"My beloved citizens… good evening."
Eve XI appeared on every screen across First City.
Her eyes shimmered with tears.
Her voice trembled—soft, fragile, painfully sincere.
Anyone who saw her would feel their chest tighten.
"It is with deep sorrow… that I must deliver a shocking message."
A pause.
"An hour ago… members of the Elders Council—whom we trusted most—betrayed us."
Cut.
Footage shifted abruptly.
Armed forces unleashing heavy fire beneath a bridge.
Tracer rounds tore through the darkness.Bullets hammered the structure like a storm of steel.Concrete exploded into clouds of debris, raining down over Eve's convoy taking cover below.
The visual impact was overwhelming.
"As many citizens witnessed firsthand—"
"They attacked my motorcade… attempting to assassinate me."
Cut again.
Red Hall—surrounded.
Explosions flashed across its metallic exterior.Gunfire roared from both sides.
"They are besieging the opposition headquarters… attempting to establish an authoritarian regime."
Cut.
Television News Center—
Private security forces exchanging heavy fire with armed troops.
Glass shattered.Studio lights collapsed in sparks.
"They are assaulting the News Center… trying to silence the truth… and strip us of press freedom."
Cut.
A warship battle—
The Smoke Baron locked in combat, dark mist rolling across the deck.
"They have even colluded with the Bloodkin."
Cut.
Unknown footage—
Soldiers in First City uniforms massacring civilians.
Flames.Screams.Bodies falling.
"Many who knew the truth… have already been silenced."
Back to Eve.
Her voice choked.
Tears slid down her cheeks.
"Our Eden lineage has always cherished peace."
"We respect human rights. We value freedom."
"The technologies we safeguard… exist only to preserve First City's fragile living space."
Her tone hardened—just slightly.
"But our Elders…"
"They seek world domination through military force."
"They intend to introduce foreign populations to share our technology—only to satisfy their ambition."
"They would sacrifice our own people to achieve it."
"They have cut roads."
"Severed communications."
"Seized control of everything within First City."
"They are trying to bury the truth."
Her gaze lifted toward the camera.
"For anyone who opposes them…"
"Erasure is already underway."
"Perhaps I am one of their targets."
"…Perhaps you are too."
She bowed her head.
"I—Eve XI—beg the military forces stationed beyond the city…"
"Please… save those of us trapped within First City."
"My strength may be small…"
"But I will fulfill my final duty."
"As Queen of First City, I hereby declare—"
"The Elders Council an illegal institution."
"All offices appointed by them must undergo immediate review."
"The Dawn Party, who stand with me, have already dispatched their most loyal guardians."
"They will assume provisional authority—"
CRACK—!
A ceramic cup shattered in an elder's hand.
On the giant screen—
Eve was still weeping.
Still speaking.
Still controlling the narrative.
"Where is she broadcasting from?!"
Chen Xiangdong was completely stunned.
"The News Center is still under our control!"
Huang Jingfeng answered calmly.
"Network Administration."
"She went there personally."
"The footage you're seeing was filmed earlier inside the News Center."
"Pre-recorded. Edited. Supplemented with inserted combat visuals and voice overlays."
Realization struck the room.
"That woman…!"
"She's framing us!"
"Defamation! Fabrication!"
"She says we want world domination? That's the Dawn Party's agenda!"
"Will anyone even believe this?!"
Reality answered immediately.
A comm channel burst open.
"Report!"
Chen Xiangdong looked half-dead.
"…What now."
"Signals received from the Alaska Bering Fleet… Cape of Good Hope Fleet… and South Australia Air Command."
"They condemn the Elders Council's… disgraceful actions."
"They question your legitimacy… and reserve the right to take further action."
Another channel cut in.
"Polish Garrison Command requests immediate explanation. Failing that—they will refuse all orders and reserve operational autonomy."
Civil war—
Was no longer avoidable.
The military foundation capable of shaking the world—
Was fracturing.
"What about nearby forces?!"
Chen Xiangdong roared.
"Our surrounding garrisons?!"
"Joint statement from Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise, and Azure Dragon Satellite Cities—"
"They accept Dawn Party restructuring."
"White Tiger Satellite City refuses Dawn Party integration… but also refuses to recognize Council legitimacy."
"Their commander requests reappointment from Queen Eve."
An elder's voice trembled.
"The Capital Guard…?"
That was the key.
Lose every external force—
And it wouldn't matter if the Capital Guard remained loyal.
They were the strongest armed power within the capital zone.
Politically neutral by design.
Currently deployed fifty kilometers outside the city under Council orders.
The answer came like a death sentence.
"Mutiny within Capital Guard."
"Council-appointed commander assassinated."
"Force split into two factions."
"One accepts Dawn Party restructuring."
"One refuses—but will only maintain civil order until clarity is achieved."
"Both factions… are responding to Queen Eve's request…"
"…and are moving toward the city at maximum speed."
"Conspiracy!"
Chen Xiangdong's veins bulged purple.
"All of this—planned!"
"That woman started preparing since the last Council session!"
Eve's prestige within First City was unmatched.
She was seen as God's masterpiece.
A symbol of divine authority.
Her past political catastrophe—
Buried from public history alongside Adam's Bloodkin secret in the deepest archives.
Now—
She played the tragedy card to perfection.
Smearing the Council.
Painting them as demons.
Harvesting sympathy.
Nearly twenty thousand expeditionary troops were stationed worldwide—
Across fifty bases.
Fewer than thirty percent had declared positions.
But—
Distant armies couldn't save a burning capital.
The Capital Guard's neutrality meant only one thing:
Intervention.
Investigation.
Control.
And once they took control—
Truth would no longer matter.
Attacking the Queen's motorcade alone—
Was a capital crime.
"She must've planted agents in advance!"
Chen Xiangdong gasped.
"Once the broadcast aired—during the chaos—they assassinated the Capital Guard commander!"
"Cut the signal! Stop her from inciting the masses!"
"It's useless," someone replied hoarsely.
"This isn't a live broadcast."
"It's a fully packaged data transmission."
"The complete version has already propagated across global communication networks."
On the aerial tactical map—
Dozens of heavy combat aircraft launched from Capital Guard bases.
Accelerating toward First City's central district.
Air superiority—
Lost.
Escape—
Impossible.
"…We underestimated her…"
Chen Xiangdong collapsed into his chair, eyes hollow.
On screen—
Eve was still speaking.
Still crying.
Still winning.
The elders slumped in silence across the chamber.
At some point—
Huang Jingfeng and his faction had quietly moved to the exit.
He paused at the doorway.
Gave the hall one final glance.
Cold.
Calculating.
Then turned away.
"Eve… the game has only begun."
"The one you defeated… was just that useless Chen Xiangdong."
"If you intend to play with iron and blood—"
His voice faded as he stepped into the corridor.
"Then let's play to the end."