Inside the Hall of Embracing the Moon in the Nine Heavens, inside the Hall of Eternal Light.
Lin Feng was quietly watching the enormous holographic screen in front of him. The screen was showing a massive women's protest march in the streets of Chengtian City.
His face was expressionless.
Those golden eyes still held a vastness and coldness, like the stars in the universe.
Su Wanqing, standing to the side, looked at the scene on the screen, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes. She said softly, "Your Majesty, these sisters... they were just confused for a moment, swayed by some rumors. Should we send Marshal Qin Lan to appease them?"
Lin Feng did not answer.
He simply watched quietly, observing the indignant faces of the women and listening to their slogans, which sounded incredibly childish and laughable to him.
"equality?"
After a long while, he slowly uttered two words.
His voice was soft, yet it seemed to lower the temperature of the entire Yongguang Palace to freezing point.
He slowly stood up, hands behind his back, his gaze seemingly piercing through time and space.
He recalled the "Day of the Kowtowing" five years ago, a day that determined the fate of human civilization.
He remembered how he had fought his way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood to save humanity.
He recalled how, over the past five years, the empire had developed rapidly under his will, and how it had assembled the demon army capable of conquering the stars.
He remembered the imperial soldiers who had sacrificed their lives at the Great Wall and in the Land of Holy Light.
They used their lives and blood to expand the empire's living space.
And these women...
These women enjoy the peace, prosperity, and security they paid for with their lives.
At this moment, they are protesting for those defeated, lowly, foreign women?
They were protesting that their husbands, their fathers, and their brothers were exchanging their war merits for a meager reward.
Lin Feng's lips slowly curled into a cold, mocking smile.
"Appease?" He turned to look at Su Wanqing and asked, "Why should we appease her?"
Su Wanqing felt a tremor in her heart under his gaze and dared not speak again.
"Don't they want equality?"
Lin Feng's voice was eerily calm.
"OK."
"I will give them what they want most: absolute equality."
He raised his hand, and an imperial decree was transmitted to the Supreme Command of the Empire and into Qin Lan's mind.
The message also reached the ears of every soldier in the Imperial Capital Garrison.
"Issue my decree."
“Every woman who participates in the demonstrations, every single one of them, shall be charged with ‘treason’.”
"The masterminds, Li Ruoxin, Zhang Wan'er, and Chen Jing, are to be arrested immediately and imprisoned in the Imperial Prison to await my public trial."
"All other participants shall be arrested on the spot. Their status as 'first-class citizens of the Empire' shall be stripped and they shall be demoted to 'reserve laborers'."
"I want them all transported to the front lines within three days."
"In the 'Black Forest' region of the northern defense line of the Holy Light, the remnants of the Elven race are still putting up a last-ditch resistance. My soldiers are bleeding and sacrificing themselves there every moment."
"Now is the time for them to serve the empire faithfully."
"Tell them that the men of the Empire are on the front lines, fighting for their survival."
"And they will have the privilege of facing the enemy's blade with absolute equality, just like the men."
This decree, like a chilling current from the heavens, instantly swept across the entire capital of Chengtian.
Blood-Red Equality
Lin Feng's decree is the highest law of the empire, and its execution efficiency surpasses the speed of light.
The moment the decree was issued, the entire capital of Chengtian underwent a dramatic change.
The Imperial Guard troops, who had initially been merely maintaining order along the parade route, instantly turned cold. The high-energy particle rifles they carried, originally intended only as a deterrent, simultaneously disengaged their safety.
The dark muzzles of guns were pointed at the imperial women who, just a moment ago, were shouting "equality" and "freedom."
"Warning! Warning! All demonstrators, immediately stand down with your hands on your heads! Repeat, immediately stand down with your hands on your heads! Any act of resistance will be considered an open rebellion against the Empire and will be subject to immediate execution!"
The cold, emotionless warning echoed throughout the square through the loudspeaker.
The women in the march were stunned.
The righteous indignation on their faces froze instantly, replaced by an incredulous astonishment.
They thought the government would send people to negotiate, disperse them, and even use water cannons and tear gas.
But they never imagined that what awaited them would be charges of "treason" and the dark muzzle of a gun.
“Why… We are citizens of the Empire! We were just peacefully expressing our demands!” a young female college student screamed instinctively.
Bang!
Her response was a beam of precise, high-energy tranquilizer darts.
Before the girl could even scream, she collapsed to the ground, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
This shot was like a signal.
It shattered the last glimmer of hope in the hearts of all the protesters.
Fear spread like a plague.
"ah!"
"Don't shoot! Don't!"
"I surrender! I surrender!"
Screams, cries, and pleas for mercy filled the air. The orderly procession from a moment ago collapsed instantly. The women dropped their signs and scattered like headless flies.
However, it was all in vain.
A massive, pale blue net of energy descended from the sky, enveloping the entire square and tens of thousands of protesters.
This is the capital's "Sky Defense System," normally used to defend against enemy air raids, but now it has become a huge prison for them.
Countless guards clad in black power armor charged into the crowd like tigers among sheep.
The electromagnetic batons in their hands struck mercilessly the women who tried to resist or escape.
"Squat down! Everyone squat down!"
"Hands behind your head! Don't move!"
Cries and screams, along with the cracking sound of bones breaking, rose and fell.
The once high and mighty female elites of the empire were now stripped of all dignity. They were brutally forced to the ground, their hands cuffed behind their backs.
Their faces were covered in dust and tears, and their eyes were filled with endless regret and fear.
Meanwhile, three elite "Ghost" special operations teams raided Li Ruoxin's university office, Zhang Wan'er's luxury apartment, and Chen Jing's ministerial residence, respectively.
When Li Ruoxin was arrested, she was preparing to publish her second, even more strongly worded article. As the cold muzzle of a gun pressed against her temple, the professor's face drained of all color. Her pride in reason and logic proved utterly fragile in the face of absolute violence.
Zhang Wan'er was dragged out of her private dressing room by special forces soldiers who broke down the door, from among a group of trembling assistants. This idol, who was always glamorous in front of the holographic camera, was now disheveled, her makeup ruined by tears, looking as pathetic as a drowned rat.
"You can't do this to me! I'm Zhang Wan'er! I'm a star of the Empire! This is kidnapping!" she screamed hysterically.
Her answer was a cold, hard gun butt. It knocked her unconscious.
Chen Jing's reaction was the most intense. As a high-ranking official in the State Council, she attempted to activate the official residence's defense system and contact her political allies.
However, under the emperor's direct orders, all communications were cut off. Her residence's defense system was rendered useless against the empire's military-grade attack codes.
When the leader of the "Ghost" squad kicked open the door to her study, Chen Jing was desperately trying to destroy a secret document in which she had contacted other officials with the intention of impeaching Qin Lan.
“Deputy Minister Chen Jing,” the captain said coldly, “you are being arrested on His Majesty’s orders for treason. You have the right to remain silent. But every word you utter will become testimony presented to His Majesty at trial.”
Chen Jing slumped into a chair, her face ashen. She knew it was all over.
This women's protest movement that swept through the capital city lasted only six hours from its outbreak to its complete suppression.
The empire's iron will and efficiency were on full display at this moment.
The next three days were the most oppressive and darkest days in Chengtian City.
Tens of thousands of arrested women are being temporarily detained in a giant containment center outside the city.
They were stripped of their names, left only with a cold number etched on their arms.
Their citizenship chips were formatted, and all their assets were frozen.
Their families were told that they would be sent to the front lines for "labor reform" because of "treason."
Countless families were broken as a result.
A husband rushed to the shelter, wanting to see his wife, but was ruthlessly driven away by the garrison troops.
Parents knelt on the ground, crying and pleading that their daughter had only made a moment of confusion and begged the empire to give her another chance.
But it didn't work.
Before the emperor's will, any plea for mercy seems pale and powerless.
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