"Have you heard? Someone is declaring himself king."
"Finally, someone couldn't wait any longer. While he's the first, he certainly won't be the last. Every chaotic era spawns many ambitious figures!"
"Prince Qin An is no mere ambitious figure; he's vowed to sweep away all under heaven and conquer the four directions. I believe he can achieve it."
"So what if he's the number one person on Blue Star? Our brothers are trapped in a small town by zombies, yet he hasn't come to rescue us."
"With the zombies and alien beasts not yet eradicated, must our nation plunge into an era of warring factions?"
"Declaring himself king, is the next step ascending the throne as emperor?"
"I support Boss Qin. I hope he can lead us to conquer the entire Blue Star, making all humans on Blue Star bow before us."
"Hmph, I don't wish for an emperor to appear on Blue Star. I'm simply not accustomed to kneeling."
On the national chat channel, everyone freely expressed their opinions.
Some raised their hands in enthusiastic support of Qin Shilei, while others scoffed, denouncing Qin Shilei as a rebellious traitor.
Hope City paid no heed to the discussions on the chat channel, instead being in a frenzy of preparations for Qin Shilei's coronation ceremony.
Vast quantities of supplies were moved out from the City Lord's mansion to be used for the ceremony.
The City Lord mansions of the five cities controlled by Qin Shilei—Junhai City, Bei'an City, Xinluo City, Dujiang City, and Aya City—were all adorned with lanterns and streamers, engulfed in a sea of festivity.
Bei'an City Lord's Mansion.
"Report, City Lord. Tan Anguo from Tian'an Prefecture has arrived."
An Qian was about to fly back to Hope City with Zhang Qiang and the others to attend Qin Shilei's coronation ceremony when a guard entered and reported.
"Please invite him in."
Soon, Tan Anguo and his entourage were ushered in.
Upon entering, General Fan immediately questioned, "City Lord An, is your husband truly going to be a rebellious traitor who will be cursed for eternity?"
"General Fan, please mind your words."
An Qian stated coldly, "What constitutes a rebel and a traitor?
Hasn't every action my husband taken been for our nation, for the better survival of more survivors?
In Hope City, Bei'an City, Junhai City, Dujiang City, and even Aya City in Tianzhu, wasn't my husband's appearance each time a moment of turning the tide, saving millions of survivors from peril?"
General Fan argued eloquently, "As a member of Great Xia, he should have spilled his blood for his motherland. Not like this, attempting to declare himself king!"
"Whether he is a rebel or an eternal emperor will be judged by history," An Qian's eyes emanated a peculiar radiance.
The regal demeanor of her husband was finally beginning to manifest, and she couldn't help but feel a surge of ambition to usher in an era of prosperity with him.
"You are rebels!" General Fan condemned angrily.
Zhang Qiang, standing nearby, interjected, "It is the alien beasts, the creatures from other worlds, who have put us in this predicament, not our City Lord.
Had the City Lord not appeared, several of our great cities would likely have become ruins.
General Fan, you would have been devoured by insects, turned into a pile of excrement, and wouldn't be here spewing such rhetoric against our City Lord."
Xie Haimei also chimed in, "If our City Lord didn't have the world in his heart, why would he be living separately from his wife? Couldn't he have lived a kingly life in Hope City?"
General Fan was momentarily speechless.
"General Fan, withdraw."
Tan Anguo stepped forward. "City Lord An, does your husband truly intend to ascend the throne as emperor? What is his attitude towards our nation?"
"With a wave of his hand, alien beasts turn to dust! With a single decree, Blue Star will become a forbidden zone for other worlds, daring not to invade again!"
An Qian declared grandly, "That will be the day my husband Qin Shilei ascends the throne as emperor, and the day our nation stands at the pinnacle of the world."
She paused, then added, "My husband and I are both proud to be citizens of Great Xia.
My husband has also said that if you are willing, we can explore together a path of governance that is more beneficial to this world's circumstances.
Of course, my husband retains the ultimate decision-making power over his territory."
As Qin Shilei acquired more and more cities, he found managing them increasingly challenging.
Although he could suppress everything with force, each city had hundreds of thousands of people, and there were always many conflicts between individuals.
Under the pressure of survival, these conflicts were temporarily not obvious.
However, Qin Shilei had recognized the underlying problems.
Apart from Kong Zhendong, none of Qin Shilei's subordinates had experience managing millions of people.
If they could absorb Tan Anguo and his think tank, it would certainly be easier to explore a suitable path of governance.
Tan Anguo showed a hint of interest.
After a moment of thought, he said, "City Lord An, could you wait a moment? Allow us to discuss."
An Qian gestured towards a side hall, "Please."
Closing the door, General Fan eagerly asked, "Director, you don't seriously intend for us to pledge allegiance to such a rebel, do you?
If we do, we will all be traitors to the nation, and our names will be cursed for millennia after death!"
Tan Anguo said slowly, "General Fan, you and the other Silver-tier peak evolutionaries have been unable to break through to the Gold tier. How can we possibly stop Qin Shilei from ascending the throne?
Even if you do break through, he might already be Platinum tier by then, and the gap will be even wider.
Times have changed. Now, individual power reigns supreme. Qin Shilei alone is worth an army of thousands. Furthermore, his wife and subordinates are by no means weak.
Now is the perfect opportunity for us to draw close to him and subtly influence him.
To establish an invincible super empire, what a glorious undertaking!
Don't you think this is the ideal our ancestors have always pursued?"
General Fan, Ji Pengcheng, and the others were stunned by their Director's thoughts.
"Regardless, I maintain my opposition," General Fan still couldn't accept it.
"As the Director said, times have changed. Perhaps our Blue Star truly needs an unparalleled hero to save everyone from peril," Ji Pengcheng, however, agreed with Tan Anguo's idea.
"Let's vote!" Tan Anguo said calmly.
In the end, by a vote of five to two, Tian'an Prefecture decided to cooperate with Qin Shilei.
This was merely a polite declaration for outward consumption; in essence, Tian'an Prefecture was defecting to Qin Shilei as a whole.
Less than ten minutes later, they reappeared before An Qian.
Tan Anguo said directly, "City Lord An, we accept your proposal. Let us work hand in hand to create a better future!
However, we have a few conditions. First, I wish to preside over Qin Shilei's coronation ceremony and personally bestow upon him the title of Prince An.
Second, when your husband ascends the throne as emperor, the dynasty name must be approved by us.
Third, we should be allowed to hold at least one-third of the high-level positions in each City Lord's mansion."
An Qian smiled faintly, "For the first and second points, I accept on behalf of my husband. As for the third, you will have to earn it through your own strength and merits for the City Lord's mansion. I guarantee there will be no deliberate suppression."
"Good!" Tan Anguo had anticipated that they would agree to his third condition.
"Then let's head to Hope City now!"
An Qian and the others arrived outside the City Lord's mansion, summoned Xiao Qing, and boarded it, flying back towards Hope City.