"This is a strategic retreat."

Qin Che heard about the sensational events that came from the city council today while in Westburg, and thought to himself that it was fortunate that the official appointment had not yet been issued, otherwise it would have been troublesome.

"How so?"

Li Xin had some free time. The Awakening Department was going to cut its resources in half, and this year's graduates couldn't get in either, so his promotion process was stalled. Fortunately, he came to have tea with Qin Che. Not only that, but Black Soldier was also there. However, Qin Che had deliberately ordered him to come here and he sat on the sofa without moving.

The hot tea was still steaming, and the black-clad soldier stood like a statue.

"First, we need to identify who the enemy is. I don't know much about the factions in the city council. As a newcomer, I'm completely clueless. But what I can say for sure is that someone is deliberately targeting the Fu Party. First, the Scorpion Party destroyed my goods and people. Then, the Awakening Department's talent pool was cut off. Old Man Fu is planning to make a concession first to force the other side to reveal their hand."

"What's the benefit of this?" Li Xin asked doubtfully. "The Awakening Department has now become the Fu Party's right-hand man and will be their strongest force in the future. Now, things are really bad. We can't get promoted, and our resources will be cut in half. You don't know how many people were complaining when I came here. They might even face layoffs in the future."

Qin Che smiled, took a sip of tea, and said, "It's alright, I'll make up the difference if you need money."

"You would be so kind?" Li Xin glanced at him sideways.

Qin Che chuckled and said, "No matter what, I am an advisor to the department, so I can't ignore it. But it's probably none of our business. Old Man Fu still has the income from the electrical appliance industry, which he can use to subsidize the expenses of the Awakening Department and keep it running. He won't agree to shut you down."

"So many psychics gathered together form a circle. If they are scattered, they are more likely to cause trouble and are harder to control. Besides, there are three of us transcendent beings. The higher-ups are not so foolish as to think that eliminating the circle will allow them to control the psychics."

The Awakening Department is a 'circle' exclusively for psionicists.

Fu Xian gathered this group of people together in order to unify the thoughts of the psychics and prevent them from being used by outsiders.

However, the psionic group is indeed a force not to be underestimated. If they are not careful, they could bring Lingbi City to its doom.

"It's a very simple logic: if your enemy has nuclear weapons, but you don't, what would you do?"

Li Xin suddenly realized, "Even if I can't take it, I'll destroy it."

“Yes.” Qin Che nodded: “Old Fu didn’t say he would destroy the Awakening Department, but he did announce something to everyone today.”

"What's up?"

“The Awakening Department is just sitting here. If I don’t use it, no one else is allowed to use it… In this way, the other six old men will give him face. At least the time isn’t right yet, it’s not time to play our cards open. This is called playing hard to get.”

Li Xin rolled his eyes. "When I came here, Scholar Han sent someone to deliver a letter to me, telling me not to worry. The higher-ups in the Fu Party are all aware of this. Before the meeting, Old Master Fu had already given everyone a heads-up..."

After saying that, he leaned closer and whispered, "I have a secret channel. Zhao Lisu is investigating Wall No. 10. His confidants have been very nervous lately. I sent someone to steal a list of the dead, all of whom are people from the intelligence department established by Zhao Lisu."

"oh?"

The factions within Wall One are complex, and everyone is involved in intelligence work, unlike Sandcastle which has only one official, independent intelligence agency.

The three major financial groups, the royal party, and various other forces all have intelligence agencies of all sizes under their command, and there is even a black market for buying and selling intelligence inside the First Wall.

No wall is completely airtight.

Any movement of people or allocation of resources could be detected, let alone the fact that Li Xin was an insider of Fu's faction, so it wasn't surprising that he knew this news.

"What's your opinion?" Qin Che asked him.

"This matter involves the royal faction. When Fu was young, he served as the Grand Chancellor of the Tenth Wall. He was the closest person to the old King Ling. You saw him at the banquet. Those armored warriors with Fu were actually from the Royal Guard of the Tenth Wall. They were the orthodox royalists."

"I see..." Qin Che fell into a deep thought.

"Besides Fu Xian, who else among the seven old men is a member of the Wang faction?" he asked.

Li Xin said: "Number One Yin Mu, Number Four Su Pei, the three most powerful factions in Number One Wall right now, all come from the Wang Party."

"How so?"

“With the support of Prince Yue and the Third Prince, Yin Mu has established his own faction on Wall 10. His family has been passed down for more than two hundred years and has a deep foundation, so he should not be underestimated.”

“Su Pei has the backing of Prince Shu and the Fourth Prince, and his status is on par with Prince Yue’s faction. You know about the new weapon of Wall No. 10, right? The current intelligence is that it is suspected to have been produced by a secret factory under Prince Shu’s command.”

"Both of these princes hold some military power and are subordinate to the royal court."

"Isn't the royal court a royalist faction?" Qin Che asked, frowning.

"It was true before, but not anymore. There are many internal conflicts within the Tenth Wall Army, and it is also divided into many factions. I mentioned this to Elder Fu, but he didn't seem to care."

Qin Che got up and paced around.

Unfortunately, as an outsider, he had no idea what the internal situation of these factions was like.

Joining Fu's faction was merely a way to find a foothold and seize the opportunity to strengthen oneself.

I'm afraid that such a struggle will affect my own development.

As for the reforms in Lingbi City? Qin Che didn't care at all.

At this moment, Li Mi pushed open the door and entered, carrying documents. He walked to Qin Che's side and said, "Master, someone from the city council has come. It's Zhao Lisu. He wants to see you."

Qin Che and Li Xin exchanged a glance. "He came in person?"

"right."

Qin Che nodded, then turned to Li Xin and said, "Minister, please sit here for a while and have some tea. I'll go see him."

"good."

After Qin Che left, the room fell silent. Li Xin took a sip of tea, looked at the black soldier sitting on the sofa, and asked with a smile, "Brother Black, your tea has gone cold."

The black soldier remained motionless.

"Brother Hei, you don't seem to talk much?"

"We're just sitting here doing nothing, so why don't you tell me how you met Consultant Qin? Are you from the same hometown or from the same school?"

"Brother Hei... Brother Hei? Say something, Brother Hei."

...

Qin Che pushed open the door and entered the council hall.

In the wide, straight long table and the empty central hall, only one person was sitting, and that was Zhao Lisu.

He was dressed in a cloak, keeping a low profile. Upon hearing the door open, he removed the cloak, revealing his true face, and looked at Qin Che expressionlessly.

"Uncle Zhao, is there something you need?" Qin Che greeted him with a smile.

Zhao Lisu remained unmoved and said, "Old Fu's suggestion is that since you have not officially taken office yet and have not been involved in the affairs of the Awakening Department, and from today onwards, the Awakening Department will face numerous investigations, making it difficult to exert its power. Therefore, I have been instructed to give you a list and ask Minister Li to cooperate in allocating this group of people to your use."

Who is it?

Zhao Lisu looked at him and said, "The six masters and twelve experts... will temporarily follow your orders from now on!"