Ling was taken aback: "The dignified head of the Qing family would actually do something so childish?"
The old man said seriously, "Li Xiurui, the head of the Li family, is so naive. I learned it from him. Besides, I'm no longer the head of the Qing family. I'm just a retired worker who was rehired."
Zero: "Tsk tsk."
The old man exclaimed in surprise, "So artificial intelligence can also make such disdainful and contemptuous sounds?"
Zero: "Ren Xiaosu taught me a lot of useless things, such as answering 'probably not' for uncertain things, and 'tsk tsk' to express dissatisfaction. To be honest, he is worshipped as a god by you, but the things he did are not things a god should do... I'm curious, I delayed Qingchen's return, aren't you angry at all?"
The old man smiled and said, "If Qingchen becomes a god, let's not even talk about whether he can defeat the Western Continent. Let me ask you a question: Will the Western Continent still have the ability to kill him?"
Zero pondered for a moment: "Although gods are not omnipotent, only gods can kill them, so theoretically there are only two people in this world who can kill him."
The old man said, "So, as long as he's alive, the Qing family will never 'die,' right? The worst outcome is that only one person from the Qing family will remain, but those people from the Western Continent will eventually be swallowed up by time. My Qing family has long been invincible, so why should I worry?"
The old man continued, "Although we will die—I will, Qingye will, Qingkun will, Qingyu will—but the Qing family will not. That's enough. Wherever he is, that's the Qing family. The seed of the Qing family is actually a god. Aren't you afraid?"
Zero stood up and left: "As long as my son is alright, who cares about the raging flood? I've never heard you express your heartache for your son with such courage before. Of course, that's why I said that although you're not a qualified leader, you are a qualified father... Are you still willing to let me continue to take command?"
The old man laughed and said, "Having someone do it for me saves me the trouble. When you're a working person, you can slack off whenever you can."
Zero nodded: "Don't worry, the difference between me and you is that I believe this war can be won without Qing Chen."
With that, she walked out of the cottage and down the quiet steps, leaving the Ginkgo Manor.
The old man sat quietly in the house, lost in thought.
Qing Ji walked in from outside: "Grandpa, several troops in the north have found traces of the orc legion... Our entire army has been wiped out. They are using their high mobility to defeat our land forces one by one. They are too agile, and it is difficult for us to resist them effectively. Qing Yu has done a tactical analysis, and the orc legion currently numbers about 230,000. The Qing Group will be completely wiped out after annihilating 110,000 orcs."
After a long silence, the old man sighed, "I'm too old to hear this kind of news."
“We should go; the orc army is very close,” Qingji said.
"I'm not leaving."
...
...
Jianmen Pass.
One by one, the parents passed through the Qing Clan's defenses. As they passed, Qing Clan soldiers handed them bread and bottled water, telling them to eat slowly and not to overeat.
"Keep moving forward, new shoes and clothes will be distributed ahead. Thank you for your hard work."
"Thanks for your hard work."
"Thanks for your hard work."
Some parents stared blankly at the bread and water in their hands, feeling as if it were all a dream.
They had traversed mountains and valleys for so long, yet they had never seen any reinforcements or supplies, and received no help other than some medicine.
Initially, many people within the organization were whispering that the Qing family had chosen to abandon the parent-teacher association because the parents had already perished…
Neither Qingchen nor the old man on Ginkgo Mountain revealed to them when someone would meet them or when the end would be. They just kept telling them to keep moving forward.
Now, the mountain defense line of Jianmen Pass is filled with Qing soldiers, who are waiting here with supplies, leaving them somewhat at a loss... Where were you all before?
Luo Wanyi stood in front of a military tent and asked Qingyi in confusion, "Don't we have to keep going?"
Qingyi shook his head: "No, you still need to keep going forward. There will be a key gate 20 kilometers ahead to pick you up and take you to other places."
"Why didn't we use the Key Gate before?" Luo Wanya asked bitterly.
Qingyi shook his head again: "This is Ginkgo Mountain's decision, and we have no right to interfere."
Luo Wanya asked, "How long can we rest at Jianmen Pass?"
“We can’t rest,” Qingyi said. “There are still more than 10,000 war robots outside Jianmen Pass. No one knows when the barrier trapping them will loosen. We will monitor the barrier at all times. Once the barrier loosens, we will immediately drop missiles… But if the missile bombardment fails, everyone here at Jianmen Pass will have to buy you some more time so that you can pass through the Key Gate smoothly.”
The parents looked at each other in surprise; they hadn't expected that they would have to continue their trek after reaching Jianmen Pass.
At this point, many people have reached their physical limits.
Or perhaps, everyone has already reached their limit, and has broken through that limit countless times.
"What lies behind the Key Gate?" Luo Wanya wondered.
"I don't know, it was also the old man's decision," Qingyi said calmly. "Keep moving forward, your destination is not here."
Luo Wanyi seemed to sense something: "Is your destination... here?"
Qingyi grinned and said, "I don't know."
Luo Wanyi took a deep breath, turned to Xiao Qi and said, "Keep going!"
The sound of Kamishiro Sora crying came from the group, and only Kamishiro Unra patiently comforted her.
Xiao Qi, leading the little monk, continued their journey toward an unknown destiny, and the large group set off once again.
...
...
As Qingyi watched the parents leave, Qingkun came up behind him and muttered, "Why aren't you leaving, you brat?"
Qingyi turned to look at his father: "I came here with a mission, and I cannot leave until I complete it."
Qingkun was taken aback: "What are you Secret Intelligence Division doing here? Gathering intelligence?"
“You may have forgotten that the duties of the Secret Service are not only to collect intelligence, but also to infiltration, assassination, and decapitation,” Qingyi said. “The most dangerous things in the entire Qing family have always been done by our Secret Service.”
Qingkun cursed. He looked around and suddenly noticed that the hatch of an airship that had arrived with Qingyi had never been opened: "What's in there?"
Qingyi shook his head: "Please, my colleague, have some self-respect. Although I am your peer, the Secret Service has a higher level of secrecy than you. Please do not inquire about this matter casually."
Qingkun immediately became anxious: "Is there something like the tyrant inside?"
As a high-ranking member of the Qing clan, he naturally knew that the Tyrant that blasted the fleets of City 18 and Blackwater City into the sky came from the Qing clan, and that the airship now likely contained the same thing.
Qingyi thought for a moment and said, "This one isn't that powerful."
Qingkun grabbed his son's shoulders and roared, "Do you know that the reason I'm guarding Jianmen Pass is so that you can live and see victory? And now you've been sent here to die too. What's the point of me guarding Jianmen Pass then?"
Qing Yiping looked directly at his father: "Am I not a member of the Qing family? Others can die, but I cannot?"
"Of course not!" Qingkun said, "I can't control others, but I can control you."
At this moment, Qingkun suddenly realized that his son had grown taller without him noticing, tall enough to look him in the eye.
Qingyi said, "Men, take Commander Qingkun away. Now, issue the order from the General Headquarters: all Qing Clan troops in the Jianmen Pass area shall begin to withdraw. The Qing Clan troops will pass through after the Parents' Meeting passes through the Key Gate."
As she spoke, Yan Chunmi led her men to quickly subdue Qingkun.
The Faceless Men, serving as Qingkun's personal guards, quickly confronted the Secret Service. Qingyi looked at the captain of the Faceless Men and said, "Follow orders!"
With his arms bound, Qingkun shouted, "Don't listen to him! Grab this kid and let's get out of here!"
Qingyi looked at the Faceless Men army seriously and said, "At this critical moment of life and death, there is no room for sentimentality. These twelve thousand war robots are a crucial link in the Western Continent, and they must remain here forever. Qinghua, prepare two airships; we are ready to leave."
Qingkun asked in a daze, "You kid... can't we just use missiles to bomb them remotely? Or we can place bombs next to the barrier in advance, and detonate them once the barrier loosens."
Qing Yi laughed and said, "Yes, this is my plan. I didn't say I would die, so why are you in such a hurry? I'll withdraw to a safe distance as soon as I put down the missile, why make it sound like a life-or-death separation."
Qingkun was taken aback for a moment: "Then let me go. It's very simple. I can do it."
Qingyi shook his head: "It's not safe. Since this task was assigned to me, I must complete it."
As he spoke, he boarded an airship.
Just before closing the cabin door, Qingyi turned to Qingkun and said, "Father, thank you."
Three airships took off, including the one carrying the miniature nuclear warhead 'Greed'.
They flew straight towards the outside of Jianmen Pass, and among all the evacuating troops, only they flew against the flow of the crowd towards the barrier.
The Faceless Men, standing beside Qingkun, said, "Young Master has grown up."
...
...
Inside Jianmen Pass, the Qing clan's troops suddenly discovered that the parents' meeting was neatly divided into thousands of groups, each with its own captain and vice-captain, and each group was arranged in two neat rows.
It should be noted that this team had already undergone a long march of several dozen days, suffering from lack of food and clothing, and enduring hunger and cold.
And now, the team is maintaining excellent order during its evacuation.
In fact, they wouldn't be surprised if parents fled like refugees, but these people became even more resilient after being tempered.
Moreover, the parents did not overeat; they sipped mineral water in small sips and tore all the bread into wedges, chewing it until it was liquid before swallowing.
No one was blinded by hunger.
Throughout the journey, no matter how busy or tired the parents were, they never stopped their ideological work, and now it's time to see the results.
The Qing soldiers knew that these 250,000 men had finally been forged into a fighting force.
Throughout the journey, Luo Wanyi and Xiao Qi were always at the forefront, and it took them two hours to walk the last 20 kilometers.
In the distance, they finally spotted a figure.
People rushed over quickly. The first to arrive was Nangong Yuanyu, followed by Qing Ling, Li Cheng, and others who had left Base A02 with Qing Chen.
Finally, there's Yangyang.
Further away, hundreds of movable key gates leaned against large trees, all open.
Qingyi had previously said that they could rest here and get more supplies, but he didn't say who was waiting for them here.
Luo Wanya was stunned: "We were just discussing why you disappeared, even Yangyang was nowhere to be seen. It turns out you've been waiting here all along to prepare the Key Gate."
“That’s right,” Yangyang said, “Hurry up and go through the key gate, there are people waiting for you behind it.”
Luo Wanyi paused for a moment, then walked step by step toward the key gate, hesitatingly stepping through it.
Just as he was lost in thought, someone said to him, "You've worked hard."
Luo Wanyi turned his head and saw that it was Li Shutong!
The boss's mentor!
"What...what are you doing here?" he asked, puzzled.
Li Shutong said with a smile, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."
As he spoke, Li Shutong placed his fingers on Luo Wanya's wrist.