Shen Feng couldn't help but whisper when he saw Li Keyi, "It's only been two months, and you've already exposed our relationship. Honestly, were you doing it on purpose when you were on the phone earlier?"
Li Keyi smiled and asked, "Guess if I was doing it on purpose?"
Shen Feng already had the answer. Given Li Keyi's intelligence, she would definitely understand what to say and when. After all, even Xu Xing would consider the occasion and know that crucial information needed to be relayed only after returning to Yuzhou. Yet, Li Keyi had directly used intimate terms on the phone, clearly revealing their relationship.
"Alright, I won't say anything else. Hurry up and come home with me. Also, this is my senior schoolmate, whom you've met before. I won't introduce you." Shen Feng didn't want to dwell on this matter, as scolding would be pointless.
Chang Jianyi slowly stepped forward, wearing a snow-white sable fur coat over a form-fitting evening gown. She exuded an aura of elegance and nobility at first glance. Li Keyi dared not be disrespectful and quickly stepped forward, saying, "Greetings, Sister!"
Although Li Keyi was actually older than Chang Jianyi, according to custom, she could only address Chang Jianyi as "Sister." The reason was simple: ancient society was patriarchal. While monogamy was the nominal rule, men had the right to take concubines. In such times, the wife primarily managed the household, leading to a hierarchy in the inner court. The principal wife was always the senior, and subsequent women were always junior, regardless of age, as it was related to status.
If this were a time of peace, Shen Feng's actions would have been illegal. However, in the current doomsday scenario, as long as one possessed strength, no one would question how many women they married. People were not concerned with whether these powerful individuals committed bigamy; their primary worries were finding food the next day and avoiding danger.
"From now on, live in Yuzhou and consider this your home. Also, it's best if you all keep a close eye on Shen Feng; he's not at all honest!" Chang Jianyi said with a smile, effectively accepting Li Keyi. Shen Feng breathed a sigh of relief.
However, just as Shen Feng relaxed, Chang Jianyi looked at him and said with a cold smile, "As for you, I've already told you before. The million-word self-criticism is absolutely non-negotiable. I want to see your self-criticism within a month. Is that understood?"
Shen Feng didn't dare to object at this point. It was already good enough that Li Keyi's matter could be resolved. He had already wronged his senior schoolmate considerably with the Du Xinshi incident. If he showed no remorse this time, it would be unacceptable, so he could only agree.
"Alright, alright, I will definitely write the self-criticism as quickly as possible." Shen Feng knew he was in the wrong and dared not object, quickly agreeing.
But it wasn't over yet, as Chang Jianyi continued, "I know you've already hired a ghostwriter beforehand, so I demand that you write this self-criticism by hand. I will compare the handwriting, so don't think you can get away with it. I want you to write it stroke by stroke."
Shen Feng was surprised that his senior schoolmate already knew about the ghostwriter, and he immediately felt awkward. A million words was not a small number. Typing it on a computer would take months, and if it had to be handwritten, it was impossible to tell how long it would take to complete.
"Can we discuss this? A million words is still too much. How about ten thousand words?" Shen Feng quickly tried to negotiate with his senior schoolmate, as a million-word handwritten self-criticism was too outrageous.
However, Shen Feng's request was immediately rejected. Chang Jianyi said with a cold smile, "Every time you bring another woman back, there's no punishment. I know I've been too gentle, which is why you've been so reckless time and time again. This time, I must make you learn your lesson, or you'll keep doing it in the future."
Shen Feng couldn't help but give a wry smile. It seemed he was in trouble this time. How could he possibly write a million words in such a short period? It was completely unrealistic. He had to find a way to stall for time. "Let's talk about it after we deal with the mutated birds. The mutated birds have been heading south recently, and I don't have time for this in the short term. We'll discuss it after the mutated birds leave."
Chang Jianyi granted Shen Feng's wish, saying, "I can grant you this. After the war ends, you must write the self-criticism without delay. I will remember this, and I recognize your handwriting. If you think you can have someone else write it for you, let me tell you, that's impossible!"
Shen Feng nodded and looked at Li Keyi, saying, "Do you know how serious the consequences are now?"
Li Keyi whispered in Shen Feng's ear, "It's okay, I'll write it for you. I can imitate other people's handwriting."
Shen Feng's method of dealing with the people Li Keyi brought was simple: disperse them to various cities in Yuzhou, and send them for farming next year. For now, they would be taken care of.
"City Lord, should we start the registration?" a subordinate asked Shen Feng for his opinion.
Everyone in Yuzhou had to register and have new identification cards issued. If there were any special talents, the subordinates would naturally report them during the registration of personal information. If they had no special abilities, they would be sent for farming; they had no choice.
"Wait a moment. Let Miss Li take the scientists she knows away first. Since they are scientists, they shouldn't be mixed with ordinary people," Shen Feng quickly instructed his subordinate.
Scientists were important at any time. Yuzhou was actually in great need of scientists. However, Yuzhou had no particular advantage over other places, and it was impossible to train a large number of scientists in a short period or attract these talents. Li Keyi's ability to bring many scientists from Yanjing was a remarkable achievement.
"Lord Fengshen is truly benevolent, valuing science so highly. He is indeed a powerful overlord." The scientists were very excited upon hearing Shen Feng's words because they felt valued, which was rare. Normally, who would care about them? During their escape, the scientists had suffered hardships. Even finding wild vegetables was not as fast as others. The saying "scholars are useless" had become a clear realization in their minds.
But now, upon arriving in Yuzhou, Shen Feng valued talent so highly, which was rare. They could now stay in Yuzhou with peace of mind.
Shen Feng very much hoped to have high-tech talents on his side, but he had never had the opportunity before. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, Li Keyi had brought high-tech talents to Yuzhou, which naturally required serious attention.
"Then shall we return to Yuzhou City now? And on the way back, tell us in detail why Yanjing City was breached," Chang Jianyi also said promptly.
"This matter is rather complicated. Coincidentally, I know a bit of the inside story. Qin Kewei, who destroyed the city walls, confided in me earlier. The reason she did such a dangerous thing was because she had already despaired." Li Keyi did not intend to hide anything and recounted everything that had happened before.
Shen Feng had already known that Qin Kewei was very unusual but had never understood why she behaved that way. Now that he knew the inside story, he finally understood why her temperament had changed drastically last year. She had been controlled by someone and used to do a series of things she didn't want to do.
When people realize their lives have been ruined, they will have infinite anger to vent. Qin Kewei vented her rage at this critical juncture.
"How do you think our city should resist the mutated birds?" Shen Feng then began to inquire. Li Keyi had escaped from Yanjing, so she must know a lot of important information. Asking her now could help fill in any gaps.
Li Keyi said, "The fall of Yanjing was actually quite unfair, because if they had defended normally, there wouldn't have been any major problems. As for Yuzhou, my only suggestion is to strengthen air defense capabilities and dig more air-raid shelters."
This suggestion was rather ordinary, as people in Yuzhou had already discussed it before her arrival, and these two points had already been summarized.
Chu Zhaoyan did not think highly of Li Keyi, because Li Keyi had publicly embarrassed her in Yanjing before, and she had been secretly involved with Shen Feng long ago. Now, she had openly entered Fengshen Palace to live, which was simply usurping the position.
Chu Zhaoyan was holding Shen Yishi. After Shen Feng appeared, the little girl kept reaching out to him, as if wanting to be held.
Chu Zhaoyan quickly said to the child in her arms, "Your daddy just found you an aunt, and you're still close to him. You're not being good."
After Yanjing was destroyed, China was plunged into chaos, with no single force able to rally everyone. Each region adopted a policy of minding its own business.
Someone from Luoyang proposed a union, stating that Luoyang, being an ancient capital and centrally located, was suitable for establishing a new capital, meaning they wanted to rally everyone and provide leadership. Jinling immediately objected, questioning Luoyang's standing and stating that if they, Jinling, the capital of six dynasties, didn't say anything, how could Luoyang dare to speak? Subsequently, Chang'an and Kaifeng also voiced their opinions. After all, arguing was something everyone could do, as if they weren't all ancient capitals.
At this time, Rongcheng contacted Yuzhou, wanting to reopen the railway. Various regions also contacted Yuzhou to purchase evolution bases, with the simple intention of strengthening their power.
With the fall of Yanjing, various regions were left leaderless and fighting independently. The blockade around Yuzhou naturally ended.
"I didn't expect the blockade around Yuzhou to be lifted so easily. As long as the Yangtze River shipping route can be used in the future, everything will be fine. The golden waterway should have been revitalized long ago." Shen Feng felt greatly comforted as various regional powers began to contact him.
In Yuzhou, there were also shrewd ambitious individuals who found ways to approach Shen Feng, wanting to devise plans to conquer the world. However, Shen Feng was not very interested in such plans and hardly listened. In the apocalypse, the primary concern should be survival. What was the use of conquering the world? The land was filled with refugees, and even if one had territory, it could not be defended.
"Why don't these people understand? I just want to be stationed in Yuzhou, and nothing else matters," Shen Feng couldn't help but complain.
The mutated birds and mutated beasts, after eating humans, directly chose to head south. As for the mutated beasts, they returned to the northeast. The mutated birds wanted revenge on humans, so at this time, they naturally chose to head south and continue fighting. The number of mutated birds was still nearly a hundred million. They dispersed during their southward journey, and even Chang'an and Rongcheng were attacked by mutated birds.
Although Yuzhou was on the Yangtze River, it was not spared from the attacks of mutated birds. More than five million mutated birds arrived outside Yuzhou City. Everyone was well-prepared. Once the air defense sirens sounded, they were to hide in the air-raid shelters.
The mutated beasts wanted to head south, but these mutated beasts could not fly. Traveling thousands of miles south would be exhausting. Therefore, after eating their fill, the mutated beasts left and did not associate with the mutated birds.
Shen Feng and Chang Jianyi suddenly felt that their manpower was insufficient, mainly due to the lack of ability users. Many cities requested assistance from ability users for defense. Yuzhou did not have so many ability users, so it was impossible to send too many ability users to protect the cities. They had to ask the subordinate cities to find their own solutions.
"We must cultivate ability users in large numbers. At least each city needs to have an ability user stationed there," Shen Feng lamented.
Yuzhou currently had nearly forty ability users, but Shen Feng still felt that the manpower was insufficient because many people's abilities were not suitable for combat.