In addition to these four people, Lin Feng also bestowed titles and rewards upon Wang Jianguo, Li Xiangbin, and others.
All of them accepted the imperial decree and expressed their gratitude, their bodies trembling with excitement.
These people, who were once ordinary, now possess unimaginable power and status.
Lin Feng's gaze swept over the devout faces below, and his voice, amplified by the loudspeaker, reached everyone's ears gently and clearly, like a spring breeze caressing the earth.
"My people."
He spoke, a hint of a smile in his voice: "Today, I establish my kingdom, a day of universal celebration. Everything I possess comes from your diligence and loyalty. Today, I not only wish to rejoice with you all, but also with all the people!"
"I hereby issue the first 'Decree of Holy Grace'!"
"First: From this moment forward, every legal citizen of our divine kingdom, regardless of age, may immediately receive one thousand 'gold coins' upon presentation of their identity card!"
"Second: From this moment until midnight on the third day of the Holy Grace Day, all restaurants, taverns, and eateries in the capital of Chengtian will be open to all citizens free of charge! Eat and drink to your heart's content, and all expenses will be borne by the national treasury!"
silence.
A deathly silence.
The entire central square, with its 50,000 people, seemed to be collectively petrified, remaining completely still.
Their eyes widened, their mouths gaped open, and their expressions froze in that moment of utter astonishment.
One thousand gold coins?
What does this mean?
An ordinary family of four, scrimping and saving, working tirelessly for a month, could only earn a total of five to six hundred gold coins.
For most families, a thousand gold coins is a huge sum of money that can change their lives.
And now, their king, just like that... gave it to them? A thousand each?
And... all restaurants, three days free?
This information was so shocking and unbelievable that people's brains couldn't process it for a moment, and they were rendered speechless.
"I...I didn't hear wrong, did I?" A young man asked his companion blankly from the crowd. His companion was equally dazed, only subconsciously pinching his thigh and then hissing in pain.
"It's true! It hurts!" he cried incoherently. "His Majesty said...he said...one thousand...gold coins?"
"There are...and restaurants...free?"
"Bang!"
Zhao Laosi was the first to realize that he wasn't just listening; he was trying to feel every word the king spoke.
He slapped his thigh hard, threw his son, whom he was carrying on his shoulder, to his wife beside him, and then, with all his might, let out a deafening roar from his already hoarse voice:
"Long live the King! Long live the King!! Long live the King forever!!!"
That sound was like the trigger of a nuclear bomb.
"Buzz!"
The minds of the entire square, encompassing 50,000 people, were finally rebooted. Doubt and shock vanished instantly, replaced by pure, unadulterated, volcanic ecstasy.
"Long live!"
"Heavens! Long live the King!"
"Divine grace! This is true divine grace!"
Cheers, screams, and cries of joy instantly merged into a sound wave a hundred times more intense than ever before!
People jumped and laughed wildly, strangers hugged each other tightly, punching each other on the back with their fists, sharing this ecstasy.
Zhao Laosi's three wives no longer cared about maintaining their composure.
They held their children, crying and laughing just like everyone else around them.
The first wife wiped away her tears and cried out, "My husband! Our family... our family suddenly has five thousand gold coins! Five thousand! My God!"
"That's right!" Zhao Laosi's face was beaming. He felt that his life had reached its peak at this moment: "Let's go! Today, I'll show you what the king's grace is like! What the prestige of a heroic family is like!"
The crowds receded like a tide, not to go home, but with an unmistakable goal in mind, rushing towards every corner of the city. An unprecedented carnival for the common people had officially begun.
Li Mei and her husband Wang Gang are an ordinary young couple.
Wang Gang is a pipe repairman in the industrial park, while Li Mei works at a community daycare center.
Just now, when the king's decree was issued, the two of them hugged each other tightly, trembling with excitement.
Two thousand gold coins—that's almost half of their entire savings!
"Husband...where are we going?" Li Mei's eyes were still red, and her voice trembled with happiness.
Wang Gang glanced at his wife, then at the restaurant across the street that they could only catch a glimpse of every time they passed by – “Azure Coast Seafood Buffet”.
The restaurant's facade was so glamorous, and the promotional posters at the entrance featured tempting prawns, crabs, and unidentified deep-sea fish—tastes they had only ever dreamed of.
Wang Gang took a deep breath, straightened his chest, took his wife's hand, and said with unprecedented confidence, "Wife, listen to me. Today, we're not just going to have a taste, we're going to eat our fill! We'll eat our fill of... no, we'll eat our way back from the King's grace!"
When they entered the restaurant, it was already packed with people.
The restaurant manager, a middle-aged man who was always impeccably dressed in a suit, was now sweating profusely as he directed the waiters. His sleeves were rolled up, and his voice was hoarse from shouting.
"Quick! Bring out all the kitchen supplies! All of them!" He yelled into the walkie-talkie. "Don't worry about costs! The Imperial Household Department just sent a top-level directive: during the Holy Grace Day, all supplies will be compensated three times by the national treasury! Three times! This is an honor! An honor for our restaurant! Make sure our guests eat and drink well! Anyone who dares to neglect this is disrespecting His Majesty!"
Wang Gang and Li Mei found a seat by the window and sat down, looking at the plates of delicacies that they had never dared to dream of before on the conveyor belt, feeling like they were in a dream.
Wang Gang clumsily imitated others, using pliers to crack the shell of a giant alien prawn, picking out the snow-white, firm prawn meat, and carefully placing it on his wife's plate.
"Eat, Xiaomei, eat more." He smiled憨厚ly, "Look, these shrimp legs are thicker than my arm!"
"Try this!" Li Mei picked up a slice of sashimi as thin as a cicada's wing, dipped it in soy sauce, and fed it to Wang Gang. "It melts in your mouth! My God, I used to think that what the books said was all lies!"
They didn't say anything more, just kept putting food into their mouths, occasionally exchanging smiles, their eyes sparkling with the same light.
They expressed their happiness and contentment in this most simple way.
On the other side of the city, Zhao Laosi was sitting with his family in the largest private room of a hot pot restaurant.
This restaurant is famous for its tender alien "snowflake lamb" rolls, which come at a hefty price.
"Boss!" Zhao Laosi shouted towards the door, "Bring me twenty plates of your most expensive meat, 'Grade A Snowflake Ribeye,' and ten plates of that 'Giant Deep-Sea Squid Tentacles'! And the strongest liquor, 'Red Star' sorghum! Today, my son's milk powder money—no, it's our King's treat!"
"Alright! Hero Zhao, please wait a moment!" The shop owner personally carried in the copper pot, his face beaming with joy: "Thanks to Your Majesty, you can eat as much as you want! There's plenty! If you're still hungry, I'll slaughter a sheep from the backyard and bring it to you!"
Zhao Laosi's son, the little guy who was being held high, was now eating a string of golden-fried "golden buns" with his mouth full of oil.
He asked, somewhat unclearly, "Dad, can we do this every day from now on?"
Zhao Laosi laughed heartily, patting his son's head with pride in his eyes: "Son, as long as you remember who gave you all this! As long as you are as loyal to the King as I am, and shed blood and sweat for the Divine Kingdom, even better days are yet to come!"
The revelry isn't just about the taste buds.
Inside the clothing store, a woman who usually sweeps the streets is carefully stroking a dress made of imitation "silkworm silk".
She'd had her eye on this dress for a long time, and she'd come to look at it every month when she got paid.
Today, without hesitation, she said to the sales assistant, "This one... and that blue one... I want one for my daughter too! We both want to wear new clothes and look beautiful to thank the King for his grace!"
The sales assistant smiled and nodded repeatedly: "Auntie, you have excellent taste! Today, in addition to the King's special gift, we're offering an extra 20% off all items!"
In the electronics mall, an elderly couple with white hair were praising a brand-new "fully automatic physiotherapy bed".
Their son died in battle, and as the family of a martyr, they enjoy generous compensation, but they still can't bear to buy such expensive equipment.
"Old woman, buy it," the old man said. "This is the king's blessing, and it's a fortune our son earned with his life. We must live well, see this prosperous world for him, and enjoy this blessing."
The old lady wiped her eyes and nodded heavily: "Buy it! Buy it and take it home. We can lie there every day, just like our son is giving us a massage."
More people rushed into the banks and the municipal planning office.
"I want to apply for new housing! I'll use this thousand gold dollars as a down payment! Our family of five can no longer squeeze into that tiny cubicle!"
"I want to start my own business! I want to open a small noodle shop! The king gave me the start-up capital! My skills are sure to make it a hit!"
On this day, the entire capital of Chengtian was completely ignited by something called "hope".
For Lin Feng, this thousand gold coins were just a number, but for these commoners who had struggled out of the wasteland, they were the key to changing their fate and the torch that lit up their future.
The revelry continued from day to night.
The streets were filled with people, arms around each other, singing loudly. The aroma of wine, the sizzling of roasted meat, and the happy laughter of the people mingled together, creating the most moving symphony in the capital city at that moment.
The giant screens on skyscrapers no longer show the cruelty of war and the hardships of construction, but instead play live footage of people laughing heartily and enjoying their meals.
On a bench in a park, the former Rock City officer was drinking free beer and eating free sausages with several fellow countrymen.
He looked into the distance and saw a group of children surrounding a street performer.
“Old Zhang,” a fellow villager nudged his arm, his tongue already slurring, “you tell me… wasn’t our choice back then… the best thing we ever did in our lives?”
Old Zhang didn't speak. He simply downed the rest of his ale in one gulp, then let out a long, satisfied sigh. Looking at the brightly lit, bustling city that never sleeps, at the genuine happiness radiating from everyone's faces, he murmured to himself:
"Yes? More than just yes..."
“We…we’ve stepped from hell into heaven…”
No one slept that night.
The Divine Kingdom of Chengtian, this steel holy city built on an alien planet, is completely immersed in an ultimate and intoxicating ocean of happiness created by its king.
And that loyalty, born of gratitude and ecstasy, was unprecedentedly condensed and refined in this grand celebration, ultimately transforming into the most unbreakable foundation supporting the supreme throne.
The grand military parade during the day was merely the prelude to this "Grace Day" celebration.
As the sun set three days later, the purple night sky of the alien planet descended, and the entire capital of Chengtian transformed into a city that never sleeps.
Countless beams of searchlight intertwined in the clouds, and on the crystalline facades of skyscrapers, replays of the military parade played on a loop, while the cheers of the crowd never ceased.
The real feast, however, only began higher up, in the heavenly palace that mortals could never reach—the Palace of Heavenly Arrival.
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