The spell's range covers the entire territory of China? Hand it over to the state.

Sizzle—Sizzle—!

At the same second, all the live stream screens around the world turned into a frighteningly static screen.

The originally clear high-definition signal was violently torn off by an invisible hand, leaving only harsh white noise that repeatedly tugs at the eardrums of hundreds of millions of people.

There is no video.

There was no sound either.

"What happened? Is my phone broken?"

"Upstairs, my TV signal is also gone."

"Did the base station explode? Was that a red light just now? I think I saw a red light!"

"Could it be... a nuclear explosion?"

Panic spread faster than the red light, creeping along the internet cable into the hearts of everyone staring at their screens. This wasn't an ordinary signal interruption; in the last frame before the image disappeared, the entire world was stained an ominous blood red by some high-energy reaction.

……

Japan's Cherry Blossom Country, Meteorological Agency Earthquake Monitoring Center.

The piercing alarm was making the monitors on duty's eardrums ache. The pointers on the rows of precision instruments on the wall seemed to be going crazy, all stuck in the red limit zone, refusing to bounce back.

"Report! Abnormal seismic waves detected in the direction of Longya Island! Focal depth: zero!"

The monitor was sweating profusely, and his hand gripping the mouse was trembling.

"What's the energy level? What's the energy level?!" the section chief asked urgently.

"We can't calculate it precisely! Preliminary estimate... preliminary estimate: the yield is equivalent to 5000 million tons of TNT!" The monitor swallowed hard, his face pale. "This is already at the level of the 'Tsar Bomba'!"

The section chief's legs went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground.

5000 million tons of TNT.

At a fragile tectonic plate boundary?

"What about the tsunami? Has the model predicted it?"

"It's coming out..." The monitor pointed to the rapidly spreading black death line on the screen, his voice filled with despair. "The first peak height... 140 meters. It's expected to reach Okinawa in twenty minutes, and southern Kyushu in an hour. Chief, this is no longer a problem that can be solved by evacuation, this is..."

This is Lu Chen.

……

Across the ocean, at the Pentagon.

Silence reigned in the vast strategic command hall. The generals stared at the black blind spot on the main screen; no one spoke.

Just minutes before, they were discussing how to clean up George's mess and how to smooth things over in terms of international public opinion.

No, we don't need to anymore.

Everyone's dead, what's the point of trying to make it a proper ending?

"Is it confirmed?" the Defense Minister asked.

"Confirmed." The intelligence officer pulled up a high-resolution satellite image that had just been transmitted back from outside the atmosphere. "An optical satellite captured this moment. Although it was only a fraction of a second, it's... very clear."

A chilling photo appeared on the big screen.

The once azure South China Sea now has an extra, dazzling "flower".

The "Red Lotus," composed entirely of magma from the Earth's core, high-pressure steam, and destructive energy, is blooming wildly on the sea surface. It covers an area of ​​tens of kilometers in radius, with its core area appearing as a blinding bright white, while the outer perimeter is filled with billowing black volcanic ash and dark red flames.

At the center of the "Red Lotus," where the Poseidon and Zhenhai were originally located, everything was distorted and nothing could be seen.

An admiral removed his military cap and slowly buttoned it to his chest. "Admiral George Smith, along with 12,000 officers and men of the Seventh Fleet, were all killed in action... and of course, those Dragonish people as well."

The atmosphere in the meeting room was subtle.

There was a deep sense of sorrow, but even more so a feeling of relief, and... a hint of barely concealed glee.

Although losing an aircraft carrier battle group was painful, Longxia was in an even worse situation. Due to the widespread geological disaster, Longxia no longer had the qualifications to compete with the Eagle Federation!

"Draft a statement immediately." The Minister of Defense stood up, his face adopting a solemn and somber expression. "State that this is a tragedy for all humanity, and that we express our condolences to the fallen heroes. Also... notify the General Staff to reassess the troop deployment in the Western Pacific. Longxia is preoccupied with its own problems; our opportunity has arrived."

So-called alliances and dignity of life have all turned into cold calculations of self-interest at this moment.

……

Less than ten minutes.

The press releases from major Western media outlets were then published.

The CNN host changed into a black suit, his face solemn, and there seemed to be a few crocodile tears in the corners of his eyes.

"Dear viewers, this is a heartbreaking moment. According to the latest monitoring data, a catastrophic geological energy eruption has occurred in the waters near Longya Island in the South China Sea. We have reason to believe that both the trapped 'Poseidon' and the Longxia 'Zhenhai' have tragically perished in this irresistible disaster."

"This is a loss for all humanity. May God bless their souls."

The BBC's headline was even more direct: "Dragon falls in the South China Sea? A lose-lose tragedy."

The words, though titled "mourning," are actually a form of celebration.

They were celebrating the fact that Longxia's newly revealed fangs had been uprooted.

Celebrate the end of an adversary that has kept the Western world up at night.

You can practically smell the blatant malice through the screen.

Meanwhile, the internet in China is completely silent.

The earlier excitement and playful banter were gone.

Countless people sat in front of their computers or held their phones, staring blankly at the blacked-out live stream.

Some people refused to give up and kept refreshing the webpage, trying to get even a second of the image.

But no.

Only the cold, impersonal words "Signal Interrupted" lay there like a tombstone.

Stop refreshing... it's useless.

[I don't believe it! Commander Lin was just laughing! Company Commander Zhao was still tying people up! How could they just disappear like that?]

[Waaaaah... Where's the big boss? Doesn't he know magic? He can definitely save everyone, right?]

"Brother, wake up. That's an earthquake, lava, a shockwave. Human strength has its limits..."

Despair spread like a plague.

Many people silently typed candle emojis in the live chat.

The screen was filled with candles, which converged into a long, white river of sorrow.

……

The South China Sea, tens of thousands of meters above the ground.

Several military reconnaissance satellites are adjusting their focus, trying to penetrate the thick volcanic ash and water vapor to see the devastation below.

Faced with the immense power of nature, human creations appear so insignificant.

The "Red Lotus," composed of magma, water vapor, and high-pressure shock waves, covers an area of ​​tens of kilometers in the sea.

The raging waves surged hundreds of meters high, as if they were going to swallow the sky whole.

This level of energy release is enough to instantly vaporize steel and reduce any living organism to the most basic carbon atoms.

Logically, all that should be left there now is a boiling Dead Sea.

however.

When a strong gust of wind dispersed some of the thick smoke obscuring the view, and when the satellite camera finally focused on the original location of the two fleets—

The American intelligence officer in charge of monitoring the images suddenly widened his eyes.

He rubbed his eyes hard, pressed his face against the screen, and wondered if he was seeing things.

"What...what the hell is this thing?"

With trembling hands, he turned up the contrast.

The next second, he sprang up from his chair as if he had seen a ghost, letting out a scream.

"My God! This is impossible!"

……