As expected by the association, Xu Fang did not kidnap the president.

In the midst of the news frenzy surrounding the fake Trump, the White House released a statement denying the kidnapping, accusing illegal media of deliberately sensationalizing and spreading false information to confuse the public.

The FBI has arrested the unscrupulous media responsible for spreading the scandal, and due to the severe impact caused by the incident, the court will punish the violators severely.

On the same night of the denial, the real Trump came forward to assure everyone that he was fine and that the kidnapping rumors were baseless. He declared that the videos and news circulating on the internet were the work of bored individuals and called them "fake news." However, it seemed that many netizens did not believe the official statements.

Some people took several notable moments from the live broadcast and analyzed them. According to the official statements, the entire video from start to finish was fake. However, the video featured White House senior advisors, the chairman of Huai Industries, and other high-ranking officials... It's unlikely that the unscrupulous media would be able to invite these people as actors, right?

Some individuals with connections also confirmed the authenticity of the incident. While the kidnapping of the president may be fake, the video is definitely real.

Netizens found this situation intriguing, believing that life is always more surprising than movies.

"..."

"God is a girl, so why isn't our president?"

"I find this very cool!!"

"Gussy did what I've always wanted to do but never had the courage."

"Oh my, I can't believe this has happened in my city. I only care about how that lovely girl is doing."

"She's a minor, maybe the Democrats manipulated her... She's a political scapegoat, and I feel sorry for her."

"How is this bio-skin technology even possible? Doesn't anyone think Gussy is just a special effect? In reality, a girl like her could never exist. She would only appear in anime or games. Maybe some people find it absurd... emmmmm, I think I might be too obsessed with the second dimension."

"Why do I feel like I've seen her somewhere before?"

"..."

In the face of Gussy's popularity, the U.S. government quickly downplayed the situation. They flatly denied the authenticity of the event, and the Foreign Relations Committee released other information to divert attention, controlling the media in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region to focus on more significant international issues.

Since Gussy's situation was not beneficial to the capitalists, major news organizations did not continue to pursue it and shifted their focus to other valuable information.

...

Xu Fang did not kidnap the president, and due to the government's intervention, he did not gain enough prominence.

The association will not stop its progress because of this incident. On the afternoon of the 12th, everyone boarded a plane heading to the S city in Huaguo.

Since it was not their home field, they might have to face unknown enemies. Before departure, the association made thorough preparations and activated Josiah's group life-saving items, which would last for 24 hours.

The plane ride would take 10 hours, followed by 14 hours in Huaguo. Regardless of whether they kill Xu Fang, before the resurrection time limit expires, all association members must commit suicide to activate the items and automatically return to their pre-determined location in New York.

The association is not worried about attacks from the demon's true form. Although its energy beams move at nearly three times the speed of sound, the God of Destruction is more than capable of capturing and counterattacking the energy beams (as long as they are close enough). In the eyes of the God of Destruction, the energy beams are equivalent to the demon's true form, and Xu Fang's attacks and sacrifices are no different.

What the association fears are other forces. Firstly, Xu Fang might use the identity of an author or other benefits to seek protection from Huaguo, which would inevitably lead to conflict with the Huaguo government. Secondly, other author organizations are watching with cold eyes, and there's no guarantee they won't try to take advantage of the situation.

In response to this, the association's solution is violence. If Huaguo wants to protect Xu Fang, then all the people in City S will become hostages. As long as the God of Destruction is here, other authors dare not act recklessly.

...

On the plane, Anri and the others enthusiastically discussed their next action plan. Only Kana looked out the window, with a slightly lonely expression.

"My beautiful Miss Kana, ever since Molan died, you have been gloomy. Could it be... because you used to defend her until you discovered she was a traitor, and then abandoned her without mercy, realizing your own hypocrisy, so you feel unhappy?" Anri approached Kana, sounding gentle but with sharp words.

A hint of displeasure appeared on Kana's face, "Molan was innocent from beginning to end; she was only implicated by another persona."

"It doesn't matter, she was indeed a good girl, but she was born in the wrong place." Anri shrugged, "But why does that make you look unhappy?"

"Do I need to confide in someone I dislike?"

"Oh, paying attention to the psychological state of association members is necessary. I don't want you to be a burden." Anri said.

Kana remained silent for a while, then she softly asked, "In our mission this time, do we have to kill many innocent people?"

"That depends on whether Xu Fang cooperates or not."

Kana lowered her eyelids, "Authors killing each other will only cause greater disasters... The goal of the Destruction Association is to eliminate disasters and make the world a better place, right? Coercing innocent civilians in City S to become hostages goes against our original intentions, doesn't it?"

After listening to Kana, Anri widened her eyes dramatically and exclaimed, "Naivety, does your maturity only apply to your body? If you want everyone to be happy, it is inevitable that it will interfere with the interests of happier people. They will become obstacles to us. If you want to make the world better, you need to eliminate obstacles, and that requires necessary killings."

"Killing Xu Fang is just the first step in ruling the world. In the future, the association will face various obstacles. Do you still want to avoid harming the innocent? Put away your saintly heart, Kana, remember the President's words: noble ideals often come with sacrifices, and all sacrifices are meaningful."

Kana lowered her head and remained silent.

She felt an indescribable taste in her heart because she fully agreed with Anri, which indicated that her thoughts had long been assimilated by the association. Her sympathy for humans only showed that she had a bit of conscience as a normal person.

As someone who upheld the President's ideology, she had already become a different person.

At the other end of the cabin, Velley squinted his eyes and looked in Kana's direction.

The President knew that certain members, including Kana, did not want to be enemies with Xu Fang and wanted to give up chasing this dangerous enemy.

Indeed, Xu Fang and the association had no grudges and no conflicting interests. Thanks to him, the association had also gotten rid of the traitor. Both sides were strong, and continuing the fight would be beneficial to no one. It would be better to reconcile and make peace now.

But Xu Fang had to be eliminated. If he was not, Xu Fang would forever be an obstacle to the association's progress. Moreover, demons were a combination of all the evil and had no idea how much innocent blood they had on their hands. In terms of both emotions and reason, Velley had to continue the fight until the enemy was destroyed.

Velley was an ultimate idealist, willing to give up his interests for ideals and enter the abyss of risks.

...

After a ten-hour long journey, the association's members got off the plane and stepped into the vast land of the East.

Although the members dispersed to be more covert, dispersing would make it easier for them to be captured. They wouldn't be able to commit suicide and would be at the mercy of others once the respawn cooldown was over.

The association did not intend to remain covert. They wanted to walk into the sight of Huaguo openly, forcing the local government to make a choice between the association and Xu Fang.

Smart people know what choice to make.

If Huaguo remains neutral, then the association will be nothing but friendly guests and won't destroy anything. If Huaguo takes the initiative to help the association by providing clues, that would be even better.

Since Luo Bing is not an author, the association can easily locate him.

"Emily, let's divine the future of the association." Velley stood outside the airport, gazing at the slightly gloomy sky.

After the divination, Emily's face looked gloomy.

"Lord Velley... the result is inauspicious."

Inauspicious, meaning bad luck or close to "ominous."

Velley frowned, "Strange, the divination result on the plane was unknown. How did the fortune change after arriving in Hua Country?"

"There is a possibility." Josiah said, "Xu Fang or Hua Country may have observed us and taken hostile actions that pose a threat to us, and these actions might be temporary changes."

Velley pondered for a moment and smiled slightly, "Since they haven't taken any action, it means they fear us. Let's start by kidnapping a thousand 'hostages,' with me at the center."

Kidnapping a thousand hostages does not mean kidnapping random people. It means collecting their hair, personal belongings, etc., so that the God of Destruction can inflict harm on them at any time using these items.

The chairman would not kill the hostages, but rather gently use the power of destruction - causing some of the hostages to lose a leg or two arms, or lose some internal organs, causing them to bleed to death. This would leave behind intact corpses and deter the managers of Hua Country.

One hour and twenty minutes passed.

The airport was crowded, and the association easily collected the personal belongings of a thousand strangers through money and conversation. This meant that the lives of a thousand people were now in the chairman's hands.

"Emily, please divine the fortune of the association again."

"Yes, my lord."

Five minutes later, after seeing her divination result, Emily turned pale. This was due to excessive shock and fear.

"Great disaster... the fortune of the association has worsened!"

"Why? We have hostages! How could it..." Nagi exclaimed.

"I don't know, I don't know..."

Everyone's expression changed, but they were not overly panicked. The life-saving items were still functioning, and the worst-case scenario was returning empty-handed.

"Quiet, someone is coming." Velley suddenly said in a deep voice.

Everyone snapped out of it and looked around. They weren't sure if it was an illusion or reality, but the surrounding crowd had thinned out, as if being drawn elsewhere.

An inconspicuous figure walked straight toward the direction of the association, holding a pitch-black handgun in their hand.

That person stopped at a hundred meters away from the crowd, holding the gun up in the sparser crowd, aiming it directly at Velley.

In a country where guns were prohibited, the association encountered someone pointing a gun at them.

"He's not an author, no feedback from the controller." Gerut whispered.

"A regular person with bad intentions." Velley stared at the person aiming the gun, calmly saying, "Stay close to me, let's approach and talk face to face. Gerut, continue to alert the author with the controller, and the rest of you, keep an eye on the surroundings."

Led by Velley, everyone moved closer to the person with the gun. They were not worried about the bullets, as the gods had the ability to destroy everything in the moment the bullets were fired.

What they were worried about were the invisible schemes that caused the association's fortune to plummet.