My Motto

The American fleet? Destroyed?

Yang Chen was now very confused. Frowning, he asked, “Makedon, what is this nonsense? What did I do which even I am not privy to?”

Makedon was surprised at his response. He smiled bitterly and said, “Your Majesty Pluto, we’ve been friends for a very long time. There’s no need to hide matters like these from one another. The American Navy headquarters even has a video of you caught in the act. It’s as clear as day who the figure is in the video.”

Yang Chen was getting more confused by the second. “Come on, I really don’t know what you’re talking about! Tell me!”

Makedon became worried. He scratched his bald head. “You really don't?”

“No shit! You haven’t explained a thing, how would I know!” Yang Chen had a bad feeling. He was panicking now.

“Then... it really wasn’t you?” asked Makedon in disbelief.

Makedon gulped, then muttered, “This is weird. Half an hour ago, the American fleet that retreated from Southeast Asia was destroyed. This was the same fleet that was in conflict with China, the one with a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and twenty ships carrying two thousand navy soldiers. They were destroyed by someone who looked exactly like you. The worst part was that it all went down in under a minute. The aircraft carrier and ships were all distorted and broken, immediately sinking into the depths of the ocean. The people...”

One minute? Yang Chen was shocked. “You mean, the person looked exactly like me and had spatial powers?”

“Yes, Your Majesty Pluto.” Makedon didn’t believe him, so he said, “I don’t understand how someone who looks like you and has spatial powers could exist. Without the ability to distort space, he wouldn’t have been able to destroy the fleet in one minute.

“Wait!” Yang Chen frowned. “You said you have a video?”

“That’s right. Before everything, a nearby ship had recorded the incident. This was received by the American military. I saw it from stolen reports, realized it was you and called...”

“Send it to me. I’ll have a look myself,” said Yang Chen in a low voice.

Makedon quickly sent the file without a word.

A video showing the night sky started playing soon after. After a moment, a dark silhouette appeared.

The ships shone their spotlights on the figure. It immediately became clear who the figure was!

Yang Chen shuddered. He couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a young man who looked exactly like himself?!

He was wearing ordinary clothes, not unlike someone who was going for a walk. However, he was levitating mid-air with an annoyed expression on his face.

You could just make out the man’s face but in the next second, his face twisted into a chilling smile. He stuck a finger out, then gently hooked a finger.

The sound of metal bending and breaking filled the video. The hull of the ship seemed to have twisted, then folded inwards on itself!

It looked like the man was folding the ship in half!

Soon, the camera on the ship was damaged. The video blurred before it ended.

Yang Chen turned the video off. His face was expressionless but his mind was racing with a million questions.

Makedon asked cautiously, “Your Majesty Pluto... That... wasn’t you?”

“No.”

“Then...”

“That was definitely space manipulation.” Yang Chen didn’t wait for Makedon’s question, then added, “But that man is definitely not me. I can’t explain why he looks like me though.”

Makedon thought for a moment. “Could it be a clone? Ah... That wouldn’t be right. If it were a clone, how could someone steal your DNA without you knowing? It doesn’t make sense that the clone would be able to manipulate space too!”

Yang Chen rubbed his forehead. “You can’t just clone me with my genes. My body is not ordinary since it was exposed to the divine light.

“You might not have known, but I have always wondered if people could steal my tissues to clone a terrifying bio-weapon. However, research showed that the possibility of it was very low. That’s because they would need my blood to even have a chance. The blood has to be fresh, and it cannot get in contact with air. That’s just to retain some viable cell samples.

“How likely do you think it is for someone to obtain my blood without my knowledge?”

Makedon was stunned. He thought hard for a moment, then shook his head. “It would be very difficult indeed. Getting you to even bleed would be impossible, let alone hiding it from you.”

“It’s not important now. If they could clone my body, it might not have my spatial manipulation powers. And that man obviously had his own consciousness, he wasn’t just a bioweapon,” said Yang Chen, feeling a headache coming on.

Makedon paled, then said worriedly, “Your Pluto Majesty, we need to do something. This person has spatial manipulation powers but doesn’t respect the Treaty of Gods. He destroyed an entire fleet himself, and he looked exactly like you. If they can’t find him, that means...”

“That means all his crimes will be tied to me. It is not possible for me to gather enough evidence to defend myself.” Yang Chen smiled bitterly. “It will be tough to shift the blame. I don’t even know what this guy wants, nor do I know where to start looking.”

Makedon wiped his sweat. “I had to contact you because the American navy and our central bureau of investigation are already in contact. The Americans are furious because they think you’re protecting the Chinese government. The Americans have already made the step to retreat from Southeast Asia within these two days, and their fleet had just set up an emergency camp in the middle of the Pacific ocean. Now, the fleet has been destroyed and they lost two thousand naval soldiers. They think you’re trying to tip the scales in the Chinese army’s favor by using your spatial powers.

“Hmph, leave politics out of this for now. But that fellow, he broke the treaty in broad daylight by using his spatial powers. I think the rest would already know about it. If I don’t make a public statement soon, I’ll be under attack.” He laughed miserably and sighed. “It’s too bad he used the most common tricks. If he’d used a technique that was a little more unique, then the blame would probably not fall on me.”

“Would the American military know other gods? Would they ask the other gods to attack you?” asked Makedon, puzzled.

Yang Chen laughed, “They wouldn’t need to ask. That woman Christine is still in the US, and the rest would definitely have their own network. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the secret organizations in every country would have their own spies reporting to them. They’ll find out sooner or later.”

Makedon understood. It was true. Any self-aware god, no matter their daytime identity, they would actively get updates from international secret organizations if they were willing. It was like how Yang Chen had him and Sauron for important updates like this one. The other gods would definitely have their hidden network.

Yang Chen thought for a moment. “Alright, you calm the people down. This is a matter which I will deal with personally. I need to go to the place to survey the wreck. Perhaps there’ll be clues.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll give you the coordinates immediately.” Makedon sent a coordinate and ended the call.

Yang Chen glanced at the numbers, then closed his laptop. He changed, then decided to teleport to the Pacific Ocean.

However, his phone vibrated. He smiled bitterly yet again. It was Li Dun from Beijing. He must have called to inquire on behalf of the Li clan.

“I don’t care if you believe it, but that was not me,” said Yang Chen immediately after he picked up.

historical

Li Dun was stunned for a moment, then snickered. “Well you work in mysterious ways, Yang Chen. I too believe that it is not you. Even if it was, you wouldn’t be so careless as to reveal your identity so easily. However... the old man in my clan is enraged. The American government is demanding an explanation.

“This matter has been put under control for now. But the Chinese government and military are like ants on a hot pan as no one can defeat the American military. Hongmeng would never personally interfere with mortal wars, and... I’m telling you this as a friend. If that really was you, Yang Chen, who destroyed the fleet, you’ve broken the Treaty of Gods. You’ll be attacked by the rest...”

“You don’t believe me?” Yang Chen laughed bitterly. This man was beating around the bush, but it was obvious he still suspected Yang Chen.

Li dun immediately defended himself, “No! Do I, Li Dun, look like that kind of person?! ‘No betrayals’ have always been my motto! Of course, I do Yang Chen! The problem is, it’s no use if I believe you. You need them to believe you too! If this goes on... there’ll be misunderstandings and Hongmeng might even reveal themselves to attack you. Ah... Although you aren’t that close with them, according to this situation, it looks like you did cross many lines to interfere with the mortal world. The Americans have lost two thousand lives for nothing.”

“You don’t need to say anymore. I’m going to the site now to see for myself, we’ll definitely find something. Think about it. What good would doing something like this bring to me? It could escalate conflicts between China and America, then trigger the next world war. Then would I lead a happy life after that?”

“Heh, be careful. To be honest, no matter how angry anyone is, they still can’t do much about you. The only problem we face right now is the financial war the Americans could wage against us and our economy. That’s why we must cut all relations with you. Please don’t blame us, I really want to help but I’m only a small minister. The one making the decisions is the boss,” said Li Dun, still confused.

Yang Chen was angry enough to be blamed for something he didn’t do, and this man was about to cut ties with him. The worst thing was, he never wanted ‘ties’ with anyone in the first place! Why would he even want them to burden himself?!

“Hmph, I would’ve dealt with it alone anyway. Don’t worry, no matter what, I won't make you all take the blame. Then again, if something happens, you still have Hongmeng. The ones who will die in war will be the commoners, you Li’s don’t have to worry about your progeny,” Yang Chen hung up.

Li Dun shouted a few ‘hey’s but in the end, he could only hang up on his side, frustrated.

At this moment, Li Moshen, who’d been listening to his grandson’s phone call in the study turned around to ask, “What did he mean?”

“What else? He said we don’t need to worry and he’ll deal with it.” Li Dun pursed his lips. “These measures are too extreme in my opinion. We should be nicer. You asking me to do this will make it very hard for me to face Yang Chen again.”

Li Moshen walked over to glance at the cloudy night sky, sighing. “You’ve seen the video. The man was Yang Chen without a doubt. Then, General Cai, a respected man, also indirectly agreed with us. That meant that even as Yang Chen’s father-in-law he couldn’t be sure it wasn’t Yang Chen. No matter how useful Yang Chen would be to us in the future, he is a problem right now. The enemies he would attract aren’t opponents we can easily defeat anymore. We have no choice but to state where we stand very clearly.”

“This is very sketchy. If Yang Chen really wanted to attack, he would’ve destroyed them a long time ago when he went to capture An Zaihuan. Why would he want to attack only when they’ve retreated from Southeast Asia?” said Li Dun, frustrated.

Li Moshen huffed. “People like us wouldn’t know. Only Yang Chen himself can face such an enemy...”