After a few more words, Lin Hongmei hung up the phone. Although she had long been mentally prepared for hundreds of millions of deaths, she still couldn't bear the thought of dozens dying if it actually happened. Even though those people were all armed and coming to commit atrocities, what if those unsuspecting civilians listened to the instigation and were then killed by her own people? How could she live with herself!
Lin Yao, without mincing words, immediately called Pei Tianzong and Sun Woxing, demanding that the members of the Pei and Sun families who had promised to report to Chengdu within 24 hours must not go after 24 hours, as they would not be accepted. Furthermore, if the number of those who went was insufficient and their contribution limited, Lin Yao would send them all away; a few more or less made no difference, and he didn't want to further entangle himself with the two families.
Pei Tianzong, on the other end of the phone, was stunned several times. When had he, the number one person in the country, ever encountered such a blunt ultimatum? But thinking of the extraordinary phenomena Lin Yao had created while refining pills, and watching Yi Zuojun, this young man, advance to the Heavenly Realm right before his eyes, all his negative emotions vanished. He immediately made a decisive decision, guaranteeing that the people arranged by the Pei family would arrive in Chengdu within 24 hours.
I've heard that Yi Zuojun's talent used to be really terrible, but after following Lin Yao for a few years, he's now on par with me. Even Pei Tianzong's way of addressing him has changed. What could be more shocking than this? What conditions could he not agree to, what situation could he not tolerate? As a martial arts practitioner, the temptation of such a rocket-like rise is irresistible.
Pei Tianzong calmed down and summoned the head of the Pei family. "Tian'er, arrange for 300 people to report to Minhong in Chengdu. Once there, they must follow all orders. Except for matters that endanger the aristocratic families or harm national interests, they must obey Minhong's orders directly without needing to ask for permission. Even if the Yi family is in charge of management and coordination, they must strictly follow the orders!"
"Yes, Father."
Pei Luotian, the head of the Pei family, respectfully accepted the order, and then raised his question, "Father, what level of arrangements should be made for these 300 people?"
"Let's send one hundred Earth-level individuals, and the rest can go to Human-level. We can't empty our coffers. We announced 337 early-stage Earth-level individuals, and sending away a third of them is enough to show our sincerity." Pei Tianzong stroked his beard, turned around and went back to his room, but he kept thinking about the Heaven-level spots that Lin Yao had promised. He wondered when he should send Pei Yuan there. Min Hong had a lot going on lately, and he didn't want to bother Lin Yao.
“Yes, Father.” Pei Luotian replied and left to make arrangements for the personnel.
The Pei family has 525 members at the early stage of the Earthly Realm level, far exceeding the publicly announced 337. Although this is less than the current number of members in the Yi family, they are all members who have truly cultivated their way up step by step. Regardless of Pei Tianzong's motives for concealing his strength, the necessity of concealing one's strength for the family's safety is undeniable. In a vast country like China, which family wouldn't hide some of its resources? Sometimes, keeping a low profile is essential.
Unlike Pei Tianzong, Sun Woxing showed no resistance when he received Lin Yao's call. He readily agreed and then eagerly asked Lin Yao if he needed any other support, such as money or material things. He even joked about women, saying that the Sun family had many beautiful women and he hoped to take Lin Yao as his grandson-in-law, just like General Xia's smug look.
Talking to Lin Yao about providing financial assistance? Sun Woxing's determination was too obvious, but Lin Yao couldn't get angry at this Maitreya Buddha at all.
The two experts, one old and one young, were chatting animatedly on the phone, practically having a long chat. The topics were varied and trivial, but Lin Yao realized that the call had turned into a full-blown chatter when the call duration on his phone had exceeded 60 minutes. He quickly hung up the phone in embarrassment, thinking that he must be extra careful when dealing with Sun Woxing in the future, lest he be misled and tricked by him.
After hanging up the phone, Sun Woxing immediately summoned Sun Shangqing, the head of the Sun family, and gave him instructions in one sentence:
"Make arrangements immediately. All members of the Sun family must report to the Chengdu Minhong headquarters within 24 hours. Those who are abroad, come back here as well. If they don't show up by then, don't blame me for skinning them alive!"
"Elder, what about those company affairs? Everyone has been transferred away, who will manage the family affairs?" Sun Shangqing clearly disagreed with Elder Sun Woxing's opinion and raised his question with a troubled face.
Although Sun Woxing always looked like a Maitreya Buddha when he was out, Sun Shangqing did not believe that he was kind-hearted. Even when he offered his opinions, he had to be careful to avoid being punished.
"We've spent so much money hiring managers, are they all just sitting around doing nothing?" Sun Woxing glared at Sun Shangqing. "Don't tell me our Sun family has some business geniuses who can't function without the company!"
"At this point, personal ability is the most important thing. What do companies need so much money for!"
"All members of the Sun family, including women, except for children under the age of six, must go to Chengdu! Even the children must go to Chengdu to visit relatives in batches, the more frequent the better, but they must not cause any resentment!"
"Elder..."
Sun Shangqing shrank back, thinking to himself that even an old man like him had to be careful, so he couldn't imagine how much suffering those youngsters like Sun Miao had to endure from the Grand Elder. "There are a few disciples who manage the finances of the group company and its branches. Do you think those people are..."
"Hand it over! Hand over all the work!" Sun Woxing shouted. "Can't you understand what I'm saying? Everyone! Everyone!"
"Who would dare embezzle or misappropriate our Sun family's money? They're asking for trouble!"
"These days, such good opportunities are rare, so we should go immediately. We should have our family members and servants take care of things at home, or if that doesn't work, we can hire a housekeeping company to help look after things."
At this point, Sun Woxing realized that his attitude had been somewhat inappropriate. In his anxiety, he hadn't paid attention to his manner, but the patriarch before him had always managed the Sun family diligently and had made great contributions. His tone changed, becoming extremely kind and gentle.
"Shang Qing... this matter concerns the life and death of the Sun family. You must take it seriously. Tell Sun Miao to go to Beijing immediately and find Lin Yao. He has to serve him well!"
"The entire country is facing a life-or-death crisis. I'll explain the details to you later. You need to make arrangements right away, don't waste any time, half an hour has already passed in 24 hours!"
"Ah!!!" Sun Shangqing's eyes widened, and he quickly replied, "Yes, Elder, I'll take care of it right away. First, notify the disciples abroad and those who are on missions. Make sure things are done properly!"
...
After hanging up the phone, Lin Yao smiled slightly.
The call to the chairman's hotline yielded satisfactory results, once again changing Lin Yao's impression of this number one figure in China.
The chairman, usually gentle, calm, and composed, always maintained a scholarly demeanor. However, when faced with the life-or-death crisis of the nation and its people, he abandoned all his mild-mannered style and instead displayed the decisive and forceful execution of orders.
Making decisions in public at the Zhongnanhai meeting hall, and making promises and decisions in a deep voice over the phone—all of this shows that this leader, whom the people consider a Confucian, also possesses a grand and imposing spirit.
True heroes are often revealed in times of crisis. Those who boast and show off in ordinary times tend to fall silent. There are far too many people who are all bark and no bite. Our Chairman, however, is the opposite. His actual ability and courage far surpass his usual outward appearance!
...
Minhong's logistics fleet protection force was instantly greatly enhanced. The number of incidents of blocking, harassing, and looting the delivery fleet across the country climbed from more than 100 per day to 1,329. The number of people killed or injured by the escorts of the Yi, Pei, and Sun families also quickly exceeded 10,000, reaching an unprecedented 74,000. The scale of the masses and groups participating in the blockade was growing larger and larger, and Minhong's new announcement obviously did not have a good effect.
The idea that "the law does not punish the masses" has always been deeply ingrained in the Chinese soul. The bad habit of conformity has also given sheep the courage of wolves. It seems that Chinese people like to charge into battle in a swarm, perhaps because that feeling is very enjoyable, even to the bone.
The Chairman's decision was quickly implemented. All major military regions took the initiative to contact the Minhong Headquarters. Starting from the Minhong Headquarters in Chengdu, a special team of soldiers accompanied the vehicles for transport. When the vehicles reached areas outside the jurisdiction of the military regions, they were then transported and handed over to other military regions. The presence of numerous heavily armed soldiers made Lin Hongmei's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, ease slightly for the first time. However, she was shocked by what happened later.
China is a country with strict gun and knife controls, and ordinary people rarely have the opportunity to see these things in their daily lives. Not to mention guns, even powerful knives are hard to find. Except for special autonomous regions such as Tibet, the thieving salesmen who usually fill the markets sell only fake knives with poor steel and only fancy or rough appearances. Although these knives can kill people, they often break or chip when faced with real guns and knives.
This time, even the finest knives and guns, previously hidden among the common people, have come to light. Authentic Damascus steel knives, high-quality Japanese swords, homemade hunting rifles, various workshop-made replicas of firearms, and genuine firearms of all models from around the world have all appeared in the bandit group that attempted to ambush the Minhong convoy.
Lin Yao took some time to go to Chengdu, where he refined several of the "Tai Sui" stored in the cauldron. Then, with the help of Duke Witt and several other small bats, he created numerous "human core forces," which he distributed to the members of the Pei and Sun families. He also replenished the reserves of the Yi family members who happened to be stationed in Chengdu.
These "human nuclear forces" played a huge role in the fight against firearms, because almost all of the Pei family members involved did not have the ability to withstand bullets, and the Sun family was even more exaggerated. Although several hundred people had exceeded the mid-stage of the Earth level, the remaining four thousand people completely needed Lin Yao's "enhancement" to ensure that they would not be injured. The composition of the Sun family team was hilarious, with the old and the young. Sun Woxing, with his big belly, looked like a victorious general and was very proud.
The situation that made Pei Tianzong, the eldest elder of the Pei family, both regretful and envious finally happened. Regardless of whether they were members of the Pei family or the Sun family, all of them had been promoted during the short period of the Civil Affairs event. Advancement was happening all the time, from the seventh level of the Human Rank to the eighth or even the ninth level, from the Human Rank to the Earth Rank, from the early stage of the Earth Rank to the middle stage, and from the middle stage to the peak stage. It was like riding a roller coaster, and the excitement was unbearable.
Pei Tianzong's biggest regret is that he only sent 300 disciples to Chengdu, and now they won't accept more.
But what about the Sun family?
Sun Woxing of the Sun family drove all the Sun family members to Chengdu, more than four thousand people! That's such a huge number, it makes people insanely jealous just thinking about it.
Pei Tianzong witnessed firsthand that even the youngest children of the Sun family had come to Chengdu, including infants crying for milk, under the guise of "visiting relatives." Heaven knows what kind of relatives they were visiting right after being separated for the first time, but it made him envious to the point of bleeding, because the five or six-year-old little bastard of the Sun family jumped three feet high in front of him, clearly having accepted Lin Yao's gift, at least receiving a level one nuclear force.
Pei Tianzong has now realized that possessing nuclear power and using it frequently allows ancient martial artists to experience higher levels of cultivation ahead of time, which is extremely beneficial to their training. Moreover, he is certain that Lin Yao must have used some unknown method to secretly apply the "Creation Pill" to everyone, including the Pei family members, so that everyone could frequently advance in a short period of time.
Pei Tianzong tried to persuade Lin Yao to increase the Pei family's chances of participating, but all he got was a cold shoulder. In the end, he could only sigh helplessly and put the matter away.