The "Tianen Western Expedition" combined fleet briefly hovered over Osaka for 24 hours.
For the survivors of Osaka, which had become a living hell, these 24 hours were another dimension of torment.
They were forced to clear the rubble from the streets, move the bodies of their own compatriots, and "clean up" the city under the cold gaze of Imperial soldiers in preparation for the next phase of "liberation."
Twenty-four hours later, the massive fleet took to the air again, splitting into two even larger torrents of steel in the horrified yet numb gazes of countless Osaka residents.
Led by the starship "Dauntless", the "Southern Expeditionary Fleet" slashed through the sky like the scythe of death, heading towards Shikoku Island, which faces Honshu Island across the sea.
In the old days, Shikoku was a relatively underdeveloped region that relied mainly on agriculture and tourism.
This place lacks the vibrancy of Osaka and the political significance of Higashizu.
After the "Great Migration" occurred, the four prefectures of Shikoku—Kagawa, Ehime, Tokushima, and Kochi—fell into a more primitive chaos than Osaka.
Lacking a unified and strong leadership, local warlords, gangs, and even village chiefs were engaged in low-intensity infighting over limited resources.
When the "Southern Expeditionary Fleet" loomed over the four countries like a dark cloud, these scattered resistance forces were unable to organize a proper, unified defense.
This time, Qin Lan authorized the "Southern Expeditionary Fleet" commander-in-chief, a young general named "Zhao Kuo".
This person is a top student at the Imperial Military Academy, known for his tactical agility and cold-blooded thinking.
He knew that His Majesty was getting tired of "hunting" and needed a more efficient "harvest".
Unlike in Osaka, Zhao Kuo was not in a hurry to demonstrate the power of the "Heavenly Punishment" main cannon.
He believed that it was a waste of energy and a cheap squandering of the empire's divine power. Dealing with "easy targets" like the four nations required a strategy that aimed to destroy their morale.
The fleet hovered over Takamatsu City, neither firing nor broadcasting. They remained silent, like black mountains descending from the sky, spreading a chilling fear that could stop a heart from beating.
At the same time, an unblockable "propaganda network" covering the entire island of Shikoku was forcibly activated.
On Shikoku Island, all the televisions, radios, mobile phones, and even billboards that were still working began to play the same image on a loop.
It was filmed in Osaka and was a carefully edited "documentary".
The film opens with a chilling video of the "Heavenly Punishment" main cannon evaporating Osaka Bay with a single shot.
The earth-shattering golden pillar of light, the steel fleet instantly vaporized, the bottomless, glass-like crater—every scene silently tells one truth: resistance equals annihilation.
Immediately afterwards, the scene shifts to a blurry image of the "Kuroshio" organization, led by Eikichi Onizuka, carrying out a suicide attack.
Then comes panoramic footage from the sky showing the "cleaners" carrying out a "formatted cleanup" of the slums.
Viewers don't see the specific gore, but only large blocks of streets being cleanly and efficiently wiped off the map amidst flames and explosions.
The voice-over is Wei Zheng's emotionless voice, reciting his "collective punishment law." Every word is like an icicle, piercing the hearts of everyone from the four kingdoms.
Finally, the film ends with the selection of the "lucky" Osaka girls.
Dressed in uniform, pristine white attire, with exquisitely applied makeup and vacant, numb eyes, they lined up and entered the enormous "bride school."
The camera zoomed in on one of the girls; a tear slid down her beautiful face, but she was trying hard to force a smile.
This "documentary" was played on a loop for a full twelve hours.
For twelve hours, the entire island of Shikoku was completely silent.
Fear, like the thickest swamp, engulfed everyone.
They finally realized that they were not facing an enemy they could negotiate with, nor a regime they could reason with.
Rather, it is a predator of a higher dimension that sees them as ants and life as numbers.
Twelve hours later, Zhao Kuo's voice finally resounded across the skies of the four kingdoms via broadcast. His tone even carried a hint of "gentleness."
"Hello, fellow countrymen from the four countries."
"I am Zhao Kuo, the commander-in-chief of the Southern Expeditionary Fleet of the Kingdom of Stars."
“In the past twelve hours, you have seen what it means to rebel against us. It is senseless destruction, a foolish act that implicates loved ones, and the ultimate punishment that completely destroys even the chance to continue one's bloodline.”
"His Majesty Lin Feng is merciful. He sees your confusion and fear. Therefore, he is willing to give you another chance to choose."
“I don’t need your city, I don’t need your property. Because everything you own is as insignificant as dust in our eyes.”
"We only need your population. Healthy, valuable population that can contribute to the prosperity of the empire."
"Now, I command:"
"On Shikoku Island, all former administrative officials, commanders, and town mayors, immediately assemble in the most open square in your respective areas."
"Your task is not to resist, but to assist us in completing the 'registration' and 'screening' of the population."
"In every region, those in charge who actively cooperate with us and efficiently complete the 'census' and 'classification' will, along with their immediate family members, be granted the status of 'second-class honorary citizens.' You will not be required to enter labor camps, you can retain a portion of your private property, and you will continue to govern your people under the new order."
"And those regions that tried to delay, hide their population, or incite resistance... you have already seen what happened to Osaka. I assure you, the purifying light of 'divine punishment' will fall upon you very fairly."
"The choice is in your hands."
"Is it better to become a manager who retains a semblance of dignity, or to become a piece of history that leaves not even ashes?"
“You have six hours to make a decision. After six hours, any administrator who does not appear at the designated location will be considered a ‘rebel.’ Our purge will begin in their area.”
These words were even more malicious than a direct threat.
It handed the butcher's knife to the people of the four countries themselves. It exploited the most selfish and cowardly aspects of human nature.
In the temporary city hall of Takamatsu City, Mayor Ken Watanabe, an elderly man in his fifties with gray hair, slumped into his chair after listening to the broadcast.
In the conference room sat more than a dozen prominent figures from Takamatsu City, all of them with ashen faces.
“What…what should we do?” a police chief asked, his voice trembling.
"Resist? What can we use to resist?" A commander at a Self-Defense Force base said with a bitter laugh, "All our missiles are a joke in front of them. Our tanks can't even scratch their armor. Haven't you seen enough of the example from Osaka Bay?"
“But…we have to classify and register our own citizens with our own hands…send young girls to become ‘reserve citizens,’ send able-bodied men to become slaves, and classify the elderly and children as ‘worthless population’…this…this is no different from killing them with our own hands!” a young official said indignantly.
Ken Watanabe remained silent for a long time. He raised his head, his cloudy eyes filled with bloodshot veins and despair.
“There is a difference,” he said hoarsely. “The difference is that if we don’t do this, all of us, including the girls, the slaves, the old people and the children, will be evaporated immediately.”
"If we cooperate... at least, at least some of us can survive. We can... survive."
He managed to utter the words "live on" with great difficulty, as if he had used up all his strength.
Yes, live on. Even if it means living like livestock, without dignity or a future.
This was the only choice the enemy gave them.
In the end, no one spoke. Silence meant acquiescence.
Five hours later, Ken Watanabe, dressed in his most formal suit and tie, walked alone to the central square of Takamatsu City.
The square had gradually filled with heads of various departments in Takamatsu City. Each of them looked as if they were attending their own funeral.
A small shuttle slowly descended from the black warship in the sky. Zhao Kuo, dressed in a crisp black military uniform, stepped out, escorted by two squads of powered armored soldiers.
He glanced at the "administrators" in the square who had their heads down and dared not meet his gaze, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
"very good."
"You have made the wisest choice for your people."
...
The "liberation" of the four countries became a model of "boundless divine grace" in the imperial propaganda.
No large-scale bloodshed occurred here. With the "active cooperation" of the local "administrators," the screening and relocation of the population proceeded exceptionally smoothly.
A 17-year-old high school student named "Sato Misaki" is the school beauty of a high school in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture.
Her original dream was to get into a university in Tokyo and become a fashion designer.
When the empire arrived, she and her family hid in their home, watching the “documentary” on a loop in terror.
The next day, the community leader, a kind "town mayor grandpa" she had known since childhood, came to her house with several locals wearing the same uniform.
“Misaki,” the mayor forced a smile that looked more like a grimace, “congratulations…you…you have been chosen…to become an ‘Imperial Reserve Citizen’.”
Misaki's parents stood there dumbfounded, then knelt on the ground like madmen, hugging the mayor's legs and pleading desperately.
"Mayor! Please! Misaki is still a child!"
"This is our only daughter! Please, please, let her go!"
Two streams of murky tears rolled down the mayor's face.
He didn't look at the poor parents, but instead roared at Misaki with all his might, "Go! This is honor! It's your and your family's only chance to survive! Go now!"
Misaki was forcibly dragged out of her parents' arms by two local "assistant officers".
She didn't even cry out; she just stared blankly at her parents' desperate faces and at the once kind mayor, whose expression now resembled that of a demon.
She was taken to a makeshift gymnasium. Inside, thousands of girls like her—young, beautiful, and with vacant eyes—had already gathered.
They are the most precious "resources" of the entire Shikoku Island.
They were examined by imperial physicians like livestock. Any girl with a defect or whose physical condition was deemed "unqualified" was ruthlessly eliminated.
The only consequence of being "eliminated" is being classified as a "labor slave".
Misaki passed the screening smoothly because of her flawless skin and her "A+" grade health status.
She changed into the white, prison-like clothes she had seen in the "documentary".
Then, along with other "qualified" individuals, they were sent onto a massive transport ship and flown to a place they had never heard of—the Imperial homeland.
From the huge porthole of the transport ship, Misaki took one last look at the land that gave her birth and nurtured her.
She saw that in her hometown, Songshan City, countless men of similar age to her father and brother had their heads shaved, were put in electronic shackles, and were being escorted onto another batch of even more rudimentary and crowded transport ships under the supervision of local "administrators".
They were "labor slaves".
The elderly and children who were classified as "worthless population" were left behind.
They had only a small amount of food and supplies, which allowed them to barely survive.
Shikoku, this scenic island, was completely hollowed out in just a few days.
Young and strong men were abducted to be enslaved, the best women were abducted to be used as breeding tools, and the old and weak were abandoned to await death.
Those "administrators" who helped the empire accomplish all this, such as Ken Watanabe and the town mayor, did survive and even retained their nominal status.
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