Li Yao: "…"
"To be more exact," Ling Xiaole said, "they are the former soldiers of the Imperium. They are all captives from the 'Battle of Firefly' ten years ago. In the battle, Ding Ling Dong, the God of War of the Federation, not only rescued Firefly from the claw fleet of the Imperium but also captured a lot of cruisers and assault warships of the Imperium, including a lot of soldiers on the starships.
"In the ten years that followed, the soldiers of the Imperium were modified in the captive camps. Those few uncles and old gentlemen were the bottom-level soldiers of the Black Wind Fleet in the first place. They were the targets of oppression and enslavement. They did not have the time to owe any blood debt to the people of the Federation before they were blown up in the very first battle. Also, they were all activists of the modification. During the ten years of modification, they had long repented and turned over a new leaf. Therefore, they were set free and began a new life in the Federation.
"They are the firmest supporters of the path of the Cultivators right now. When they saw the experts of the game 'swaggering' in the uniform of the Imperium's army, they couldn't help but recall the miserable first half of their lives. In their fury, they did something stupid. Please don't be offended," Li Yao said.
"That explains a lot."
Li Yao patted Heiye Lan's shoulder heavily and said to Ling Xiaole in embarrassment, "My secretary has an irreconcilable grudge against the Imperium … for her father's death. She was rather excited to hear that 'real' soldiers of the Imperium were here. Speaking of which, can you even modify the Immortal Cultivators of the Imperium?"
"Of course. If the Cultivators can be transformed into the Immortal Cultivators, why can't the Immortal Cultivators be transformed into the Cultivators?"
Ling Xiaole said, "It is needless to talk about the slave soldiers at the bottom level of the Black Wind Fleet who are the so-called 'hominoids'. Even the bottom-level officers, such as the Immortal Cultivators in the Refinement Stage and the Building Foundation Stage, are victims of the true path of immortality and the oppressed class of the Imperium of True Human Beings in our eyes. They are deceived, enslaved, and exploited by the Immortal Cultivators of higher levels until they are dead.
"If you are interested, I can send you some files on the modification of captives later. In the past ten years, through a lot of communication with the captives, we have a deep understanding of the system, the way of life, and the life of the ordinary people and the bottom-level Immortal Cultivators on board the Black Wind Fleet.
"You may not know this, but the life of the bottom-level Immortal Cultivators on board can be quite miserable, too. For the purpose of the invasion war, most of the assets of the Black Wind Fleet were sealed during the hundred years of sailing. The bottom-level Immortal Cultivators, on one hand, had to explore the highly-dangerous unknown space zones deep in the sea of stars under the bewilderment of all kinds of anesthetics and deceptions. They could die without leaving anything behind at any moment. On the other hand, they had to scheme against each other openly and in secret. They had to keep one eye open even when they were sleeping in case a venomous blade would stab at them without a sound.
"Before, they did not have a choice and thought that the true path of immortality was the only unquestionable truth in the universe. They did not have the concept of such a dark and miserable life at all. Therefore, they did not know how to reflect or resist.
"After they were captured by the Federation, they learned a lot of theories about the true path of the Cultivators in the captive camps. They were often organized to participate in the debates between 'Cultivators' and 'Immortal Cultivators'. The 'hominoid' slave soldiers among the captives, who were the ordinary soldiers of the Imperium, were also 'paired' with the bottom-level Immortal Cultivators, forcing them to help each other on equal terms. The 'hominoid' slave soldiers were even appointed as captains of the modification squads to manage other Immortal Cultivators. The 'complaint meetings' and 'disclosure meetings' were also organized to expose the heinous crimes within the Black Wind Fleet.
"Although they were captives, the government of the Federation had no intention of torturing and abusing them. Except for the few fellows who were exposed in the 'complaint meetings' and were punished for their heinous crimes, we still tried to save the ordinary soldiers and the bottom-level Immortal Cultivators as much as possible with the attitude of 'curing the disease'.
"Naturally, the conditions in the captive camps were very harsh, but everybody was equal. Even the tutors of the Cultivators did not enjoy any better treatment than the captives. Everybody ate and lived together, worked together, learned new knowledge together, and practiced techniques together. Their meticulous care for the captives made them realize for the first time in their lives that 'dignity' did not have to be determined by strength but that people could absolutely trust each other without having to be cautious all the time.
"Just like that, almost all the ordinary soldiers were awakened in only half a year and joined the arms of the Federation, completely standing on the opposite side of the Imperium.
"Even the Immortal Cultivators in the Refinement Stage and the Building Foundation Stage, who were merely bottom-level officers and captains in the Black Wind Fleet, were mostly reborn after a couple of years.
"At that time, we took the captives out for sightseeing and visited all the seven Sectors. We showed them the great achievements of the Xing Yao Federation under the guidance of the Cultivators. They saw that the men and women, old and young, living in the new Federation, were sweating and working hard for the future regardless of whether they were ordinary people or Cultivators. Naturally, they also saw the 'national treasure' that was' Civilization '!
"After everything, many captives were completely reformed. After three special pardons, a large batch of captives were set free. They would build a common future together with the hundred billion compatriots of the Federation as ordinary members of the Federation!"
Ling Xiaole's lengthy speech filled Li Yao with mixed feelings.
There was no need to mention Heiye Lan. Had it not been for the suppression of the spiritual energy that Li Yao had just transmitted into her body, she probably would've been pulling her hair and shrieking right now.
Li Yao calmed himself down and asked, "What are most of the captives doing right now?"
"They are all earning their own living in society," Ling Xiaole said. "They are mostly engaged in two professions. Those who are more open-minded work as' specialists of the Imperium 'and play the roles on the Imperium's side in' Civilization '. Some of them work as consultants, leaders, and coaches for the' villain teams' such as the 'Storm Assault Team', helping them design every detail carefully to ensure the realism of the simulated battles. The best of them are all doing very well.
"However, few people are as open-minded as them. Most of the captives hate the first half of their lives and the Imperium of True Human Beings' guts, just like the few old gentlemen just now.
"After they are trained, they are sent to the local schools as special 'history teachers'. They will tell the young people of the Federation how terrifying the Imperium is and how wonderful, hard-earned, and worth protecting the happy life of the children right now!
"Such 'history teachers' are very popular. After all, there are too many people for them. There are so many primary and secondary schools in the seven Sectors of the Federation. Which school does not want a living 'witness of the Imperium' to intimidate the monkeys? Therefore, the new life of the soldiers of the Imperium in the past and the people of the Federation right now is not bad, right? "
Li Yao was rather stunned. He looked at Heiye Lan and mumbled, "This is too different from what we thought of on Firefly!"
Ling Xiaole stuck out her tongue and summoned her courage to say, "It's all Speaker Cui's fault. He was worried that the Federation would 'corrupt' your 'rightful government' and blocked all the information about the Federation. That's why we are so estranged. Thankfully, he has thought it through. It is not too late!
"I can roughly guess what you are thinking. There is not a second when you are not thinking about marching back to the center of the cosmos.
"Marching to the Empyreal Terminus Sector and recovering the entire universe is naturally what the Xing Yao Federation wants, too. However, on second thought, the Imperium of True Human Beings controls almost a hundred Sectors, and so does the Alliance of the Holy Covenant. How many Immortal Cultivators are there, and how many demi-humans are there who obey the 'Pangu's covenant'?
"It is impossible for us to kill all the Immortal Cultivators and demi-humans. Are we really going to ignite a war at the center of the cosmos and slaughter the hundred Sectors until blood is flowing like rivers? Even if it is possible, it will still be an irreversible disaster for the entire civilization of mankind!
"Instead of killing all the Immortal Cultivators and the soldiers of the Imperium, we prefer to transform them or even 'wake them up' instantly in a certain way so that the Imperium of True Human Beings will collapse from the inside and be drowned by the fury of the awakened people and the bottom-level Immortal Cultivators!"
After pondering for a long time, Li Yao suddenly narrowed his eyes and said, "No. I'm afraid that you have arranged everything on purpose for us to see, haven't you? Otherwise, how can there be such a coincidence?"
Ling Xiaole chuckled and admitted frankly, "It's true that the 'former soldiers of the Imperium' were arranged here by us on purpose so that they would run into the 'Storm Assault Team'. However, we did not write any script. Their reactions and what would happen after the two parties ran into each other were completely out of our control.
"This isn't a deliberate arrangement for the two of you. It's part of another large-scale test project.
"They are all captives of the Imperium after all. Right now, a lot of Immortal Cultivators are lurking inside the Federation. There are also evil organizations such as the 'CFIA'. We cannot allow the captives to run around in society without being monitored at all, which would be irresponsible to the Federation and themselves.
"Therefore, it is necessary to arrange such a test. We will measure their mental state through their on-the-spot reactions, whether or not they have been completely transformed, whether or not they are suitable to stay with the children in school, and so on.
"If you think about it carefully, you will realize that it is impossible for us to ask them to put on a show. We have gone through so much trouble to transform them. If we ask them to put on a show in front of you, wouldn't we be shaking their belief?
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