Chapter 53 Subtext: I am the King of Apocalypse! Not You!

City of Angels, Keisha's private garden.

This place was once the famous "Bliss Pool" of the Hua Ye era—a massive, jewel-encrusted indoor swimming pool where Hua Ye had hosted countless decadent banquets.

One month after Keisha took control of the City of Angels, it was thoroughly remodeled by her female angels.

The pool was filled in, covered with the most precious soil brought from hundreds of planets, and replanted with countless exotic and beautiful flowers.

The giant dome simulated the most pleasant sunlight and breeze, and the air was filled with a refreshing natural fragrance, leaving not a single trace of the former luxury and filth.

Hexi and Keisha strolled side by side along the flower-lined paths. Hexi's gaze swept over those blooming flowers of various shapes, and a trace of imperceptible worry colored her tone: "Supervising the Queen of Apocalypse is easier said than done. Liang Bing's temper... I really feel anxious for Ruoning."

Keisha turned her head slightly, her golden hair flowing with a soft luster in the sunlight.

Her expression was calm and unruffled: "Hexi, there is no need to worry so much."

"Although Liang Bing has a somewhat fiery temper, she possesses a broad perspective on the overall situation; we must trust her."

"Trust that she will ultimately understand and abide by the boundaries of the new order." Her tone sounded relaxed, carrying the indulgence of an elder sister toward a younger one.

Hexi's steps paused slightly. Her gaze shifted away from an exotic flower shaped like a burning flame and landed on Keisha's gracefully contoured profile.

"Yes, of course."

She went along with Keisha's words, but her tone immediately shifted with the casualness of idle chat, yet every word was crystal clear: "But Liang Bing, after all, is not an independent individual."

"She holds a high position of great authority and governs a vast domain."

"Naturally, many people will surround her, influence her, and even..."

She laughed softly, tinged with a hint of helplessness.

Keisha's steps also came to a halt. She turned her head to face Hexi directly, her face still maintaining that calm and poised expression.

Only deep within her golden eyes did a faint trace of inquiry flash past: "Oh? Hexi, your words have hidden meanings."

"If you have any thoughts, just speak them out plainly."

Hexi did not reply immediately. She looked around the magnificent garden, her gaze distant as if she were admiring the scenery or perhaps reminiscing.

"Queen Keisha," she suddenly asked, her voice carrying a strange, ethereal quality, "do you know what kind of place this was... before you came here?"

Keisha was slightly startled, clearly not expecting Hexi to bring this up out of the blue.

She followed Hexi's gaze around the blossoming flora and answered as a matter of course: "A garden, what else could it be? A place for you and me to relax our minds and experience the beauty of nature."

"A garden?" Hexi's lips curved into a deeper smile, carrying the detached clarity of someone who saw through the ways of the world. "Before you came, this was a massive, jewel-encrusted swimming pool that echoed day and night with decadent music."

"It was Hua Ye's favorite place back then, used to host his... well, 'unconventional' pool parties."

Keisha's expression sank instantly.

That habitual calmness seemed like water struck by a pebble, sending out an imperceptible ripple.

She certainly knew what this place used to be; she had simply chosen to forget it deliberately.

Hexi's "reminder" at this moment felt like a tiny thorn, piercing through the carefully maintained illusion that "the new order had completely overwritten the old era."

"Of course," Hexi continued, as if blind to the change in Keisha's expression, her tone remaining flat and even tinged with understanding.

"It is completely understandable for us—those of us who toil day in and day out over state affairs, scientific research, and military command—to have a place for leisure and relaxation during our downtime."

"Appreciating flowers and chatting are indeed excellent ways to soothe the body and mind."

She shifted her tone once again, lowering her voice with the earnestness of a heart-to-heart talk: "However..."

"Keisha, we must remain vigilant."

"We must prevent a recurrence of the days when the Heavenly Palace indulged in debauchery while the frontline suffered defeats in battle."

Keisha listened quietly, her face no longer wearing its habitual smile.

It was a sense of undeniable realization of having been pierced at her most vulnerable spot.

Hexi did not spell it out, but she understood.

This garden, remodeled from a pool of debauchery, served as a metaphor.

The new order had covered up the filthy facade of the old era, but the essence of power—flattery, sycophancy, and the temptations and corruption born of power... had they truly been eradicated?

Or did they merely exist in a more covert, more "civilized" manner?

She looked into Hexi's clear silver eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything. After a few seconds of silence, she finally nodded slowly and gravely.

"Yes." Keisha's voice was not loud, but it carried a heavy weight.

This single word was both an acknowledgment of Hexi's warning and a response to the alarm bell ringing within her own heart.

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The Apocalypse Nebula, Fortress of the Eye of Apocalypse.

This was the center of Liang Bing's power, and its style was starkly different from the solemn and dignified Melos Celestial Court.

The massive command center resembled a warlike fortress filled with a sense of strength and pragmatism.

Huge interstellar combat maps hung on the dark alloy walls, densely marked with legion deployments and offensive routes.

The air was tainted with the faint scent of energy fluid, metal, and a raw, aggressive atmosphere that belonged to a conqueror's domain.

Liang Bing's private office was located on the top floor of the command hub. Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows were bustling starports, countless warships moving in and out like homing iron beasts.

The indoor furnishings were dark, luxurious yet rugged. Behind a massive solid wood desk stood a high-backed throne cast from some dark metal, symbolizing the authority of the Queen of Apocalypse.

At this moment, Liang Bing was lounging lazily in that throne, not wearing armor, but dressed in sharply tailored black casual wear that made her skin look as fair as snow.

She was toweing with an exquisite energy crystal goblet filled with a fiery liquor that resembled molten ruby.

Her gaze, however, was as sharp as a knife, fixed on Ruoning, who was standing straight in the middle of the office.

Only the two of them were in the office. The air was as heavy as the stillness before a storm.

"Ruoning," Liang Bing broke the silence first, her voice not loud yet carrying an unquestionable penetrating power.

She didn't even use the title "Inspector."

"I'll speak my mind to you."

She leaned forward slightly, her eyes—always burning with a desire for conquest—clearly reflecting Ruoning's figure, carrying undisguised alienation and... a hint of impatience.

"To be honest, I am actually not welcoming your arrival in the Apocalypse Nebula."

Straight to the point, piercing the core. No hypocritical pleasantries, no concealment of power—this was Liang Bing's style.

Facing Liang Bing's nearly provocative opening, Ruoning's eyes didn't flicker at all, remaining as calm as frozen ice.

She nodded, her voice equally clear, steady, and carrying the crispness unique to a soldier:

"As expected, Queen of Apocalypse."

"To be honest, I didn't want to come either."

Liang Bing's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly, seeming somewhat surprised by Ruoning's bluntness.

Ruoning continued, her tone calm and natural: "However, the will of the two queens cannot be defied by my personal wishes."

"Queen Keisha and the Heavenly Foundation Queen believe that the order of the Apocalypse Nebula requires clearer boundaries."

"I am merely here on orders to fulfill this responsibility."

"Boundaries?" Liang Bing sneered, leaning back against the wide chair back and swirling the crimson liquid in her glass.

"My boundary is to seize living space for the angel civilization and bring back resources for the 26.8 million female angels of the Apocalypse Nebula!"

"Not to be bound hand and foot by some damn 'boundaries'!"

She slammed the wine glass heavily onto the smooth desktop, making a crisp sound, and pointed out the window toward the bustling starport: "Did you see that?"

"The Apocalypse Legion has just completed its assembly, and the offensive plan for eight resource star system clusters has been deployed!"

"The arrow is notched on the bowstring! And the moment you arrive, well!"

She spread her hands, wearing an exaggerated expression mixed with mockery and irritation.

"The whole plan has to come to a halt!"

"Just to wait for you, the great 'Order Inspector,' to familiarize yourself with the environment, review the plans, and evaluate their 'correctness'!"

Ruoning's gaze swept over the wine glass Liang Bing had slammed onto the table, then lifted to meet Liang Bing's aggressive eyes.

Instead of getting angry, she took a step forward, closing in on the massive desk, her voice rising suddenly with the force of an interrogation:

"I have only just stepped into the Apocalypse Fortress! I haven't even learned which way your command center's doors face!"

"I don't even know the names of the legion commanders under your command!"

"How on earth have I affected the strategic development of the Apocalypse Nebula?"

Her voice echoed in the spacious office, carrying an awe-inspiring righteousness provoked by an absurd accusation: "Queen of Apocalypse, are you fabricating charges out of thin air just to shut me up?"

Liang Bing was choked by this sudden, forceful interrogation, and a trace of anger flashed across her face.

She abruptly turned her head away to look out the window, the lines of her profile pulled taut, clearly struck in some sensitive spot by Ruoning.

Yet she couldn't refute the naked truth—Ruoning had indeed just arrived and hadn't had time to do anything yet.

A brief silence made the atmosphere even more tense.

Ruoning took a deep breath, suppressing her churning emotions, and her voice returned to its previous steadiness.

Yet it grew heavier, every word falling like a heavy hammer: "To stop needless slaughter and forbid atrocities against the innocent—this is the foundation upon which the new order is built!"

"It is a consensus bought with countless sacrifices by the angel civilization! If the territory opened up by expansion is built upon mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and bitter hatred!"

"If it carries original sins that contradict the core spirit of the new order, then..."

Her gaze was as sharp as a sword, piercing straight at Liang Bing's profile.

"What does it matter if we reduce a bit of such territory?!"

"Do you want to see a new uprising breed amidst those conquered planets and the ruins of oppressed civilizations?!"

"A new 'Battle of Angry Seas'?!"

"Has the price paid by the angel civilization not been heavy enough?!"

The four words "Battle of Angry Seas" were like a spark thrown into a pool of boiling oil!

Liang Bing snapped her head back, her beautiful eyes instantly igniting with the raging fire of fury, having touched her reverse scale!

She stood up abruptly, slamming both hands heavily onto the desktop with a loud "bang"! Even the sturdy alloy desk seemed to tremble slightly!

"Silence!" Her voice was so shrill it almost tore the air, carrying the fury of utter exasperation.

"Stop bringing up the Battle of Angry Seas to me! Those filthy celestial scum! Hua Ye! Su Mali! They are already finished!"

"And that Hexifeng, who disappeared nearly two thousand years ago and doesn't even know where he died! They are all done for!"

"You're bringing this up to me now?!"

"What do you want?!"

She leaned forward like an enraged feline, staring intently at Ruoning as if ready to pounce!

"What do you want from me?!"

"To kneel in repentance over the ruins of those lower civilizations?!"

Faced with Liang Bing's violent rage, Ruoning not only did not back down, but instead straightened her spine, her gaze as cold as ice, fearlessly meeting that gaze that seemed about to spew fire:

"Have the lessons been learned?!"

"Have the experiences been summarized?!"

Her voice was equally clangorous and powerful, drowning out Liang Bing's roar.

"Liang Bing! We are old comrades-in-arms! We gnawed on energy bars together in the battlefields of Melos, and charged shoulder-to-shoulder together in the artillery fire of the Angry Seas!"

"Precisely because of that, I am standing here today saying these things to you!"

"Right now, you are my new superior, but as a comrade-in-arms, and as an inspector sent by Queens Keisha and Hexi, I must remind you!"

She pointed a finger at Liang Bing, and then toward the starry sky outside the window representing countless conquered worlds:

"Your current ideological state is dangerous!"

"Extremely dangerous!"

"Today is not about what I want! It's that the hundreds of millions of subjects of the angel civilization have had enough of endless bloodshed!"

"They have had enough of the terror carried out in your name! What they yearn for is peace and tranquility brought by order, rather than potential threats and endless future troubles brought by conquest!"

"The hearts of the people under heaven roll like a mighty torrent! This force can never be suppressed or defied for long by the Apocalypse Legion in your hands!"

"We must never again allow this blind slaughter, driven solely by the desire for conquest, to continue!"

"Enough!!!"

Liang Bing's roar exploded like thunder!

She swept around the massive desk in a flash, rushing over to Ruoning in a few strides, the distance between them so close they could feel each other's scorching breath.

Her finger nearly poked the tip of Ruoning's nose, her beautiful face slightly distorted by extreme anger:

"The Queen of Apocalypse—is! ME!!!"

She slammed her other hand heavily against her own chest, producing a dull echo.

Then, the finger pointing at Ruoning's nose jabbed fiercely into Ruoning's shoulder armor with the force of a thousand jun, producing a crisp "clang"!

"NOT! YOU!!!"

"The 26.8 million subjects of the Apocalypse Nebula!"

"They want to survive! They want to develop! They want jobs! They want resources!"

"I am! The primary responsible person!!!"

"NOT! YOU!!!"

Every single word sounded like sparks bursting from between clenched teeth, carrying an absolute declaration of power and an unquestionable will.

The air in the office seemed thoroughly ignited by this roar, filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Ruoning's shoulder armor vibrated slightly from that poke, but her body remained as unyielding as a boulder.

Her gaze did not waver in the slightest; instead, amidst Liang Bing's raging declaration of power, it burst forth with an even tougher radiance. She raised her volume as well, her voice like a drawn sword slashing through Liang Bing's roar:

"That's! Right!"

She took another step forward, nearly touching nose-to-nose with Liang Bing, her gaze blazing, her voice resonant as she declared an unshakable iron law:

"Power—is responsibility!!!"

"Responsibility—demands accountability!!!"