Chapter 122 The Elites: Whisper Campaign

—July 1st, 2032 | Strategy Meeting | 6 Days Until the Rapture—

"We'll use Kylie's strategy for winning over the elites." Kaze announced, finalizing it.

"Moving on, our objective today is to spread unconfirmed news of the apocalypse word of mouth."

Evalyn furrowed her brows. "Spread rumors? Why would we gamble with panic before we can address it. Isn't that what we're here to prevent?"

"Cheerful people who experience loss abruptly receive far more trauma than those expecting or desensitized to it." Kaze explained.

"So we must seed confused negative thoughts into their minds."

"It's called a whisper campaign." Kylie supplemented, "It's like what you did with us the other night, but it's unconfirmed.

We'll release rumors about the situation, and they'll spread like wildfire.

Everyone will believe it while simultaneously knowing it's a baseless rumor. So there's no reason to panic, but everyone's stressed anyway."

Evalyn's eyes glided to the left in thought. "Won't that have a long-term damaging effect?

We'll invalidate our words if we seed the idea that rumors may be accurate."

"No, no. We'll be exaggerating to make it far worse." Kaze smiled, "The extravagance makes it less believable long-term, and the real news will seem lesser by comparison.

It allows our words to remain absolute and deal with a counterbalancing force."

Evalyn smiled wryly. "I see the value, but the strategy doesn't meet the circumstances.

No amount of exaggeration can live up to the abstract seriousness of what's happening outside.

The truth will confirm even the most outlandish rumors we give."

Kaze's eyes glided to the left in thought. "That's true. The 10% sickness rate will jump soon, so exaggerating will be complicated.

This situation is truly unique and problematic. Is there another strategy anyone can think of?"

"Why don't we just play reverse telephone to scramble-hack their brains?" Kiera asked, startling everyone present, "... What is that look for? Is it the word choice? Or…."

It wasn't that. It was because the beautiful pink-haired teen was sitting on Kaze's lap like a party girlfriend. So it wasn't a problem; just unexpected.

"No… I understand the language." Evalyn replied awkwardly, unwilling to voice her reason for surprise, "I'm unsure what you're suggesting."

Kiera sighed a silent breath of relief. "I see, I see. This is what I was thinking."

—9:00 a.m. | July 1st, 2032 | Training Grounds | 6 Days Until the Rapture—

After Kaze and the cabinet members convinced the Lockheed elites to stay and help, they finally made their entrance into Immortal Skye.

While most were just showing off, select elites were on a mission.

"I don't get why [I'm] doing this." Rein muttered bitterly, walking to a cultivation spot, "I'm bad at lying."

Kaze turned the shirt-haired woman into his puppet after destroying the Kaze Kills College Students faction by offering her an ultimatum between power and destruction.

However, after the news of the apocalypse hit, she became his practical supporter and equally bitter puppet.

"The Emperor asked you to take on the role because you don't lie." Brad chuckled breathlessly, "He just wants you to tell a toned-down version of the truth."

"Watering down the apocalypse is like trying to dilute oil with water." Rein replied dryly.

"Yeah, but with Kiera's strategy, everyone will treat you like you're crazy today regardless." He laughed.

"That's what I don't like." She huffed.

"Don't worry; they'll trust you and treat me like I'm crazy tomorrow." Brad smiled, "So let's just play the role and prevent serious issues."

The Lockheed elites stood at the training grounds, surrounded by two thousand faction members looking at them in interest.

Kaze chose Veronica, Rein, Brad, Sammy, Lily, and Whitney to lead an operation that training session.

Not only were they disseminating information, but they also had another objective—

BOOOOM!

"Woah!"

"What the hell was that?"

"That lady is hot as fuck!"

"You're focusing on her looks and not the crater she just left in the ground!?"

"Priorities!"

Veronica looked at the target in the distance with a twitching cheek. "Tch. What's the point of precision training if the attack makes everything explode?"

Kaze imprinted the earth slash technique on the top elite's brains directly and had them pretend they learned it in record speed as the other elites sat down to learn it.

As a result, she knew the technique but didn't have a good aim. So when she released a massive slash, it only served to make the target and everything around it to explode.

Kaze smiled and waved his hand. A massive gust of wind blew through the area, picking up a cloud of dirt and dumping it into the location.

He waved his hand after the wind stopped and water shower down to compact the soil.

Everyone was stunned, even Evalyn, who watched from the sidelines. He never ceased to amaze her.

"Next." Kaze smiled, "Let's get on with it."

BOOM! Boom! Boom, boom! Boom! BOOM!

People watched in a daze as the Lockheed students decimated the training grounds using the same technique.

Since most missed the target, the members realized they were honestly new to the situation.

"Next!" Kaze smiled, looking at Rein with a mysterious smile.

Rein rolled her eyes, scoffing breathlessly as she stepped forward.

She used Minor Vision to get a better feeling of the area, making the emperor smile.

After locking on to the steel target in the distance, she waved her hand.

Whoooosh, shhhhhhiiiiink! CraaaaccCK! BOOM! Boom! Boom.

The faction members gasped in shock and awe when her warping slash cut through the air, cutting the human target's stomach in half and moving into the distance to cut down a dozen trees.

It was a raw, undisputed showcase of power.

"Wow! That's amazing!"

"What's your name!?"

"How did you do that so flawlessly?"

"I'm not doing anything special." Rein blushed slightly, glaring at Kaze with an indignant expression for getting her rushed by people. "I'm just preparing to protect myself. It's good motivation."

Everyone cocked their heads to the side in confusion.

"Protect yourself? Why do you sound like it's necessary?"

Kaze grinned and walked away nonchalantly, leaving to watch the farce play out another line.

"The entire world's going to shit right now. Why else would this place be swarming with military members?" Rein asked at their blatant ignorance and unwillingness to think.

The faction members fell silent with beating hearts.

They looked for Kaze but found him in the distance with other members, so they couldn't confirm anything she was saying!

"You're exaggerating, and it's concerning others, Rein." Brad scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Soldiers said the government is gearing up for war with Russia.

So you don't have to get bent over something that hasn't happened yet."

"You overheard the builders turning this [retreat] into a military base." Rein scoffed, "They're living onsite; they're just as ignorant as we are."

Brad sighed, glancing at the other members with an apologetic expression.

"Yeeeeeeeaaaaah… about~that." Kiera sighed in an offensive, highly-sarcastic voice, "I don't know who you are or what you're saying, but I am certain of one thing.

If you're ignorant, he's ignorant, and those military builders are ignorant, it means ya'll have no clue what's happening outside.

So can you stop the conjecture and let other people practice?"

Rein's eyes flashed with murder, getting humiliated and denounced as crazy by the person who created the strategy.

"She's right, Rein." Brad said, nudging his head away from the line. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and stormed away.

The calm athlete walked out of line, turning to everyone with a dazzling, awkward smile. "Yeah, sorry about that.

Truth is, no one knows why we're turning this place into a military base. It could be anything, and there are a ton of crazy conspiracy theories.

I'll go and get out of everyone's way."

Before anyone could say anything, Brad summoned the blueprint for the earth-grade slash technique, which Kaze personally imprinted on his mind.

He waved his hand, and a slash of warping Qi, the size of Rein's, cut through the targets for his line and the line on either side of him.

However, the Kaze added some flare from a distance.

He waved his [left] hand, and a wall of counterclockwise Qi materialized at ghostly speed. Just like his demonstration to Kiera—

BOOOOOOM!

—the two directions of rotating Qi collided in a horrifying explosion.

The blast ripped through the land, sending dust clouds shooting across the land to release Kinetic force.

Every faction member froze, watching the mind-bending display of force.

They turned to the athlete, whose eyebrow was twitching, uncertain what had happened.

"I suppose it's time to reinforce dummies and set up walls to prevent serious damage." Kaze clapped, getting everyone's attention, "Soon, everyone will be able to do this.

It'll happen sooner if you build relationships with the elites, so make sure to introduce yourself and be friendly.

You should know who they are now, yes?"

Everyone chuckled in bewilderment, then waited nervously for confirmation he had stopped talking.

The emperor smiled deviously. "Be gentle to them; you may begin."

Pandemonium and chaos broke out instantly, and dozens of people instantly suffocated Brad and Rein.

Subconsciously, both became far more trustworthy in everyone's eyes.

So when the conversation about the [elites] came up, so would the conversation about the Russian war and conspiracy theory the world was destroyed.

Since the theories were opposing, the rumors would spread quickly through conversation.

However, there was a twist, and when everyone talked later, they'd immediately find themselves pacing in circles, helplessly [scramble-hacked].