Chapter 291
Guan Tu's voice abruptly stopped, just like the live stream that was suddenly shut down. The atmosphere, which had become heated just over twenty seconds ago because people were hearing Qin Su's voice in Kanasen's live stream, cooled down.
The group of people were observing each other's movements. Before they could say anything, the people at the head of each conference table stood up abruptly, listened carefully to Patrick's voice at the other end, and then looked at the people in Class 6) in the conference room.
"Okay, I understand."
The others suppressed their many thoughts and remained silent.
A few seconds after the people in each meeting room ended their communications, all the people from Class 6 left the meeting room.
As the conference room door closed in front of them, the students from Class 6) on the same floor exchanged glances. In front of the only outsider among them, who was obviously the person who had come to take them there, none of them intended to speak.
"Come with me, everyone." The person who was sent over pretended not to see the wary and defensive looks from the group of students in Class 6, took the initiative to show goodwill, exposed his back to them, and led the way to avoid being demoted in the future.
He Muzhi and the others entered Patrick's office, the first people they saw were from the other (Class 6.
Qin Su's grouping system for Class 6 caused some students in Class 6 to feel a little strange over the past year. However, through this incident, they all understood that Qin Su's indifference towards them did not mean he would ignore them again. If Qin Su paid attention to them, He Muzhi would still be the person Qin Su valued the most. Group leaders such as Sophia and Jeffrey were of secondary importance in Class 6. The other students in Class 6, who recognized that they were just group members in Qin Su's eyes, habitually stood at the back, leaving the position facing the president directly to their respective group leaders.
He Muzhi naturally walked past the path that the students automatically made way for, and stood next to Sophia and the others in front. He concealed his uneasy feelings and looked at Patrick was leisurely looking them up and down. (Class 6)
If they had previously only guessed that Patrick had deliberately confined them to the Atopulai Palace under the pretext of holding a meeting and discussion, the fact that Qin Su summoned all (Class 6) people to the Setini Palace the moment he arrived confirms their previous guesses.
After waiting a few more minutes until everyone in Class 6) had gathered, Patrick said, "Now that things have come to this, I'll be frank. The reason I called you here is twofold: firstly, you are free from now on. You can still freely enter and exit any place you have the authority to access from your current location, just like before. If you want more authority than you have now, that's up to you."
(Class 6 6 immediately sensed from Patrick's words that he had always known they were here, but their minds were elsewhere. They felt a surge of tension. They thought they had been discreet enough, but the old fox was still the most cunning.
"On the other hand..." Patrick's eyes swept over the familiar faces before him, and he cut to the chase, "I don't know if Qin Su has told you the specific time to act, or if he has contacted you. I know nothing about Qin Su. All I know is that so far, Qin Su has not responded to any of my attempts to contact him. Therefore, I hope that the freedom I am granting you now will give you the opportunity to convey my message to Qin Su through you."
"My thinking is simple: before you take action, I hope they all survive. This should coincide with the interests you've been working so hard to achieve these past few days, right?"
"..."
Having their thoughts exposed, no one in Class 6 uttered a sound.
The person standing in front of him wasn't Qin Su, nor was he Greyliff's group. Patrick didn't need anyone to give him a direct answer, and continued, "Of course, it's also possible that you, like me, are completely unaware of Qin Su's plan, unable to contact Qin Su, or simply don't dare to contact Qin Su as proactively as I have."
(Class 6: "..."
That hurts.
"So, given your current situation, even if I didn't say anything and Qin Su didn't contact you, a large portion of you would still side with the Federation. If this conjecture is true, I hope that the Federation will take the lead and that I will determine the timing for a joint operation with other planets."
So far, even though he guessed that Qin Su was taking the opportunity of eliminating the biggest cancer parasitic on various planets to pave a way for Class 6) to rise to the top, without Qin Su's personal confirmation, everything was just his guess. He dared not be sure and could only seize this opportunity to achieve his own goal from his own perspective.
That's all I wanted to say. What are your thoughts?
"One question," Sophia said, not answering directly but first confirming with Patrick, "If we don't agree, does that mean your earlier congratulations are invalid, and we have to continue 'having a meeting' here like everyone else?"
"Correct answer." Patrick smirked.
"..." Although she had already guessed, Sophia was still speechless when she heard Patrick's self-righteous answer.
This clearly shows they never intended to give them a choice. They only meant to agree to Patrick's requests, essentially offering empty promises from the start, only to leave him with empty words if he wasn't satisfied.
The expressions of everyone in Class 6 froze. Some people failed to manage their expressions, and their remaining rationality made them barely turn their faces away, then purse their lips and roll their eyes upwards.
Unlike Qin Su, they are not capable of fighting the Federation, let alone individually. Moreover, the fact that Class 6) appears harmonious now is only because Qin Su has temporarily ignored the rifts caused by the conflict of interests between them and is on the same side.
The reason they are able to stand here today is not only because Qin Su paved the way for them from the beginning, but also because of the support of their families and countless other people who have placed their bets on them and supported them with every step forward they have taken.
They have more and more things to consider. Right now, Patrick is only asking them, but in reality, as long as Qin Su doesn't interfere, he's using their freedom to restrain the people behind them. Their current decision naturally represents the decisions of the others behind them.
"Three minutes," Patrick said curtly. "If you haven't said anything after three minutes, then it's considered a tacit agreement..."
"I'm sorry," He Muzhi said, "I can't guarantee you anything about Qin Su. The only thing I can guarantee is myself. I agree with your decision."
He Muzhi knew that many of the students in Class 6 wanted him to make decisions for them. If the subsequent arrangements went against Qin Su's, he would be the one to take the blame.
If he were still in school, there wouldn't be so many people involved with him, and he could do as everyone else suggested. But now he can't; all he can do is provide others with ideas for answering questions.
Qin Su did not give them any orders. From the perspective of the people behind him and from his own selfish desires, he sincerely hoped that those people would not come back.
Although they did not get a very satisfactory result from He Muzhi, the group of students in Class 6) suddenly realized what he meant and began to speak one after another.
That's exactly what I meant.
"That's right."
"I'm just like them."
Not to mention Class 6), Patrick hasn't found another person in the whole world who can or dares to be the master of Qin Su. This answer was within his expectations. What he wanted was for them to give in. Class 6) would handle the people behind them themselves, without him having to communicate with them one by one. Based on his past experience, even if people like Greyliff are gone, there are still many people who are very difficult to communicate with.
They need to be newcomers, not yet navigating the complexities of the job market, and eager to climb the ladder and achieve results.
"Very good." Patrick leaned back and clapped his hands twice. "I wish us a pleasant cooperation. I will naturally let you know when the time is right."
Buzz--
After a slight noise, Class 6) noticed a different light shining in from behind, and then heard Patrick's words.
"Qiu Pang, see them out."
Upon hearing Qiu Pang's name, many students in Class 6 turned their heads, their eyes revealing disbelief and curiosity.
Ignoring the various gazes directed at him, Qiu Pang said calmly, "Come with me."
"I remember he was one of Greyliff's henchmen, wasn't he? He always had a close relationship with them, and he was always in the group whenever they were photographed meeting in private. What does this mean now?"
"No wonder I didn't see him at the Setini Palace. Turns out he was here. I thought he'd disappeared like everyone else, since he hadn't come out these past few days."
"Qiu Pang really shrewd; as soon as Greyliff left, he immediately got on the president's good side."
"It's hard to say. What if he wasn't originally on Greyliff's side?"
"An undercover agent? Oh my god, if Greyliff finds out, wow... he'll have to kowtow to our Class Monitor. But shouldn't someone who's been fawning over us for two days be careful and avoid getting noticed by Norian's men?"
"You can gouge your eyes out if you don't want them. Have you seen even one familiar face along the way? It's clearly a deliberately replaced person. After leaving here, we're the only ones who have seen Qiu Pang, and we're the only ones who know he's Patrick's man. If the news leaks out, our class won't be able to escape responsibility. At that point, not to mention outsiders, even our own class, if we don't want to be betrayed like Qiu Pang, will have to fight amongst ourselves until we find the traitor. With all our attention focused on this, how can we have any extra energy to do what we should be doing? Even if the traitor is eventually found, who will dare to trust each other afterward? Patrick has achieved his goal of dividing us and diverting our attention. He might even use this opportunity to arrange for someone to take what should rightfully belong to us."
"Damn it, can't people be honest with each other? No wonder not only my mom, but also my seventh great-uncle's side said the other day that someone had filled the vacancy before us. Tell me the truth, is that Qi Ya related to your family? Is she one of your...?"
On the way to send the people of Class 6) away from the Atopulai Palace, Qiu Pang's ears never stopped ringing. He could hear one cricket chirping sound after another behind him, almost as if the person behind him was holding a megaphone and shouting loudly.
The only thing that comforted him was that Class 6) didn't let him off the hook, nor did they let Patrick off the hook.
After seeing Class 6) off, Qiu Pang rushed back to Patrick's side and reported to Patrick the news that he had heard from Class 6) and that he himself was curious about.