Chapter 300

367 Let's do it this Sunday then. 3K

Hearing Wei Yenwu use the metaphor of 'succession,' secretly probing whether he harbored any intention of replacing him, Shi Lei couldn't help but laugh and reply:

"I'm used to being free and unrestrained. I could live in Lungmen, just lazing around and waiting to die. But to make me the future successor to the governor is really giving me too much credit..."

I have no interest in the city of Lungmen.

"Besides, Lungmen will prosper for at least another hundred years under the leadership of the adults. Don't you think it's too early to start talking about succession at this point..."

"Just be a good governor. What's the point of constantly testing me with this?"

"My father taught me from a young age to do my job well and not to overthink things. Sometimes, having too many thoughts only increases your worries."

"I'm talking about you, don't overthink it."

Wei Yenwu has become too narrow-minded and lacks vision.

Perhaps it is because he only has the Lungmen that he has the idea of protecting his food and is worried that external forces will compete for it.

If Shi Lei really wanted to take over Lungmen, why hadn't he taken action until now? Dealing with local government officials and law enforcement agencies wouldn't be too difficult.

Moreover, let alone a small place like Lungmen, even if he wanted Syracuse, it would be a piece of cake for him.

You could do that, but it's unnecessary.

Shi Lei never colored the map with his ambition to unify Terra. He built Liyue City simply to shelter the homeless and pitiful.

Although Wei Yenwu understood the meaning of the reassurance, he still harbored worries in his heart.

Zhongli has lived in Lungmen for two or three years, so his character and reputation are reliable. But what about his brother? If I don't find out, I'll feel a little uneasy.

"Alas, what a pity. Your ambitions lie elsewhere, otherwise a new star would have risen in Yan's political arena in the future..."

"These are just polite words, they have no real meaning."

"By the way, do you have any siblings?"

"I'm making this clear to your brother; don't pretend you don't know anything about this anymore."

Shi Lei was fully aware of this and nodded in response:

"I have an older brother, sir. What's wrong?"

"Come on, let me watch your performance."

"Is he indifferent to fame and fortune like you, or is he full of drive like a young person?"

Is your brother as peace-loving as you, or is he more of a troublemaker?

Seeing that Wei Yenwu had finally revealed his true intentions and steered the conversation back to this topic, Shi Lei, too lazy to fabricate a story and risk revealing his true intentions later, simply said some random things:

"He's probably a bit of both. Sometimes he's enthusiastic about his work, but afterwards he prefers to be alone and quiet. I can't really say which one it is."

"Repeating the same old thing, without taking a stance."

Wei Yenwu's smile stiffened slightly as he asked, feigning nonchalance:

"Then you two must have a very good relationship, right?"

Asking questions lays the groundwork for what follows.

"Yes, my brother listens to everything I say. When we were little, no matter what I wanted, he always managed to get it for me, and he still does now that we're all grown up."

"You think my brother is uncontrollable, but he listens to me. If you want to control him, just control me."

"What an enviable brotherhood..."

"I'm not envious at all."

"From now on, Lungmen will belong to you young people. I wonder if your brother would be interested in working under me? I promise to train him diligently."

"What do you mean 'cultivate'? Just give me a straight answer: is your brother interested in taking over Lungmen?"

Hahahaha.

Shi Lei's series of laughs lightened the atmosphere. He stared at Wei Yenwu and gave him the answer the latter most wanted to hear:

"Your Excellency, there's no need to ask. He has so many things to do every day, he simply doesn't have time to come to Lungmen..."

He won't set his sights on Lungmen.

"Even if he comes, I'll kick him out. My brother is great in every way, except he's too nagging. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I moved out and settled in Lungmen ..."

"I'm here, I won't let him come. Don't worry about the nagging, just know that we're mutually exclusive."

This answer perfectly fills the gap in the story that Shi Lei entered the Core City plot, but his brother did not.

"Besides, if you're really too busy, hiring a few more professional secretaries will solve the problem. Asking my brother to come and help would only cause you more trouble, wouldn't it?"

"You want a promise? I'll promise you I won't let my brother touch any of Lungmen's interests."

Wei Yenwu was delighted to hear this; these were the answers he most wanted to hear. As long as Zhongli was willing to stand by Lungmen, the city could be temporarily safe.

With his keen political sense, he felt that reporting this matter to the Great Yan Emperor would only result in a wait-and-see approach and a prohibition on starting a war without authorization.

Although there are pro-war factions in the Great Yan court, the pro-peace faction currently outnumbers them. They believe that it is better to make an ally than to create an enemy.

It must be said that Liyue City's location is truly excellent.

The city was located within Ursus and was not a strategic location connecting multiple trade routes.

As long as there is no attack on Lungmen, Yan has no reason to send troops to attack.

"Haha, you really know how to talk..."

"Zhongli, what you said earlier was excellent!"

"Don't just sit there, grab your chopsticks. You absolutely have to try this signature dish from the Hatton Hotel."

"Now that we've finished discussing business, it's time to eat."

Upon seeing the plate of fresh fish drizzled with hot oil and sauce, Shi Lei felt no appetite and shook his head, politely declining:

"Excuse me, Your Excellency. I don't like fish, you should eat it..."

"Don't force me to accept what I don't want."

"I came here today just to have a chat with you. I should head back afterward. My friends have all cooked dinner and are waiting for me at home. Your Excellency, would you mind leaving your contact number? You can call me if anything comes up in the future."

The literal meaning.

Wei Yenwu couldn't be sure whether the other party genuinely didn't eat fish or was just pretending. But the purpose of the banquet had already been successfully achieved. Whether Zhongli stayed for dinner was no longer so important.

"Oh, it's my fault for not knowing your dietary restrictions beforehand. How about this, are you free this Sunday? Let's go to another restaurant, and I'll treat you."

Shi Lei may have to go out again soon; he neither agreed nor refused.

"Sure, let's make an appointment then."

Hearing such a vague statement made Wei Yenwu uneasy, so he took the initiative to confirm the matter:

"Okay, then let's do it this Sunday. I'll contact you again on Saturday to finalize the restaurant. Let's also invite Chen along, we can have a drink together."

The only person he was close to Zhongli was his niece Chen. They invited an extra middleman to the gathering to prevent any awkward silences.

Zhongli's brother mentioned last time that he wanted to have a deep collaboration with Lungmen. However, he didn't leave a contact number, so it's unclear when he'll be coming. I've arranged to have dinner with Zhongli in the next few days; maybe I can create a chance encounter between the two brothers.

Shi Lei didn't care about the dinner party. He could go years without eating and it wouldn't affect him at all. Since Wei Yenwu insisted on organizing the party, he would comply.

"Yes, Your Excellency. I'll be going now, and I'll contact you again later."

After leaving the room, Shi Lei took the fire escape to the Underground Parking Lot. He then called Texas and got into her car to return to the Taiheng Road warehouse.

January 6th.

Shi Lei transported FrostNova to Liyue City, where she met with her adoptive father, Broca, and other Qianyan Army soldiers. He also used a handheld camera purchased from Trimon to film a master tape for promoting Liyue City.

The concept for the promotional video was conceived by Shi Lei. He handled all the scriptwriting and filming himself. The aim was to use media and the local area network to distance the guerrillas from the Rhodes Island, while also promoting Liyue City.

Two weeks ago, Talulah's questionable actions caused the Rhodes Island's reputation among the public to plummet, making it appear as a despicable infected organization that took advantage of the Catastrophe to attack military and police forces.

Patriot, the current Qianyan Army Commander, was formerly a cadre of the Rhodes Island. He was forced to use a propaganda video in an attempt to reverse public opinion and mitigate the negative impact.

However, the promotional video cannot be released by Shi Lei.

Given Patriot's large size and slow movement speed, this task was ultimately assigned to Hegre.

Tell him to take enough gold bars and walk to Lungmen Television to broadcast the show at a high price.

January 8th.

Today marks the third day of the 'Lungmen riot involving 10,000 infected individuals,' and a major political event has occurred.

After Wei Yenwu used diplomatic means to accuse the Ursus military of attempting to provoke a war.

They shockingly used the two days of the 7th and 8th to massacre the entire family of White Agag, the commander of the Fourth Army who participated in the riot. The family of the commander of the Third Army was also not spared.

Count Agag's head was cut off and sent to Lungmen through diplomatic channels.

Ursus shamelessly claimed that the riot was entirely the work of these individuals acting in private. The military has severely punished those who damaged the friendship between the two countries and will thoroughly rectify military discipline to prevent a recurrence of such tragedies.

This drastic political maneuver made Wei Yanwu feel as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

Ursus publicly punished the murderer, but completely absolved himself of any responsibility.

To prove that other senior military officers were involved, more concrete and irrefutable evidence would be needed.

Clearly, Lungmen cannot produce it.

So at the banquet the next day, Wei Yenwu poured out his grievances to Shi Lei, subtly and overtly expressing his hope that Ursus would receive the punishment he deserved.

But Shi Lei had long seen through the true colors of these politicians, and he wouldn't be foolish enough to agree.

Wei Yenwu appeared to be asking for help, but in reality, he wanted to determine whether Liyue City possessed sufficient combat capabilities.

These politicians have seen too much deceit and treachery. Even if you tell them the truth, they usually won't fully believe you. They'll remain skeptical unless they see it with their own eyes.

Seeing that Shi Lei was pretending to be stupid, Wei Yenwu could only find other topics to evade the question and no longer bring it up repeatedly.

That evening, Hegre arrived in Lungmen.

Because the Originium on his body had been removed by Shi Lei, and given his Ancients appearance, he quickly passed through even stricter entry checks and entered Lungmen City.

On January 9th, a promotional video that impacted the entire Terra was broadcast during prime time on Lungmen Television.

368 As long as you swing the hoe well 4K

January 9th, 7:30 pm

W's Sarkaz squad of one hundred men took a long detour after leaving Chernobyl, aiming to evade Ursus military surveillance and safely reach Rhodes Island.

We passed through a small village tonight, so we set up camp outside the village and prepared to set off again tomorrow morning.

In the center of the campsite was a makeshift barbecue grill, on which a tin helmet was burning. This thing could be heated up to cook things, saving the trouble of bringing a pot.

The firewood beneath the helmet was piled up, and the leaping flames resembled a menacing Red Dragon. Occasionally, it crackled, as if it were destroying an obstacle.

W, holding a dagger in her right hand, took a crushed potato from her food bag. Heredrey sat diagonally opposite her, engrossed in writing by the dim firelight.

The two barely spoke, each busy with their own things. Perhaps because they had known each other for so long, they had already said everything they wanted to say.

Finally, a flash of light appeared.

Heredrey put down his La Pluma, ready to break the deadlock.

He carefully wrapped his still-compiling "Sarkaz War History" in fur and placed it inside his inner lining. Only then did he look up at W, who was absentmindedly peeling potatoes.

Are you really going to Rhodes Island?

Upon hearing this, W stopped what he was doing and responded matter-of-factly:

"Of course, where else would we go? There's no place on this land that's home to the Sarkaz. Rhodes Island was formerly the Babel, which belonged to Her Empress ..."

When Empress Theresia was mentioned, she paused for several seconds.

Even amidst the blizzards of Ursus, W still longed for the Empress who had brought him warmth:

"Ahem, I'll talk to Kal'tsit before making a decision. I don't necessarily have to join Rhodes Island. Maybe we can establish Cooperative Relationship like mercenaries."