"System notice! You have successfully tamed the Black Forest Horse King."
"System notice! You have gained 50 Battle Merits for subduing a leader-level creature."
In the end, the Black Forest Horse King chose to submit. Zhao Fu had successfully tamed it, and he was quite pleased. He opened the Black Forest Horse King's stats.
[Black Forest Horse King] (Leader)
Level: Stage 4
Potential: S
Attributes: Strength: 10 Intelligence: 9 Agility: 21 Constitution: 14
Skills: Horse King Deterrence (causes all ordinary horses to feel fear and even submit), Nightmare Dash (allows it to run at extremely high speed).
After looking over its stats, Zhao Fu felt that the Black Forest Horse King was only somewhat different from Little Gray in terms of attributes; otherwise, they seemed about the same. He had the rope around its neck loosened. The others were delighted to learn that the Black Forest Horse King had been tamed, and then each went to choose a horse they liked.
Zhao Fu went alone to the Black Forest Horse's nest. He reached out and touched the horse-shaped stone carving floating in midair, receiving a set of information.
[Black Forest Horse Nest] (Basic 1400/5000) Quality: White. Description: The nest of the Black Forest Horse. Refreshes 2–5 Black Forest Horses each day.
After reading the information, Zhao Fu thought that, barring any surprises, the Black Forest Horse would become Great Qin's main warhorse. One day, it would follow Great Qin as it swept across the world.
He chose to occupy the nest, then selected migration. He received 50 Battle Merits and 140 experience. Zhao Fu now had 463 Battle Merits and needed 37 more to be promoted to a Common Citizen.
The matter of the Black Forest Horses had ended perfectly. In total, they had captured 324 horses. Zhao Fu had 600 soldiers, so he selected 200 of them to transfer into Cavalry. For now, that was all the Cavalry they would have. Great Qin Village had now been upgraded to a Mid-Level Village, and its population refreshed by 24–29 people each day.
He would wait for the population to refresh before adding more Cavalry. Instead, he would expand the other three troop types, keeping each at roughly the same proportion.
As usual, after finishing his business in Apocalypse World, Zhao Fu returned to the real world. He had planned to boil some water and make instant noodles, but suddenly heard a knock at the door. Feeling curious, he opened it.
Several people stood outside: one woman and four men. The woman wore a suit jacket and skirt, glasses, and held a folder. She was quite attractive. The four men were also dressed in suits, and looked strong and imposing. They didn't seem like ordinary people.
The moment Zhao Fu opened the door, he grew wary. "What do you want?"
The woman smiled slightly and introduced herself. "Hello, I'm Ji Qin, an employee of the Ying Group. Are you Zhao Fu, Zhao Meiling's son?"
At that, Zhao Fu felt even more strongly that something was up. He figured that since they had already tracked him down, there was no point trying to hide it. He nodded to confirm.
After Zhao Fu answered, Ji Qin spoke again. "Mr. Zhao, you have Ying Family blood. According to the orders issued by the Ying Corporation, we'd like you to return to the Ying family. Don't worry, we won't hurt you. This is a good thing. You won't have to do anything in the Ying family, and we'll provide you with a better life."
Hearing Ji Qin's words, Zhao Fu immediately understood. The great families were now reclaiming blood relatives who had been living outside the family. After all, they were still family, and having more of their bloodline represented would be very helpful in the future and further strengthen a massive corporation.
The Ying Group had come looking for him because someone on his mother's side had gone to claim their ancestry. More specifically, his maternal grandparents and the relatives connected to them must all have Ying Family blood.
Now that everyone had entered Apocalypse World, bloodline notifications were appearing. The Ying Family was also offering such generous benefits, so those relatives had gone to reclaim their heritage, which had exposed the fact that Zhao Fu also carried Ying Family blood.
At that moment, Zhao Fu understood everything. His expression settled, and he declined. "There's no need. I'm doing fine on my own."
Hearing Zhao Fu's answer, Ji Qin smiled again, but her manner changed and grew somewhat forceful. "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhao, but this is a mandatory order from the Ying Corporation. All descendants with Ying Family blood must return to their ancestral family."
Zhao Fu frowned. They were far too overbearing, forcing him to return to the family. But then he thought that perhaps they had been unable to find the Great Qin Legacy holder for so long and were nearly going mad, so they were trying this method to find him.
Zhao Fu had only two choices: go with them to the Ying family or run away.
The second option might not work. If he ran, wouldn't that make him seem even more suspicious? And with his abilities, he couldn't evade the search of a massive family. They might catch him in the end anyway. He might as well choose the first option.
So Zhao Fu cooperatively nodded and agreed. "All right. Could you wait a moment while I pack?"
Seeing Zhao Fu so cooperative this time, Ji Qin smiled amiably and nodded.
Back in his room, Zhao Fu looked around and felt there was nothing much worth taking. He picked up a backpack, packed a few clothes and, most importantly, the Apocalypse Stone, then left with Ji Qin.
At the Li Family villa, the steward had been keeping an eye on Zhao Fu's whereabouts. So as soon as the Ying Family took him away, the steward received the news and reported it to the head of the Li Family, Li Feng—the old man from before.
Hearing the news, Li Feng grew angry, then let out a heavy sigh. "I never thought he would have the blood of the Great Qin Ying Family. If I'd known this back then, having Zhe'er marry her might not have been a bad idea. We might even have had a chance to cooperate with the Ying Family."
But then Li Feng's gaze turned cold. That bastard, with his temperament and abilities, would surely secure a good position in the Ying Family.
Zhao Fu had already become a threat to the Li Family. Rather than let him set traps for them and hinder the family's development—or even endanger his precious grandson, the future ruler of the Great Tang Empire—Li Feng could only kill him now to eliminate the threat.
Of course, killing Zhao Fu now could also offend the Ying Family. So Li Feng looked grave as he instructed the steward, "Have someone else handle this. Make sure no information about the Li Family leaks out, or it'll cause us considerable trouble. The Great Qin Ying Family may not have found the heir to the legacy yet, but they're one of the Five Great Families. They're not to be trifled with!"
The steward nodded solemnly, then followed Li Feng's orders and left the room to find an assassin to kill Zhao Fu.
Meanwhile, Zhao Fu was astonished by the Ying Family's wealth and influence. They took a private plane, along with several other descendants who had been found and also carried Ying Family blood, to fly to the Ying Family's headquarters in Nankou City.