“The second test was a military exercise on a holographic sand table,” Qingyu said. “At the time, I was commanding the right flank, while the main force was surrounded by the enemy. The test was to relieve the main force. But after studying the sand table carefully, I realized that even if I tried my best to relieve the main force, I still couldn’t win. However, if I could quickly advance and take the enemy’s main camp, the enemy would have no power to stop me. So, I answered a question outside the test… Isn’t the purpose of war victory?”
The adjutant remained silent.
“That summer, after I was rejected by the Fire Seed Military Academy, I locked myself in my room every day, depressed and not wanting to go out. Then one afternoon, Qing Ji came to my house, took me to Ginkgo Mountain, and brought me to the head of the family. He said he could get the principal of the Fire Seed Military Academy to let me pass the second round of the exam,” Qing Yu said with a smile. “I don’t know what came over me at the time, but I asked him if he wanted me to be grateful and become his lackey. If it meant giving up my freedom for the rest of my life in exchange for an opportunity, I would rather not have it.”
Qingyu continued, "But the old man smiled and said it wasn't necessary. He only needed me to always stand on the side of the Qing family's interests. I went to the Fire Seed Military Academy, and he never contacted me again after that, as if that conversation that summer had never happened... But I remembered what he said."
Qingyu: "So for the sake of the Qing family's interests, even if I dislike Qing Kun, I won't trip him up in the grand scheme of things. So you all think I should wait for a better offer, but in my opinion, I'm just making a choice that aligns with the Qing family's interests. The Secret Service, this intelligence agency, wasn't this terrifying even in Shadow's hands. Now I have to admit, I couldn't have done what he did these past few days. Every time I review the battles of the past few days on the holographic sand table, I'm always amazed. The battles were all interconnected, and they managed to completely overwhelm the Shindai, leaving them utterly helpless. In the end, the Shadow troops didn't even suffer any casualties. It's incredible. A person like that should become the head of the family."
The adjutant pondered for a moment: "But taking an unorthodox approach may not be suitable for the frontal battlefield."
Qingyu shook his head: "We're enough for the main battlefield."
"So you're tacitly agreeing that he'll become the head of the family..."
Qingyu laughed and said, "We don't have any other choice, do we?"
"You now hold military power..."
Qingyu shook his head: "Me? I'm not cut out to be the head of the family. If I were to become the head of the family, the Qing family would be gone in no time."
He looked at his adjutant: "Let's go, patrol the camp. We're probably going to kill a lot of people tonight."
At this point, there were no more troops from Kamishiro and Kashima on the northern front, so he could only kill his own people.
The Qing Clan Army Group was mobilized at the front lines due to the war. Although Qing Yu was the commander-in-chief, his troops were not the only ones on the front lines.
The troops of Qing Shi's father, Qing Wen's mother, and Qing Yuan's father are now just here obeying the overall deployment.
Tonight, everyone is launching an attack on the family head and Qing Chen in City 5, which suggests that the front lines have made ample preparations.
Those politicians and businessmen who launched the attack were merely pushed forward to support the cause; the real show is yet to come.
This is also why he sent Qingchi back for a rest.
...
...
The banquet hall in City 5 remained quiet.
Li Kerou, dressed in a black evening gown, secretly observed the crowd.
She watched as those who had just been questioning Qingchen fell silent, and a secret joy welled up inside her, as if she, not Qingchen, had won the round...
She saw people exchanging glances silently, and she also saw awkward panic on some people's faces.
Only Qing Chen remained calm, picking up some snacks from the table, as if what Qing Chi had just said had nothing to do with him.
Her best friend whispered, "No wonder you want to marry him."
Li Kerou calmly said, "You don't understand."
Others assumed she admired Qingchen, but only she knew her own feelings—a kind of worship that transcended mere affection and had nothing to do with gender.
No one of your own age can truly understand an ambitious person.
As an ambitious person.
While other girls were still focused on cosmetics and boyfriends, Li Kerou had already started keeping up with current events every day.
She had been silently watching Qing Chen since he was the head of the First Intelligence Division, collecting all information related to him.
Then, little by little, they witnessed Qing Chen's influence grow larger and larger.
Unlike other girls, Li Kerou is like a career fanatic for Qingchen; she only cares about the progress of Qingchen's career...
The term "career fan" refers to fans who are very concerned about their idols' career development. They pay close attention to information such as their idols' access to resources, business development, industry reputation, and awards, and even use this information as a criterion for choosing their idols.
Li Kerou is a fan of Qingchen and is willing to dedicate herself to assisting Qingchen's career.
So when she saw Yangyang on a blind date, she thought this colleague was really amazing and would definitely be a great help to Qingchen in his career!
Her best friend asked in a low voice, "When you stood up for him just now, did you already know that the military would come to his aid?"
“I don’t know,” Li Kerou said calmly.
"What if he loses tonight?" her best friend asked, puzzled. "If he loses, your whole family will be ruined."
Li Kerou shook her head: "To gain the most benefits from playing at this table, you have to be firm enough. It's either live together or die together; there's no other choice."
"Now that Qingyu has stood up to support him, does that mean the situation is settled?" her best friend asked in a low voice.
Li Kerou shook her head again: "It's not that simple. Qingyu doesn't have the final say in the military. They dared to stand up tonight because they have their reasons. This is just the beginning."
At this moment, the middle-aged man in the banquet hall looked at Qing Chen: "Even if you have made outstanding contributions, you still cannot clear yourself of the suspicion of being possessed. The dead head of the Kamishiro family may just be a shell. I even suspect that you are the head of the Kamishiro family."
Qing Ji said to Qing Chen from the side, "It seems that they are determined to frame you tonight. Everyone is convinced that you cannot clear your name."
Qing Chen nodded: "So, if the patriarch still wants to elect me as chairman of the board tomorrow, they will incite the soldiers to say that the Qing family has been usurped by the Divine Generation and launch a coup? Even if Qing Yu supports me, they can take the opportunity to get rid of Qing Yu?"
"That's roughly the idea," Qing Ji nodded.
Qing Chen asked curiously, seemingly oblivious to everyone else, "But wouldn't this cause the Qing clan to start a civil war? Aren't they afraid that the Kingdom, the Divine Era, and Kashima will immediately make a comeback? Wouldn't that disrupt the front lines?"
Qing Ji sneered, "Qing Yun has lost her son and has gone mad."
The various factions within the frontline troops are now intertwined and complex. They may be united when dealing with external threats, but their unity may not be so strong when dealing with internal conflicts.
But launching a mutiny requires a reason. Even your own loyal troops won't just casually march up Ginkgo Mountain and rebel with you.
Rebellion has always been a delicate matter. Just like when Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty rebelled, he had to raise the banner of "purging the emperor's inner circle": We are just going to sweep away the treacherous officials around the emperor. As for why the emperor was burned to death, we don't know either!
This banner wasn't meant for politicians or future historians; it was meant to deceive the rank-and-file soldiers.
With such strong anti-divine sentiment in the Kei clan's army, only one reason could garner their support.
So, they're definitely going to pin this blame on them tonight.
However, at that moment, the banquet hall doors opened again, and several mute servants pushed two instruments in.
Everyone was shocked when they saw the device: a neuronal connection device for nanorobots—something used for possession!
Qing Ji stepped forward and said, "Since everyone has doubts about whether Qing Chen has been possessed, then tonight is a good opportunity to prove to everyone that it is impossible for someone who carries the bloodline of the Qing clan's ancestors to be possessed."
The crowd erupted in uproar, as this was the first time they had ever heard such a claim. In order to prove that Qing Chen would not be possessed, Qing Ji actually wanted to test it on the spot for everyone to see!
Upon seeing the two machines, Qing Chen sighed inwardly. The fact that the machines were prepared in advance meant that the family head had anticipated the opponent's moves...
So this is what they were waiting for!
Kamishiro Yunluo exclaimed, "Does the Qing clan really go this far in their internal power struggles, pushing their heir directly onto a neural network machine? That's incredibly exciting!"
Qing Ji looked around: "The patriarch has said that anyone can try to possess Qing Chen tonight. Those who succeed will be forgiven. The knight's body is a body that even Shen Dai Qian Chi coveted. Is anyone interested?"
But at this moment, those who had just stood up to question Qingchen all stepped back. Who knows what would happen after they were pushed onto the machine!
Qing Ji waited for a long time, but no one dared to try.
While seizing Qingchen's body is certainly tempting, the fact that the patriarch has made such thorough preparations clearly indicates something is amiss!
He sneered and said, "It's too late to back down now. Qing Chi, bring Qing Shou over. He'll be the first to try."
The middle-aged man named Qing Shou turned and ran outside, but was caught by the mute servant and handed over to the soldiers behind Qing Chi.
Qing Shou struggled angrily: "What are you trying to do? Let me go! I won't try!"
Qing Ji explained to Qing Chen, "He is in charge of logistics and military supplies, a liaison between various factions in the army, and one of the instigators tonight."
Qingchen understood; the things the family head wanted to do were more cruel than he had imagined.
The patriarch clearly knew that Qing Chen would not only be unharmed after being possessed, but would also have his memories stolen.
At this moment, Qing Shou will be brought here. In addition to being publicly executed, his memories will be directly given to him so that he can know the entire workings of the Qing family's military logistics!
For the patriarch, this Qing Shou was the experience package he left for Qing Chen. Once the neural connections were established, even Qing Chen, who had no experience in military logistics management, could become thoroughly familiar with this path overnight.
Qing Ji calmly said, "Later, there will also be Qing Lian, who is in charge of managing the accounts and auditing, and Qing Zhe, who is in charge of managing all members of Congress... a total of nine people. They seem to be the head of the family's people, but they have always been colluding with outsiders. Today, the head of the family has gathered them all together to give to you. How is this birthday present?"
Even for Qing Chen, this was the first time he had personally experienced the ruthlessness of the Qing family head!
Chapter 779, The Old Man on Ginkgo Mountain
Qing Chen had encountered many bugs, but this was the first time he had ever discovered that the possession technique from the Age of Gods, once in the hands of the Qing Clan Head, could still create such an incredible bug.
A person's energy is limited; it's already quite good if you can do one thing well in your lifetime.
To be a good quartermaster, you first need to know where supplies come from, what impact collecting supplies will have on finances, how long it will take to transport them to the front lines, and what difficulties you might encounter along the way.
To understand the economic operation of a conglomerate, the best way is to be in charge of auditing and accounting. The best auditors know all the tricks of the trade. They know how to check for fake accounts, how to check for real economic data, the gray areas in various projects, and how to use tricks to deceive the family.
Qingchen has no logistics experience? No problem.
Qingchen has no auditing experience? That's okay.
Qing Chen has no experience in managing cities and conglomerates? That's alright.
Qing Chen has no experience in managing military internal affairs? That's alright.
Qing Chen has no experience dealing with politicians? That's not a problem.
Here are several ready-made experience packages for you; their life experiences and memories are left for you. A life was saved, so that Qingchen could avoid taking a wrong turn.
This is a birthday gift from the head of the Qing family to his son.
Is there any birthday gift in this world more ruthless than those nine lives lost? Perhaps not.
Previously, Qing Chen was wondering why, after the battle at Forbidden Land No. 002, the patriarch, despite knowing that the family was in turmoil, did nothing.
The patriarch knew perfectly well that the other party would use the claim that "Qing Chen has been possessed" to attack Qing Chen, but he was not worried at all. Instead, he took this opportunity to give Qing Chen... the most vicious birthday gift.
It was only then that Qingchen realized that the other party had already set up one link after another, and then perfectly wrapped things up after he arrived in City 5.
We keep these people around only because they are still useful.
Qing Chen sighed, "That's too ruthless."
"Ruthless?" Qing Ji said nonchalantly, "These people have not only betrayed the patriarch, but the entire family. Colluding with Chen Yu of the Chen family to kill their own Shadow, handing over their core technology, and launching an internal war while facing external enemies—these people deserve to die. The old man has been silent on Ginkgo Mountain for too long, and they all thought he had gone senile. The more silent the old man is, the more they feel they have a chance of winning, and they even really think it's a close fight. That's why all the bold ones have jumped out."
Qing Ji continued, "Originally, the old man wanted to personally teach you how to be a family head, but he doesn't have that much time. All he can do is leave these people behind and give them all to you."
Just as Qing Ji and Qing Chen were talking, all nine people had been brought under control.
Qing Ji said to Qing Chen, "Go and collect these experience packs. No matter what, we must clear your name of the suspicion that you may have been possessed today. How can the future head of the family bear such suspicion?"