Volume 1, Chapter 54: No Matter What, He Is Just an Outsider

With a sharp, screeching halt, the maddened supercar came to a standstill. A boy wearing a school uniform, with a gloomy expression and eyes burning with fury, stepped out.

"Then why didn't the Japanese troops hold their ground? I'd say even thirty minutes wouldn't have been a problem given their troop strength," Guan Yue said, utterly bewildered.

Zhou Yaowu returned to his quarters with lingering doubts, completely failing to grasp the patriarch's true intentions. Having worked alongside the patriarch for decades, Zhou Yaowu realized he had never truly understood him, nor could he ever fathom what was on his mind. Perhaps only a man like that was fit to be patriarch.

The news reports provided a detailed introduction to Liu Yichen's Liu Family Courtyard and the Liu Family Enterprise. The courtyard went without saying; recently, branches of the Liu Family Courtyard had sprung up in every first-tier city across the Western Empire, and every single location was bustling with explosive business, unable to meet the overwhelming demand.

However, in the aftermath of the Divine War, the thunder-forged dwarves vanished quite mysteriously. It was as if the sole purpose of their existence had been to impart the knowledge they commanded, and upon fulfilling that mission, they simply departed.

Her heart fluttered between a sense of bliss and a poignant sorrow. Tears welled up—a rare occurrence—while she remained unaware that her hand was being gripped so tightly by her beloved that her knuckles had turned white.

"This morning, a destroyer of the Sixth Fleet was sunk off the coast of Sanshe by Chinese fighter and attack planes," Lieutenant General Suzuki Shoroku said helplessly. Before the other staff officers could even collect their wits, the chief of staff had already grasped the situation.

One thunderous name after another made it clear to everyone, friend and foe alike, what the Song dynasty intended: either surrender, or die.

It had just gone nine o'clock. The morning sunlight flooded the entire hospital ward. On the balcony at the far end of the room, Su Hongmei was bending over to cut her son's hair. Her movements might not have been entirely professional, but they were remarkably practiced, clearly honed over years of routine.

Since Leng Yi had promised Qi Yuhang to rescue Qin Keyi's three sworn sisters—Lianhua, Xiehua, and Juehua—he naturally wouldn't drag his feet and had already begun taking action.

The attendant responded respectfully, repeating Su Ziyi's words. Seeing that he had no objections, the servant quietly retreated to deliver the message.

Upon hearing this, Lin Xin was slightly taken aback. Not showing the slightest negative emotion over the derogatory form of address, his expression first shifted to one of wild elation, which then dissolved into a trace of hesitation.

"My master is already waiting for you upstairs. Please follow me, miss..." the man said expressionlessly.

Things seemed to be unfolding precisely as the Zhang brothers had anticipated. Countless boats passed by the Huangpu River every day, yet not a single one docked at the Sanxin Wharf. One day passed without incident, then two. By the third day, Yuan Shanbao could no longer sit still.

"This line of work of yours is better suited for the Green Gang here in Shanghai," Du Yuesheng offered as his advice.

Back in the day, Nie Jingyun had managed to acquire the inner core of the "Blood Qilin" precisely because he and Duan Zhangfeng had ventured together into the marine ruins to explore and uncover secrets.

The next day, after finishing a meal at Liang Huahua's home, Su Mama gathered her belongings and prepared to bid Liang Huahua farewell.

In past eras of warfare, rulers would drive the citizens and captives of enemy nations ahead of them to storm city walls. Taking the city was a delightful bonus; failing to do so meant those unfortunates could simply be used as cannon fodder to exhaust the defenders' strength. To possess such cunning was truly the heart of a scorpion.

A tumultuous surge of grievance and discomfort welled up in Su Biruo once again. She sat upright, froze for a moment, and then suddenly burst into tears.

"How are things going with the branch office?" This was the excuse Shi Hao had used to leave, though he had no wish to pierce the veil.

Discovering that it was Zhuo Xiaoyi and Chu Menian, and upon catching sight of the loungewear Zhuo Xiaoyi was wearing, he let out a helpless, gentle sigh and spoke.

She also saw that Wen Yi's instigation from beginning to end had been premeditated; she had been colluding with Fu Tingchuan right from the start to lure her into the trap.

Instead, it was the "Bureau of Statistics and Investigation," known fully as the "Huaxia Bureau of Statistics and Investigation." The highest authority here was not a guild, but rather the remnants of the formal government.

Damian rode his motorcycle, tearing out of the Batcave like a gust of wind, his cape billowing behind him. A matching tracker attached to it emitted a faint, nearly imperceptible glow.

Yu Rou had not spoken much with Tang Fan about her father, and the underlying reason was somewhat too painful to recount.

"You aren't starting to doubt yourself, are you? Perhaps your ancestors also fell victim to assassinations disguised as accidents?" Nightwing looked at the roster of the Wayne family members displayed on the screen.

On second thought, however, this place was a long way from Suining, and Lu Chen's photographs hadn't been widely circulated to begin with; they were still blurry at best.

Hearing the heavy, ragged breathing of Patriarch Bai, the man raised an eyebrow slightly, once again suspending an invisible blade over Patriarch Bai's heart.

He was usually so tight-fisted, refusing to let her touch a single penny, and even the money for groceries and grain was meticulously calculated. When was the last time she had eaten meat, anyway?

The most crucial point was that Gao Zhenndong was well aware that from the very inception of CPUs and semiconductor memories, bipolar technology had nothing to do with it. While bipolar technology was fine for making integrated logic gate circuits, it was entirely useless for CPUs and semiconductor memories.

Niu Gensheng pondered over it—fate truly was a matter of life and death, wealth and destiny! Relying on one's own self-reliance was far better than relying on the heavens, the earth, or other people! Living out the life you desired was the wisest choice in your journey, wasn't it?

Could it be that tonight, history was destined to repeat itself, and a life-and-death struggle was ordained between the Starks and Aegis—the two entities she loved and held closest to her heart?

"Oh, by the way, Ermao, I heard from Kun Ge that he's about to be discharged and returning soon." Fat Liu suddenly dropped this non-sequitur.

However, the Leijiang Self-Defense Force did not cease their resistance. After withdrawing from Leijiang, they辗转 (traveled through hardships) to locate the higher-level organization, where they were incorporated as the Leijiang Guerrilla Squadron of the Eleventh Guerrilla Column. Using Lake Bo as their base, they continued their anti-Japanese struggle and achieved significant military successes. In the end, betrayed by a traitor during a Japanese sneak attack, the entire force was wiped out.

Though achieving these things truly required matching deeds, their current strength was simply far too weak.