I transformed into a cute girl and lived a carefree life in the apocalypse.

Although everyone has grievances about society and feels dissatisfied, as long as the general direction is correct, the country will continue to move forward steadily.

One day, this social contradiction will be completely and thoroughly resolved.

But that's all in the future; right now, the situation online is utterly chaotic.

Before the press conference even ended, a wave of criticism swept across the internet. Some praised the country for its foresight, while others condemned it, but most expressed deep concern about the future.

They were not only worried about whether they could gain the same benefits in the new place as before, but also about the foundation of all benefits—the safety of their lives.

All gains and losses are based on the premise that "one is still alive." The widely circulated saying "you may have the life to take it, but you may not have the life to spend it" illustrates this point.

Can pooling resources really guarantee everyone's safety? Or will it all be in vain? These kinds of thoughts crossed their minds, and unable to contain their anxiety, they posted online seeking help, which stirred up a considerable wave of negative energy.

In addition, foreign media outlets also joined in, vying to report on the incident.

Less than half an hour after the press conference ended, these Western media outlets published their news reports without even carefully verifying the information. Without exception, they were all anti-China, exuding a strong "political" flavor from the bottom of their hearts.

There are reports claiming that China violates human rights in various ways, trying to absolve itself of responsibility, and about persecuting people at the bottom of society.

It may seem like a long and reasonable argument, but anyone who goes online and does a simple search will know that it's all fake news and has no basis whatsoever.

Yet, this report, riddled with flaws, happened at a time when public sentiment was running high. Those who felt their interests had been harmed believed it, jumping to conclusions without any basic ability to distinguish right from wrong, and constantly causing trouble for the country and its people.

Finally, without Western media needing to boast, some domestic sycophants themselves have been touting how wonderful Western countries are, how democratic and free their people are, and then criticizing China's system, ultimately drawing a conclusion.

—China is thirty years behind the world.

Chapter Nine: Pioneers

Yan Ziming said he couldn't help but laugh after reading these comments.

A famous early Chinese writer, revolutionary, and thinker once said: "Chinese people have never regarded foreigners as human beings. They used to be beasts, and now they are emperors."

The tendency to idolize foreign things and fawn over foreigners is a true reflection of a segment of the Chinese population today. They belittle everything about their own country and desperately praise everything from abroad.

In their minds, the moon is always rounder, the air is always sweeter, and even the excrement of people abroad smells good.

This is unavoidable; every gain has its price. The rapid development of the country has come at the cost of a decline in the quality and mindset of its citizens, who remain stuck in the past. The only solution is to truly awaken national self-confidence, or simply wait for time to erase all of this.

Yan Ziming couldn't help but sigh, "The country has truly made a momentous decision this time!"

Giving up so many military and administrative zones at once would have been a huge blow to the economy and public morale, and it would likely take a decade to recover. But that's exactly what the country did.

Rather than stubbornly defending cities that are inherently undefendable, causing heavy casualties among the army and civilians, it would be far better to unite the existing forces into one force.

In Western countries, capitalists would never do something that would harm their interests; it would be a matter of life and death for them.

There's a saying in China: "In the West, the common people only lose their lives, but capitalists lose money! Real, tangible money!"

Although it was just a joke made by a Chinese netizen, it shows how eager Western countries are to pursue their own interests, treating human life as worthless as grass, disregarding the lives of their people and unwilling to let their own interests be harmed.

Yan Zimo neither cared about nor wanted to care about those who advocated pursuing democracy and whose lifelong ambition was to go to the West.

I just hope that after they suffer unfair treatment in the West, they won't crawl back like dogs and cause trouble for the country. It's always better to use our precious resources on the Chinese people than on those Western-worshipping dogs.

With that, this morning's press conference came to a complete end. Yan Ziming still felt like she was in a dream, as if everything was unreal.

After a while, she said in a daze, "Pioneering... I'll go too."

"Eh?! Big sister?!" Ye Qianxue stared at her big sister with a look of horror, as if she were seeing a completely different person.

This is astonishing! Yan Ziming, who always clamors about living a carefree, lazy life, spends six nights a week cultivating immortality, always makes excuses when faced with trouble, and is already incredibly wealthy, is actually going to pioneer a new land?!

Absolutely ridiculous!

"Why are you looking at me so surprised! I'm an ambitious person too."

Yan Ziming pinched Ye Qianxue's cheek and said with dissatisfaction.

It wasn't that she suddenly went crazy, but rather that she felt a sense of crisis.

Having been decisively defeated by Mu Mu in the past, today's press conference made Yan Ziming feel anxious again. She felt that she could no longer continue to be so lazy.

"Consider this the last thing we do for the people of Jiangning,"

Yan Ziming stood up, ready to register, and Ye Qianxue also stood up, clamoring to go with Yan Ziming.

"Can't you handle this, you little lazybones... It's like taking your life if I make you get up early every day."

"Um..." Ye Qianxue looked distressed, unsure whether she should go.

She really hates waking up early, but her older sister is away on a land reclamation project, which means she rarely has time to come back. Is there even a question of which is more important: refusing to wake up early or spending time with her older sister?

"Chiyuki wants to go with her older sister!"

"As expected of my sister!" Yan Ziming picked up Ye Qianxue, spun her around, and happily kissed her.

To be honest, she would also feel lonely if she didn't see Ye Qianxue for a long time. Since they met, they had never been apart for more than a week. And when they were involved in the land reclamation, it would be more than a week. It could be several months!

"whee......."

Ye Qianxue blushed and smiled happily. The spatial rift closed and reopened, and when the two reappeared, they were outside a government agency.

A pair of beautiful sisters suddenly appeared on the street, naturally attracting the attention of passersby, who all raised their phones to take pictures and said a lot of things that Yan Ziming had long been tired of hearing.

Yan Ziming ignored them all and walked straight into the gate of the government building. The busybodies didn't dare to follow him in and had to give up.

After showing their relevant credentials, almost everyone who questioned them was filled with respect for the two sisters, simply because they were two high-level superhumans!

Moreover, they are not ordinary high-level ability users; one has spatial ability and the other has lightning ability. This alone is enough to earn the respect of most people.

Because Yan Ziming's files were kept extremely well-secret, all her file entries ceased after the Yongjing Campaign, and her latest files could only be found in the most confidential places in the country.

"Hello, we're here to register for the pioneering project that was mentioned at this morning's press conference."

Upon arriving at a government service hall, Yan Ziming spoke to a receptionist. The receptionist was quick and efficient, finishing the task in about ten minutes.

"Hello, ladies, these are your identification documents. Please keep them safe."

The receptionist pushed two cards made of special materials in front of the two of them. Yan Ziming didn't pay much attention to the purpose of the cards, accepted them, and left.

"Is that all?"

Ye Qianxue asked naively, "Isn't this a bit too fast?"

Yan Ziming rolled her eyes at her: "What else do you want? Are you going to sit here all day? I'm checking when the Ministry of National Defense will release its report..."

Picking up his phone to check the latest announcement from the Ministry of National Defense, Yan Ziming found the "Summoning of Superpowered Individuals" announcement. After a cursory five-minute read, he only found the sentence at the end: "For details, please refer to the Pioneer Card."

"Pioneer Card? Is this what it is?"

Yan Ziming took the card out of his pocket and examined it closely. He noticed a fingerprint pattern on it that resembled a phone screen unlock. Anyone with common sense could guess what it was for.

He pressed his thumb on it, and light shot out from the top left corner of the card, forming a 4:3 aspect ratio image in front of Yan Ziming, exuding a high-tech and sophisticated vibe.

"Holy crap, this is awesome!"

Yan Ziming swore, clearly quite frightened. He never expected that such advanced technology, which only existed in movies, would one day appear before his eyes.

Seeing her older sister's performance, Ye Qianxue hurriedly took out her card and, following Yan Ziming's method, also produced a flat map. Apart from personal information, the page on it was almost identical.

"Wow—Big sister, this is so cool!" After actually trying it out, Ye Qianxue's performance wasn't much better.

"Hmm, the interface and operation are the same... huh?"

Yan Ziming's gaze lingered on the "Task Details" option bar; that must be it.

Click in and take a look.

With a light tap of her slender finger, the content displayed on the page instantly changed, becoming much colder, with only one line of text.

—At 3:00 PM on January 2nd, assemble at the Beian Military Administrative District Air Force Base.

This was the first mission Yan Ziming and her team received, and also the beginning of a new journey.

Chapter Ten New Year's Eve

"Are the cameras ready, Qianxue? The countdown is about to begin!"

"Yes, yes! It's being recorded, big sister!"

"Mo Xin, your hair is blocking my view!"

"It's all because Sister Mu Mu pushed me!"

"What does this have to do with me? You wouldn't sit in your sister's lap when I told you to."

At this moment, Yan Ziming's home was extremely lively, with four stunningly beautiful women gathered together. Their colors—silver, blue-purple, and black—were intertwined, creating a dreamlike and inverted atmosphere.

At this moment, Ye Qianxue was setting up the camera to record. Mo Xin was lying on Yan Ziming's back, and Mu Mu kept groping Yan Ziming. Yan Ziming didn't mind, after all, it was the last day of the day, so he would tolerate her this time.

Yes, it is 11:59 PM on December 31, 2025. 2025 is about to come to an end and be replaced by a new year.

On the television screen, there was a large time display. Half the seconds had passed, and there were less than thirty seconds left before a new world was about to begin.

It was a brand new beginning, brimming with new hope, and the vast majority of people in China were waiting for this moment.

New Year's Eve!

Normally, Yan Ziming would say she would just pay a little attention and that would be it. However, this year is different.

Because so many things happened this year, most of them in the second half of the year, it has a special significance for Yan Ziming.

The destruction of Yongjing, her first battle against a mutated species like the Tyrant, witnessing the terror of the Sequence-level, meeting her cheap master Liu Mengxian for the first time, and witnessing the death of the first Sequence-level in history.