Three Days Later (Y1010年 08月 1日)

  It was very early in the morning, hours before sunrise. Everyone in Longyue, the Moon Empire, and fellow allies were up. Ever since the last entrance into the Merit Universe Tower, Julius’ revelation of the chaotic structure of the tower shouldn’t be surprising but still shocked everyone. It excited the dinner party then, and the theme remained strong in the early morning.

  Dr. Annia's rapid footsteps in the cold hallway. She paced down along the way to Dr. Mingzhu’s office lounge. Opening the double door entrance, she found the latter sitting on the comfy couch, reading documents. The latter reacted to her arrival, putting the papers down on the coffee table. “Why are you excited suddenly?”

  “I’ve been standing up all day and night, so I ran after you called me to get a couch.”

  Dr. Mingzhu chuckled. “I almost forgot there were many that came along with Julius from Earth. It hasn’t been a month yet, but most are assimilating with us,” she muttered while taking a sip of coffee. “But you…your legs didn't somehow.”

  What did she say? Entitled, Annia looked at her legs briefly. “Are you judging my movement?”

  “Yes, and I should be. That’s how the doctors are here. And not to forget, a lot of walking and sprinting that might be best to learn teleportation.”

  “I've never seen you teleport before,” Annia commented while being confronted by a server. “One cup of coffee, please. And make it sweet, thanks.”

  Mingzhu sipped more of her coffee. “I’m not an expert cultivator. No…no. I don’t teleport ever because I never learned it. My body capabilities are restricted somewhat, where only my mentality and physical body are enhanced. So, I can handle long distances without a problem. Like the phrase that Julius and people from Earth say: I’ve peaked.”

  “You’ve peaked?”

  Mingzhu nodded. “That’s how I became a doctor. To do research on the mysterious functionality of how qi works in this world while also helping them with medical needs.”

  The mysterious functionality. Does that mean there are no specific rules to be known for a long while? Annia thought, feeling bewildered. She grabbed a pillow nearby and placed it on the side before lying down, extending her legs out. “So, are you trying to tell me the stuff I learned, or are the rest from Julius and others aren’t true?”

  Mingzhu shook her head. “It’s too complicated to say. We can only depend on the success rate based on how many people can adapt or follow the process. Julius’s methods have the highest percentage so far compared to the ones before him.”

  “What do you mean before him?”

  The servers came with additional sets of coffee, placing them at the coffee table before departing.

  “Doctors like me aren’t only doing medicine; we are also researchers. In fact, it’s been almost two decades since the beginning of trying to understand how powers and magics work here on this planet.” Mingzhu finished her cup of coffee and leaned up closer to the coffee table, grabbing the canister and pouring another serving of hot coffee. “We recorded as much as possible to figure out a fair hypothesis. When we first began, there were still multiple sects and family groups in the capital and the rest of the Moon Empire’s territory. For years, their data has been helping us conclude a number.”

  “What was it?”

  “Unfortunately, a consistent forty-three and a quarter percent. Compared to now, that’s a pretty low number. Adding to where the foundation of this world’s qi is mysterious and unpredictable, only a few have studied in cultivation. Also, wealth classes were a thing then, too.”

  “I've heard a lot of bad things in the past that happened.”

  Mingzhu stood up from the couch. “Until Julius shut them all down. Except for the local sects and family clans, because they all died. The Kang Family showed their true colors when Longyue was attacked. They were the good guys all along.” She grabbed the papers and went to her desk, dropping them on the table.

  How much time did it take for him to do all of this? Julius wasn't even here for a year yet. “You’re telling me Julius disrupted the norm of the past?”

  “Yes!” Mingzhu nodded as if she wasn’t clear already. “He did a lot in such a short time, and he never sleeps.”

  Annia saw how she reacted and called it an end to the topic. “Okay…Speaking of Julius, he’s having a speech later today, right?”

  Mingzhu sat down next to her desk, reviewing the folders that she had left there yesterday. “Mhm. Before lunch, we'll be leaving in the afternoon.”

  “Are we part of them?”

  “Of course not. I’m staying here to protect and keep this hospital running, and I expect you to stay, too. We need more domestic security and a consistent medical armory as much as possible in the times of war.”

  Annia’s mind clicked, realizing something recent. “Ah, I see. That's why Julius told you to hire me as soon as we got back from ??i Nam Cai.”

  “Now you understand why, you can continue your doctor career that was paused for a little while…If we can work together in the many days ahead, I think we both can have an interesting story to tell in our new discoveries and efforts.”

  Annia, who was quiet for a moment, sighed as if it were the last moment, realizing she couldn’t join her daughter, Gretel, on the battlefield. “Alright…I accept the offer.”

  Mood was lifted, and eyes widened, Dr. Mingzhu opened one of her desk cabinets, pulling out another folder. “Great…Great. Here, sign this paper. You’ll be guaranteed benefits and an office like mine, where you can continue your personal research.”

  She looked at the paper’s contents. Surprisingly, it was in the English-like language. A couple of further paragraphs stated her salary, relations, and policy commitments. Better than mine at Colemond. I can afford a house at this rate. Annia reflected. She then finally signed her name. Once completed, Mingzhu took the paper and put it back in the folder. In the same drawer, she took out a zipper bag and handed it to Annia.

  “What’s this?”

  “Open it. It’s your stuff, and welcome aboard to the team.”

  Annia placed the bag on the desk and pulled the zipper. She drew her hand inside and felt a pile of items inside. Hence, she dumped the contents onto the table, revealing keys, cards, one pile of cash, and a heavy red wallet with the 龙月 imprint on both flaps. “Thank you.”

  Dr. Mingzhu silently nodded, briefly glaring at Dr. Annia, taking her time to interact with her new content.

  Four Hours Later (Y1010年 08月 1日)

  Julius stood on a large stage, confronted by an open audience of at least fifteen thousand. In the naked eye, not focusing on the scene was like watching the ants when they escaped their anthill when under an attack. Like the last time, the barren second district was used again as a setting. Today’s morning was clear and bright. Enthusiasm filled the crowd, waiting to hear what Julius was about to announce. The latter stood momentarily on the wide podium and brought out a binder carrying handwritten pages. He waited for a few minutes until he was ready, and others like Mizuhana, the rest of Kang's family, and many representatives from the thirty states arrived.

  Once Hatamoto Tadamasa sat in his seat in the crowd’s front row, Julius re-articulated his microphone, as this was his first speech at a tremendous height. Nobody in history got up to his point, and he got a brief scare when thinking about his gigantic stature. Please, don’t grow again. He thought and rubbed it off his mind, bringing back the focus on his written speech.

  “My fellow comrades, friends, and family…

  “Beyond four months ago, my new life began when I set foot in this land with nothing to give. What I only offered was my experience. I don’t really remember how I arrived here, but all I knew was that I was escaping from our enemy’s horrendous torture. They were underground, and their civilization lived there and embraced it. One of them gave me a slight twist of anger that led me to further depths into an underground arena realm, where I would be stuck for a year. In that realm, the sufferings I endured, near-death experiences, and inhumane horrors I witnessed gave me a wake-up call. I didn't know what it was. However, the new life journey after escaping filled in the blanks. For the first time, I appreciated humanity.

  “As most of you don’t know, I was an alien. I came from a completely different world without qi called Earth. It is us, but with technology instead of magic. I had a life over there, but I’m always a loner and never understood the social norms. There was no sense of community, despite my wealth. Money numbers do the talking, and that is it. No genuine connections for as much as I can remember. University and academy were the last opportunities to build and find real friends. Afterward, money is your goal to survive. Without it, nobody wanted to invest their time in interacting with anyone.

  “As someone who was very skeptical of complete prophecies, I don’t know if my arrival was fate. Especially, later learning on my paternal ancestral history was from the Tang Family.

  “In some time, my appreciation for humanity went up, and I can finally say I am home…Thanks to all of you. Bizarre as it sounds, I finally understand why I felt different here than back there. It is that I’m home, where I’m supposed to be. If it wasn’t for you guys after Kriegshan, my life would’ve been lost.”

  A little break, and Julius turned to Empress Cai, who was sitting with Mizuhana.

  “And I won’t forget Empress Cai, who brought me in when we first met at the Moon Palace’s entrance. We first met on unknown grounds, but once I set foot, we understood each other. It was unfortunate that our first day was cut short because I was trapped in the Merit Universe Tower when it first spawned. By the time I came back, Longyue was in ruins, and you had no choice but to hand me the scroll. The fact you trusted me with little time knowing each other was something I’ll never forget, so thank you.”

  Julius then turned back to the audience as the crowd briefly cheered at her.

  “Our future is uncertain. However, my doubts subsided with the bond we all built this past month. Taking back all thirty states and uniting them into one empire. We expanded our welcome and hospitality until they were comfortable. Their past public debts owed to us have been paid, and with a surplus, we invested it back within our lands, improving every gap and weakness as fast as possible. People started trusting us again, and the past misfortunes were forgiven. The future has never been high stakes for a long time in our history. In fact, this year was supposed to be our 4th quincentennial anniversary of the stairway leading to the High Cai Plateau. Because of my little doubts, I must say we have to win this fight against the Renos…For our anniversary, which takes place after.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “And remember, the only way to get to Kriegshan is to beat the Renos and make their territory ours. That is no question. However, I expect that once our mission is done, everything there will come to a complete stop. Rebuild and rehabilitate the region as our thirty-first state. We can’t have Kriegshan's influence on our continent of Dong Luse or anywhere else on the map. Their time has brought inhumane actions and a disruption to morality. We can’t allow this to continue any longer. Your history has fought with them before, but the efforts were lacking. This pause I read about, and the increased tensions shouldn’t have happened if many former martial sects and families had worked together with a competent ruler. Unfortunately, those two criteria were never fulfilled.

  “Today and tomorrow, we hope this matter will change. That way, we can have a better future than being stuck with a past burden. We will leave right before sunset and arrive at Renos during sunrise. Knowing who we are, don’t sleep. If you must, do it after lunch or wait until all this is over. We have our own sufferings, but our shared sufferings have persisted for far too long. At sunrise, I want all of us to release it all until it is depleted. Use all the knowledge we’ve gained in the past few months and restore our hopes and establish a future for many centuries ahead.

  “These prophecies of events that cause a change in time will end in our rule, and I won’t take all the credit for our successes. Every one of us has a role, and we should have the right to make our own decisions. Not these prophecy makers or these potent beings. Fate is ours to make, not theirs. The theme of fear of deterring fate that I found through letters and historical records was why we had lost and suffered the price every single day.

  “My arrival here over four months ago was a deterrent to fate. It was my decision, and I have no regrets being here, rebuilding myself to be better in this world that is supposed to be my home. Embrace destiny and free will. That is our key to victory. I will open the locks and chains that restricted us.” Julius then pointed to the High Cai Plateau.

  “Those stairways…up to the High Cai Plateau and the Moon Palace…Our nomadic ancestors built that landmark to reach the top of the plateau. A stairway, the representation of our commitment and determination. I don’t think that’s fate. That was our historical free will from our ancestors. They built that to reach a safe spot for them to make a new home. Unfortunately, we have gradually lost that free will, and we’re blinded by this world in these two thousand years. We surrendered to a path that offers little in return. Too much greed, desperation, lust, and unnecessary wrath. Once those locks are open, we will return to how our nomadic ancestors built this country two thousand years ago. Those stairways are a reminder of what we are supposed to be. Evolve from that! And don’t fear failure. Y’all fear failure. Did y’all forget the Great Dong Luse Nomad War? That was a failure, and that guided them to that stairway.

  “My comrades, this is our moment. We are given a chance to restore ourselves and evolve from past failures. Join me as a community and a family, and we will march together on this journey to prove our pride and what truly means to be a human.

  “So, thank you. And may the Yinhai bless you, and the Moon bless the empire…And please have a wonderful lunch.”

  The fifteen thousand people in the crowd stood and cheered as Julius strolled away from the podium.

  Julius walked up to the only row of occupied seats on the stage. Mizuhana and Empress Cai stood immediately. Julius' hand gestured to Rui, who teleported right up to him. He nodded at Rui’s new cultivation experience and then handed him a copy of the speech. “How long can the whole press print this?”

  Rui held the copy and flipped through ten pages. “When do you want this to be out?”

  “As soon as possible, but don’t deliver it to the southern states until we return.”

  “Is it because they’re the closest to Renos?”

  Julius nodded. “You've been listening in on the meetings. Good…Also, I want you to print it in three languages. Yue, Earth English, and Kriegyu, but save the third one for last and wait for my return for that one too.”

  “Got it. I’ll take my early leave then.”

  “No, join us for lunch.”

  Rui shook his head. “I can’t if I want to make a schedule.”

  “Hang on,” Julius said, calling for Father Kang. “Have you prepared lunches? I need one for Rui.”

  “Yes, I do. Is he not joining?”

  “No, he wants to get the printing scheduling set up right now.”

  Father Kang hummed with a slight nod and teleported away. Ten seconds later, he returned with a brown lunch bag, giving it to Rui. “Be careful, it's hot. There’s hot soup, rice, and some servings of Mapo tofu. I hope you enjoy it. My wife does the cooking today, which is why she wasn’t here on stage today.”

  “I send her my thanks. Now I must take my leave. See you guys when you come back.”

  Rui teleported away, fading within a blink of light.

  There was one more thing to do. Hence, Julius headed to the other side of the stage, strolling past the podium. Over there were two tables stationed. Each had an executive folder with new cover seals. The first table was with the “President” title underneath a tiger’s growled head, and the other with the “Emperor” title above a dragon’s head.

  President Yang dashed right to the first table, pulling her chair. “Ready to make it official?”

  “Of course I am,” Julius said while pulling his chair.

  The two sat down, and the audience silenced themselves immediately. Both opened their executive folders, revealing a full-page declaration. Subsequently, they leveraged their hands to the center drawer, pulling it open to an open box of pens. Finally, these exquisite pens from the northeast that I heard about. Julius silently bragged.

  An earth tradition he took and altered was to have pens for everyone involved in the behind-the-scenes. Adding his and President Yang’s was sixty. Instead of signing using all the pens, only one will be used. Today, two.

  Julius glanced through the document and signed his full name in the white space at the bottom of the page.

  Flash.

  A moment of light prompted Julius to look up, seeing Qiao had taken a picture of her Sony Alpha a7 III.

  “And we are done!” Julius announced, showing the signature to the entire clapping crowd from the stage and for the camera. President Yang showed hers, and the two then stood after closing the folder and shook each other’s hands. Qiao took a millisecond shot before the two let go. Afterward, did a twirl to face the crowd and took a couple more photo shoots, capturing the crowd’s authentic reactions.

  “First press photos.”

  “It has been too long,” Julius said, slightly laughing. “How’s the project on ??i Nam Cai coming along?”

  Qiao put her camera on her virtual inventory. “At least 20 hours of footage…With what we have right now, I need at least two to three months unless some new technology comes to save the day…You already know post-production takes a long time.”

  “I know…I’m just asking, that’s all.”

  “No hard feelings; I’ll send you an update when at least a third is finished.”

  President Yang grabbed Julius’ box of pens, deciding she’d do the handing over to many of the senators that were involved, as well as some staff. While she was doing so, Julius walked off the stage with Mizuhana and Empress Cai. He and everyone else felt their stomachs grumble, signaling for a heavy lunch. Julius abstained from eating ever since the dinner before yesterday, using his excess qi as his energy source, making it almost forty hours without food. The longest he ever safely abstained and enlightened compared to the torturous weeks in the Kriegshan’s Underground Tournament. Hence, Julius kept using his qi until lunch started at the House of Kang, where Mother Kang was ready to serve exquisite cuisine.

  Hours Later (Y1010年 08月 1日)

  9 PM

  “Sir, we got a good visual. Four clicks,” the right-side pilot announced.

  Julius stood right behind the seats of the two pilots, looking at the view of ??i Nam Cai ahead. “Great, pleasant work on the upgrades.”

  “The engineers did a fine job, sir. This is the first time we’ve ever flown a long distance, arriving this soon,” the left-side pilot said.

  “They’ll be getting more projects soon and find a suitable landing spot if you can,” Julius said before turning around, heading back down to the cargo area where his hypercar was parked. Empress Cai, Mizuhana, and Solomon were strolling around, not expecting it to arrive so quickly.

  The airship was the largest the agency had ever built in such a short time. The pilot’s mention of the engineers included the cultivators. Agent Sleep’s agency of only around fifteen engineers working with at least a hundred engineer cultivators gave them a light construction workload.

  As Julius walked down the stairs, his three former classmates and Agent Sleep were present while Gretal sat on the hypercar’s hood.

  Julius walked up to the group. “Nice car, isn’t it?”

  “Who built this?” Kross asked.

  “I did…You know I was in 1371 and 6019 for a year.”

  Kross, scratching his beard, agreed. “Yeah, I remember. Lucky you. You haven't lost those days like I did.”

  “You’re a Raal human now. Relearning and recollecting all your past skills should be more of a piece of cake.”

  “Easier said than done,” Vil commented while tying her hair into a ponytail.

  Julius shrugged. “With the Agency’s help on your possible homesick concerns, it really should be a piece of cake.” He took a couple of gulps of water before continuing. “So far, I see Qiao as the one who has assimilated well here…And Gretel, too. They’ll do fine, but this battle tomorrow morning will be your place in this world. I hope you do your best with whatever you have recently learned.”

  Vil's eyebrows lowered, expressing sole concern. “Dan—Julius? Are you being too distant from us?”

  Confused, Julius turned to her, unsure if she was making sense. “I’m not sure I’m following what you are trying to ask me. Our time on Earth has passed, and I don't want to be part of it anymore…This is our home now. Make your decision on how you want to make this your home. You'll see why.”

  Julius departed from the topic and went to Gretel. He then summoned a pistol, handing it to her. “Here. Take this. A gift from Qiang Zhao.”

  She briefly smiled but wondered why she received it. “Thanks…But I already have my Glock 17.”

  “I know…The Zhao clan wanted to test some things. As more of them open themselves to the public, their developing arms market means they need new and consistent data on their weapons.” Julius also handed her a spare magazine with no bullets inside. “You knew about my current handgun…so try it and let me or them know how you feel about it when you are ready.”

  Nodding, Gretel then grabbed the Colt 1911 replica, pulling the slide all the way. A brief, dense smoke fired from inside the barrel. The slide made a clicking noise before forcing itself back in place, taking Gretel’s grip, and the smoke cleared. “I can’t move it.”

  “It’s a little different from this one. The slide on this gun is built to be a one-time switch. Before you pulled the slide, it was inactive, so yeah, now it is yours.”

  “There are no bullets, though,” Gretel said while pointing at the gun’s grip.

  “My handgun doesn’t always use loaded magazines.”

  A little expressive thought. “Hmm…Okay, one day, I’ll let you guys know.”

  The pilot’s voice came up on the aircraft’s speakers, announcing that they’re about to land outside of Hoàng thành Phong ??m’s walls. Hence, Julius stood close to the edge of the cargo door. A synchronous alarm erupted from above, followed by the gears clunking, and the cargo door of the main deck opened. A few more aircraft landed nearby, as this was on the former rice fields that were devastated during the C?m Offensive (米飯攻勢). Two individuals then appeared from around the left side of the aircraft as Julius stepped out. They ran up. The one on the left was like the average farmer of ??i Nam Cai. Short stature, but very swift. He had farmer’s clothing in full gray and a black belt. There were vine-shaped tattoos around his forearms and legs, not forgetting his muscularity with deep veins. The man lifted his bamboo hat up, revealing his neutral face held by his trimmed gray beard. “Emperor.”

  “Khánh,” Julius greeted with a handshake. He then shook the second man with long hair in a formal black tunic and boots. “C??ng.”

  “Quynh gave us the information,” Khánh said, and glared around the scene of the aircraft landing. “I don’t know what these things are, but why are they here?” He pointed at the other aircraft that were parked not that far from where he stood.

  “Protocol. There’s more in the sky flying around. Those two, which are called aircraft, are like our guards.” Julius went back into the aircraft, gesturing to the two inside. “Well, we can talk the rest on the plane because we are leaving for Renos right now!”

  “Now?!” C??ng asked with a partial look at Khánh, confused.

  Julius nodded, as if it wasn’t obvious. “Yes. Did Quynh not tell you guys that part? Yinhai…Everyone will convene during the twilight until sunset.”