First came the general secretary's status, arguably the most informative thing Daz had requested the system to show him regarding the man.
Bei Jiang's Status Basic Information Name: Bei Jiang Species: Human Age: 68 Sex: Male Class: Wordsmith Affinity: (fake) Lawful Good | (Real) Evil Description
Jiang Bei is a man who has always greatly and deeply loved his place of birth, the land that raised him, China.
This unerring love has led him on his path to power where his only wish was to lead China into a new golden age, free of corruption and negative foreign influences.
Bei Jiang lives for his empire, he lives for his people.
Hidden Description
Exiled and forced to live in a cave for the better part of his childhood and early adulthood due to his father being purged in large part because of his communist party ties, Bei Jiang has always deeply resented what China was.
It took him almost 30-years to reestablish himself in society and work his way up the political ladder where he could systemically dismantle the existing government and bend it to his will.
He is the Champion of the God of Words.
Energies Lifeforce: 5,000/5,000 Stamina: 20,000/20,000 Stats Intelligence: [LR] 2,500(3,000) Charm: [LR] 1,500(1,800) Dexterity: [LR] 1,250(1,500) Charisma: [LR] 2,000 Leadership: [LR] 3,000 Willpower: [LR] 1,500 Wisdom: [LR] 1,500 Immunity: [LR] 500 Regeneration: [LR] 800 Cunning: [LR] 1,500
'Very interesting... Evil, huh? Well, that works great for me if we ever end up fighting. Still, Wordsmith? Was his weapon a pen or something? It's not a class I've ever seen before but it could be similar to Fiona's... He may be weak physically but since he's a champion he could be a very powerful mage or specialist,' Daz concluded as the man's randomly selected secret was displayed to him.
Randomly selected [Bei Jiang] secret: He is surprisingly good at baking and has considered several times whether it would help or hinder his image to make an appearance on a cooking variety show.
Daz frowned deeply. 'A miss, it would seem. Shame. I'm sure a man like him has some very interesting secrets hidden away. Oh well. Can't win them all.'
Bei Jiang's Crime List 11 cases of unwarranted physical assault. 5,432 cases of illegal blackmailing. 17 cases of rewriting Chinese law to better serve his own political purposes. 103 cases of ordering assassinations to better serve his own political purposes. 19 cases of interfering with foreign voting polls to better serve his own political purposes. 13 cases of rape.
'What a piece of work, huh?' Daz thought coldly. 'Well, at least now I know he has absolutely no chance against me in a fight. One, he's Evil, two, he's got over 5,000 crimes. Why Mu wants to make up with him is beyond me...'
"Okay, well, about 'Fan'er', yes?" Daz asked before saying, "He's a lord working for me. He's one of - if not the - strongest general under my command and his loyalty is something to be admired. He sees me as a bit of a brother."
"is that so?" General Secretary Bei asked. "I'm glad to hear he's making a life for himself in the west."
'Liar,' Daz thought with a grin. "Is there anything in particular that you would like to know about him or should we get back to the first topic we were discussing?"
"... Has he mentioned me?" the almost-70-year-old man asked, concern in his eyes.
'Well, at least now he seems genuine. Shame he's likely only worried about what Mu said, not if he actually said anything. Selfish old fool,' Daz commented internally before he nodded. "Yes, he has."
Silence befell the room as the general secretary waited for Daz to continue. Instead of doing so the reaper reached into his Industrial Item Box and pulled out a bottle of water.
Unscrewing the cap he took a nice long refreshing sip before returning the bottle to the Industrial Item Box. Daz then leaned back into his throne and stared at Mu's father while he propped up his chin up with the arm that was resting on his throne's armrest.
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'Uh...' Captain Wang wasn't sure what to think. As each second passed the awkward absence of dialogue grew ever larger.
"Well?" Emperor Bei finally asked, a trickle of impatience in his voice.
Daz narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Well what?"
"What did Fan'er say?!" the old man yelled. He really hated dealing with people who could resist his charms and skills that aided in his persuasiveness. It hardly helped that not being there in person weakened his powers even further.
"Oh, that." Daz nodded slowly. "I believe the last words he said me were 'Until next time'. He's something of a therapist to me now, you see."
"I don't care! What did he say about me?!" the general secretary exploded.
Daz chuckled. "Ohhh... You need to be more specific when you ask questions, Emperor Bei. Dealing with the system should have taught you that if nothing else."
"Are you going to answer me or not?" the old man said while fire practically shot out of his mouth as a result of his annoyance.
Daz cocked his head slightly while he smiled. "To answer you, you must first ask me a question."
"You insufferable little ingrate!" Bei Jiang was ready to declare war right here and now purely in response to how Daz was mocking him. "You are doing this on purpose, are you not?! Trying to make a fool of me?!"
"I do everything on purpose," Daz said as he slowly stood up and stored his jasper throne. "And I shouldn't need to remind you of such a simple fact, Your Imperial Majesty, but one must first do something foolish or something that appears foolish to come across as... well, as a fool."
He stood tall as regal majesty washed off of him when he turned around and made for the door. "I expect the occupants of this tower to be gone by tomorrow morning. If not, I shall remove them myself."
"How dare you threaten me-"
Daz turned and gave the holographic emperor a hollow and cruel look. "Emperor Bei Jiang, be careful of upsetting me. I don't want to kill my fellow citizens of Earth but if a threat is what you need to temper you, then a threat you shall get. Ask the system if I have someone under me that is capable of launching nukes. I just gave it permission to hand out that information specifically to you."
Emperor Bei's face paled to an unbelievable degree. "No... That can't be possible... A no-name kingdom in the middle of nowhere can launch nuclear warheads?"
"Your reaction makes me think that China cannot do what my 'no-name kingdom in the middle of nowhere' can. I have a feeling we'll be meeting again, Emperor Bei. Try to make sure that it's under less hostile circumstances, would you?" With that said, Daz left the room.
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In his office at the reformed and repurposed Palace Museum of Beijing's Forbidden City, Bei Jiang silently gritted his teeth as he called out to the system mentally. 'Is that true? System, is what that boy said accurate?'
As the host [King Daz] of [New Earth] has granted you, [Emperor Bei] of [China] permission to know such information, indeed, it is accurate. One of [King Daz] of [New Earth]'s citizens has the qualifications to both purchase and use weapons of a nuclear nature.
Shen Mu's father clenched his fists in anxiety as his heart threatened to give out from the stress he was enduring. 'What does this qualification permit? If this person so wills it, can they just nuke my China? What is the identity of this person? Give me answers, System!'
Confirmed. The qualification allows the host in question to purchase as many nuclear-based weapons and items as their merit points will allow as well as grants them the right to use said weapons and items.
Denied. The host in question cannot attack an area ruled by an Emperor with nuclear-based weapons or items without first meeting several strict conditions.
Denied. The host does not have permission to learn the name of the host in question.
'Damnit!' Bei Jiang wracked his brain thinking of what he could do when something the system had said suddenly clicked for him. 'Strict conditions? What are those conditions, exactly? Can you tell me? If not, how many are there and does the person already meet some of them?'
Denied. The host does not have permission to learn what the conditions to use nuclear-based weapons or items on an area ruled by an Emperor are.
Confirmed. The host in question meets 9 of the 10 required conditions.
'Shit! Shit! Shit!' Bei Jiang would have slammed his fist down onto the exquisitely crafted sandalwood desk that held the holographic display of the room in Taiwan's Tower 3 were he not with... company.
He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Captain Wang looked very nervous but he didn't care. He instead chose to calm himself as he thought about how useless his God-ranked skill could be.
It was called System Access and what it did was grant him full admittance to everything the system knew regardless of his actual access level.
This, however, came with some restrictions, namely, some very specific things he couldn't gain knowledge on; period.
He saw it as a mild inconvenience since he had plenty of high rankers on the merit ranking list in his army that he could consult for information he was sealed off from but right now he could truly feel how double-edged his God-ranked skill was.
'Only ruby-access and up can learn more about nukes... Shit! What is the final condition this mysterious citizen under that brat needs to fulfil?' the emperor of China asked himself.
A few deep breaths later and he had collected himself. Emperor Bei then spoke. "Captain Wang, we're pulling out of Taiwan effective immediately."
"Sir, yes, sir! His Imperial Majesty's will is this humble soldier's command!" Captain Wang responded respectfully as he performed a perfect salute. His mind, however, had conflicting thoughts. 'This will mean abandoning the gate though...'
Emperor Bei gave him a deep look. "Don't concern yourself over matters above your paygrade."
"S-Sir, yes, sir!" Captain Wang responded a bit nervously as sweat dripped down his brow.
Clicking his tongue in mild annoyance, Bei Jiang chose to end the holographic communication there. Immediately afterwards he picked up the phone on his desk and rang a very specific number.
Within the second it was answered. "Imperial Dragon needs to be finished in the next 7-days. Failure is not an option. We cannot lose the benefits provided by the other side of the gate. Am I understood?"
"Perfectly, Your Imperial Majesty," a masculine voice on the other end answered.
The emperor nodded and hung up. "You Hamilio bastards... I've heard tales of what my generation's Hamilio did and then the second generation secretly wrought havoc across the entire globe, both pre and during our current situation... Now the new generation is trying to muddy the waters even further... Espers, espers, espers... Fight fire with fire, no? It's my only real hope now, after all, as much as I loathe to resort to such things..."
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"... Seriously, Sten, how did you manage this?"
"Hmm? Oh, well, I've been practising recently, my boy. Is it really so outlandish that I, the great and mighty golfer hailed far and wide as a genius at the sport would obtain a par on this course's 7th hole?"
"Not that! How did you manage to stealthily build an entire golf course right outside of Fort Skip without the king or his men finding out?!"
"Now now, Leston, don't say something so ridiculous! We're his men after all, so it has been discovered."
"Will you ever give me a serious answer?"
"You're no fun. I swear, Leston, my boy, you'd think that after spending over a decade together that some of my good humour would have rubbed off on you, no?"
"... Stop twirling your moustache."
"Now you're simply asking for the impossible. It's getting rather chilly, isn't it, Leston? It would be best if we were to return to Gertrude and partake in some Earl Grey. What say you?"
"I say 'tell me how you built this without getting in trouble'."
"Ha-ah... I used a skill. There, happy now? Must you drain the mystery and intrigue out of everything you touch?"
"... I only have even more questions now. How the hell did you get a skill that lets you build a secret golf course?!"
"Is it really a secret if you, I and Gertrude know of it?"
"Gertrude is not a person."
"How rude of you to speak of your mother in such a way! Where did I put my travel soap? Your mouth needs to be washed out with it at once!"
"Your Majesty, give me strength..."