of the firing be transferred onto the ship. Now, fire the cannon."

Chu Xuan adjusted the aiming reticle of the Modong Cannon, aligning the barrel precisely toward Tokyo Bay. Then, the others watched as Chu Xuan inserted a ring into a groove on the weapon. The moment the ring was seated, it overflowed with liquid light, flowing continuously over its surface. Next, Chu Xuan produced a pouch—clearly the spatial bag Adam had given him in The Lord of the Rings—filled with energy stones rated C-grade and above, including several B-grade and A-grade stones.

Chu Xuan shoved several large handfuls of energy stones into the opening at the top of the cannon. Then, he began rapidly pressing various points on the weapon. The crowd saw the flowing light on the ring pulse violently, the area where the Magic Ring was embedded shining as brightly as the sun, stinging their eyes. Only Zhang Heng and the others, relying on their superior physical conditioning, could keep their eyes open, but even they had to squint as the light intensified.

"When Zheng Zha's internal energy collides with the vampire energy, it unleashes an explosion of unimaginable power—that is the principle behind his 'Explosion' and 'Destruction.' It seems to be an annihilation reaction, and the resulting energy is naturally astonishing. Recently, Zheng Zha compressed his internal energy into Zhenyuan Power, whose quality and effect far surpass that of his internal energy by a hundredfold. My question is simple: if internal energy can be compressed into Zhenyuan Power, what does compressed vampire energy become?" As Chu Xuan spoke, the muzzle of the Modong Cannon emitted an even more intense light, brighter than the glow from the Magic Ring. Finally, Zhang Heng and the others could no longer endure it and snapped their eyes shut. Even then, their eyes felt a slight burning pain.

The light emanating from the cannon's mouth was peculiar: two beams, one black and one white, intertwined. Logically, a black light shouldn't exist, yet both colors were undeniably present in this energy beam, intertwining and intensifying the light further.

"Vampire energy can also be compressed. If internal energy compresses into Zhenyuan Power, then I shall tentatively call compressed vampire energy Magic Power. Since these two energies are inherently yin and yang opposites, they produce an annihilation reaction upon contact. If the collision between internal energy and vampire energy can already unleash destruction of this magnitude, then my second question is: how powerful is the explosion when Zhenyuan Power and Magic Power collide?" Before Chu Xuan finished speaking, the muzzle of the Modong Cannon violently unleashed an intertwined beam of black and white energy. At the moment it left the barrel, the beam was only about ten centimeters in diameter. After traveling a thousand meters away from the ship, its diameter abruptly surged to about thirty meters. Moreover, the black and white colors became more agitated, and the resulting energy glow became multicolored, making the beam look as beautiful as a rainbow. However, beauty in this case was deadly; any living creature would be completely atomized, perhaps not even leaving particles behind... With a deafening boom, when the energy beam struck the sea surface just below Tokyo Bay, its diameter had already ballooned to over a thousand meters. The outrageously massive energy beam instantly vaporized the water and land in that area, then plunged directly into the mainland like a plow, vaporizing everything that came near it, leaving behind only a vast plume of vaporized smoke in its path...

The Japanese capital, Tokyo, was submerged...