"Julian, if nothing else, is at least more hardworking than others."

Mingmei quickly learned through the camera that Julian was going to visit the Cold Palace in the rain tonight, especially after comparing the reactions of the other players to the rain.

Yuan Fang stared at the rain outside the window and decided to wait. If it continued to rain, he would have to find another opportunity.

Zhen Po slept soundly in the heavy rain;

Zhen Hu hesitated whether to take another look while it was raining. After all, the information he knew had passed through several hands, and he didn't know if the information had been distorted. But he was still thinking about it, while the princess beside him had already fallen asleep.

Only Julian had already changed his clothes, and a body double was arranged to lie in the room in his place.

And Lu Xiaoyao...

Forget it, let's not talk about it. Even if she were guarding the palace gate right now, she wouldn't get a lunchbox. _(：3」∠)_

That's the difference between being a player.

Mingmei talked about this with Mu Chen, who was lying on his soft couch. Mu Chen smiled and said, "Julian does do more than other players and is a little smarter. Although he does have some flaws in his work, he is still passable."

After observing these players for the past few days, Mu Chen finally understood why there were so many places in the escape game where players needed to use their wits.

Do you know why General Mei Qiu has been lying low for so long?

Suddenly, the mention of her second brother made Mingmei look at Mu Chen with a puzzled expression: "Isn't it because we found the true weakness of the hidden Zerg and wiped them out completely?"

“That’s one reason,” Mu Chen sighed. “The vast majority of the military are a bunch of hot-blooded idiots… well, never mind, let’s not use such a dramatic description. In general, they’re not as cunning as the people in the parliament.”

"Ah...this game..."

"Yes, it should be telling these military academy students that while they are training hard, they should also use their brains, otherwise they will suffer in the future."

"You mean I... General Mei Qiu is involved because of these politicians in the parliament?"

"That's probably it. At least, that's what the hidden Zerg are thinking, stirring up discontent in the parliament against the military. The people of the Empire value martial prowess, and military academies have a much higher reputation and status than comprehensive universities. Similarly, those in the military have higher rights and status than those in government. This makes some extremist politicians feel that the military is too much of a threat."

As Mingmei listened to Mu Chen's eloquent speech, she marveled at how much he knew, while also wondering if she was being too lazy and that she still lacked some knowledge.

“That Julian…”

“He is from the Federation. Generally speaking, the military in the Federation is more balanced than in the Empire. Moreover, as the president of the Federation, he has more power. He controls both the military and the government. Many members of the Federation’s parliament and officials are graduates of military academies.”

“But this also has its drawbacks. In one person’s hands…” Even if Mingmei didn’t know about the Federation’s system, she felt that concentrating power in one person’s hands was very risky, or rather, not so appropriate.

"Fortunately, the presidential election is a vote by all the people of the Federation, and the vote counting is handled by the three parties involved in the main body, so there is no shady dealing. In other words, the president who has so many powers is given to him by all the people of the Federation."

Furthermore, a national satisfaction vote is held annually during a president's term. If the president's satisfaction rating falls below 50% for two consecutive years, or if the president's satisfaction rating declines for five consecutive years, with an overall decline exceeding 10%, a new election will be held.

"Wow, what an amazing election method."

Mingmei had never heard of an electoral system where there was no fixed term limit and everything was left to the people's vote.

"The current president of the Federation has been in office for 30 years and is still very young, not yet 100 years old. He is the longest-serving president in the Federation's less than 200-year history."

After Mu Chen finished speaking, Ming Mei's eyes were wide open, but she seemed to remember that they were discussing Julian.

How did we end up here?

Mingmei thought about it and then brought it up with Mu Chen with a smile, saying that they had gone off-topic.

Finally, Mu Chen added, "Don't forget, Julian is also from the Federation. Their military academy education should be more balanced than ours."

...

Mingmei and Mu Chen were chatting inside, while Lu Xiaoyao, once again locked out, faced the cold rain, her back against the hard door. She glanced back several times, but—

"They didn't do anything tonight, did they? It's such a long night, isn't it a waste not to do something adult?"

With a hint of resentment in her voice, facing the heavy rain in the dark night, Lu Xiaoyao felt like a helpless little cabbage, battered by the bitter wind and rain.

Being physically hungry and cold is bad enough, but I also have no mental nourishment QAQ

Lu Xiaoyao, swaying slightly, leaned against the door, her ear pressed against it. She could hear people talking inside, but their voices were too soft, and the surrounding rain was too loud for her to hear anything.

In the end, she decided to hug her pitiful self and continue guarding the gate for the emperor.

They didn't see a black figure darting across the palace wall not far away in the darkness.

"Lu Xiaoyao?"

Although the heavy rain obscured Julian's vision as he was dressed in black, there was a palace in this dark and oppressive cold palace that not only had lights inside, but also lights under the eaves of the palace.

If he wasn't mistaken, the person squatting by the door should be Lu Xiaoyao, right?

Remembering that Lu Xiaoyao had left with Emperor Jing'an earlier, and now she was squatting alone by the door, could it be that Emperor Jing'an was inside that door she was guarding?

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!