Hou Wencheng froze. "What?! Secretary-General Qian... and Commander Qin both have ties to a mere district police chief?"
"From what I understand, Secretary-General Qian personally selected the ten governors overseeing the thousand War Readiness Zones. Most other appointments were decided through collective discussion. Cui Zhonghua, however, was specifically singled out by Secretary-General Qian for appointment as District Chief."
"And Commander Qin's troops are stationed in Zone 712, not far from District No. 711. This appointment must have had his approval." Yu Renjie took off his glasses and rubbed his eye sockets. "I had no idea such a heavyweight had emerged in the Safe Zone."
After Yu Renjie finished, everyone else calmed down.
"What about the Deputy District Chief?"
The corners of Yu Renjie's mouth rose helplessly as he clasped his prayer beads. "Funny enough, the Deputy District Chief is Lin Dexing, the former director in the Ministry of Armaments who was dismissed for misconduct."
"He can still hold office?"
"Yes, I was surprised too. Secretary-General Qian really doesn't stick to conventional rules when choosing people."
Hou Wencheng asked again, "Then... why were you only given a district bureau chief's position?"
"Perhaps because I used to be close to Ma Liangdong and Tan Biao."
"...Didn't you just say Secretary-General Qian and the others don't stick to conventional rules when choosing people?"
Yu Renjie sighed. "That only applies to people without prior affiliations. Someone like me, who already belonged to a camp and didn't switch allegiance in time, naturally gets seated at a different table. This is what happens when you back the wrong side."
Then Yu Renjie added, "Who could have imagined Zone 1 would be wiped out just like that, or Ander would die so suddenly..."
Hou Wencheng didn't know what to say. Glancing at the others sighing around him,