Just a moment ago.
On Ginkgo Mountain, Qing Ji was sitting in a small house halfway up the mountain, staring intently at the chessboard, his mind a jumble of thoughts, unable to come up with his next move.
With his chess skills, how could he possibly beat the old man?
Ever since Zero beat the old man at the chessboard, the old man has been playing chess with him for two days straight, as if he wants to make up for his loss to Zero by playing against him...
Seeing that he had been cornered on the chessboard and had no way to move, Qing Ji changed the subject: "The battle at the front is fierce. Are you sure you don't need me to go?"
The old man said calmly, "If you go, you'll just be another A-level expert. It's more useful for you to stay with me."
Qing Ji was a little discouraged: "You can't be so willful. Zero people have beaten you. Why don't you play chess with her? Why are you asking me..."
The old man said frankly, "I can't beat her. I don't like playing chess, I like winning."
Qingji: "Ah, this..."
"Alright, I won't make things difficult for you today. Come with me for a walk," the old man put the black and white chess pieces back into the box, and led Qing Ji to the top of the mountain. He leaned on the stone tablet beside him and asked, "Qing Ji, do you know why the Qing family patriarch's house is located halfway up the mountain?"
"Why?"
The old man said, "This is what our ancestor Qingzhen wants to remind us: the monument on the mountaintop and the souls of those who sacrificed themselves for the Qing clan are above the patriarch... In fact, I have failed the soldiers of the Qing clan."
As soon as he finished speaking, a mute servant came up the steps, excitedly carrying a radio.
The mute servant placed the radio in Qing Ji's arms and gestured in sign language: "Someone on the radio just said that the young master was on a killing spree in City 10! The young master is back!"
Qing Ji suddenly turned his head: "Really?!"
The mute servant chuckled and used sign language: "When have I ever lied to you, Master? I know what's important! Young Master is really back!"
Just then, Qingchen's voice came through the radio: "This is Qingchen. I'm back. Come pick me up."
Qing Ji said, "Old Master, I will go and fetch him to see you."
The old man said, "There's no need to come to Ginkgo Mountain. Let's go straight to the battlefield; they need him more there."
“Yes,” Qing Ji nodded, “Now that he has become a god, the Western Continent is as fragile as a piece of paper.”
The old man smiled and shook his head: "He definitely hasn't fully recovered his memory yet. If he had, he should have gone to the Caramel Bar to find Qing Shen first, instead of going to the radio station to notify us in this way."
Qing Ji was puzzled: "But didn't you say that as long as he returned, there wouldn't be any problems with the final battle? I remember you saying that the final enemy needed to be killed by Qing Chen himself?"
The old man patiently explained, "But I never said that the final enemy was the group from the Western Continent."
Qing Ji was stunned: "A puppeteer?"
The old man nodded.
Qing Ji then realized that the old man had never considered the Western Continent as the most troublesome enemy from the beginning. The ultimate target of the other party's plan was always the puppet master Zong Cheng who was hiding in the shadows.
"Actually, you want to avenge Ning Xiu and Qing Zhun?" Qing Ji asked.
The old man remained silent and did not answer, and Qing Ji knew that he had guessed correctly.
At that moment, he finally understood why Zero said that the old man might not be a qualified leader, but he was a qualified father.
This sentence refers to everything the old man arranged for Qingchen, and also to the price the old man paid to avenge his son and daughter-in-law.
The puppeteer must die.
"But how do you know the final battle will be against the Puppet Master? Didn't you say that the fate of the world's chessboard is no longer visible?" Qing Ji asked curiously.
The old man remarked with emotion, "I not only have a chessboard of heaven and earth, but also a brain..."
Qing Ji: "..."
Everyone was praising and envying the precognitive abilities of the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, almost forgetting that even without the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, the opponent was still the one who would have the last laugh in the Shadow Battle and the Clan Head Battle.
Just then, a voice came from the radio: "Can I take a picture with you?"
Qingchen replied politely but somewhat awkwardly on the radio, "Okay... but you can't use my photos for online sales."
The old man and Qing Ji slowly turned their heads... This group of people had actually forgotten to turn off their microphones.
...
...
Everyone inside the safe house held their breath. The next second, the fire hydrant outside the safe house was opened, and Qing Ji said, "You guys turn off your microphones first..."
The young people frantically turned off their microphones.
Qing Ji approached Qing Chen and said, "You're finally back."
Qing Chen hesitated for a moment: "You are Qing Ji?"
Qing Ji sighed, "His memory really hasn't returned."
Qing Chen thought for a moment: "But I should be able to participate in the battle now... I've mentally prepared myself."
"That's good. Come with me," Qingji said, looking at the others in the safe house. "Are you retreating?"
The young people in the safe house looked at each other and said, "We're not leaving. This radio station can't do without us. There are still many people waiting to listen. If we stop broadcasting, I'm afraid many people won't be able to hold on."
Qingchen felt something in his heart. The reason he wanted to return to this group before he regained his memories was because he saw many such people through the fragments of his memories.
In Yi's description, he did many things for the Eastern Continent.
But for the world to become a better place, it needs more young people like this.
Qing Chen smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you all. See you after the battle."
With that, he stepped into the shadowy door.
A few months ago, when the radio station was being established, the scientists all thought Luo Wanya was making a mountain out of a molehill. It was just a small radio station, yet they, these academic giants, were making it so difficult.
At that time, no one could have imagined that what was an unintentional act would become the key to transmitting messages and a crucial turning point in the battle.
So many people have sacrificed their lives on the Eastern Continent, forced to leave their homes and shed their blood. The time for a counterattack has finally come.
From that moment on, the fate of the final battle was shrouded in mystery, and no one could see it anymore.
At this very moment, in a secret laboratory in City 5, Scientist No. 2, who had been abducted by Qing Chen to City 10, suddenly roared.
He was emaciated with bloodshot eyes, but his expression was unusually excited.
In the lab, he danced wildly in front of his assistants, shouting, "It's done! The Grade A gene serum is a success!"
All the efforts Qingchen had made and the time he had gone through were now giving him answers.
...
...
The Qing army on the A2 front was still waiting quietly. Qing Qu frowned as he looked at the calm outside, feeling that this tranquility was too abnormal.
Qingqu paced back and forth on the defensive line, extremely uneasy: "Where is the orc army? They should have been on our lines long ago!"
A shadow warrior leaned against the track of a main battle tank: "Isn't this good news? Why are you looking so gloomy?"
Qingqu shook his head: "This is not good news."
This is certainly good news for the Qing army stationed here, because everyone is still alive.
However, Qingqu knew that the number of orc legions would not decrease on its own. If they did not encounter an attack here, then other fronts would face double the pressure.
The opponent might even take a risky tactic, concentrating the orc army's forces, which should have been spread across seven fronts, onto a few fronts, and using immense pressure to break through those fronts. The Qing clan simply wouldn't be able to withstand that!
At that time, the orc legion will penetrate directly behind them, encircling the ground forces on all fronts.
However, they had not received any news at this time, so they could only wait patiently.
Even if all other fronts are wiped out, they cannot leave their posts without orders.
Just then, the soldier in charge of radio communications ran over and shouted: "Command has issued an order: all units on the A2 front are to immediately move out to support the A3 defense line, which is in dire straits!"
The Qingqu roared, "Move out! Main battle tanks first, everyone else follow!"
...
...
A1 Front.
There was no one left standing on the battlefield.
The setting sun was half-hidden by the mountains, while the other half shone on the battlefield. Xiao Qi stood there blankly, experiencing for the first time the true meaning of "the setting sun is like blood."
On this battlefield, both the orc troops and the parents' association members had all fallen to the ground, leaving only a few hundred people standing.
Luo Wanya supported Da Yu, whose right leg was broken; they looked utterly miserable.
Xiaoqi said sadly, "The casualty ratio is too high... the cost is so great."
He never imagined that all those who had followed them across mountains and valleys for seven thousand kilometers would die here.
Luo Wanyi is very strong, but he still couldn't help but shed tears at this moment.
As he was wiping away his tears, a corpse at his feet suddenly opened its eyes: "Old Luo, you're crying?"
"Ah!" Luo Wanyi roared, trembling, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
The family member lay on the ground, his face covered in blood, and slowly said, "Don't yell... We traveled seven thousand kilometers in the southwest and came here to kill beast soldiers without much rest. We've been killing for hours, I'm so tired, let me lie down for a while."
"What the hell made you lie down? All those tears were for nothing!" Luo Wanyi shouted at the empty battlefield, "Is anyone still breathing? Give me a shout!"
His voice echoed across the battlefield until the sun finally set behind the mountains...
"I'm fine. I just had a nap and I feel much better."
"You can't treat the production base like this. I need to get a good three days and three nights of sleep after this battle."
"I want to lie down a little longer... I hurt my leg!"
Xiao Qi was both amused and exasperated, but when he turned around at the moment the battle ended, he found that no one was behind him. He thought that everyone had been wiped out!
He said, "Then you guys should take a break. Anyway, the orc legion on this front has been completely wiped out."
Just then, Xiao Wu ran over from a distance and shouted, "Command has given orders for us survivors to immediately move to support the A5 defense line. They've been ambushed by the main force of the orc legion and can't hold on much longer!"
Xiaoqi and Luo Wanya looked at each other in bewilderment.
Luo Wanyi said with some reluctance, "Ask the command center if we can wait two hours? It's not that we want to delay, it's just that our families can't hold on any longer."
Xiao Wu shook his head in silence.
Luo Wanyi was conflicted. It wasn't that he was being dramatic, but everyone was truly at their limit. Towards the end of the battle, many people had unknowingly fainted or collapsed from exhaustion.