National Fate: Eight Yin Generals Guard China from Their Sleeping Coffins

Yanjing.

The strategic command center, 100 meters underground, and the internal reference room.

The door was closed tightly.

A huge 3D holographic map of China hangs on the wall.

Zhou Yaoguo stood in front of the map.

The director of the information processing center strode into the room.

He was holding a document bag stamped with a red "Top Secret" seal.

"Sir, the Security Bureau has found the files of these eight comrades!"

The director handed over the document bag with both hands.

Zhou Yaoguo turned around and took the brown paper bag.

Unseal the seal and pull out a thick stack of paper reports.

Minister Chen walked over with a teacup in his hand and stood beside Zhou Yaoguo.

The paper is yellowed, and all the records are old ones from twenty years ago.

After being forcibly restored by the supercomputing center, the writing was clearly visible.

The first file.

Northwest Gobi Desert, 1999.

"Guan Shan, 14 years old, an orphan, is suspected of causing serious injury in a street fight and fled into the uninhabited area of ​​Northwest China. Local police conducted a half-month-long search of the mountains without success. The case file notes: A herdsman once saw a man in blue clothes take him into the mountains to live in seclusion and guard the forest."

The second file.

The mountains of western Hunan, 2001.

"Ma Ling was born with a missing left arm and was abandoned. According to the village records, one day during a heavy rain, a man in blue clothes passed by, adopted the girl, and settled her in the mortuary."

The third file.

Jinling Old Street, 2002.

"Liu Bai's family fell into poverty and he suffered from severe tuberculosis. According to the neighborhood committee's registration book, he was taken in by a traveling doctor from out of town. The traveling doctor often wore a blue robe."

The fourth copy... the fifth copy...

Zhou Yaoguo's fingers, which were turning the page, paused.

Eight files, eight identities.

Murderers, disabled abandoned infants, terminally ill patients, blind beggars...

They are all marginalized people from the lowest rungs of society, with nowhere else to turn, or even abandoned by the world.

"They were on the verge of death before they met their ancestor."

Zhou Yaoguo's voice was low and deep.

Minister Chen put down his teacup and took out a data summary sheet from his pocket.

"Old Zhou, look at this."

Minister Chen pointed to the timeline on the summary table.

"We used all our computing power to review all the surveillance footage, train ticket stubs, flight information, and bank statements across the country from 1999 to 2019."

"Su Chen shows no signs of being digitally altered."

Minister Chen raised his head, his eyes filled with deep shock.

"He doesn't take the high-speed rail or airplanes. He doesn't have a bank card registered in his name, nor does he have social security or medical insurance."

"The previously cancelled household registration was a temporary identity that an old policeman in the southwestern border area illegally issued to him because he saw that it was not easy for him to live with his child."

"In the vast database of modern society, Su Chen is a person who does not exist."

Zhou Yaoguo's gaze sharpened.

A person who does not exist.

There are no official records, no honorary titles, and no social identity.

"But he has traveled through most of China."

Zhou Yaoguo walked up to the holographic map.

He picked up the electronic pen and marked eight coordinates on the map.

The vast deserts of Northwest China, the deep mountains of western Hunan, the water towns of southern China, the snow-covered plains of Northeast China...

The eight coordinates lit up in red.

Use the pen to connect the eight points end to end.

A perfect pre-heaven Bagua diagram covers a territory of 9.6 million square kilometers.

"He doesn't take a car."

Looking at the route that stretched for tens of thousands of kilometers, Zhou Yaoguo said, "He measured our mountains and rivers with his own two feet. He spent twenty years walking to all eight extreme points."

"He taught eight unfortunate people who had been abandoned by the world to become the backbone of China."

"Then, he put himself in a coffin and buried himself in the center of the formation."

The internal reference room was deathly silent.

The information director's eyes were red-rimmed, and he bit his lip tightly.

Zhou Yaoguo took a step back.

He straightened the collar of his military uniform and smoothed the medals on his chest.

stand at attention.

Legs together.

Zhou Yaoguo solemnly saluted the Bagua diagram on the map and the name that did not exist in official records.

Minister Chen stood up straight and bowed deeply.

The information director tapped his feet together and raised his right hand.

"Pass on my orders."

Zhou Yaoguo lowered his arm, his voice echoing throughout the command hall.

"The files of Su Chen and the eight comrades will be classified as top state secrets and sealed in the Martyrs' Shrine."

"Broadcast nationwide."

"Huaxia, the guardian's identity confirmed."

One minute later.

Within China, all television stations, online platforms, and outdoor screens simultaneously switched the feed.

There were no lengthy eulogies or praises.

On a black background, several lines of white text slowly appeared.

[Su Chen.]

[No military rank, no position, no personnel file.]

For twenty years, I traversed mountains and rivers in humble attire, serving as a vital link in the nation's defenses.

A peerless hero.

The brief text carries the deepest reverence of the state apparatus.

In the exclusive live stream room for China, the chat remained silent for a full ten seconds.

Then, like a volcanic eruption.

[No military rank, no official position, no personnel file! Our ancestor was a true hermit!]

He dedicated his entire life to China, and we don't even know what he looked like!

[Traveling to eight extreme locations and taking in eight people suffering from hardship—this is true, boundless love!]

[I checked the map! Those eight villages are a hundred and eight thousand miles apart, and he walked the entire way!]

[A person who doesn't exist in modern society has shouldered the lives of 1.4 billion people!]

What truly defines a peerless hero? This is it!

I just awakened my powers today, and I'm going to join the army! I'm going to the border!

Our ancestors are lying in their coffins, but we, 1.4 billion people, will hold up the sky together!

【Everyone stand up! Welcome to the country! 】

Long live China! Our heritage will never die!

【……】

The cohesion of 1.4 billion people reached its peak at this moment.

The power brought by the spiritual revival blends perfectly with spiritual faith.

Across the ocean.

The United States of America, the Pentagon.

The president sat at the head of the conference table, looking at the few lines of white text released by China on the screen.

His facial muscles kept twitching.

"An unknown nobody..." the president cried, his voice hoarse as he clutched his hair, "a penniless nobody without social security, how could he possibly stop the monsters of the abyss! How could he possibly win the unwavering loyalty of 1.4 billion people!"

General Smith stood to one side, his eyes vacant.

"Your Excellency, President."

Smith gave a wry smile. "We lost because of our beliefs. Our superheroes fight for hefty endorsement fees and gene serums. But these Chinese people fight for the land they live on."

"That guy named Su Chen, he doesn't want money or power."

"What he wants is eternal peace for China."

"What do we have to fight a madman who's willing to risk his life?"

In the conference room, the Western politicians hung their heads, their faces ashen.

Their prized capital power crumbled into dust in the face of absolute selflessness and inheritance.

The space for national destiny.

The buffer period after the seventh wave of monsters sieges the city.

Night falls.

The wind on the wasteland carried a heavy smell of blood.

The position in front of Huaxia City Gate was intact.

Eight tall corpse puppets carried over several thick, withered logs and lit a bonfire next to the black wooden coffin.

The flickering firelight dispelled the surrounding chill.

Eight people sat around the campfire.

Ma Ling leaned against the city wall, poking at the fire with her remaining left hand.

Liu Bai opened the mahogany box, took out a clean white cloth, and wiped the dust off his hands.

Ji Yuan folded the purplish-yellow paper in her hand.

Chen Xiao sat in the spot closest to the coffin, his hands wrapped around his knees, watching the flickering flames.

Guan Shan sat cross-legged on the sand.

He placed the blood-patterned iron sword horizontally on his knees.

Rough, large hands stroked the blade repeatedly.

The blood-red patterns on the blade shimmered in the firelight, exuding a chilling aura.

It was very quiet around.

The only sounds were the crackling of burning deadwood and the steady heartbeat coming from inside the coffin.

"Senior Brother."