Mini World Game Console

After it had been opened for the fourth time, the number of warships circling Liberty Island increased to four, and Li Wei and the others were no longer allowed to leave the controlled area.

Old Zhao, who had returned to his country, said to the Pangolin, "Although there's no reliable intelligence, based on the current situation, the Federation might pose a threat to your companions. Comrade Pangolin, can you inform them?"

The Pangolin nodded. At this moment, a real pangolin was curled up on the Pangolin's thigh, rubbing back and forth.

Though there was no skill description, it seemed that animals that gained "Human Mimicry" naturally earned the goodwill and affinity of other animals of their species, even after undergoing physical changes.

When the game time reached 16:00, Ren Suo watched the World's Strongest's current combat power reach 72,600. He had the Nine-Tailed Fox, disguised as a Golden Silk Monkey, deactivate its "Knight's Wind" status. It then appeared next to the Statue of Liberty to continue opening the Federal Spiritual Repository!

At the same time, all Federation personnel on Liberty Island received the message and entered a first-level security alert. Everyone synchronized their watches and prepared to wait for the 12 hours to pass.

The Golden Silk Monkey had already opened the Spirit Treasury four times. Each time, 12 hours after opening, red and blue auroras would burst forth. Then the Golden Silk Monkey would disappear, only to reappear next to the Statue of Liberty another 12 hours later. This pattern had long been figured out by Federation personnel.

Ren Suo was now fast-forwarding time, hour by hour. After fast-forwarding for 10 hours, he could see through "Spiritual Vision" that dazzling points of Cultivator Spiritual Light were scattered across Liberty Island, slowly moving toward the Statue of Liberty!

Warships could block the Cultivators' Spiritual Light, but as long as the Nine-Tailed Fox was on high ground, ordinary trees couldn't conceal the powerful radiance unique to these human cultivators.

"Spiritual Vision" was not only for Devouring the Spirit of the World to seek out Spiritual Objects but also to help it avoid powerful foes. If I had taken a combat-oriented approach, letting Devouring the Spirit of the World fight and snatch ancient Spiritual Objects for evolution, I might indeed have needed this function to evade pursuit.

However, my Illusion Charm approach meant either avoiding fights altogether or facing battles that were inevitable.

This was not a matter of 'it takes two to make a quarrel; why would they bother you if you're behaving?' I knew that this time I probably couldn't avoid it. The other party was one of the most powerful nations on Earth; how could they act rashly without absolute certainty?

I knew that the truly powerful entities in the world were far beyond my imagination.

The World's Strongest resided within the Mysterious Country and was the target of Devouring the Spirit of the World's mission. So, what was so surprising about the Federation—a nation on par with the Mysterious Country—possessing experts capable of suppressing Devouring the Spirit of the World?

As for the reasons the Federation took action, there were too many: capturing a Shape-shifting Spiritual Beast for research; probing the attitude of the Fairy Palace; testing the combat power of the Shape-shifting Spiritual Beast...

Other, less powerful nations might have let it slide. The Mysterious Country, however, hadn't entertained such thoughts solely because of Comrade Pangolin. But I myself believed this to be an excellent opportunity for testing. Although I didn't know how much information the Mysterious Country had revealed to the Federation, beasts were, after all, not human. The fact that they were dispatched to ignite the Spirit Treasuries, leading to their transformation, suggested their status within the Fairy Palace was likely akin to servants.

If the Fairy Palace reacted strongly, the Federation could glean insights into its strength and quickly offer compensation. If the Fairy Palace did nothing, or merely issued a verbal condemnation, the Federation could still gauge its true capabilities.

The Federation, with its vast resources and power, could easily afford such a gambit. Old Zhao had warned the Pangolin, but he did no more than that, merely fulfilling the ethical obligations of their transaction. As for other countries, they tacitly condoned the Federation's actions.

After all, the Federation would bear the consequences, and everyone could see the results; why not go through with it?

For those in power, strength itself isn't frightening; the unknown is. How many resources and members did the Fairy Palace possess? What were its principles of operation? They knew none of it; they couldn't even confirm the Fairy Palace's very existence.

Capturing a monkey could offer a glimpse into this unknown. Even if they failed, the losses would be within acceptable limits. If the Golden Silk Monkey, like Little Blue Cat, had a powerful backer such as the 'Nine-Tailed Fox,' they might have hesitated.

Given such a favorable risk-reward ratio, it was almost inevitable that the Federation would act. As for the Golden Silk Monkey's 'monkey rights,' those were certainly not a consideration—idealistic fools don't make it into the decision-making echelons.

Besides fleeing, I naturally had only one choice.

But at least for now, the Golden Silk Monkey, the Nine-Tailed Fox in disguise, was still safe. The Federation would surely let the Fairy Palace's beasts open the Spirit Treasury and reap the benefits before making their move.

Fast-forwarding another hour, Ren Suo had the Golden Silk Monkey start to move around the Statue of Liberty.

This situation immediately drew the full attention of all observers.

"What's going on?"

"It wasn't like this the past few days!"

"This must be the final ritual for igniting the Spirit Vein, right? All units, maintain focus! Keep your eyes on the monkey's position!"

Fast-forwarding another 59 minutes, Ren Suo quietly waited for time to pass.

One minute remained until the Spirit Treasury was fully open. Powerful Federal Cultivators, visible within "Spiritual Vision," already surrounded the Statue of Liberty, positioned approximately 100 to 150 meters away.

Fifty seconds. All combat personnel on Liberty Island had taken their positions.

Thirty seconds. The "Illusion" Ren Suo had preset was instantly activated. A monkey identical to the Golden Silk Monkey began to move, following the path it had taken over the past hour. Meanwhile, the true Golden Silk Monkey—the Nine-Tailed Fox in disguise—entered the "Knight's Wind" status and advanced, maintaining a distance of about an arm's length from the illusion.

Twenty seconds... ten seconds... five seconds!

"You have opened the Federal Spiritual Repository."

"Federal Spirit Vein Level +1."

"World Spiritual Energy slightly increased."

"Due to the opening of the Spirit Treasuries in the Mysterious Country, Britain, Flourishing Sakura, Brazil, Australia, and the Federation, the other six Spirit Treasuries on Earth will also automatically open within thirty days."

"You have gained 15 Evolution Counts."

"You have gained one Trump Card Evolution!"

On the screen, the Statue of Liberty, glowing radiantly where the Nine-Tailed Fox touched it, shrank into a painting. This painting then merged into the back of a card that had a red border and a blue back.

"You have gained the Red-Blue Ace: Wings of Freedom."

As red and blue meteors erupted from the torch in the Statue of Liberty's right hand, streaking towards various locations across the Federation Continent, the commanding officer aboard the warship hesitated no longer. Such resplendent visual effects had indeed accompanied the full ignition of the Spirit Veins in the previous five countries!

"Action!"

At that instant, Ren Suo saw the illusion of the Golden Silk Monkey created by the Nine-Tailed Fox become completely immobilized!

An illusion, a mere construct of pure Spiritual Energy with no physical form, had actually been immobilized!

Even the Nine-Tailed Fox's true form was slightly affected!

"Spatial Anchor: You are affected by the ripple of the Spatial Anchor; performing any action will consume ten times more Vital Essence."

If mere ripples could induce such a terrifying negative effect, what would happen if one were fully struck by it? Wouldn't they be rendered completely immobile?

Is this the Federation's trump card? Too bad for them; the Deep Blue Ace's Knight's Wind was an almost perfect Invisibility Technique...

Within seconds, several Federal Cultivators reached the base of the Statue of Liberty, only to quickly realize they had merely immobilized an illusion.

Then, a Caucasian girl in a Lolita dress suddenly had blood streaming from her eyes; her gaze naturally shifted towards the Nine-Tailed Fox's location!

Fuck.

Even through the game interface, and from a distance of 15 meters, the girl's nearly vacant Hitomi and the vivid streaks of blood startled Ren Suo.

Then this girl, whose Spiritual Light was not particularly strong, pointed towards the Nine-Tailed Fox and shouted, "Here!"

In fact, the moment the girl looked over, another man—one with exceptionally brilliant Spiritual Light and curly hair—had already gestured from a distance in the Nine-Tailed Fox's direction!