Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1294 Heavy Clouds Obscure the Land and Sea

The enormous "Sky Beast" airship flew over the Federation, pressing down like a dark cloud. Compared to it, the airships beside it, which were originally quite large, seemed rather small.

This time, the Federation did not hide its intentions or whereabouts. With such a large-scale mobilization and the participation of multiple forces, coupled with interactions with countries and major companies around the world, the news could not be kept secret at all.

So they simply treated the operation as an armed parade, an opportunity to demonstrate federal force.

The locations they passed through were also carefully selected, flying near or over the central cities of several continents of the Federation, so that the public could directly feel the power of the Federation.

However, this made the West Coast Party members who accompanied the group look rather grim, as this kind of presentation subconsciously makes people think that all of this was created by the East Coast Party.

Despite the East Coast Party's promises of substantial benefits, they remained dissatisfied and conflicted.

They both hope that the East Coast Party can take over Wei Shuzhou this time so that they can benefit from it, and at the same time they secretly hope that the East Coast will fail so that the West Coast Party will still have a chance to take over the government in the next term.

Inside the luxurious cabin at the very center of the giant ship, the floor was covered with Pallanio's expensive carpets, and the walls were adorned with exquisite decorations and several famous paintings from the old era.

The slowly turning record player was playing classical music, a stirring suite by Ariel, with a bright and exciting melody and rhythm, as well as a sense of solemnity and inevitability from fate.

State Advisor Robles sat at the dining table, a bottle of red wine already opened on the table. He was using his silver knife and fork to savor the exquisite dishes, his gaze occasionally sweeping across the sofa opposite him.

There sat a beautiful woman with heavy makeup and a languid expression. She wore bright red lipstick, a beret with a veil, and sat with her legs crossed, elegantly smoking a cigarette.

This woman was his personal bodyguard and secretary, as well as his mistress in name only.

On the other side of the table, his attendants reported the situation to him.

"To safeguard national security, the National Defense Regulations have now been formally activated. During this period, all unauthorized and unpermitted foreign personnel will be refused entry into the federal territory. The federal government will also take all necessary security measures, and any illegal entry will be subject to full consequences..."

Upon hearing this, Robles picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth, beckoned to him, and the attendant immediately closed the document and handed it to him with both hands.

He knew that all that was needed was his authorization; in fact, the real security measures had been activated the moment they set off. So he simply glanced at it, signed a line of beautiful cursive script, placed it aside, and gestured for his entourage to take it.

The attendant took it, bowed to him, and hurriedly left.

Robles looked at the woman: "Rose, are you settling in alright?"

The beautiful woman said in a slightly hoarse voice, "It's alright."

Robles said calmly, "Keep an eye on that show-off kid down there. Don't let him cause trouble. He's just our figurehead. We just need him to be in the most eye-catching spot. We don't need him to get involved in anything else."

The beautiful woman exhaled a puff of smoke. "Understood."

Inside the spacious cabin corridor, Lily walked briskly with excitement. Yesterday's haul was plentiful; not only were there fighters from the Federation government present, but also security advisors from various invited governments and consortia.

She went up to conduct an interview as a special correspondent for the Fighters Council's publication and obtained a lot of news material.

Unfortunately, she hasn't been able to interview the Federation hero yet. Upon boarding the airship, she was told he was hiding in the cabin cultivating. Luckily, she met an elder who was on good terms with her father and happened to be in charge of that cabin area, so he made an appointment for her.

When they arrived at the agreed time, a woman with a stern and rigid expression looked at them and Briggs with a scrutinizing gaze for several times before leading them into the room.

Once inside, Lily finally met the person she had been longing to interview—Ethan Walker, a federal hero.

He once stopped the spread of invasive alien creatures during a crisis, single-handedly repelling a powerful alien entity and claiming to have saved the lives of millions of Federation citizens. With media and official propaganda, he is an idol worshipped by a new generation of Federation youth.

Ethan Walker wasn't very tall, and he looked rather thin and frail. He had platinum blonde hair and delicate features, which didn't quite fit the mainstream aesthetic standards of the Federation. Judging from his appearance, you would never guess that he was already twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old; he looked at most fifteen or sixteen.

She introduced herself, only saying that she was from the Fighters Council, and didn't mention her other identity. While an official identity in Norland was useful in the Western Continent, few people in the Federation cared about it.

Ethan was aware of the influence of the Fighters Council's publications. He enjoyed showcasing himself in public, but he disliked unqualified people approaching him, and the Fighters Council had that right.

At that moment, the woman who looked like an assistant handed over a contract.

"You are only allowed to ask questions within the prescribed scope. All content published afterward will need to be reviewed by us. If you do not agree, please leave."

Lily pursed her lips, but she already knew the rule when she arrived, so she took it, signed it, and then proceeded to the formal interview.

Questions such as "What do you think of this operation?" and "Do you think this operation will be successful?" are asked.

The female assistant gave a perfectly official answer from the side.

"Is this an interview with him or with you?" Lily thought to herself. After asking a few more tedious questions, Lily's eyes lit up, and she said, "I've heard you're a Federation hero, the world's most famous and promising Secret Temple fighter, and you'll be a great fighter in the future..."

Although this wasn't the point, Ethan didn't intend for her to stop, and noticing that his attention was starting to focus and the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, she quickly finished the sentence:
"But as far as I know, Da Shun also has a fighter who seems to be younger than you. He has also defeated very powerful enemies and has made achievements comparable to yours. What are your thoughts on this?"

The female assistant immediately looked displeased: "This is not within the scope of the inquiry."

"Wait a moment."

Ethan seems to be very sensitive about this.

"Since you've asked..."

He seemed a little serious for the first time, and said to Lily, "He can do that kind of thing, he just has the opportunity, understand?"

After thinking for a moment, he added:
“I will prove it to everyone.” He tapped the notebook. “You can write this down.”

Although there were still some topics left to ask, the interview had come to an end, and Lily and her companion were asked to leave by the female assistant.

When the female assistant returned, she frowned at Ethan and said, "You shouldn't have responded to that. It might have sparked some international controversy and would have been bad for your reputation."

She was worried that if she let this out, the other side would challenge them to a fight, and then she would have to decide whether to accept or not.
She knew that although Ethan was very strong, half of his strength was for national propaganda purposes, while that other person's record was truly earned from start to finish, without any exaggeration.

Ethan snorted.

Now that the question had been asked, his pride wouldn't allow him to back down.

Because he had heard comparisons between him and that person more than once, and as he said, he just hadn't had the chance yet, and he would prove everyone right.

Lily ran out of the cabin with great joy, even twirling around a few times with her interview book in hand. She had just interviewed someone who had made a big story out of the interview.

Briggs, looking serious, said from behind, "Lily, let me remind you, that's a federal hero. Do you know how many people are involved behind that title? How many interests are tied up?"

“Okay, okay, we’ll find this person next.” Lily glanced at her notebook. “Mr. Cooper, he’s supposedly the latest generation of active consciousness designers, and he’s not even thirty yet. Uncle Briggs, hurry up, or we’ll miss it.”

With that, she excitedly ran out.

Briggs shook his head but followed anyway.

At this very moment, on the southwestern coast of the Federation.

A beam of light pierced the sky from the west, creating a long, continuous ripple on the sea.

The federal government has established a dense network of field observation posts near the sea. Any high-speed abnormal object or person that enters the warning area and is detected will be immediately reported, and a process to identify its identity and origin will be quickly initiated.

Therefore, this beam of light avoided this area and traveled over a more distant part of the sea.

The scenery around Chen Chuan was rapidly receding. The Federation's observation posts were not only located near the coast but also in the open sea.
It's just that it requires a lot of energy, so it's not usually fully activated, but he can now sense the field emanating from the densely packed sentry posts from a distance.

He guessed that the federal government had activated national security defenses for this operation, which meant he had to find a way to avoid it.

This wasn't difficult for him, but as he traveled along the way, he always felt that there was a mysterious force shrouding the federal territory he passed through. Whenever he got close, he would feel a sense of danger, and this was true no matter where he went.

He suddenly realized that it was very likely that the upper echelons of the Federation had also intervened.

This might also be a precaution against interference from other forces during the operation. Based on his observations and prior information, it is likely that any force exceeding a certain limit would be targeted.

He thought for a moment, then immediately merged his second self with his body, reduced his physical expression, and slowed down his speed.

In this way, even from the outside, he would appear to be just an ordinary fighter, and wouldn't attract much attention or be targeted by higher authorities.

Even so, he should be able to get there within two or three days, and the Federation should have just set off recently, so they should be able to catch up.

……

……

(End of this chapter)