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

The dark golden light outlined intricate patterns in the sky.

The grand, mechanical sound of the system not only exploded in my mind, but also echoed like thunder in the high sky of the real world.

[The first round of city defense has ended, and the basic national fortune rewards are now being calculated.]

All surviving nations whose city gates were not breached will receive a 10% increase in overall national fortune!

Immediately afterwards, the treasure chests in front of the city gates of each country slowly opened.

Mysterious runes intertwined above the treasure chest, condensing into two enormous panels of light and shadow.

[Now we enter the individual reward selection phase.]

Option 1: Obtain advanced personal enhancements. The system will provide players with cultivation techniques, ability advancements, attribute infusions, or exclusive extraordinary weapons based on their completion rating.

Option Two: Abandon all personal rewards. Sacrifice them to convert them into additional national fortune for your nation. Each participating unit will receive an additional 2% national fortune.

[All participants have five minutes to make a decision. Countdown begins.]

The moment the option was presented, the world was in uproar!

Bald Eagle Country Live Broadcast Room.

The blond, muscular Jack stood in front of the S-rank treasure chest without even glancing at the second option.

With a swing of his thick arm, he slammed his heavy palm onto the lighting panel of Option 1!

The other three Bald Eagles athletes also made swift and decisive moves, each selecting one of their own.

Four beams of light flew out of the treasure chest and entered the bodies of the four people.

Jack's body suddenly grew three inches taller, and his muscles expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Blue lightning crackled across his skin, making popping sounds!

He clenched his fists and roared at the sky, the terrifying shockwave instantly blowing away the surrounding sand and dust!

The comments scrolled extremely fast:

Well done! Strengthening is the only way to survive!

The monsters in the forbidden area will only become more and more terrifying. How can you fight them without strengthening yourself?

As long as Jack survives, the United States is invincible; individual strength is the only true currency!

Anyone who chose option two is out of their mind! Can something as intangible as national destiny really stop the claws of monsters?

[Whoever picks number two, I'll laugh at them for a year! The bald eagle is number one in the world!]

[...]

The same scene played out in various countries, including the Land of Cherry Blossoms and the Sunset Empire.

Without hesitation, all the contestants chose to strengthen themselves.

In those dangerous alien forbidden lands, strength is the guarantee of life, and the instinct for survival overrides all other considerations.

After all, only with strength can the city gates be protected to the greatest extent!

……

Kyoto, a top-secret underground strategic command center.

Minister Chen stared intently at the nine purple-gold treasure chests on the large screen, his breathing rapid.

He clenched his fist, his voice trembling with excitement: "The personal rewards for an SSS-level rating are absolutely top-tier resources that crush other countries!"

Long sat in the main seat, his face cold and stern, his gaze fixed on Guan Shan in the center of the screen.

"Guan Shan's swordsmanship just now has reached a certain limit."

"If you add the exclusive enhancements of SSS-level, he could very well suppress the entire war zone by himself."

Long Jiang then looked at the old beggar, the blind old man, and the child in the corner of the screen.

"As for the others... it's also a great opportunity to improve their self-defense capabilities."

"Even if we only take a few defensive magical artifacts, we won't be so anxious and worried about the next wave!"

In the Huaxia live broadcast room, more than 3 billion viewers held their breath.

The screen was flooded with comments like snowflakes:

[May God grant us some legendary artifacts!]

[Choose one of all! Don't hesitate! Grandpa Guan, hurry up and claim your reward!]

We already have a 10% bonus to our base stats, and that was an SSS-level overkill kill just now, so we can definitely get more. Whatever you do, don't touch option two!

Please, please choose the guy with the knife too! Your survival is more important than anything else!

[That sick scholar should hurry and choose some medicine; I saw him coughing up so much blood he almost coughed his lungs up!]

[...]

...........

forbidden.

In front of the Bronze City Gate.

A purple-gold treasure chest floated in front of the eight people and one coffin.

The light and shadow of the two options floated in mid-air.

Guan Shan sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyelids slightly raised.

He glanced at the [Option 1] floating in front of him.

It was a phantom image of an ancient book radiating terrifying energy, accompanied by a fierce-looking horse-slaying sword.

Guan Shan shook his head.

The rough, calloused hand passed right through the phantom of the divine weapon and slammed into Option Two!

He muttered something.

"The old man is too old for such nice things. It's a waste."

The treasure chest transformed into a beam of purple-gold light, shooting straight into the sky!

Minister Chen jumped to his feet, his chair sliding back half a meter: "What did he do?!"

Before the higher-ups could react!

On the left side of the city gate, the blind old man put down his broken-stringed erhu.

His empty eye sockets stared into the void, and his withered fingers accurately pointed to [Option Two].

The old beggar had just crushed the third flea when he rubbed his fingers on his tattered clothes and grinned, revealing his mouthful of yellow teeth.

His fingers, as thin as withered tree bark, poked into the beam of light in Option Two.

The sickly scholar covered his mouth and coughed violently, blood seeping from between his fingers.

He slowly wiped his fingers clean with a handkerchief, and his pale fingertips lit up the [Option Two] symbolizing sacrifice.

A five-year-old child grabbed a handful of sand and threw it into the air, giggling as he did so.

With a flick of her wrist, she smashed the cursor of "Option Two" without hesitation.

Chen Xiao remained at the very back, his hands gripping the edge of the black wooden coffin.

He remained expressionless, raised his right hand, and pressed [Option Two].

With just one press, his SSS-level fortune will vanish into thin air.

Just then, the black wooden coffin suddenly trembled!

A thick wisp of black mist emanated from around the coffin lid, intertwining in mid-air and condensing into a phantom hand.

Instead of touching the tempting Option 1, the hand slammed cleanly onto the bare surface of Option 2!

Seven people.

A child.

A coffin.

Nine units moved with fluid, uninterrupted movements.

Nine beams of purple-gold light rose from the ground and merged into the dark golden giant eye in the sky!

The whole world fell into a deathly silence at that moment.

【Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap?! ?? I chose two for all of them?! ?】

[They've gone mad! Everyone's gone mad! That's an SSS-level reward! It can be exchanged for divine artifacts and elixirs!]

[Grandpa Guan is confused! The next wave of monsters is twice as big, what are we going to fight with if not a powerful weapon?]

Why? Why did they give up without even discussing it?

My heart is about to stop! What are these old men thinking? That's life!

What's with that coffin? Did it come to life? How did it get the right to choose, and even choose number two?!

[Where are the higher-ups?! Quickly send in the comments to stop this! Isn't this ridiculous?!]

【……】

Foreign netizens flocked to Huaxia's live streaming room.

Are the Chinese out of their minds? Giving up SSS-level enhancements to choose national destiny?

[This is hilarious! They're even sacrificing themselves with a coffin. Are they planning to fight off the next wave of monsters with thin air?]

This foolish nation will surely face the next wave of destruction and death!

[Waiting for the complete annihilation of China, a bunch of idiots!]

[...]

Inside the command center.

Minister Chen gripped the edge of the table tightly with both hands, his eyes completely red.

He yelled at the communications officer, "Where are the system permissions! Activate the off-site assistance permission! Tell them to choose one! They must choose one!"

The communications officer, drenched in sweat, furiously typed on his keyboard: "Minister! System notification: Before the second round begins, the outside world and the restricted area are physically isolated! All off-site interference measures are ineffective!"

Minister Chen slumped into his chair, his lips trembling uncontrollably.

"Why..." he murmured to himself.

The dragon stood ramrod straight, the veins on the back of his hands bulging, and his knuckles losing their color from excessive exertion.

He stared at the few calm figures on the screen.

The old beggar continued catching fleas.

The blind old man continued playing his tattered erhu.

Guan Shan closed his eyes to rest.

Chen Xiao stood supporting the coffin.

They did not want immortality, divine artifacts, or power.

The dragon general's voice was hoarse, carrying a heavy, weighty quality.

"No reason."

"This is the backbone of our Chinese nation."

"They exchanged their chance to survive for the fortune of this land."

……

The clouds completely dispersed.

The system's mechanical voice pierced through the dimensional barrier and broadcast globally.

[All participating nations have been selected. Rewards are being calculated...]

[The entire nation of Bald Eagles has chosen to enhance their individual strengths. Overall national fortune has increased by 10% (base)!]

[In the land of cherry blossoms, all players have chosen to enhance their individual abilities. The overall national fortune has increased by 10% (base)!]

[Sunset Empire, all players choose personal enhancement. Overall national fortune increases by 10% (base)!]

The long list scrolled rapidly.

Of the 197 countries in the world, all the contestants from the remaining 196 countries, except for China, chose to strengthen themselves.

At the end of the broadcast, golden light converged into huge characters, illuminating the entire sky.

[Huaxia Defense Line: All eight participants and one special covert unit have chosen to forgo their individual rewards.]

[National Fortune Amplification Settlement: Base 10% + SSS-level additional base bonus 2% + Nine-unit sacrifice conversion 18%!]

[Final Calculation: China's national fortune surged by 30%!]