The cabinet's official website.
A notice topped the page, leading netizens to repost it, and major platforms also vied to report.
Announcement: Regarding the Guixu incident, the cabinet apologizes for not having perfect response measures. Here, we express our deep condolences to the families of our deceased compatriots, hope they take care, the deceased are gone, and the living must carry on.
Upon investigation, the individuals who ventured into Guixu were partly due to their lack of experience and partly due to the inappropriate guidance of online discourse.
After deliberation, the cabinet has decided to implement a month-long internet cleansing operation, effective immediately.
Please be informed.
Spokesperson: Cabinet Office!
This announcement immediately caused a great stir.
The announcement was not long. The first part contained little value, essentially the cabinet blaming itself, expressing condolences, and analyzing reasons.
It was the latter part of the content that was the focus of people's attention.
An internet cleansing operation!
Although the specific policies were unknown, it already gave people a sense of impending storm.
Many felt uneasy, as they were among those who had incited Song Siwen, and they wondered if the authorities would trouble them.
Others remained detached, adopting a stance of watching the spectacle.
The greatest impact was felt by major streamers, prominent bloggers, and other influential figures in online media.
Some had previously made extreme remarks, some siding with ordinary citizens, and some even siding with alien races.
No one had managed them before, but now they were being exposed, causing them to tremble all over as they checked their past statements for any oversteps.
Consequently, a strange wave swept across the internet.
Even before the internet cleansing operation began, netizens had become more civilized. Those who would normally curse someone's ancestors for a typo were now gradually disappearing.
Overnight, many people had been elevated.
When some online hooligans saw that everyone was becoming civilized, they realized that if they continued to act like hooligans online, the internet cleansing operation would surely fall upon them. Thus, they began to pretend to show photos of themselves reading, accompanied by motivational captions, to demonstrate their newfound enlightenment and improved demeanor.
The Cabinet.
The Grand Elder sat at the top, with a total of twelve cabinet members below him.
Together with the Grand Elder, these thirteen individuals formed the entire cabinet.
They were the central nexus of the human race, and their decrees were disseminated to various parties. Only three of these twelve members were present in person; the rest appeared as holographic projections.
They could not attend in person because they were guarding the four corners.
Ten of them were the deans of the ten major academies.
At this moment, Lord Yan, the Charioteer, and the Divine Monk were present in person, as they were deans of the three major academies guarding the central city and were therefore closer.
Their respective academies, the Primal Chaos Elemental Academy, the Charioteer Academy, and the Vajra Academy, ranked third, sixth, and tenth respectively among the ten great schools.
In addition, Fuyaozi, the dean of the Void-Piercing Academy of the Three Immortal Cities overseas, also appeared via projection. The Void-Piercing Academy ranked eighth.
Besides these, the deans of the other six academies also appeared as projections.
After greeting each other with slight nods, everyone took their seats.
"I believe everyone is aware of what happened yesterday?" said the Grand Elder.
The Charioteer said, "Grand Elder, we have long been aware of this matter. It is indeed time to cleanse the internet. The internet is now so chaotic that looking at it makes one sick with frustration. It's truly annoying."
The expressions of the others varied, but most of them nodded in agreement.
"Since this incident has occurred, it's a good opportunity to cleanse the internet. However, this is not the main point. The main point is the recent crisis facing our human race," the Grand Elder said, taking a sip of tea, his expression becoming serious.
Everyone looked up at the Grand Elder.
From their eyes, it was clear that they were not surprised, indicating they had already received insider information.
The Grand Elder took another sip of tea, moistening his throat, and said, "The defenders of Xijiang City suffered heavy casualties. I personally held the line and barely managed to repel the joint forces of the three races. The situation is stable now and should not pose any significant problem in the short term."
"Furthermore, the defenders of Donghai City are guarding the eastern coast, and with the support of the Void-Piercing Academy, it is now safe. The Three Immortal Cities overseas and Donghai City on the coast are mutually supportive and serve as each other's strongholds, making it the region I am least worried about."
"Guixu is protected by the Sword God, so there should be no issues. The only area I am concerned about is Beijiang."
Beijiang City is defended, and although the weather in Beijiang is cold and the climate is harsh, this place has become a target of desire for the Underworld.
"The Underworld's desire to destroy our human race is unyielding. They unilaterally tore up the armistice treaty last time and attacked our Beijiang City again."
"Although Beijiang City is the most heavily fortified among the four border cities, I am not worried about it being breached by the undead race. However, what I am most concerned about is the possibility of the Canglan human race resorting to underhanded tactics."
Canglan Realm is an alien world primarily inhabited by humans.
This world lacks a unified power structure. Overall, there are four major holy lands, each governing a region. Among them, the northern human race of the Canglan Realm has forged a good relationship with the Blue Star human race, and the two races have collaborated many times.
However, this time, they were betrayed by the Canglan human race. When the undead attacked Beijiang City, the Canglan human race did not help; instead, they kicked them while they were down and took advantage of the situation.
Direct confrontation would not be cost-effective, so negotiations ensued. These negotiations have been ongoing for many days, with the other side insisting on ceding land, enraging them to the point of grinding their teeth.
"These northern Canglan humans repeatedly make outrageous demands, treating our Blue Star humans as if no one is there. I plan to make an example of this lion and serve a few lion heads for everyone to taste, how about it?"
Although he spoke casually, his eyes were like knives, sharp and piercing. Everyone looked at him with surprise.
Someone said, "I've long disliked these Canglan humans. Ungrateful and untrustworthy. Count me in for this expedition!"
"I'm going too!"
"Me too!"
These individuals were the top echelon of the entire Blue Star human race, possessing not only high status but also immense power.
Especially the dean of the first academy, this silent man wearing sunglasses, whose strength was comparable to that of the Sword God and the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder turned his gaze to him.
He nodded slightly.
Seeing him nod, the Grand Elder also nodded and said, "The objective of this operation: to destroy the spatial通道 of the northern Canglan human race!"
"These Canglan humans have now become our enemies. Only by cutting the Gordian knot swiftly and severing the connection between the humans of this realm and us, and then launching a thunderous strike against the Underworld forces, can we stabilize the Beijiang region."
"I have already had someone draft a document for this matter. Everyone can collect a copy later."
"To ensure there are no accidents, everyone will first sign a binding agreement."
The crowd was slightly surprised by this. This declaration agreement did not require signatures, seals, or blood drops; it only required spoken promises to form a powerful binding contract.
At least a top-tier contract master would be required to create it, making it even more precious than other contracts.
The Grand Elder produced the contract, and everyone recited their promises.
Then, the Grand Elder smiled:
"Alright, this operation will be undertaken by the deans of the three academies stationed in Beijiang City, and myself. Additionally, General Lu Shu, stationed in Beijiang City, you will immediately dispatch troops to attack the undead race and divert their attention, while the four of us will strike directly at the heart of the enemy."
Someone raised an objection: "Grand Elder, is this not somewhat risky? What if we are trapped?"
"Rest assured, I have been monitoring them for a long time. A major event has occurred in the northern holy land of the Canglan Realm: their sect leader has died!"
"Taking advantage of this opportunity, we must quickly remove the spatial通道 of the northern Canglan humans."
"They have developed for three hundred years, and the resources in their territory are not inferior to ours. With such vast resources, we can accelerate our development!"
Upon hearing of the benefits, everyone's breathing quickened.
"The codename for this operation is: Thunderbolt!"
"Depart!"