Chapter 303
370 Kazimierz Knight Competition 4K
The bonfire party on New Year's Eve lasted until after 2 a. m. Except for a few members of the Qianyan Army on duty, everyone else happily drifted off to sleep.
At eight o'clock in the morning, Shi Lei was reading in his bedroom.
With his physical abilities, he could easily hear sounds coming from the building diagonally opposite. At that moment, a soldier from the Qianyan Army arrived to report the situation, but was stopped by two other colleagues:
"What are you doing? Why are you in such a panic?"
"Sorry, I was in a bit of a rush. There were just seventy or eighty Sarkaz outside who wanted to enter the city. I remembered that the leader was here, so I rushed over to report."
Qianyan Army's explanation was not accepted by the two guards, who remained blocking the entrance downstairs.
"Are you out of your mind? You came here for something like this? The leader didn't go to sleep until after 2 a. m. last night, and he's probably still asleep. If you don't know how to solve the problem of entering the city, go find Patriot, why are you coming to the leader?"
"Exactly, hasn't the leader done enough for us? Why bother him with such trivial matters?"
Qianyan Army found this reasonable and humbly accepted it.
"I'm sorry, it was my fault. I just woke up this morning and didn't realize what was happening. I'll go find Patriot right now."
Upon hearing that the two guards had intercepted the report, Shi Lei did not intend to show himself to investigate.
Now he has built Liyue City, bringing everyone all kinds of necessities for daily life, as well as seeds for crops. He's practically acting as both father and mother.
For minor matters like people coming to seek refuge, Qianyan Army can handle them himself. There's no need to report to him and do everything personally.
At 9:30 a. m., Shi Lei heard people opening their doors one after another. He quickly tidied his appearance in front of the full-length mirror, then opened the door to offer his New Year's greetings.
Happy New Year!
Texas stepped out of the room, turned around, and heard him greet her. She was overjoyed.
The first thing I saw in the new year was Shi Lei – what a good omen!
"You too, come on, let's go have breakfast."
"Um."
The two met Lisa, Surtr, and Mudrock in the public dining hall and exchanged blessings with each other.
Exusiai and Croissant didn't come; they're probably fast asleep, so I won't wake them. It's Chinese New Year, no work anyway, so I can sleep as long as I want.
The group sat down to eat breakfast, and not long after, Shi Lei heard Broca's heavy footsteps.
He raised his hand and put the mask back on his face. The others didn't know what was happening, but they soon got the answer.
Patriot led Miss W and Miss Ines, who had come to seek refuge, to the public dining hall to ask for instructions.
"Your Excellency, I have something to discuss with you. I hope I haven't disturbed your meal."
Shi Lei ate his bread, knowing full well the answer, and asked:
"Yes, what is it? Tell me."
"W's Sarkaz team is a force to be reckoned with. They used to be Rhodes Island, but have since left. Unlike the other cadres, they never oppress the people."
"I wish to ask Your Excellency, may I incorporate them into the Qianyan Army and serve as my adjutant?"
In fact, after parting ways with Heredrey, W, like Ines, also went their separate ways and went to different places.
Ines wanted to bring her subordinates to Liyue City, while W wanted to contact Rhodes Island first.
However, when she actually arrived at the This Ship, she was greatly disappointed.
First, there's the Doctor, who was originally incredibly intelligent, but for some reason, he lost a lot of his memories. Looking at his clear eyes under his hood, W always felt that he was a bit unreliable.
After all, this guy was tricked by Theresis before and almost became a true ghost of the Babel. Now he's in an amnesiac version, so it's hard to have any expectations for him.
Later, she went to see Doctor Kal'tsit. However, the attitude the doctor displayed greatly displeased W.
When the topic turned to Theresia, she could sense that Kal'tsit was somewhat distracted. It seemed she had no interest whatsoever in seeking revenge for Her Empress.
This left W feeling uneasy, and the more they talked, the more he felt there was no point in exchanging more words. So he decisively ended the conversation and stopped mentioning the cooperation with Rhodes Island.
What W didn't know was that Kal'tsit was so busy with the Doctor's affairs that she was overwhelmed with work.
As the behind-the-scenes leader of Rhodes Island, she not only had to expedite the loading of supplies onto the ship and leave Lungmen as soon as possible, but also constantly monitor the amnesiac the Doctor.
Due to the soul restriction placed by Priestess, Kal'tsit cannot reveal anything about the Pre-Civilization to the Doctor. Out of caution, she will observe the Doctor for a long time before deciding whether to take him to the Underground Space of Trimon to find the Guardian and learn the 'truth'.
In Kal'tsit's mind, the survival of the Pre-Civilization was the highest priority. In terms of importance, it was a hundred times greater than avenging the Sarkaz Empress. Furthermore, since W couldn't understand her cryptic hints, she could only give a perfunctory answer.
One of them is a riddle teller, and the other keeps everything bottled up inside. If they continue to communicate, they will only end up failing to achieve any cooperation.
Later, when W left the This Ship, she encountered Scout, a former colleague of Babel. Scout was a Sarkaz sniper and stealth master whom she greatly admired.
Upon learning that W did not intend to stay on Rhodes Island, Scout recommended a good place for her— Liyue City.
W initially had low expectations for the city, finding it unappealing. However, Scout's strong recommendation has made her take it more seriously.
He quickly led his Sarkaz men on a forced march of over 100 kilometers to catch up with Ines's army.
The two enemies, separated for less than three days, reunited and joined forces to come to Liyue City.
Listening to the Patriot praising them, Shi Lei nodded in agreement. Gaining his approval meant he possessed a certain level of ability.
"Alright, it will be as you say. You will be in charge of everything after I take you into the Qianyan Army. Is there anything else? If not, you may leave."
"Your Excellency, I apologize for disturbing your meal. I have nothing else to do, I will take them to the military camp now."
As W left, he glanced back one last time.
However, she wasn't looking at Shi Lei, but at the white-haired Mudrock and the red-haired Surtr.
Scout, a senior member of the Sarkaz community, said that Liyue City might be the only hope for the Sarkaz to pursue freedom in the future. Whether this is true or not, only time will tell.
Shi Lei and the others stayed in Liyue City until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month before reluctantly returning to Lungmen. Mainly because Lisa was about to start school, otherwise they could have stayed a few more days.
When he landed safely, he immediately noticed the gifts piled up at the entrance of Warehouse No. 2.
Judging from the signatures, the gift givers were Wei Yenwu, Lin Gerei, Chen, and Swire.
Shi Lei also discovered Lappland's gift, only then realizing that she visits Lungmen every year for the Spring Festival. It was a pity that they missed it this time because they hadn't been notified beforehand.
Afterwards, Shi Lei called each of them to express his gratitude.
If asked where they're going, just say they're going to Liyue City. If they don't ask, then don't mention it.
In the past, staying in Lungmen during the Lunar New Year could be explained as not wanting to go home because one was working hard away from home. Now that Liyue City has come into the public eye, it's reasonable to go there for a visit.
The Messenger waited until after the New Year to return to work, but had nothing to do.
The number of orders Penguin Logistics receives is decreasing year by year.
The main reason is that Shi Lei has cleaned up the unstable factors in the Upper City and Lower City of Lungmen. For ordinary requests, there's no need to ask him for help.
Moreover, the Emperor is wealthy, so it's fine for him to pay his employees salaries without any problems. Everyone eats and drinks every day, occasionally checking on Liyue, and is in a very pleasant mood.
There was nothing particularly noteworthy in international news.
After wiping out the two families to complete his mission, Ursus pretended to be dead and did not take any further action.
In fact, the internal conflicts in Ursus had reached a very acute point. If the middle class and the lower classes hadn't turned their anger towards the infected, they might have risen up in rebellion and overthrown the dynasty at any time.
The emperor of Ursus wanted to implement reforms, but this would threaten the interests of the aristocratic class, leading to numerous difficulties.
If war breaks out with the Yan, he cannot possibly send over 100,000 personal guards to the front. If the capital's defenses are weak, it would be easy for some Duke to take the opportunity to betray the country. Therefore, he can only use titles and fiefs as bait to entice some Earl and Marquis to confront the Yan's army.
But these teams have such uneven skill levels. Do they really have the ability to compete with Yan?
Therefore, upon learning the truth, the Emperor of Ursus berated the military generals involved, dismissed several generals, and began to adopt a more conservative foreign policy.
The situation was similar in Lungmen. Both sides tacitly avoided mentioning the riot again.
Nearly two months have passed since the promotional video for Liyue City was released. Only five or six hundred people have come seeking refuge.
Shi Lei didn't launch a massive advertising campaign, because that would be pointless. Peace-loving people can come if they want, and they don't have to if they don't.
All residents who came to Liyue City were assigned to live in the Outer City. They earned food by cultivating land, cleaning streets, or raising Kun beasts.
They had no objections to this method of resource distribution. As long as they worked, they would have food to eat, which was much better than what they might not even get to eat even if they worked outside.
Moreover, they don't do heavy work, and they work less than eight hours a day. If they complain about this, they're just parasites.
In mid-March, Shi Lei arrived in Trimon.
Find Christensen, the Director General of Rhine Lab, and order a batch of signal amplifiers. That way, he won't miss calls from Lungmen while he's in Liyue City.
Liyue City doesn't need to build Signal Base Station; it can simply rely on Lungmen's. Building a base station high in the mountains would pose certain safety risks during thunderstorms.
Shi Lei now purchases many pieces of equipment from Trimon to avoid Wei Yenwu finding out and discovering anything, which could cause unnecessary trouble.
When he came to collect the goods in late March, he also received a batch of high-altitude drones that were not available on the market.
Christensen, using funds from the Ministry of Defense, developed drones capable of flying at altitudes of five to six thousand meters. She then gave away all the obsolete models that couldn't reach that height to Shi Lei for free. These devices could be used to ambush and guard blind spots unseen by the Qianyan Army, preventing enemy attacks.
Moreover, drones consume little power and are sometimes more reliable than human operators.
Shi Lei checked the list and found that several electrical appliances were missing. Christensen apologized profusely and suggested that he purchase them from the Kazimierz Commercial Union.
They have a wide variety of goods available there, and rare items can be secured with advance booking. Christen said that helping with purchases occasionally was fine, but doing it too often could arouse investigation and suspicion from the Columbia government.
Shi Lei knew this wasn't an excuse. The Ministry of Defense had invested hundreds of billions in Rhine Lab for the 'Horizon Arc' project, nearly emptying the national treasury.
It's perfectly reasonable for them to have someone monitor Christen. If their purchasing actions make things difficult for her, there's no need to ask her to do the purchasing for them.
Shi Lei didn't make things difficult for Kristen, and began purchasing various supplies in Kazimierz in late March. Flying back to Liyue City from here was actually closer in a straight line.
To facilitate procurement, Shi Lei bought dozens of warehouses in Kazimierz and invested heavily to register and open a warehouse management company called 'Jade Chamber'.
It must be said that the Commercial Union is indeed quite efficient. As long as you have the money, you can buy any equipment and Building Materials that Liyue City needs here.
If there's a shortage of goods, adding more money can solve the problem. If you still can't get them, it just means you didn't offer enough money.
Time flies, and June has arrived.
The 24th Kazimierz Knight Competition began its season qualifiers in early June.
After seventy-two years of changes, the Knight Competition has become an important part of Kazimierz.
Kazimierz, a nation renowned for its 'Knight Competition' on the Terra, boasts a highly sophisticated business model. The Kazimierz Knight Competition, held every three years, is a prime opportunity for Knight to showcase their skills and for the Commercial Union to rake in profits.
The Kazimierz Knight Competition has two phases: the 'Season Selection' held in June and the 'Special Tournament' held in July and August.
At that time, dozens of Knight orders from all over Kazimierz will participate in this grand competition.
The 'Season Selection' is essentially an individual competition, and theoretically, anyone can register to participate. Whether you are a member of the Knight Order or an untitled independent Knight, you can participate. Even Infected Knight can register.
When talking about competition, betting odds are naturally indispensable.
In late June, Shi Lei arrived in Cavaleria, a city in the Grand Knight Territory. He would stay there for a few days while waiting for merchants to arrange the goods.
On his way to the library, Shi Lei saw many sports betting outlets. In popular areas like the city center, there could be three or four betting outlets on a single street.
Even so, long queues still formed at the store, demonstrating just how popular Knight Competition is in Kazimierz.
The light boxes and banners throughout the streets and alleys were filled with information about Knight from various Knight orders and their promotional slogans. The aim was to guide the city's residents to place bets on Knight Competition.
The citizens of Kazimierz placed bets simply to make money. But money held no appeal for Shi Lei, so he naturally had no desire to buy anything.
He didn't have a single Lungmen Dollars in his pocket.
On June 24th, Shi Lei left the library, carrying a large stack of books, heading towards his Star Hotel. But as he crossed the intersection, he heard someone calling his name:
"Hey, Doctor Zhong, what are you doing here?"
Shi Lei turned around at the sound and saw it was Miss. Dobermann, Operator from Rhodes Island. Her presence here meant that the people from Rhodes Island were most likely nearby as well.
"Hehe, what a coincidence. I'm here on a business trip and will be leaving in a few days. What about you?"
371 3K of "Married Woman's Charm"
Unlike the outfit Shi Lei had seen on Rhodes Island, Dobermann was dressed in work clothes today.
Her long, black hair cascaded smoothly down her back, and a grey leather cloak was elegantly draped over her left shoulder. The brown leather gloves she wore on her hands completely concealed the Originium crystal on her skin.
If we hadn't known Dobermann's identity beforehand, we wouldn't have been able to tell with the naked eye that she was an infected person.