After Qian Wendao announced the founding of the United Merchants' Association, Zhao Sifang gave a speech filled with hopeful wishes that the association would grow bigger and stronger.
Once Zhao Sifang finished speaking, the people onstage filed down in order.
Qian Wendao continued presiding. "Next, let us celebrate the founding of the United Church!"
Amid the crowd's applause, another group walked onto the platform.
This time, the person in the center was Hu Chan, Holy Son of the World Salvation Church.
As the leader of a church that operated openly and legitimately within the Safe Zone, Hu Chan was the natural choice for president of the United Church.
Beside him stood Qin Siyang, First Vice President of the United Church.
Qin Siyang had never intended to get involved with the churches. He knew nothing about faith, much less possessed Hu Chan's ability to recruit believers.
But Hu Chan had still enthusiastically invited Qin Siyang to join.
"The alliance between churches is very loose. If I'm the only one involved, everyone will inevitably pursue their own interests. We need someone with real standing to make everyone recognize the importance of the United Church, and prevent Zone 1 from secretly backing one of the churches as a hostile force to sway people's hearts."
Qin Siyang was puzzled. "At most, I'm one of the Safe Zone's new elite. I'm not that important, am I? Why don't you ask a few established figures, like Principal Zhao?"
"Churches are founded differently from all your other forces. They rely on faith and believers. Churches aren't particularly powerful themselves, but they strongly resist interference from other forces. Only you, President Qin, have no particular factional affiliation-or rather, you have so many that the impression becomes blurred. With you as vice president, the leaders of the various churches