Free Web NovelChapter 269: Chapter 268: Don’t Call Me Daoist, Call Me Zhenren
"This one downpour has basically solved this year’s drought."
"The Ministry of Agriculture needs to coordinate the follow-up. We must ensure grain yields in the drought-stricken areas do not fall this year." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
"Rest assured, this year’s grain production will definitely set a new record!"
The moderator picked up a report. "According to the Ministry of Agriculture’s estimates, this single downpour will boost this year’s grain production by twenty million tons."
"An act of boundless merit!" everyone exclaimed.
Twenty million tons of grain was nearly three percent of the previous year’s total output—a staggering figure. It was even more than the combined grain production of Sakura Paste and South Korea.
Back in the office, Zheng Hongsheng and his team continued the meeting.
"Everyone at the Meteorological Bureau has signed an NDA," Zheng Hongsheng said. "In all subsequent reports, this localized rain will be officially classified as a natural phenomenon."
Chen Yao clicked his tongue. "But the satellite imagery won’t fool anyone."
Zheng Hongsheng chuckled. "It’s better that way. The implications are profound. A blend of truth and illusion—the art of war."
Everyone laughed. The moderator then glanced at his phone before speaking. "A message just came in from the Yangcheng Taoist Research Institute. The old Daoists have returned."
Someone joked, "What do you mean, ’old Daoists’? We should be calling them Masters from now on!"
The entire group burst into laughter.
Soaring on clouds and mist, calling the wind and summoning the rain, becoming invisible, commanding the Five Thunders, scattering beans to create soldiers, creating worlds within a pot, extending life and preserving health, possessing an indestructible body.
Even considering only the abilities they knew about, mastering just one would have been enough to be easily granted the title of "National Guardian Master" in ancient times.
Then again, it wasn’t just in ancient times. Even now...
’Ahem! Best not to dwell on it!’
"We really underestimated their abilities. I never thought they could affect such a vast area," Chen Yao marveled. "I expected them to cover the regions one by one, but they did it all in one go!"
A full two hundred thousand square kilometers, nearly the size of Xiang Province, all covered by just seven people.
Someone piped up timidly, "And that was just making it rain. What if they had used a Thunder Technique..."
Everyone looked at each other, their hearts pounding in their chests.
...
The next morning, Gu Zhao was woken by a strand of silky hair tickling his nose. He opened his eyes to see Xiao Ya gazing at him adoringly. At the same time, a section of the thin comforter suddenly tented upward.
"Hsss—"
By noon, his phone was buzzing with news alerts from various media outlets: a welcome rain had fallen across the country’s central and northern regions, the summer grain harvest looked promising, and this year’s yields were sure to set a new record.
Gu Zhao glanced at the news, then put his phone down.
The previous afternoon, he had waited at the Taoist Research Institute for the seven old Daoists. They had returned overjoyed and invigorated, their faces beaming with a sense of accomplishment.
Gu Zhao had planned to ask if they needed to rest in the modern world or visit their home mountains, but to his surprise, they all insisted on returning to the Otherworld. They claimed their minds were now clear and open, making it the perfect time to cultivate.
So, Gu Zhao had no choice but to send them all back, after which he went off on his own to find Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi.
Since he spent most of his time in the Otherworld, he had promised the two women on his return that he would attend one of their performances.
Gu Zhao left the research institute, went home to change, and then drove to the Star Sea Music Hall. He attended the traditional orchestra’s regular weekend concert, and after the show, they all had a late dinner before heading home to spend a pleasant night together.
"Taking the day off?"
"Taking the day off!"
"What’s for lunch?" Gu Zhao asked, glancing at the time. The clock hands were already pointing to eleven.
’I have to admit,’ he thought, ’while the *Cave Truth Yellow Record* has boosted me considerably, the Warm Yellow Pills and Yellow Lemon Wine have really increased Xiao Ya’s and Jiang Shishi’s... stamina. We went at it half the night, yet they still had energy this morning.’
"I’m so tired. Let’s just order takeout," Jiang Shishi mumbled, draped listlessly over the side of the bed.
Gu Zhao shot Jiang Shishi a sidelong glance. She was the one who’d started things this morning. With a wicked grin, he leaned in close. "I’m your takeout." freewēbnoveℓ.com
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Jiang Shishi protested, pushing him away playfully. "In that case, let’s go out to eat!"
Xiao Ya giggled from the sidelines, with no intention of helping. After all, Jiang Shishi was the one to blame for dragging her into this morning’s "battle."
Xiao Ya then watched Gu Zhao and Jiang Shishi play out a classic scene of "she flees, he pursues, she is doomed to be caught." But as she watched, she somehow found herself pulled back into the fray.
...
Meanwhile, as excitement filled the office in Yandu and a certain bedroom in Yangcheng brimmed with sweetness, a strange silence fell on the other side of the Pacific.
A meteorological event spanning over two hundred thousand square kilometers and lasting for more than two hours could hardly go unnoticed by interested parties—especially not by those aware of the Berkeley thunderbolt incident.
After all, the Five-Colored Thunderclouds that had enveloped the sky over Berkeley and the thunderbolt that had demolished Calvin Mansion were, strictly speaking, also weather phenomena.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Frank roared. "That’s an area of two hundred thousand square kilometers! That’s almost half of California! Even Superman couldn’t destroy half of California in one go!"
"The good news is, a single person on their side can’t do this either," someone offered reassuringly.
"The bad news," another person interjected, "is that according to the satellite images, there appear to be seven of them."
Someone nearby sighed. "So the good news isn’t very good, but the bad news is plenty bad."
Even if we assume the range of a single person on their side is "only" thirty thousand square kilometers—roughly the size of twenty-five Cities of Angels—the area of effect still surpasses that of the most powerful nuclear weapon in human history, the Tsar Bomba.
And what they have isn’t a weapon. It’s people. Seven of them.
Considering the power of that one thunderbolt in Berkeley... if you considered the worst-case scenario, all those seven people would have to do is take a little tour across the soil of Huaqi Country, and they could destroy the entire nation.
"There have to be limitations!"
"They can’t just act with complete impunity!"
"Last time, they only destroyed a single building!"
"They even made sure all the ordinary people were out of the building before they destroyed it!"
The officials looked at one another.
Someone asked tentatively, "They don’t kill ordinary people? Is it that they *can’t*, or that they *won’t*?"
Someone with knowledge of Daoism spoke up. "Their religion, it’s one that preaches kindness to others and harmonious development with nature."
"So... they’re... kind?" another person asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Like Superman?" someone asked, their eyes lighting up as if they’d found a weakness.
"Don’t forget Eric Calvin and his parents," someone reminded them coldly.
The hopeful official immediately sobered up.
’Superman doesn’t kill, but these people might just not kill the *innocent*. For those who crossed them, it wasn’t just the target who died, but their parents as well. And people like them were definitely not innocent, ordinary civilians.’
The official couldn’t help but grit his teeth. "Those people across the pond really are barbarians. I heard their favorite threat is to kill your whole family. They do it all the time in their popular fiction, too!"
