"As you command, Grand Foundry Master."
Felix bowed his head respectfully, took the microphone, and shouted in a voice overflowing with excitement:
"The results of the Grand Foundry Master election are now announced!"
As the mechanical counters came to a complete stop, Felix shouted out each person's final vote:
"Considering the weighting of the first, second, and third levels, the intelligent Mr. Rein Hansen's final vote count is: 410,205 votes!"
Players do not know how many people in the Graycast Corridor are eligible to vote, nor do they know the total number of votes after all votes have been converted.
However, judging from Mr. Rein's slightly disappointed expression, they roughly guessed what the number represented.
"Let's break it down. Mr. Hansen's votes mostly came from the first-tier weighted votes, which, in terms of profession, were mainly from cybernetic businessmen. As for the second-tier weighted votes, they mostly came from other mechanical researchers..."
The ballots in the Graycast Corridor were not as simple as they seemed. Although it was a secret ballot, the number of votes received by citizens of each profession was slightly different. Therefore, after the votes were tallied, Felix could immediately analyze the groups that supported him.
The old man continued:
"Resilient Mr. Suolaer Aoermo, great pioneer of sea routes, your final vote count is: 509,278 votes!"
"Let me see. You've gained the support of the vast majority of the merchants. The votes of those high-ranking merchants carry significant weight, bringing you many extra votes. That's excellent."
Upon hearing that he had nearly 100,000 more votes than Rein, Captain Suolaer no longer concealed the arrogance of an adventurer. He appeared much more upright than before, and even the second mate who had accompanied him stood up straight.
Felix pointed to the third line where the clicking sound was gradually stopping and said:
"Heroic General Luke Aoziben, your final vote count is: 399,864 votes!"
"It's clear you've gained considerable support from the Corridor Guard, but the proportion is slightly lower compared to the previous two. It seems that not everyone in the army agrees with your campaign plan. Perhaps you should investigate this matter further."
The vote counts for the initial three candidates have been announced, with only Gray's vote count, the lucky winner who was only revealed at the very end, yet to be announced.
In fact, Captain Suolaer was already somewhat confident of victory, even though he didn't know the exact number of votes in the entire constituency.
Although the number of people in the Great Labyrinth City was no secret, he was not very clear about the number of votes held by the garrison troops of the satellite cities outside, and he also did not know the exchange rate between high-level and low-level votes.
Even so, Suolaer has already gained a huge advantage. He knows that what Felix said is not the whole story. Not only the merchants, but also many high-ranking officials in the Great Labyrinth City tend to support him rather than the other two.
The reason is simple: of the three, the plans of Rein and Luke would take at least several years to take effect.
Once his shipping trade begins, he could see his first huge sum of money in as little as six months.
Thinking about this, he even felt that he could already declare victory.
However, since the Grand Foundry Master was still here, as his successor, he couldn't be too flamboyant.
The clicking sound gradually became clearer, and Gray's digits were confirmed one by one from back to front.
In the plaza of the Great Labyrinth City, the cacophony gradually subsided, and everyone turned their astonished gazes toward the enormous vote counter.
Suolaer's heart suddenly pounded, a sense of foreboding washing over him, making him want to turn back and check Gray's votes right now.
After his initial shock, Felix had regained his composure. His voice remained excited, and even seemed more excited than before.
"Lucky Mr. Gray Gris, your final vote count is: 510,010 votes!"
"Let's look at your vote distribution... It's quite interesting. Your votes don't show any obvious professional bias; it seems that a portion of every group has a particular fondness for you, including the higher-ups. Hopefully, you won't disappoint..."
How many?
Captain Suolaer, no longer listening to Felix's account, abruptly turned his head to look at the vote counter, disregarding all decorum.
His modified neck gives it the flexibility of a seabird, allowing it to rotate 270 degrees with ease.
A pair of sharp, hawk-like eyes immediately fixed on the counter's display.
"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands..."
The difference between 510010 and 509278 is less than a thousand!
Just this little bit more? Just this little bit more!
I actually lost to this guy, who'd only been on stage for less than an hour?!
Have these commoners in the Great Labyrinth City gone mad?!
Suolaer thought back to the night before last when he first heard that there was a fourth candidate and that the other candidate's supporters were giving speeches in the Great Labyrinth City, and he felt his whole consciousness begin to blur.
He felt that his eyes were bloodshot, or rather, not only his eyes were bloodshot, but his entire head was bloodshot as well.
Countless eyes were on him.
Are countless eyes on him?
Suolaer felt unable to think, and the scene in front of him seemed to begin to sway from side to side.
Is this on my own exploration ship?
What huge waves!
Today was a rare good day, and the azure sky filled Suolaer's eyes. His legs gave way and he fell backward, but the second mate, who was also somewhat pale, quickly caught him.
The minor incident was naturally ignored by everyone.
Everyone's watching the new Grand Foundry Master; who cares if you, a rejected candidate, faint or not?
Countless citizens of the Great Labyrinth City applauded Gray, because due to the high degree of mechanization, many people's hands were pure metal prosthetics.
This was the first time the players had ever heard such a loud clapping sound, like clapping on sheet metal; they felt as if their eardrums were about to burst.
On a distant tower, a powerful hand violently slammed the curtains against the window.
"You troublemaker!"
"Fooling the people!"
"Untouchables!"
He smashed and destroyed all the valuables in the room, but the rhythm of his cursing remained unaffected.
"It's just a tiny bit of profit, yet it's enough to make them collude like this!"
"And those Grand Artisan, their brains are practically full of production line scraps!"
Anger, shouts, and slamming echoed throughout the top floor of the tower. After an unknown amount of time, the innermost door opened, and the grim-faced old man looked at the long line of trembling apprentices outside. He spoke to the one in the lead:
"Have Suolaer Aoermo come to me immediately."
"Yes."
The young man responded and then ran towards the stairwell as if granted a pardon.