While things appeared to be at a stand still on the surface and the government continued to remain silent… in a remote corner of the world… several United Nations guild officials had gathered, along with a few high-leveled fighters. All of the officials were at least Level 20, with the armed and equipped fighters at least Level 40. "This is going to be our first test. I hope everything goes well." One of the officials closed his eyes and silently said his prayers. They had chosen a hive hill in the remote part of Russia in the far north of territory 6 where there weren't many humans left. For the purpose of this test, they had made adequate preparations and ensured that many wouldn't be affected even if things go wrong. However, there was only so much preparation one could make in an event like this. Everyone standing in the area right now acknowledged this fact. They knew exactly how dangerous this was, but they couldn't remain idle. They had to do something. The real threat of these hive hills was the stronger insects inside the hive that was yet to come out. While they did not share this information with the public to avoid a mass panic, all of them here were well aware of the emergency the world was currently facing. This was why they had decided to take on this risky nuclear option. As the group continued to wait patiently outside the magic shop for that zone, suddenly, a set of footsteps sounded, and two people walked out from within the magic shop, one was a well-built American, and the other was a Japanese. "We are here. Let's start this." The tall and thin Japanese man commanded the group authoritatively. If Liam had been here, he would have instantly recognized this man. He was none other than Kouske, and the person standing next to him was Barrett, the berserker tank. The both of them had a gaze that was bold and unwavering, as if they couldn't be bothered by the apocalypse that everyone else was dreading. However, no one found this irritating or blamed them for being over-confident. Instead, they found themselves subconsciously relieved at his sight. Their calm and relaxed demeanor gave the group of government officials and politicians strength and hope. "Umm… The oracle.. is he also inside?" One of the officials suddenly asked. Kouske stopped in his tracks. He immediately turned to look at the official and gave him a stern stare down. "Of course, he is here. Did you think that he wouldn't stand behind his words? Hide somewhere else safe like a coward?" "No. No. Mr. Kouske, please. You are misunderstanding me." The official began to panic. "I only wanted to pay my respects. I didn't mean any offense." Kouske still did not look convinced and was about to say something, but Barrett, who was standing next to him, intervened. "It's fine. Let's go inside first. There is no need to talk out here unnecessarily." All the government officials immediately nodded and followed the two. The politician who had spoken out earlier cursed his stupid mouth and tried to hide in the crowd by putting his head low. Luckily for him, this was an important occasion, so no one paid attention to him anymore. The group simply went inside the magic shop. In reality, all the officials gathered here had more power and prestige compared to the two young men who stood in front of them, but that was before, back in the old world. In the new world, these two were at the top of the food chain, and the one that was above them… was perhaps the person who was going to rule this whole world in the near future! Their very survival was dependent on this single person. So even though the gathered men were full of pride and testosterone, everyone tucked their attitudes and silently shuffled inside. The United Nations territory 6 camp leader then stepped forward and bowed slightly. He opened the system interface and started making the necessary arrangements to create a safe zone. Luckily, there was a guild in the zone that cooperated with them, so they were able to do everything freely without spending even a single mana core. Soon, the process was finished, and in an hour, a safety zone was almost ready to go live. However, it was not activated just yet, so the isons remained none the wiser. "Mr. Kouske, shall I give the signal?" Everyone looked at Kouske, but Kouske looked at the person who was sitting calmly in a corner. He then nodded with a yes. "Let's start." The entire room gulped silently. This was a rather important moment in history. Their future depended on it. The fate of the world depended on it. An invisible pressure blanketed the group as they forgot even to breathe, anticipating the outcome. The next second, a call was placed, and minutes later, a missile zoomed across the blood dyed sky of the apocalyptic world. Several people tracked the coordinates of the missile, and when this missile arrived closer to the hive hill… "NOW!" Kouske shouted, and the safety zone was instantly activated. A translucent crystalline blue dome appeared out of nowhere and completely enshrouded the hive hill and the missile, and soon the collision occurred… BOOM? For a second, everyone's hearts leaped out of their chest as they fully expected even the magic shop to explode on their faces. Though they were given a lot of assurances that this was impossible to happen, they couldn't help but fear something like this. However, the second came and went by. Time ticked as another minute passed in absolute silence and then some more. Everyone nervously stood inside the shop, awaiting the outcome of the test, the nuclear test! Of course, there was no way for them to tell what happened from inside the shop, but who would dare to step outside the shop in this condition to check for the progress? 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢 For all they know, the entire territory could have been blasted away into oblivion! In this situation, the only thing they could do was to look for the person still sitting quietly in the corner, the Oracle. Surprisingly, he had his eyes closed, which made the gathered group even more nervous. And in the midst of this tension filled silence, suddenly, a message pinged on the guild chat interface. The territory 6 camp leader who read the message had an unsightly look on his face as he turned to Kouske. "Mr. Kouske… the missile… it… did not even get activated."