Ling smiled and said, "I thought it was impossible before, but these past two days I've suddenly felt... I could give it a try."
Zero was also amazed by the effects of the forbidden ACE-002 Heaven and Earth Chessboard, but what she wanted to tell everyone today was that one should not be bound by the predetermined fate.
What everyone sees of fate is only a fragment, and between those gaps in fate, fire is still needed.
Li Changqing said, "I will lead men to Jianmen Pass today to join the Qing Clan Army in supporting the parents' meeting."
“No need,” Zero shook his head: “They don’t need us there anymore. You need to start evacuating the city today, in case the Western Continent drops missiles directly into the city.”
Liu Dezhu asked curiously, "Don't they need people?"
Zero: "The entire Central Plains are theirs now. Losing the population of the southwest is no big deal. If we stay here, we'll become targets and also endanger the residents of the city. Everyone, get ready. We'll evacuate at dawn, evacuate to the edge of Forbidden Land No. 001, or even evacuate into Forbidden Land itself."
At night, Li Tongyun and Jinguji Maki sat at the highest point of the Ginkgo Manor, surrounded by tombstones, but they were not very afraid.
Maki was very frustrated, and Li Tongyun asked, "Is it because those shikigami were sealed away?"
“Yes,” she nodded, “some of them are friends I’ve only known for a few days.”
Just as the amber was about to devour everything, Maki looked up at the giant whale before entering the Shadow Gate, but there was no fear in its eyes. It just looked at her peacefully, as if it were looking after its junior.
Li Tongyun comforted her, "Fortunately, you can travel and return with us in the future. After getting used to having you in the surface world, it always feels a little strange not seeing you in the inner world. Don't worry about those shikigami. When your master comes back, he will help you solve the problem. As long as those shikigami are still there, he can help you find them all."
"Mm." Maki nodded.
"By the way, in the surface world you left without saying goodbye. Did Shen Dai Yunluo take you to complete the life-or-death trial?" Li Tongyun asked curiously, "Where did you complete it?"
“In the Guatemalan sinkhole,” Maki replied, “but… Professor Kumashiro seemed to have something on her mind, and she talked about a lot of things.”
What did he say?
"The teacher said that the reason we became beta testers is because someone had already chosen a certain destiny for us. I have mine, and he has his."
"My teacher said that if we meet again, he will help me build a heritage academy on Whale Island to teach the Time Walkers how to practice the Yin-Yang Master tradition. When I grow up, he will be able to sit there and sweep the floor, watch the children play and laugh, and give the punished children food from the kitchen."
Li Tongyun looked up in surprise, she had a bad feeling.
...
...
In the desolate southwestern wilderness, all the members of the parent-teacher association were hiding under camouflage cloth, while more than a dozen airships patrolled the sky, searching for any trace of the association.
All the parents and staff members were too afraid to even breathe loudly, lest they make a sound that would be detected by the sonar equipment overhead. However, even with such caution, accidents still occurred.
In sonar equipment, even if the enemy hears the sound of a tree branch breaking, they will immediately drop an incendiary bomb to probe. Once a scream is heard from below, they will immediately cover the area within a five-kilometer radius with fire until a Class B airship has used up a basic load of ammunition before leaving.
It was difficult to distinguish the camouflage cloth on the ground from the sky, but the Western Continent Fleet's firepower was relentlessly unleashed as if it were free.
No matter how many parents are present, they can't do anything about the airships floating in the sky.
After the airships had gone far away, Luo Wanyi lifted the camouflage cloth and gasped for breath: "This won't do. There are only a dozen or so Class B airships, and we're already stuck in the wilderness, unable to move. According to the original plan, we should have already reached Jianmen Pass, but we're still a day's journey away."
Xiao Qi nodded: "More and more Western Continent fleets will be able to free up their forces, and then we will be completely locked in this wilderness. We must find a way out."
At this moment, Qin Shuli suddenly said, "I've thought of a way."
"What method?" Luo Wanya looked over.
Qin Shuli said seriously, "There are only 17 airships right now. Every time they find a clear target, they assume that an entire PTA squad is lying in wait on the ground, and then they will provide fire support. After that, they need to go back to resupply with ammunition, right?"
Xiaoqi hesitated for a moment: "Yes, this is a pattern we've summarized."
Qin Shuli said, "Then we'll split into 17 people each time, and disperse them to act independently in the wilderness. Once we encounter airships searching the mountains, we'll make a commotion and let out cries to attract the airships' firepower. In this way, we can use 17 people to buy everyone about 2 hours, and everyone can move forward at full speed after the airships leave."
Luo Wanya looked at Qin Shuli, who calmly stated the cruelest method.
Yes, this would naturally allow the main force to accelerate, but what about the 17 men who were abandoned? What will happen to them?
History is often cruel, and its cruelty lies in the fact that behind the victories we often celebrate, few people mention how many people were sacrificed.
Even if history tells you the number of people who were sacrificed, it usually doesn't tell you the names of those who were sacrificed.
These 17 men had no chance of surviving, because their sole purpose in acting alone was to die, to exchange their deaths for a pointless barrage of enemy fire.
Qin Shuli said, "I came up with the method, so I set an example by having the first batch of 17 people take me with me."
Luo Wanyi grabbed Qin Shuli: "Wait, everyone else can go, but you can't!"
"Why can't I?" Qin Shuli retorted. "Actually, I already feel very guilty for being made into a puppet and leaking so much information about the parents' association members."
“That’s not your fault. Puppet masters’ methods are hard to defend against,” Xiao Qi said.
Luo Wanya said, "Your relationship with your boss doesn't allow you to take risks. If he comes back and finds you dead, what will he think? I know you feel guilty towards your boss, so you work day and night, but it's not worth risking your life to pay for it."
Qin Shuli shook his head: "Actually, you don't quite understand my relationship with him. Now that I think about it, I only feel indebted to him in the outside world. But I did this not because I wanted to make it up to him, but because as a member of the parent-teacher association, this is what I should do."
With that, Qin Shuli broke free from Luo Wanya's grasp, turned around and walked towards the back: "Sixteen of you who have no parents, no wife or daughters, and no ties at home, come with me!"
Suddenly, over a hundred people stood up from the bushes. Qin Shuli smiled and said, "No need for so many."
...
...
In the Jianmen Pass area, the Qing Clan's army group was scattered and stationed in the mountains and fields.
Qing Yi, looking travel-worn, stepped off a floating airship, carrying a confidential document in his hand, and entered a green tent. He handed the document to Qing Kun: "This is intelligence from the Western Continent."
At this time, Qingyi's face had completely lost its childishness. At the age of 15, he took up the banner of the Secret Service and managed the Secret Service in an orderly manner.
Gone is the watermelon head; now there's only a neat buzz cut, easy to manage.
Qingkun grumbled as he ruffled his hair: "You brat, you don't even call me Dad anymore. Where have you been all this time? You're keeping it a secret from me?"
Qingyi said coldly, "You should have some self-respect. I am now the Director of the Secret Service, your equal. During wartime, we are not father and son, but colleagues. My operations are top secret, and I cannot tell you."
Qingkun opened his mouth: "...Damn."
Qingyi continued, "The spies from the north sent a message saying that the puppet army drove a group of civilians to the wilderness, and all the gene drug production factories in the six northern cities have been modified and placed under martial law. I suspect they are secretly experimenting with new gene drugs on civilians. Also, the army group in the central capital has left City 18."
In the temporary field command post, Qingkun carefully read through the documents. This frontline commander might be a bit of a slacker, but he always knew how to prioritize.
After reviewing the information, Qingkun gasped, "The Green Mountain and the Heavens are both gone? Using the Hundred Ghosts Parade as a trump card was too early; it should have been saved for the most crucial moment..."
He glanced at the time again: "It's time for our agreed meeting, but no one from the parents' meeting has shown up. The Green Mountain won't buy us much time. According to the intelligence system of the Western Continent, the army group of the Central Royal City did not participate in the encirclement and suppression of the Green Mountain. They may have already arrived in the Hengduan Mountains in the southwest."
Wearing a white hunting robe, Kamishiro Unra closed her eyes and rested with her hands tucked into her sleeves, seemingly oblivious to the female secretaries in the command center.
Kamishiro Sora stood behind him, sword in hand, glaring menacingly at his surroundings.
Kamishiro Unra sighed, "You're an Onmyoji, not Kirisaku Gomen. What are you doing carrying around Unshu's katana every day..."
Kamishiro Sora glanced at him: "I'm worried that someone might be blind."
“Things have changed, everything has changed. You weren’t like this before,” Kamishiro Yunra exclaimed. “Why don’t you go and rest for a while? They already know what’s going on, you don’t need to keep an eye on them.”
Qingkun interrupted, cursing, "When we're talking about serious matters, you two shouldn't be flirting. According to my plan, I'll wait a maximum of 24 hours for the parent-teacher conference. Once that time is exceeded, my department must withdraw in an orderly manner."
Qingyi asked in a low voice, "Your orders should have been to hold the line to the death."
Qingkun said nonchalantly, "Do you know how much effort your father put into this army? If they are all wiped out here, how will you maintain your position in the Qing family? Once this army is gone, the Qing family will only have Qingyu in the north left."
Qingyi frowned: "What kind of time is this to be thinking about this kind of thing?"
“You don’t understand politics. If you want to sit at the table and talk politics, you need bargaining chips. This army is your father’s bargaining chip,” Qingkun said. “Without guns in your hands, you can’t stand tall. I’m doing this for your own good. Think about it, you’ve become the director of the Secret Service at such a young age, but you’re not the Shadow yet. The Shadow position is still vacant.”
Qingyi shook her head: "I don't need to consider such things, and neither will the master."
Qingkun asked, "What if your husband doesn't come back?"
Qingyi said seriously, "If the skin is gone, what will the hair cling to? If the country is gone, what use are the bargaining chips? Qingkun, I am supervising you from the front line. If you disobey military orders, I will... I will personally send you to a military court."
Qingkun laughed: "I don't believe it."
Qingyi turned and left: "I mean what I say. Give me a tent, I need to rest for three hours."
At this moment, the secret agents Yan Chunmi and Song Niaoniao followed Qing Yi away. Qing Kun grabbed Yan Chunmi and said, "How long has this kid been without sleep? He looks so haggard."
“The boss has only slept six hours in the past three days,” Yan Chunmi said. “But sir, you should be careful. The boss is really ruthless now. Anyone who doesn’t do their job well will be scolded. If you disobey Yinxingshan’s orders, he really has the authority to send you to a military court.”
Qingkun chuckled and said, "I know, I know."
Yan Chunmi was somewhat surprised: "You're not angry?"
"What's there to be angry about? I should be happy that my son has made something of himself," Qingkun waved his hand. "Go on, my war meeting here is also confidential, and the Secret Service can't listen in."
Once there were no outsiders in the command post, Qingkun's expression turned serious: "Order the air force fleet to prepare to set sail. The parents' meeting will not have a chance to come to Jianmen Pass. We can't wait here; we have to go out and pick them up."
A operations staff officer said urgently, "Sir, our air defense facilities are all located at Jianmen Pass, and they are simply not adapted to the complex roads outside Jianmen Pass. If we cannot rely on ground-based air defense facilities, our casualty ratio will be very high! The air force of the Western Continent is stronger than ours!"
Qingkun was silent for two seconds: "Actually, I know that old man from Ginkgo Mountain very well. On his chessboard, the key to victory is not us. The significance of our existence is to protect that parent-teacher association army that is crossing the wilderness. That is the real key to victory on the battlefield."
Qingkun was cunning from a young age. When the old master of the Qing family asked him to go to Ginkgo Mountain to participate in the previous Shadow Competition, he refused, saying that he only wanted to be a playboy.
The truth is, he knew how brutal the struggle for shadows was: either die or submit to the shadows, and he didn't want to choose either path.
So he joined the project company and started from the bottom, gradually demonstrating his talent, and eventually found a way to become a powerful figure in the Qing clan.
Qingkun looked at his adjutant, who had been with him for many years, and asked, "What do you think I relied on to climb up the ranks all these years?"
The adjutant quickly replied, "It's thanks to your foresight in assessing the situation, your exceptional wisdom, and your..."
Qingkun sighed, "Is this the way you mortals see things? I rely on my father's high position..."
"Huh?" The adjutant was bewildered: "Why aren't you following the script?"
Qingkun relied on his own talent and his father's high position to make his business thrive. But just when he was feeling smug, his father fell seriously ill and was about to pass away. He called him to his bedside for a final fireside chat.
The aged father, covered with a blanket, looked at the flickering campfire in the stove and said, "I know you're smart, but I also know you're afraid of death. You didn't want to participate in the Shadow Wars, and you didn't want the patriarch to take on more important responsibilities. You just want to stay in your little corner and be a local tyrant. But you must understand that in this life, there are always things you can't escape."
Qingkun suddenly realized that his grandfather was absolutely right.
Some things are unavoidable.
He can hide, but Qingyi won't.
He could live on, but the Qing family would not.
"Without the Qing family, what are you and I worth?" Qing Kun said cursingly. "I'll give you three hours to prepare your supplies. After three hours, you'll leave Jianmen Pass with me to confront the Western Continent fleet."
Since the parents couldn't arrive at Jianmen Pass at the agreed time, they went out to pick them up.
At this moment, Qingkun scanned the tent with his eyes, and when he saw Shen Daiyunluo, he said, "Um... you're coming with us! You're a top expert appointed by Ginkgo Mountain, so you must protect us."
Kumashiro Yunluo laughed and said, "Okay, Kumashiro Sora and Yunxiu, you help them count the people. We'll all go. Muto Taka and Takahashi Ryosuke, you two come with me to play cards for a while. Once they're all ready, we'll all set off together."
Kamishiro Sora raised an eyebrow: "What time is it? Still playing cards?"