Attitude and Probing

Nagaril gets hot earlier than other places; by early April, the temperature had already risen to around 27 or 28 degrees Celsius.

Along the harbor, a group of local officials dressed in high-end attire walked back and forth, sweating profusely. They kept glancing at the luxury watches on their wrists and then looking up at the distant sea.

Only when a cruise ship slowly sailed in did these people's faces show relaxed smiles.

Asier stood in the crowd, all of whom had come specifically to welcome Lin Qi. During this time, he had been promoting Lin Qi's intention to invest in Nagaril and how wealthy he was.

Any one of these companies has a market value of tens of millions of Federal Sol, which, according to the official Exchange Rate, is more than two billion Galil. That's an astonishing fortune!

Both the Provincial Governor and the High Priest demanded that Asier encourage Lin Qi to invest locally, promising Lin Qi the highest level of treatment and policies that went beyond the bare minimum.

The Provincial Governor even privately told Asier through an intermediary that if he could persuade Lin Qi's investment to be implemented, the Provincial Governor would consider awarding Asier a Nagaril Honored Person Medal.

In the history of Nagaril, only nobles would bestow such an honor. The Order of the Glory can also be seen as an essential process for a Nagaril People to rise from commoner to noble.

"That must be Mr. Lin Qi, right?" A local official couldn't help but praise Lin Qi with delight as he approached. "He is so young and so outstanding. I have never seen such an excellent young man in Nagaril!"

Before they even arrived, the flattery had already begun. The officials in Nagaril weren't incompetent at everything; at least they were very good at flattery.

Because of theocracy, people always sing hymns to praise the gods during religious festivals. This gives most people an almost innate ability to flatter—natural, fluent, enthusiastic, and unrestrained! As for Lin Qi being too far away to hear? That doesn't matter, because these words are meant for Asier. They want to express their attitude towards Lin Qi to Asier, an important intermediary, so that Asier will favor them on certain issues, such as persuading Lin Qi to invest here and invest more money.

At the official's signal, the police officers maintaining order nearby straightened their wide-brimmed caps, the badges representing the nation and justice gleaming in the sunlight.

The people on the port paused for a moment, a hint of tension appearing on their faces, while the children ran around laughing and playing, seemingly treating it as a game.

The police began clearing the area, wielding batons to whip the slower-moving Nagaril People, making way wide enough for Lin Qi.

Lin Qi looked at the ordinary people who didn't even dare to curse, enduring the beatings and being driven away, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Many countries care a lot about their image. Even if they are truly a dictatorship, a corrupt country, or an ugly country, they will still try to present an image to the International Community that "we respect the Equal Rights to life."

These countries care too much about international public opinion and their own image on the international stage, especially their leaders. They care so much about their personal image that they pretend to create an impossible illusion to deceive the International Community, and thus create an impossible dream to deceive the public.

What they portray will never become reality, and the dreams they weave will forever remain just dreams.

Nagaril is different; it's very direct. They openly display their savagery and abuse of power, which ironically provides Lin Qi with fertile ground for his growth.

When Lin Qi and his team approached, they stopped about ten meters away from the local officials. He took off his sunglasses.

His handsome face, slightly upturned, was bathed in sunlight, the golden glow making him seem like a divine child from a myth. Some people were willing to endure a few blows just to get a closer look at this man and lament the injustice of the gods. (This entry costs five dollars, already paid by Mr. Lin Qi; will be deleted after completion.)

After a brief moment of distraction, Asier took the initiative to step forward. As he approached Lin Qi, Lin Qi extended his hand.

To others, Asier greeted him warmly and with a slight bow. Only when Lin Qi extended his hand to allow him to shake hands did he humbly extend both hands and shake hands with Lin Qi.

"You've finally arrived!" Asier's words conveyed a great deal of information: an urgent sense of dissatisfaction with everything that had happened here, a longing for Lin Qi's arrival, and a sense of confusion as he sought the truth amidst his bewilderment...

Lin Qi smiled slightly, "Some things were delayed, but fortunately it's not troublesome..." As he spoke, he looked at the officials behind Asier.

These officials also approached the area, maintaining a humble demeanor, except for the last one.

Asier began to introduce these people to Lin Qi. Nagaril's government institutions were rather simple and crude, not because they were backward.

Even the most backward political systems tend to improve their framework. Nagaril's problem is that their theocracy has replaced some of the powers and functions of the regime, and there is overlap in some areas. In addition, with the two sides vying for power and profit, some things have naturally transformed into the functions of the theocracy in the process of development.

After meeting with the Chief of the city's main departments, Asier introduced Lin Qi to the city's mayor, Mishe Haye.

The name means "hardworking" in the local language of Nagaril, but the slightly plump male mayor does not seem to possess any characteristics of "hardworking".

He had slightly dark skin and a plump build. He wore a rather unusual hat with a band of colorful gemstones embedded around the edge.

This is a true member of Nagaril's ruling class; he is just one of many descendants in a family, yet this alone has earned him the opportunity to become a city mayor.

His short, stubby fingers and fleshy palms made the handshake less than comfortable, but his attitude was very enthusiastic. "Mr. Lin Qi, when I heard from Asier that you were coming here to invest, I prayed day and night that time would pass quickly."

"We are not a developed country, so we hope even more that you can give us some help to achieve common development and common prosperity..."

It was a very official answer, and also a lot of nonsense, but Lin Qi listened very carefully; he seemed to take it seriously.

After Mishe Haye finished rambling on, he suggested that Lin Qi go and rest, and that a dinner party be held that evening to celebrate Lin Qi's successful arrival in Nagaril.

Lin Qi did not object to this; he also needed to let the people here get to know him first.

On the bus to the hotel, a local official—the guy who introduced himself as the Police Chief —said something that suddenly made the previously relaxed atmosphere tense.

"Mr. Lin Qi, I want to apologize to you." The Police Chief stood up, walked up to Lin Qi, took off his hat, and bowed. "In order to welcome you, I had the police disperse the crowd, which may have caused you to misunderstand our country and society to some extent. So I beg you to forgive me and hope you can understand that this was just a coincidence."

Asier suddenly looked at Mishe Haye with some anger, while the latter stared intently at Lin Qi.

This was not part of the reception plan that Asier saw, nor was the scene of the police dispersing the crowd.

They originally planned to clear the area completely, but Mishe Haye and Asier raised some objections, saying that a complete clearance would seem too formal and inappropriate, so they simply agreed to maintain order.

As a result, the police were dispatched. Although Asier was a little surprised, he didn't say anything. He had already gotten used to it by now.

Sometimes habit is a terrible thing. It only took him half a month to go from being angry at the beginning to accepting it calmly.

But what's happening now is more than just an accident; they must be testing something.

Behind this probing is actually an assessment of Lin Qi's attitude by the local authorities in Nagaril. If he is a person with high moral standards, they may adjust their approach in the subsequent contact process in order to keep him investing and using the technology.

If he doesn't have any moral fastidiousness and shows an understanding of these things, an understanding of folklore, then they don't need to change anything.

People stared at Lin Qi, Lin Qi took off his glasses and looked at the Police Chief who was bending over in front of him. He seemed to be thinking about something, and there was a playful expression in his eyes.

He quickly reached out and helped the Police Chief up, saying, "You don't need to apologize. Perhaps your actions constitute a very serious crime in my country..." As he said this, Mishe Haye frowned slightly. The other officials remained expressionless, but their eyes held a hint of mockery and ridicule.

But Lin Qi's words quickly put their expressions at ease. "... But this is Nagaril, and I respect everything about this country, including its culture and customs."

"Power and wealth are meant to be enjoyed. We may enjoy them in different ways, but I can't object to others enjoying them just because we do. Besides, they're quite interesting. Will I be able to enjoy them when I travel in the future?" His smile made it hard to feel any ill will towards him.

His answer surprised everyone and was not even in line with the dialogue they had agreed upon at the beginning.

Before the Police Chief could figure out how to answer, Mishe Haye took over the conversation, "Of course, Mr. Lin Qi, you are our most distinguished guest, and you should naturally enjoy the highest level of treatment, including traffic control."

"Traffic management?" Lin Qi found the way they defined the meaning of the word interesting. "This is a good word. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

Mishe Haye's smile became more natural. "I also want to thank you for being willing to invest here..."