Three months after the Druid incident, China and the United States had engaged in numerous contacts, both public and private.
From initial probing and exploration to intelligence exchange, both sides made significant progress in paranormal intelligence and research.
The two countries have not only achieved good results in information sharing through cooperation, but have also successfully made contact with some hidden supernatural forces and magical species.
In this context, the mutual goodwill gestures between high-level officials of both sides have led to the lifting of restrictions on many exchanges between the people, which is seen by outsiders as a sign of a continued warming of relations between China and the United States.
...
"Hello everyone, this is NhK International News."
"China and the United States recently held their third joint seminar on cooperation in various fields, including bilateral trade and economic cooperation, environmental pollution control, and global security issues."
"The two delegations exchanged in-depth views and reached a consensus on future global environmental health and disaster prevention and control."
"At the same time, the Chinese and American militaries continued their exchanges and agreed to jointly prevent global terrorism. U.S. Navy Admiral xxx invited China to send a fleet to participate in this year's Rim of the Pacific Exercise and proposed mutual visits between the two fleets."
"Mr. Takaro Matsu, a Japanese defense and diplomacy observer, has been paying close attention to the above issues. Today, our station has invited Mr. Matsu as a guest to the scene. Now let's hear Mr. Matsu's views on the recent warming of relations between China and the United States."
"Hello, Mr. Matsuwa."
"Hello, Ms. Tomoko."
"We all know that relations between China and the United States have been strained this year due to competition for global status. In addition, the US economy is declining and its global debt is heavy. The US has always regarded China as a potential threat. At the same time, the US is an important ally of Japan and a guarantor of the US-Japan Security Treaty."
"What is your view on the recent contacts and cooperation between China and the United States? Will it affect the stability of the Asia-Pacific region, and what kind of side effects will it have on Japan?"
"First of all, thank you NhK for inviting me to be a guest during prime time."
"We all know that Japan and the United States are among the most important strategic partners in the world, have significant influence in the Asia-Pacific region, and take it as their responsibility to maintain the balance of the Asia-Pacific region."
"The recent improvement in relations between China and the United States may stem from economic pressures in the United States and goodwill gestures from China. As the world's first and second largest economies, their relationship cannot remain at a low level indefinitely, as this would have a negative impact on the world and Japanese economies."
"So, Mr. Songhe means that the recent mutual visits between China and the United States fall within the scope of normal economic and trade relations?"
I think so.
"So what is your view on cooperation between the two sides in the military field, such as the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval exercises and the proposal for mutual fleet visits?"
"Hehe, that's not surprising. This isn't the first time China has participated in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, and fleet reciprocal visits are still just a proposal. Even if it were a reality, it wouldn't be the first time."
"Okay, then we'll..."
...
Kawai Heito sat on the tatami mat with a few classmates watching NhK's prime-time news. As a student in the Department of Japan-China Relations Studies, he paid close attention to this kind of news, and often drew material for his papers from this topic.
They don't just target television news, they also target online news.
"Sigh, it's that same old tone again. The response the Foreign Minister received during his visit to the US was just normal international exchanges."
One of the students stretched and picked up the conversation.
"What else can happen? Do you really think China and the US can form a strategic alliance? Don't be naive. Even if you agree, the top leaders of both countries won't agree, unless aliens invade."
Another female voice, who was writing something in her notebook, seemed to perk up when she heard the topic of aliens. She pulled herself out of her notebook and joined the conversation.
"Speaking of which, there isn't much news about aliens, but there are quite a few supernatural events around the world, many of which are eyewitness accounts."
Kawai chuckled.
"Haha, none of that is true. These days, internet trends are all about clicks and likes."
"That's true. Anyway, there doesn't seem to be a single eyewitness report of such an incident in Japan, not even a suspected one. There's only the so-called haunted house or haunted house gimmick that has always existed."
The girl seemed very disappointed.
"Sigh... How come this is? Why doesn't Japan have any? We clearly have so many myths and legends, but why do so many other ancient countries have eyewitness accounts of their myths and fantasy stories..."
"Hehe, don't overthink it, Little Lily."
The same question not only arose in Sayuri Haruta's mind, but also in the minds of countless netizens in Japan.
Similar complaints can be found on many social networking sites and portals in Japan.
Some Japanese students or tourists have even sworn that they have experienced supernatural events while traveling to other countries.
For example, a couple in China were preparing to take a night tour of Mount Tai and, together with nearly a hundred tourists from all over the world, "witnessed" the "Celestial Dog Howling at the Moon".
On a night when Japan should have been clear, the sky was overcast. Everyone was about to give up their plans for a night out, but then they heard barking dogs that sounded like wolves howling.
Three sounds rang out in succession, carrying over a very wide area. The dark clouds in the sky then dispersed, revealing only the full moon, whose light was so bright that it illuminated the earth.
Someone filmed this amazing scene, and it can still be found online.
There were many similar cases, but after everyone returned home, Japan was "peaceful".
Some busybodies speculated, "Could Japan be a magic-poor region?"
This inference has drawn widespread lamentation from countless Japanese netizens.
...
At the same time that evening, at a military base in Nanjing, China.
Representatives at the prime ministerial level from both China and the United States officially signed the "World Tree Document No. 1," establishing a non-public strategic partnership to address potential changes in the "real world," thus formally establishing the World Tree Alliance.
It also stipulates that new member states may be considered for limited reasons, provided that both parties agree.
The United States only mentioned Britain incidentally, with no intention of bringing Britain into the picture in the early stages, let alone Japan or the like.
Compared to China, the United States benefited significantly more. By leveraging China's fifth-category special agents, the United States also gained access to an ancient supernatural force.
The successful contact with the Dark Sanctuary, in particular, brought a huge surprise.
...
Wu You wasn't idle either. Besides expanding the existing population of alchemical creatures, another piece of good news had just happened.
The female griffins in the conception experiment gave birth.
The birth occurred almost a year earlier than originally estimated, and the cub was born in just over six months.
This was certainly not a miscalculation by Wu You back then. Although his abilities were relatively primitive compared to now, this level of biological control and precognitive intuition was definitely not wrong.
What truly caused Wu You to misjudge was the subsequent additional factor: the special evolutionary energy released by the ancient natural tree.
In a huge griffin nest somewhere in an ancient natural tree, dozens of baby griffins, which can crawl as soon as they are born, are running around everywhere.
Bai Ze's goat beard fluttered even without wind, his wise gaze fixed on the little griffin that was circling around Wu You.
Its eyes narrowed slightly, and the little griffin in its line of sight was as if it were under special X-rays, making it clear in every detail.
"My lord, there is no mistake, they are no longer griffins in the original sense."
"Oh? But they all look the same."
Wu You picked one up and examined it closely. He looked at it from left to right but couldn't see any significant difference. He just felt that it had strong vitality and a relatively strong body.
"But they did absorb the energy released by the ancient tree in their embryonic stage. Although you can't see it now, I can see a small cloud of air above their heads."
"Then what impact will it have? Tell me the results."
Bai Ze took two steps closer and nudged a sleeping baby griffin with his hoof.
"This cyclone will gradually crystallize in the future as the body matures and absorbs more energy, and may even be able to convert the energy in food into evolutionary energy."
Wu You's eyes narrowed.
"Can they use it?"
I initially thought it was just passive absorption during pregnancy, but now it seems there's more to it than that.
"I'm afraid so, my lord. This is of great reference value to my research on the use of this energy."
Looking at the little griffin waving its claws haphazardly in its hand.
So, even I haven't used this energy yet, but you bunch of little brats, no, you little griffin cubs, you were born knowing how to do it?
Wu You narrowed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them again, his eyes were indifferent. He had used his supreme will.
This caused the little griffin he was observing to go from being lively and energetic to being "petrified".
Under imperceptible circumstances, the baby griffin's bodily functions are strengthening at an unusually slow but continuous pace.
Is it only possible to utilize this energy in the fetal state? Is it because griffins are alchemical creatures? Or is it possible for other creatures to do so as well?
...
Outside a delivery room at Qiantang First People's Hospital.
A row of expectant fathers, grandparents, and maternal grandparents sat there anxiously waiting.
The electronic screens outside the delivery room displayed the labor status of their respective wives or daughters.
When a pregnant woman who has just given birth is finally brought out, her family is naturally overjoyed, but the remaining family members become even more anxious.
A man walked from the east side of the corridor to the west side and then from the west side to the east side. Although it was a bit disorienting, everyone looked anxious, which was understandable. Besides, many people would stand up and pace around after sitting for a while.
"Runbing, don't rush around, stop pacing back and forth, have some dinner..."
The elderly mother felt sorry for her son and tried to persuade him to eat something.
"Oh my god, I can't eat anything now. Xiaoya has been in there for three hours. I wonder what she's going through. I thought I could be there for her during childbirth, but it turns out the hospital doesn't allow family members into the delivery room after closing time."
Just then, a midwife hurried by and, upon hearing this, stopped to ask him a question.
"Sir, what is your wife's name? I'll go in and take a look at her in a bit."
"Okay, okay... Thank you, nurse. My wife's name is Sun Xiaoya. Could you please check on her condition?"
The nurse opened the delivery room door and went in. She looked up Sun Xiaoya's bed number and opened the door a crack every two minutes to speak to the man who was already waiting there.
"Your wife is a first-time mother, so her cervix is dilating slowly. It doesn't mean she gave birth for three hours; it just means she was waiting the whole time. Waiting until midnight or even all night is normal in this situation. Don't worry, we will take good care of her."
"But she hasn't had dinner yet!"
"We've already ordered food inside, someone will feed us."
After the nurse finished speaking, she noticed that a large group of relatives of the other mothers were about to get up, so she quickly addressed them.
"You can check the information of the expectant mother by looking at the LEd screen. We will update it in real time. If there is no change, it means that she is in labor."
After saying that, he closed the door.
Inside the delivery room, there were more than a dozen pregnant women waiting to give birth, but only three or four nurses were there to take care of them. They were actually quite busy.
Moreover, almost everyone was crying out in pain, and some who were originally able to hold it in felt their pain "significantly" intensify when they heard everyone else crying out.
Sun Xiaoya gripped the bed sheet, the pain in her lower body suddenly intensifying.
"Doctor...nurse...I can't take it anymore...I'm going into labor...I'm going into labor..."
"What are you calling me? You're a first-time mother, you still have a long way to go."
A nurse saw that she was shouting loudly and came over to talk to her, but she still checked on her condition.
It turned out that she was really going into labor, and there wasn't even time to cut her vagina.
"Doctor... the woman in bed 36... quick, we can see her head!!!"
Just twenty minutes later.
Wow~~ Wow~~~ Wow~~~
A loud cry echoed throughout the delivery room.
The nurses and doctors planned to quickly give the child a quick wash and then wrap him up.
Everything was fine at first. Although the baby kept crying, the cleaning went smoothly. Afterward, the baby was wrapped up to keep warm, and then the cotton cloth was used to hold the baby and place him next to the mother.
Sun Xiaoya looked at her child with difficulty, turning her head to see what was going on. Knowing it was a boy, she smiled slightly.
But suddenly I smelled a burning odor.
Before the nurses and doctors could even move the mother outside, almost at the same time as Sun Xiaoya, they saw the cotton cloth covering the baby begin to turn black and start smoking.
"Ahhhhh, it's going to catch fire..."
"Water!!! Water!!"
Fortunately, the basin of bloody water was still there and it was warm water.
"Use the ones from the basin!!!"
Without thinking too much, a nurse quickly scooped up water and poured it on the baby.
It took a lot of frantic effort to extinguish the fire that hadn't even started yet.
This scene terrified the doctors, nurses, and pregnant woman, but the baby stopped crying and fell asleep peacefully.
The doctor spent a full five minutes checking the baby from head to toe to make sure there was no injury before trying to wrap the baby in a cotton cloth again. Seeing that there was no burning, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone was baffled, wondering if there was something wrong with the hospital's batch of baby products, but this matter couldn't be hidden, nor could it be concealed.
The doctor immediately wrote an incident report and submitted it.
To be on the safe side, the hospital immediately sent people out to purchase new baby supplies and notified the quality inspection department to check the quality of the batch of baby supplies.
Sun Xiaoya's family did not blame the hospital. Instead, they expressed their gratitude for the hospital's handling of the situation, which made the hospital leaders feel much more at ease, as many doctors were really afraid of medical disputes.
...
Wang Lulu is a reporter for Qiantang City Channel. She is currently packing up and preparing to set off with her driver, Xiangjia, to the First People's Hospital.
News of newborn babies "spontaneously combusting" is a great sensational story.
I was stopped by my boss before I even left the house.
"Lulu, you don't need to go to the news interview this time."
"Huh? Why?!"
"How would I know about orders from above!"
P.S.: I was forced to post a combined 4000+ word chapter today because I was just too busy with work. I've received over twenty phone calls since dinner, all urging me to post the illustrations and the calculation book. I was planning to post it after midnight, but I managed to finish it despite rushing. This saves me some author points.
If you're going to hit me, please go easy on me.
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