In the Name of Divine Abilities

The car stopped in front of a Chinese-style restaurant, where an attendant at the entrance helped park it.

A server led the two of them to a private room, where two people had already been waiting for a long time.

One was a refined-looking man in formal attire, and the other was a middle-aged man in a blue-and-white shirt.

The former was around thirty, and his Life Development was probably lower than Lu Zhao's.

The latter was probably forty, with some gray in his hair. Lu Zhao sensed a faint trace of danger from him.

He was at least a third-tier transcendent.

Fang City's executive, Zhao De.

Before introductions even began, Lu Zhao had already guessed his identity.

A third-tier transcendent appearing in Fang City could only be the city executive.

Lin Zhiyan said, "Executive Zhao, we're late."

"No, we're early." City Executive Zhao De stood and came over to shake Lin Zhiyan's hand.

He then looked at Lu Zhao and asked, "And this is?"

Lin Zhiyan drew Lu Zhao to her side, her manner rather familiar, and introduced him. "This is Lu Zhao, a senior of mine from school. He's also a staff officer at Ant Ridge Border Station, a unit under Fang City's jurisdiction."

City Executive Zhao De nodded in recognition. "I've heard Comrade Lu Zhao's name. He's singled out for commendation every year for the city's flood-control work."

Although the Chen Family had always deliberately held Lu Zhao back, they had never withheld the commendations he was due.

That was how Lu Zhao's salary had risen to over twenty thousand a month, along with a free allotment of more than a dozen bottles of life supplements.

With the average salary currently only two or three thousand, he was already considered a high earner.

"I didn't expect Staff Officer Lu to know Team Leader Lin as well."

"We went to the same university and studied in the same department, after all. Senior Lu even taught me."

"It seems Comrade Lu Zhao distinguished himself at university too."

Zhao De turned to introduce the person beside him. "This is my secretary, Liu Zhihui. He didn't graduate from the Imperial Capital like you two, but he did come from a first-rate university."

Wearing a gentle smile, Liu Zhihui held out his hand. "Hello, Team Leader Lin."

Without shaking his hand, Lin Zhiyan asked, "Secretary Liu, how old are you this year?"

Liu Zhihui was taken aback for a moment, then answered, "Twenty-seven by traditional reckoning."

"Then you're about the same age as my senior here. He's still only a staff officer with the rank of captain, but you're already a city executive's secretary."

Lin Zhiyan's tone was mild, but her attitude was worlds apart from how she treated Zhao De, with a hint of criticism aimed indirectly at him.

"You must have rendered great service time and again, I imagine?"

Chapter 57: The Unification of Hua and Foreigners

The sudden attack left Liu Zhihui at a loss for how to respond, and he could only stand there awkwardly.

He had no answer.

Lu Zhao had real merits to his name, while he was merely there to gild his résumé.

Justice existed objectively. It might not take effect at every moment, but its existence could not be denied.

Just as at Lu Zhao's border station, where his superiors, led by Lü Jinshan, mostly praised him in public, precisely because he did real work.

"Senior, you should learn from him."

Lin Zhiyan gave Lu Zhao a seemingly reproachful nudge with her elbow. He was still wondering, Are we that close?

Then he caught on and said with a smile, "An official can't just keep his head down and work; he also has to know how to work people. I'm not very good at that, so I can't rise very high."

Lin Zhiyan was using him to make a pointed remark. He had taken advantage of her influence, and she had borrowed his standing in turn.

The city's various departments weren't cooperating now, but the border station was in his hands.

The special task force had a point of entry, and Lin Zhiyan had troops at her disposal.

"Pfft..."

Lin Zhiyan couldn't hold back a laugh.

She found that Lu Zhao, this blockhead, had quite a sense of humor. At least when it came to barbed sarcasm, he was no worse than she was.

He strictly abided by the rules but had no inhibitions in his dealings with people, so he wasn't exactly a blockhead.

Liu Zhihui's expression darkened. When had he ever been humiliated like this?

At that moment, Zhao De stepped in to smooth things over. "We each have our own duties. I serve the Federation as city executive, and Staff Officer Lu serves the Federation by guarding the border."

"Let's eat before the food gets cold."

Only after both sides had exchanged pleasantries did they take their seats. Lu Zhao was quiet throughout, giving brief answers only when someone asked him a question.

First, he still hadn't understood the situation, and the less he said, the fewer mistakes he would make.

Second, he had little to talk about with Zhao De.

After several rounds of drinks, Zhao De was slightly tipsy. "Last month, the Circuit Administration Bureau sent down a document saying that restrictions on Federation subjects working in the Chinese District should be eased appropriately."

"Miss Lin, you're well connected. Could you tell us what the higher-ups are thinking?"

Lin Zhiyan gently wiped her lips with a napkin. "Perhaps someone wants to change the dynasty."

The atmosphere grew heavy at once, and everyone's movements faltered.

Zhao De was taken aback, then laughed. "That's putting it too strongly. The Martial Marquises are only trying a new path. After all, we can't go on like this forever. Just look at the birth rate among those Federation subjects. They keep having children like mad, and now there's even a famine."

At first, the Federation had been a beacon, and after the restructuring, it had still given Federation subjects a way to survive.

The Hua People had a little more to eat, and the Federation subjects didn't starve. Everyone made do.

But now there was a famine in the Foreign District. There were many reasons, the biggest being that the population was too large and kept growing.

On the macro level, the Foreign District's food rations were fixed. The population had increased, but the food supply would not.

"So we should sacrifice our compatriots? Without a distinction between Hua and foreigners, wouldn't everyone be a Federation subject?"

Lin Zhiyan's words were sharp and showed no sign of restraint.

"Playing the saint on the surface while tearing out people's hearts and lungs in reality."

Surprisingly, Zhao De did not argue, even though that was his former superior.

He merely sighed and said, "Some things can only be decided by the Martial Marquises."

He didn't agree with merging Hua and foreigners either. None of them were fools; they all knew what someone wanted to do.

But Zhao De had no freedom to act and could only go along with the crowd.

As Lu Zhao listened, he lowered his eyes. His fists tightened slightly, then relaxed.

Some things could only be decided once one had power.

If one did not take the wheel of the great rolling machinery of the times, one could only passively bear its crushing weight.

The rest of the meal was much more harmonious. Zhao De kept introducing the dishes to Lin Zhiyan, while Lin Zhiyan maintained a basic level of respect for Zhao De, a Federation official of full official rank.

Full official rank in the Federation meant one had gained a foothold, and a third-tier transcendent was no longer a small fry.

No matter how powerful Lin Zhiyan's background was, she couldn't point a finger in his face and curse him.

Neither of them discussed the Foreign District again for the rest of the meal.

Lu Zhao and Lin Zhiyan returned to the car.

"Zhao De's backer is a county-level minister of personnel in the South Sea West Circuit. That minister used to be Marquis Chen's secretary, and he's also the biggest obstacle you face in the South Sea West Circuit."

Lin Zhiyan told him about Zhao De's background and connections.

"Marquis Chen left his post a year ago, but he still wields enormous influence. It wouldn't be wise for you to stay here."

With that, she watched Lu Zhao, whose face was half-hidden in shadow, expecting him to make a request.

Lin Zhiyan undoubtedly wanted to take Lu Zhao to the South Sea East Circuit. His abilities were absolutely worth it.

If she raised the matter, she would be recruiting him; if Lu Zhao raised it, he would be submitting to her.

Although there wasn't much difference between the two, a certain perverse streak made Lin Zhiyan increasingly eager to see Lu Zhao bow his head.

Lu Zhao nodded. "Thank you."

Tsk!

Let's see how long you can hold out.

Lin Zhiyan curled her lip.

Back in her office, Lin Zhiyan questioned her adjutant, Xu Fang.

"What did the Fang City Public Security Office say?"

Xu Fang replied, "The Public Security Office said they've mobilized the informants they planted in the Foreign District and guarantee they'll find the robbers as quickly as possible."

"I'd be lucky if they brought me a corpse. Fang City is full of Chen Family people, and it's been turned into an impenetrable fortress from top to bottom."

Lin Zhiyan didn't believe for a moment that Fang City would hand the people over.

She suspected that Lü Jinshan had let the original fugitive through. An earth-element transcendent who had run out of ammunition and food and had no supplies had somehow managed to travel through the Ant Territory for a full day and night.

Even so, the border station had not sent anyone to search for him.

Xu Fang said, "You could lodge a complaint with the Circuit Administration Bureau."

"If every special task force had to rely on complaints, the Federation would have fallen apart long ago. If a complaint would help, things wouldn't have reached this point."

Lin Zhiyan glanced at her. With her mental Divine Ability enhancing her perception, she could naturally tell what Xu Fang was thinking.

It was an attitude of awe and rigidity, mixed with a hint of contempt.

What Xu Fang meant by lodging a complaint was that Lin Zhiyan should use her connections and bring a higher-ranking official to bear on Fang City.

Lin Zhiyan couldn't blame her for that. Most of the people her own age who had grown up in the same residential compound as she had were indeed good-for-nothings who could only rely on their connections now.