My whole family is involved in diplomacy, so you dare to flex your muscles?

Backstage at the studio, in a small conference room, the atmosphere was so heavy it was almost palpable.

One of the show's directors, a fat white man named Frank, was pacing back and forth in a panic, his already sparse hair becoming even more tangled from his own tugging.

Three people were sitting opposite him.

Leading the group was the cultural attaché of the Japanese embassy in the area, a short man named Watanabe.

His face was ashen, and he stood with his arms crossed, looking like he was about to interrogate someone.

Next to him was the head of the Japanese delegation, the one who had been shouting and cursing from below the stage. He was a little calmer now, but his eyes could still kill.

The last judge was Hamilton, a sociology professor, whom the program invited from Cambridge.

He replaced Robert, who had stormed off earlier, and now stood there, solemnly pushing up his glasses, saying nothing.

"Mr. Frank!" Counselor Watanabe finally couldn't hold back any longer. He slammed his hand on the table, making a jarring sound.

"Your production team must give us an explanation for this!"

His English had a heavy Japanese accent, which sounded somewhat comical, but the anger in his tone was genuine.

"Our contestant, Yamamoto-kun, was subjected to personal attacks and mental intimidation by Chinese contestant Gu Yun on your stage, and was even publicly humiliated to the point of fainting!"

This is a serious broadcasting incident! It's a blatant provocation against our great Sakura Empire!

Director Frank stopped in his tracks, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Mr. Watanabe, please calm down."

We've all seen what happened, and there might be some misunderstandings involved...

"A misunderstanding?" Counselor Watanabe's tone instantly rose. "The whole world saw it! That Gu Yun, he used those threatening words and actions to coerce Yamamoto-kun!"

Finally, he said those... those extremely insulting things!

Is this a misunderstanding? Do your competition rules allow for such barbaric attacks?

Director Frank broke out in a cold sweat.

rule?

The rules of this show are inherently vague.

What they want is buzz, what they want is conflict.

They were happy to see Jack provoke Gu Yun.

They were overjoyed when Gu Yun retaliated against Jack.

But none of them expected that Gu Yun's firepower would be this strong.

He directly defeated both opponents, one coughing up blood and the other kneeling in fear.

This is no longer a conflict; this is utter annihilation.

"We strongly demand that Gu Yun be disqualified from the competition!" The delegation leader finally spoke up, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"Furthermore, he must publicly apologize to Yamamoto-kun and to our Sakura nation!"

"That's right! An apology is necessary! Otherwise, we will not only withdraw from the competition immediately, but also lodge the strongest protest with your government through diplomatic channels!" Counselor Watanabe added.

Director Frank was in a real bind.

Should Gu Yun's qualifications be revoked?

Are you kidding me!

He's the god of this show now! He's a guarantee of high ratings!

Billions of people around the world are waiting to see what earth-shattering things he will do next.

If he's canceled, can the show still continue?

But if we don't deal with it, we won't be able to explain it to Japan.

Although Japan's national strength is not good now, it still has some face in the Western world. If it really comes down to the diplomatic level, even a program director like him can't handle it.

"Professor Hamilton, you're a judge, what's your opinion?" Frank passed the buck to the old professor who had been putting on a serious face.

Hamilton cleared his throat and said slowly, "From an academic and rules-based perspective, Gu Yun's behavior is indeed... somewhat controversial."

His language went beyond the scope of normal debate and was somewhat aggressive.

This is not encouraged in the Western debate system, which emphasizes "dialogue among civilizations."

His words softened the expressions of Watanabe and the person in charge slightly.

"But..." Hamilton changed the subject, "we also need to consider that it was Yamamoto who first chose the highly provocative topic of 'modern history'."

Furthermore, he used the insulting phrase "completely helpless." In a sense, he provoked them first.

Frank cursed inwardly, "Old fox." He had said nothing at all, offending neither side.

"Provocation and personal attack are two different concepts!" Counselor Watanabe immediately retorted.

"Yamamoto was merely stating an objective fact of a historical period, while Gu Yun was committing a personal insult!"

"Yeah?"

A calm voice suddenly came from the conference room door.

Everyone was stunned and turned to look at the door.

Gu Yun was standing there all by himself.

He didn't know when he arrived, nor how long he had been listening.

He changed out of his sharp suit and into a simple white shirt, the sleeves casually rolled up to his elbows.

His harmless smile returned, as if the war god exuding murderous aura on the stage just now was not him at all.

Behind him followed a member of the production crew, looking embarrassed and apprehensive: "I'm sorry, director, Mr. Gu... he insisted on coming..."

Gu Yun ignored everyone and walked straight in.

He pulled out a chair, sat down opposite Counselor Watanabe, and then turned his gaze to Professor Hamilton, who had just spoken.

"Professor, I overheard you discussing rules and civilization outside the door just now," Gu Yun said with a smile, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

"This makes me very gratified. After all, only a platform with rules can facilitate fair dialogue."

Professor Hamilton frowned, wondering what Gu Yun was up to.

"However, I also heard Mr. Watanabe say that Yamamoto was merely 'stating the objective state of affairs at a historical stage.'" Gu Yun's gaze shifted to Watanabe, his smile unchanged.

"This is a bit confusing to me."

He paused, leaned forward slightly, looked into Watanabe's eyes, and asked, word by word:

"Mr. Watanabe, in your country's history textbooks, are those fourteen years also defined as an 'objective state'?"

Watanabe's face turned pale instantly.

This question is even more incisive than all the questions asked on stage combined!

The whole world knows how their textbooks describe that period of history!

To distort, glorify, blur the focus, and downplay the crimes!

They portrayed a brutal and inhumane war of aggression as a "holy war" for the "liberation of Asia"!

If he answers "yes," it would be tantamount to admitting in front of the whole world that his country is still rewriting history and has no remorse.

If he answers "no," then his defense of Yamamoto will have become a complete joke!

Gu Yun looked at the speechless Watanabe, and his smile deepened.

He turned back and looked at the professor, whose face was equally grim.

"So, Professor, now the question is..."

"Do you consider the behavior of someone who attempts to humiliate and provoke me with a distorted and fabricated history to be 'civilized'?"

"I simply refuted him with real data and facts. Was my behavior 'barbaric'?"

"Who exactly is breaking the rules and civility of this stage?"