Jiang Ye lodged a strong protest, intending to kick the fourth sister out.
As a result, the four of them took turns chanting and casting spells.
Ju Lanlan rubbed her hands, "It's really cold outside, over thirty degrees below zero. If we go out like this, we'll freeze to death at the door, won't we? Jiang Ye, if you let us freeze to death outside, wouldn't that be murder?"
Isabelle said with a lordly tone, "What? Got rich? Made money? Looking down on us old friends? We can't even stay for two days? You used to live in a beat-up car and let me sleep for a week. Now that you've moved into a mansion, you're disgusted with me?"
Tian Rao swayed back and forth, speaking in a high-pitched voice, "Brother Jiang! I don't want to leave, I want to play here! It's so lonely living alone usually. It's rare to have friends living together, I really don't want to be separated! You can play cards with us, I'll teach you."
Xu Yan said nothing, she was shy, but she also sat still, showing no intention of leaving.
Jiang Ye pondered.
He definitely couldn't win an argument with these thick-skinned girls.
Going tough wouldn't work either. If he went to the basement and brought up a shotgun, Tian Rao would definitely flop on the sofa and coo, "Oh my, someone's killing people, I'm so scared," and Isabelle would absolutely take off her top, point to her heart, and say defiantly, "Shoot here. If you don't kill me, you're a coward."
He could only resort to a flanking maneuver.
"Give me a definite time, how many more days will you stay before leaving?" Jiang Ye asked seriously. "You can't stay indefinitely, right?"
The four beauties blinked, clearly not expecting this tactic.
They huddled together and whispered.
Tian Rao: "This isn't what we agreed on, he's not playing by the rules."
Ju Lanlan: "What should we do? I don't want to leave. Jiang Ye's house is so nice, warm and beautiful. I was planning to stay for the winter."
Xu Yan: "We definitely have to find a way to stay."
Isabelle: "Why don't we kidnap him? Tie him up with ropes and throw him in the basement, then we can hold the emperor hostage to command the lords."
Jiang Ye's face darkened. He slammed the table and shouted, "Can you guys conspire a little quieter? I heard everything, damn it!"
The four girls blushed collectively and gave awkward dry laughs.
"Don't discuss it anymore. I make the rules in my place. Giving you this much time to move out is being very generous!" Jiang Ye held up three fingers.
Isabelle exclaimed in surprise, "Three years?"
Jiang Ye almost spat blood, "Isabelle, is your brain made of popcorn? How can you even say that! Three days!"
"Three days is too short, there's not enough time to pack," Tian Rao swayed back and forth, pouting cutely.
"There's a cold snap in three days," Ju Lanlan took out her phone, extremely focused on the temperature, like a delicate greenhouse flower. "We'll freeze to death on the road, and our bodies won't be found until the snow melts next year."
"Ten days, let's round it up," Xu Yan said with a merchant's mindset.
"Ten days is too long, it's only three days!" Jiang Ye retorted. "Tian Rao, how much stuff did you bring that you can't pack in three days? Are you opening a museum in my house? Ju Lanlan, don't use the cold as an excuse. There's air conditioning in the car. If you bundle up in a down jacket, you'll freeze to death in a few minutes? If people could freeze to death so easily at this temperature, I would have died eight times over by now."
"No three days, no ten days. Let's be understanding and meet halfway, seven days," Isabelle said. "We'll leave within seven days."
The other girls were about to chime in to support her when she was suddenly interrupted.
"Deal," Jiang Ye said readily.
The beauties were all stunned. Why was he so agreeable all of a sudden?
Isabelle's expression was one of serious self-doubt. Had she negotiated too low?
Jiang Ye got up and left.
He would be in the military for the next week, so seven days was the timeframe he had already planned. He had said three days at first as a trap for them to fall into, and since they had, he was happy to reel them in.
He got into the car and returned to the military base.
He fell asleep and slept until Friday morning at five o'clock. In his hazy state, a soft little hand touched his face.
Jiang Ye's body jolted, and he quickly reached under the pillow.
Liu Jizi, seeing the pistol suddenly pointed at her, stumbled back two steps in fright.
Jiang Ye took a deep breath, put the pistol back under the pillow, and slowly sat up, revealing his muscular upper body.
"Why are you here so early?" Jiang Ye picked up his clothes and put them on.
"The shape of the B settlement has changed. It was originally a connected circle, but it has dispersed into over twenty small fragments. The C settlement's convoy has lengthened, with a vanguard team breaking off at the front, moving at an extremely high speed, leaving most of the base vehicles behind," Liu Jizi walked to the desk and quickly activated the holographic projection.
The satellite aerial photos floated up. The entire B settlement had indeed cracked open, scattered in the white snow, like fallen leaves on the snow.
"How far apart are the people from the two sides?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Ninety kilometers," Liu Jizi said. "At the current speed, they will meet tomorrow morning."
"How many warships have been built?" Jiang Ye asked.
"They can be launched this afternoon, but the weapon modules still need to be assembled, and they won't be usable until at least ten o'clock tomorrow morning," Liu Jizi replied immediately.
"There's a slight time difference, which is a pity," Jiang Ye said expressionlessly.
Liu Jizi looked at her superior in confusion. She didn't understand what "a pity" meant. But her superior seemed preoccupied, so she didn't ask.
"Have you contacted these two settlements?" Jiang Ye asked.
"No," Liu Jizi shook her head shamefully. "I added several, but they all asked me where I lived, and deleted me as a friend if I wasn't one of them. It seems the people from the BC settlements are not allowed to contact the outside world. Their leaders have complete control over them."
Jiang Ye listened without speaking, pulled open a drawer, and took out paper and a pen.
He bent over and wrote furiously.
[Surrender Notice]
[Please read carefully, these words will determine your life and death.]
[I am Commander Jiang Ye. The naval forces will bomb your location at any time in the coming days, followed by an armored troop landing. There is no survival if you remain in place. All you can do is lay down your weapons, go to the coast, and seek out the warships to surrender immediately. Become official citizens of this planet and integrate into true collective life. Anyone who resists or is captured will be shot.]
[Besides surrendering to my forces or staying in place to await death, you have a third option: disperse and live in the wilderness, hiding in groups of ten or fewer. My forces will not pursue those who choose to live in seclusion.]
Jiang Ye pushed the paper towards Liu Jizi. "Print twenty thousand copies of this thing and give them to the pilots of the flap-wing aircraft of each unit. Have them fly to the adjacent continent and scatter them over the heads of those people in the BC settlements."
"Understood!" Liu Jizi took the paper with both hands and turned to leave.
"Wait."
Liu Jizi stopped and turned back.
Jiang Ye didn't look back, watching the night outside the window. "Tell the pilots to load their flap-wing aircraft with ammunition. If they encounter ground fire, they can dump the ammunition, as much as they want."
"Yes!" Liu Jizi nodded.