I Am The Rules

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Zhang Xueming continued to look down, picked up a piece of pork, blew on it, and put it in his mouth.

He scanned the room, his gaze icy.

"Does anyone else have an opinion?"

A reporter with blond hair and blue eyes, who looked like he was from the Sam Country media, bravely stood up.

"General, we received a tip that your troops, in Xingxing Gorge, committed... a massacre against White Bear Country soldiers who had already surrendered."

Another Ying Country reporter also stood up and added.

"Yes, we have reason to suspect that your troops have severely violated basic human rights. What do you have to say about this?"

Zhang Xueming put down his chopsticks and stood up.

He didn't answer the question, just waved his hand at the guards.

"Throw these two out too."

"Tell them this is Fengtian, not their colony. Want to talk about human rights? Go back to your own country and talk about it!"

"On my territory, I make the rules!"

Just as the guards took a step forward, a clear, bright female voice rang out.

"Wait."

It was Lu Xiaoya.

She emerged from the back of the crowd, her high heels clicking on the wooden floor, each step striking a chord in people's hearts.

She stood beside Zhang Xueming, her gaze calmly sweeping over the blond-haired, blue-eyed Ying Country reporter.

"Sir, I will answer your question."

Lu Xiaoya's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to everyone's ears.

"You just mentioned human rights, didn't you?"

She smiled slightly, but there was a hint of coldness in her smile.

"I happen to have read some history. On the European battlefield not long ago, if I recall correctly, it was your country that first used chemical weapons on a large scale. Those gas shells that cause lungs to rot and suffocate people to death in endless agony."

Her voice suddenly turned cold.

"Tens of thousands of soldiers died just like that, victims of their own country's invention. Sir, when your country treats soldiers, who are also human beings, as test subjects, what right do you have to stand here and talk to us about human rights?"

"Are you worthy?"

The last three words landed with a resounding impact.

The Ying Country reporter opened his mouth, his cheeks instantly flushing red, unable to utter a single word in rebuttal.

His colleagues beside him also quickly averted their gazes from Lu Xiaoya.

This was an indelible stain.

Just then, another reporter wearing a hexagonal hat, clearly from the Hexagon Country, felt he had found an opening.

"Well said!"

He first offered a compliment, then his tone shifted, becoming sharp.

"We heard that Huaxia citizens spontaneously donated a total of tens of millions of silver dollars to the Feng Army's Eighth Brigade. This sum is astronomical. May I ask, General Zhang, how do you plan to handle this money? Will it be used for military expenses, or... for other purposes?"

This question was extremely insidious.

If he said it would be used for military expenses, it implied an aggressive military buildup. If he said it would be used elsewhere, it implied embezzlement of public funds. Any answer would be wrong.

All eyes focused on Lu Xiaoya.

Lu Xiaoya, however, smiled.

She looked at the Hexagon Country reporter and said slowly, "Your question reminds me of something, sir reporter."

"At the Paris Peace Conference, your country, as a victor, received enormous reparations from Prussia, correct?"

The Hexagon Country reporter was taken aback and nodded subconsciously.

Lu Xiaoya's smile widened, but her eyes became sharp.

"Then, I would like to ask a question in return. How much of these reparations did your country's government allocate to the families of soldiers who died in the war?"

"They gave their lives for their country. For their families, was the money they received enough to buy a decent tombstone?"

The Hexagon Country reporter's face turned pale in an instant.

He felt a dizzying sensation, as if an invisible hand had gripped his heart, making it difficult to breathe.

"We Chinese people believe in distinguishing clearly between kindness and enmity."

Lu Xiaoya's voice rang out again, clear and firm.

"These tens of millions of silver dollars were earned through the sweat and blood of the elders and folks of the three provinces, and it represents their trust in our army. This money will be used to build our homeland, so that everyone who has shed blood and contributed to this land can live a good life."

"As for how it will be used specifically, that is our Huaxia's domestic affair, and it's not for an outsider like you to worry about."

She paused, looking at his precarious state, and delivered the final blow.

"Or perhaps... you wish to manage our accounts for us Chinese people?"

Thump.

The Hexagon Country reporter's eyes rolled back, and he fell straight backward, nearly passing out on the spot.

The venue descended into chaos.

Just then, a reporter who hadn't spoken a word suddenly stood up. His question, like a dagger coated in poison, struck straight at the heart of the matter.

"Ms. Lu! General Zhang just personally admitted he is a Huaxia soldier! Does this mean the Feng Army has decided to abandon its separatist stance, surrender to the Northern Prefecture, and accept the unified jurisdiction of the central government? Can Huaxia truly welcome genuine peace and unification starting today?"

This question was too deadly.

The entire venue fell silent in an instant.

All the reporters pricked up their ears, their cameras pointed at Lu Xiaoya.