Colonel Lafei's Regret

Quint sat down with the two men and took a sip of his tea.

"Cough~ cough~!"

The next moment, I was choked by the strong fishy smell in the tea.

This action seemed intentional to Representative Teya.

At this moment, attention was also focused on Quint, and he glanced at him briefly before speaking.

"Is this the representative of the Merrick Civilization?"

"Hello, Representative Teya. I am Quint Will, the Senate President of the Merrick Civilization Government."

Seeing this, Quint quickly introduced himself.

However, Representative Teya showed little interest in communicating with him, simply nodding silently before turning back to look at Berry.

"The Merrick Civilization is indeed a newly emerging civilization that has only existed for a century. Apart from that Lister, it lacks a solid foundation!"

"Berry, how did you make contact with the Merrick Civilization?"

Although Councilor Teya's own abilities are not top-tier, she is far stronger than Quint.

Tier 18, A-level combat power, is considered the ceiling of strength in a typical civilization.

In her eyes, the Merrick Civilization, after all, had geniuses like Lister who only appeared once every thousand years, so the overall quality of life forms within the civilization would be relatively strong.

Who knew that not only was the rank of the person sitting opposite Quint low, but their combat strength was also only a mere C-rank.

In the eyes of some high-ranking members of the Federation, there is no need to even talk to someone whose combat strength is not at B-level.

A-level combatants are the kind of people everyone should respect and befriend.

Even those involved in politics will not lower their pursuit of personal strength, as this represents the foundation of a civilization.

More importantly, if one's individual combat strength doesn't improve, there's a high chance of being replaced by younger generations of the civilization.

Just like Quint in front of him, Councilor Teya felt that the Merrick Civilization was currently lacking in foundation and that sooner or later a younger generation would push Quint out of his representative position.

Therefore, there's not much emphasis on communication at the moment.

"I first met the Merrick Civilization when they discovered the Zerg civilization, and I also participated in some of the combat missions."

I had some acquaintance with Lister before, and it was he who contacted me first.

"Well done!"

When Berry brought up her relationship with Lister, Congressman Teya surprisingly praised it.

The smile on her face was much more genuine, unlike the polite smile she had at the beginning.

After all, a level 3 civilization might rely on a level 4 civilization, and a level 4 civilization might also need a level 3 civilization.

There was naturally competition among the three Level 4 civilizations, with the Merrick Civilization being the most promising candidate for advancement to Level 4 within the Galactic Federation at present.

Not only had Councilor Teya already made plans, but the leaders of the other two lower-level civilizations of the fourth-level civilizations had also paid attention to this.

They planned to extend an olive branch after the Merik civilization advanced to level three, but unexpectedly, the Merrick Civilization, which had only completed its advancement a few months ago, took the initiative to pledge allegiance to the Leviathan Civilization.

This pleased Councilor Teya, who was not optimistic about the Merrick Civilization advancing to a Level 4 civilization in the future.

However, as one of the leading Type III civilizations, the Merrick Civilization is able to obtain more resources within the Galactic Federation and squeeze the living space of other Type III civilizations.

In contrast, it also offers more benefits to the Leviathan Civilization.

One link leads to another; a Level 3 civilization siding with one of the Level 4 civilizations is a win-win situation.

The former receives tax and resource reductions, while the latter protects the former and gains greater benefits within the galaxy.

"I heard you say you requested two spots, right? Didn't the other one come this time?"

"The other one is Wang Yue, who is Speaker Quint's deputy. I didn't have her come this time; I'll have her come again after the election starts in a couple of days."

Upon hearing this, Representative Teya had no doubts.

She had little interest in communicating with Quint, let alone the other person who was merely Quint's deputy.

They were naturally satisfied with Berry's arrangement.

Ten minutes later, Quint followed Wang Yue out of the dormitory.

"That's... over?"

I had assumed that such a meeting between superiors and subordinates would be more formal, and that they would discuss specific power and interests.

It turned out to be just a casual chat between Senator Teya and Berry, and as the representative of the Merrick Civilization, he had no say in the conversation at all.

"Um."

"Today's event is just a formality."

Wang Yue had anticipated this, and today's meeting was entirely under her control.

A few days later, at the 37th formal meeting in Akz New Calendar 33872, Quint Will and Wang Yue of the Merrick Civilization were nominated by Senator Teya.

After a vote in the Senate, he was ultimately elected as a member of the House of Representatives.

After the meeting, Senator Teya warmly presented the two with their congressional badges.

Compared to that private meeting, she was a completely different person at today's large gathering.

Gentle and kind, warm and generous, everything about them was so natural.

"Federation Government Notification: You have become a member of the Federal Senate. Your authority over Akzi Planet has been upgraded, and new area permissions have been opened (94% of the area)... The Merrick Civilization has received a tax reduction of 7%..."

A series of notifications sounded in Quint's chip.

The status of a member of the House of Representatives brings a huge increase in authority and unprecedented benefits, especially in its immense assistance to this civilization.

This is only basic assistance to civilization; any new resources discovered by the Galactic Federation will also be allocated by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

It's equivalent to a level four civilization leading a group of powerful subordinates to quell the mining.

This includes directing the Federation Military District and the Civilization Army to issue conscription orders, etc.

The entire power structure of the federation suddenly became clear in Quint's mind, and he kept pondering it.

Wang Yue, on the other hand, seemed completely unconcerned.

Wang Yue didn't say goodbye to Quint until she left the planet.

She had mentioned to Lister that the focus would shift back to the Merrick Civilization in the future, but for now she was still in the Leviathan Civilization.

Before leaving, I gave Quint a couple of specific reminders.

"Once you become a member of parliament, you don't have to attend every meeting in person, nor are you required to participate in all meetings."

"However, for any matter requiring a vote, we will simply follow the Senate 'Teya choice."

"I understand, Wang Yue."

Quint understood the basics of political alignment; the Merrick Civilization was just beginning its political development, so it was unlikely he would be able to make any moves even if he wanted to.

Inside Merrick Recruit Camp.

Lister was in the simulation training camp, assessing the recruits' final monthly exam.

As a selection process for special resources, the new recruits didn't hold back at all during this competition, using everything they had been holding back.

It's now a battle among the top 100, with 92 of them being players and the remaining 8 being the original inhabitants.

While keeping an eye on things, Lister was also replying to emails with Major General York of the Arcane Civilization.

Since the Merrick Civilization advanced to a Level 3 civilization and acquired seats in the House of Representatives, it has left its previously allied civilizations somewhat dumbfounded.

After all, once they enter the House of Representatives, they occupy two seats, giving them far more influence than most Level 3 civilizations.

Several cooperative relationships were immediately proposed, as well as joint proposals for some motions.

This includes the Yalan Civilization, which, although a subordinate civilization to the Merrick Civilization, benefited from the past assistance it provided to the Merrick Civilization.

The development in the nearby star system has now entered a new stage, and with the preferential treatment and partial support from the Merrick Civilization, the returns can be described as enormous.

There are countless examples of other civilizations seeking cooperation and development.

Lister originally didn't want to handle it himself, so he handed it all over to Quint and Wang Yue.

This time, however, it was a personal email from Major General York that prompted him to reply alone.

It was essentially a joint proposal for resource collection in a remote star system, Lister naturally had Quint accept this good offer.

"Boom!"

Inside the simulation training hall, a fierce battle continues.

The closer it gets to the final stage, the more intense the battle becomes.

Holding a knife in one hand, Chen Shanqiang used the Shunpo taught in the recruit camp, along with some fighting skills, to continuously close in on the mage opposite him.

Inside the simulated planet, the entire surface is frozen solid.

Facing the oncoming, dazzling ice dragon, Chen Shanqiang swung his sword.

The blade aura accompanying the SS-rank Merrick Saber Technique instantly severed the ice dragon in two.

Lister observed from a distance, for it was a skill he had taught the opponent, and the opponent did indeed resemble him in some ways when wielding a sword.

Unfortunately, the two were too far apart in other aspects.

Without many passive skills, Chen Shanqiang might have some of his style, but his actual swordsmanship damage is far inferior.

The next instant, Chen Shanqiang's figure disappeared again.

Relying on the Federation Shunpo, they finally closed in completely on the enemy.

However, mages at this level naturally also possess certain defensive and melee combat abilities.

A pale yellow shield lit up around him, and his attacks were the same Federation Close Combat Techniques learned in the recruit camp.

Unfortunately, he couldn't compare to Chen Shanqiang, who specialized in knife skills and techniques.

At this point, martial arts began to truly emerge, especially specialized professions in swordsmanship, knife skills, and spear techniques, which gradually became dominant.

Ultimately, the monk died at Chen Shanqiang's hands.

"Is the martial arts department that powerful now?"

"As expected of Count Merrick's profession, his Merrick Saber Technique is truly unbeatable!"

"Super Armor, damage immunity, and instant execution when low on health—that's too powerful!"

"Sword-wielding players are truly the darlings of this version!"

"Of the top 25, only 4 are from the martial arts department, and 3 of them specialize in swords."

"That doesn't count... There's also an NPC who wields a knife, so there are actually only 3 of them. However, based on forum data analysis, this type of martial arts-based skill-based class will need to be strengthened later on."

Since Chen Shanqiang won the battle, the chat has been buzzing with excitement.

The monthly exams in the recruit camp felt like a special stage.

In the first month, players simply uploaded their battles to the forum for discussion.

It quickly attracted the attention of all players, and when the second monthly exam began, the game "Divine Revelation" underwent special technical processing.

The battle footage from the monthly exam was uploaded to the game forum.

Compared to the system's original server rankings, which only involved private competition among high-level players, ordinary players could only get a general idea of the rankings based on changes in the order.

Now that the new recruits' camp has a forum live stream, it has immediately captured all the players' attention.

Especially in this final monthly exam, the top 25 who are determined now, even the last one, is still in the top 100 of the entire server.

It can be said that the battle was extremely high-level, and for ordinary players, it was the first time they had truly come into contact with the combat power of top players.

The discussion about job balance has once again sparked heated debate.

If it weren't for Lister teaching advanced skills in every scene, the Martial Arts class would be a job that no one would want in a party.

Starting from this point, especially after passive skills became popular and were developed, skill-based professions suddenly ushered in a golden age.

Lister himself did not expect the current top 25 results.

Although he knew the indigenous people were generally not very strong, he never imagined that even if only one person from the top 25 made it in, it would be a problem.

That's the boy Sariel, who was recruited ten years ago during the time of the Chali Nation.

At that time, he was only at the seventh level, and he had learned his Blade Soul Domain skill from the other party.

Now, ten years have passed, and thanks to his outstanding talent and the resources nurtured by the Merrick Civilization...

His rank has reached level 13, but his combat strength remains at A-level.

He has two passive skills, which he probably learned on his own, and he also has several additional active sword techniques.

Unfortunately, the Blade Soul Domain skill failed to break through to SS level.

Given their current level of combat ability, it's already quite an achievement that they've managed to stay at this point.

Sure enough, he was defeated by Chen Shanqiang in the next round.

The final battles of this monthly exam caused most players across the internet to stop leveling up and completing their own tasks, and instead focus entirely on the live stream.

The final result was somewhat unexpected by Lister; Chen Shanqiang was the one who made it to the final round, and his opponent was a top player from the Mechanical Engineering department.

Thanks to the advantage of his SS-level Merrick Saber Technique, and the advantage he gained from collecting skills for Lister, he has accumulated some passive skills and now has a total of five passive buffs.

Even if these five passive skills haven't been upgraded to the maximum level, they are extremely rare among current players.

He fought to the very last moment against this mechanical player, and ultimately won the championship by relying on the finishing characteristics of the Merrick Saber Technique.

Finally, in the seventh act, Chen Shanqiang, with his 13th-tier combat power, topped the server rankings for the first time as a martial arts-type swordsmanship class.

"Colonel Lister!"

Long time no see!

After everyone left, the special resource distributor arrived as scheduled.

As soon as he disembarked from the special warship, he hurriedly went forward to greet Lister.

I thought it was another familiar face I'd met during a federal recruitment mission.

Only after checking did they realize that the visitor was actually Colonel Lafei!

That time at the Arcane Recruit Camp, the colonel escorted him to distribute special resources.

Nearly 20 years have passed, and I never expected to see him again.

"Colonel Lafei? I didn't expect it to be you."

"Haha! Maybe this is fate."

"I've heard so much about you from the Central Army Commission over the years; you're now a role model for us all!"

I vaguely remember that Colonel Lafei recruited him back then.

Of course, he eventually gave up after being persuaded by Major Qi because of his martial arts profession.

Because of some past reasons, Lister was quite warm towards Colonel Lafei, and they exchanged contact information separately.

This kept Colonel Lafei, who was in charge of handling the special resources, all smiles.

Little did he know that he had put in a tremendous amount of effort to obtain this mission.

The treatment of Lister and the Merrick Civilization in the Galactic Federation is truly exceptional.

Colonel Lafei had gone to great lengths to secure this mission to deliver resources to the Merrick Civilization, relying on his past interaction with Lister.

The purpose was to exchange contact information with Lister.

After all, if someone like Lister, a Quasi-Hegemon, could be promoted to Hegemon, it would be a momentous event in the Galactic Federation.

For him, it was also a way to get to know people in advance, because maybe his future opportunities would lie with Lister.

Colonel Lafei felt a pang of regret at the thought.

He had such a good opportunity back then, yet he failed to cultivate a good relationship with Lister, and this time everything went exactly as he expected.