The Hymn of Humanity Is the Hymn of Knockoffs!

Though it was only a temporary camp, Kang De could still feel the grandeur of this world's nobility.

Tina's tent stood at the very center, surrounded by her maids' tents and a ring of small wooden walls. The tent occupied a large area, partitioned into a bedroom and a sitting room. As soon as he entered, a refreshing fragrance greeted him. A soft carpet lay underfoot, and several paintings even hung on the walls. The wooden table and chairs had the look of valuable antiques, a costly vase on the table held a bouquet of flowers, and assorted furnishings provided accents throughout.

The arrangements, large and small, made the simple tent pleasing to the eye.

Every object had been placed with great care.

This... Your Highness, you've got it way too good, don't you? You're stranded on a deserted island, yet you're living this comfortably, and your maids and subordinates are actually willing to wait on you like this.

It was hard to understand.

This was Kang De's first time seeing how real nobles conducted themselves.

He felt a little disdain, a little curiosity, a little admiration, and a little envy.

It was an eye-opening experience.

After all, in his country, the so-called traditional nobles who dared to show off, fuss over appearances, act so grand, and flaunt such heritage had long since been smashed into oblivion. There were still plenty in the West, especially in Europe, and they were doing quite well, but an ordinary Chinese commoner like Kang De had no access to "high society" on that level.

For a young socialist like him, born under the red flag and deeply influenced by his mother's words and example, the first things that came to mind at the mention of nobles were "pretentious motherfuckers" and "the dregs of the old era."

In any case, he certainly had no fondness for them.

So his gaze unconsciously took on a critical and mocking edge.

The princess noticed his gaze. Her face reddened, and she panicked. For some reason, she didn't much want the man before her to look down on her, though they had only met a few times.

No matter how broad-minded she was, her feelings had probably changed after the ritual was completed...

Tina explained softly, "I'm not a pampered person, nor do I like extravagance and waste, but as a member of the Taidariel Family, I must uphold the dignity of the duchy... It can't be helped."

Kang De couldn't understand what she meant for the moment.

But Tina's willingness to explain herself to him was in itself a gesture of friendship and goodwill.

Ultimately, it was her business and had nothing to do with him. They had only met by chance and had no conflict. Under those circumstances, acting as though he and the class enemy couldn't coexist and shouting things like "I, an heir to socialism, will fuck up you backward feudal landlords today" would have been insane.

Of course, if these people called him a lowborn and a bastard every other word, looking down on him with superior, contemptuous gazes... that would be a different matter.

But they hadn't. The Goth People had been very courteous so far.

So Kang De smiled.

Once both sides were seated, the knight stood to one side, and the head maid personally brought tea and refreshments.

The princess elegantly lifted her cup and sipped. Her movements were refined, pleasing to the eye, and full of beauty, as if the entire sequence of graceful motions had become instinctive.

She smiled at Kang De. "Please, help yourself. The head maid's skill at brewing tea is renowned at court."

Kang De considered copying her movements, but he knew he couldn't pull it off, and a clumsy imitation would obviously be even more embarrassing. So he simply reached out, picked up his cup, and took a sip.

Head Maid Bedela had been watching Kang De the whole time. Seeing this, her eyes immediately widened, but she understood her place and promptly bowed her head low.

Knight Cleveland also looked surprised.

Over thousands of years, the continent's nobles had cooked up a set of customs to show off their refinement, separating the classes and distinguishing themselves from lowborns. After so many years of development and spread, it had long since become something all nobles pursued. The strict demands this etiquette placed on their everyday behavior were practically perverse, yet everyone consciously upheld it, because it represented class and taste. It allowed a noble to quickly judge the standing and upbringing of the person they were speaking to, and it also allowed impoverished nobles to maintain their false sense of superiority.

And Kang De's behavior just now could practically be called barbaric.

To nobles, to put it bluntly, his conduct was an eyesore.

Kang De also noticed the changes in the expressions of the people present.

His expression unchanged, he calmly and lightly set down his teacup.

His mother had said that when eating Western food, there was no need to fuss over all that pointless bullshit. Foreign devils just made too much of everything. As long as he didn't make noise while eating or drinking, or while setting down his cup and using his knife and fork, that was enough.

"I'm from the countryside," he said, looking at the princess, whose beautiful eyes had widened slightly. "I hope you'll excuse me."

The princess reacted quickly, immediately concealing her surprise before smiling. "You're joking... Having lived in seclusion on this island, far from the bustle of the world, for so many years, you must be tired of tedious etiquette."

"I really am not used to these prim and proper, excessively polite tea parties."

Kang De spoke honestly.

And he felt somewhat dispirited.

He had been very curious about the culture of the other world and its visitors, and he had gotten along well with Cleveland, but just now he had noticed the surprised looks the knight and the head maid gave him, as if they were looking at an alien.

Especially that Lady Bedela. When he had casually reached for his teacup just now, the middle-aged woman's eyes had almost shot out two icy beams. It seemed his behavior had really rubbed her the wrong way.

It was a cultural divide, and it made him very uncomfortable.

This noble, etiquette-filled atmosphere was not well suited to an ordinary person like him.

Nor was he willing to imitate it or adapt to it.

"Let's get straight to the point."

Kang De spoke.

He still thought the Tina who had eaten potato chips and drunk cola quickly and elegantly in the valley yesterday was cuter.

The princess seemed to sense something. She slowly set down her teacup and nodded.

"First..."

Just then, a voice came from outside. "Your Highness, Captain, forgive the interruption."

The knight looked at the princess. Seeing her nod, he bowed slightly, then nodded to Kang De to excuse himself and strode out. The sound of two people speaking in low voices came from outside.

After a while, Cleveland returned and said softly, "Mr. Kang De, your animal companions are taking away those... Black Beast corpses."

Kang De raised an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

The knight replied, "There's no problem. After all, you personally killed the vast majority of the Black Beasts, and you have the right to take them as spoils of war. But could you leave one for us to experiment on? This is an entirely new enemy we've never encountered before, and it has clearly become our greatest threat. We need to study its various weaknesses."

Kang De blinked. "They didn't leave a single one?"

"Yes," the knight said helplessly.

Well done.

Kang De spread his hands. "Then there's nothing I can do. Black Beasts are their favorite food. Even I wouldn't dare snatch food from their mouths."

Cleveland was speechless. "One of the ones dragging a Black Beast corpse away is a chicken..."

"A send-off chicken."

Kang De lied through his teeth. "It eats meat, and it especially loves roast Black Beast. I asked it why once, and it said, 'Fuck, you humans have been roasting and frying my kind since the Big Bang. I can't eat roast human, so won't you even let me eat roast Black Beast?'"

For a moment, the knight didn't know how to respond.

Very good.

Though those wretched creatures were idiots, they were extremely practiced and thorough when it came to looting, stealing, bullying the weak, and the like. He never had to tell them twice.

The Black Beasts' surprise attack today had caught Kang De off guard.

Because he didn't want these people from the other world to learn the Black Beasts' secret.

Inside the heart of each of these strange beasts that had suddenly appeared was a mysterious crystal that could merge with flesh and blood and improve every aspect of the body... For an individual, it was merely a possibility of growing steadily stronger, but for a nation, it amounted to a powerful army.

It was easy to imagine that if the Goth People learned the Black Beasts' secret and reported it to their country, a whole bunch of Goth People would surely come and stake out the island. Once word got out, the empire, the elves, the dwarves, and the rest would probably come poking around too, and they would inevitably beat one another's brains out.

One thing was certain: whichever faction took the island, Kang De would definitely be pushed aside.

What a joke.

I've already planted the red flag here.

Whether this lousy island belongs to Kang or China is a question for later. Either way, it's not yours.

Seeing that the knight was still hung up on the matter, he said, "I suppose I'm the owner of this island, and all of you are guests. You came to my home as guests and encountered danger. That was my failing."

His words were somewhat courteous, and the etiquette-conscious nobles hurriedly said, "It wasn't your fault."

Kang De waved a hand and continued, "But that said, the Black Beasts suddenly appeared, and their numbers have increased greatly. That's very unusual. More than a dozen came today, and there may be even more in the future..."

The knight keenly noticed that, as Mr. Kang De spoke, his Adam's apple moved involuntarily, as if he were swallowing.

W-wait!

Could he be the one who really wants to eat Black Beasts?

Kang De didn't know what the knight was thinking. He said seriously, "To prevent the disastrous situation of having to face dozens or even hundreds of Black Beasts at once in the future, I suggest we take the initiative and strike first... I want to find the source of this bizarre change."

Stranded on a deserted island and thinking of going home day and night, Kang De had always been highly conscious of danger.

He said, "To do that, I need your help."

The knight looked at the princess, who said without hesitation, "Goth never lets its friends down. You and your friends extended a helping hand to us today, and we will repay your kindness. I'll ask Knight Cleveland to select strong warriors to help you fight."

Kang De smiled and shook his head. "No, you're guests. How could I ask guests to help the host clean his room? My animal friends and I can handle the search."

The princess frowned. "Then the help you mentioned... Is it supplies? What do you need?"

"Zhuang Da Ling and Mentat... I mean strength potions, wisdom potions, and the like. All kinds of magic potions. They can improve my combat strength very effectively."

Kang De spoke.

"And enchanted equipment... The more, the better."

Stealing the fruits of those alchemy masters' life's work and copying them in a simple, crude, and effective manner, producing certain subtle imitations that even surpassed the originals—it was a little dishonest, but so thrilling.

What? All Chinese people know how to do is make knockoffs?

Bullshit. That's called catching up, learning, and paying tribute. Besides, how the hell do foreigners have the nerve to say that? Little Japan copied Europe and America like crazy after the war. Before the United States made it big, it straight-up passed laws encouraging its citizens to go to the United Kingdom and plagiarize. Even Europe copied our Great Qing before that. Human history is a history of knockoffs!

When civilized people do it, can you call it making knockoffs?

Kang De's golden finger was already ravenous.

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PS1: Sorry, I didn't sleep well last night and had no energy all day today... There'll be another update tonight. I'll try to write it earlier, and start writing earlier tomorrow too.

PS2: Some friends have kept asking about my tinnitus... Of course it hasn't gotten better. It's a problem the whole world struggles with; how could it get better that easily? All I can do is rest well and recover slowly. Everyone, take care of yourselves too. Don't stay up late. My schedule is much healthier now than it used to be. I used to stay up late playing games, but I don't dare do that anymore.