293: I, Jinyiwei, am the second most important person in the Free Federation.

“Zhang Lingxiao isn’t… dead?”

The President frowned, thinking he had misheard.

Yu Maochun sighed and said, “President, we were deceived by Kyushu. Zhang Lingxiao’s death, Lin Xuan’s injury, and even Zhan Tianxiong’s demise… it was all a play.”

The President shook his head, a stubborn refusal to admit it flashing in his eyes. He said, “How… how is that possible? Is this kind of script something a human could come up with?”

Yu Maochun said, “President, I don’t mean to be racist, but… when it comes to strategy and schemes, you are still far behind the people of Kyushu.”

Hearing this, the President remained silent for a long time.

Afterward, he slowly looked up and said, “If I had hired you as my personal advisor earlier, perhaps we wouldn’t have suffered this defeat.”

Yu Maochun smiled gently: “It’s not too late now. Our struggle with Kyushu has just begun.”

The President nodded.

He had already realized that the Free Federation was now facing someone more difficult to deal with than any previous opponent.

Qin Yang.

Someone even more terrifying than Zhang Lingxiao!

He had only Awakened for half a year, yet his strength already rivaled an Emperor Tier.

Such terrifying talent had never appeared in history.

And what was even more terrifying was… his cunning was simply on par with a devil!

He had now entered the core power of Kyushu.

Presumably, in the near future, he would be able to unify Kyushu and establish a centralized Empire.

That would be an even stronger Kyushu!

If the Free Federation wanted to maintain its hegemony, it had to start changing now!

“I must get rid of those parasites!”

The President thought to himself.

The Childs only controlled the Free Federation’s economy.

But even if they were as rich as a nation, they still relied on the military for protection.

And the more War-like the period, the greater the President’s say.

The President could completely use the excuse of a “War period” to seize full power and eliminate the so-called “deep state.”

He could even extract a layer of fat from these Childs!

Qin Yang’s declaration of War was actually an unspoken “peace agreement.”

As long as the “War period” was maintained, both countries would have the opportunity and excuse to deal with their internal problems.

“What grand ambition…”

The President sighed, feeling admiration for the young man across the ocean.

Fortunately, he also had a talented strategist on his side.

The President looked at Yu Maochun and said, “I will make you my Secretary of State. You understand the people of Kyushu best, and only you can see through their schemes.”

“Uh.”

Yu Maochun was slightly taken aback, looking a bit surprised.

“What, unwilling?”

Seeing Yu Maochun didn’t respond, the President asked with a smile.

Yu Maochun regained his composure slightly and smiled, “Thank you for your trust.”

… “It’s over, he’s become the second-in-command.”

Off the coast of Kyushu, Qin Yang sighed.

Bad news came from across the ocean.

Kyushu’s biggest traitor, an expert in Kyushu issues, Yu Maochun, had been appointed by the President as the next Secretary of State.

This was a headache for Qin Yang.

It wasn’t that he was particularly afraid of Yu Maochun.

It was just that Yu Maochun was an Imperial Guard… The real Yu Maochun had been taken care of long before the War started.

This guy didn’t know where he got the inspiration, but he suddenly understood his strategy.

He immediately went to the White House to stop the President from starting the War.

Fortunately, the Imperial Guards were monitoring him 24 hours a day. When they realized this guy might disrupt the plan, they decisively physically eliminated him.

Afterward, the “Yu Maochun” who entered the command center had always been impersonated by an Imperial Guard.

Originally, Qin Yang wanted to use “Yu Maochun” one last time to let the President understand the purpose of his declaration of War, and then he would permanently exit the stage.

Unexpectedly… this guy directly promoted the traitor.

Now, an Imperial Guard had become the second-in-command of the Free Federation, and this play had to continue.

The key was… the Imperial Guard didn't understand strategy!

All of his words were taught by Qin Yang from behind the scenes.

If he became Secretary of State,

Qin Yang would still have to remotely control the Free Federation’s internal affairs.

Daily meetings, negotiations, and so on.

Qin Yang would have to teach him everything hand-in-hand from behind.

“No, I need to recruit a batch of civil officials.”

“I cannot manage both Kyushu and the Free Federation.”

“That would lead to a mental breakdown…”

Qin Yang thought to himself.

He glanced at his Imperial Power.

Hmm, plenty.

After he finished being busy, he would go to the Human Emperor Domain and draw a batch.

His demands weren't high.

A Martial Marquis would be enough.

Just as he was thinking, He Zhiyi fluttered over, flapping her butterfly wings.

“Your Majesty, everything is done!”

He Zhiyi made an OK gesture and said, “All 2003 'sticks' have been implanted with the Slave Heart Gu. Your Majesty can do anything to them now.”

“What can I do to them?”

Qin Yang found it amusing.

Speaking of this battle, the 'sticks' had given him a big surprise.

He really didn't expect… these people to be able to destroy a sky carrier for him.

Without this incident, Qin Yang would have had to activate the Human Emperor Avatar at least once, and he wouldn't have saved so much Imperial Power.

It could only be said that the world’s strongest Emperor-Ranked Professional, Yi Sun-sin, truly lived up to his name.

The Sejong the Great was definitely reduced to rubble.

Qin Yang planned to package all the remaining frigates and bring them back to Kyushu for research.

Machina Professionals were special.

They didn't rely heavily on equipment, but they needed blueprints.

As long as they had blueprints, they could create powerful Machina constructs.

There were only two ways to obtain these blueprints.

One was through special Secret Realms of the Machina type.

The other was by disassembling and reverse-engineering existing Machina constructs to extract the blueprints.

These frigates of the 'sticks' were all produced by the Free Federation.

Giving them to Kyushu’s Machina Professionals could bring them new technologies and ideas. Perhaps… Kyushu’s Machina Professionals would experience a surge in development because of this.

Thinking of this, Qin Yang sighed.

“If only I could capture a sky carrier.”

“As long as their technology is deciphered, the Free Federation will no longer have any advantage.”

“Now that it has all exploded into rubble, even if salvaged, not much can be gained.”

Just as he was thinking this, He Zhiyi suddenly let out an “Oh.”

Qin Yang turned his head and asked, “What’s wrong, Consort Wo?”

He Zhiyi leaned close to Qin Yang and said, “We caught a big fish, oh. Grandma Zu fished Mike Os out, and he still has a breath left. Grandma Zu is asking if you want to execute him on the spot.”

Qin Yang was slightly stunned and began to think.

“As the strongest Machina Professional, Mike Os probably has many blueprints on him. I can use them for research first.”

Thinking of this, Qin Yang asked He Zhiyi, “Can your Gu control Emperor-Ranked Professionals?”

He Zhiyi scratched her chin and said, “If an Emperor-Ranked Professional is at full strength, it’s very difficult to successfully implant a Gu. But he only has one breath left, so it’s definitely 100% successful. And once implanted with Gu, it’s basically impossible to remove.”

Speaking of this, she used Prince Feng as an example.

“Just like Prince Feng, the Gu in his body is still there. It’s just that I added another type of Gu, and only after the two balanced each other did he have a chance to recover.”

Qin Yang nodded and asked, “What if someone uses this method to help Mike Os recover?”

“Impossible.” He Zhiyi shook her head and said, “If we implant him with a thousand types of Gu, even an immortal would find it hard to recover him.”

Hearing this, Qin Yang was relieved.

After all, capturing an Emperor Tier alive required absolute certainty.

He said to He Zhiyi, “Then tell Grandma Zu to treat this international friend well.”

“Okay!” He Zhiyi made an OK gesture and smiled, “Then I’ll give him a newly developed ‘Can’t Help But Speak Gu’ to make him say everything he should and shouldn’t say.”

“Before it was ‘Can’t Speak Gu,’ now it’s ‘Can’t Help But Speak Gu’…”

“Are your names always so casual?”

Qin Yang grumbled, but he was extremely satisfied in his heart.

He Zhiyi was still so useful.

She didn't need strong combat power.

Just these Gu were enough to play with.

Just then, the sound of swords ringing echoed.

“Grandpa is here,” Qin Yang murmured, looking up at the sky.