Before arriving at the Old Imperial Palace, Nakahisa had already seen that the moat under the castle was already crowded with reporters and protesters. Certainly not as subversive and violent as in the old city, the protests here are much milder, adhering to a form of protest known as "non-violence": an idea derived from the ancient Yaning religious philosophy, born of great compassion for the hearts of the perpetrators of violence and an attempt to touch the hearts of the perpetrators.

Mr. Stephens drove Nakahisa slowly past the crowd of protesters, and the police stationed at the bottom of the castle came to help keep the law and order. Nakahisa saw protesters, mostly Yanings or mixed-race intellectuals, waving signs at cars:

"Truth! Justice! ”

"Tell us what happened in the old city! We have the right to know the truth! The protesters shouted, and Nakahisa pouted in the car.

"Truth? ......" he snorted.

Cross the moat drawbridge, guarded by the Mech's Mecha Unit, and enter the castle gate, which is lined with pines and cypresses that echo the winter snow plums.

The car drove in an arc along a winding mountain road paved with square stone bricks for another twenty minutes before arriving at the Old Imperial Palace, now known as the Mirage Governor's Palace.

The old palace was built by Yaning I after the unification of the Yaning continent, as his residence and the office of the palace nobles, and it was condescending and could look around the city. It was retained after the Asian-American War as the Governor's Mansion in the mirage of the Coalition Government of Asia and the United States, but it was only used for office use, and was no longer used for residence. Although it is not an ancient building in Yaning, the old palace tries to imitate the traditional style of the small country of Yaning where Emperor Yaning I was born and grew up, the building is magnificent and magnificent, divided into five layers, the lower three floors symbolize the different development periods of Brahma, and the fourth layer represents the cultural unity of Yaning continent, and the highest layer is the style of Zen Buddha hall, symbolizing the Buddha's light shining on all things in the world. The top of the palace is covered with glazed tiles, which is resplendent in gold, and the tail of the top of the tower is decorated with a fire phoenix cast in gold and silver, and the skill is extraordinary.

The car was parked in the sand at the entrance to the old palace, and Mr. Stephens got out of the car to open the door for Nakaku.

"My father ......"

"We're meeting guests in the big conference hall, you might have to wait." Mr. Stephens replied.

Nakahisa nodded, straightened the bandage around his neck, and followed Mr. Stephens up the steps of the Governor's Palace.

When passing through the courtyard of the cloister in the Governor's Palace, you can see that the cloister is cut into the shape of a field by four square indoor artificial pools, and a giant beast sculpture can be faintly seen under the water of each square pool, which is the Canglong, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird and the Qiwu, which are the traditional town house mythical beasts of the old Yaning.

On the pillars of the cloister, there are pictures of the Governor from his youth to the present, and a military uniform. The photo dates back more than two decades: William. Governor Jones was a hero of the Medabsoya War who had participated in the Asian-American War, and after the war, he was reassigned back to Mirage as Governor, so he had a considerable number of police and military forces at his disposal. To this day, the time he spent in the East is almost comparable to the time he spent in Meda Busoya.

Passing through the corridor, Mr. Stephens led him into the waiting room next to the Great Chamber, where a half-height Oriental ceramic doll was arranged.

There were already some guests waiting to meet the governor in the waiting room, and some of them had a good acquaintance with Zhongjiu, and everyone exchanged a few words of greeting. After that, there was a long wait, and there was a constant alternation of newcomers and interviewers, and Nakahisa noticed that most of them were high-ranking members of the military and police, as well as high-level members of the news media.

Nakakumoto was not a very patient person, but he had to restrain himself in the Governor's Palace. He stood up, sat down, smoked in the corner, and when it was his turn, it was nearly dusk, and he was sleeping in his chair with his head up, drooling from the corners of his mouth.

"Young Master Zhongjiu, the Governor has called you." Mr. Stephens' voice.

"Huh?!" Awakened from his sleep, still a little sleepy-eyed, Nakahisa stood up, wiped his saliva, and glanced at Mr. Stephens.

"There are pleats at the collar, Young Master Zhongjiu." Stephens understood what Nakahisa meant, and looked at him carefully.

Nakahisa raised his hand to comb his collar as Mr. Stephens had said, then took a deep breath and entered the conference hall.

The room was dimly lit, and the huge screen on the wall was froze with today's electronic news: it was taken on the day of the League, at the beginning of the riots, when the Yaning people in the old city were marching under the guidance of the Renaissance Society -- at a time when communication between the old city and the new city had not yet been cut off. Apparently, my father and the military and the media had just had a countermeasure meeting on the matter.

It seems that the rumors about the assassination of the "ambassador of the coalition government of Asia and the United States to the Old City" have been debunked. ”

A confident male voice came from the end of the conference table, and the shutters of the room gently "clicked" up automatically with the sound, allowing the last winter sun to pour into the room before sunset.

A man with curly brown-white hair, a beard of the same color, raised eyebrows, a thin face but piercing eyes, and even an aggressive look in the light that gradually shone into the room. He was tall and thin, with a huge governor's chair just right for his stature, and although he was in his fifties, the old man still looked as energetic as a young man - he was William of the "mirage" of Meda Busoya in Yaning. Governor Jones, who lived in the East for many years, had become accustomed to the use of the Arinen language for communication.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, father." Nakahisa plucked up the courage to reply, and there was still some hint of sarcasm in his words. He squinted, the room changing from dark to light so quickly that his eyes didn't adjust for a moment.

"Thank you for finally taking the time to meet your son, who survived."

"We're talking about how to fix the mess you've left behind, my dear brother." Another voice came, and it was only then that Nakaku noticed that Victor was also sitting on the other side of the room.

"It's a pleasure" to see you again, my "dear" big brother. Nakahisa bowed slightly to Victor, but was as vigilant as a human encountering a tiger in the forest.

"You need to take responsibility for your choices." William. Jones said,

"You volunteered to be an ambassador for the Old City and establish your ideal "multi-ethnic mixed district", and I gave you this opportunity. ”

"Yes, I used to believe that handing out an olive branch of peace to the indigenous people was more beneficial than adding a heavier lid to an already bubbling pressure cooker." Zhongjiu replied to his father with a proverb from Yanin.

"But what about the result?" Victor took over the topic:

"In your ritual to symbolize the "new hope", the rule of the old city was overturned by a group of bandits. Not only that, but none of the people you went with, including Dr. Stephen, a senior Asian American scholar who assisted you, came back, and you ended up in such a mess that you call peaceful coexistence with the indigenous people. He said as he looked at Nakahisa's plaster hand.

The image of Stephen, who appeared as a stand-in to replace himself as an ambassador, trembled and collapsed in a pool of blood after being slit by the crown prince, slid through Nakahisa's consciousness.

"yes, so when you used the Valkyrie-level bombing, the life of my so-called brother wasn't on your radar, was it?" Nakahisa replied by staring at Victor's devilish eyes without showing weakness.

"It's worth it." William. Jones interrupted Nakahisa's questioning with an unbelievable remark.

Nakahisa didn't understand his father's words for a moment, and he turned his head to look at his father.

"What do you mean by that?"

"We had already thought about the possibility of accidents, so we made some arrangements and it was a small success. Lead the snake out of the hole, thanks to you. "William. Jones replied.

Zhong Jiu suddenly felt a chill in his heart, although he hadn't grasped all the veins yet, he was already vaguely aware of what he had missed before.

"You've seen it firsthand," said William. Jones continues:

"The Yaning anti-American organization, led by the "Renaissance Society", has grown rapidly over the years, causing chaos everywhere, and their activities based in underground sewers have made it difficult for our Meda Busoya's Mechanical Heart troops to accurately grasp their movements. ”

Nakahisa's mind quickly flashed back to the beginning of the Confederate Day riots, when he saw the members of the Revival Society pushing open the manhole cover and coming up.

Victor smiled coldly and said:

"And the only way to bring together the main forces of the anti-American rebels is the magnificent speech of the new ambassador of the Meda Busoya faction on the day of the Alliance, which is undoubtedly the best reason."

Zhongjiu's eyes widened, cold sweat ran down his back, and he said to himself: "That is to say, use me as bait from the beginning, if my peace policy takes effect, I can use the aborigines to deal with the Revival Society." But if there is an armed uprising planned by the Renaissance, it will take the opportunity to wipe them out...... A wishful thinking that doesn't suffer on both sides. ”

“Bingo！ My smart brother finally got it~)"

Nakahisa looked at his father:

"However, how can such a large-scale Valkyrie-level bombing force be mobilized in such a short period of time? Valkyrie fighters are usually stationed only in the territory of Medabsuya, and it takes at least a few days from deployment to arrival. ”

William. Jones stood up, his height of nearly one hundred and ninety centimeters was enough for him to bow his head and look down at Zhong Jiu:

"By the time you go on your peace operation, which has little chance of success, I have sent an order for the dispatch of the Mada Busoa to the country,

As soon as your brother's troops received the message, they had unwittingly mobilized the Valkyries from Medabsoa to the Mirage. The actual situation is the same as I expected, and thank you for your sacrifice and giving us a wonderful excuse. ”

He raised his hand and spun it in the air, and the optical sensing system immediately picked up his gesture and projected a media report on the screen. It's news time for Yaning National Television:

The background of the media report showed the exact same scene of the armed march of the Yaning people in the old city as the one shown in the conference hall just now, apparently carefully selected from the Governor's Palace. A dignified Yaning female host and another Meda Busoya male host broadcast together

"Breaking_News!" (Breaking News), in the Meda Busoya language with Yaning subtitles, roughly means:

Misled by a small number of rebels who attempted to subvert the peace, the residents of the old city marched in violation of law and order on the Day of the League, undermining public order and betraying the trust of the government, and causing huge personal and economic losses to others and themselves. Thanks to the efforts of the coalition government between Asia and the United States, public order is being restored. At the right time, information about the further Old Town will be given to the media.

At the end of the news, the announcer emphasized:

The Renaissance Society, as one of the largest and most vicious anti-government organizations at present, has teamed up with the black group Harunoran Kaikan to oppress women and children, illegally obtain weapons and medicines, and bring great instability to society.

"Even the participation of the Spring Lan Club has been arranged......" Zhongjiu gritted his teeth and read silently, but he didn't see through the banner under his father.

At the end of the news, "The US-Asia coalition government and the Heart of the Machine are the guarantee of peace of mind for all Yaning residents, let us unite to build a better mirage and build a stronger Yaning Republic." ”

And with:

"Strength_through_unity, COTTMITUNS (Strength comes from unity, being with God)"

As a conclusion, the image then moves to an advertisement for the harmonious life of a Meda Busoya and Yaning couple diving under the sea covered with beautiful coral reefs.

William. Jones makes a grabbing gesture, and the video closes.

"In the end, however, we achieved your desire for the unity of the two nations, and we eliminated the rebels in one fell swoop."

Father said as he looked into Zhongjiu's eyes.

"So this plan to kill two birds with one stone was obtained by sacrificing your unwitting son as bait, isn't it?" When Zhongjiu raised his head again, his eyes were a little moist.

"I can't give up the child, I can't trap the wolf."

"Then I guess this child, you must have chosen me without hesitation between our three siblings, I think I am just a meaningless half-breed son to you." Zhong Jiu smiled bitterly.

"If you mean nothing to me," said William. Jones suddenly raised his voice, and the entire room echoed with the echo of his words, "If I hadn't thought about a peaceful resolution of the Asian-American racial conflict, there would never be a mongrel son like you!" You won't even have the noble surname "Jones"! ”

Zhongjiu lowered his head, tried his best to hide his emotions, and then replied to his father in a low voice:

"It's me who is wrong to compare you to those vulgar Yaning barbarians."

But he silently thought in his heart: "Yes, people don't have the style of a king like you, and they are willing to kick their son who is kept in the dark into the wolf's mouth." ”

Seeing Zhongjiu apologize, William. Jones stopped pursuing it,

"Alright, you've just come back, so that's all for today. In the evening there was an officer's dinner at the Governor's Palace, remember to attend on time. )”

He waved his hand, and Mr. Stephens opened the door to the chamber. Victor stood up, saluted his father, and turned to walk towards the door. Nakahisa followed suit, but the salute was far less like a soldier.

Walking out of the governor's palace, Zhongjiu lit a cigarette and took two puffs. Saw Victor descending the steps and preparing to leave. Although he was unwilling, Zhong Jiu still gritted his teeth and reluctantly polite: "Hey, big brother, it's rare that I escaped death, don't you have a meal together at night?" ”

Victor glanced back at his brother with disdain, he was generally more accustomed to and more willing to communicate in the Meda Busoya language:

“I_rather_not,to_be_honest,I’m_not_kinda_guy_hanging_out_with_hybrid_brother！

(Forget it, I'm honestly not someone who wants to drink and eat with my mongrel brother!) ）”

"Cut," Nakahisa held back his anger and turned into a sarcastic tone, "Why do you say such ugly words, are you willing to put down your body and sit at the same table with your half-brother, wouldn't it be better to show the officers of the mirage your greatness." ”

Victor turned around and walked a few steps into Zhongjiu, approached Zhongjiu's face, and said word by word:

“When_all_Yanin_rebellions_are_uprooted,it_will_likely_better_reflect_my_greatness.

(My greatness will be better manifested when all the resistance forces related to Yanin's bloodline are bulldozed by one left.) ）”

The young devil spoke so seriously, like an oracle, that Nakaku was dumbfounded for a moment. Victor looked at Zhongjiu's appearance and smiled coldly: "Thengoodbye." ”

With that, he turned to leave, leaving Nakaku standing alone on the steps. The cigarette in his hand burned to the place where his fingers were between them, and his skin made a "stinging" sound.

"Ah, it hurts!" Zhong Jiu realized that he shook off the cigarette butt in his hand, looked at Victor's distant figure and cursed: "What the son of a bitch! ”

The crowd marching under the castle did not leave as the sun set, and continued to shout "Truth!" "Truth! ”。

―――――――

In the Doge's Palace, there was still William. Governor Jones and Steward Mr. Stephens remained in the chamber.

Mr. Stephens: "Lord Doge, the pink ...... about the final appearance of Operation Valkyrie"

"They don't need to know, and the citizens don't need to know."

Mr. Stephens nodded, "I see. "However, it is likely that this has allowed the Revival to preserve some of its strength." Let them lose so much this time, it is inevitable that they will not retaliate, and leave it alone, it is difficult to guarantee that one day their strength will not be restored. ”

"What do you think?" William. Jones looked at him.

"Didn't Young Master Zhongjiu always want to have his own power? Why not? ”

"You mean to give Zhongjiu some rights? Just a person like him who is lazy? If it had been before, you would not have made such a suggestion. ”

"While waiting to greet Young Master Zhongjiu, I checked all the videos of Miss Brunhilde's subordinate team syncing this time." Mr. Stephens gestured to the wall screen to turn the hologram back on. On the silent video with intermittent interference lines, it shows Hong Yuesheng's battle near the central lake of the old Imperial Park brought back by the Manta Ray Squad, and the record of Hong Yuesheng single-handedly fighting the king squid.

Watch the video, William. Jones didn't just look sideways: "Erazer? ”

"That's right, according to this child's performance, it is very likely that he will be another gifted person after the two of your family."

William. Jones scrutinized the video: "It doesn't look like a mad dog right now, maybe it's just a mad dog." ”

"Yes, Lord Governor, that's possible." Mr. Stephens nodded yes.

"But ......," William. Jones's eyes flashed with a bright brilliance:

"There's some truth to your idea. Even if it is a mad dog, instead of using the Meda Busoya armed forces against the Renaissance Society, it is better to let the Yaning people kill each other, which will not leave a tongue for the Asian-American coalition government, and it will also be a good political propaganda tool. ”

"Dog eats dog...... Is it? Mr. Stephens followed his master's words and muttered slowly, and the two of them looked at the close-up of Hong Yuesheng's typical Yaning face in the hologram at the same time.