"You must be Mr. Xu Min?"
Elder Kong's attitude was more respectful than I had imagined. His smile was kind and his manner was gentle, completely different from his attitude when he was helping others evaluate Xu Min in the parliament hall earlier.
That's understandable, though. This group excels at forming cliques and bullies those without connections. They wouldn't dare to be arrogant towards those who actually wield violence.
Xu Min and Gong Mingrui, however, remained cold and indifferent, showing little interest in even glancing at the old men.
Especially Gong Mingrui.
He was older than Xu Min and had come into contact with various military-industrial complexes outside of the battlefield. He had witnessed too many children with great scientific research abilities being suppressed and numbly relegated to the bottom.
Many talented engineers, through the suppression of these individuals, have either become one of them or have completely faded into obscurity. The Central Federation boasts the largest group of engineers in the entire Federation, yet it produces the fewest top scientists. This group deserves much of the blame.
" Elder Xu." Gong Mingrui looked directly at the only old man in the council hall. He knew this man was a relatively intelligent elder, and should be easier to communicate with than these guys who hadn't yet grasped the situation.
"Our conditions have been made public, and we will not back down an inch!"
"General, things shouldn't be done so recklessly," Elder Kong finally couldn't help but say.
The two still ignored each other, causing Elder Kong and the others to look grim. Elder Xu, however, smiled and said, "We have already discussed the other conditions. As you said, from today onwards, all Disintegration Program will be destroyed. From now on, the Federation will no longer have Disintegration Program to restrict individual actions. The quota for entering the New World will also be selected from the general population, as you wish. However, we still have some doubts about the selection system and supervision."
"Please speak," Xu Min continued, " Elder Xu is highly respected; we will accept any reasonable suggestion."
Elder Xu nodded. "Immigrants from the New World are of paramount importance; they are the hope for the rise of our Central Federation. But as you've seen, the New World is also extremely dangerous. One wrong move and we could be devoured, especially by the demons of that world. Those things are intelligent beings; in their own minds, they are no different from us, and may even consider themselves superior. This is already a racial conflict. I'd like to know, to what extent have you cooperated with that Mr. Wang?"
Xu Min and Gong Mingrui exchanged a glance. Someone who could still be concerned about truly important matters at a time like this was indeed someone they could talk to.
Xu Min nodded and said, "Sir, rest assured, we have never crossed any lines in our cooperation with Mr. Wang, and we will never do anything to harm the Federation in the future."
"Alright," Elder Xu nodded upon hearing this. "Regarding the selection process, you said you would use a fair competition involving both literary and martial arts. How do you plan to conduct the competition? And what is the scale of the election?"
"We've looked into the New World's resources. The people they need this time are mostly former soldiers who have fought in the military. It's far from the time to send ordinary people to bolster the civilian workforce. So, for the martial arts competition, selecting directly from the military should be no problem."
"Hmm," Elder Xu was slightly relieved. He was afraid that the other party would blindly follow public opinion and spread the favor to everyone, which was not in line with the current situation.
Since the Federation has mobilized all its forces this time, it must establish its reputation and status. The first to be sent must be the elite; otherwise, if it fails to win over its core supporters, all talk of fairness will be meaningless.
"As for the martial arts competition, it's a very simple matter. We'll hold a large-scale competition, starting with the Federation lieutenant rank, and the winners will advance. We won't consider experience, resources, or status. We won't give you preferential treatment because of your birth, nor will we deliberately exclude you because of your birth. Everyone will win based on their own abilities. It will be broadcast live nationwide. I believe this will be the most convincing way to win."
Several councilors in the meeting hall looked grim, while Elder Xu nodded slightly. The other party's stance was very clear, implying that scions of aristocratic families would neither receive preferential treatment nor be ostracized. Regardless of what resources you had in the past, as long as you could demonstrate your abilities in actual combat and earn your place through your fists, you would be qualified for a better birth in the New World.
This is actually a huge concession, considering that the majority of the powerful figures in the entire Federation are still from aristocratic families.
It could be said that this is at most giving equally outstanding non-aristocratic scions a chance to prove themselves.
"I think it would be better if we decided on this," Hou Laosan couldn't help but say, "We, the scions of our aristocratic families, decided our own quota, while your general election remains unchanged."
"Sorry." Xu Min coldly interrupted the other party.
"Since it's a fair election, it's fair to everyone. There's no such thing as aristocratic families or non-aristocratic families; everyone is equal. How you resolve things internally is none of our business. You can even persuade your family members not to participate; that's not something we can forcibly interfere with. But if they participate, they must follow the rules. We absolutely will not allow any manipulation like giving up a spot. If such manipulation is discovered, their eligibility will be revoked, and they will be expelled from the election."
" Xu Min, don't go too far!" Hou San's face was extremely ugly.
He'd already conceded so much, yet the other side showed no respect whatsoever. Their aristocratic family simply wanted to distribute the spoils internally; what business was it of yours? Why don't you mind your own business and mind your own business?
"What's the problem?" Gong Mingrui said with a smile, "If you don't want your family to compete with you, just tell them to withdraw."
Many young members of parliament looked grim upon hearing this. If they controlled the allocation of resources, they could naturally manipulate those powerful but marginalized individuals. But if it was free application, why should they be manipulated?
Besides, this isn't in the family's best interest. If you force the family's best members not to participate, can you guarantee you'll secure a good spot?
If your family doesn't produce any good players, but my family does, then all the spots will go to other people!
Anyone with a sound mind wouldn't do something like that, right?
"We have no objection to the martial arts competition," said Elder Kong, who had been unable to get a word in edgewise. "As the saying goes, there is no first place in literature, but there is a second in martial arts. Selecting martial arts through a competition is very reasonable. However, this literary competition is still ill-considered. Tested abilities do not equate to a scientist's true abilities. We cannot use the same crude method to select our technical personnel."
Elder Kong said earnestly, "We have also analyzed the data on the New World. The sorcerers of that world are equivalent to the engineers here; they are an important force that can change the world situation. We cannot be careless in this regard. Only by selecting the most outstanding disciples can we have the highest competitiveness and lay a better foundation for future generations."
Gong Mingrui frowned and looked at the other person. "Since many years ago, every promotion and elimination process in the Federation has been based on examinations. Why is it that when it comes to you, Elder Kong, the examinations have become unreasonable?"
"How can that be the same?" said another elderly scholar beside him. "The initial exams were meant to weed out those with poor learning abilities, but once scientists reach a certain level, how can they be measured by exams?"
"Then what will you use?" Gong Mingrui sneered, "The academic achievements you squeezed out of your subordinates, or the fabricated papers?"
The group of elderly men immediately turned ashen-faced. "Mr. Gong, please don't speak recklessly. The scholars present today are all experts who have made significant academic contributions in their respective fields. They are not people like you who can be so easily slandered."
"Really?" Gong Mingrui spread his hands and said, "Sorry, we bunch of roughnecks can't think of a more sophisticated method. If you experts who have made significant contributions to the academic field have forgotten how to write exam papers, you can choose not to participate."
"Mr. Gong Mingrui!" Elder Kong looked at him seriously and said, enunciating each word clearly, "If you insist on going your own way, the entire academic community will not participate in this exam!"
Upon hearing this, Gong Mingrui couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at?" Elder Kong said coldly.
"It's nothing." Gong Mingrui looked at the other person with amusement. "I just think that Elder Kong might be a little too confident in what he calls the academic world."