Yes, Madam Prime Minister

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"What, are you surprised to see me?" Dinia asked Yang Hao with a cold, aloof expression.

"I am deeply honored by your presence, Madam," Yang Hao said respectfully.

“Your Chinese is improving really fast, and your skills are improving just as quickly. But there are people who are even faster than these two,” Dinia added.

While most people from the Ship Country had mastered the Chinese language of Seris, very few spoke it fluently. As for Dinia's use of "faster," the meaning was self-evident.

Yang Hao's expression changed, and he knelt down with a thud. "Lord Egis, I have rendered service to you and shed blood for you. I want to see Lord Ronan. Please let me see Lord Ronan."

However, Dinya did not respond.

"My children cannot be without a father like this," Yang Hao pleaded.

"When you embezzled and accepted bribes, colluded in smuggling, harmed your colleagues, and even betrayed your former compatriots, did you never think that others were also fathers?" Dinia retorted.

The moment she finished speaking, Yang Hao vanished from the spot.

His kneeling and begging just now was merely a delaying tactic. Back in the Land of Ships, he had already witnessed Dinia's ruthless decisiveness and Ronan's cunning, two-faced nature. From the moment he met Dinia, he knew that the other party would never let him go.

"How boring." Dinia spat out a mouthful and vanished instantly.

In the next instant, she was in front of Yang Hao, and with a single blow, she smashed Yang Hao's head.

However, Yang Hao also possessed extraordinary abilities. Even without his head, he remained alive and even managed to explode his body, which flew out like countless thin snakes before rapidly scattering away.

"The first rule of magicians is that the battle begins before the battle even begins." As Dinia spoke, the ground within a radius of several hundred meters turned red, and a special fungal carpet composed of countless moving red tentacles directly devoured all the small snakes.

Yang Hao was completely dead, leaving not a trace. Having eliminated this depraved Yuan Cong, Dinia felt no emotion whatsoever.

While he was still in France, countless early reformers were sent to the guillotine, and among them were many who, like him, changed completely in just two or three years.

In Ronan's words, men who wield power are like women who frequent the world of fame and fortune. Most of the time, the things that flow through their hands and eyes far exceed what they could normally possess. Even if they are born into wealth, they will not be unmoved. The idea that "corrupt officials come from humble backgrounds" or "prostitutes come from servants" is just a rhetoric that some people like to use. In reality, one must have extraordinary spiritual pursuits to avoid falling into depravity.

People who have extraordinary spiritual pursuits are extremely rare.

"Next up are the remaining cowardly scum."

Dinia muttered to herself.

The rest of the people, the foreigners, all went to Ambrina's side; they were already dead, so Ronan could use them to establish a just image. The other group consisted of local Cantonese from Seris, who went to seek protection from that seventh-ranked person.

Dinia didn't know what the seventh-ranked person's attitude was.

But no matter what the other party's attitude is, she will kill those who deserve to be killed.

"Unfortunately, as Ronan wished, none of them managed to escape to Annam by sea."

If someone defectes abroad, Ronan can then use that opportunity to launch a major investigation.

Chapter 1004 Unable to Transcend: Humanity Begins with Gazing at the Stars, But Still Has to Fight a Battle

Leizhou County, Leizhou Prefecture, in the southern part of Guangdong.

Leizhou Prefecture is the same as Zhanjiang in Luonan's original timeline, governing the Leizhou Peninsula, while Leizhou County is Leizhou City.

At the beach, Dinia met her target.

A man hovers in the air above the nearshore waters not far from the beach, sitting cross-legged and fishing with a rod in his hand.

Beside the man was a fish basket that also floated in the air. He wore a straw hat and a loose white robe with red flowers. Such flamboyant and colorful clothing was usually worn by women in Seris. This style of clothing was not uncommon in Jiangnan, where there were many people who dressed like demons. However, it was rare in Guangdong. This southern barbarian land, which some people thought had been colluding with foreigners for many years and whose people's hearts had become corrupt, was actually surprisingly conservative.

This man doesn't resemble a Cantonese person not only in his clothing, but also in his appearance.

He had fair skin, a short stubble, slightly droopy eyebrows, and rather large but downcast eyes, with a lazy and dejected look on his face.

"Mr. Yan, please state your position." Dinia went straight to the point.

The man continued fishing. "This old man of mine, although I mostly live a simple life on my own, occasionally indulges myself like the young people. Those people aren't of much use to me, but they can help me solve some unnecessary little troubles."

"Someone like you, is there any trouble you can't solve?" Dinia retorted.

The man smiled slightly, "Do you expect me to announce that I am a seventh-level being before I go anywhere? Or to resort to violence whenever something happens? That would only make me feel more and more that I am outside the realm of humanity, that everyone else is just an ant, and then I would fall into endless loneliness."

"Transcendence? That's ridiculous. After all, we can only live on this huge sphere. How can we talk about transcendence? An ordinary person can crush an ant, but as long as we live under the same sky and on the same land, there's nothing superior about us."

The man continued muttering to himself, remaining seated.

"They made it a lot of things easier for me to live like a human being."

Dinia spoke again, "You yourself can do this kind of convenience, can't you?"

The man shook his fishing rod. “The superhumans in this country are generally better at enhancing themselves and focusing their power on a single point. But that doesn’t mean that’s the case for everyone. There is no shortage of superhumans here who can easily dredge waterways, bring rain, move heavy objects, and do things that are difficult or even impossible for ordinary people. But almost no one ever does these things. The reason is simple: it’s too troublesome and boring.”

“Oh, isn’t it because doing so would be beneath your dignity and wouldn’t yield any significant benefits?” Dinia retorted.

"Hahaha." The man laughed and continued to cast his line. "That's right. The main problem is that they can't let go of their pride. They're unwilling and unable to leave the human world, but they absolutely refuse to admit that they're still human. That's how superhumans deceive themselves."

Dinya was starting to get impatient. She was there to rip people off, not to listen to a seemingly lazy middle-aged man who was actually over ninety years old rambling on.

At this moment, the man who had been shaking the fishing rod pulled hard, and a large yellow croaker, slightly longer than the palm of his hand, was thrown out of the sea.

The man, with an even smug look on his face, put the fish into the fish basket.

Dinia was puzzled. Yellow croakers were quite common here, and his wasn't even that big. Was there anything to be so happy about?

“Your fishing skills must be terrible,” the man said, then added, “Actually, there’s nothing to worry about. Those people won’t run away, because I advised them not to.”

The word "persuade" is quite intriguing. Dinia's expression changed. "You persuade them to stay, and then I'll kill them. Aren't you worried?"

"What do I have to worry about? If they're alive, they'll naturally be grateful to me. If they're dead, can a dead person speak up and criticize me?" the man retorted with a smile, then put away his fishing rod. "Now, can I ramble on for a bit longer?"

Dinia did not object.

The man smiled. "Do you know what the oldest scholars studied?"

Dinia did not respond.

The man raised his arm and pointed to the sky with one finger. "They are the stars in the sky. Every ancient civilization studies these. It's hard to imagine that the ancients, who were still in a primitive era, had achievements in this area that were not much inferior to those of modern people."

"When the first person looked up at the stars and tried to think about and explore the laws of the stars, humanity truly became a species that distinguished itself from other living beings."

"This is a great beginning, and also the beginning of a nightmare."

Nightmare? Dinia was puzzled for a moment.

The man was completely oblivious to Dinia's changing expression; he was lost in the hazy past. "I once had a friend who loved stargazing. She told me that this starry sky was so perfect."

"But being too reasonable is actually a form of irrationality."

"Perhaps the place we live in is just a huge cage, and there is no place more distant than the starry sky. That's what she said. Although she was just a mortal, I believe her."

At this moment, the man seemed to finally detach himself and looked at Dinia, "You really aren't surprised at all."

“What should be strange is your lack of surprise at all,” Dinia replied in a slightly awkward way.

The man stood up, took off his straw hat, and his black hair was half loose and half tied up, with a hairpin piercing through his hair bun. It could be said that he had no trace of the etiquette of Seris, and his debauched old man temperament was not concealed in the slightest.

He extended his hand and said, "My name is Yan Huai. Let's have a fight. If you win, I will join you unconditionally, and those people will be at your disposal."

"If I lose, will I have to let those people go?" Dinia asked.

"No, you lost. So let me go talk to Mr. Luo. Ever since their father, or even their grandfather, was alive, I've often taken advantage of them. I have to do something for them, right? Otherwise, it would be too ungrateful."

Yan Huai said.

He kept saying "I have to do something" and "I can't be heartless," but just a few minutes earlier, he had said, "Can a dead person blame me?" It can only be said that, as he himself said, he is getting further and further away from people. To be more precise, there are fewer and fewer people who can be considered human by him.

Dinia made a gesture of invitation with her left hand, while her warhammer appeared simultaneously in her right hand.

Yan Huai lightly stepped on the invisible ground, and a rectangular image appeared beneath their feet, like a projection, divided into six different patterns.

The six patterns—fish, shrimp, crab, chicken, money, and gourd—are pieced together to form a large square that is twelve meters long and six meters wide.

"Fish, shrimp, and crab?" Dinia asked.

"Oh, you also know about this local gambling game?" Yan Huai asked curiously.

“I have a troublesome gambler under my command,” Dinia replied, referring to Canaan, who was not her subordinate but her goddaughter, even though Canaan had only pretended to convert for a period of time in order to become a civil servant.

"Then I'll start by revealing the rules..." Yan Huai began to talk about the rules. This was also a rule-based spell. Although it was mandatory, the rules had to be explained to the other party after it started.

Chapter 1005 The Rebellion Ceases, Temporary Departure, Meeting Regarding Reorganization and Expansion

Fish, shrimp, and crab is a very popular gambling game in Guangdong, with many different variations.

Yan Huai's magic was to force the game to proceed, during which special abilities of both sides were restricted, and then gambling was conducted. The dealer decided what to bet on and how to bet, while the players decided how much to bet.

After two rounds of gambling, you take turns attacking using pure spiritual power or magic.

His advantages lie in two points: first, during the gambling process, he can choose whether he is the banker or the player; second, he decides who attacks first in the turn-based attack after two gambles.

Yan Huai usually wins, not because he has the initiative, but because he is someone with enough magic and health among the seventh rank. In a casino, he would be someone with enough money to gamble.

In a two-player bet, the side with more money has a significant advantage.

Below the seventh rank, it's practically impossible to beat him, because if he consistently chooses to be the banker, given enough bets, he'll mathematically win by a small margin, and that small win is enough to eliminate the opponent. At the same seventh rank, there's a chance, but not a significant one.

However, he encountered a monster named Dinia, a being with immense magical power and even greater vitality.

When Dinia plays the novice, she goes crazy with her bets, gambling with her life in every round. Even with special abilities banned, her vitality is still enough for her to die many, many times over.

Yan Huai, however, couldn't afford to gamble. If Dinia died once, it would be enough for him to die several times over. He would almost have no choice but to hand over the house to Dinia.

In this way, Dinia becomes the one with more chips and continues to be the dealer. As long as she chooses the right way to play and keeps playing, she will definitely win a little as the number of games increases.

"Ha, I lost." Yan Huai admitted defeat.

"How can you win this kind of game?" Dinia was puzzled, and even felt that the other party was deliberately losing to her.

"Actually, that's not the case. The game isolates the inside from the outside and blocks other means. If you bet big at the beginning, but not that big, I can narrow the gap between us by winning a few times. Once the gap is narrowed, it will depend on luck from then on."

"I can only say that the information I, a leisurely person, obtained was not accurate enough, and I underestimated your bargaining chips."

"And they provided the intelligence; the wrong intelligence led to their own deaths, so you can't blame me at all, can you?"

As he spoke, Yan Huai himself started to laugh.

Did he really not have accurate intelligence? Of course he did.

Although there is not much frequent communication among the seventh-tier individuals, and some even have no contact at all, he still obtained a lot of information from the other seventh-tier individuals during the last massive battle, even though he was someone who lived in seclusion in the south and hardly got involved.

The so-called blessings of a virtuous person last only five generations; the affection and kinship between him and his ancestors had long been exhausted in the last twenty or thirty years.

"That's settled then. After this is over, you can go find Ronan yourself. I won't introduce you."

After saying that, Dinia disappeared in a flash. She still had to kill those people, nail their bodies to crosses, and take them to their respective territories so that their vassals could have a good look at them.

This is the consequence of not loving one's country.

A rebellion that could be described as "massive" has, if not abruptly ended, essentially vanished. After Dinia called out names one by one, the survivors said that the dead were in stable condition. Since Dinia's "punishment of traitors" only targeted the individuals themselves and did not involve the relatives, the group felt they were no longer in danger and began to plan how to thoroughly prove themselves.

Q: How can I prove that I am patriotic? A: Just personally label others as unpatriotic.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival.

After spending the Lantern Festival with Ronan and his group, Dinia left to have her first official shift change with Dinia in another world.

Sixteen, another Dinia arrived. Of course, she looked exactly like Dinia, but her temperament was completely different. She was even colder than when Ronan first met her in Wright City, especially when she saw Ronan's face.

Even though she knew Ronan had killed another "Ronan," it was still the same.

Another difference is that she is much weaker than Didi. Although she is only at the sixth level and they are not much different in terms of magic power and life force because they both possess the power of the original species, her output ability is much weaker. She does not have the pure destructive power of the real Didi, nor does she have the power to bring people back to life.

Even the magic she possessed at the sixth rank was different.

She excels even more at tracking and parasitic splitting.

It's hard not to think that her ability was created to hunt down another "Ronan".

After treating her to a meal, Ronan didn't bother with her anymore and let her follow Ambrina, who had more free time.

With less than a week to go before the reorganization and expansion meeting, Ronan and his team were busy again in the following days.

This meeting will last a long time, ranging from ten days to a month.

The first phase of the meeting was reorganization. The original, rudimentary organizational structure was, in essence, a makeshift team built with the "original team" to circumvent the imperial court, gather the strength of Guangdong to deal with the war, and lay the groundwork for the future. It was completely incapable of encompassing politics, economy, military, and people's livelihood, and it could not manage the local areas. It was indeed just a committee and did not have the functions of a real government.

Of course, this can't continue.

Therefore, the first phase requires discussing and devising a completely new organizational structure. Of course, this should be based on the committee, rather than simply recreating the Seris court as a small, unchanging court.

This point is not Ronan's own opinion, but a consensus. Even disregarding the superhumans, the level of development of Seris in this world surpasses that of the Ming and Qing dynasties in Ronan's original timeline. The biggest problem caused by this development in Seris is the severe imbalance. The problem caused by this imbalance is that people in the different regions of Seris have different political inclinations. And in this situation where the prestige of the imperial court has greatly diminished and its strength is insufficient, there are too many people who want to "revolutionize".

Following the reorganization, the next step was not expansion, but a purge.

By then, the internal strife in Guangxi will be mostly over, and the internal strife in Guangdong will have also largely come to an end. Then it will be the committee's turn to step in, conduct trials on certain individuals in accordance with the law, and then thoroughly "determine" their nature.

After this step is completed, the expansion will begin, bringing in people from other parts of Guangdong and also introducing some people from Guangxi.