Global Catastrophe: I Became the World Tree-Chapter 313 - 214: Panic Among Nations, The Final Preparations_1

"Let’s hear your thoughts! What do you all make of this matter?" the elderly leader asked directly, seeing that no one else had spoken up.

The elder sitting to his left was mainly in charge of national economic affairs.

After glancing at the intelligence report and its recommendations, he rubbed his forehead and said, "If the Dragon King’s perception is mistaken, and we place all the cities under military control, it will not only cause great economic loss but also significantly affect our official credibility."

Upon hearing this, the elder sitting opposite him immediately raised his eyebrows and said, "Old Qin, we’re talking about the lives of over a billion people! Isn’t that far more important than the economy and credibility? I think whether it’s true or not, we should prepare for the worst-case scenario."

The elder known as Old Qin took off his glasses and wiped them, saying, "Old Guo, I never said people’s lives aren’t important. But I feel that before issuing such an order, we should at least determine the credibility of this intelligence, right? We can’t just mobilize the whole country every time someone says something!"

The conference room fell silent once more; indeed, this was their greatest dilemma.

The crucial question was the reliability of the intelligence report.

The clock on the wall ticked away, and as time passed minute by minute, about three minutes later, the screen at the front of the conference room suddenly lit up.

Seeing this, everyone perked up, the message they had been waiting for had finally arrived.

The figure appearing on the screen was a middle-aged man in military uniform, and anyone from the military would recognize him at a glance as Marshal Zhang Bingtao of the Central War Zone.

As soon as he appeared, he spoke frankly, "According to the analysis by the General Staff, there is an eighty percent chance that this intelligence is accurate. Additionally, we have consulted with three Superhumans who have reached the Fourth Order, Bai Junheng, Wu Yuqin, and Fang Ziyuan, and all of them have felt an impending crisis that is growing increasingly intense."

"Therefore, the military’s recommendation is to immediately implement military control in all cities, activate disaster relief emergency plans, as we don’t have much time left," he added.

Hearing Marshal Zhang Bingtao speak like this, everyone glanced at each other, and Old Qin, who had been against it earlier, was the first to speak up, "I agree with this proposal."

"I also agree."

"So do I."

Quickly, the proposal was unanimously passed.

The leading elder then stood up, "In that case, I’ll order that the country enter a first-level state of combat readiness from this moment on. In the remaining three hours, all departments must cooperate fully and prepare for disaster relief."

...

As the central command was issued, people online who had just been discussing it were instantly stunned.

Those who had doubted Yang City did so because they felt the matter didn’t concern them, so they watched with detached amusement.

In such a situation, some wanted to show off their erudition, to stand out from the crowd, while others simply wanted to be contrarian for the sake of it.

But now, when they suddenly learned that the disaster was not only in Yang City but in all cities, their attitude changed in an instant.

"Damn! What are the people in our city doing, acting almost 20 minutes later than Yang City?"

"Indeed! Why didn’t they say something earlier? Losing 20 minutes of preparation could be the difference between life and death!" freёnovelkiss.com

The direction of online opinion changed instantly; those who had mocked Yang City now started worrying about their own lives.

But soon there was silence online, because all internet chat platforms were taken over by the authorities, who then imposed a complete silence.

From that moment on, non-official accounts were no longer allowed to post.

And all official accounts were sending out messages guiding people on how to save themselves from different types of natural disasters.

The events in Hua Country naturally drew high levels of international concern.

If it had only been Yang City under military control, preparing for disaster, they might have been content to wait and see.

But now the whole of Hua Country was doing so, and many nations instantly panicked.

Especially the cities in Hua Country’s vicinity; if a disaster could affect the entire nation, then the neighboring countries would certainly not be spared either.

Thus, the busiest department at this time turned out to be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dozens, even hundreds of calls came in, all inquiring about the specifics of the situation.

Hua Country didn’t attempt to hide anything on their end.

They simply relayed the Dragon King’s speculation about the natural disaster.

However, they added a remark afterward.

"The Dragon King says this disaster could potentially affect the whole of Asia, but that doesn’t mean other regions are safe. Any human or Mutated Being that is Fourth Order or higher should be able to sense the impending danger, and everyone can make their own judgment."

As the other countries received Hua Country’s response, they were all immediately on edge.

If there were any Fourth Order powerhouses in those countries, they would immediately seek them out for confirmation; if not, they would urgently observe those Mutated Beings that had reached the Fourth Order.

Fourth Order Mutated Creatures, being quite large in size, would usually find it difficult to remain completely hidden, especially when they needed to hunt for food.