In fact, Yang Jia was prepared for the situation, but the performance of the other two districts was far less impressive than she had expected.

This is no wonder.

Ever since the Chinese region developed a vaccine for the DIE virus, the other two regions have essentially relinquished control of the game. While many players still remain, and some still linger, hoping to give it another try, the majority have turned their attention to reality, to the Star of Hope.

Everyone knows that something happened on Hope Star, and this change is related to a man named Li Bai.

Li Bai is from the Chinese region.

Even though her relationship with the Chinese region is not as good as imagined, when it comes to the critical moment, if you ask which side Li Bai will favor, people in the European and American regions will not blindly believe that Li Bai will abandon the Chinese region and help them instead.

So, on the surface, it looked as if Li Bai and the people of Hope had vaguely escaped Earth's control. But in reality, the Chinese region still held the upper hand on Hope, significantly outnumbering the other two regions.

This result was naturally not what they wanted to see. While guarding against Li Bai, it did not prevent them from uniting to argue with the Chinese government or even put pressure on it. If they could force the other party to make concessions and gain more benefits, why not do it?

As for the "Real" game, it is an outdated research project and naturally will not receive much attention.

Under the influence of this mentality, the major powers have largely withdrawn from the game, leaving only smaller players. Even if they tried to organize players, they were powerless. Therefore, compared to the six major power divisions in the Chinese region, the European and American regions are more in line with the system's requirements, yet remain a fragmented mess to this day.

If they are given more time to develop, I believe that before long, a force with the support of the majority of the people will stand up to turn the tide and integrate the two regions, just like the current Chinese region.

Unfortunately, they don't have that kind of time.

The system has the ability to make NPCs from the other two regions appear in the Chinese region, and it can also make NPCs from the Chinese region appear in the American and European regions.

Discovering the emergence of the Zone 3 corridor, they were naturally even more panicked than those in the Chinese Region. Unfortunately, before they could come up with any constructive suggestions for dealing with the situation, the Chinese Region's planes were already circling over the city at lightning speed.

This unexpected appearance caused morale in the European and American regions to plummet, and naturally, they had little energy to compete with the Chinese region. Some people completely gave up on dominating the game and simply quit, returning to reality to pursue their dreams.

Most of those who stayed behind just went with the flow, with no intention of fighting to the end. They played this game simply because the environment here was different from Earth and there was something to do in the game.

These so-called appearance-oriented people, scenery-oriented people, and lifestyle-oriented people simply didn't have a firm stance. Furthermore, the people arranged by Yang Jia and Zhuo Tianyang fanned the flames, and the small group of resistance was quickly and efficiently dealt with. Thus, without the massive military deployment across oceans and mountains to engage in battle as Yang Jia had imagined, these two places also underwent "peaceful evolution."

Of course, it seems inappropriate to say this, because the Chinese region did not act aggressively and interfere in their internal affairs. Instead, it signed a series of cooperation treaties. Although some of these treaties had some vague colonial meanings, they were controlled within a certain range and did not arouse anyone's vigilance or hostility.

So within a month or two, the entire gaming world actually stabilized again.

Yang Jia felt a sense of disbelief, as if he were dreaming.

"How come it ended so easily?" she asked Li Bai in confusion.

Li Bai asked her, "Then what do you think should be done?"

"In my imagination, there must be a magnificent war, with hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops mobilized, bloodshed and rivers flowing, and finally a hard-fought victory, with a new regime and order established on piles of bones..." This is the normal development, right?

Li Bai twitched his lips and said, "Watch fewer war movies in the future." Look at how his thoughts have been poisoned.

Yang Jia was dissatisfied, "Am I wrong?"

"Logically and theoretically, it's not wrong, but you forgot to consider the practical aspects," Li Bai said. "Warfare isn't that simple. You should already know how the current three-district structure came about. Back then, a catastrophic war lasted a century. It was just as you described, with bloodshed and bones piled high. And then the three major districts were established."

Seeing Yang Jia nod, she continued, "But the war brought not only new life but also countless traumas. The impact of this war on Earth and the humans living on it has not been completely eliminated to this day."

After that war, the Earth became precarious, and it took mankind hundreds of years of recuperation before it gradually recovered.

Precisely because of this profound influence, Earth hasn't seen a serious war in the nearly five hundred years since the establishment of the three major regions. Most problems can be solved through political mediation and other means. If they truly can't be solved, they'll only find a pretext for a conflict on another planet, but it's a small-scale conflict. That's how Li Bai built his reputation.

A truly protracted war is no longer possible.

This concept is deeply rooted in the hearts of all human beings on Earth, so the scene that Yang Jia wants to see is simply impossible to happen, even if it is only in a game.

The current situation is naturally foreseeable.

Of course, if the bottom line is truly crossed, the inevitable resistance is inevitable. That's why Li Bai didn't just brute-force take over the two regions—in fact, with so few people under her command, she couldn't handle it. Besides, Li Bai isn't Yang Jia; she doesn't want to fight. A peaceful resolution is naturally the best option.

"Okay, even if you are right." Yang Jia didn't really want to go to war, but this development was too different from what she had imagined.

Li Bai stroked her cheek with his palm and said with a smile, "So sometimes, a road that looks paved with thorns is just that, in appearance. Once you walk on it, you'll find it's not that scary at all, right?"

Yang Jia had to admit that Li Bai was right.

"What's next? Are we just going to let them continue to develop in this unorganized way?" She thought for a moment and asked again.

Li Bai sneered, "How is that possible?"

It was difficult to completely defeat any nation. Once given time, forces large and small would quickly grow, until one day they could overturn the unequal treaties that had been signed. Therefore, Li Bai certainly wouldn't give them such an opportunity.

However, the issues involved were extremely complex and could not be explained in a short time, so she did not elaborate, simply saying, "There's an ancient saying that goes, 'Those who are not of my kind must have different hearts.' Even if they submit temporarily, they will inevitably have second thoughts. To deal with them, we can only use both carrots and sticks to keep them honest and do their work."

After she finished speaking, she saw Yang Jia staring at her and couldn't help asking, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I just realized today that you're such a bad person," Yang Jia said. "Why did I think you were so cold but actually very upright?"

Li Bai narrowed his eyes and stared at Yang Jia with a cold face. "You actually discovered my biggest secret. Tell me, what should I do with you?"

"Well...then lock me up so that your secret will never be revealed." Yang Jia cooperated, "Haven't you already built a cage for me?"

"What cage?" Li Bai was stunned.

Yang Jia lightly touched her heart with his fingertips, "Here, a cage that can trap me tightly and never let me escape."

It's said that women's hearts are very close to the surface of their skin, so their heartbeats are always easy to hear. From a scientific point of view, this is of course nonsense, but at this moment, Li Bai clearly felt that Yang Jia's finger seemed to be directly touching his heart.

It made her shudder all over.

In fact, Li Bai was very clear that her possessiveness towards Yang Jia far exceeded that of a normal lover, because to her, Yang Jia was not just a lover.

She had indeed thought about imprisoning Yang Jia forever, forcing her to stay by her side, unable to go anywhere, and only seeing herself. This thought was not violent, but it was like a poison entangled in her heart, corroding her heart bit by bit, making it impossible for her to completely eliminate this delusion.

But she believed she had disguised herself well, especially in front of Yang Jia.

So at this moment, when Yang Jia pointed it out so bluntly, Li Bai felt panicked, but also had a sense of satisfaction that he had achieved what he wanted.

Yang Jia knew.

And he willingly lets himself be bound by her, promising never to leave.

Although Li Bai also knew that as two independent individuals, they always had their own things to do, and it was objectively impossible to achieve the so-called "staying together forever", but she had not lost her mind and planned to imprison Yang Jia, so getting this statement was enough.

She grabbed Yang Jia's fingertips, pressed them back to her heart, and chuckled softly, "You walked in here by yourself."

Then, before Yang Jia could speak, he sealed her words with a kiss.

There was no need to say anything more. Instead of taking this time to get closer, she would go back to Earth and be busy again.

It's not that he was so busy that he didn't even have time to meet Yang Jia, but she was currently receiving so much attention that she would definitely be the center of everyone's attention when she arrived on Earth. It would be best not to reveal Yang Jia's real-world identity and whereabouts. Especially since Tianyang Research Institute had remained a secret from the higher-ups until now, and would be a crucial surprise force in the future.

So the two of them were destined to only meet in the game temporarily to comfort each other's longing for each other.