CHAPTER 643: CHAPTER 546: HOW DID HE BECOME SO COWARDLY? (PART 1)_2

Emperor Haotian spoke on one side, while Tong Airui continuously tapped on the keyboard on the other. The opponent kept counterattacking, trying to neutralize Denton’s invasion, but he had no intention of giving them the chance to strike back.

After Emperor Haotian finished his speech, he stood up and left the stage. Queen Haotian took his seat, soothing the frightened citizens.

Emperor Haotian walked to the satellite communication system and made a series of phone calls.

Queen Haotian glanced at her husband and continued, "Haotian has weathered so many hardships, and we have gone through them together. This is merely a sudden incident—we, the resilient and powerful people of Haotian, will never be defeated by them! I suspect this matter was orchestrated by that fake Princess Nancy. Originally, I planned to make an announcement after Emperor Haotian and I returned, but now I feel it’s necessary to explain why we weren’t in Haotian to share your struggles during this crisis."

Queen Haotian reached out and pulled her daughter, who was standing behind her, to sit beside her in front of the camera. The mother and daughter faced the lens together. "Nancy impersonated my daughter and entered the royal palace. Fortunately, we discovered the truth. This is my biological daughter—Lova Montbat Odric, wife of the Duke of Xia Wu Odric. Everyone is familiar with Duke Audric; two years ago, he helped us calm the civil war in Haotian. Today, you’ve suffered, but he will not stand idly by. And to those criminals pointing their guns at my citizens, remember this: my husband and son-in-law will never allow my citizens to bleed and sacrifice in vain!"

Tong Airui cast a deep glance at his mother-in-law, then raised his hand to lock the final program. Afterward, he stood up to operate another device and quickly established a connection with Dapeng.

Emperor Haotian approached them. "I’ve already instructed the Dark Soul team to take action."

Tong Airui smirked faintly. The Dark Soul team was Emperor Haotian’s elite unit—masters of combat rivaling the prowess of You. With their mobilization, this battle might end before it even truly begins.

Multiple panels quickly appeared on the LCD screen. Tong Airui lowered the soundproof panel, picked up the headset, and said, "Dapeng, the Dark Soul team is about to reach the site. Coordinate with them with all your strength. Minimize casualties as much as possible!"

"Understood!"

"Dad, input the Dark Soul contact codes here, and you can command their operations directly from here." Tong Airui explained, stepping aside to stand next to Long Che.

Long Che smiled and mouthed, "You do know how to step back, don’t you?"

Tong Airui responded with a smile and mouthed, "I prefer to know as little about others’ secrets as possible."

Long Che laughed and patted his son’s shoulder. "Back in the day, I used to compete with your Uncle Muta over whose car was more impressive. Turns out, the most impressive one is yours! This setup has everything—it even surprised me."

"It wasn’t this complete at first. It was built up piece by piece later on."

After entering the code, Emperor Haotian stared at the screen steadily. "Airui, why can I only see your personnel here?"

"Let me adjust it." Tong Airui quickly walked over, pressed the green button, and the large screen was segmented into over a dozen smaller displays.

"Dad, your Dark Soul team is incredible!" Tong Airui exclaimed in genuine admiration as he saw the team already infiltrating the television station.

Emperor Haotian chuckled. "They share the same master as You. Watching You’s martial prowess is like watching theirs."

Long Che curiously joined them, staring at the screen. Turning to his son, he suggested, "Son, I think you should foster a team like this yourself."

"If you plan to train one, I can provide the instructors," Emperor Haotian offered, looking at his son-in-law.

Tong Airui smiled. "Thanks, Dad."

"**" Songs faintly drifted in through the soundproof panel, and soon, the same melody emanated from the large screen.

It was Haotian’s national anthem!

Emperor Haotian’s eyes instantly welled with tears of emotion. At this critical juncture, his wife and children expressed their solidarity and passion through this deeply unifying song. They wanted to tell the citizens: they had always been there!

Across the square, the television station, and the broadcasting tower—anywhere with a camera—every citizen of Haotian sang the national anthem in unison with Queen Haotian.

"Communication tower secured!"

"Television station secured!"

"Hostages rescued successfully!"

"Beep beep..." Emperor Haotian’s phone rang as well.

This battle was splendidly fought, stirring hearts and souls. Amid the anthem, one success report after another returned in triumph.

The atmosphere inside the RV suddenly quieted down.

Tong Airui raised the soundproof panel again. Across from him, the trio of mother, daughter, and son tightly embraced each other.

"Lova, thank you! Thank you!" Queen Haotian repeatedly expressed gratitude to her daughter.

Yi Luowa sniffled. "Mom, I’m part of Haotian too. Why are you thanking me?"

"If it weren’t for your suggestion to sing the national anthem, I wouldn’t have thought of stabilizing our frightened citizens before anyone could rescue them."

"At such a moment, that was the only plan I could think of." Yi Luowa wiped tears from her mother’s face, then turned to look at her younger brother. "Today’s hero is Denton. He successfully hacked into their system, giving us the chance to console the citizens through video."

Denton chuckled sheepishly. "If I didn’t do it, my brother-in-law would’ve done it anyway. Today, we should thank my brother-in-law together."

Tong Airui walked over with a smile. "Cripple?"

Denton froze, hurriedly shaking his head. "I’m not a cripple!"

Yi Luowa looked at Tong Airui suspiciously.

With a grin, Tong Airui explained, "Sweetheart, Fang Yao Continent’s only hacker capable of defeating me is someone nicknamed ’Cripple.’ Once, our command system was almost breached by him, and it took me, Uncle Ten, Dapeng, and Xiaoyuer three days and nights to stop the invasion."

Yi Luowa tugged at Denton’s ear. "Was it you?"

Denton immediately protected his ear. "No! I only play games; I don’t know anything else!"

Tong Airui gently pulled Yi Luowa’s hand away. "Sweetheart, don’t ask him anymore. If it’s him, he won’t admit it. Over the past few years, Cripple has been infiltrating military systems worldwide. Everyone wants to break his fingers!"

Emperor Haotian and Queen Haotian simultaneously stared at their son.

Denton pursed his lips, grabbed his laptop, and fled.

Queen Haotian sighed softly. "I knew he loved playing on the computer; who would’ve thought he was secretly doing something like this?"

"He doesn’t mean harm—it’s just his idea of fun. I was only trying to scare him earlier." Tong Airui laughed lightly. "Denton truly is remarkable. His first successful hack of Xia Wu’s system happened when he was just fifteen years old."

"I’ll have to warn him not to mess around like this anymore." Queen Haotian said, looking to Emperor Haotian. "When are we going back?"

"The more critical it is, the less we should rush back. If this is a plot to lure us home, what if there’s an ambush halfway—an airstrike on our plane? We’d end up losing lives unnecessarily."

Queen Haotian laughed lightly, turning to her daughter, "Your dad suddenly seems much smarter."

Yi Luowa pursed her lips, smiling softly. She couldn’t respond to that.

Emperor Haotian chuckled. "Learning one trick a day from you, even the dullest man can become clever. You all head back to rest. I’ll stay here waiting for updates from Marcus; let’s see what more can be interrogated. Only then can we decide the best time to return."

Queen Haotian nodded, took her daughter’s hand, and exited the RV.