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"You are not giving any face, I’m afraid there won’t be many families willing to relocate to Jiangnan..."

Inside Yundu, Chen Qing and his Western Sea Army had not yet departed.

According to the alliance treaty, the whole territory of Great Jin—including those willing to avoid calamity by relocating to Jiangnan—was accepted, thus five days were allotted to Chen Qing and his people for registration and recording.

The quality of Yundu’s population is very high, having grown up in an area with relatively high Spiritual Energy, their physical conditioning and Spiritual Power aptitude are generally better than those from other regions, most importantly, there is little pollution.

Now, with the revival of Spiritual Energy, demons are breeding everywhere else.

Almost any parasite could become a terrifying demon capable of controlling your brain.

A large number of screenings must be conducted at the main entrance.

Although Jiangnan has Gate Deities, should demons infiltrate in large numbers within a large group, chaos could ensue at the entrance itself, potentially causing a great number of civilian casualties.

A substantial number of soldiers are needed to divide the crowd into countless small groups to avoid such chaotic injuries and deaths.

However, doing so would consume a great deal of manpower, and given Jiangnan’s current tight military situation, it would be difficult to bring in civilians on a large scale.

Yundu is different, with its unique barriers altering the living environment for the lower strata, almost no demons appearing, making it the most worry-free population to manage. The army would simply have to bring them all back to Jiangnan and make arrangements.

For the redirection of Yundu’s populace, Chen Qing was very proactive.

Just yesterday, he organized the Western Sea Army to go door-to-door inviting them, including the benefits of relocation, such as how much land would be distributed, what assets could be exchanged, and so forth.

Even merchants could completely move their wealth over, with very favorable terms granted.

But when it came to inviting the Noble Families, Chen Qing seemed quite casual about it.

He did not send anyone to invite them, nor did he assign anyone to explain.

When an Elder from the purple-clad Murong Family personally came to visit yesterday, his indifference was odd, and Ziyue couldn’t help feeling something was amiss.

This guy... I hadn’t noticed before that he had such a big problem with Noble Families; he doesn’t seem like someone who resents the wealthy, does he?

"The development of Jiangnan is indeed rapid, but you should know that naturally gifted magicians have an enormous role in the future; they cannot be completely replaced by Array Masters.

Moreover, the ancestral techniques held by the families will also be of great importance.

Now is an excellent opportunity, so why shut them out? "

"We can’t flatter those people..." Chen Qing shook his head: "Yundu has beautiful mountains, fertile land, and is free of demon disasters. Under the principle that ’falling leaves return to their roots,’ people are generally unwilling to leave their homeland unless the situation is dire, so great incentives are necessary to guide high-quality civilians there.

The population will be very important in the future. .."

Ziyue nodded. As a Data Master unperturbed by the game itself, she still experienced all the versions for the sake of authentic data.

This world is exceptionally cruel, yet desperately in need of the Human Race.

During the revival of Spiritual Energy, a large number of deaths are needed to accumulate resentment, enabling the Spiritual Energy to revive, but later, the human population cannot be reduced too drastically.

It must be ensured that there is enough progeny to support the next cycle.

Thus, wise Ancient Forces may even protect humankind later on to let them recuperate, much like trimming leeks—harvesting only half at a time.

But now, the world is in an era of Spiritual Energy revival. All forces are trying to cause large-scale massacres to enrich the Spiritual Energy further. However, Jiangnan is different; there, the more people there are, the stronger the power, which runs contrary to the current world trend.

So we should strive to secure a population when we can, but in the case of Noble Families...

Chen Qing looked at the puzzled Ziyue and whispered, "The Noble Families of Yundu have always been arrogant, even looking down upon the Noble Families of Capital City.

Once in Jiangnan, if they are not given enough treatment, they will surely be dissatisfied.

These guys all possess Ancient Demon heritage, especially that pentachromatic family, which has deep entwinement with the Ancient Demon Clan.

You are now nominally in control of the Ancient Demon Clan, but in reality, the core power was taken away by that Guard Commander. .."

It was on the second day that Chen Qing and Ziyue learned this truth from the mouth of a War Priest, and only then did they realize who the true supporters behind the Guard Commander were.

"With that connection, it’s quite likely the Guard Commander will contact these families through the Ancient Demon Elder. To be frank, I don’t want any of the pentachromatic families in Jiangnan."

"""

"This...." Ziyue fell silent upon hearing this.

Indeed, there are plenty of good things in Jiangnan, but the appetite of the Five-color Family is no less than that of the ordinary families.

Even when competing fairly with Chen Qing, an average noble family can gain huge benefits.

However, these people are different. With the temptation of the Elders from the Ancient Demon clan, and the Five-color Family who are already loyal to the Ancient Demon Nobility, there is indeed significant risk.

"There are many families with heirloom techniques. This time, the Chen Family also pledged allegiance to us. Moreover, with the foundation we cultivated ourselves and that of the Shen Family in Jiangnan, we actually don’t need to take that risk.

Unless the Five-color Family can offer something that truly tempts me, I would find an excuse to refuse even if they take the initiative to go to Jiangnan. "

Ziyue looked curiously at Chen Qing: "Many times, I feel that you are not quite like Pu YunChuan..."

"Why?" Chen Qing was startled.

"The quirky designer I remember from my memories was not good at team management or interpersonal relationships. To players, Pu YunChuan was a highly creative designer, but to employees, you were a terrible boss...."

"Er...is that so?" Chen Qing was stunned for a moment, but looking back now, it seemed that way. He remembered that during his ten years in the studio, it seemed his colleagues never asked him out privately, not even for a simple meal together. He didn’t like meaningless drinking parties, but over such a long time, not having a single meal with colleagues meant there definitely was dissonance. He was well aware of this fact back then, but he didn’t care much.

In his eyes, as long as his subordinates did their work well, that was enough.

He didn’t bother with other interpersonal relationships.

Was he really such a person before?

"Do you also feel there’s something not quite right?

" Ziyue looked at Chen Qing and said, "Look at your performance now. The people of Jiangnan adore you, which is understandable since they don’t know you well.

They only know that you created beautiful Jiangnan, so most of them worship you.

But what about those close subordinates? "

"What’s wrong with them..." Chen Qing started feeling uneasy.

"The influence in Jiangnan is far from simple. Aside from Xuu Hu, who is your staunch supporter, the Shen Family is a local magnate, Tian Heng is a noble from outside, Chen Ying is a highly talented orphan, and let’s not forget Wei Gongcheng whom you have personally recruited.

Such a complex team, yet when you were there, there was not a hint of trouble stirred up.

Don’t you think this represents something? "

Chen Qing: "......"

"You are definitely not Pu YunChuan!" Ziyue said with certainty: "You are someone with the memories of Pu YunChuan. As to who exactly, I’m not sure, maybe like me, you might not even know who you really are."

"Then who do you think you are?" Chen Qing asked Ziyue curiously.

"I don’t know...." Ziyue shook her head: "Memories from my past and present life exist, feeling as if I’ve personally experienced them all, feeling as if they are me. The concept of blending these things... it’s too abstract, and I’m not clear about what I really am now."

Chen Qing was speechless at her words.

"But your identity is probably more secretive, even to the point of... possibly having someone pulling the strings behind the scenes."

"I think so too, but I have no clue at all." Chen Qing shook his head, with too little information, he simply couldn’t speculate about his own origin.

"The King of Qin guy must know something, including him...." Ziyue hesitated, then bit her lip and said, "My nominal father should also know something."

"The Guard Commander?" Chen Qing nodded: "It seems that the real masterminds behind Digital City have yet to appear. What we’ve seen is just the surface. I’ve suspected this as well, that’s why I left Wang Ye behind there. I wonder how his investigation is going..."

"""