Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Bai E's gaze swept calmly over the figures on the long street.

Those who loudly proclaimed their dreams seemed as if they were waking from a dream, standing bewildered in their place.

And the betrayers who had committed acts of betrayal and enjoyed the blessings of demonic power looked at themselves with eyes full of fear, knowing well what they had done and that they were probably already branded as heretics.

Should they make a last stand, a desperate fight with their backs to the wall?

No!

That possibility did not exist!

Facing a person as powerful as a god, there was only pleading.

"My lord! My lord!" someone was on their knees, crawling over with their knees, kowtowing non-stop to Bai E, "My lord! My lord! I didn't mean to do it! I was just bewitched by demons! It won't happen again! It won't happen again!"

More people were infected, all crawling towards the feet of Bai E, "My lord! Please spare us! Please spare us! We won't do it again! Never again!"

They were accustomed to groveling; in the past, under the dominance of other gang leaders, they could only survive through such humility.

Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

But in the face of absolute power, they could only exchange their humility for a tiny possibility of mercy from those above them.

"Stand up!" Bai E spoke calmly, his eyes indifferent.

The moment the voice sounded, the place went silent.

At such a moment, no matter how loud the pleas for mercy, what everyone was most concerned about was the decision of their lord.

Stand up?

What did it mean?

Not accepting their pleas?

"..."

"My lord?"

Someone carefully lifted their head, looking up at the face of the great person before them, who seemed incredibly tall.

With a bit of firelight behind him, the lord's face was stern, his pupils shimmering with thoughts they couldn't understand.

"I told you to stand up," Bai E repeated.

Without waiting for everyone to speculate, he took the initiative to explain, "The world makes you kneel, I tell you to stand! You are people! You have your own thoughts, your own dignity! You shouldn't live so humbly, real strength comes from within. If you continue to act as you do today, then the future you speak of will never happen again, it will all be empty talk. Demons are everywhere, and you have seen that kind of thing twice... so you should know—you need to have your own thoughts! Your own personality! Your own steadfastness!"

"I tell you, stand up!" Bai E repeated.

His voice was light, yet carried a heavy weight.

And so the figures hesitantly got up, still feeling uncertain about their future.

They had committed acts of betrayal that would not be easily forgiven anywhere.

Even if the death penalty could be waived, the living punishment was hard to escape.

And the more gentle the treatment, based on their past experiences, meant... the death penalty!

Bai E's gaze was gentle but filled with helplessness, "You live in this world; you cannot expect a savior to rescue everything. Facing any crisis you encounter, only you can be the one to change your destiny. They have just shown all this through their actions, you are not insignificant, nor do you need to be humble. Stand up, try to stand up. I am willing to give you a chance, but please, do not give up on yourselves first."

["Lucky Strike" +50.]

"Yes... my lord."

"I understand, my lord."

"..." Bai E turned his head away, not speaking further.

Change doesn't happen overnight, nor is it reversed by mere words.

Everything requires time to ferment, and for now...

A group of old soldiers fitted with prosthetic limbs was slowly coming from the far end of the street, and several old soldiers without prosthetics were stumbling behind them, leaning on walking sticks.

Tiger was also among them, looking at the unmasked Bai E with complex eyes.

This was his first time seeing the great person spoken of by the people of Black Street.

Unexpectedly... it turned out to be Bai E.

Ha ha ha ha ha... It should be Bai E!

So that military medal he took with him was used in such a place.

No wonder they could never find him...

Their gazes intersected, understanding unspoken.

The leading old soldier, followed by a group in neat rows of those with prosthetics, came forward; even those disabled soldiers could still manage strict discipline, forming an orderly line.

"Attention!"

"Salute!"

The military uniform on Bai E's body was all too familiar to them; normally, Bai E would appear before them in disguise... and only on this day of urgent matter did they see Bai E's true identity.

Of course, this wasn't important.

Simply sharing the identity of soldiers wasn't enough to unconditionally gain their trust, what really made them willing to step forward was what Bai E had said...

From the words of this comrade, they heard what they wanted most—fairness, personality, dignity.

If he could treat these soulless commoners from Black Street that way, then... what about artificial humans?

```

I don't know, but we can try to make contact first.

Bai E stood still, his face devoid of any expression as he accepted the salutes of these veterans. Explore more at empire

He didn't speak, quietly waiting for them to express their purpose on their own.

The leading veteran stood straight as a javelin and said with a stern face, word by word, "Starting today, we are the sword in the hands of the adult! The order of Black Street, from now on, will be our responsibility!"

"..." Bai E was noncommittal, waiting for them to state their demands.

"Under the leadership of the adult, may humanity shine again!"

"..." Eyes slightly downcast, Bai E knew they would not reveal their true intentions at such a moment.

But nevertheless, it could be considered a preliminary subjugation of these veterans, an unexpected pleasure.

"Arrange the follow-up, don't delay everyone's work tomorrow."

Bai E ordered softly and turned away.

With the chief culprit of the rebellion now dealt with, the rest seemed to have concluded.

But everyone knew the impact of this rebellion was far from over.

Personality, dignity...

Every person can be someone who lives openly and honorably... a person?

The Ratfolk huddled in a dark corner, their deep black eyes gazing at the light outside.

The adult's words echoed and wound around in the depths of their heart, eventually fading into another soft and indistinct murmur.

That voice was warm and calming, with the same power to soothe the heart—

'Don't lose heart~ Even the smallest germ can destroy an empire. You're important too.'

…

As soon as Bai E returned to the camp, he saw You standing by the tent entrance with someone beside him.

"Captain, he's looking for you." After the major changes and handling all kinds of odds and ends in recent days, You, still with that cold youthful complexion, had undergone a complete transformation in temperament.

"Hmm~" Bai E looked at the visitor… one of Minister Likok's subordinates, whom he had seen a few times.

Since he had decided to take the warlord path, Bai E naturally would not miss any opportunity to make contact with the city's major powers.

Last time, he didn't agree when Minister Likok invited him to join the information department of the Scientific Research Institute, but neither had he completely severed the connection.

In these idle days, he often accompanied the department led by Likok in the name of wanting to learn, participating in research.

Getting his face known and understanding the city's highest level of technology at the moment were both extremely meaningful activities.

And now...

"Our recent research is basically complete. The minister has invited you to participate in the final summary and analysis," the other said with a smile, his tone warm.

In the few interactions they had, the people from the information department had discovered that this boy Likok wanted to recruit was indeed exceptional.

Despite his unorthodox background, he was no less adept at the research and understanding of the revived communication technology than any of their professional researchers, often even surpassing them, which was simply inconceivable.

Bai E nodded and answered immediately, "Alright."

The first step was to dissect and analyze the simple communicator he had made, then propose different hypotheses and dispatch various military squads to verify them within the "Bug Nest Domain"—that's what the information department had been doing these past few days.

Of course, the concept of the "Bug Nest Domain" did not exist before.

Now... that boundary where electronic signals were replaced became what everyone referred to as the "Bug Nest Domain," an area covered by the Bug Race's will.

It might be that the "Bug Nest Will" is just as sensitive to electronic signals as humans are, or there could be some other reason why human electronic signals would be intercepted and replaced the moment they entered the "Domain."

These days they had been researching the core reasons, as well as looking for countermeasures.

So now is the time when the fruits of their labor are truly revealed?

Bai E, following behind the researcher into a car heading straight for the city's information department, felt a sense of anticipation.

...

The vast room contained rows of consoles and several huge screens.

Likok saw Bai E enter through the door, nodded and smiled at him, but did not engage in much action.

Clapping his hands, Minister Likok sternly spoke to everyone in the room, "Everyone is here, we will now officially start the fourth summary of the countermeasures to the Bug Race's signal-jamming technology and the subsequent operational plans…"

"The known facts are as follows:"

"One, any remotely transmitted signal will be cut off the moment it enters the 'Bug Nest Domain';"

"Two, signals re-established within the 'Bug Nest Domain' can be normally transmitted;"

"Three, changing channels or receiving bands have been proven ineffective;"

"Four, whether the 'Bug Nest Domain' exists only near the Blackrock District Hive or not is currently unknown."

"Based on these reasons, it has been decided to restart the signal relay stations around the world. The first step is to begin with station B13 inside the 'Bug Nest Domain.' If successful, we will contact other cities to restore all global internet signal stations."

The constructs of the Golden Age were sturdy and reliable, and even after hundreds of years, unless deliberately destroyed, the main structures remained largely undamaged.

Perhaps slight repairs were needed, but overall they were definitely capable of being put back into service.

Reactivating old facilities is always more cost-effective than rebuilding from scratch.

Minister Likok, continuing his address, turned to Bai E with a grave tone, "Captain Bai, I would like you to lead the mission this time, if you are willing?"

```