The old man Ouyang, his gaze chilling. He took a sip of the tea before him, spitting out a few tea leaves that had mixed into the liquid.
"Haven't you noticed?"
"In all this news and official announcements, they never once acknowledged Meng Hao as a citizen of our Great Xia... They only referred to him as 'Meng Hao, resident of the Great Xia Stone Forest'... The difference between 'resident' and 'citizen' is vast in its practical meaning!"
Hmm?
Citizen?
Resident?
After pondering for several seconds, the bigwigs from various departments finally understood... As leaders of these departments, they were all sharp as knives.
A citizen was a constituent part of a nation's populace; while a resident was anyone who lived within that country!
These US bastards had never, from beginning to end, acknowledged Meng Hao as a citizen of Great Xia.
They neither acknowledged him as a citizen of Great Xia nor promoted him so zealously.
Their intentions in doing so were as clear as day to anyone.
Old man Ouyang let out a cold, disdainful laugh.
"These fellows are using our Great Xia's own strategy... the strategy of 'lifting and then crushing,' a tactic our ancestors mastered ages ago."
"However, their actions have given us a great deal of reassurance."
"This means our Great Xia's... and even India's protests have had an effect... The US is clearly afraid of us completely falling out with them, which is why they're resorting to soft tactics against Meng Hao, daring not to use coercion or threats... let alone resorting to lethal force or endangering Meng Hao's life."
As long as they dared not use lethal force.
As long as they had reservations.
Things would be manageable!
As long as Meng Hao didn't agree, these US scoundrels would eventually run out of tricks and be forced to release Meng Hao.
The Great Xia's current strategy at the national level could only be to exert pressure on the US, making them hesitant to act rashly... and the ultimate outcome of the US abandoning their efforts and allowing Meng Hao to leave could only be achieved by Meng Hao himself.
...
Australia.
A coastal city.
Meng Hao was comfortably lounging on the sofa.
Luna, preparing for another swim, was wearing a bikini and didn't treat Meng Hao as an outsider as she performed her warm-up exercises... Getting a cramp in the water was no joke, so before entering, even in safe shallow areas, she always did warm-up exercises to cultivate a habit of preventing danger.
These past few days.
Meng Hao had been quite bored.
Every day, he swam with Luna, played beach volleyball, and sunbathed.
Teaching Luna to swim required him to support her body...
Playing beach volleyball meant their bodies bumped against each other daily...
Sunbathing required the indispensable task of applying sunscreen...
Over these few days.
Meng Hao had explored every inch of Luna's body, including private areas.
Besides the act of love, Luna's body held no more secrets for Meng Hao.
Luna felt wronged.
Damn it.
She was accompanying Meng Hao in his confinement.
With no mobile or computer signal, she couldn't contact the outside world.
Thus, some "close-contact" activities became their only way to pass the time.
Strangely.
No matter how hard she tried to seduce Meng Hao.
This Great Xia youth, with his eight-pack abs and even more robust physique than most Caucasians, showed no intention of exploring their relationship further.
This made Luna even doubt her own figure and looks.
Of course.
It wasn't that Meng Hao wasn't interested in Luna's physique.
It was simply that.
Being confined in this lousy place.
He didn't have much inclination to consider things for "later."
His mood was not good.
Naturally, his desire was also dampened.
Ring ring.
The villa's sole phone, which could only receive calls but not make them, rang.
Pouting and feeling thoroughly displeased, Luna instinctively pressed the answer button.
"Okay. I understand. I'll be right there!"
Luna switched the call to speaker mode and walked up to Meng Hao, handing him the phone.
"It's Lieutenant General Tommy!"
"He wants to talk to you."
Oh?
Meng Hao took the phone.
Immediately, the voice of Lieutenant General Tommy, speaking broken but extremely excited English, came from the receiver.
"Oh, my dear Meng."
"I have absolutely fantastic news for you."
"You must listen carefully!"
Meng Hao raised an eyebrow.
He instinctively retorted with a tease.
"Oh?"
"Are you planning to let me go now, let me return to Great Xia?"
Lieutenant General Tommy, who had been so excited moments ago, was immediately silenced by this remark.
"My dear Meng, I said good news, not magical news!"
"Unless you agree to join us in the US, we will not let you go easily, so give up that idea!"
Meng Hao pouted.
This old man Tommy.
He had accidentally let slip a hint.
The more certain something was, the less it needed to be overemphasized.
The fact that he kept emphasizing that he couldn't let him go proved precisely that the US authorities were under unprecedented pressure.
And this pressure could only be coming from the Great Xia government.
Meng Hao showed no expression and didn't expose Tommy's slip-up, merely letting out a cold snort and adopting a posture of attentive listening.
"Of course, this news is even more exciting than letting you go."
"The US military, Holland's Asman Company, and the now-bankrupt NG Company have all issued official statements proving that you have indeed cracked the core technology of the F-35 fighter jet, overcome the core problem of the lithography machine, and completely replaced NG Company as the world's most powerful new energy lithium battery producer!"
Oh?
Meng Hao raised an eyebrow.
His tone was somewhat bland.
"So what?"
Lieutenant General Tommy continued, as if he had drunk a gallon of coffee, and said excitedly:
"Concurrently."
"The royal family of Ruitian Kingdom has officially announced that you will be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, Chemistry, and the newly established Innovation Award!"
"As the first person globally to receive two major awards simultaneously and become the inaugural recipient of the Nobel Innovation Award, aren't you excited?"
Nobel Prize?
Hailed as the most authoritative award globally.
However.
This was an award concocted by Westerners.
What did it have to do with him, Meng Hao, a citizen of Great Xia?
Meng Hao shrugged, appearing quite indifferent.
"So what?"
"Should I be very excited?"
"To be honest, for me, these so-called awards and honors are not as interesting as a proper, authentic Great Xia dumpling."
Damn it.
These past few days.
Although Luna had tried her best to learn Great Xia cuisine, and the agents from Charles' side had procured countless Great Xia delicacies.
However.
These pre-packaged meals and Luna's mediocre cooking had truly put Meng Hao's stomach through torture.
Meng Hao had no great interest in these honors bestowed by Western countries.
Moreover.
Besides.
These Western countries suddenly bestowing so many great honors upon him.
It was probably like a weasel wishing a chicken a happy new year; they had no good intentions.