"So you're the Director-General of the Dragon Nation?" Mad Lion's attention snapped to Kong Zhiwang, scrutinizing him with undisguised curiosity. "Hmm, you look like an ordinary person. But as your saying goes, 'Don't judge a book by its cover,' so..."
As he spoke, Mad Lion grinned and rose to his feet. "So, Director-General of the Dragon Nation, how about a friendly spar?"
Kong Zhiwang stared blankly, utterly stunned by the unexpected challenge.
Even the Wizard and Hunter beside him struggled to maintain their composure. The Wizard's lip twitched slightly, while the Hunter covered her forehead with her hand and sighed deeply.
"Of course, if now isn't convenient, we can do it after the meeting. I hear you're a master of Martial Arts, and I've been curious about the Dragon Nation's martial arts for ages!" Mad Lion continued enthusiastically, but the Hunter cut him off. "Just shut up already!"
Turning to Kong Zhiwang, she explained, "This guy's always like this, challenging anyone he meets. He's all brawn and no brains. Just ignore him. Let's get down to business."
After Kong Zhiwang took his seat, the Wizard spoke first. "Director-General of the Dragon Nation, would you mind if I used a small spell to expedite our meeting?"
"Go ahead," Kong Zhiwang replied tersely.
The Wizard extended his right index finger, the yellow ring adorning it emitting a faint glow. In an instant, a golden ripple radiated outward from him, swiftly enveloping the entire VIP lounge of the airport in a shimmering, ethereal golden light.
"Truth Domain," the Wizard explained. "A rather practical little trick. From now on, within this magical field, no one can utter a lie."
The Hunter immediately pressed, "Martyr—was his death the result of your orchestrated trap?"
"Absolutely not," Kong Zhiwang countered instantly. After a brief pause, he fired back, "Was the Sakura Nation's attack on our country a few days ago instigated by White Eagle?"
Hearing this, the three White Eagle representatives frowned simultaneously. Mad Lion spoke first. "How could that be? That lunatic was off his rocker. He's dead—so what? What does that have to do with me?"
"No," the Wizard replied, shaking his head. "I know absolutely nothing about this."
The Hunter turned sharply to the Sakura Nation's Minister of Foreign Affairs. "Did you attack the Dragon Nation while impersonating us?!"
Under the Wizard's magic, the meeting was proceeding with astonishing smoothness. It was like playing Werewolf, where everyone was forced to tell the truth. With lies impossible, identifying the players' identities was trivially easy.
Under the Hunter's intense gaze, Hojo Tatsuya felt immense pressure. He was merely an ordinary man facing one of the White Eagle Eight, who wielded immense power and stood at the pinnacle of global influence.
Visible beads of sweat rapidly formed on Hojo Tatsuya's forehead as the Sakura Nation's traditional performance unfolded once more.
"I'm terribly sorry! I'm terribly sorry! I'm terribly sorry!" Hojo Tatsuya repeated, bowing frantically. "I swear, I know nothing about this! Whether it was an ambush or any other kind of attack, I've never heard of such things!"
Hojo Tatsuya's answer took everyone by surprise. The Truth Domain made it impossible for him to lie, meaning he genuinely knew nothing about the matter.
But the issue couldn't simply end with his ignorance. The Hunter demanded, "Is there no one else in your entire nation who knows? Then bring someone who does!"
"I sincerely apologize!" Hojo Tatsuya bowed deeply again. "Your arrival was so sudden that our Director is likely still en route. I'll urge him to hurry!"
This explanation seemed plausible. Kong Zhiwang nodded in understanding. The meeting had been arranged so abruptly that Sakura Nation's leadership hadn't had time to react. It was understandable that their higher-ups were still on their way.
"Shall we wait here for a while, then?" Kong Zhiwang suggested, glancing at the three members of White Eagle.
The Wizard and the Hunter had no objections, but Mad Lion interjected, "So there's nothing else happening right now? Then, Director of the Dragon Nation, will you spar with me?"
Kong Zhiwang fell silent, his expression unreadable.
Ultimately, he declined the bizarre request. As Hojo Tatsuya's phone rang repeatedly with urgent calls urging the Director to hurry, time slowly passed.
About half an hour later, Kong Zhiwang, who had been staring at his phone, suddenly noticed the water in the cup on the table in front of him shaking slightly. The frequency of the shaking rapidly increased until it was clearly perceptible.
"What's this?"
"Probably just an earthquake. Happens all the time," Hojo Tatsuya said nonchalantly. When Kong Zhiwang first turned to look, he didn't see Hojo at all. It wasn't until he lowered his gaze that he noticed Hojo had already crawled under the table.
Hojo's practiced demeanor left Kong Zhiwang speechless. But then he sensed something was wrong. "Wait... this feeling... this isn't an earthquake!"
He quickly ran out of the VIP lounge and through the airport's floor-to-ceiling windows, he saw an enormous black sphere. It was so massive it dominated half the sky, and despite it being mid-morning, the sky had turned as dark as night.
"A Dimensional Rift?!" Mad Lion and Hunter rushed out of the lounge behind Kong Zhiwang. The moment they saw the colossal anomaly, they exclaimed in horror, "How could it be so huge?!"
It was no exaggeration to say that even the most battle-hardened among them had never witnessed a Dimensional Rift of this magnitude. They could confidently declare it the largest such rift ever to appear on the planet!
"Director-General!" The five masked figures, each wearing a mahjong tile mask, swiftly encircled Kong Zhiwang, preparing to activate their Abilities.
The sheer scale of the rift made it clear that this disaster would be exceptionally dangerous. Had this been Dragon Nation, their first instinct would undoubtedly have been to contain the situation. But since they were in Sakura Nation, the circumstances were entirely different.
However, just as the five were about to unleash their Abilities, a mild wave of dizziness washed over them, disrupting their powers.
Theoretically, these individuals could teleport freely across the globe without restriction. But there was one critical limitation to their power: Dimensional Rifts leading to Otherworlds.
Once absorbed into an "Instance" created by such a rift, escape back to the real world became impossible.