March 13th.

The third day of the North Carolina civil war.

Riding the momentum of their early victories, the Salvation Army advanced triumphantly, occupying one-third of North Carolina’s southern region.

The Government Army had tanks, missiles, fighter jets, drones, and Exoskeleton Armor, but the Salvation Army had them all too—and in more advanced models. In terms of combat readiness, tactical planning, and troop morale, the Government Army was leagues behind the Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army had spent over a decade biding its time, all in preparation for this very day. When they finally struck, they shocked the world.

The Government Army, in contrast, was plagued by high-level corruption. Its leaders were decadent, self-serving, and embezzled military funds. As a result, soldiers’ pay was cut again and again, their rations grew worse, and their physical fitness deteriorated, creating a massive gap. At the same time, their ideological training was lacking; it was not uncommon for even veteran soldiers to desert out of Fear the moment they set foot on the battlefield.

How could such a weak, incompetent, and disorganized army possibly be a match for the Salvation Army? They were basically being propped up entirely by the elite unit, the Hand of the Empire.

Seeing they could gain no advantage on the front lines, the government began trying to stir up trouble behind the Salvation Army’s lines to divert their attention.

And so, overnight, all sorts of vicious rumors began to spread in the cities occupied by the Salvation Army.

"The Salvation Army are secessionist terrorists," "The Salvation Army will forbid women from attending school," "The Salvation Army is evil, burning, killing, and looting, rounding up women and raping them," "The Salvation Army will Deprive us of our freedom and human rights"... All kinds of negative propaganda filled the air, trying to sway public opinion.

In response to these claims, a spokesperson for the Salvation Army quickly issued a clarification, stating that the rumors were slander from the enemy and that the Salvation Army was fundamentally different from the North Carolina Government. He didn’t waste time debating or refuting the points; instead, he directly announced the new decrees issued by the Salvation Army.

Lower taxes, lower food prices, better pay for workers, nearly free compulsory education...

The new decrees were announced at eight in the morning and scheduled to be officially implemented at noon the same day. The speed was so fast it made countless people laugh. In their eyes, this was just a clumsy attempt by the Salvation Army to save face, winning over the public by promising a happy future.

Everyone knew that until they were actually implemented, any policies or decrees were just empty talk. It would only take a single word to go back on them.

With only four hours between the announcement and implementation, how the hell was the Salvation Army supposed to build schools, construct granaries, and adjust benefits at major factories?

The North Carolina Government’s news department was ecstatic. They thought they had finally found a weakness in the Salvation Army and planned to exploit it, painting them as lie-spewing terrorists to incite the ignorant masses. However, before the department could even draft their story, "International News" began a special live broadcast from North Carolina—a livestream of schools being built!

And it wasn’t just schools. They also livestreamed the construction of water purification plants and granaries, and even the shutdown of factories that were discharging waste and toxic compounds...

The Salvation Army was laying everything out in the open, allowing the people of North Carolina, and indeed viewers across the World, to see with their own eyes that they were getting things done.

"Damn it, the Celestial Crafted Group!"

The minister of the news department stared at the bustling construction crews on the large screen and the buildings that were already taking shape after just a dozen minutes, grinding his teeth so hard they nearly shattered.

The Celestial Crafted Group was founded twenty years ago by the contemporary Celestial Craft of the Eastern Continent. It was a super-conglomerate in the construction Realm, the undisputed number one in the World, with a business scope that covered nearly every aspect of human life. From industrial, agricultural, and transportation construction to cultural, educational, and public health projects, and even basic civil engineering and Abyss development and defense—it could be said that the Celestial Crafted Group’s presence could be seen in every corner of the World.

The atmosphere in the news department office instantly deflated. With the Celestial Crafted Group handling the job, four hours really was enough time to erect the necessary buildings. They could probably even build double the amount in that time.

Quality and speed were their hallmarks.

"Right, the food!" a team member suddenly looked up, his eyes shining. "Didn’t the Salvation Army announce a policy to lower food prices? A price drop is bound to cause a buying frenzy. The cities will probably be stripped bare of food in less than two hours. I refuse to believe the Salvation Army has that much in reserve. That’ll be our new angle of attack!"

Someone next to him said bleakly, "America and the South American Four Countries have exported massive amounts of grain to the Salvation Army. The ships arrived at dawn and are unloading in Luoxi City right now. These few hours are more than enough time for them to transport the food to the various cities."

"Damn it! Where did the Salvation Army get that much money?!" the man yelled, slamming his fist on the table.

"The Salvation Army must be funded by foreign powers..." The minister of the news department tapped the table and said sharply, "We can use that. We’ll say the Salvation Army is colluding with foreign powers, accepting their funding to carry out terrorist activities aimed at subverting and splitting North Carolina apart... And that Black Death God—he’s a bona fide anti-human terrorist. We’ll insist he’s in league with the Salvation Army. I want you to drag their name through the mud! Smear them as genocidal Butchers and Demons!"

The news department moved quickly, launching a full-scale media assault on the Salvation Army’s reputation over the next few hours. Anyone uninformed who saw the clearly manipulative news reports would probably have believed the Salvation Army was some kind of terrorist organization.

But as new schools were built, new water purification plants went into operation, truckloads of food were transported, polluting chemical plants were shut down, and gangs were brought to justice... those rumors instantly became as ridiculous as a Joker’s joke.