The Holy Star Empire was formatting and rebuilding the "Third Frontier Zone" (the former territory of the Qing Dynasty) with an efficiency that surpassed the limits of the indigenous people's imagination at that time.
Just one year later, this land, once filled with queues, mandarin jackets, ignorance, and servility, has been completely transformed.
The magnificent fusion energy tower has replaced the smoky coal stoves, and the light at its top shines brighter than the moonlight at night, providing a near-limitless energy source for fully automated farms and factories that operate 24 hours a day.
Anti-gravity transport ships have replaced creaky oxcarts, traversing well-planned air routes to precisely deliver massive amounts of supplies to every "citizen service center."
Super crops, genetically modified and irrigated with nutrient solutions, grow at a visible rate, producing yields that would put even the most avant-garde agronomists in history to shame.
Those who were once "lowly people" and "slaves" have now become first-class citizens of the empire.
They moved into standardized housing made of fast-growing materials, which is warm in winter and cool in summer, and comes with its own cleaning system and nutrition delivery port.
They accessed the Empire's rudimentary knowledge base via personal terminals and mastered basic reading, writing, mathematics, and the Empire's common language within a week using neuro-sensor learning devices. Medical nanobots patrolled their veins, nipping any disease or potential threat in the bud.
They were reborn, both materially and spiritually. And the price for all of this was their complete, unreserved, almost religiously fanatical loyalty.
The worship of Emperor Lin Feng has transcended any kind of personality cult in history, becoming an absolute and unique belief rooted deep in the soul.
Just as this land was integrating into the imperial system at an unprecedented pace and beginning to reveal its terrifying human resource potential, a new discovery by the AI "Pangu" shattered this thriving tranquility.
"His Majesty."
Inside the Nine Heavens Moon-Embracing Palace, Pangu's emotionless electronic voice resounded directly in Lin Feng's mind.
"Through a large-scale retrospective comparison of the genetic maps of new citizens in the 'Third Frontier Zone', combined with a deep scan of the planet's geological plates, we discovered another independent continent shielded by an anomalous energy field. This continent is located west of the main continent, separated by a much larger 'Sea of Oblivion'."
Lin Feng was standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling porthole, looking down at the "Yunmeng Daze" that had been transformed into an ecological model.
His golden eyes reflected a flock of ancient thunderbirds, genetically resurrected and with wingspans exceeding thirty meters, chasing a sea dragon churning in the lake. His gaze remained unchanged upon hearing Pangu's report.
"Another 'time traveler'?" His voice was calm and even. "What is it this time?"
"Based on the scattered fragments of information leaked from the energy field, and the vague cultural fragments about their 'ancestors' that we extracted from the depths of the new citizens' memories, the database has made a preliminary assessment." Pangu's voice paused, as if making a final confirmation.
“Your Majesty, this is a civilization that shares 97 percent similarity with your homeland, China, in a specific historical period.”
"The Ming Dynasty".
“Furthermore,” Pangu continued, “judging from the leaked information within, its timeframe is at the ‘end’ of our historical records. Specifically, this manifests as: a large-scale nationwide famine, numerous peasant uprisings, the existence of a hostile force called ‘Later Jin’ on the northern border, and… a beleaguered emperor named ‘Chongzhen’.”
Lin Feng slowly turned around, a smile playing on his lips—a smile that was somewhere between mockery and boredom.
"The late Ming Dynasty... Chongzhen... Li Zicheng... and... the Later Jin?" He uttered these words softly, which were filled with decay and bloodshed, and a cold, fierce glint flashed in his golden eyes.
“Pangu, I remember that the source of those inferior genes with money rat tails that we just ‘formatted’ away was this so-called ‘Later Jin’, wasn’t it?”
"Yes, Your Majesty. The gene sequence homology is 99.9%."
"Ha..." Lin Feng let out a soft, ambiguous laugh.
"A dying dynasty that is about to be swallowed up by its own internal decay and external barbarians."
Lin Feng walked to the throne of bones, but did not sit down. Instead, he gently tapped the armrest made of the skull of a monarch from an alien civilization with his fingers: "It did not get buried in the dust of history as I had expected. Instead, it appeared before me in this way."
There was no pity in his eyes, but rather a higher level of displeasure, like a gardener looking at a garden overgrown with pests and weeds.
"It's really... ugly."
He turned to face the enormous star map sand table, his gaze piercing through endless space and landing on the other side of the "Sea of Oblivion".
"I have no patience to play these ancient people's games of 'negotiation' and 'trial' a second time."
His voice became as cold as absolute zero.
"Pangu, convey my decree."
"First, order the first to third fleets of the 'Purification Legion' to immediately proceed to the newly discovered northern continent and lock onto the genetic characteristics of all 'Later Jin' tribes. This time, I don't want 'formatting,' but 'eradication.' At the genetic level, completely wipe this filthy race from the existence of this planet. I do not wish to see another 'money rat's tail' within the empire's territory."
"Second, order the 'Cataclysmic' drone swarm and the 'Divine Might' mech legion to launch a devastating attack on all so-called 'peasant armies' that are carrying out large-scale destruction and massacres of civilians. The ringleaders shall be killed without exception. Those who are coerced shall be disarmed and placed under guard on the spot. My people, even on lands where I have not yet descended, are not to be slaughtered by these bandits."
"Third, order the Imperial Education and Construction Corps to immediately begin preparations. Once the military operation is over, immediately carry out a comprehensive 'liberation' and 'transformation' of the continent. Spread the Empire's grace to every inch of land. I want those people struggling on the brink of hunger and death to know who their true savior is."
"Fourth," Lin Feng paused, a hint of extreme contempt flashing in his eyes, "As for that so-called 'Ming Dynasty' and that local emperor named 'Chongzhen'... we can ignore them for now. A corrupt regime that can't even feed its own people or defend its own borders is not worthy of my attention."
"Let him watch." A cruel smile curved Lin Feng's lips. "Let him watch with his own eyes how the border troubles he was helpless against vanished before my fleet. Let him watch with his own eyes how the bandits he considered a major threat crumbled before my army. Let him watch with his own eyes how his starving people, under my grace, are grateful to me and shout 'Long live the Emperor!'"
"I want him to understand that his 'destiny' is nothing but a joke in front of me."
"I want him to kneel down voluntarily in the deepest despair and humiliation, and offer me his ridiculous crown."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Each cold command, transformed into an invisible quantum stream, instantly reached the Empire's military bases across the globe.
In the spaceport of "Pioneering Zone Three," three massive, jet-black "purification fleets" slowly sailed out of their berths. Their mission was singular: extermination.
Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of "Catastrophe" drones, like black clouds, poured out from the Hive Launcher of the "First Emperor" Star Destroyer, converging into a torrent of steel that roared toward the continent known as the "Late Ming Dynasty Chaos".
A sweeping, devastating cleanup operation, launched with overwhelming force under Lin Feng's will, began.
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