Chapter 68 Local Advantage

ment in nurturing the younger generation, more or less.Su Cen walked out of his uncle's study with a dizzy feeling; his mind was filled with those stock price curves. However, there is one thing he co...Chapter 68: Local Advantage

On the morning of May 8th, when the entire nation was in a state of deep sleep and tranquility, the phone of the editor-in-chief of the Global Times in Yanjing kept ringing incessantly. The somewhat groggy editor saw that it was from reporter Little Lu's number and felt slightly surprised. Upon picking up the call, his expression immediately turned serious. The editor then promptly called the Department of European and Asian Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who subsequently contacted high-level officials within the ministry.

The official phone line from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reached a CCTV reporter's mobile phone; the voice on the other end was highly agitated and anxious: "I'm Lin Guozhou. Our embassy has been bombed, most comrades have already been rescued, we are now carrying out evacuation work!"

"Guozhou, your state of mind is crucial. You and Ambassador Pan must remain calm; everyone is looking to you! Immediately organize personnel to leave the embassy to avoid further attacks."

On May 8th, CCTV released an urgent news update.

The latest Xinhua News Agency report: At midnight on May 8th (local time being night of May 7th), Chinese diplomatic premises in Yugoslavia were hit by at least three missiles fired by NATO forces led by the US. The attack caused severe damage to the embassy building, with the main structure collapsing. As of press time, it has been confirmed that there is one injured person and no fatalities.

This incident sparked widespread outrage; Hong Kong, UN member states, Yeltsin, Russian Foreign Minister, South Africa, Tanzania, Vietnam, Greece, and other countries openly condemned NATO and the US. The domestic reaction was intense, with fierce demonstrations erupting in major cities across the country.

Everyone who had been previously calm became stunned at this moment, unable to believe that such an event could occur; how could missiles known for their precision, with errors not exceeding one meter, hit the Chinese embassy

The global community of peace-loving people condemned NATO's and America's brutal actions.

Under international pressure, the US formally issued an apology to China.

The US military also explained this air raid as a "mistaken bombing" and was willing to bear all losses in compensation.

Domestic public opinion erupted with intense reactions. With safety measures already in place and vigilance work conducted beforehand, the embassy staff, due to timely and effective guidance, managed their day-to-day operations while dispersing for nighttime rest, ensuring that none of them fell victim to this disaster.

Diplomat Lin and Ambassador Pan immediately became heroes for their actions. Without their sense of crisis, many would not have imagined how dire the situation could have become otherwise.

Internal articles predicting NATO's air raids were once again brought out; the author "ffo" reignited public discourse with these predictions. Many people attempted to trace back the source and location of this writer but due to deleted data and the absence of any further publications since, all leads came to a halt.

But soon there were definite speculations, and it turned out that the real author of this article was actually Lin Guozhou, a diplomatic envoy. Only someone with such a clear understanding of the situation could make such precise comments. Furthermore, Lin Guozhou had already raised questions about embassy security based on this very situation while he was still in the country, which aligned perfectly with the foresight shown in the article. Thus, it was most likely that the person previously laughed at by countless people was indeed Lin Guozhou.

Lin Guozhou became a key figure in averting significant losses during this humanitarian crisis right from the start.

After returning home, Lin Guozhou gave a press conference where he shared his insights and experiences. When asked whether he was indeed the author of the online article, Lin Guozhou cleverly diverted the topic without directly denying it, which tacitly confirmed his identity to discerning observers.

Exiting the crowded press conference venue, under escort, he walked down a long staircase to enter the black car door held open by the driver. At that moment, his phone rang; it was a call from his elder brother Lin Chu.

The voice of Lin Chu, the eldest son of the Lin family, said, "Guozhou, impressive! The leader's recognition of you has made our father very happy. You are now under the gaze of countless eyes."

Lin Chu was a figure in the military system and a pillar of the third generation of the Lin family. In comparison to Lin Chu’s prominence, Lin Guozhou only had a subtle glow. Many people knew about this eldest son but might not know about the second son. This embassy incident truly pushed him into the spotlight, making him an emerging star in politics.

Simultaneously, Lin Guozhou was aware that his call from Lin Chu partially expressed gratitude for his actions. From May onwards, while in Yugoslavia, he had accelerated the transfer of valuable data, including military documents that were crucial to national defense, which were moved alongside Chinese expatriates and returned home. These precious military materials had a significant impact on advancing the country's modernization efforts in military construction.

The call from Lin Chu also represented an expression of thanks from the military.

Was he now becoming someone who was notable in both military and civilian circles without even realizing it This hadn't occurred to him before.

Of course, Lin Chu knew that one should be low-key in behavior but high-profile in actions. Taking advantage of this momentum, he naturally had to remain cautious. Experience proved that an immediate rise to the top was not beneficial; he wouldn’t be foolish enough to think he could act recklessly now. However, the city in southwestern China and someone there were crucial for him to protect.

That night, Su Cen only fell asleep very late, and upon waking up, realized that he had overslept. After hearing a radio broadcast from somewhere else, his mind buzzed; it was really happening!

Since his mother left early to open her shop and his father also departed early due to work, Su Cen wasn't restricted at home.

Su Cen didn’t bother with attending classes right away. He immediately called Wang [censored], but found the line busy.

So he grabbed a breakfast bun from the dining table and rushed out of the house without going to school, heading straight for the compound of the municipal committee instead. Along the way, televisions in some shops were broadcasting news about the event, with viewers’ emotions boiling over with indignation.

Upon knocking on the door, he saw a TV set in the room broadcasting news. Lin Luoran was sitting by the telephone beside the sofa with tear-streaked cheeks. None of them had gone to class. Wang Bo was sitting at the dining table when he saw Su Chen and opened his mouth, "It really happened."

There were constant updates on new developments in the situation. Since they couldn’t reach Lin Luoran by phone, they only truly relaxed once they confirmed that a reporter from The Morning Light Daily had sustained minor injuries while none of the embassy’s diplomats had been injured or killed.

The moment he heard that Lin Guozhou and others were safe and sound, Su Chen felt an indescribable sense of relief. Wang Bo stepped forward with his hands gripping Su Chen's shoulders tightly enough to hurt him. Su Chen could even see the intense excitement in his eyes.

He wanted to say something but was at a loss for words at this moment. Only when Lin Luoran, Wang Weiwei, and Lin Zouwu stared at him with exaggerated expressions did he quickly let go of Su Chen, his eyes glowing. "Looking ahead and preparing for the worst, being flexible in response—good!"

The others were clueless about why he suddenly said so much to Su Chen.

Seeing Wang Bo restraining himself from bursting with excitement, Su Chen knew that it wasn’t just his article that had him excited but also the fact that he indirectly saved Lin Guozhou’s life.

Su Chen couldn’t help feeling a bit excited too. "I’ve really made some changes."

Lin Luoran finally relaxed, and Wang Weiwei and Lin Zouwu were tacitly allowed to skip class as well, giving them an excuse for their absence.

However, Su Chen couldn’t do the same. Looking at the time, he was alarmed to realize that he had already missed his second period.

Hastily, he rushed out of the municipal committee staff compound and boarded a nearly empty public bus, heading towards the sparsely populated school entrance.

After registering with their ID cards at the gate, Su Chen entered the teaching building uneasily. However, there seemed to be something unusual going on inside; everyone was restless, and some classes could even be heard banging on their desks.

Pausing before his classroom door, he had already thought of an excuse and pushed it open.

The scene that greeted him was surprising.

The TV in the classroom was broadcasting news from CCTV to the whole school. Unlike usual class time when everyone sat properly at their desks, most students were now clustered near the front rows, with some even half-leaning on the tables.

The man called "Panda" by his classmates, Gōng Fúlù, was standing at the door. When Sū Càn pushed open the door and entered, he blocked him.

Sū Càn saw from the northwest corner of where the TV set was that a large number of classmate students were looking at him with strange and complex expressions from the northeast corner near the classroom entrance. At this moment, the originally noisy classroom suddenly fell silent; only the reports coming out of the TV speaker sounded so real.

It didn't matter how many missile experts, military observers, commentators, or political scientists were currently making all sorts of analyses. What mattered was that Sū Càn had already affirmed this absurd view in front of them before this incident happened, and now it had become a living reality.

Gōng Fúlù looked at Sū Càn with a gloomy expression. When Sū Càn nodded his head and said, "Sorry, I'm late," Gōng Fúlù's voice choked out, "C-come in."

Following this incident, the students had strong reactions to it—some were furious; others called for retaliation; a small number of them remained indifferent as they felt that this did not concern them.

The fact that the American "mistaken bombing" didn't result in any casualties was already considered fortunate. However, Sū Càn couldn't help but break out in cold sweat. In another timeline, when the embassy was bombed, a crucial bomb aimed at one of the main support columns failed to detonate due to a malfunction—this one-in-ten-thousand chance prevented greater casualties and preserved the structural integrity of the building.

But now that Sū Càn had intervened, certain factors had changed. Although the mistaken bombing still happened, all five precision-guided bombs exploded, leveling the entire embassy building to the ground. If Lín Guózhōu hadn't taken his advice and effectively avoided it, or if all embassy staff members were still inside at that time, then this would have been a devastating blow.

Was this considered fortunate

In this incident, Sū Càn had done everything he could. Although the history of the People's Republic of China's embassy being bombed was unalterable, it allowed three martyrs who were originally destined to die to escape their fate. Lín Luónán’s father also became a new star that many people couldn't help but take seriously.

Because of his relationship with Lín Guózhōu, the opposing faction targeting Wáng Bó had also toned down, which had inadvertently changed the fates of many people.

That night, Sū Càn stood alone under the night sky. A cool breeze brushed against his face as he clenched his fist and waved it towards the deep blue sky, only to realize that this action was rather foolish.

But he truly felt for the first time the power he possessed, sensing how much stronger he had become and beginning to gain a slight upper hand in his struggle against fate.

This gave him more confidence to do what came next.

(To be continued) cream for me and bringing his classmates to purchase stationery. When I said the items were free, he insisted on paying! As Wang Ming lightly punched Su Cen's arm, she added, "To think of it, all thi...