I'm the boss because I have a harem of anime characters.

Page 48

"You're too kind, Admiral."

"That's right, Admiral. We and the Admiral are family."

"The Admiral's wish is the wish of each and every one of us!"

"That's right!"

"So, let's drink to a better tomorrow!"

"cheers!"

Although the harem has grown, the internal relationship remains quite peaceful. Ship girls from different factions do joke around, but there are no irreconcilable conflicts. For example, Bismarck often discusses French fries with Rodney.

Germany and the UK... well, it's not surprising that two culinary wastelands are so mutually attracted.

According to Lexington's description, during the port period, the best cooks were the Chinese ship girls. Each of them was a formidable character who could bring out their culinary skills. Even the seemingly tomboyish Zhaohe had unparalleled Fujian cuisine skills. When she worked with her sister Yingrui, they could create a Fujian cuisine masterpiece.

Qin Shan was very curious about what kind of killer move this was, and hoped that it wouldn't challenge his sense of taste.

Ninghai and Pinghai are skilled in various pastries and noodles, while Yixian is an expert in home-style cooking. In short, every Chinese ship girl has shown the ultimate form of a foodie—a master of cooking.

They are completely different kinds of creatures from Qin Shan, who can't even eat instant noodles properly (they get mushy).

I'm sorry, I've disgraced the Chinese nation.

Just as Qin Shan's family raised their glasses, other countries around the world were also celebrating the New Year in their own ways, hoping for a good year and praying for world peace.

Unfortunately, world peace cannot be achieved through prayer; you must strive for it yourself.

"Attack! Ukraine will surely win!"

In the bitter cold of Russia's most desperate month, Zelensky personally led a team of superhumans to launch an attack on the Russian army. The superhumans' powerful physiques ignored the environmental damage caused by General Winter, but the resulting chain reaction forced the Russian army to fight desperately against the cold and the attacking Ukrainian troops.

In terms of numbers, the attacking Ukrainian army numbered only a hundred or so, but they were all superhumans, and the destruction they caused was incomparable to that of ordinary people. After infiltrating the Russian army's defenses with all sorts of strange abilities, each of them was a combat unit more terrifying than a suicide truck. Ironically, compared to their continuous destruction, their self-destruction before death was the least lethal.

The biggest joke in Russia is that Slavs are immune to winter.

Wrong. At most, they are more resistant to the cold and dare to go out in shorts and vests in temperatures of minus several or ten degrees Celsius. If you asked them to stand outside in summer clothes for a whole night in a standard temperature of minus twenty or thirty degrees Celsius, they would still be stiff as a board the next day. The German army did suffer heavy losses in winter during World War II, but few people know that the harsh winter also caused serious casualties in the Russian army, and the number of casualties was even greater than that of the German army. However, after they survived, in the following temperatures of minus ten degrees Celsius, coupled with various equipment adapted to the local environment, their non-combat casualties were naturally much less than those of the German army.

The Ukrainian army naturally knew where the Russian army's weaknesses lay, so Zelensky's superhuman forces mainly attacked the Russian army's logistics and supplies, especially heating. Every bit of fuel lost was fatal to the Russian army in winter.

When fuel became scarce, the Russian army had no choice but to cut down trees in dangerous areas. This was the fuel requirement for hundreds of thousands of troops, even when they were relatively concentrated. The surrounding trees and timber were quickly depleted. These were scenes that could be seen from high-altitude reconnaissance. Multiple felled forests were connected, and there must have been Russian troops, or even Russian command posts, within a certain range in between. After all, their logistics had been cut off, and they had no choice but to cut down trees and demolish houses if they didn't want to freeze to death.

As a result, within a month, the Russian army suffered more than 30,000 casualties from frostbite on the front lines, eight generals died, and the losses of supplies had reached a dangerous red line. Everyone was advising Pugo that at this time, they could not continue to hold on and had to retreat, otherwise the Russian army near Kiev would become like the German army under the walls of Moscow.

But just as Hitler was tied to Moscow by political needs, Putin is now also held hostage by domestic public opinion near Kyiv. With victory seemingly within reach, retreating at this point would be tantamount to declaring Russia's offensive against Ukraine a complete failure, casting doubt on whether the fighting can end this year. For the Russian people, who have been fighting for four years and are now approaching their fifth year of military action, the increasingly out-of-control war is becoming increasingly unacceptable.

After all, Russia's aid to Ukraine cannot be unlimited. Russia has already conceded a considerable amount of rights to the East on the issue of Ukraine. If it continues to concede, the negative consequences will be even more serious than losing the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine is such a small country; it's truly frightening when its neighbors grow bigger.

Who told Tsarist Russia to bully China so badly back then? If China really becomes prosperous, can you guarantee that it won't bully Russia like Tsarist Russia did to China? Even if they repeatedly emphasize and prove it, Russia doesn't dare to gamble.

The same principle applies to Europe and America. They have done too many bad things in the past, and once they weaken, they will be thoroughly punished. They are afraid, really, really afraid.

So the situation became a deadlock. Rationally, they should retreat, but in reality, it was a difficult decision. Or perhaps Putin still had some gambler's mentality. As long as the front line could be held, the domestic problems would not be triggered, and Russia would continue to improve steadily.

Of course, he wasn't stupid, so he also told the frontline commanders to make their own decisions based on the actual situation on the front lines.

When the subordinates heard their leader say this, they basically understood that "the leader wants me to continue to persevere." In addition, the Russian army was indeed still able to hold on at this time, so they decided to persevere. In any case, in another week or two, the most difficult days would be over. Surviving this winter would be a victory. As for the rest, as long as the Russian army was still close to Kiev, the rest could be negotiated at the negotiating table.

Hold firm, and there's a way!

The premise is that they can hold on.

Everyone thought the attacks in Ukraine were just a last-ditch effort, but in reality, Ze Sheng was playing a much bigger game in Qinshan, the kind that would thrill the whole world. After the Russian army barely survived the initial attacks, the frequency of attacks by the Ukrainian superhuman forces decreased significantly, which relieved all Russian troops. It seemed that it was impossible for a hundred or so superhumans to overturn a major power war. This relieved both Russia and China, while Britain and France were utterly devastated.

Although they are also permanent members of the UN Security Council, they are nothing but a joke, and they don't have the scale of the other two permanent members. As for the United States, Americans are now so confused that they are unlikely to fulfill their duties as permanent members in the short term. In fact, it's questionable whether the United States will even exist after the Civil War ends.

A divided America seems pretty good, but what if it splits into two nuclear-armed states? Would the five permanent members of the UN Security Council become six? India would certainly have something to say about that.

Everyone was watching and waiting, until that thing happened.

Today was an ordinary day in Russia. Putin arrived at the presidential office in the Kremlin as usual, but he had barely sat down when the door to the presidential office was violently kicked open.

Pugo immediately looked up and saw a group of fully armed soldiers rushing in—a group of Ukrainian soldiers.

At that moment, Pu Gou was completely stunned. What was going on? Were all the Kremlin guards dead?!

The Ukrainian soldiers stared at Pugo in silence until someone appeared.

"You are not as powerful as I thought, Pugo."

Zelensky and Pugo faced each other in a way that was so outrageous it was unbelievable.

"I really didn't expect you to be so bold. It makes it easier to wipe you all out in one fell swoop."

At this point, Pugu realized that a group of superhumans had infiltrated the Kremlin, and with the security forces around him, it was virtually impossible to rescue him. So, there was only one option left.

“I’m here to end the war,” Zelensky said.

"Russia is the victor in this war. You have no bargaining power. If you think you can threaten Russia by capturing me, you are sorely mistaken." Putin retorted sharply, showing no intention of backing down.

Zelensky nodded: "I know that if I were to tie you up now and threaten Russia into a ceasefire, you would definitely shout 'Kill them, long live Russia!' You're completely willing to risk your life."

Pugo looked coldly at Zelensky, his expression already revealing his thoughts.

That's right, that's what he thought.

"Although you've been a lapdog to the West for a long time, at least on this issue, you're still quite tough. So, if I told you that we have nuclear weapons, and a lot of them, what would you think?"

"What, you still dare to use it? What good will it do?" Pu Gou sneered.

"That's true under normal circumstances, but what if I told you that I used my supernatural powers to somehow bind nuclear weapons to the bodies of superhumans, and that these superhumans are no longer distributed among Russia's major cities? How would you respond then?"

Pu Gou didn't speak, but his eyes changed slightly.

"Russia is not so unwilling to pay the price of destroying a few cities!" Putin remained unyielding.

However, Zelensky's madness far exceeded Pugo's imagination.

"Don't think I'm just threatening individual Russian cities with nuclear weapons. Have you forgotten the Dead Hand system? The moment I give the order, I'll self-destruct in Moscow, and hundreds of mushroom clouds will rise up across Russia. In that case, the Dead Hand system will be automatically activated, and all of Russia's nuclear weapons will fly to all parts of the world, triggering a nuclear counterattack from all nuclear powers, plunging the entire world into World War III. How about that? Isn't that exciting?"

At this moment, Pu Gou finally couldn't hold back anymore.

Chapter 101: Ze Sheng used the tactic of crossing the river and then dismantling the bridge.

Since the advent of nuclear weapons, this mutual check and balance that ensures annihilation has maintained peace for humanity for a long time, but this balance is being challenged today.

The question is, if a superhuman capable of launching a nuclear-bomb-like attack, will the Dead Hand system activate?

I don't know, I really don't know. The only thing the Russian Dead Hand system can guarantee is that it can explode with the enemy in any situation (there is no password, only two triggers for the Russian nuclear bomb). So when all the cities in Russia are hit by deadly attacks, the Dead Hand system might actually be activated.

At that point, Russia won't need to explain anything; everyone will just explode together, there's no other way.

If you hesitate for even a second, the enemy's brutality will make you regret it. Therefore, once the deadly system between nuclear superpowers is activated, it is destined to be used up until the last bullet.

This is Zelensky's strategy: Ukraine is indeed crippled and has little fighting power, but I can use my strength to blow you up. As long as my suicide attacks are comparable to nuclear bombs, the Dead Hand system will be activated, which means that Ukraine will have nuclear weapons to retaliate against the world. And the nuclear-armed countries in the world will certainly not waste much ammunition on a crippled Ukraine. This is not the Ukraine of the Soviet Union. It is equivalent to giving Ukraine a chance to survive.

Cruel, bloody, and ruthless—it's now clear that Zelensky has truly gone mad.

And this madman is now a real threat to Russia, a threat to the whole world, and is prepared to fight to the death, because those eyes are clearly meant to be dead. When Pugu was a spy, he saw far too many of them.

It's either a lose-lose situation, or...

What do you want?

"It's very simple. We'll have a negotiation in front of the whole world. Of course, I won't be so naive this time. I'll tell the world what preparations Ukraine has made, and then we'll discuss this issue together."

"You are trampling on Russia's dignity, I disagree!"

Putin was well aware of what such open and aboveboard negotiations meant. If things went wrong, Russia might have to give back all the territory it had previously acquired, at which point Putin's approval rating would plummet, and his political career would be over on the spot.

Of course, it's also possible that Russia currently has no one to replace Putin. He remains president, but his power will certainly be significantly reduced, which would be unacceptable to Putin.

But he didn't want to, and couldn't, gamble on that possibility.

Faced with Pugo's objection, Zelensky simply smiled and said, "It's alright, I don't care. I'll give you one minute to make a decision. One minute later, we'll die together. The countdown begins!"

After saying that, Zelenskyy sat down in front of Pugo and looked at him with a smile, as if he were looking at a dead man.

A minute isn't enough time to do anything, and Pu Gou knew that the man in front of him was no longer the obsequious Zelensky; that traitor was dead. The man before him now was the war-tested Zelensky.

A man of steel—for some reason, that's the description that came to Pu Gou's mind.

For Pugo, this was absolutely the longest minute in the world, and he had no other choice.

"I agree."

After uttering those three words, Pugo's expression became noticeably dejected. He knew that he had lost, and Russia had lost too.

They lost because they dared not gamble, because of their arrogance, and perhaps because of many other reasons. But the biggest variable in all of this was the man named Zelensky standing before them.

His transformation brought a lot of uncertainty and, for the first time, actually combined the power of the superhuman with state power.

Regardless of the outcome, the world will be completely changed.

Zelensky then led his team away. Whether Putin would honor their agreement was irrelevant to Zelensky; after all, the arrangements in various Russian cities were already complete, and he could bet that he was lying to him.

Afterwards, Pugo held an internal meeting, at which point the Russian security forces and the KGB learned what had happened in the Kremlin. The fact that none of the unconscious soldiers on duty were killed proved the ease with which these superhumans could carry out the operation, or even carry out a decapitation strike against anyone other than Pugo.

If even the president's life can be threatened, then getting four governors to serve as governors shouldn't be too difficult.

Three days later, to the astonishment of journalists around the world, Pugo and Zelensky appeared on a stage.

The opening remarks were grand and dignified, mentioning that for world peace, for innocent mothers and babies, and to prevent ordinary people from being ravaged by war, Russia decided to hold ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine, emphasizing that everyone is one family and has a traditional friendship, and so on.

Many people are confused, but those with political acumen know that something must have happened that forced Russia to compromise. Otherwise, given the current situation, Russia would have no reason to suddenly initiate peace talks with Ukraine, and under normal circumstances, Zelenskyy would not be in Moscow.

In the end what happened?

This is the responsibility of the intelligence agencies of each country. Before that, the leaders of major powers who were invited gathered in Moscow to endorse the peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Then they learned the truth about the explosion on the spot.

A superhuman infiltrates a city of a nuclear superpower with a nuclear bomb, intending to self-destruct and trigger a chain reaction from the Dead Hand system.

The plan is simple, but it is extremely difficult to execute if one is not a superhuman. However, Zelensky happens to have a team of over a hundred superhumans under his command, who have all infiltrated Russia and are ready to self-destruct at any time. If they manage to pull it off, the Dead Hand system will indeed be activated.

Of course, Russia could shut down the Dead Hand system, but sacrificing itself to protect the world is not a noble act. Such behavior would only be exploited by its enemies and potential adversaries.

Things have developed to the point where Russia cannot afford to lose, so Putin is actually taking advantage of this situation.

Look at me, look at me! I'm backed into a corner, but I have the power to drag the whole world down with me. If I get hit by a nuclear terrorist attack, you won't have a good time either. Rather than sacrificing me, we'd all be better off starting over together.

This is tantamount to Zelensky threatening Russia's Dead Hand system, and consequently threatening the entire world.

Wow, it's open! I've never seen anything like it before.

At this point, countries can adopt delaying tactics, but Zelenskyy obviously will not give Russia such an opportunity. Dragging things out is not good for Ukraine, so his plan is to negotiate for three days, and if it doesn't work out after three days, he will break up the deal and everyone will reopen the talks together.

With this matter now announced to the world, tensions are extremely high globally. Wealthy individuals in many countries are frantically digging their own doomsday fortresses, fearing that they will be left destitute after a nuclear war.

Ordinary people can only watch and pray that a nuclear war doesn't actually break out, while other countries are also advising Russia not to go too far, to stop while it's ahead, and not to send everyone back to the Stone Age.

Russia naturally saw the benefits in this situation. Putin thought about it again and realized that threatening the world with his own forced situation was not a bad thing. Moreover, Zelensky, who was already a superhuman, was obviously not someone that Western countries could control, which was advantageous to Russia.

After much negotiation and deliberation among the parties involved, the new Kiev Treaty was signed in Ukraine two weeks later.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council made guarantees for Ukraine's security. Of course, after being badly beaten by Russia once, the Ukrainian people certainly don't believe it. But Russia will really withdraw from Ukrainian territory. However, the people in eastern Ukraine can choose to stay or join Russia. This effectively eliminates the factors of disunity within Ukraine. Although the treaty seems somewhat of a compromise, it is actually a victory for Ukraine.

Let's not forget who Ukraine's opponent was. To achieve such a result against such a formidable opponent is truly a miracle.

"My fellow Ukrainians, from this day forward, the war is over!"

As Zelenskyy announced the end of the war, the surviving Ukrainians shed tears of joy.

Anyway, it's finally over, that's great!

The successful resolution of the Ukraine crisis has also relieved other countries, at least they no longer have to worry about the Dead Hand system being activated, and everyone can enjoy a fourth world war with stones and sticks. Of course, the main reason is that the powerful and wealthy don't want to. They have too many things they are reluctant to lose, and they can't afford to lose and don't want to lose.

On the surface, Russia suffered the greatest loss, but in reality, Russia is already somewhat reluctant to continue the war. It has already won over all the people in eastern Ukraine that it could win over, and it has basically eliminated those that it could not win over. Although there has been no territorial expansion, it has at least ensured that Ukraine will not side with Europe, and will not side with Europe in the future. As for NATO, the Russia-Ukraine war has already tested NATO's true nature, and Russia's sense of security is higher than ever before.

What many foreigners find incomprehensible is that Putin's approval rating has not decreased, but rather increased.

It's not surprising, really. After all, Russia has essentially got everything it can get its hands on. And Ukraine fought a completely unfair war against superhumans, which is a classic case of non-war-related wrongdoing for Russia. Even Putin's political enemies can't criticize him for this, because they wouldn't be able to offer a better alternative. Moreover, Russia really can't find anyone to replace Putin right now. For the sake of Russia's stability and development, maintaining the status quo is better for everyone.

Just look at the United States next door. For a nuclear superpower like this, the best approach is internal stability. This way, people won't live in constant fear. The previous threat of nuclear war has already made the public feel the chill of the Cold War once again.

In the long run, this is not a bad thing. Most people still prefer world peace, and the overall index of Season 3 is declining.

And there's more good news: Ukraine is at peace, which has turned it into a new huge market. The vast black soil and abundant resources are simply mouthwatering.

However, the happiest people are the EU, since they've already signed many loan agreements with Ukraine, and now it's time to get their compensation. So, Zesheng, shouldn't we put these contracts into practice?

According to the normal script, Zelensky would certainly not refuse Europe. However, Zelensky gave the reason that "this is a contract signed jointly with NATO and the United States, and the EU cannot be the sole executor", directly denying the contract.