The job change is a bizarre and calamity; the nation begs me to tone it down.

The forced smile on Gu Xu's lips froze completely.

He is not a fool.

Li Weiguo's expression told him that this was the stark reality, and no one was joking with her.

The God-Slaying Army really... missed.

Missed...

At this moment, these three words kept clashing in Gu Xu's mind.

It was as if someone was repeating that sentence over and over in their mind...

Gu Xu's breathing began to quicken.

Vivid faces flashed uncontrollably through his mind.

He thought of Commander Zhou Yijun.

That powerful swordsman from Pinghai, burdened with a heavy responsibility, and sworn to exterminate all alien races.

He thought of Su Qiong.

That hot-tempered, decisive, and always protective older sister.

He even remembered that before heading to the secret realm, Su Qiong told him that they would have a celebratory drink when he returned.

He thought of Jiang Shu, who followed him around every day, calling him "Crown Prince".

I thought of Zhao Yuanlong, Zhang Xingyao, Gu Liuchen...

Those people, those voices, those living, breathing people who were just a few days ago, arm in arm with him, making silly jokes.

Now, it's all gone?

It was because he entered a secret realm and completed a job change quest.

When he came out, everything had completely changed.

Gu Xu's heart suddenly clenched.

So that means...

Was everything he saw on the dark side of the moon real?

He thought he had won, that he had shattered that terrifying illusion.

But reality slapped him in the face at that moment.

That illusion wasn't some kind of prophecy about the future, but rather something that happened while he was trapped in the secret realm.

This is something that is actually happening outside!

He couldn't change anything.

An overwhelming sense of absurdity and powerlessness instantly enveloped Gu Xu.

"Hehehe..."

At some point, Gu Xu smiled.

At first, it was just a very soft sneer.

Upon hearing the laughter, Li Weiguo's body jolted, and he looked up at Gu Xu.

Zhang Daoxuan also turned around, his brows furrowed tightly.

Looking at the young man before them, both men felt a strong sense of unease.

However, Gu Xu's laughter did not stop; instead, it gradually grew louder.

"Hahaha……"

He lowered his head slightly, and his shoulders began to tremble incessantly.

Laughter kept spilling from his lips, growing louder and more unrestrained.

In this deathly silent square where the tragedy of the entire army's annihilation had just been reported, the laughter seemed extremely abrupt, even eerie.

There was no mockery, no joy.

His laughter was devoid of any warmth, like two rough pieces of pig iron rubbing against each other violently.

"Hahahaha!"

Finally, Gu Xu suddenly tilted his head back and burst into wild laughter.

As his unrestrained laughter exploded across the square, everyone present, including Li Weiguo and Zhang Daoxuan, was stunned.

In an instant, they all felt a bone-chilling cold that went straight from their scalp to their toes.

This is not simply an emotional contagion, but a real physical oppression.

As Gu Xu laughed, the paving stones in the square began to make a piercing cracking sound, visibly centered on Gu Xu.

Cracks began to spread rapidly.

The surrounding space began to tremble slightly.

It created concentric, transparent ripples that were visible to the naked eye.

Black mist seeped out from the soles of his shoes.

The surrounding air was so thick that it was impossible to breathe.

The temperature plummeted within seconds.

Li Weiguo felt as if his heart was being torn apart as he looked at the young man laughing almost maniacally.

He knew that Gu Xu was a sentimental person. Zhan Shen Jun was Gu Xu's root in the military, and the people there truly treated him as family and hope.

Telling him that his family is gone is a huge blow to an 18-year-old.

That's just too cruel.

But Li Weiguo was more aware of the current situation.

Although the defense line in the East China Sea has collapsed, the war continues.

Gu Xu absolutely cannot have an accident at this time, and we must not let him be completely ruined by this emotion.

"Gu Xu! Calm down!"

Despite the suffocating spatial tremors, Li Weiguo forced a step forward and roared, "I know you're suffering!"

"This is the military's responsibility; it's a major failure of our intelligence work! Not only the God-Slaying Army, but hundreds of thousands of soldiers throughout the East China Sea Theater are risking their lives to fill that hole!"

"But that's how war is!"

Zhang Daoxuan anxiously echoed, "Yes, kid, don't do anything foolish! You've just returned from the secret realm; your top priority now is to stay in Longjing. The military will be reorganizing all its forces..."

However, their persuasion had no effect.

Gu Xu's laughter continued.

The laughter made the eardrums of the surrounding soldiers buzz, and made the Sheikha battle flags planted at the edge of the square flutter loudly.

He laughed for a full two minutes.

Then, the laughter stopped abruptly.

It was as if all the vocal cords had been suddenly severed by a knife, without any transition or lingering sound.

Gu Xu, who was laughing wildly just a second ago, fell completely silent the next second.

This sudden silence was even more unsettling than the earlier burst of laughter.

Gu Xu slowly lowered his head, his face expressionless.

There was no sadness, no pain, and none of that manic laughter from before.

All that remained was an absolutely cold and appalling calm.

The surrounding space, which was shaking, did not calm down because of his silence; instead, it became even more turbulent.

The cracks in the ground continued to widen, and the gravel began to float upwards uncontrollably against gravity.

Without saying a word, Gu Xu turned around.

He ignored Li Weiguo and Zhang Daoxuan.

He simply turned his back to everyone and started walking.

His movements were slow, but with each step he took, a deep, charred footprint was left on the ground.

That was the direct corrosion of real matter by the highly compressed power of calamity.

Li Weiguo and Zhang Daoxuan watched Gu Xu's resolute back.

My heart skipped a beat.

An extremely strong sense of foreboding welled up in their hearts; they knew this young man's ways all too well.

In the secret realm, once this kid decides to kill someone, no matter if you're a genius from the United States or a messenger from Europe, even the King of Heaven himself can't stop him.

Now, the killing intent emanating from him is hundreds or even thousands of times stronger than ever before.

"Gu Xu! Stop right there!"

Li Weiguo panicked and tried to rush forward to grab Gu Xu: "Where are you going?"

Hearing the shouts and questions behind him, Gu Xu paused for a moment.

He did not turn around.

He simply stood there quietly, the autumn wind ruffling his slightly disheveled hair.

After a few seconds of silence, Gu Xu's voice slowly echoed in the oppressive square...