Chapter 119: The Earthly Outlaw

The nuclear explosions that obliterated the two strongholds of Ghost Island Continent within a single day shocked the entire world, sparking a massive uproar.

In just twenty-four hours, Ghost Island Continent had been wiped off the map. Having originally possessed only three cities worthy of being called strongholds, one had been bombed by Gu Sha a fortnight ago, and today, the remaining two were reduced to rubble.

The perpetrator, Gu Sha, was so brazen that he posted a message on the global forum:
"Next: Rice Continent."
The post was accompanied by a map of Ghost Island Continent marked with a giant "X."

...

For a time, Gu Sha, already at the top of the forum’s trending list, dominated every headline. Shortly thereafter, survivors from the more remote outposts of Ghost Island Continent confirmed the total destruction of all three strongholds, tearfully denouncing the heinous crimes of the First Sequence, Gu Sha.

However, this time, no other continent stood up to condemn Gu Sha or offer sympathy to Ghost Island. Instead, the official accounts of those who had been most vocal on the forums were seen frantically deleting their posts.

Discussions began to swirl regarding the fate of Rice Continent. Within Rice Continent itself, panic gripped the populace, and riots erupted throughout its strongholds. Those who had previously filled the forums with condemnations of Gu Sha suddenly transformed into protesters, marching in the streets and demanding the authorities provide a reasonable explanation for the disaster they had brought upon the continent.

They did not care that they had once been the most ardent supporters of sanctioning Gu Sha, nor did they care that they had feverishly demanded his punishment just a day prior, all in the name of seeking justice for City D. They only knew that the man known as the world’s First Sequence was immensely powerful, that he truly did what he said he would do, and that he possessed both the capability and the utter lack of restraint required to annihilate strongholds.

In that moment, they knew only that terror and catastrophe had arrived. Thus, they protested, they marched, and they demanded that the authorities stop the disaster.

It was not just the public that was in a frenzy; the upper echelons of Rice Continent were in complete chaos, nearly paralyzing the entire government. One faction demanded a public apology and negotiations to buy their survival, while others insisted on a hardline stance, shouting slogans such as, "Even if he is a god, Rice Continent can slaughter him."

Due to the time difference, it was night in Rice Continent. The officials did not rest, spending the entire night in heated arguments and infighting, failing to reach a single viable solution.

By dawn, the destruction of the outermost stronghold of Rice Continent made it clear to the authorities that Gu Sha would not grant them much time to deliberate. Four hours later, after a second stronghold was leveled by a nuclear warhead, the officials finally broke. They issued a public apology on the global forum, invited Gu Sha to negotiate, and declared their willingness to pay any price for his mercy.

Under the gaze of the entire world, and amidst the anxious waiting of the fewer than thirty million survivors left in Rice Continent, the account of the First Sequence, Gu Sha, finally responded:
"Acceptable."

Not long after, Gu Sha arrived in his fighter jet, hovering over the central stronghold of Rice Continent. Greeted with trembling reverence by the high-ranking officials, he landed the jet in a plaza and stepped out, carrying a nuclear warhead on his shoulder. The sight turned everyone pale.

Gu Sha set the warhead down, leaned against it, and spoke slowly: "Two demands. First, the head of Rice Continent’s leader. Second, all the zombie cores and strange bones in your reserves."

The faces of the officials turned deathly pale. The leader of Rice Continent, his body limp and supported by others to prevent him from collapsing, stammered, "Mr. Gu Sha, you cannot make such an unreasonable request. I..."

Gu Sha patted the nuclear warhead. "Isn't your continent all about justice? Didn't you want to stand on the moral high ground to condemn and sanction me? To kill me to atone for humanity's sins? Since you are so noble, you surely wouldn't sacrifice the lives of everyone in this stronghold for the sake of one man, would you?"

Cold sweat beaded on the leader's forehead. "Mr. Gu Sha, we can discuss other terms..."

Gu Sha slowly raised three fingers, his voice flat. "I am not here to negotiate; I am here to notify you. I will count to three. If my demands are not met by then... well, let the nuclear warhead fly. Three..."

*Bang!*

A loud gunshot rang out. The head of Rice Continent's leader exploded in a spray of blood, and he collapsed instantly.

It was one of the generals who had fired the shot. He looked at Gu Sha and said in a low voice, "Mr. Gu Sha, we will immediately mobilize all the zombie cores and strange bones stored in our other strongholds and deliver them to you. Please, step aside and rest."

"Reasonable," Gu Sha sneered, shouldering the warhead and walking away.

Gu Sha remained in the central stronghold of Rice Continent for four days, spending four days and four nights without sleep, frantically absorbing the zombie cores and strange bones.

He was fortunate that he had previously been generous enough to hand over the Intermediate Qi-Drawing Technique to the Dragon Continent authorities, which had earned him the Advanced Qi-Drawing Technique. Otherwise, even with his heaven-defying talent, it would have been impossible to absorb such a massive quantity of cores and bones in such a short time.

It had to be said that Rice Continent’s arrogance was backed by a degree of strength; the sheer volume of their stockpiles proved that their power was indeed formidable.

After four days and nights of continuous effort, Gu Sha’s transcendent level reached the ninth tier of the War King realm. However, the energy required to break through to the War Emperor realm was simply too vast. His ability level also remained at the ninth tier, and the number of strange bones needed to reach the King realm was so astronomical that even Rice Continent’s reserves were insufficient.

Still, Gu Sha was not worried. After all, this was only the beginning of his looting spree.

As he departed the central stronghold and took to the sky in his fighter jet, he posted a new status on the global forum:
"Next: A-San Continent."

...

At this moment, while continents across the globe remained in a state of uneasy trepidation, many felt a sense of relief. After all, everyone harbors the sentiment that it is better for a neighbor to die than for oneself. While they couldn't be certain they wouldn't be next, they had at least survived the immediate threat.

When A-San Continent followed the same script—liquidating their own leader and handing over all their stockpiled zombie cores and strange bones to successfully dismiss the man wandering the world with a nuclear warhead—the nations of the world realized one thing in that instant:

The destruction of the strongholds was merely a pretext; robbery was the true objective. And this was no ordinary robbery—this was a man threatening to loot the entire world at the tip of a nuclear warhead.