In the monitoring room, a family member shouted, "Holy crap, they're fighting! Their boss's two apprentices are fighting!?"
However, at that moment, Zhang Mengqian suddenly turned to look at the monitor, pointed with her index finger, and gestured for the camera to turn away.
The family members in the monitoring room were immediately shocked. How could the boss's apprentice seem to be able to see everything? They quickly moved the camera away and stopped watching the drama unfold.
At this moment, Li Yunjing still pretended not to see it. He went to the roadside to buy an ice cream, leaned against the door of the convenience store, and took bites of it one by one.
Just like a passerby.
Zhang Mengqian walked beside Li Ke and continued calmly, "You are the senior brother of the Knights Organization this generation. If even you are so weak, who can help Master? Master is working hard now to buy us time to challenge the life-or-death test. He will come back when he can't hold on any longer and lead us into battle. At that time, you, who should be a demigod, will only be a B-rank. How disappointed Master will be?"
"Can your self-pity compare to the suffering of the entire Federation? I know your sadness and I understand your sadness, but this world doesn't give us that much time for self-pity. I think... one day is the most we can have."
Li Ke knelt on the ground and slowly stopped vomiting: "I can't beat you, so why don't you be the senior brother?"
Zhang Mengqian laughed and said, "Then Second Senior Brother Hu Xiaoniu might be a little confused. Since you don't want to be the eldest senior brother anymore, then why isn't he the eldest senior brother?"
Li Ke slumped to the ground, silent.
Zhang Mengqian said, “Get up. Your master needs you, and one day even your father might need you. Right now, you don’t even have a firm belief in your own father, and you’ve already passed the life-or-death test in vain. If you believe he’s not that kind of person, then wait patiently.”
Li Ke looked up: "Thank you."
Li Ke knew that Zhang Mengqian's sarcastic remarks and the punch she had just thrown were only meant to wake him up.
On the journey of life, we need friends like these.
“Mengqian, you’re not as old as me, but you’re definitely more determined than me. You’re right. I thought I was a very capable person. I passed the test of the heart and the test of life and death, but I’m still weak when it comes to emotions,” Li Ke said. “In terms of temperament, I’m probably not as good as Chen Zhuoqu, let alone Hu Jingyi. You’ve all suffered a lot. I just benefited from my grandfather’s influence and was lucky enough to pass the test of the heart.”
Li Ke looked up at him and said, "But you're right, my father's affairs are my father's affairs, and I can't stop here."
Just then, the satellite phone in his pocket rang, and Li Ke frowned as he answered it.
A cold voice came from the other end of the phone: "Where are you?"
Li Ke was taken aback for a moment: "I'm in District 9 of City 5."
“Come to the airport, I’ve arrived,” Qingyi said coldly.
Li Ke felt something was off, so he hailed a taxi and headed towards the airport.
Li Ke said in a low voice, "He probably came here specifically to scold and hit me."
Zhang Mengqian shook her head: "Not only is your trust in your father wavering, but your trust in friendship is also wavering."
Li Ke was stunned.
As the vehicle entered the airport, a Class A airship painted with the letters PCA was seen parked in the most conspicuous position.
Around them were more than a dozen civilian Class C transport airships, and members of the Qing Clan were busy loading supplies onto them.
Only by coming here can one truly feel that war is coming and everyone is racing against time.
Upon their arrival, the Class A airship opened its hatch, and Qingyi stepped down the suspension ladder, walked up to Li Ke, and punched Li Ke in the stomach.
Li Ke did not dodge, but curled up like a shrimp. Qing Yi was also at the B level of the Zhunti Dharma, and this punch was not light.
Qingyi stood in front of Li Ke with a gloomy face: "Fight back, or you won't dare to fight back?"
Li Ke slowly straightened up: "It's normal to feel angry when you're surrounded..."
Qingyi sneered, "Do you think I'm angry because your father participated in the crackdown on the parents' meeting? I'm angry because you're so dejected."
Li Ke was stunned for a moment.
The next moment, a shout came from afar: "Loading complete!"
Qingyi turned and walked towards the airship: "I don't have time to waste with you. Two more fleets have arrived from the Western Continent, and there are likely two more air fortresses. I have a lot of things to do, and everyone is busy, so hurry up and go challenge your life-or-death test. By the time you return from the Western Continent, you'd better be a demigod."
Without hesitation, Li Ke turned and walked out of the airport: "Back to the Great Snow Mountain in the Southwest, to overcome this life-or-death ordeal!"
Chapter 959, Tattoo
In the northern part of the Federation, a Class A airship belonging to the Li family continued its northward flight.
After driving nearly 200 kilometers, a vast aerial fortress stood in the distance, its all-black color giving it an exceptionally somber appearance.
Blackwater, an air fortress.
When the airship approaches, the main gun of the air fortress moves on the bottom rail and automatically locks onto the target.
Li's airship did not continue forward, but instead landed directly on the ground.
The hatch opened, and Li Yunshou stood on the open ground to the side, gazing silently at the aerial fortress in the sky.
The arrival of the Blackwater in the Eastern Continent Federation signifies that the forces of Blackwater City have joined forces with the Storm City fleet, and the Duke of Blackwater has arrived.
This time, the Roosevelt regime did not rush south. Instead, it stopped and began to consolidate the six cities of Kamishiro and Kashima in the north, establishing a new government and numerous secret military bases there.
A large number of able-bodied men in the city were forcibly conscripted and turned into slaves.
Now, the South is rushing to retreat, while the North is filled with cries of despair.
The next moment, an airship flew in from the Blackwater and landed. The hatch opened, and a white man looked down at Li Yunshou and said in broken Chinese, "Li Yunshou?"
“It’s me,” Li Yunshou nodded.
"Search him," the white man said, and two soldiers rushed over from behind him, completely disregarding Li Yunshou's identity, and almost tore his clothes to shreds for inspection.
As the head of a conglomerate in the Eastern Continent, Li Yunshou should have enjoyed higher political status, but now he is being treated like livestock.
The Li family experts were furious and wanted to rush forward to fight, but Li Yunshou raised his hand and said, "It's alright."
After the inspection was completed, the white man beckoned to him: "Get on our airship, the Duke of Blackwater wants to see you."
The Blackwater City airship quickly took off and arrived above the Blackwater, waiting for the alloy gates on the deck to open before slowly descending.
Several black slaves escorted Li Yunshou to the command room as if he were a prisoner.
Duke Blackwater sat in the command seat, looking down at Li Yunshou, and asked in English, "Are you the head of the Li family?"
Nearby, an Asian time traveler translated in Chinese: "Are you the head of the Li family?"
Li Yunshou nodded: "Yes, that's me."
Duke Blackwater looked at Li Yunshou with great interest: "What are your requirements?"
Li Yunshou calmly stated, "All members of the Li family have been registered as citizens, and all residents of the cities under the jurisdiction of the Li family have become free citizens, no longer subject to slavery."
Duke Blackwater burst into laughter: "Does it make sense for a conglomerate to try and protect the lambs under its own rule?"
Li Yunshou said, “Yes. The residents of the six northern cities have all been enslaved, and I know very well what fate awaits them. With the help of the Li family, it will be easier and more efficient for you to unify the Eastern Continent. The price is only to give 31,922 members of the Li family citizenship and you will also gain tens of millions of free people. This is a risk-free deal for you, and it is very worthwhile.”
“If I were a businessman, this would indeed be a very profitable deal,” the Duke of Blackwater slowly suppressed his smile, “but unfortunately, I am the ruler, I am here to conquer you, and you have no right to set a price for me.”
Li Yunshou looked up at him: "What do I need to give in return?"
Duke Blackwater laughed and said, "In my opinion, the entire Eastern Continent is already in His Majesty's hands; it's just that you haven't seen through this ending yet. Of course, your request is not difficult. People of the Li family can be exempted from slavery, but you... will become my slave."
As soon as he finished speaking, people rushed over from both sides and grabbed Li Yunshou's arms, pinning him to a chair. A white woman, holding an automatic tattooing tool, tattooed two Chinese characters on Li Yunshou's forehead in just over ten seconds: "Slave".
Li Yunshou did not struggle; he simply sat blankly in the chair with a gloomy look in his eyes.
The Duke of Blackwater and the hundreds of soldiers commanding Shili looked at him with a grin: "Don't worry that you're special. In the future, on the lands that my Roosevelt Kingdom has trampled, apart from your Li family's people, these two words will be tattooed on them. They will become slaves of the Roosevelt Kingdom, and their children will also become slaves of the kingdom, with these words tattooed on them. At that time, your Li family's descendants will thank you for your sacrifice."
This is the true cruelty of war; it not only destroys your body but also humiliates your will.
In our imagination, war is simply a matter of one side eliminating the other, but the humiliation suffered by the defeated side will last for hundreds of years.
In 1645, Emperor Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty issued an order: "From this proclamation onwards, all areas inside and outside the capital, and all provinces under the direct rule of Zhili, shall complete the shaving of their heads within ten days. Those who evade or cherish their hair, or who use clever arguments to argue against it, shall not be lightly pardoned. Officials shall not petition against the shaving of heads, otherwise they shall be executed without mercy."
This is the historically famous "shaving edict".
From high-ranking officials to ordinary citizens.
From then on, the question of whether or not to keep one's hair was no longer a matter of personal preference or an ethical issue, but rather rose to become a serious political issue.
In order to completely conquer this land spiritually, the Qing Dynasty rulers regarded shaving one's head as a symbol of submission. To this end, they did not hesitate to threaten death, with the slogan: "Keep your head, lose your hair; keep your hair, lose your head."
At that time, the traditional concept that "our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents" was held by many people, so many people rose up in rebellion, only to be ruthlessly suppressed.
Many people who watch Qing Dynasty dramas easily get caught up in the romance and love stories, but overlook the bloodshed and humiliation that the queue (braid) once brought about.
From that time onward, many people's backbones were broken, broken for over two hundred years. Women were reduced to reproductive tools, and men to livestock-like laborers—this was the price the Federation would have to pay if it were defeated.
Now, the Duke of Blackwater wants the whole world to know that Li Yunshou has become his slave, in order to break the last vestige of the Li family's will.
Whenever Li Yunshou attends any public event, everyone will see the two characters on his forehead.
Before encountering such a situation, everyone would assume that seeing these two words would ignite anger within them, but in reality, most people would feel fear.
The Duke of Blackwater's voice grew cold: "The first thing is that the Li family's troops must complete their assembly within two days and begin attacking the Qing family in the southwest. Don't let me find out that the Li family is playing tricks, otherwise I will try every woman in your Li family. Then I will let all the nobles of the Roosevelt Kingdom try them out."
"The second thing is that the Li family must take over City 10 within three days and build Cities 18 and 10 into forward bases for my Roosevelt Kingdom. All supplies must be gathered there."
"The third thing is to issue a warrant for the arrest of Li Changqing of your Li family. She took away the Li family's air fortress, causing the kingdom to suffer huge losses. Capture her and bring her to me."
Li Yunshou took a deep breath: "I understand."
The airship carried Li Yunshou out of the aerial fortress, where the Duke of Blackwater sat in the command seat.
The adjutant beside him asked in a low voice, "Do you believe in his loyalty?"
Duke Blackwater sneered, "I don't need his loyalty. Have someone keep an eye on the Li family members, and don't allow a single one to leave City 18. As long as these people are still here, the Li family must become the rolling wheels under our war machine. Does Li Yunshou dare to use the lives of more than 30,000 members of the Li family as a bargaining chip? He doesn't dare."
31,922 people is a huge number for a family, encompassing almost all of the core members of the Li family.
If they die, the Li family will also be gone.
At that moment, the airship from Blackwater City landed, and the white man grinned as he opened the hatch and pushed Li Yunshou off the airship.
Li Yunshou slowly walked out.
Li's soldiers stared blankly at the tattoo on his forehead, their faces flushed with humiliation and anger.
The white man stood on the suspended ladder watching them, unzipped his pants, urinated down, and shook himself a few times.
Fortunately, the skilled members of the Li family reacted quickly and pulled Li Yunshou away, otherwise the urine would have splashed onto him.
Li's soldiers were about to take action, but Li Yunshou stopped them, saying, "The overall situation is more important."
The white man laughed heartily, closed the cabin door, and drove away.
Li Yunshou and the others returned to their airship, and everyone remained silent, suppressing their emotions.