Is this the governor?

Lambert Hodgson truly did not know that one of the members of their Alliance Council, Vaughan, was a cultist.

He had absolutely no information regarding this beforehand.

Now that Gu Hang had exposed it, he was completely stunned.

After regaining his composure slightly, his first reaction was suspicion: was the fact that Vaughan was a cultist something the Governor had simply fabricated as an excuse to cause trouble for Revival City?

"This matter is of great importance, Governor. Do you have solid evidence to prove this?"

"The evidence is conclusive. The people who attacked the transport convoy were directed by Vaughan. I eliminated those bandits at his estate and captured him personally. I saw with my own eyes that this fellow used Storm Sorcery..."

"You seem completely unaware of the situation right now, Council Chairman Hodgson. I am very disappointed. A member of the Alliance Council has been corrupted, yet you, as the Council Chairman, have not grasped a single piece of information. Is this a dereliction of duty, or has the Alliance Council itself been condoning the spread of the cult in Revival City all along?"

Hodgson immediately denied it: "Absolutely not! We have been strengthening our crackdown on cults; how could we possibly condone their spread? I will investigate this matter..."

Before Hodgson could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Gu Hang: "Investigate? If I wait for you to investigate slowly, what will Revival City become? If even a Council member can be corrupted, how can I trust that you will find any results?"

Hodgson was left flustered and overwhelmed by Gu Hang's pressure.

This completely unexpected news caught him off guard. He had made no contingency plans for this, so he could only bite the bullet and say: "We will definitely take practical and effective measures to handle this problem. We will conduct background checks on all council members and strengthen the investigation into cults throughout the city."

Gu Hang said: "I will give you this chance. But I must also remind you that our city is facing a serious threat, and I want you to resolve this problem as quickly and thoroughly as possible! If I do not see a more proactive attitude from you, then I will take action personally and hold you responsible for it."

Hodgson could only struggle to guarantee: "We will go all out and take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the city. I assure you, we will give you an answer."

"You had better mean what you say."

After hanging up the phone, Hodgson's brows were tightly furrowed.

He did not want to be in the weaker position every time he communicated with the Governor.

However, what other choice did he have?

The first time, the Governor came for supplies, using his authority as Governor to demand an allocation. The amount was not small, but it hadn't reached the point of being unbearable; it was right at the limit of what Revival City could afford, forcing them to grit their teeth and accept it. No one was willing to completely offend the Governor and have a falling out over just that amount of supplies.

The second time, Vaughan had attacked the transport convoy without authorization. That was his own reckless act, and Hodgson had sold him out without any psychological burden.

On those two occasions, the Governor had implicitly used his authority and the threat of orbital bombardment to apply extreme pressure, all to obtain something. Once the conversation reached that point, as long as one didn't want a total fallout, Hodgson had no choice but to compromise.

And now, this third time, although the Governor didn't make many threats or ask for anything, it was the sternest tone he had ever used, directly accusing the Alliance Council of either dereliction of duty or being traitors.

The leverage was held firmly in the Governor's hands.

Yet, Hodgson had no way to refute it.

This time, the Governor stood on the moral high ground.

The Primal Owlbear Cult was the common enemy of many factions in the wasteland. They did not worship the God-Emperor, but instead worshipped some "Primal Owlbear." They mastered Storm Sorcery and had indeed carried out many tragedies that destroyed settlements.

How could one explain that a member of the Alliance Council was a member of this cult?

There was no way to explain it!

The Governor's anger was justified and well-founded.

He had thought he was just selling out a greedy grain merchant; if that guy wanted to go against the Governor, let him be the target, and he deserved to die if he was killed. But the fact that this person was a cultist was completely beyond Hodgson's expectations.

He also realized the severity of the situation.

After hesitating for a moment, old Hodgson turned to look at his grandson, Lambert, and asked: "The Governor says Vaughan is a cultist. Do you think it's possible?"

"Perhaps it is true, perhaps it is false." Lambert Hodgson had listened to the entire conversation between his grandfather and the Governor, and he cautiously gave his own reasoned answer, "But that is no longer the key issue. Since the Governor is using this as a handle to attack, it means he must have obtained some evidence. Even if the evidence isn't real, the Governor must have forged it well enough. We are truly on the defensive now."

Regarding Lambert's speculation, old Hodgson sighed and continued to ask: "Then what do you think the Governor will do next?"

Lambert deliberated: "He might use this as an excuse to further intervene in the political situation of Revival City, using the pretext of cracking down on cults to strip us of our power and subsequently take control of the entire city."

"Judging by your tone, you seem very dissatisfied with this?"

Lambert was stunned.

"Grandfather?" He didn't understand why his grandfather would ask that.

"The Governor is the planetary ruler appointed by the Empire and the head of the Alliance government. Isn't it justified and proper for the Governor to take complete control of Revival City?"

Lambert frowned tightly and spoke with difficulty: "You... you are right... but..."

Old Hodgson brought up another matter: "I still remember you saying that your ideal was to save this world?"

"...Yes, that was just nonsense from when I was young and reckless..."

"Then I ask you now, is this ideal still buried in your heart?"

Lambert didn't want to answer: "Grandfather, why are you saying this?"

"I told you, only the Governor can save this world. I don't know if it is this Governor Gu, so I have always been hesitant, just like the previous governors who all failed. But I recently realized a problem: how many more governors can we wait for?"

"I don't understand... are you trying to?..."

"No, it hasn't reached that point yet. I just feel that this Governor is a little different from the previous ones," old Hodgson said. "As for the present, I think you have missed the point."

"Please instruct me."

"The point now is not what the Governor will do next, but what we should do. What we need to do is very simple: find out how severely the Primal Owlbear Cult has spread in Revival City and what their purpose is. This is the most important thing; it is a matter of life and death. What is the point of infighting? It would be ridiculous to defeat the Governor only to have the city destroyed by cultists."

"I understand!"