The "Shepherd Dog 3" task force is traversing a more rugged and complex mountainous region.
The rocks here have an eerie bluish-black color, and the geomagnetic field is also abnormally disordered, which greatly interferes with the signals of drones.
"Report to the captain: We have spotted aircraft wreckage 300 meters ahead."
The energy signal was weak, but based on comparison with the shape database, it was confirmed to be a private business jet manufactured on Earth. There were signs of life nearby, number… four.
The captain of Team Three is a woman with a cold and aloof face. She is the deputy commander of the "Ghost" Special Operations Brigade, codenamed "Nightingale".
Her style was completely different from Wang Meng's domineering and flamboyant style; she was more like a real ghost, calm and deadly.
"All units, advance in silence." Nightingale's voice calmly relayed through the tactical channel: "Switch to optical camouflage mode. I need to appear before the targets without them noticing."
"yes."
At a command, ripples appeared on the surfaces of several "Ripper" and "Hunter" assault vehicles, which then blended into the surrounding environment.
Only the sound of tracks crushing gravel proved their existence.
Collapse in the Cave
Liu Yanxi hasn't said a word for three days.
Ever since she smashed that mirror, her mind has completely collapsed. She refuses to eat or drink, and simply curls up in the deepest part of the cave, covering her head with a tattered coat, trying to completely isolate herself from the world.
Her agent, Sister Chen, and her assistant were also starving. They even started considering whether to... eat the brand executive who remained unconscious.
The moment this thought arose, it spread like wildfire, entangled their last remaining rationality.
The atmosphere inside the cave was so oppressive it was maddening.
Just then, a soft, sigh-like sound rang out at the cave entrance.
"Hello to the people inside the cave."
The voice was very soft, even carrying a touch of feminine gentleness. But in the deathly silence, it was like a thunderclap.
Sister Chen and her assistant were terrified. They grabbed the stones next to them and stared in horror at the cave entrance.
The cave entrance was deserted. Only dappled sunlight and swaying tree shadows could be seen.
"We are the Star Kingdom's search and rescue team, sent by His Majesty the King to find our compatriots." The voice rang out again, as if it were right next to their ears.
"Who! Who's there! Come out!" Sister Chen shouted, her voice trembling with fear.
As she finished speaking, the air at the cave entrance suddenly rippled, and then several ghostly figures dressed in gray-black combat uniforms slowly emerged.
Their combat uniforms were completely different from the heavy black armor worn by Wang Meng's troops; they were more form-fitting and lightweight, with intricate patterns covering their surfaces, blending seamlessly with the light and shadow.
Their faces were completely covered by tactical masks, revealing no expression; only their cold gazes behind the lenses scrutinized everything inside the cave.
Their combat suits were specially made by Lin Feng. They were made from the skin of an alien chameleon, allowing them to blend perfectly into their surroundings.
Only the strongest and most loyal warriors are qualified to wear this uniform.
The stones in Sister Chen's and her assistant's hands clattered to the ground.
Their brains crashed again.
They didn't understand how these people had appeared out of nowhere.
The nightingale moved silently into the cave. Her gaze swept over Sister Chen, who was starving and barely recognizable, and her assistant, before finally settling on the executive lying on the ground, barely breathing.
"Medic." She only said three words.
A soldier, equally ghostly, immediately stepped forward to examine the situation.
"Vitality signs are very low, multiple organ failure, severe malnutrition, and grade 3 bacterial infection." The medic's voice was as calm as if he were reciting a set of data: "Survival chances... are extremely low. But we can try life support."
As he spoke, he took out an automatic injector and plunged it into the executive's arm.
A tube of liquid emitting a pale green fluorescence was injected.
Visibly, the executive's previously ashen face regained some color, and his weak breathing became more even.
This scene completely overturned Sister Chen's and her assistant's understanding.
The nightingale's gaze shifted to the depths of the cave, to a figure whose head was covered by a coat.
"Those inside, come out." Her voice remained calm: "Don't make me say it a second time."
The figure deep inside the cave stirred, but did not respond.
Nightingale's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. She tilted her head toward a soldier beside her.
The soldier understood, stepped forward, and with swift and precise movements, ripped open the tattered overcoat.
"ah!"
A terrified scream.
Liu Yanxi revealed her face, which was covered in dirt and tear stains. She looked at the "ghosts" in front of her in terror, her body curled up in a ball, trembling.
"No...don't kill me..." she pleaded incoherently.
Nightingale looked at her, her eyes beneath the mask showing no emotion. For the warriors of the "Ghost" squad, there were only two objectives: enemies to be eliminated and assets to be recovered. These people before her clearly belonged to the latter.
“Education Commissioner,” Nightingale commanded coldly.
An agent in different uniforms stepped forward and activated the holographic projection.
Same light screen, same content.
However, upon seeing these scenes, Liu Yanxi's expression slowly froze.
She is an extremely intelligent woman.
Her rise to the top of the entertainment industry wasn't solely due to her beauty. She understood the importance of shrewdness and the meaning of power better than anyone else.
On Earth, capital and traffic equal power. But here…
When she saw Lin Feng, who was worshipped like a god by tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians.
When she saw those breathtakingly powerful armies paying the man the most fervent respect.
She understood.
She instantly understood the rules of this world.
Her beauty and fame were tools for her to acquire resources on Earth.
Here, these things might be useless to ordinary people, but for the man standing at the top of the power pyramid... perhaps, they are the only things that still have value.
This is a completely new, more naked, and more absolute power.
As she looked at the young man in the light screen, who exuded supreme authority, her breathing became rapid involuntarily.
The extinguished flame in her heart was rekindled.
But it was no longer the starlight of a celebrity, but a more primal, more intense...fire of desire.
Live on.
No, it's not just about surviving. She wants to live better than everyone else, just like before!
The only path to all of this lies within that man.
Sister Chen and her assistant, kneeling on the ground, began to kowtow to the light screen, overwhelmed by the immense shock and their desperate desire to live.
But Liu Yanxi did not.
She slowly stood up from the ground.
To everyone's astonishment, she wiped the grime from her face with trembling hands, and with all her might, straightened her back, which was hunched over from hunger. She straightened her tattered clothes and tucked her disheveled hair behind her ears.
She made a move that surprised everyone present.
Facing the "ghost" soldiers before her, and the nightingale, she slowly lifted the hem of her skirt and performed a standard curtsy, a gesture that only exists in classical court dramas on Earth.
Her movements were perhaps a little awkward, and her body swayed due to weakness. But her eyes had undergone a dramatic change.
Fear, confusion, and despair vanished. In their place was a complex expression, a mixture of deliberate ingratiation and a hint of arrogance and reserve.
"Respected soldiers, you should know who I am."
Her voice regained a hint of the sweetness and clarity she once possessed as an actress, though it was still hoarse: "May I... have the honor of personally paying homage to our King?"
A barely perceptible look of surprise flashed in the eyes beneath the nightingale's mask.
She had seen people terrified, people deeply grateful, and people who were indifferent.
But this woman is the first to have found her place so quickly and accurately, and to start seeking her own best interests, just like the woman in front of us.
What a... clever woman.
The nightingale made her judgment in her heart. But her tone remained cold.
“I will take note of your request. Now, accept our assistance and management.”
"Thank you, sir." Liu Yanxi curtsied again, her posture elegant.
She seemed not to be a refugee who had just been waiting to die, but a noblewoman who was about to be introduced to the king.
She glanced at Sister Chen and her assistant, who were being helped up by the soldiers and were wolfing down nutrition bars, and a hint of contempt flashed in her eyes.
idiot.
They're still using the refugee mentality.
They didn't understand that from now on, they and themselves would no longer be from the same world.
They will become ordinary citizens of the kingdom, while she, Liu Yanxi, has set her sights on that unique, supreme position.
—The King's Woman.
Old Li's camp was discovered by the "Shepherd Dog One" task force.
Team leader Wang Chuang is Wang Meng's younger brother. He has the same fiery personality, but is more thoughtful than his brother.
When his armored forces, with overwhelming force, crushed the wooden wall that Lao Li and his men had painstakingly built, and appeared before the dozen or so workers.
What he saw was a group of men who, though dressed in rags, showed no sign of collapse in their eyes, but rather were filled with vigilance and a hint of fearlessness.
They gripped steel bars and construction hammers tightly in their hands, their bodies trembling from malnutrition, yet they stubbornly protected their sick comrade and the precious generator.
"You've got guts." Wang Chuang stood on the "Ripper" tank, looking at the group of tough workers, and grinned.
Unlike Wang Meng, he didn't immediately try to crush them with overwhelming force. He knew that pure intimidation wouldn't be very effective against this kind of person.
"Brothers, don't be nervous." Wang Chuang jumped off the vehicle. He didn't let the soldiers come forward, but instead took a few steps forward alone, spread his hands, and indicated that he meant no harm.
"We've come to rescue you."
Old Li gripped the crowbar tightly, staring intently at the officer who had suddenly appeared, like a god.
"Who are you?" His voice was hoarse and full of wariness.
“We are the army of the Star Kingdom, and our king is named Lin Feng.” Wang Chuang’s voice was loud and sincere: “We are survivors of the ‘Great Transfer’ just like you. However, we were a little luckier and were able to establish our own home by following our king.”
Instead of immediately starting the promotional video, he shouted to the medic behind him, "What are you all standing there for? Can't you see there's a patient? Come and help!"
Two medics immediately rushed over with their boxes.
"Don't come any closer!" The workers immediately tensed up and surrounded the patient even more tightly.
"Let them treat him." Old Li looked at the genuine urgency in the eyes of the two medics, then at Wang Chuang's undisguised honesty. He hesitated for a few seconds, but finally made his decision. "Our man is dying. If they are the enemy, there's no point in resisting. If they... are really here to save us..."
He didn't continue.
The workers made way for them.
The medics immediately began treatment. Injections, IV drips, wound care... a series of skilled and efficient procedures that dazzled the workers.
When they saw a fellow passenger who had been in a coma with a high fever have his body temperature drop rapidly and his breathing stabilize after being injected with a vial of medicine, everyone's guard was lowered considerably.
Only then did Wang Chuang have food and water brought to him.
Instead of cold nutrition bars, it's braised beef and white rice heated with a military-grade self-heating pack, serving fragrant braised beef and white rice.
A long-lost aroma of food, a hallmark of human civilization, utterly shattered the workers' will.
They ate voraciously, many of them shedding hot tears as they ate.
"Brother, eat slowly, there's plenty!" Wang Chuang said with a smile, personally handing a bottle of water to Old Li.
Old Li took the water, gulped down several mouthfuls, and only then did he regain his senses.
Looking at the well-equipped and disciplined soldiers before him, and at the armored vehicles that seemed to have stepped out of a science fiction movie, he was still filled with awe.
"You...you really...established a country?" he asked incredulously.
"Of course!" Wang Chuang's face revealed genuine pride: "You'll understand when you get to 'Cheng Tian Capital'. We have our own cities, our own factories, and countless behemoths far more powerful than these chariots!"
He paused, then changed the subject, looking at the diesel generator that the workers regarded as a treasure.
"Brother, you're quite skilled. In a godforsaken place like this, you still managed to take good care of this thing."
When the topic of their profession came up, a hint of pride appeared on Lao Li's face. "That's right, we guys may not be good at much else, but we're experts at dealing with these lumps of iron."
"That's wonderful!" Wang Chuang slapped his thigh. "Our kingdom's industrial zone is exactly in need of talents like you! Our Minister of Industry and Technology, Minister Wang Dachui, is most fond of technical experts like you!"
"When you get to our place, let alone diesel generators, you can touch any kind of power furnace as much as you want, as long as you're capable!"
Instead of playing the standard propaganda video, Wang Chuang described the kingdom to the workers in a more down-to-earth way.
He didn't mention any divine grace or faith, but instead focused on describing the kingdom's industrial strength, the advanced equipment and magnificent projects that would make the workers' eyes light up.
The workers listened with rapt attention. They might have no concept of power or luxury, but they were filled with endless longing for those "giants" that represented the pinnacle of human industrial civilization.
"Is it really... as good as you say?" Old Li's resolve was completely shaken.
"I, Wang Chuang, guarantee it with this military uniform!" Wang Chuang patted his chest and said, "If I tell a single lie when we get there, I'll twist my head off and let you kick it around like a football!"
"And..." he lowered his voice, "Our King values skilled workers exceptionally highly. The benefits and treatment are beyond your wildest imagination! On 'Holy Grace Day,' the King gave every person in the country a thousand gold coins with a single word! And they got to eat for free at restaurants for three days!"
"One thousand gold dollars?!" The workers were stunned. Although they didn't know the purchasing power of gold dollars, the number and the word "free" were the most impactful thing at any time.
Looking at his fellow workers who were filled with hope, and then at the patients who were receiving treatment and whose conditions were gradually improving.
He sighed deeply and threw the steel crowbar in his hand to the ground.
"Clang."
This crisp sound signified that this tenacious group of workers had completely let down their guard.
"Sir!" Old Li addressed Wang Chuang solemnly, even somewhat awkwardly, giving a military salute that wasn't quite standard on his own.
"My name is Li Jianguo. We, these dozen or so brothers, will all listen to you! We... are willing to join your kingdom!"
Wang Chuang laughed heartily and patted Lao Li on the shoulder forcefully.
"Well done, Li Jianguo! On behalf of His Majesty the King, I welcome you home!"
Thus, the three most representative groups of survivors scattered throughout the "Crying Forest" have all been successfully found by the "Shepherd Dogs".
They were either intimidated by force, inspired by hope, or attracted by the future, but in the end, they all went down the same path.
A pilgrimage route leading to the capital of Chengtian, to the steel divine kingdom created by Lin Feng.
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