"Your mother —” A man cursed from the other end of the silver plate. “That’s exactly what I am thinking. If you are gods and Xians, if Chinese mythology is real, why did you not save the world when your country was humiliated? Our country would not have fallen to such a state without all the invasions. I don't believe you! I can't believe you!”
“True,” Xuan confirmed him. “Neither would I in the same position. Let’s get back to a more realistic question. I need to obtain the pieces of the floating Buddha statue. Any piece. The pieces themselves or information regarding them. I need you to use all the power you possess to accomplish this. Including military, political, business, diplomatic. Everything you have to help me obtain the remaining pieces of the Buddha statue.”
The other end quieted down. He could heard several people arguing something. Quite some time later, the man’s voice came through the plate again. “I can not fulfill your request. We are indeed in possession of the left arm. Our scientists have started research on its floating property. I can’t accept your request.”
Xuan laughed. “I will be frank. The Buddha statue is very important to us. Everything we have done is in order to obtain this statue. We will kill all which stand in our way, including god. We must obtain it. Understand? Do you imply that you will retain the statue with force if you have to?”
The other end paused for several seconds again. The voice replied in a deep tone. “Is this a threat by force? Are you threatening a country?”
“No. This is not a threat by force." Xuan said. “It’s merely a statement. We will do it. And when forced to, we will achieve our goal with force. You can also consider my suggestion further. A floating Buddha statue isn't that useful to you. Can you bring China to another flourish if you discover its floating secret? Or does it help you win the war?”
The men on the other end held a brief discussion before the man said, “The statue isn’t indispensable to us. We can gift it to you on the premise of winning the war. What do you plan to use to trade for the piece?”
“Not just this piece.” Xuan said. “Our goal is the whole Buddha statue. One piece does not satisfy us. Aside from the piece, your information system will serve us until the whole statue is found. Furthermore, you aren't being honest. My information shows that you obtained more than one piece. Though I am not sure if you gifted the other piece to the United States or your officials stole it?”
“Mother —” The other end cursed again. The man said furiously, “How is that different from threatening?”
“Because we have the power to retrieve the statue. It doesn't matter whether you gifted the piece to the United States. I am just stating a fact. Another point I need to make clear is we will pay you in return for this trade. You can choose between one, defeat Japan. We will erase its capital from Earth and annihilate its army. But for you, that only means one less enemy. How will you adapt to the changes that happen to this world in the future? You will probably go into a civil war immediately with an enemy gone. Two, as long as we obtain all the statue’s pieces, we can leave behind Golden Pills that enhances a person. Make your choice.”
WangXia looked like he wanted to say something but Xuan gestured him that there was no need. A long silence followed from the other end.
The man's voice said as though it was a difficult decision, “Your way of combat does not belong to our world. Attacking Japan all of a sudden might frighten our allies. So we choose the second proposal. However, you should also show your sincerity in aiding us on the war against Japan and…”
The other end began their bargaining. Perhaps they had yielded to team China’s strength, or perhaps the greed for the Golden Pills overtook their minds, they seemed to wholeheartedly form this alliance and attempted to get the best out of it.
“As expected. Chiang Kai-shek did not truly join Kuomintang. He and his warlords are fence sitters. They sway toward whichever side is stronger. They privately contacted Japan and the two parties in China… You can ask any questions you have, WangXia. After that, I have tasks to give you.”
No new information came from ChengXiao after forming an alliance with Kuomintang. Xuan started another round of analyzing his information. The information systems of the people of influence in Shanghai reached the majority of China. Xuan couldn’t go through everything even if he were scanning the pages ten lines at a time and working twenty fours hours a day. He obtained agents who specialized in organizing information from Kuomintang to aid him. The spies who lurk in Shanghai were best suited for this job. Which was the reason Xuan wanted to form the alliance with Kuomintang in such a hurry. All that he had done since the formation of the plan, including the formation of the alliance, were with the goal of finding the statuee.
WangXia appeared to have matters on his mind. He said, “I can understand your reason for forming an alliance with Kuomintang. I am not brain dead patriot. I love my country more than the party itself. What if… I am thinking what if you give the technologies that you intended for the other party to Kuomintang as the reward. Will it have a better outcome? You know the tragedy that comes after founding the People's Republic of China? Will the country have a brighter future if nothing crushes it?”
“Oh…” Xuan looked at WangXia without saying another word.
WangXia shivered under that calm gaze. However, his blood started to boil as courage arose. He said with a determined tone. “I know this sounds treacherous. I love my country more than my loyalty to the party. I will die for my country, which is the feeling that brought me to this realm. You might say I am an idiot. Perhaps not you since you don’t have feelings. But a lot of people will say I am an idiot who risks his life for an idea. I might not even get the chance to see my mother pass away. Yet, is it wrong to want my country become strong?”
“No. There’s nothing wrong." Xuan finally said. “You are similar to the man in Egypt. I understand your thoughts. You are afraid that our technologies will become lost in their hands or seized by Soviet Union, correct? One, this isn't our world. It’s only a movie world… I can't convince you with this point.
"Two, China has always been an agricultural centered civilization, even in the twenty first century. A government that only represents the middle and upper class and a government that has the support of eighty percent of the farmers. The trend will not sway even without the victories from the three upcoming battles. The only difference it makes is the date which the country is founded. History will converge to the same ending unless we kill all the farmers in China.
“At least at the current time, the party that receives technology from us is less tainted, from the officials to its spirit. I don't think my choice is wrong. Kuomintang is utterly corrupted at this stage.
“I will also gift them the future fifty years of historical records of China and the future history of the party along with the technologies. I don’t know how much these two documents can alter the future, but we have done our best. It isn't wrong to love your country or wish for it become stronger, however, don’t attempt to change the flow of the world with a mortal's wisdom when you are not certain of its outcome. My creators suffered from this and I suffered.”
Xuan looked back down to the papers without waiting for WangXia's reaction. He said, “Contact ChengXiao. It's time to have a talk with that party.”
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