Xing Yuanzhi woke up from bed.
Subconsciously, she called out "Jinyang," then sat up and looked around in confusion, only to remember that this place was not the old house in Wujiang Town.
Ah, hadn't she moved here several days ago? How could she suddenly forget?
She sluggishly made her way to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.
Her black, long straight hair flowed down from just below her shoulder blades, smooth and glossy — though it was a bit too long.
Long hair was prone to getting dirty easily. She thought she should go to the local geographic hairdresser to get it trimmed.
The most striking feature of the person in the mirror was her large, bright eyes. Whether it was Wang Wanrou, Chu Qingqing, Yang Wangshu, or Cui Jinqi, their eyes all seemed slightly smaller compared to hers.
In terms of female aesthetics, larger eyes were generally considered more charming, hence the emergence of the Asian art of "eyeliner drawing," which outlines the eyes to make them appear larger and more spirited.
Ah.
Xing Yuanzhi didn't know why, but every time she saw her own beauty, she couldn't help but sigh.
As for her nose and mouth, there was nothing particularly unusual; they fell within the standard range of a beautiful girl, though they paled in comparison to her eyes.
At this age, she didn't need to worry about crow's feet or under-eye wrinkles... Xing Yuanzhi touched her facial skin and relaxed.
Checking her phone, she saw it was almost 11 AM.
After leaving Jinyang and the dream, had her daily routine become so disordered?
She refilled the bathtub and absentmindedly dialed a number to ask about Jinyang's recent situation.
The phone rang several times but didn't connect.
Xing Yuanzhi: ???
Wait, Cui Xiaoniang(Young Lady) still lives with them, right...
Thinking this, she turned off the tap, hastily put on her clothes, and left the bathroom, heading towards the Cheng clan's direction.
Arriving at the Cheng clan's residence, Xing Yuanzhi didn't immediately go to find Cheng Jinyang. Instead, she found his cousin Cheng Yuexian in the meeting hall.
"About the clan leader?" Cheng Yuexian seemed somewhat tired. "He was taken away by the Jinyiwei at 3 AM this morning."
"The Jinyiwei?" Xing Yuanzhi was slightly startled.
There's a joke circulating in the court: if the Ministry of Justice picks someone up at 9 AM, there's still a chance of saving face; if it's the Six Doors at 5 AM, the position is likely lost; if it's the Jinyiwei(Embroidered Uniform Guard) at 3 AM...
Prepare the coffin.
Of course, Cheng Jinyang wasn't a government official, so that rule didn't exactly apply. After thinking for a moment, Xing Yuanzhi asked softly:
"What about the plan?"
Cheng Yuexian sighed.
Saying she wasn't worried would be a lie. After all, her father was also in Cheng Jinyang's team. But worrying was useless now; all she could do was conduct experiments in the laboratory and write a few papers to calm her mind.
............
The train finally arrived at the designated station.
In an underground space resembling a factory, everyone saw a massive flying tank... Heavy five-layer armor, the cannon removed, 12 large jet nozzles added evenly distributed in all directions — it had essentially sacrificed all attack power to maximize defense and mobility.
Cheng Jinyang even had a thought: if this thing were to become like a ship girl, wouldn't it be a mobile fortress as agile as a swallow?
"According to the plan, the driving will be handled by the Shendu Cheng clan," commanded Princess Luling.
"Understood," echoed Second Uncle Cheng Qingyuan.
When it came to flying, no one present could surpass the Shendu Cheng clan. Direct gravitational reduction combined with the thrust from 12 jet nozzles meant that not only could tank-like vehicles fly, but even warships could take off.
"Intelligence is handled by the Hongnong Yang family."
"Understood." In the field of reconnaissance, the electromagnetic waves of the Hongnong Yang family were unquestionably the best choice.
"Defense is entrusted to the Xingyang Zheng family."
"Roger." The spiritual impact from the Xingyang Zheng family intercepted all attacks with relentless psychic power.
"The Fanyang Lu family, maintain continuous assault on the Jingwei-class mothership, and coordinate promptly with the Cheng family for any angle adjustment."
"Okay." Among them, the member of the Lu family was a fourth-grade supernatural with graying beard, appearing to be in his sixties or seventies.
Sixty or seventy and still going into battle.
Somehow, Cheng Jinyang suddenly recalled his own grandfather, Cheng Benhe.
In this turbulent era, even the elderly had to contribute to the rise or fall of their family, squeezed dry of their last bit of value...
It's truly messed up.
Princess Luling finished arranging the tactics, then turned her gaze towards Cheng Jinyang:
"According to His Majesty's wishes, as an observer, you don't need to do anything and shouldn't interfere with others' work. Just stay quietly in the corner."
Being stared at by a group of middle-aged uncles and old men made Cheng Jinyang feel a bit awkward, so he nodded.
"Well then, depart in 3 minutes and 20 seconds," confirmed Princess Luling. "Gentlemen..."
"For the prosperity or decline of the nation, this battle decides it."
..........
Inside the flying tank, it was no different from a normal tank, with a cramped space due to thick multi-layered armor. The height between the upper and lower levels was only about 1.6 meters, making it impossible to stand upright.
Fortunately, the width from front to back was spacious enough, so Cheng Jinyang didn't have to squeeze with a bunch of old uncles. Therefore, he conscientiously found a corner and quietly crouched down.
Princess Luling approached him and pulled out a data cable from the back of her neck, plugging it into the socket on the tank's interior wall, her eyes flashing with lines of green code.
"Are you nervous now?" she suddenly asked Cheng Jinyang.
"Not really," Cheng Jinyang shook his head.
After so many years of nightmares, he seemed to have lost his fear and nervousness about death, as he had mentioned to Ah Zhi before. It was both a good and bad thing, but in any case, it couldn't be changed now.
"For the battlefield, past big data shows that the more fearful and cautious you are, the easier it is to die," Princess Luling said thoughtfully. "But this time, you're just an observer, so there's no need to worry excessively."
As soon as she finished speaking, the time set with the other teams arrived.
Cheng Jinyang felt a sudden jolt under him, accompanied by the whirring sound of turbines from all directions, buzzing loudly.
"Take this." Princess Luling handed him a helmet.
"What for?"
"Holographic projection," Princess Luling explained. "To allow you a better view of the entire battlefield."
So why are you all so concerned about me!
Cheng Jinyang speechlessly put on the helmet, then was startled by the scene before his eyes.
As if in a third-person view of a video game, he saw the flying tank in the center of the screen tracing a huge arc, performing high-speed maneuvers around the Jingwei-class mothership.
Straight particle beams shot from the attack chamber on top of the tank. It was the ability of the Lu family's fourth-grade supernatural, directing intense particle beams by crushing atomic shells, capable of generating extremely high temperatures and radiation.
Above the flying tank loomed a colossal entity that almost blotted out the sky. If the flying tank was a mantis shrimp, then the Jingwei-class mothership was a blue whale in the deep sea, merely hovering motionless in the air but casting an endless shadow over the ground, making people feel utterly powerless to resist.
The high-energy particle beam struck the central bottom of the Jingwei-class mothership, intercepted by a deep blue force field shield, resembling trying to poke a thick-skinned elephant with a toothpick. To say this attack could kill an elephant...
It was simply wishful thinking!