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

Send a telegram to my Great Qin

The hot air balloon's basket crashed heavily onto the bluestone slabs of Xianyang Palace Square.

"boom--"

A muffled thud.

The enormous air bladder slowly collapsed in mid-air, like a giant beast folding its wings.

The last flame from the burner licked the air, leaving behind a pungent smell of kerosene.

This scent is completely out of place with the sandalwood in the palace.

It is the essence of industrial civilization.

The square was filled with people kneeling on the ground.

Civil and military officials, imperial guards, and even Hu Hai, who had already fainted from fright.

No one dared to look up.

That tremor from the depths of their souls made them press their foreheads tightly against the cold ground.

"Click."

The door to the wicker basket was kicked open.

A foot wearing a black military boot stepped out.

Not silk shoes.

They were thick-soled, steel-toed tactical leather boots covered in Roman mud.

Ying Zheng stood on solid ground.

He ripped off his windproof goggles and tossed them back into the basket.

The black dragon robe had been shortened, the cuffs were tied tight, and a flintlock pistol was tucked into his waist. It looked incongruous, yet it exuded a suffocating sense of competence and brutality.

"Are they all mute?"

The sound wasn't loud.

But it exploded in the deathly silent square.

Several timid civil officials immediately drew their swords.

That voice is so familiar.

That was the tyrant who ruled them for decades.

The First Emperor, who should have perished in the belly of a fish.

Zhao Gao lay on the ground, trembling all over.

He wanted to bury his head in the ground.

As long as you can't see it, it's a nightmare.

As long as you can't see, there's still a chance to wake up.

"Da, da, da."

The sound of military boots stepping on the stone slabs grew closer.

It stopped in front of Zhao Gao.

"Prefect Zhao."

Ying Zheng's voice came from above, tinged with a hint of mockery, "I heard you drafted a very good will for me?"

Zhao Gao suddenly looked up.

That once delicate and fair face was now twisted like a dried orange peel.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

"That was Li Si! Li Si forced this servant to write it!"

Zhao Gao shouted hoarsely, his fingers digging into the cracks in the floor tiles, "This servant is utterly loyal to His Majesty! It was that old scoundrel Li Si who plotted against us!"

"Oh?"

Ying Zheng raised an eyebrow.

He turned to the side and waved to the tank behind him.

"Old Li."

"Come down and confess your guilt."

The tank hatch is open.

Li Si poked his head out.

He was wearing a dark green steel helmet, with obsidian sunglasses perched on his nose, and holding half a compressed biscuit in his hand.

"Lord Zhao."

Li Si chewed on a biscuit, his tone indistinct, "I'm not taking the blame for this."

Zhao Gao froze.

Looking at Li Si, who was dressed in "strange clothes," the string in his mind completely snapped.

Li Si is not dead?

Not only did they not die, but they also returned with His Majesty, riding these steel monsters?

"Alright."

Ying Zheng was getting impatient.

He lifted his foot.

Black military boots slammed heavily onto Zhao Gao's hand.

"Click."

The sound of bones breaking was clearly audible.

"ah--!!!"

Zhao Gao let out a bloodcurdling scream like a pig being slaughtered.

"Noisy."

Ying Zheng stomped his foot hard, "Wang Ben."

"arrive!"

Wang Ben jumped off another tank, carrying a still-cooled machine gun, exuding a menacing aura.

"Drag this eunuch away."

Ying Zheng pointed to a hitching post in the corner of the square.

"Hang him up."

"Don't kill him."

"I still have a great use for him."

"promise!"

Wang Ben grabbed Zhao Gao by the collar like he was carrying a dead dog and dragged him to a corner.

The screams faded into the distance.

Ying Zheng straightened his collar and turned to walk towards the towering steps.

There.

Hu Hai was slowly waking up as two eunuchs pinched his philtrum.

He opened his eyes.

All I saw was a magnified face.

He had seen that face countless times in his nightmares.

"Father...Father Emperor..."

Hu Hai rolled his eyes and felt faint again.

"Snapped!"

A slap.

crisp.

Loud and clear.

The blow slapped half of Hu Hai's face until it was swollen, and also pulled him back from the brink of unconsciousness.

"Stand up straight."

Ying Zheng looked coldly at his good-for-nothing son.

Hu Hai shakily got up, the liquid in his crotch flowing down his thighs.

"Is this the successor I've chosen?"

Ying Zheng turned to look at Zhang Ying, who had just climbed out of the hot air balloon.

Zhang Ying was holding a digital camera (obtained through the system) and frantically snapping photos of Hu Hai's pig-headed face.

"It's probably a genetic mutation."

Zhang Ying shrugged. "Or maybe there's something wrong with your parenting style."

"Maybe."

Ying Zheng did not refute.

He grabbed Hu Hai by the collar and dragged him to the edge of the steps like a rag doll.

below.

These were tens of thousands of newly arrived garrison troops from Xianyang.

And there were rows of tanks that were being shut down to cool off.

The black smoke dissipated.

These steel behemoths revealed their ferocious nature.

The cannon barrel is raised high.

The machine guns were chilling.

That is absolute force.

That was a technological crushing victory that spanned two thousand years.

"Look carefully at all of you!"

Ying Zheng raised the megaphone in his hand.

The sound of the electric current was piercing.

"I."

"I'm back."

"Starting today."

"Great Qin".

"It's over."

There was no cheering.

There was only deathly silence.

Followed by.

"Splash—"

Tens of thousands of soldiers and thousands of officials knelt down in unison.

The sound of armor clashing together formed a torrent of steel.

"Long live Your Majesty! Long live the Qin Dynasty!"

The sound was deafening.

The glazed tiles of Xianyang Palace trembled from the shock.

Ying Zheng released his grip.

Hu Hai slumped on the steps, looking at the fanatical faces below, and knew he was finished.

It's completely over.

"Go in."

Ying Zheng kicked Hu Hai's butt. "I brought you a gift."

Inside the main hall.

The luxurious decorations that originally belonged to Hu Hai were unceremoniously thrown out by the Qin soldiers.

Instead.

They were heavy wooden crates.

Those were spoils of war looted from Rome, Egypt, and the Mauryan Empire.

Ying Zheng sat on the dragon throne.

This chair is too hard.

It's not as comfortable as the genuine leather sofa on the "First Emperor" ship.

He twisted his neck and looked at the officials kneeling before him.

"Get up, everyone."

"Stop kneeling."

"I learned a new word during my trip."

"Call it efficiency."

The ministers looked at each other, then stood up tremblingly.

"Li Si".

"Your subject is here."

"Hang up the map."

Li Si directed two soldiers to hang the huge world map in the center of the hall.

That's not a map that only includes seven countries.

It was a complete world map that included the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, and even the outline of the Americas.

The courtiers were in uproar.

They don't understand.

The dense lines and color blocks on it were beyond their comprehension.

"This one."

Ying Zheng held a pointer (an ivory staff he had seized from Rome) and pointed to a boot-shaped object on the westernmost part of the map.

"Rome."

"It's now called Rome County."

"This one."

The pointer was moved towards the inverted triangle to the south.

"The Mauryan Dynasty".

"This is now my pig farm."

"And this one too."

The pointer was placed on the banks of the Nile.

"Egypt."

"My library."

The only sound in the main hall was gasping for breath.

Although they didn't know where these places were.

But judging from His Majesty's tone...

It seems... they've taken them all?

It's only been half a year!

"His Majesty……"

An elderly minister mustered his courage and stepped forward, asking, "Where are these places...? Have they truly submitted to the Qin Dynasty?"

"submission?"

Ying Zheng smiled.

He pulled a round, thick iron lump out of his pocket.

Those were grenades made by Zhang Ying.

Pull ring.

Delay for three seconds.

Ying Zheng tossed it casually.

The lump of iron traced a parabola and landed on the open ground outside the main hall.

"boom--!!!"

A flash of light appeared.

The shockwave carried debris and dust into the main hall.

The old minister plopped down on the ground.

Everyone covered their ears.

"That's why they submitted."

Ying Zheng patted the rust off his hands.

"Does anyone else have any questions?"

The entire audience shook their heads.

neat and tidy.

They looked like a flock of tamed quails.

"very good."

Ying Zheng sat back on the dragon throne.

"gentlemen."

He looked at Zhang Ying, who was leaning against a pillar smoking.

"This hall is too dark."

"To my Great Qin."

"Turn on the power."

Zhang Ying exhaled a smoke ring.

He had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

"Alright."

Zhang Ying snapped her fingers.

outside the temple.

A modified tank roared to life.

Its tail shaft is connected to a huge generator.

Thick cables extended through the door cracks and connected to a row of glass bulbs that had already been installed at the top of the hall.

That's a light bulb.

Although it was just the most primitive carbon filament light bulb.

Although its lifespan may only be a few dozen hours.

But in this era.

It is a miracle.

"Buzz—"

Current surge.

The originally dimly lit hall was instantly filled with orange light.

It wasn't the flickering, dim light of a torch.

Instead, it is a stable, bright, and radiant glow, like a small sun.

Everyone was stunned.

They looked up.

Looking at the glowing glass spheres above my head.

They even forgot to breathe.

"God... a miracle..."

Someone knelt down.

Then came the second, and the third.

This was even more shocking to them than the tanks.

Because it dispelled the darkness.

This is a power that only gods can wield.

"This is not a miracle."

Ying Zheng sat in the light.

The black dragon robe gleamed with a cold, eerie light under the lamplight.

His face was illuminated.

majesty.

sacred.

Inviolable.

"This is science."

Ying Zheng repeated the words Zhang Ying had taught him.

"Starting today."

"The Qin Dynasty stopped building the Great Wall."

"I want to build roads."

"Build a road that can accommodate these kinds of metal trains."

"I want to build ships."

"Build large ships that can carry 10,000 people."

"I want this light."

"To illuminate every inch of the land of Qin."

He suddenly stood up.

He placed both hands on the table.

Those hawk-like eyes swept across the entire room.

Who agrees?

"Who objects?"

Dead silence.

The only sound was the roar of the generator.

Oppose?

Take a look at the huge crater outside that was blown up.

Take another look at the godlike light overhead.

Who dares to object?

"We, your humble servants...swear to follow Your Majesty to the death!"

A deafening roar, like a tsunami.

This time.

It's not just fear.

There was also something called "fanatical" burning in the veins of these ancient imperial bureaucrats.

They saw it.

An unprecedented golden age.

A golden age where the sun can be grasped in one's hands.

Zhang Ying stood in the shadows.

Looking at this scene.

He raised his camera.

"Click."

The image freezes.

Ying Zheng stood under a bright electric light, with a huge world map behind him and a hundred officials bowing down at his feet.

And that once arrogant Hu Hai.

It was huddled in a corner.

He was holding the apple core that Ying Zheng had thrown away.

Bewildered.

It was like the remnants of the old era watching the giant wheel of the new era rumble and crush over his body.