I started on a deserted island and encountered Ying Zheng, who insisted I was an immortal.

"Eighty thousand."

A bright green bamboo plaque was slammed onto the mahogany table. The force was so great that the lid of the teacup next to it bounced twice.

Wang Ben shuddered. He clutched the last two gold bars in his hand, his forehead covered in sweat. This wasn't playing cards; it was torture. Sitting opposite him was the first emperor of all time, his opponent to the left was Zhang Ying, a god-like figure capable of creating steel behemoths, and his opponent to the right was Li Si, who had just learned to count cards and had a cunning look on his face.

"bump."

Ying Zheng didn't even lift his eyelids. He reached out and took back the 80,000 tile, then casually played a 100-dot tile.

"Your Majesty..." Wang Ben's voice trembled, "That was money I used to prepare for my daughter's dowry..."

"My Great Qin is all mine." Ying Zheng arranged his cards, his tone calm. "Your daughter is also my subject. I won your money, so I'll reward her with two cartloads of potatoes. It's not a bad deal."

Wang Ben wanted to cry. Two cartloads of potatoes for two gold bars. Only His Majesty could pull off such a deal.

Zhang Ying, a cigarette dangling from his lips, leaned back in the custom-made leather sofa, watching this absurd scene unfold. Outside the window, the sea surged with waves; inside, a mahjong game shrouded in smoke. This sense of temporal and spatial dislocation gave him a dizzying, unreal feeling.

"I won."

Ying Zheng abruptly pushed down the wall of cards in front of him. A pure suit. A straight.

"Give me the money."

The emperor extended his hand to Wang Ben.

In despair, Wang Ben slammed his last two gold bars on the table. He was now almost broke, losing everything except his armor and even his underwear.

"Drip—drip—drip—"

A series of rapid buzzing sounds shattered the scene of slaughter at the gambling table.

Zhang Ying shook the cigarette butt in his hand, and a spark fell onto his pants. He didn't bother to wipe it off, and immediately sprang into action, rushing towards the radar display screen next to him.

On the green fluorescent screen, twelve red dots are rapidly approaching from the southwest.

"A guest?" Ying Zheng tucked the gold bars into his sleeve, instantly dispelling his street gambler demeanor and replacing it with a suffocating imperial aura. He stood up, his cloak billowing even without wind.

"Twelve ships." Zhang Ying adjusted the knob, and the waveform on the screen became clearer. "Very fast. About twelve knots. Not merchant ships."

"Pirates?" Li Si pushed up his sunglasses (made of obsidian by Zhang Ying) and leaned closer.

"Whatever it is." Ying Zheng strode towards the cabin door and grabbed the walkie-talkie hanging on the wall.

"Meng Tian!"

"Your subject is here!" Meng Tian's excited roar came from the other end of the walkie-talkie, with the background noise of waves crashing against steel plates.

"Twelve mosquitoes right ahead," Ying Zheng ordered as he walked toward the bridge. "Don't let them dirty my deck."

"promise!"

On the bridge. The sea breeze howled.

Ying Zheng raised the telescope.

At the edge of the horizon, twelve wooden sailboats, adorned with skull and crossbones flags and bizarre symbols, were fanning out towards us. The boats were filled with gaunt, dark-skinned men, shirtless, brandishing scimitars and javelins.

They had clearly never seen such a steel monster billowing black smoke and without sails. In their eyes, it might be a giant whale rising from the deep sea, or a fat sheep laden with treasure.

"They're courting death." Standing behind Ying Zheng, Wang Ben looked at those reckless wooden boats and suddenly felt that his loss of gold bars was not unjustified. With monsters like these, gold was nothing.

"Sir," Ying Zheng put down his binoculars and turned to look at Zhang Ying, "What will you use this time?"

"Five thousand meters away." Zhang Ying glanced at the rangefinder. "Main guns are too wasteful. Shall we try the secondary guns?"

"How's your accuracy?"

"Shoot wherever you point."

"Then raise the flag." Ying Zheng pointed to the tallest mast on the lead ship, "Bring that tattered cloth down for me."

"boom--!!!"

The ship shuddered slightly.

A 75mm rapid-fire cannon on the starboard side spewed out a tongue of fire.

There was no long wait. There was no calculation of the parabola.

Two seconds later.

The mainmast of the pirate flagship in the distance seemed to have been snapped in half by an invisible hand. Wood chips flew everywhere. The huge canvas, carrying the broken wood, crashed onto the deck with a deafening roar, turning the pirates who were about to shout into a bloody pulp.

The sea became quiet instantly.

The remaining eleven pirate ships seemed frozen in place. They couldn't understand. There was no roar of catapults, no whistling of crossbow bolts. Just a clap of thunder, and their leader's flagpole was gone?

"Demon...demon magic!" someone on the pirate ship cried out in terror.

"Run! Run! It's the devil!"

The once formidable encirclement collapsed instantly. The eleven ships began to frantically turn around, their oars slapping the water at a speed reminiscent of pile drivers.

"Trying to run away?" Ying Zheng sneered.

He held the walkie-talkie to his mouth.

"Everyone has it."

"Hit it."

The lower deck of the "First Emperor" ship. Boiler room.

The coal shovelers were shirtless, sweat pouring down their dark muscles. The moment they heard the command, everyone seemed to be injected with adrenaline.

"Add more coal! Add more coal!"

"Weld the pressure valve shut for me!"

The enormous paddlewheel began to spin faster. White waves were churned into foam. The five-thousand-horsepower steam engine roared deafeningly. This steel behemoth, displacing over ten thousand tons, charged at the fleeing herd of antelopes like a raging rhinoceros.

The distance is shrinking rapidly.

Four thousand meters.

Two kilometers.

500 meters.

Standing on the bridge, the despair on the pirates' faces was clearly visible. They rowed desperately, but their struggle seemed ridiculous and laughable in the face of a speed of twenty knots.

"Bang--!!!"

A loud bang.

The sharp bow of the "First Emperor" cut into the last pirate ship.

Like cutting butter with a hot knife.

There were no obstacles. There were no pauses.

The poor wooden boat was smashed in two. Broken planks, broken oars, and screaming pirates were instantly swept under the massive paddlewheel and turned into red foam.

The ship didn't even rock.

"Awesome!" Meng Tian stood at the bow of the boat, gripping the railing, his face covered in seawater (and some unknown liquid). This pure, violent sense of crushing power made every pore on his body tingle.

"Continue!" Ying Zheng stood with his hands behind his back, his face as indifferent as if he were looking at a group of ants.

The "First Emperor" did not slow down. It adjusted its course and aimed at the next ship.

crush.

Crushed.

Swallow.

In just fifteen minutes, this sea area transformed into a massive slaughterhouse. Of the twelve pirate ships, only the lead one, with its mast broken, was still spinning in circles; the rest had become floating rubble.

Zhang Ying stood aside, watching this scene unfold.

No mercy.

This is the generational gap in civilization. When the steel torrent of the industrial age collides with the wooden planks of the age of cold weapons, the result is destined to be devastating.

"Leave one alive," Zhang Ying suddenly said.

Ying Zheng raised his hand.

"stop."

The massive paddlewheel stopped turning. It reversed its propulsion. The ship left a huge white trail on the sea and came to a steady stop next to the wrecked flagship.

Several Qin soldiers threw down the rope ladder, jumped down like nimble monkeys, and pulled up the terrified pirate captain.

"Kneel down!"

Wang Ben kicked the pirate captain in the back of the knee.

"Gibberish! Abba aba!" The pirate captain kowtowed frantically, speaking in an unintelligible language.

"What is he saying?" Ying Zheng frowned.

Zhang Ying walked over and squatted down. The system's automatic translation was activated.

"He said he was a nobleman from the Mauryan dynasty and begged us to spare our lives, offering to pay a ransom."

"The Mauryan Dynasty?" Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow. He remembered that map. That inverted triangular peninsula.

"Do you have money?" Ying Zheng asked, getting to the heart of the matter.

"There should be," Zhang Ying said, pointing to the gold necklace around the pirate captain's neck. "It looks quite thick."

Ying Zheng smiled.

He bent down and patted the pirate captain's face, which was covered in snot and tears.

"Tell him."

"I do not want the ransom."

"I want him to lead the way."

"Let's go to that peacock's nest."

"My army has come from afar and is in dire need of a supply depot."

Zhang Ying translated the words.

The pirate captain was stunned. He looked at the ring of dark gun barrels around him, at the massive steel warship that blotted out the sky, and then at the man in the black robe whose eyes were more terrifying than those of a demon.

He nodded frantically.

"Very good." Ying Zheng straightened up and looked westward. The setting sun dyed the sea red, and also dyed the warship, which had just drunk its fill of blood, red.

"set sail."

"Target: The Mauryan Dynasty."

"Wang Ben".

"Your subject is here!"

"Go and clean the deck. It's covered in blood, ruining my mood for playing cards."

"promise!"

Ying Zheng turned around, waved his sleeves, and walked back towards the mahjong room filled with the smell of smoke.

"Sir, that last round doesn't count."

Why?

"I was distracted by these mosquitoes and couldn't perform well."

"Your Majesty, defaulting on a debt is not the act of a wise ruler."

"I am the First Emperor, and my word is law. Let's start again! This time, I'll be the one in charge!"

The hatch closed.

Only the trembling pirate captain remained, slumped on the cold steel plate, watching the terrifying demon ship, carrying a group of madmen, sail towards his homeland.

The scene freezes on the pirate captain's despairing eyes, reflecting the billowing black smoke from the massive smokestack of the "First Emperor," which transforms into a ferocious black dragon, its jaws wide open, ready to devour the next civilization.

Chapter 93

Chapter 93 Putting Tracks on Elephants

Calicut, a port city of the Mauryan dynasty.

This was a hub for spices, a place where gold flowed. On ordinary days, the port was crowded with merchant ships from Arabia, Persia, and even further afield. Elephants, laden with heavy loads, moved slowly through the streets, and the air was filled with the unique aroma of curry, pepper, and cow dung.

Today, the port is deathly silent.

Everyone looked up at the enormous creature approaching on the sea.

That thing was taller than the city wall. A black column of smoke shot straight into the sky, obscuring the sun. Huge wheels churned in the water, producing a thunderous roar.

"Divine punishment...it's Shiva's divine punishment!"

The dockworkers dropped their cargo and knelt in prayer. The soldiers guarding the city trembled with fear, their war elephants neighing anxiously and retreating incessantly.

"Move closer."

Ying Zheng stood on the bridge, holding a freshly peeled apple (planted by Zhang Ying).

"Don't damage the dock; I still need it."

The "First Emperor" slowly decelerated. White jets of water sprayed from the side thrusters, propelling this tens of thousands of tons of steel behemoth to gently dock against the wooden pier like a toy boat.

"Click—"

A corner of the pier collapsed.

"Um... a technical blunder." Meng Tian, ​​who was in charge of steering, scratched his head awkwardly.

"It's alright." Ying Zheng took a bite of his apple. "It's going to be torn down and rebuilt anyway."

The huge springboard was lowered.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The ground shook.

Ten "Daqin No. 1" tractor-tanks, lined up in neat formation, rumbled down. The 100mm main guns on the turrets were raised high, their dark muzzles scanning the crowd.

Following them were two thousand fully armed Qin soldiers.

They weren't wearing those bulky bronze armors. Instead, they were all dressed in camouflage (dyed from canvas by Zhang Ying), wearing steel helmets, carrying flintlock pistols, and with grenades hanging from their waists.

The art style is hardcore and bizarre.

The local officials of the Mauryan Empire finally realized what was happening. A fat official, as round as a ball, rode a magnificently decorated elephant and led a troop of soldiers, trembling as they approached.

"Who...who are you?" the fat official shouted in broken Persian.

Zhang Ying stood on top of the tank, holding a megaphone.

"Great Qin".

"Come do business."

"Doing business?" The fat official paused, glancing at the menacing tanks. "This is... how you do business?"

"We believe in fair trade," Zhang Ying said, pointing to the cannon barrel behind her. "This is to ensure the fairness of the trade."

"We need supplies," Ying Zheng's voice boomed through the port through the loudspeaker. "Water, meat, spices, gold."

"Why should we give it to you?" the fat official shouted, mustering his courage. "This is the Peacock King's territory! We have a war elephant legion!"

He waved his hand.

Behind them, dozens of war elephants clad in iron armor strode out with heavy steps. Archers on the elephants' backs drew their bows taut.

War elephant. A land tank from the era of cold weapons.

In this era, it is indeed an invincible existence.

Ying Zheng's eyes lit up as he looked at the elephants.

"gentlemen."

"This thing looks more impressive than our tractor."

Zhang Ying curled her lip. "Puffy. You're surprised by just one shot."

"Want to give it a try?"

"Give it a try."

Zhang Ying patted the top of the tank.

"Car number one. The leader over there. Don't kill him, shoot him at his feet."

The turret rotated. The sound of gears meshing was particularly jarring in the silent harbor.

"boom--!!!"

100mm high-explosive shell in the barrel.

The shell exploded on the ground five meters away from the lead war elephant.

Flames shot skyward. Dirt flew everywhere. The enormous shockwave hurled the fat official off the elephant's back, sending him rolling like a ball more than a dozen times.

The war elephant let out a mournful cry. It wasn't injured, it was terrified.

Animals have an instinctive fear of fire and loud noises.

The startled war elephant instantly lost control. It turned madly and charged recklessly towards its own ranks.

Trampling.

confusion.

The once-mighty war elephant legion instantly became a nightmare for their own people. Dozens of elephants rampaged across the harbor, smashing wooden houses to pieces and trampling soldiers into mincemeat.

"That's...it's over?" Wang Ben was holding a gun, but hadn't had time to pull the trigger yet.

"I told you it's just bloated fat." Zhang Ying jumped off the tank and dusted off her hands.

Ying Zheng looked at the chaotic scene and shook his head.

"Boring."

"Wang Ben".

"exist!"

"Go and bring that fat man back. I want to discuss the details of 'fair trade' with him."

Half an hour later.

The fat official knelt on the deck of the "First Emperor" warship. He was so scared he wet himself. He really did.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty, spare my life..."

"I won't kill you." Ying Zheng sat on the leather sofa, toying with a ruby ​​he had found on the fat official. "I've heard that this place is famous for its rubies?"

"Yes! Yes! The warehouse is full of them!" The fat official kowtowed desperately.

"Very good." Ying Zheng nodded in satisfaction. "Move everything onto the ship."

"And another thing," Zhang Ying added from the side, "we need rubber. Lots of rubber."

"Rubber?" The fat official looked bewildered.

"It's that kind of tree that oozes white sap," Zhang Ying gestured. "You must have it here."

"Yes, yes, yes! The woods to the south are full of them!"

The transaction (robbery) went smoothly.

The Qin soldiers moved boxes of spices, gems, and gold into the hold like a moving company. In exchange, Ying Zheng generously rewarded the fat official with a box of glass marbles (made by Zhang Ying).

"This is a divine pearl from the East," Zhang Ying said earnestly, "one pearl can be exchanged for a city."

The fat official held the glass ball as if it were a priceless treasure.

Just then, Meng Tian rushed over.

"Your Majesty! Sir! What is that?"

He pointed to a corner of the dock.

There, several war elephants subdued by the Qin army lay on the ground, panting heavily.

Ying Zheng walked over and circled the elephant twice.

"gentlemen."

"This thing is strong; it can run by eating grass."

"Our tractors still need fuel."

"Could we..." Ying Zheng pointed to the elephant, then to the tank.

Zhang Ying understood immediately.

"You mean... a combination of biological and mechanical elements?"

"Give it steel armor," Ying Zheng gestured dramatically, "and mount a machine gun bunker on its back. Attach two chainsaws to its ivory."

"Should we put shoes on it?" Zhang Ying imagined the scene.

"Tracked shoes!" Ying Zheng's eyes lit up. "To make it run more steadily!"

Zhang Ying rubbed her forehead.

This aesthetic sense. This imagination.

It's cyberpunk taken to the extreme.

"Let's do it!" Zhang Ying gritted her teeth. "We're just killing time anyway."

then.

The port of Calicut was transformed into a conversion plant.

Qin craftsmen, armed with welding torches and steel plates, clanged and clattered around the unfortunate elephants.

three days later.

The first "Qin Heavy Biological Tank" was born.

Its entire body was covered with two-centimeter-thick steel plates, with only its eyes and nose exposed. A steel bunker was welded to its back, inside which were mounted two newly developed rotary machine guns (hand-cranked). Special anti-slip armor was strapped to its four legs. The ivory had been replaced with two sharp, high-quality steel rams.

It looks like a mobile steel fortress.

"How majestic!" Ying Zheng patted the elephant's steel rump, clearly delighted.

"Shall we go up and give it a try?" Zhang Ying urged.

Without saying a word, Ying Zheng climbed up the ladder into the bunker.

"drive!"

The elephant slowly stood up. The metal clashed together with a dull thud.

"Rat-a-tat-tat—"

Ying Zheng cranked the handle of the machine gun. Flames shot from the muzzle, snapping a row of coconut trees in half in the distance.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Wild laughter erupted from inside the bunker.

"This is truly my mount!"

"Send the order! Capture all the elephants in the city! I want to form an armored elephant cavalry!"

Zhang Ying looked at the emperor who was riding a steel elephant and going crazy, and then looked at Meng Tian and Wang Ben next to her with envy.

He suddenly realized.

The emperor over there in Rome.

I might be in big trouble.

Really.

When this Qin army, sailing aircraft carriers, riding armored elephants, and carrying Gatling guns, appeared outside the city of Rome.

Caesar (or someone from that era) would probably have questioned the meaning of life.

"Report—!!!"

The communications soldier rushed over with a walkie-talkie.

"Your Majesty! The radar has detected an anomaly!"

"What is it now?" Ying Zheng stopped the machine gun and poked his head out.

"The West," the communications officer pointed to the horizon, "a large-scale fleet response."

How large is it?

"Overwhelming." The communications soldier swallowed hard. "At least... five hundred ships."

The entire room fell silent.

Five hundred ships.

This is not a pirate.

This is a national war.

The smile on Ying Zheng's face vanished. In its place was a bloodthirsty excitement.

He patted the steel elephant beneath him.

"It seems so."

"Someone is rushing to send me a great gift."

"All troops assemble!"

"Drive the elephants onto the boat!"

"I want them to know."

"What do you mean...?"

"Dimensional reduction attack".

The image freezes on Ying Zheng's eyes, burning with fighting spirit, with armored war elephants being hoisted onto the ship in the background, and a black storm approaching on the distant sea.

Chapter 94

Chapter 94. Can the person on the other side understand Qin dialect?

Five hundred warships.

That was the Ptolemaic dynasty's proud naval force after the fragmentation of the Alexandrian Empire. Although Egypt was already in decline at this time, this fleet was still a dominant force in the Mediterranean. The massive triremes had bronze rams at their prows, and the decks were filled with archers and slingers.

They came to intercept the "Black Devil".

Rumors about a strange ship that "spits out black smoke, is as big as a mountain, and destroys everything" have spread like a plague throughout coastal countries.

General Ptolemy stood on the towering command platform of his flagship, holding a golden scepter in his hand, his brow furrowed.

He saw it.

That legendary monster.

It sat motionless on the sea, like a black, isolated island. There were no sails, no oars, only a few towering chimneys lazily puffing out smoke rings.

"That's... a ship?" the adjutant asked, his voice trembling.

"That was a joke of God." The general took a deep breath. "Order the troops to spread out! Prepare the catapults! Prepare the oil cauldrons!"

He bet the monster wasn't agile enough. He bet the ants would kill the elephant.

But he didn't know.

This elephant has thorns.

The bridge of the "Shihuang" ship.

Ying Zheng sat in the command chair, holding a cup of freshly brewed Longjing tea (Zhang Ying's stock).

"Five hundred ships." Ying Zheng blew on the tea leaves. "Much more spectacular than those few mosquitoes last time."

"The Ptolemaic Navy," Zhang Ying said, looking at the dense clusters of lights on the radar screen. "The successors of ancient Egypt. Though their technology is outdated, they have a large population."

"A lot of people?" Ying Zheng smiled. He put down his teacup, stood up, and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

"At this distance."

"More people means more targets."

"Wang Ben".

"Your subject is here!" Wang Ben was lying in front of the fire control radar, rubbing his hands excitedly.

"This time, we don't need to conserve ammunition." Ying Zheng pointed to the densely packed wooden boats in front of him. "Clean up the area for me."

"promise!"

Wang Ben abruptly pulled down the red alarm lever.

"Waaaaah—waaaah—"

The piercing battle alarm blared throughout the ship.

on the deck.

Twenty 100mm main guns began to slowly rotate.

But this is not the main character.

At the bow of the ship, a huge canvas was lifted.

The hideous monster beneath was revealed.

That was the "ultimate weapon" that Zhang Ying had just developed in the past few days—a multiple rocket launcher.

Although rudimentary; although merely a honeycomb-like object welded together from seamless steel pipes; although the rocket was simply propelled by black powder and fitted with a high-explosive warhead.

But it has thirty-two tubes.

Moreover, there are ten.

Three hundred and twenty rockets.

"This is the 'whitewashing' you wanted." Zhang Ying stood next to Ying Zheng and handed him a pair of earplugs. "Wear these. It'll be very noisy."

Ying Zheng pushed the earplugs away.

"I want to hear it."

"I want to hear the roar of the Qin dragon."

"put!"

Wang Ben pressed the red launch button hard.

"Hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss hiss—!!!"

The air was torn apart.

Countless fire dragons soared into the air from the deck of the "Emperor's Ship." White smoke instantly enveloped the ship. Sharp whistles, like the wails of ten thousand ghosts, pierced the sky.

General Ptolemy raised his head.

He witnessed the most spectacular and terrifying sight he had ever seen in his life.

Its daybreak.

Hundreds of meteors, trailing long fiery tails, streaked across the sky and hurtled toward his fleet.

"Shield! Raise the shield!" he roared in despair.

But in the face of such power, a wooden shield is no different from one made of paper.

"BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!"

The sea was boiling.

The first wave of rockets covered the vanguard of the fleet.

The fireballs merged into one. Huge columns of water, mixed with fragments of wood and human remains, shot hundreds of meters into the air.

No aiming. No aiming required.

This is coverage fire.

This is a saturation attack.

Explosions continued incessantly. Every second, warships were blown to pieces. Oil tanks were detonated, and raging fires broke out on the sea.

The five hundred warships that were just moments ago orderly and imposing were instantly transformed into a sea of ​​fire and inferno.

The screams were drowned out by the sound of the explosion.

General Ptolemy stared blankly at everything. His flagship was still intact, because he was at the rear. But it felt more like torture. Watching his soldiers being wiped out like ants.

"This...this isn't war..." he murmured to himself, "This is...a massacre."

On the "First Emperor" ship.

Ying Zheng stared at the sea of ​​fire, his face expressionless.

"This is... a rocket launcher?"

"Hmm." Zhang Ying lit a cigarette. "The precision is a bit lacking, but the scale is big enough."

"That's enough." Ying Zheng nodded. "I like this thing. It's more exciting than firecrackers."

"Should we continue fighting?" Wang Ben asked. "There seem to be a few ships still alive over there."

Ying Zheng raised his telescope and glanced at the lone flagship.

"Move closer."

"I would like to ask them."

"Can you speak the Qin language?"

The "First Emperor" broke through the wrecked sea and approached Ptolemy's flagship like the Grim Reaper.

A huge shadow fell.

General Ptolemy drew his sword. His hand trembled, but he still pointed it at the black-robed man standing on the steel platform.

"I am Ptolemy Soter! Guardian of Egypt!" he shouted in Greek, "In the name of this sword, I challenge you!"

Zhang Ying was holding a megaphone.

"What did he say?" Ying Zheng asked.

He said he wants to fight you one-on-one.

Ying Zheng smiled.

"A one-on-one duel?"

"Meng Tian".

"exist!"

"Show him what a one-on-one fight looks like."

Meng Tian grinned. He pressed a button.

Below deck, a huge hatch opened.

A war elephant, fully armored and carrying a machine gun bunker, was slowly lifted out by a crane and placed on the rickety deck of Ptolemy's flagship.

"boom!"

The elephant landed on the ground. The wooden planks groaned under the weight.

Meng Tian poked his head out of the bunker on the elephant's back, holding a Gatling gun in his hand.

"The one on the other side."

"Can you understand Qin dialect?"

General Ptolemy stared at the steel monster, and his sword clattered to the ground.

He couldn't understand.

But he understood it.

this world.

Heaven has changed.

The image freezes on Meng Tian's arrogant face and the back of General Ptolemy as he collapses and kneels, with the background of flames and the towering "First Emperor" ship that looks like a god or demon.