The next morning at 6 a.m., a rare argument broke out in the military tent on the western side of the Ningyuan Mountain Range.
A major general with a dignified appearance and a determined expression stared straight at Old Jin, not flinching in the slightest. He spoke in a deep voice, “General, I can understand your desire to show goodwill toward the awakened ones and the prophet. But I do not understand, and do not support, your idea of having them participate in military meetings!”
“Certainly, we’ve fought side by side and share a bond of life and death. If we take off this military uniform, I would call these friends of mine brothers!” The major’s hand thudded against his chest, every word heartfelt. “But the reality is, we are still wearing this uniform!”
“Military meetings are critical, and outsiders have never been allowed to participate. Even if the awakened ones are pure-hearted, we cannot make an exception,” the major continued candidly. “Moreover, we are still in a ‘trial period’ with them. We don’t even have a verbal agreement of mutual assistance, let alone formal cooperation. How can we let them sit in on a military meeting?”
Old Jin silently sipped his water, gathering his strength.
“Major Ge is right,” another tall, blunt deputy agreed, nodding. “Old Jin, this is really not feasible. To put it bluntly, even in marriage, we need a matchmaker, a dowry, and a series of formal steps before we move in together. Here we are, rushing into the bedroom before we’ve even exchanged vows—too hasty!”
Old Jin put down his cup, fully prepared. His assistant discreetly took a step back, lowering his presence.
“The revolutionaries said ‘Never fight a battle you’re not sure of,’ and before we fully understand the awakened ones, we can’t…”
“Can’t this, can’t that—let’s see if you can still say that when they’re gone!” Old Jin, his patience fully spent, exploded, “Your revolutionaries are my revolutionary peers, so why do you listen to their words, but not mine? Am I supposed to scatter my ashes before you listen to what I say?”
Everyone: …
Amid the flying spit, the assistant quietly retreated from the battlefield, leaving Old Jin to fight alone: “I may not be able to make national decisions, yes! But I can still represent the nation in showing goodwill and sincerity!”
“Only when they feel like one of us will they consider cooperation. Understand this, we need them, and they are pure Zhongzhou people. We’re all descendants of Yan and Huang. What’s wrong with lowering our stance a bit?”
“Let me put it bluntly—treating talent is like treating your wife. Whether before or after marriage, if you decide to marry, then what’s wrong with lowering your head when you argue with her?” Old Jin slammed his hand on the table, “If you piss them off today, tomorrow you’ll be eating dog food, while the dog eats meat!”
“Open your eyes and look! There are plenty of people outside the gates waiting for the opportunity! The ‘wife’ you’re rejecting, the neighbor’s bachelor will be drooling over her!”
His words, though crude, were undeniable, striking everyone with a sense of clarity, almost as if their meridians had been unblocked.
For a moment, the only sound in the tent was Old Jin’s voice.
“And this ‘trial period’…” Old Jin shook his head, giving them a look of “you’re beyond saving.” “Think about it: if the High Priest came to you this morning, saying he had decided to cooperate with the government, would you dare say ‘no, we need more time to adjust’?”
No one could answer.
To be honest, if the awakened ones had approached the government for cooperation, they would have reported it immediately, fast-tracked the paperwork, issued military uniforms without delay, and not even taken a breath!
“Got it? The initiative in this ‘trial period’ is not in our hands,” Old Jin rolled his eyes, “What we think are our trump cards and leverage mean nothing to them.”
As someone who had seen much of the world, Old Jin decided to break it down slowly and feed it to his soldiers: “The global situation is bad, monsters are emerging frequently, and some can’t be dealt with by firearms alone. The awakened ones have extraordinary abilities, and just based on their ‘ability to kill monsters,’ they’re welcome everywhere.”
“Trying to push them away is completely unwise.”
“But even when pulling people in, it has to be done with care,” Old Jin furrowed his brow, his expression serious. “Bending too low means putting the awakened ones on a pedestal. They might start to think of themselves as superior and change their attitude.”
“But standing too straight means belittling them. They’re in a lower position, and people will label them ‘heretics.’ Over time, being forced to rebel becomes inevitable.”
The more Old Jin explained, the quieter the breathing became in the tent. Gradually, everyone was thinking deeply about his words, realizing that his reasoning made sense.
“When great disasters come, what we need isn’t opposition between the two, but mutual benefit,” Old Jin continued. “The biggest role of the government is not to recruit the awakened ones and control them but to balance the relationship between the awakened ones and ordinary people.”
“So…” Major Ge asked, “What should we do?”
Old Jin picked up his cup and took a sip. “Let things unfold naturally.”
Let things unfold naturally?
“Let them interact naturally, and let them feel comfortable,” Old Jin said, still pondering. But now, he suddenly understood Ji Si’s four-character advice. “Report the situation with the ‘awakened ones’ honestly, and acknowledge the existence of ‘special abilities.’ No need for too many details, just give them a heads-up that such a group exists.”
“After that, give the awakened ones the greatest freedom.”
“Rather than saying that the ‘trial period’ applies to the government and the awakened ones, it’s more fitting to say that the ‘trial period’ applies to ordinary people and the awakened ones.”
Old Jin sighed, “How do we reduce the public’s fear of the awakened ones? Let them interact. When do we interact? When disaster strikes.”
The relationship between the savior and the saved is the most moving in the world. The former elevates the awakened ones’ state of mind, and the latter enhances ordinary people’s understanding and gratitude toward them.
Thus, a virtuous cycle.
“Let the people adapt to the awakened ones, and let the awakened ones recognize that they are still ‘one of the people.’ This is the best way to balance both sides.”
As he finished speaking, the tent was silent.
Everyone finally understood the weight of the word “general”! It was clear that he had the intellect, vision, foresight, and decisiveness that they lacked! Compared to Old Jin, they had a lot to learn!
Major Ge bowed respectfully. “General, I was too shallow.”
The deputy lowered his head. “Old Jin, I was too rash.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Old Jin praised. “As soldiers, you should speak your mind and question authority. There’s nothing wrong with that. But in these special times, we have to treat things with special consideration. Please forgive me for making a capricious decision.”
Allowing outsiders into the military meetings had indeed been a rash decision.
But, this rashness was worth it!
At least, the things the military still couldn’t figure out, the awakened ones had already laid out clearly for them.
……
At 9 a.m. on the same day, the military meeting was about to begin in the tent on the eastern side of the Ningyuan Mountain Range. This time, however, the meeting was different. In addition to the familiar soldiers and researchers, Ji Si and his team were also present.
Seeing so many influential figures, the team members, apart from Ji Si, Si Nuocheng, and Qi Xinli, were somewhat uncomfortable.
Especially Yu Mingyang, who was in a wheelchair—he almost felt as if his legs had completely healed and he could jump up and run at lightning speed, but Jiang Qining’s hand was firmly pressed on his shoulder!
Yu Mingyang’s eyes were desperately signaling: “Brother, push me! Why are we, normal people, here?”
Jiang Qining was dodging the signals from all directions: “Holy crap, so nervous! This is such a big scene! I need to grab something to steady myself… Hmm, this thing under my hand is a bit soft, but if I clutch my pillow tightly, it’ll help!”
Laki whispered to himself: “… Ura.” Panic everywhere.
With half of an “Ura” entering the military tent, the friendship between Zhongzhou and the army would last long.
Under everyone’s gaze, Ji Si seemed completely unfazed by the presence of so many influential figures, as if he were used to such big meetings. He calmly walked to the left side of the main seat and naturally sat down.
A long time ago, after assisting the new emperor’s coronation, he had also sat in the position to the left of the throne.
Over the years, in the reincarnation team, he had also become accustomed to sitting on the left side of the captain.
To sit on the left was a position of respect—it was the chancellor’s place, the place closest to the heart, and also the positioning Ji Si had given to his role as a “guide.” He wouldn’t upstage anyone, but neither would he lower himself.
The choice of where to sit and how he presented himself was his first condition to the government—he wanted this position!
The atmosphere in the tent momentarily stalled. Si Nuocheng immediately took two steps forward and sat next to Ji Si, then said to Qi Xinli, “Let’s sit in one row, all the awakened ones together. It’ll look more organized.”
He specifically mentioned “awakened ones,” coaxed Qi Xinli to sit “together,” and used “organized” to imply that they would follow the rules. With those words, the atmosphere in the tent came alive.
Old Jin gave the two young men a deep look, feeling that the younger generation was indeed formidable.
He took the main seat, and the others sat in order. The researchers paid no attention to the subtle back-and-forth between the two groups but got straight to the matter at hand, beginning to discuss the recent “Devil’s Cave” research.
One of the scientists stepped forward, glancing at Laki, and said, “Since the Rat King died, there has been no activity from the giant rats these past few days. According to the metal ball’s readings, we discovered that the remaining rats are now huddling 3,000 meters underground. They don’t seem to be coming up or returning to their nests, which is very odd.”
“And what’s even stranger is—”
The scientist took out a rock and the fangs and claws of the second batch of giant rats. He demonstrated by scraping the fangs against the rock, leaving clear tooth marks.
Next, the scientist forcefully pressed a rat’s claw into the rock, and within moments, the rock cracked into pieces.
At the sight, many people’s expressions changed.
“The hardness of the second batch of rat claws is much stronger than the rock layers,” the scientist said, confused. “But instead of breaking through the rock, they allowed themselves to be surrounded by it, only coming in and out through the narrow fissures in the Devil’s Cave. This is… very puzzling.”
The scientist turned to Ji Si, his confusion spilling out. “A 30-kilogram rat must come out of the fissures in the Devil’s Cave, I can understand that, because its claws aren’t strong enough to tear through the Ningyuan Mountain’s rock layers.”
“A 50-kilogram rat trying to squeeze out, I… can almost understand. Perhaps the rat mutated its body but shrank its brain, leading them to make a bad choice.”
“But a 100-kilogram, 200-kilogram, or even ton-sized rat forcing itself out of the fissures? I can’t understand!” The scientist displayed data on a complete rat spine. “This is the entire spine of the dead Rat King. It’s 30 meters long, and we estimate its weight to be over 6 tons, roughly the size of a medium-sized truck.”
“The spine is extremely hard and could easily crush rock. From this, we can deduce that its claws should be strong enough to dig through the Ningyuan Mountain.”
“But it didn’t…”
“It didn’t dig through the rock; it kept forcing itself through the fissures in the Devil’s Cave. Why?” The scientist was utterly baffled. “It seems like they can only wait for the Devil’s Cave to expand, and then they crawl out in batches. It’s very rigid.”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s gaze turned toward the awakened ones’ team.
Under the scrutiny of so many big figures, Yu Mingyang felt as if his soul had left his body, Jiang Qining’s hair stood on end, Laki tensed his muscles, and Qi Xinli… quietly extended a finger and pointed at Ji Si and Si Nuocheng’s positions, signaling “talk to those two.”
The big figures shifted their focus.
Qi Xinli couldn’t help but scratch his head, feeling like after being stared at by military bigwigs, the hair follicles on his head were about to close up! Amitabha, it’s all those damn zombies that gave him PTSD!
After enduring the gaze, Si Nuocheng remained expressionless. As someone used to big meetings, he thought the military’s gaze was far gentler than that of competitors.
Ji Si, however, was calm, not hiding anything. He spoke frankly, “The nature of the Ningyuan Devil’s Cave is no different from the Gates of the Eastern Ridge or the Abyss of Jing Du. These are things that current science can’t explain. If you must define them, think of them as—gates.”
“Gates?” the scientist asked. “What do you mean?”
“It’s a portal that links two spaces,” Ji Si continued. “It allows monsters to enter Earth, and Earth’s creatures to enter the monsters’ world.”
“Wait, a wormhole? A space-time tunnel?” The scientist’s eyes widened. “Worlds and worlds?” He suddenly went silent, not interrupting Ji Si’s words but listening intently.
“The world is multi-dimensional, and some scientists’ fantasies are real,” Ji Si said, pausing only for a moment before returning to the main point. “The Gate of the Eastern Ridge released one monster, and there are more to come. Similarly, the Devil’s Cave can release a group of giant rats, and it can also release another group of monsters.”
“Another group?”
A group of giant rats had already given the military a huge headache, and now Ji Si was telling them that a second batch of monsters might emerge from the Devil’s Cave—this was just adding fuel to the fire!
“The rats must crawl out; if they don’t, they’ll die in the depths of the Devil’s Cave,” Ji Si said. “The Devil’s Cave is called a ‘Devil’s Cave’ because it’s a gathering place for demons. And the rats are just the weakest batch of demons.”
“When the second batch of monsters emerges from the narrow gate, the rats will become their food. The rats have no choice but to crawl out.”
A deep silence fell over the tent.
After a long pause, Old Jin spoke, “I never believed in supernatural powers, but now I have no choice but to believe.” He closed his eyes and exhaled, “I just want to know, why is this happening now? Zhongzhou has had thousands of years of history, and it didn’t happen earlier or later. Why is it happening now?”
“Why so suddenly?”
Ji Si smiled lightly. “As you said, Zhongzhou has thousands of years of history. How can you be sure this has never happened before? Some ‘myths and legends’ may not just be stories. They’ve been with you for thousands of years, but you just didn’t believe them.”
“Like in the era of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, many man-eating beasts came from the ‘worlds’ behind the gates.”
Si Nuocheng froze, suddenly recalling the monster “Xiang Liu” from his first dream.
“Like the gods from the primordial era who came from ‘worlds’ behind the gates,” Ji Si’s expression softened. “Worlds are connected, the universe is intertwined. All sorts of strange things have existed throughout history, but only when the time comes can people see them for what they truly are.”
“When the time comes…” Old Jin muttered. “Before it comes, how should we solve these problems?”
Ji Si smiled. “Deal with things as they come. Let it unfold naturally.”
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
PS: Ji Si with flowing hair: Let it unfold naturally.
Qi Xinli staring at Ji Si’s long hair: I suspect you’re mocking me with “let it unfold naturally,” and I have solid evidence.
Ji Si: …
