Instead of fighting, they continued to exploit the city's residents, trying to seize everything of value as spoils of war.
Gold, silver, antiques, grain, cars, corporate shares, and people—all the residents of City 10 became slaves, and all the assets of City 10 became private property.
In fact, the aristocratic slave system of the Western Continent had great drawbacks. When the war reached this point, the nobles did not unite against the common enemy, but were busy dividing everything up.
Perhaps they believed that they could not lose this war and that they must seize the opportunity before the royal family could react, which ultimately led to a situation in the Central Plains where nobles fought their own battles.
Qing Chen leaped over the city wall, and before Metal Storm could react, he had already disappeared from City 10.
This was the first city he encountered after returning to the Eastern Continent, and it is said that the journey of the Parents' Meeting also began here.
He walked down the street and saw that everyone had the word 'slave' tattooed on their foreheads.
The passersby looked dejected and didn't talk to each other as they walked; the whole city had lost its former prosperity.
But for Qing Chen, it was actually his 'first' time seeing a city on the Eastern Continent.
As Qing Chen was observing, a middle-aged man saw him and gaped, exclaiming, "You... what are you doing here?"
"Hmm?" Qing Chen said, "You know me?"
"Who wouldn't know you..."
Qing Chen looked around and felt as if countless eyes were focused on him, as if everyone knew him.
When Yi recounted his experiences before, he only talked about the most important things and never mentioned this kind of thing.
The middle-aged man said in a low voice, "Parent, this is not the place to talk. Please come with me."
Qing Chen paused for a moment, then followed: "Are you a member of the parent-teacher association?"
“I’m not a member of the parent-teacher association, I just want to join,” the middle-aged man said nervously. “Please come with me quickly. There’s no guarantee that someone in this city won’t try to use your information to gain merit and escape slavery.”
As they were speaking, the alarm sounded, and the sound of the puppet army's vehicle engines rapidly approached.
Moreover, the engine noise was coming from all directions... Someone had indeed betrayed Qing Chen.
The middle-aged man's expression changed, and he led Qingchen through a maze of turns, eventually disappearing into an alley.
But the sound of an engine came quickly from behind, and the middle-aged man had no choice but to find a house and whisper, "My face must have been remembered. Now someone is chasing my parents. Can you help hide them in your house?"
The woman in the house nodded solemnly: "Yes, please come in."
Qingchen asked in confusion, "Auntie, are you a member of the parent-teacher association?"
“No,” the woman said, “I applied, but they said I’m a bit too old and not suitable for dangerous activities at the moment.”
"Do you know each other?" Qingchen asked again.
The middle-aged man shook his head: "I don't know him."
Qing Chen was shocked: "You don't even know each other, yet you agreed to hide me after just a few words. Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?"
The middle-aged man pointed to the tattoo on his head: "We're still waiting for the parents' meeting to come back and liberate City 10. We've all been in trouble, you can't be in trouble either. You go inside quickly, I'll lead the puppet troops away! Parents... although someone betrayed you, don't blame them too much, everyone has really suffered a lot these past few days..."
Qingchen grabbed his wrist: "No, go inside and hide. I'll lure them away. I can't hurt you."
As he spoke, he pushed the middle-aged man into the woman's house, and then walked out of the residential building.
Qingchen couldn't understand it. He had never met any of the residents in this city, yet they were willing to help him escape the pursuit. Moreover, the two families didn't know each other, yet they were willing to cooperate to help him.
That middle-aged man was even willing to sacrifice himself to lure away the puppet troops.
This was something Qingchen had never encountered before, and he found it somewhat outrageous.
But amidst this outrageous situation, there were many things that made him think deeply, and it even gradually stirred up some memories of building parent-teacher conferences in City 23...
Strangely enough, such a small thing has stirred up some memories.
Qingchen ran outside, but the puppet troops had already surrounded the area.
Qingchen bumped into them on the street, hesitated, and raised his hands to dissuade them, saying, "Let's talk this over. I don't really want to fight you right now. I'm not sure if you can beat me, and I'm not sure if I can beat you..."
There were too many of them, which made Qingchen a little scared for a moment.
I can't be afraid, there are so many enemies on the other side! There are people all around me, densely packed and swarming!
More than any drug lord he had ever encountered before!
This feeling was actually quite disconcerting for Qingchen. He knew he was fast and strong, but he was still a little afraid...
I'm inexplicably cowardly...
However, the puppet troops were also terrified. They had no idea what state Qing Chen was in. If they hadn't been forced to come, who would have been willing to come and besiege Qing Chen? Wouldn't that be like having a death wish?
At this moment, they saw Qing Chen raise his hands and felt that the Lord of Daylight might be about to unleash a powerful attack. They instinctively pulled the trigger in fright!
Both sides are terrified!
However, the moment the puppet troops pulled the trigger, Qingchen vanished from the spot.
The residents watching from both sides of the street only saw a blur before the puppet soldiers were found dead on the spot, their bones broken and tendons snapped.
It's incredibly easy...
Ten minutes later, the battle stopped, and Qing Chen was nowhere to be seen on the street.
At this moment, Qingchen returned to that residential building, knocked on the old lady's door, and went inside.
The middle-aged man exclaimed excitedly, "I can't believe I've actually seen you take action in person! Those collaborators are so hateful; they're all from the Eastern Continent, yet they're acting as accomplices to evil!"
Qing Chen closed the door and said, "Um... do you have a way to contact the outside world? I mean, do you have a way to contact Luo Wanya, Xiao Qi, Xiao Wu, and Xiao Jiu from the parents' association?"
The middle-aged man and the older woman looked at each other, bewildered: "There's probably nothing we can do about it; all communication in the city has been cut off."
As they were talking, Qingchen heard a sound coming from the living room. He glanced over and saw an extremely simple radio that was crackling and broadcasting the news.
On the news, an excited voice was broadcasting: "Important news, everyone! According to reliable sources, Qing Chen has just wiped out a 1,200-strong puppet army in City 10... I never expected the boss to return to the Central Plains. Could it be that the time for the Parents' Association to liberate the Central Plains has come?! Everyone, hold on, holding on is victory!"
Qing Chen was taken aback: "In the cyberpunk era, there are still radios?! And they're even real-time?"
The auntie was also surprised: "Isn't this the radio station you had the parents' association set up before? Some businesses jumped on the bandwagon and produced a batch of radios. People wanted to hear what your radio station broadcast, so they bought the radios to listen to. The radio station has been running non-stop for a while now. Sometimes it broadcasts songs, sometimes it broadcasts the news, and sometimes it encourages everyone. If I didn't have this radio, I probably wouldn't have been able to make it. Now I live entirely by listening to the radio... It's just that sometimes the content of these radio stations is not very proper."
The middle-aged man lamented, "I didn't buy a radio back then, so I had to go to my neighbor's house to listen to it."
Qing Chen lowered his head, and some fragmented memories returned to his mind... Yes, this was the full-coverage radio station he had once prepared for a certain forbidden object.
But he never expected that the radio station he left behind would become an important tool for spreading anti-war messages behind enemy lines.
It seems even the enemy didn't expect that someone would still be using such an ancient thing at a parent-teacher meeting...
Qing Chen said thoughtfully, "I'm leaving now. Take care! Believe me, everything will be alright!"
After he turned and left, he followed the information given by Black Spider and searched for each of the safe houses associated with the parent-teacher meetings.
Qingchen was thinking about a problem: those responsible for broadcasting the radio must have been trying to avoid being searched by the puppet army. After all, the puppet army had searched every house, and if they had found the radio station, they would have destroyed it long ago.
Therefore, these people must be hiding in a secluded place, persisting in their anti-war cause.
When he found the eighth safe house, his extraordinary hearing allowed him to hear someone inside excitedly saying, "Listeners, I want to tell you that the Parents' Association has never given up on City 10. Please believe me, the day of victory will eventually come!"
This safe house is hidden in a shopping mall in the third district, in a secret passage behind a red fire hydrant.
Qingchen knocked on the fire hydrant.
In an instant, the sound of pistols being cocked echoed inside the safe house, and someone whispered, "Don't move, they might not have discovered us yet."
Qing Chen said, "It's me, Qing Chen."
With a click, the fire hydrant was pushed open, revealing a pale-faced young man with tears in his eyes: "Boss, you've finally come!"
Qing Chen said, "Let's not talk nonsense for now. I need to use your radio."
"Use it, please use it as you like!" The young man led him into the safe house. In the dimly lit room, more than a dozen young men and women looked at him, exhausted but excited.
Qing Chen walked to the microphone, pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Are you sure the entire Federation can hear this?"
“Yes!” the young man replied.
Qing Chen said into the microphone, "I am Qing Chen. I'm back. Come and pick me up."
Chapter 994, The Final Journey (Part Six)
When Qingchen spoke into the microphone, the men and women in the safe house felt their blood boil.
They remained there, waiting day and night.
While everyone in City 10 was in despair, they stayed here and broadcast interesting things to everyone.
Sometimes you have to rack your brains to come up with jokes and anecdotes, and you might even have to perform stand-up comedy or crosstalk.
Sometimes they play music, sometimes they broadcast the news, but more often they encourage everyone not to give up and want all listeners to believe that one day the Parents' Association will return to City 10 and solidify their foundation of support here.
It is precisely because of their dedication that this radio station has gradually become a source of comfort and solace for so many people.
However, sometimes even they themselves wonder if persisting is truly meaningful.
At this very moment, Qingchen's voice was being broadcast to the outside world, the radio signal drifting through the air and flying into the distance.
With the limited information he had, Qingchen made what he believed to be the right choice, but he was unsure whether his choice would yield any results.
This is perhaps the most distinctive characteristic that has enabled Qingchen to succeed all the way. Even if he loses his memory and becomes that clueless 17-year-old high school student again, he can still see through the chaos and reach the right shore.
The safe house fell silent again.
While waiting, the young man in charge of the radio station said, "Can I take a picture with you?"
"Huh?" Qing Chen had never experienced this kind of treatment before, and was a little unaccustomed to it for a moment.
Seeing the expectant looks on those people's faces, he could only bite the bullet and say, "Okay... but you can't use my photos to do online sales."
The young man and woman were both amused and exasperated; what on earth was going on?
They all ran up to Qingchen and struck strange poses, and one couple even squatted down in front of him to kiss and commemorate the moment.
Qing Chen: "..."
Someone asked, "Boss, will someone come to pick you up?"
Qing Chen shook his head: "I'm not sure either."
...
...