CH 41

In the eighth month of the first year of the End Times calendar, the deputy head of the Peace Base, Ji Qianhuang, orchestrated a rebellion. In the aftermath of the incident, Yang Miao, the former base leader, died. Ji Qianhuang quickly put down the subsequent turmoil, and in one day, the incident was completed, changing Peace Base to Phoenix Base.

At the height of the provincial bases, the leaders of the major provincial bases all set up their own cities, and it was high time that people changed the name of these powerful leaders to City Lord. [1]

By the beginning of August, there were five major provincial bases in the north, namely Tiger City, Light City, Justice City, Gods City and Netherworld City. Netherworld City was the last to emerge, with a mysterious and powerful history, and although it was a newcomer, almost no one dared to mess with it easily.

On the 6th of August, the Phoenix Base survived the second zombie invasion since the end of the world, while all the other bases in C City were wiped out in this invasion.

On the seventh day of the same month, the Phoenix Base declared war on H Province and W Province at the same time, using level 6 War Giant to overrun the bases in the neighbouring cities in three days, and the momentum was so strong that the remaining defenceless bases in the two provinces were either violently crushed or surrendered.

At this point, the three giant provincial bases in the south took shape, with Phoenix City, Virtue City and Ruyi City forming a triumvirate. [2]

In the post-apocalyptic historiography of later generations, this was the first time that the saviour Ji Qianhuang made a move, but it was already a shocking move, with astonishing talent and wisdom that shocked everyone in the world!

As for the sudden appearance of the level 6 giant, with the passage of time no one remembers its bloody and cruel origins.

The winner is the king, the loser is the criminal, people are always overly lenient with the winner, mean or vicious, it’s all a foregone conclusion.

The middle of August quietly arrived, and on this Mid-Autumn Festival, which was a festive occasion before the end of the world, Phoenix City was humane enough to give everyone a moon cake.

At this time, Phoenix City had become a well-run, mature provincial base with abundant food reserves, a population of seven million, more than 50,000 psychics, hundreds of level 4 ability user fighters, and a legendary Giant of level 6 that no one could defeat.

At this point in time, Phoenix City no longer needs to live in poverty like it did more than half a month ago, and Ji Qianhuang, a Spiritualist who is proficient in psychological tactics and good at winning hearts and minds, will naturally not neglect the management of ordinary people.

The majority of the people in the end of the world are still ordinary people, although the ability user’s power is high, but it is not possible for ability user to take up all the battle. There are a lot of things that can’t be done without ordinary people, such as planting and harvesting food, logistics management, equipment maintenance, daily labour, scientific research …… and war cannon fodder.

Currently, those countries in the West and Europe that previously convicted people for hurting a cat are now eating each other alive, no worse than those in the East. In this post-apocalyptic world, democracy and freedom are a joke, but nonetheless, basic human rights must be guaranteed.

Overly strict classes would lead to a serious division of the group, something Ji Qianhuang knew very well. The conflict between the ordinary people and the ability users was definitely a big problem, and it could not be settled completely at the moment, so it could only be done little by little.

Ji Qianhuang put down the pen and pushed aside the documents she had been reading. When she looked up, she saw a young girl with long soft hair cascading down her back, cupping the information she had collected from the Phoenix personnel over the past few days and looking at it intensely.

The young girl’s legs were folded and she leaned most of her body against the soft sofa, her whole body had an air of relaxation. The fair and delicate face occasionally frowned, and then a moment later spread her brows and smiled as she underlined a key point in the information, her fingers, which were used to holding a knife, were now holding the pen in a graceful manner.

Ji Qianhuang is holding her chin, although her eyes are looking at Shen Qingjia, the focus of her eyes has already shifted to an unknown place, at this moment she actually does not want to say anything, at this moment she even forgot to smile.

For a long time, after Shen Qingjia finished sifting through the information, she actually found the rare Ji Qianhuang, who had devoted herself to scheming for wealth and killing people, dazed, although she immediately regained her noble and cold high-end smile after a moment, but still Shen Qingjia caught the opportunity to despise her.

“What, looking at this look, has any lucky hunk been fortunate enough to be favoured by our Great Leader?”

Ji Qianhuang did not change her face and spread her hands, “Something like that, that equal to the small probability of Mars hitting the Earth, even if it did happen, I think that lucky hunk is really unlucky to be favoured by me~”

“…………” Although it is tempting to admit that she has a point, what is this feeling of somehow losing a bet! [3]

Shen Qingjia decisively changed the topic, “Xia You has been very busy lately.”

Although Shen Qingjia’s way of changing the topic was bordering on simple and crude, Ji Qianhuang as a good boss still mercifully catered to her pride and intelligence, “Recently, she accepted the base’s 10th squad and spent all day drilling her team members to be busy saving people at Yi’an base, busy ne.” [4]

It had to be said, minus Shen Qingjia’s personal soulless style, she was indeed a good boss.

Shen Qingjia raised an eyebrow, “I thought that guy would immediately go to the Yi’an base to trash it after he had the leadership of the 10th Squad.”

“She’s not as impulsive as you think when it comes to her sister.” Ji Qianhuang leaned back in the soft chair, “What about you, Xiao Qingjia, how is the information gathering going?”

Speaking of this, Shen Qingjia’s smile on her face has increased a bit. “Now I am not sure about anything else, but there is no doubt that she is still alive. Firstly, I only know one woman surnamed Zhu who is so beautiful that she is rare in the world, and she is the only one in this world. Secondly, as long as it is her, there is absolutely no possibility of her dying so easily.”

“So sure about this deduction of yours that has no semblance of logical credibility?”

Shen Qingjia smiled, “The truth is that I’m not confident in myself, it’s just that I’m confident because that person is her.”

“…… Is that so, then congratulations in advance.” Ji Qianhuang looked at her smiling face that seemed like it was about to burst into light, and after a moment, she also smiled slightly.

The northern city of light, originally modern and full of tall buildings, has suddenly taken a different view when it reaches the centre of the city, where an ancient pavilion stands in the middle of the lake.

The lake is verdant, reflecting a few dark clouds in the sky.

A wooden bridge extends from the shore to the pavilion. The early morning fog blurs the pavilion and makes people wonder: What dragon is lying on the long bridge, before the clouds?

Anyone who is familiar with the top echelons of the Light City knows that the City Lord does not usually meet with important guests in his office, even when there is nothing else to do, he prefers to stay here.

The City Lord’s secretary Xiao Wei is now struggling by the wooden bridge, since the City Lord is here to discuss with an individual, it naturally means that this guest has an unusual status and the matter being discussed is also extraordinary …… but he really has something very important to report now!

When he raised his eyes slightly, Xiao Wei found a unfamiliar young woman standing not far away, looking quietly into the lake pavilion. [5]

This lake pavilion was the City Lord’s office most of the time, don’t look at the lack of people around, however, as long as there was a fly here, countless guards would instantly cut it into 18 pieces. For this woman to appear here, she was undoubtedly a subordinate of that distinguished guest.

Xiao Wei walked in beside her and saw that she was in her mid-twenties, with a fresh face, obviously a gentle and soft face, but wearing a pair of glasses on her face, she had a calm and competent temperament. Xiao Wei originally wanted to ask how long this discussion will end, inexplicably the words to the mouth changed into, “Miss here, what is your name.”

As soon as the word came out of his mouth, he was already yelling inside : No this is not what I want to say, nima! [6]

The young woman turned her head to look at him, no unnecessary emotion in her eyes, “I am the current secretary to the Netherworld City, my name is Song Shuxian.”

Then the corners of her mouth curved a little, “But you don’t need to know my name, what you need to know is our City Lord’s name and that’s enough.”

But I don’t know your City Lord’s name either Orz …… [7]

The woman spoke, then turning her head away and no longer paying attention to Xiao Wei, leaving him unable to use any of his conversation skills and with no choice left but to look in the direction of the lake pavilion to see when they would finish.

The familiar figure of the City Lord in the heart of the lake was directly ignored, and Xiao Wei saw the woman opposite the City Lord.

It was truly a woman of great beauty and grace, with dark hair, thus making her cheeks look increasingly sickly pale. The early morning mist obscured her exact figure, and only a soft vermilion blush could be seen between her lips, gently pursed at the moment, yet it was not difficult to imagine how beautiful it would be when she smiled.

Perhaps sensing the stranger’s gaze, the woman turned her head, her gaze distantly looking across the water.

A world of loneliness, an eternity of desolation.

The fog was so thick that one could not even see the woman’s face clearly, but one could feel those eyes, as cold as ten thousand years of ice, looking from the distant past. Carrying the completeness kneaded from fragility, the warmth yet coldness, just one eye is enough to capture one’s breath and soul.

Xiao Wei stood frozen in place for half a second, until the City Lord called out to him several times before he could respond.

“Did you rush here to gawk?” The City Lord of Light frowned.

Shocked by that look, Xiao Wei, who had been dumbfounded for half a day, finally remembered the serious matter, “Tiger City has sent someone to discuss cooperation matters.”

“There is no need to talk about this matter.” Instead, the City Lord of Light clapped his hands, “I have already made a decision to start cooperation with Netherworld City.”

“Ah ……?” Xiao Wei was almost dumbfounded by this sudden news, and after a moment, he finally got his IQ online again and said with some curiosity, “City Lord, who exactly is that woman you were talking to?”

The City Lord gave him a sidelong glance, “You don’t need to know.”

Xiao Wei, “…………”

The City Lord looked towards the gloomy sky and suddenly let out a low sigh, “I don’t need to tell you that, because that person will be famous one day and everyone in the world will know about her, as long as they are not blind or deaf they will know her name sooner or later.”

“She is the City Lord of Netherworld City, and her name is Zhu Ai.”

The author has something to say:

Shen Qingjia （︶︿︶）   : Am I really the female lead? Why doesn’t anyone think I’m actually cute too!

Zhu Ai (→ __ →)  : Am I really the girlfriend of the female lead? Even a random supporting character’s sense of existence is higher than mine.

Ji Qianhuang: ⊙＿⊙: Am I really the saviour? Why is it getting darker and darker, I’m not going to steal the Greatest Villain’s job ah, bastard!

Xia Yu ⊙▽⊙: …… This is not my business, please let me be a serious spectator throughout this.

Translator’s notes :

[1] Alright so for the last chapter and from now on, I will use City Lord since the author has stated it in the story.

[2] 如意 [rú yì]

Direct translation:

Ruyi; as one wishes; as one likes it; according to one’s wishes; ruyi,an S-shaped ornamental object,usually,made of jade,formerly a symbol of good luck

[3] Stop it SQ, you can’t win against this person lol.

[4] I decided to keep the ‘ne’ part since in my opinion it keep JQ’s casual speaking style

[5] 湖心亭; literal translation is pavilion in the middle of a lake. Example that I found.

[6] 尼玛; apparently this can mean differently depending on situation. I guess ‘Fuck!’ fit the situation but I want to show the meme of this so you can understand better what I means

[7] Orz is from original text