Assassinate Qin, Assassinate Qin, Assassinate Qin
"I'll treat you to tea," the armed soldier replied, carrying the bald man out of the steel gate, and then fell silent.
"..." The people around fell silent, and in a tacit understanding, they all took several steps back.
"Then, you shall come." The First Emperor continued searching for a new subordinate.
The nobleman who was singled out took off his hat, revealing curly hair. He smoothed his hair and said, "Hmm! I think the world should be handed over to the elite class to rule. For the continuation of humanity, some people must be sacrificed."
In short, if 90% of the resources were given to the elite, imagine if more than 50% of all people studying science had doctoral degrees, and more than 50% of those studying Magecraft had mastery of color, then why would humanity not be able to revive?
Only by letting geniuses interact with each other can they spark new ideas. If another Newton or Einstein emerges, the problem will naturally be solved. Of course, ordinary people will also be given proper living allowances, but they must obey arrangements."
Wow!
After finishing his speech, the curly-haired aristocrat smiled at the First Emperor, revealing his white teeth, which flashed in a dazzling light.
"Take him away!" the First Emperor clapped his hands and said.
"Yes, sir!" The armed troops came in again and carried the curly-haired aristocratic man away.
"Eh? Waaaaaah?!" The man let out a mournful cry as the steel door slammed shut, plunging the top floor into silence once more.
"Then it'll be you! The blond-haired, bearded man." This time, the First Emperor looked at the chubby young man who was with Shirou and his group.
"Hey hey hey... Anyone can answer for me, you know." Gordolf looked around, only to find that everyone around him was keeping their distance.
"I... I..." Gordolf's legs trembled helplessly, but his dignity as a member of Magecraft family kept him calm, and he changed his words, saying, "I have indeed studied this issue to some extent."
He thought for a moment, coughed, and said, "I... I hope to create some androids, or other machines that can replace humans, to search for life outside. At the same time, we'll try to cultivate and develop new food sources."
The First Emperor gently shook his head and said, "The Tower to the Sky is a product of my own creation, so even during its design phase, it underwent precise calculations using a supercomputer. With the current rationing method, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it can only last for a maximum of one hundred years. If food supplies are restricted, it will likely only last for 300 years. After 300 years, the people inside the tower will still have to venture out into the world to make a living. By then, the outside environment will only be worse."
"Huh? Is that so... Then what should we do?!" Gordolf began to worry about his fate, and asked humbly.
The First Emperor smiled approvingly and said, "No, you've passed! Rejoice! There's a suitable position for you! Go to Antarctica to conduct research on the continuation of the human race's destiny. The research institute of the Human Survival Agency is currently short of a director."
"Eh? Me? Director?" Gordolf exclaimed, his eyes wide with surprise.
"That's wonderful, you've made something of yourself, Mr. Gordolf."
Congratulations!
The people around him smiled and congratulated him. Seeing Gordolf's round face, they all felt relaxed and applauded for their new director.
"Eh... Eh?" Gordolf stared blankly, then looked at Shirou, who seemed more reliable, wanting to ask for his opinion.
"..." However, Shirou's eyes were still fixed on the First Emperor, and he ignored him.
"Director? Is it really okay? Why?" Gordolf still looked incredulous. He just became the director of a institute so easily? Wasn't becoming a director a high-ranking official position that required going bankrupt and selling off all your possessions?!
The First Emperor smiled and said, "The emperor's word is law. Your idea is excellent. Be more confident and accept it!"
If one is merely a local official, it is already quite good to consider the livelihood of one's grandchildren after death. Even if the method initially has bad intentions, as long as the executor carries it out in a good direction, it will eventually yield good results. For example, the canals built to consume a large amount of Qin's wealth can be transformed into the Zheng Guo Canal, which has brought prosperity to Guanzhong for hundreds of years. Now is a time when people are needed. If you work hard and establish merit, you will naturally be rewarded with higher official rank and status.
"Yes! Your Majesty! This is the first time in my life I've been so affirmed! Waaah..." Gordolf knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, and said.
"But as the Son of Heaven, one must consider the future generations, no! The people of all ages! Whether it is unifying the written language, standardizing weights and measures, building the Great Wall, or the Tower to the Sky, it is all for these purposes."
However, that is not enough. Therefore, I want to make a decision at this conference! To decide whose leadership all of humanity should follow and whose plans should be implemented in the future!
The First Emperor was recounting his plans, but he used only affirmative sentences throughout.
Yes, now no one can stop his dominance.
Because Gordolf had obtained an official position, elites from other countries and regions believed themselves to be superior.
"This is like spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones... no, to buy the director..." Rin Tohsaka exclaimed.
"That First Emperor is really something," Luviagelita Edelfelt said softly, biting her thumb.
As long as the First Emperor still possessed the power to conjure the golden giant hand from the Tower to the Sky, the government agencies residing within Tower to the Sky would be powerless to resist and would have nowhere to escape. Even the representatives of various nations would have to face reality and submit to his rule.
With a bang, the power supply to the top floor tripped, and all the machines on the top floor lost power; the lights and mechanisms all stopped working.
"Huh?! What happened? It's malfunctioning?! I clearly didn't read any data containing the virus!" Qin Shi Huang scanned his surroundings and discovered that he had lost control of the Tower to the Sky's interior.
The golden fist creaked and groaned, then suddenly lost its power. The golden light that had appeared on its surface dissipated, and it turned into a huge, stiff, and motionless iron block.
At this moment, atop the Tower to the Sky, Jing Ke shouted loudly, "It's time! Everyone!"
Someone had already sprung into action in the shadows, running to the door and sealing it shut.
"What's going on?!" In the monitoring room, Qin Liangyu, a bunny girl with a bunny hairstyle, widened her eyes and turned to look at her companion.
"Hehe, sorry, Sister Qin." The image of the bunny girl with a long ponytail beside him became blurry, and finally turned into a handsome man with long black hair. He was none other than Heavenly Skill Star, nicknamed Yan Qing, the Prodigal Yan Qing, from the Liangshan Heroes!
Qin Liangyu glared angrily, summoned her white-handled spear, and shouted, "Ugh! You traitors! Even though I've warned you time and time again, you've still gone down this path!!"
Yan Qing nimbly retreated using the elusive footwork, dodging Qin Liangyu's thrusting spear, and said with a laugh, "Haha, sorry, I'll be leaving now! Sister Jing Ke, please give my regards to His Ancestral Dragon Your Majesty Emperor. Now it's up to you guys."
"Alright, have a good trip, Brother Little Yi!" Jing Ke replied with a smile.
"Oh~! Little brother, I still want to see what kind of wondrous scenery Bianliang City would be if it were submerged by the Dragon King or the White Lady, so please excuse me~!" Yan Qing said with a smile after finishing the last sentence, removed the walkie-talkie, disappeared, and quietly left.
"Hmm? Even that prodigal son has betrayed me..." the First Emperor murmured.
"Well? Even those who call you a descendant of the Ancestral Dragon don't seem to be an impenetrable wall, not all of them acknowledging you. What do you think, King Ying Zheng of Qin!" Jing Ke said sarcastically.
The First Emperor flicked his long, black robe and said, "Hmph! Do you think I'm still the same mortal I was more than two thousand years ago, the one you chased around the pillars in front of your palace? Even if you killed me then, I've survived until now. In these two thousand years, there have been tens of thousands of treacherous officials all over the world who have tried to overthrow me through uprisings, religious movements, or populism."
Unfortunately, they lacked the talent to manage this world. Entrusting it to them would only have led to a cycle of unification and division, so I suppressed them all.
This time it won't take much more effort; even if you shut off the power supply, the backup power will automatically connect in just three minutes."
Taking advantage of Qin Liangyu's carelessness, Jing Ke, who had switched identities with Yan Qing, hacked the tower's security system. Before the Assassins' attack, all the defenses were disabled, and the First Emperor temporarily lost control of the tower. This was an assassination attempt that could only be carried out by infiltrating the tower.
Although the First Emperor was constantly improving his own abilities, from mechanical cultivation to bio-engineered immortality, and now to conquering parallel worlds, Jing Ke's assassination attempts were also constantly evolving.
The failure back then was due to Prince Dan, who was generous but lacked the ability to judge character and could not trust the subordinates he entrusted. As the journey approached, he thought that Jing Ke, who was waiting for help, would desert at the last minute, so he invited Qin Wuyang, who had been skilled in killing since childhood and was known as a ruthless killer, to go ahead.
Jing Ke could only set off in anger, even though her plans had been disrupted. She had to complete this assassination mission with almost zero success rate, because it was all part of her agreement with Tian Guang. She had been entertained by Prince Dan, so naturally she had to pay for it. Thus, when the musician Gao Jianli saw her off...
When Qin Wuyang arrived at the palace to present the map, he found that the person wielding the sharp blade was not him, but the Qin guards surrounding him. He was no longer a murderous demon, but a lamb to the slaughter. Faced with real danger, he trembled all over, unable to move, and was of no use whatsoever. Instead, he aroused suspicion throughout the Qin Dynasty.
Jing Ke could only step forward alone to present the map, but in the end, he still failed.
But now she has made thorough preparations and has found a dozen or so trustworthy helpers.
"Since we've already drunk Sister Jing Ke's wine, there's nothing we can do about it," said the burly young man.
"If that's the case, then an old man like me, who can only hide in the shadows and eke out a living, would have no chance of surviving no matter what," the white-haired old man said with a loud laugh.
"Zhuan Zhu, Nie Zheng, Yu Rang, Jing Ke! The Four Great Assassins of China! I never thought I'd be able to carry out a mission with one of them. I just didn't expect Jing Ke to be a woman. But her carefree spirit and her rainbow-like courage are undeniable. Being able to carry out a mission with such a person, my life is truly worthwhile!" The burly man with the thick beard said with a hearty laugh.
At the same time, while the assassins were holding back the First Emperor, Jing Ke leaped high into the air, jumped onto the mechanical arm, and quickly attached electronic jamming bombs to various key parts of the body.
"Understood! All for freedom!" The assassins charged towards the First Emperor.
The assassins, wielding daggers, leaped high and charged forward, just as the killers had attacked Caesar in the council chamber years before, determined to plunge their blades into the First Emperor's body.
"Hmph! You few dared to plot such a thing right under my nose... But do you think you could kill me with an attack of this magnitude?!" the First Emperor roared.
"Waaaaaah!!!"
Even without the mechanisms of the Tower to the Sky and the armed forces outside, the First Emperor was still an immortal, still the most supreme immortal being.
This immortal body originated from the True Ancestor of a world. By persuading the other party to cooperate in research, and then using biochemical science and the artificial human creation technology of the immortals of the Yin Shang dynasties, this immortal body was finally created, and the True Ancestor's original blood-sucking impulse was also overcome.
With a wave of his hand, the First Emperor summoned countless silver beads that filled the entire space, blasting away the rushing assassins. The ever-changing mercury, like an upgraded version of the Moon Spirit Marrow Fluid, tried to wrap their hands and feet, sticking them to the walls like bubblegum.
"Hmph!"
"Hehehe!"
The subdued assassins showed no fear or remorse; they had already prepared themselves for what was to come, and instead, they smiled.
"What!?" The First Emperor had just dealt with the assassins when he realized something was wrong.
Three minutes had passed! The lights around the top platform came on, the steel gates opened again, and the armed forces rushed in, their guns pointed at the assassin group and the contestants. And that Noble Phantasm- level mechanical arm once again emitted a golden light.
When the power was reconnected, the mechanical arm rose high, emitting a golden light, but soon began to emit gray smoke, crackling with electricity and making strange hissing sounds. The golden light of the mechanical giant arm dissipated once again, and a burnt smell emanated from within; it was beyond repair.
"Excellent! Thanks to that Pharaoh's attack earlier! This mechanical giant arm is even more thoroughly damaged than I imagined!" Jing Ke said with a smile.
Chapter 477 Assassination of the Qin Emperor
"This is truly a problem. If this happens, the country's towers won't be able to provide enough protection when foreign enemies invade. Oh well, in a world destined for destruction, truly dangerous alien forces probably wouldn't even bother with it. All that's left is internal strife, which isn't worth mentioning either; we can just spend time suppressing it." The First Emperor looked at his destroyed arm, then turned to Jing Ke and said.
"Speaking of which, Jing Qing, even though I invited you to join the Tower to the Sky many times, you still chose to betray me? This is unacceptable. Although my heart is broad enough to encompass the stars and the sea, it cannot tolerate traitors."
"Oh, I'm really sorry. Using spies is a method that has existed since ancient times, and I never intended to serve anyone in the first place. Kings and princes are all two-faced, so troublesome." Jing Ke said with a cynical smile.
"The world is so vast. Rather than being part of the ruling class, I'd rather be like Little Yi, traveling and seeing the world. I want to appreciate the scenery, interact with the locals, and if we get along, I'll invite them for drinks. When you're traveling, it's all about friendship and loyalty. It's simply a matter of you helping me and me helping you. If it's worth it, I'd be willing to sacrifice my life for it."
The First Emperor spoke in a majestic voice, "Freedom also needs limits. Without laws to maintain order, humanity is not capable of sustaining itself on the right path through its own self-awareness!"
Law is the procedure for maintaining the stable operation of the world. Jing Qing, you think you have untied the ropes binding people and given all mankind freedom. But you have forgotten that this is also untying the shackles of evil people.
Because no action constitutes a crime, evil people can do whatever they want. Because there are no regulations against taking away the fruits of others' labor, ownership of houses, cars, spouses, and children cannot be guaranteed. Excessive permissiveness will eventually harm others, and also harm oneself.
"Ah, that's why I won't become the ruler! I will choose a more humane being to lead humanity and rebuild our home. But! That will never be a tyrannical Qin like you! In China alone, there are thirty million children between the ages of eight and sixteen who have been abandoned by you!"
Because children at this age have become aware of their own identity, they no longer easily obey adults' orders, nor can they rationally accept your arrangements.
"Just because of this! You abandoned these children! Leaving them in a dangerous area that's mostly submerged by seawater, constantly threatened by tsunamis and earthquakes." Jing Ke glared at the First Emperor and said.
"I have said that this world is on the verge of destruction, and even I cannot protect everyone," the First Emperor said coldly.
"No! That's not the problem! When disaster strikes, everyone is in danger and only cares about themselves. Even their families are hard to protect, which is unavoidable. But no one's sacrifice can be called necessary! If there is an opportunity, it's good to save a life, but you abandoned them from the very beginning! So! I can't agree with you!" Jing Ke said in a deep voice.
"You are merely being sentimental, truly a sinner with a corrupt mind. Even seeing the modern world and looking towards the distant future cannot change your heart. But Jing Ke, even when facing my mortal body, your assassination attempt failed. Now I have obtained the technology of immortals, gained an immortal body, and possess the perfect flesh and blood of immortals. I can also switch naturally between steel technology and the body of immortals."
The Emperor I am now is completely different from the one I was in the past. Having learned from past lessons, I have made changes.
If my past position of being above the imperial court has created a distance between me and the common people, leading to misunderstandings about my laws, then I can use technology to communicate directly with every corner of the world.
If I, because of my invincible, immortal body of steel, am too lofty and dazzling, too righteous, and thus have neglected to guide the will of the people's hearts, then now, using this immortal body, I grant people the opportunity to confide in me and communicate with each other."
I was once opposed to the ideas of Confucian scholar.
Because they admired the corrupt Zhou Dynasty, which advocated education for all and aimed to enlighten the people, hoping that everyone in the world could learn the philosophies of the ancient sages.
However, it is human nature to think more, and the more disagreements arise. The more one possesses, the greater one's desires become.
The more they teach people to be polite and moral, the more immorality arises.
The more people tend towards self-centeredness, the more they tend towards division. People divide the world into mountains, oceans, and forests; divide a continent into countries; divide the people of a country into multiple ethnic groups; and within the same ethnic group, they constantly differentiate themselves according to region. In a company or a class, people are always making distinctions and creating divisions.
If one always sees the world as divided, even the most outstanding individuals will lack conviction, and the world they perceive will become bleak and lifeless.
Once upon a time, people's thoughts were pure and simple. They lived in the same sky and earth, sharing the same environment with other animals. They had no excessive desires, and would never poach or kill indiscriminately. All their actions were simply to keep themselves warm and have enough to eat.
Indeed, I previously thought that allowing the people to return to their original state, to live carefree lives without feeling pain, would be the greatest blessing.
"However, when I see the civilizations developed by the people from the world of Pan-Human History, they do indeed reveal a brilliance that my peaceful and prosperous reign lacks. Now I am also reflecting on this, hoping to bring more happiness to the people."
"Listen up, gentlemen! From this day forward, I will begin a comprehensive reform of all Tower to the Sky. I will allocate the world's remaining resources in a planned manner, restoring humanity's unrestrained and excessive lifestyle, which has strayed from the right path, back to the right track."
According to research, since the prosperity brought about by rapid human growth in the late 20th century, various problems have begun to emerge. Since the Industrial Revolution, the gap between the rich and poor has widened again.
Discrimination and harassment based on race and gender;
Abuse of power, tax evasion;
Aging population, declining birth rate, and global warming;
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and food safety;
Violence, prejudice, and indifference brought about war;
However, once you live inside the Tower to the Sky, none of these problems will remain.
From then on, people will no longer be troubled by the widening gap between the rich and the poor, and the poor and the rich will enjoy the same medical care.
Children can receive the same education, whether they are children in first-tier cities or children in the mountains. They can all hire foreign teachers and access the latest teaching materials through computers, and talent can be cultivated and selected in a fair manner.
Upon reaching the age of eighteen, every able-bodied person must serve a five-year military service for the world, undergo three years of training, and then go out into the outside world for two years to explore and collect resources, preparing for the future of humanity.
Once they return from their missions, the Tower will assign them suitable jobs, arrange spouses for them, and help them get married and have children.
As long as they can contribute to the world, everything they need for life will be provided by the Tower. Even if something happens to them, the Tower will raise their children and care for their parents.
If everyone works for me and I work for everyone, and we integrate all resources to act for the continuation of humanity, then humanity can survive in the Tower to the Sky for thousands of years. This is based on the results of supercomputers, and there is no doubt about it. In fact, just three hundred years would be enough to develop the equipment to relocate a billion people to Mars.
"I see..." The people around him looked enlightened upon hearing the plan.
"Although we have to give up a lot, if it can allow humanity to continue for a thousand years, then it's all worth it." Even those who hadn't expressed their opinions before began to ponder, seemingly convinced by the First Emperor's plan.
The First Emperor looked at Jing Ke and said, "What do you think, Jing Ke?"