Dominion's End

V6C7: This Time, Seize Control! Part One

Chapter 7: This Time, Seize Control! Part One—translated by Taffygirl13 & Elkin (C/E edited by lucathia)

Originally, I had wanted to immediately discuss the tunnel-digging speed with Zheng Xing as soon as we stepped inside the mansion. But it was filled with people and instantly all their gazes pointed toward us. Their eyes were filled with earnest hope, as though I would declare something like “I’ve knocked out all the aberrants hahaha” with the air of an overlord.

As I was feeling awkward, Tai Wen strode up and asked, “Is the situation outside all right?”

Under everyone’s expectant looks, I could only steel myself and maintain a cool, blank face while replying in a commanding tone, “All of Jiang Dominion’s people, follow me upstairs. Tai Wen, you too.”

Tai Wen nodded and turned to tell Zhang Jing, “Keep everything here in order. Make sure not to let anyone irrelevant enter through the front. If you really cannot hold them back, give a warning shout.”

Zhang Jing nodded furiously.

I led Yunqian, Shujun, Lily, Zheng Xing, and Tai Wen up to the second floor, then swiftly removed my ice mask and turned to inform them, “The aberrants have retreated for the time being, but the situation is still far from good. Zheng-shū, do you have any way of digging a tunnel from the mansion courtyard to the forest in the back mountain? Distance-wise, it just needs to go from the mansion to my courtyard house, but don’t create entryways yet. Those aberrants might circle around to the back mountain. If they find the entrance beforehand, we’ll be in trouble.”

Zheng Xing furrowed his brows at first, but he seemed to think of something as he nodded and replied, “I’m not familiar with tunnel architecture, but we can ask your uncle for some thoughts. This would need some time, as well as a large amount of crystals to supply energy. But as long as there aren’t any issues with the architecture and I work through the night, I should be able to dig one to the forest by tomorrow morning.”

At this, I bluntly stated, “Then go find my uncle to start on it now. Bring my aunt along with you; she can sense the aberrants’ location. You can rely on her directions to build the tunnel along the areas with fewer aberrants. Don’t forget to keep the locations of the entrance and exit hidden.”

Zheng Xing left per the command.

I continued on to the rest, “Once Zheng-shū’s tunnel is deep enough, Lily and Zhang Jing will lead the citizens in the mansion to hide inside the tunnel. Keep everything under control, and make sure there is no noise.”

Tai Wen’s people were quite disciplined and would likely be able to stay quiet and still. However, the two hundred citizens outside the mansion were a mess, and if they were allowed inside the tunnel prematurely, the situation would be uncontrollable. If anyone caused a commotion inside the tunnel and drew the aberrants’ attention, we would be doomed. That was why we could not let them in yet.

Lily replied with an “all right” and did not appear to be dissatisfied in any way. This reassured me significantly. While Lily’s individual combat capabilities were excellent as always, and giving her a gun would ensure she would be in no way inferior to the soldiers on the city wall, it was ultimately just an extra gun, and she would at most be someone more accurate than the others. It would be better to let her lead an escape. After all, Zhang Jing was young; having him lead an escape on his lonesome and making critical decisions on the spot was truly too much of a burden on him.