Great Shun Executive Council, Grand Assembly Hall, 2:00 a.m.
The meeting that had run from the afternoon until now had just ended. Ren Xinshan came out and sat on a sofa in the lounge to one side. Internal affairs staff immediately brought him snacks and poured him a stimulating drink.
But as a Third Limit Fighter, he remained in excellent spirits.
A figure strode in from outside. Deputy Minister Guo of the Defense Department sat on the sofa opposite him, greeted him, picked up the tea on the table and took several large gulps. He then asked the internal affairs staff for a blanket, draped it over himself, pulled out a document, and began reading.
After a while, another Government Affairs Hall official approached and bowed to them both.
"Deputy Minister Ren, Deputy Minister Guo, there will be another meeting shortly. You have forty minutes to rest."
Ren Xinshan said, "All right," while Deputy Minister Guo waved a hand to indicate that he understood.
The official bowed again and closed the lounge door behind him as he left.
Only the sound of Deputy Minister Guo turning pages remained in the room. Five minutes later, he looked up and asked, "Old Ren, how are your department's preparations coming along?"
Ren Xinshan said, "More or less done. There won't be any problems at home. No one would dare stick their neck out at a time like this. You, on the other hand—I reckon you'll have a hard battle ahead."
"That's right. But good. Let certain people see for themselves, instead of spending all day talking numbers and reading reports on paper."
After chatting for a few moments, he checked his watch and said, "I'm going to sleep for a while." After saying this to the internal affairs staff, he promptly fell into