I am the Clone of a Death Row Inmate

”So they’ve bought off even the Holy Envoy, then,” Su Ze shrugged.

Chen Suifeng took a large gulp of cola, let out a burp, and said, ”Ancient An Country’s overall strength has always been the greatest among the six nations. Add to that the fact that it’s the farthest from the Sovereign Country, and it’s no surprise they’ve always been something of a troublemaker. But I never imagined they’d collude with the Defilers... This just gave me an idea.”

Su Ze gave him his full attention.

Chen Suifeng set down his cola and began to speak in a measured tone. ”The situation on the Lin Hua Continent is delicate right now. There are all sorts of hidden dangers that could erupt at any moment. It feels like chaos could break out in the next second. But Mr. Ke’s directive is to maintain stability—to preserve this fragile balance for as long as possible. Every day we can keep things stable is another day gained.

”We need time. Time to develop, to grow stronger, to bolster our forces. Even if we don’t consider the powerhouses on the aliens’ home worlds, the ones who have possessed people here on Blue Star are already stronger than us.

”Every day we have to prepare improves our odds of victory. This generation of young people on the Lin Hua Continent has quite a few with outstanding talent. If we give them more time to mature, they might just be able to help us turn the tide.”

As he said this, Chen Suifeng’s gaze fell pointedly on Su Ze.

’He’s trying to brainwash me into being some kind of savior again?’

Su Ze didn’t take the bait.

Seeing Su Ze remain silent, Chen Suifeng continued, ”This is exactly why we need to stall for time. We can’t have an open confrontation with the Alien Party. Even though we already know who they are, we have to pretend we don’t. We can’t break the charade, or the situation will surely develop in a way that works against us.

”But now, the Mu King’s death has made the Alien Party suspicious. They’re constantly probing us, trying to see what we know. If this keeps up, the balance won’t last much longer. Conflict will erupt soon.

”And the best way to de-escalate the conflict between our two sides right now is to give them both a common enemy.”

”The beasts?” Su Ze asked.

Chen Suifeng shook his head. ”The beasts have made a resurgence recently, and their onslaught is ferocious. It’s a real headache, to be sure. But the Alien Party couldn’t care less about the threat from the beasts. On the contrary, they want to use this as an opportunity to annex the six nations.

”After all, the beasts’ current offensive doesn’t threaten Lin Hua Country. They can just defend their own borders and wait for the other six nations to be unable to hold out any longer, at which point they’ll come asking to be annexed. The only ones truly worried about the beast threat are us, the ’Blue Star Party’.”

”Then what you’re saying is...” Su Ze’s eyes suddenly lit up. ”Ancient An Country! You want to set off that ticking time bomb!”

Chen Suifeng smiled and nodded. ”If Ancient An Country is truly colluding with the Filth Earth Organization, we just need to find proof. Or, even without proof, if we can just make the Alien Party suspicious, they’ll naturally take action.

”Based on past experience, the Alien Party isn’t proactive when it comes to dealing with the beasts. But when it comes to dealing with those stinking Defilers, they’re surprisingly diligent. It even makes me wonder if the Defilers’ very existence somehow interferes with their true objectives.

”Once we confirm that Ancient An Country is colluding with the Filth Earth Organization, the Alien Party will definitely move against them. The Filth Earth Organization is sure to jump in and help. Those vermin are disgusting, but their strength shouldn’t be underestimated. They’re strong enough to give the Alien Party a headache for a while, which, naturally, will buy us more time.”

Su Ze thought for a moment. ”If that happens, Ancient An Country will surely withdraw from the Lin Hua Continent entirely and declare its independence. And while there’s no use keeping a traitor like that around, it would set off a chain reaction. The moment Ancient An Country secedes, the situation among the six nations will descend into utter chaos.”

”That’s why it’s such a risky gambit. It might benefit us in the short term, but not necessarily in the long run,” Chen Suifeng sighed. ”I haven’t made up my mind. I’ll have to go back and discuss it with Mr. Ke. We likely won’t take this step unless our conflict with the Alien Party reaches a point of no return.”

’This could be used as a trump card. When the ”Alien Party” and ”Blue Star Party” are on the verge of open conflict, playing it could buy them more time.’

’But once they detonate the Ancient An Country bomb, they’ll have to consider the series of chain reactions that will follow.’

”Once Ancient An Country turns, the neighboring Luofan Country, Mu Country, and Peninsula Country will all be affected. This is especially true for Peninsula Country. It’s already surrounded by the sea on three sides, facing the greatest threat from the Marine Beasts. If its only land connection is then cut off by Ancient An Country, it’s tantamount to being choked, putting it in an extremely perilous situation,” Chen Suifeng said.

”They might not even last that long,” Su Ze said. ”If we’re talking about which of the six nations will be the first to collapse, it’s got to be Peninsula Country. It’s surrounded by the sea on three sides, and the Marine Beasts far outnumber the land-based ones. They won’t be able to hold out for long.”

Surprisingly, Chen Suifeng didn’t argue, which showed he wasn’t optimistic about Peninsula Country’s future either.

This reminded Su Ze of what the Mother Tree had said—that the current beast uprising was because a new king was about to be born among them. He told Chen Suifeng about it.

Chen Suifeng agreed with this theory. ”Humans and beasts have been in a truce for five hundred years. There has to be a reason for them to suddenly launch an attack again. A while back, Jiang Pingle went to communicate with a sixth-rank beast he knew, and that beast said the same thing. It said a true king was about to be born among them—a king who would come from the ocean and unite all beasts of both land and sea.”

’Is a god-level beast about to be born among the Marine Beasts?’