" Ling Yi, do you know what this news means?" Wu Yingyuan said in a deep voice.
"I have no reason to lie to you. Once Zhu Ji is rescued, you can ask her yourselves. I believe you should be well aware of the consequences if Lü Buwei finds out about this."
Ling Yi's words extinguished Wu Yingyuan's last shred of hope.
"Yes!" Wu Yingyuan's voice was somewhat dejected. "I, Wu Yingyuan, have been away from the State of Qin land of Qin for twenty years, and now I'm afraid I'll never be able to return home."
Tao Fang asked, "Brother Ling Yi, what is your purpose in telling us all this today?"
" Zhao Zheng cannot die," Ling Yi said slowly.
These words startled Wu Yingyuan and Tao Fang, who were momentarily speechless.
"No one knows about what happened in Niu Family Village except for a few people, and Zhu Ji has been separated from her son for more than ten years, so she probably doesn't even remember what Zhao Zheng looks like."
Wu Yingyuan's pupils contracted, and he exclaimed in shock, "To take their place? This, this is absolutely unacceptable! If we do that, wouldn't the foundation of our Great Qin be handed over to someone of a different surname?"
Ling Yi ignored Wu Yingyuan's reaction and said to himself, "From now on, I am Zhao Zheng."
Wu Yingyuan and Tao Fang were even more shocked. Could Ling Yi really have such ambitions?
"You can decide for yourselves. Tomorrow evening, I will be waiting for Lord Wu at the manor." Ling Yi finished speaking and turned to leave.
Watching Ling Yi's departing figure, Wu Yingyuan and Tao Fang were still in shock and unable to recover.
"Father, are we really Qin people?" a voice rang out from outside the door.
" Fang'er, what are you doing here?" Wu Yingyuan asked, coming back to his senses.
Seeing Wu Tingfang's serious expression, Wu Yingyuan sighed and said, "Yes, we are Qin people, this matter must not be spread."
" Fang'er knows."
Wu Yingyuan then told Wu Tingfang about his relationship with Lü Buwei and his Concealment agent in the State of Zhao.
"Master, what should we do now? That Ling Yi..."
"You may all leave now. I need to think this over carefully."
The next morning, Yuan Zong led nearly a hundred Mohist School swordsmen to Ling Yi's manor. Around noon, Cao Qiudao also arrived with six assassins.
Yuan Zong hadn't expected that Ling Yi could even persuade Cao Qiudao.
Yuan Zong didn't have a good impression of Cao Qiudao, but he didn't say much. He also knew that Ling Yi's task was too big and would definitely require Unification available forces.
In the afternoon, Shan Rou returned from Niu Family Village.
Upon seeing Cao Qiudao, Shan Rou was visibly taken aback, while Cao Qiudao seemed to have forgotten about Shan Rou's betrayal and greeted her with a smile.
" Shan Rou, you have good judgment. Following Ling Yi will definitely lead to a brighter future," Cao Qiudao said with a smile.
Now that we're on the same side, I hope you can let bygones be bygones.
Although Cao Qiudao was very polite, Shan Rou remained wary of him; she knew all too well what kind of person her master was.
"My relationship with the Sword Saint is merely a partnership; once the partnership ends, we will have no further connection."
"That's right. I wonder when our transaction will begin?"
"I want you to Thrusting Marquis Taiping, Zhao Pan."
Ling Yi needed to probe Zhao Pan's background, or rather, to find out what Zhao Pan's cheat abilities were. Of course, it would be best if Cao Qiudao could kill Zhao Pan, but even if he couldn't, his own people wouldn't suffer any losses.
Without knowing Zhao Pan's background, Ling Yi wouldn't let Shan Rou and the others confront Zhao Pan head-on, but Cao Qiudao would be a good choice.
Even if he died, Ling Yi wouldn't care.
"Marquis Taiping Zhao Pan? Very well, I hope you will keep your word." After saying this, Cao Qiudao left with his men.
"This man cannot be trusted!" Yuan Zong said.
"It's unbelievable. This person is cunning and calculating," Shan Rou nodded.
"It's alright." Ling Yi didn't care at all.
Ling Yi knew perfectly well what Cao Qiudao was thinking. He might covet Ling Yi's martial arts techniques, but that was probably not all. He probably also saw that Ling Yi was going to do something big and wanted to join his group.
"Is Zhao Pan any different? Why send Cao Qiudao to Thrusting the Marquis of Taiping? From what I understand, the Marquis of Taiping has a fairly good reputation." Yuan Zong asked, staring at Ling Yi.
"I'll give you an explanation later," Ling Yi said expressionlessly.
"That would be best!" Yuan Zong nodded. He had already seen Ling Yi's dissatisfaction, but he held firm to his own principles. He did not want his Mohist School to become a tool for aiding and abetting evil.
Ling Yi was indeed somewhat dissatisfied. Yuan Zong was too principled in his actions. Such a person could only become a chivalrous knight, but Facheng a general who could fight on the battlefield.
Kindness is helpless, but in this era, kindness seems rather Tianzhen and laughable.
Ling Yi had already defined Yuan Zong's role: he was not good at expanding territory, but he was best suited for defending cities.
"How is the situation in Niu Family Village?" Ling Yi asked Shan Rou.
"As you predicted, Niu Zheng is indeed dead, and these are all his belongings."
Shan Rou took out a silk handkerchief and a white jade thumb ring from her bosom.
Ling Yi took it and nodded in satisfaction.
"With these, that's enough. Now everything is ready; we just need the final push."
At that moment, Yuan Zong suddenly raised the black wooden sword and slammed it down on Ling Yi.
"Buzz!"
The black wooden sword Air Breaking, heading straight for Ling Yi's forehead.
Shan Rou was shocked. Without thinking, she drew her short sword to defend herself, but Yuan Zong's sword was fast and urgent, and Shan Rou was too far away to defend herself in time.
What puzzled Shan Rou was that Ling Yi didn't make the slightest movement; he simply looked up quietly at the black sword tip pointing at his forehead.
"Bang!"
The black wooden sword did not hit Ling Yi; to be precise, it stopped a few centimeters above Ling Yi's head.
" Dingdang!"
A black, fly-sized object fell from the sky and landed right in the Bronze wine vessel in front of Ling Yi, making a crisp metallic clang.
"What composure!" Yuan Zong exclaimed.
"Good eye!" Ling Yi exclaimed in admiration.
The two then smiled at each other.
Shan Rou frowned, having no idea what had happened.
Ling Yi then used two fingers to pick out the small object that had fallen into the wine bottle.
The miniature drone made Ling Yi's pupils shrink; Zhao Pan's cheat code really did have a technological advantage.
They placed the little thing on the table, and both Shan Rou and Yuan Zong came over to look at it. Shan Rou even fiddled with the short sword in her hand for a bit.
"This is actually a gold artifact!" Shan Rou was astonished when she saw it clearly.
"A mechanical bug!" Yuan Zong frowned.
Just then, Xiang Shaolong returned, Ling Yi said to him, "Come and take a look at this; perhaps you recognize it."
Xiang Shaolong stared at it for a long time, his expression becoming very serious. After a moment, he took out a... magnifying glass from his pocket.
"You want more good stuff?" Ling Yi was a little surprised, as Xiang Shaolong hadn't used a magnifying glass in the original story.
"This is a magnifying glass!" Xiang Shaolong explained.
Using a magnifying glass, this miniature drone was magnified five or six times, instantly revealing every detail clearly.
"It really is a miniature drone. Zhao Pan even has this kind of thing?" Xiang Shaolong naturally suspected Zhao Pan first.
"What is the purpose of this chicken?" Shan Rou asked.
"It's a miniature drone, its purpose is to monitor the target's every move. Simply put, Zhao Pan can see and hear everything we're doing from home."
"What? This is impossible," Shan Rou said in disbelief.
"This thing is technologically advanced. Even in my time, it would have been difficult to make. The main problem is that it's hard to make it this small. In our time, we could only make it the size of a button at most."
After a pause, Xiang Shaolong continued, "That Zhao Pan is definitely not from my era. He's either from a more distant future or from a parallel universe."
Shan Rou and Yuan Zong were completely confused.
Ling Yi took out a dagger and smashed the miniature drone to pieces before saying coldly, "This Zhao Pan must be brought under control."
Xiang Shaolong nodded in agreement, his face grim, and said, "Yes, Zhao Pan already has a modern army equipped with Charge and special forces body armor, and this army also has armored vehicles and machine guns."
"Although the number is small, only a thousand, this team is enough to Sweep everything in this era."
"Since he's already set his sights on us, he'll probably make his move soon. Yuan Zong, immediately send someone out to keep an eye on Zhao Pan's movements."
"Alright!" Although Yuan Zong didn't know what kind of army could Sweep everything away with just a thousand men, he knew the seriousness of the matter. Now was not the time to ask any more questions, so he turned around and ran out.
" Shan Rou, Xiang Shaolong, go find Lord Wu and tell him to prepare."
"What preparations?" Shan Rou asked.
"Be prepared to leave Handan at any time."
"Yes!" Shan Rou and Xiang Shaolong didn't ask any more questions and left Rapid Speed.
Ling Yi, meanwhile, was considering what to do next.
He knew he had some reservations about Zhao Pan.
Although his aura can protect him, it is meaningless if he only protects himself, unless he takes the initiative and personally kills Zhao Pan.
But Yin Wanqing had told him to keep the Protagonist, saying it would be very useful.
Since killing isn't an option, then the only recourse is... to use a cheat code.
When Protagonist fight Protagonist across Across Space, it naturally comes down to whose cheat is stronger. If one Passive Counterattack Aura isn't enough, then they can activate another Passive Pill Aura.
Passive Pill Aura lv1 (Unlocked): Fully automatic alchemy furnace, West City can be refined into Attribute Pill, even a handful of soil can be refined into earth Attribute Pill. In the current world, the maximum attribute value is 100, and the Limit value is 3000.
"Isn't this cheat a bit too shady?" Ling Yi muttered, stroking his chin. Though he said this, a strange smile played on his lips.
In ancient times, did people have to be shameless to use technological cheats? Bah!
They're all Protagonist, and among Protagonist who have cheat codes, none of them have any shame.
Yuan Zong was the first to return, but when he saw the Da Shen in the manor, he was completely stunned...