Chapter 214: Failed Persuasion

At the Magic City airport.

Ning Shuangshuang stepped off the plane, her face showing a cool expression with a touch of fatigue and melancholy in her eyes.

She had just left her family home in the imperial capital.

Not long ago, her father Ning Ze Hao was officially reassigned back to the country, and Ning Shuangshuang immediately returned home in the imperial capital to have a proper talk with him.

However, Ning Ze Hao was very angry about her resignation.

“You’ve grown bold enough to make such a big decision on your own, huh? Do you have any idea what it took for you to get this far in the security system, that it’s not just your youth and passion at stake?”

“Dad, I’m an adult and can make my own decisions. Du Qiu cannot come back, and I want to be with him,” Ning Shuangshuang said, looking her father in the eyes.

Upon hearing this, Ning Ze Hao’s face grew even darker.

“Even if he did save your mother, there’s no need for you to repay him with your future. Besides, how do you plan to go? Don’t you know that you can’t leave the country?”

“I love him, which is why I want to be with him,” Ning Shuangshuang asserted.

Ning Ze Hao sneered and said, “Does he love you? If he loves you and this country, why won’t he come back?

The nation’s aircraft carrier fleet went to pick him up; what’s there for him to worry about? Hasn’t the country been fair to his business?”

“Dad, it’s not just about Dream Technology. Given the current standoff between Dream Technology and the United States, if he were to return, it would lead to a conflict between the United States and our country!”

Ning Ze Hao scoffed at this, “Do you think Dream Technology is that significant? The Americans have bombed it once; why wouldn’t they bomb it a second time?

Even if Dream Technology is impressive, once he’s back in the country, we can protect it, and then the United States will be even less likely to act rashly.”

“Dad, don’t you understand? If Du Qiu returns to the country because of the issue with Dream Technology, it could very likely lead to a confrontation,” Ning Shuangshuang countered.

Ning Ze Hao was taken aback and asked, “How is that possible? Are the Americans really that determined?”

Ning Shuangshuang further explained, “Dad, you clearly don’t understand the status of Dream Technology in the electronics and machinery sectors. It has a large share of the global market and its technology is very advanced.

Dream Technology appears to be a coalition of miraculous tech companies from various countries but is actually under the control of Du Qiu.

If Du Qiu returns to the country, the U.S. will definitely worry that the advanced technology of Dream Technology will help our country achieve comprehensive superiority in many fields.

Under such circumstances, they would certainly confront us. Haven’t you noticed the U.S. military has recently been withdrawing from Persia?”

Ning Ze Hao, an experienced diplomat, was quite aware of the situation in the Middle East, despite previously being in Africa’s Egypt.

The latest movements of the U.S. military led him to believe they were retreating on their own due to casualties.

He had not connected this news with Dream Technology and his own country.

“The U.S. military began their withdrawal because of anti-war sentiment within, right?” Ning Ze Hao’s confidence wavered as he spoke.

Ning Shuangshuang shook her head and sighed, “The injury and death tolls announced by the U.S. military in the last six months are all fabricated; in reality, they have virtually zero casualties.”

“Zero casualties? That’s impossible. They suffered significant losses before; how could there be such a drastic change overnight?” Ning Ze Hao stared, incredulous.

“It’s the absolute truth. The U.S. military is using armed robots on a large scale in Persia; they’re not relying on human soldiers in combat anymore.”

“What?!” Ning Ze Hao was completely stunned; that was something he had never considered.

“Shuangshuang, is this really happening? Does our country know about this?” Ning Ze Hao began to ask but then chuckled bitterly, “If you know, of course, the country knows. Does the U.S. worry that Du Qiu’s return will accelerate the development of domestic armed robots?”

Everyone knows that Dream Technology makes the best humanoid robots in the world. If humanoid robots are of high quality, then they surely can make armed robots.

Although the materials and applications differ, there are still many similarities.

“The U.S. might have such concerns, but what they don’t realize is that Du Qiu has already completed this research for the country, and the products are now being mass-produced,” she said.

Ning Ze Hao was speechless, his mouth agape. After a while, he simply got up and left without further conversation with his daughter.

During this exchange, Ning Shuangshuang hadn’t had the chance to express her own thoughts, but her father had promptly bailed, leaving her speechless.

Afterward, Ning Ze Hao has been avoiding his daughter, evidently feeling defeated by their previous conversation—it was a clear case of asymmetrical information.

Finally, unable to stand it any longer, Ning Shuangshuang took the opportunity to engage her father in conversation again.

Ning Ze Hao, unable to avoid it any longer, said, “My girl, they say that a daughter is a father’s temporary visitor, and I can’t control you anymore. However, I genuinely can’t help you if you want to go abroad.”

Ning Shuangshuang was stunned for a moment, sighing in realization that her father had been avoiding her these past few days because he thought she was asking for his help to leave the country, which was, after all, a breach of discipline and thus he naturally avoided her.

“Dad, what are you thinking? Even if I truly go abroad to be with Du Qiu, I definitely wouldn’t need your help,” she reassured.

Ning Ze Hao immediately felt relieved and said, “Oh, do you have a way to go abroad?”

“Yes, Dad. Did you forget how Du Qiu, under tight GIA surveillance in the United States, still managed to leave the country by plane without any issues? If I want to leave, it will definitely be no problem.”

Hearing this, Ning Ze Hao felt a mixture of emotions, admiring the incredible capabilities of his future son-in-law he had yet to meet. If he didn’t have such abilities, his own daughter likely wouldn’t have taken an interest in him.

“My girl, aren’t you going to wait for your mother to come back? We still want to bless you two. Look, I haven’t even met that lad Du Qiu, and my girl is already swept away by him. I feel so cheated!” Ning Ze Hao couldn’t help but grumble.

“Dad, why don’t you come with me? Actually… Mom has already gone,” she revealed.

“What?!” Ning Ze Hao was stupefied. What was going on?

“Your mom has already gone? Where to?”

“To Du Qiu’s place, of course. She’s in the Tanga Federation, having traveled there from South Sudan, with arrangements by Du Qiu to pick her up.”

“Why didn’t she mention this to me?” Ning Ze Hao questioned in disbelief.

Ning Shuangshuang explained, “We had to keep it secret; I told her not to tell you.”

“Oh, so just I am being kept in the dark?”

“I came back this time to talk to you, but who knew you’d vanish after our first talk, and then disappear for days on end,” Ning Shuangshuang complained.

Ning Ze Hao felt awkward, realizing he had completely misunderstood.

Her words had convinced him that Du Qiu’s choice to stay abroad was the right one, as under such circumstances, he would also choose not to cause trouble for the country.

Besides, being abroad, one can still contribute to the country.

Then he assumed his daughter wanted his help to leave the country, which was why he had been avoiding her.

“My girl, I didn’t expect you to talk about this. But why does Du Qiu want me to go abroad to him?” Ning Ze Hao promptly inquired, coming back to reality.

“Du Qiu has a plan called the ‘Heavenly Realm.’ He wants to create a utopia. This utopia still needs to interact with countries on Blue Star, and you as a diplomat could certainly put your talents to good use,” she said.

Ning Ze Hao exclaimed, “He wants to establish a country? In Africa? Impossible. And he’s calling it the ‘Heavenly Realm’? The name itself is so ridiculous!

Is he aspiring to be the Jade Emperor? He might as well call it ‘Heavenly Court’.”

Ning Shuangshuang burst out laughing and said, “Dad, who would have thought you, such a serious man, could say something like that? You even used the word ‘ridicule.’”

Ning Ze Hao gave her a stern look and said, “Your father isn’t that old. Why can’t I use that word?”

“Yes, Dad, you still look like a handsome young man!” Ning Shuangshuang couldn’t resist flattering her father.

Ning Ze Hao became serious again and said, “I’ve never met Du Qiu, and previously, I thought he had made great contributions to the country and had taken on huge pressure, proving himself to be a real man.

But now, suddenly, he’s gotten ahead of himself. Does he think a bit of capability means he can establish his own nation and become king? Too naive, too immature!

Does he think Africans are easy to bully and deceive? Does he think with some money he can bribe them? If he dares to declare the establishment of a nation, the neighboring countries will teach him a lesson in minutes.

They don’t need Americans to deal with him; those brothers will turn his Heavenly Realm into hell!”

“Dad, you shouldn’t speak like that,” Ning Shuangshuang said unhappily. “You don’t even know where he’s going to build the Heavenly Realm, yet you’re spouting all this nonsense.”

“Where else could he build it? Isn’t he in Africa? The Tanga Federation certainly won’t cede land to him. Could he possibly want to build an island in the Indian Ocean?”

“If he builds an island, that’s a nation of islands,” Ning Shuangshuang said irritably.

“Eh, ‘Heavenly Realm’…unless he’s planning to build it up in the sky? But that’s airspace belonging to other countries!”

“What about above the airspace? There are no boundaries there; it doesn’t belong to any country on Blue Star,” Ning Shuangshuang said calmly.

“Aha! In space? Does he… does he have the technology for that?” Ning Ze Hao was truly shocked.

With the current space technology on Blue Star, it’s only possible to build a space station that can accommodate a few people at best.

Even this requires multiple launches to send up the parts for assembly. The nation’s own Tiangong Space Station is just beginning to take shape, and that has already cost a fortune.

“Yes, he said he would soon complete the necessary technology reserves. Once the Heavenly Realm is formed, diplomats like you will be needed. So, Dad, are you going or not?”

“I’m not going!” Ning Ze Hao flatly refused.

“Why not?”