By the time Wang Lan arrived, all he saw was a field of ruins. If he remembered correctly, this should have been the most famous hotel in Ice City. But now, the entire hotel had vanished, and scattered throughout the rubble were bodies, battered and broken.

Wang Lan's eyes quickly swept around, and suddenly his pupils contracted. Lying in a corner of the debris was a stark white corpse. While closely resembling the typical features of the Iceland Country, Wang Lan could still discern the subtle differences.

This burly Caucasian was likely one of the Arctic Bear people, whose nation is internationally known as Bear Country.

"Who's there? Hands on your head and get down!" Suddenly, a loud shout came from behind, and the royal guards rushed towards Wang Lan, yelling at him. When Wang Lan turned around, the man came to an abrupt halt.

Perhaps because the halt was too sudden, the man's body lost balance and he fell to the ground with a THUMP. His kneeling posture made Wang Lan's tense face instantly break into a smile.

"Brother, there's no need to be so polite, right?"

"Wang Lan?" A soft exclamation sounded as Princess Aier slowly walked up from behind the crowd. "What are you doing here? Did you do this?"

"No!" Wang Lan immediately shook his head. He had originally wanted to explain why it wasn't him, but Princess Aier didn't even ask.

"Search the area. See if there are any survivors."

Being Star Martial Warriors, sifting through ruins was almost as easy as flipping through a book. In almost an instant, the entire site had been searched.

By piecing together the mangled corpses, it was established that at least seventy people had died in the explosion; among them, two were from Bear Country. Surprisingly, there was one person who had merely fainted.

Wang Lan checked and found that this person was a Star Martial Warrior. That made things easy. A Life Lock Chain formed a connection, and in less than five seconds, the person's injuries were healed.

Princess Aier exhaled a breath of cold air, and the person lying amongst the dead bodies shuddered and came to.

"Ah? Princess Aier."

"Who are you? What happened here?"

"I... I am a senior agent from the Intelligence Bureau. Today, I accompanied Prince Kester in a nuclear arms deal, but Bear Country suddenly demanded a price hike, and our negotiations broke down. We were ordered to stay here and secretly monitor Bear Country. Suddenly, a mysterious person appeared and seized Bear Country's nuclear weapons. I heard their conversation, and the mysterious person who appeared later seemed to be... from Jade Country."

The man evidently assumed that Wang Lan couldn't understand their language and spoke openly. But Wang Lan understood clearly.

"Jade Country people?" Wang Lan's brows furrowed tightly. He didn't dare to outright deny whether people from Jade Country had been sent on a mission. But then another thought instantly crossed his mind, "You're trading nuclear weapons? What do you want them for?"

"The nuclear weapons trade is a state secret. But shouldn't Jade Country provide a reasonable explanation for entering our country without permission and using force?" the man asked sharply, his tone shifting upon realizing Wang Lan understood his words.

"Shut up!" Princess Aier interjected. "Jade Country is our eternal friend. Are you trying to incite conflict between the Kingdom of Ice and Snow and Jade Country?"

"Princess, your subordinate wouldn't dare. But... the one leading them was indeed from Jade Country, and he's a well-known powerful figure from Jade Country... known as the Envoy of the Netherworld, Wang Mingling!"

"Wang Mingling?" Hearing this name, Wang Lan was taken aback, then he breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems this scourge isn't so easy to kill, after all.

"Princess Aier, I think you just need to look up the International Security Council's most wanted list to find out who Wang Mingling is," Wang Lan said. "Thirty years ago, he defected from Jade Country and has been active in the Middle East for the past thirty years.

He's an international terrorist with an S-level danger rating, and he even launched a terrorist attack on Suzhou City in Jade Country half a year ago. Moreover, we have received reliable intelligence that Wang Mingling is a member of the Paradise Bird.

So the people who seized the nuclear weapons belong to Paradise Bird. However, I can't ignore the fact that the Kingdom of Ice and Snow is trading nuclear weapons." Saying this, Wang Lan gave Princess Aier a solemn look and then turned to leave.

"Wang Lan..." Princess Aier called out instinctively, but all she saw was the dark night and the lonely stars in the distance.

Returning to the camp, Wang Lan went directly to the Central Command. After identifying himself, he was immediately taken inside by the security guards.

"What? The Kingdom of Ice and Snow is buying nuclear weapons from Bear Country?" Jin Wenbing immediately slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "What is the Kingdom of Ice and Snow trying to do? What are their intentions?"

Nuclear weapons are the ultimate armament of human scientific civilization. These things are so powerful that even the humans who created them cannot control them. When nuclear weapons were first invented, the great scientist Einstein had all nations sign the Nuclear Protection Treaty before the technology was made public.

Nuclear weapons can only be used to protect human civilization and must never be turned against our own kind. During an invasion by the Demon Clan, nuclear weapons are our last defense for civilization.

The technology to manufacture nuclear weapons can only be held by the nine strongest countries of the current age. Any other country needing to use nuclear weapons against the Demon Clan must apply to these nine principal nuclear-weapon-producing countries. Unless there is a compelling reason to refuse, these nine countries are obligated to unconditionally support the requesting nation's use of nuclear weapons to repel a Demon Clan invasion.

The Nuclear Protection Treaty details hundreds of clauses, one of which stipulates that nuclear weapons are not allowed to be traded and are not to be used outside of Demon Clan invasions.

The Demon Clan has not invaded, so what does the Kingdom of Ice and Snow want with nuclear weapons? Who are they planning to use them against?

Longya took a deep breath and slowly stood up. "Let's go. We need to get an explanation from King Cain."

Wang Lan followed Longya, Jin Wenbing, and Yu Ruoyun as they charged into the royal palace with great indignation. That night, the palace was also abuzz with activity. It seemed as if they had anticipated the impending questioning from Wang Lan and his party, as a greeter was already waiting for them upon their arrival.

Following the greeter, they were led to a secluded underground chamber, where Wang Lan met King Cain and Prince Kester. However, Princess Aier was not present.

"It seems King Cain is aware of the purpose of our visit," Jin Wenbing said, folding his arms and letting out a faint, cold laugh.

"It must be about our purchase of nuclear weapons," King Cain acknowledged.

"I didn't expect you wouldn't even try to cover it up," Longya said with a sarcastic laugh.

"We always treat friends with sincerity," Prince Kester replied with a faint smile.

"But the Kingdom of Ice and Snow is violating the Nuclear Protection Treaty," Jin Wenbing stated firmly. "As one of the permanent members of the United Nations, Jade Country cannot sit idly by. If you do not provide a reasonable explanation, we will withdraw from the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. What happens next will be none of our concern."

"No trade means no harm," Prince Kester retorted. "It's not just the Kingdom of Ice and Snow that has violated the Nuclear Protection Treaty. Hasn't Bear Country been secretly selling nuclear weapons for years? You can't sanction Bear Country, so you sanction us? There's an old saying in Jade Country that's very true: 'Always pick on the softer target.'"

"How do you know we won't sanction Bear Country?" Longya challenged.

"Hmph!" Kester scoffed.

"Kester, hold your tongue. Gentlemen, please follow me," King Cain said as he pressed a button. The floor of the secret chamber began to descend slowly, revealing that the chamber was actually an elevator.

Surrounded by 360-degree reinforced glass, the elevator allowed a view of each floor. Outside the viewing glass, densely packed armaments and weapons were visible.

The entire palace was built over a massive armory.

"Twelve years. Do you know what the past twelve years have been like for the Kingdom of Ice and Snow? We live in constant fear every day. Every single day. I am the King, and he is the Prince of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow.

"We were prepared long ago to live or die with the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. But we cannot abandon the people of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow.

"Five years ago, we made plans for the worst-case scenario. If the Kingdom of Ice and Snow's defensive lines completely collapsed, we would arm every citizen. After sending just one thousand children out of the country, our entire population of two million would perish along with the Exotic Beasts.

"And these nuclear weapons are our last resort.

"We purchased five such devices from Bear Country. They are very small—suitcase-sized nuclear devices. But their power is immense. A single one could destroy everything within a two-kilometer radius."

As he finished speaking, the elevator stopped.

Outside the glass of the elevator were three elegant suitcases. If not for Cain's explanation, Wang Lan would have thought they were just ordinary travel bags.

Such weapons probably don't have long-range strike capability, do they? Wang Lan thought.

Suddenly turning around, Cain's deep eyes, filled with tears, pierced Wang Lan's heart like a spear.

The Kingdom of Ice and Snow, lacking sharp claws for offense or strong sinews for defense, lived a harmless existence, seeking only to scrape by. But fate had dealt the Kingdom of Ice and Snow the cruelest of judgments.

Five Different Dimensional Spaces, any one of which could lead to the Annihilation of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. Faced with such despair, Cain could only think of mutual destruction, of perishing together with their enemies.

Such eyes, such a plight, softened even the heart of the usually stoic General Jin Wenbing.

He stated, "The nuclear weapons cannot stay in the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. Once we deal with the other three Different Dimensional Spaces, the weapons must be confiscated. Furthermore, at the United Nations committee, the Kingdom of Ice and Snow must denounce Bear Country and provide sufficient evidence."

"Of course, that's no problem," Cain replied, a hint of relief in his voice. "We only wanted the nuclear weapons to take some enemies with us if we had to die. If the Kingdom of Ice and Snow can be reborn from the ashes, who would want to die?"

BEEP BEEP BEEP— Suddenly, the cell phones of Cain, Kester, Jin Wenbing, and Longya rang simultaneously.

This scene left Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun completely dumbfounded. Could their timing be any more perfect? This must be something major.

Sure enough, as the faces of the four who answered their calls changed dramatically almost in unison, Cain's phone slipped from his grasp, shattering into several pieces on the ground.

"Wang Lan, Ruoyun, we must return to Jade Country immediately," Longya said grimly, lowering his phone.

"Return to our country? Why?" Wang Lan asked, puzzled.

"The astronomical observatory's prediction was wrong. The asteroid wasn't torn apart. Instead, it's accelerating towards the Arctic Ocean region."

"Prediction wrong? Didn't the observatory announce the crisis was averted after seeing the asteroid enter the gravitational field between Sky Blue Star and the moon? How could they miscalculate that?"

"They did observe it, but strangely, the asteroid wasn't pulled apart by the gravitational forces. It's heading intact towards Sky Blue Star, and its speed has exceeded estimates. It's projected to hit in one hour."

"But the Arctic Ocean is so vast..." As he spoke, Wang Lan's eyes suddenly widened as he looked at the devastated King Cain. "It can't be that precise, can it? Is it going to hit the Kingdom of Ice and Snow exactly?"

"No, but it's close," Longya explained gravely. "The point of impact is the Ice Volcano, the one right beneath the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. If it's struck, the volcano will erupt. This volcano has been dormant for a thousand years, and its eruption would be tens of thousands of times more powerful than the asteroid's impact.

Forget the Kingdom of Ice and Snow; the entire Arctic Ocean could be finished. We need to leave immediately."

"Don't go!" Suddenly, Cain, as if snapping back to his senses, cried out, "Please, don't go! Save the Kingdom of Ice and Snow!"

"King Cain," Longya said gently, "this is a natural disaster. It's beyond human control."

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