Qin Che brought Lina with him to the banquet.
Having been at Wall One for some time, this was the first time he had seen how the wealthy and political figures here lived.
The central hall, with its high ceilings reaching over ten meters, was carpeted throughout and adorned with magnificent chandeliers. The high-ranking officials, dressed in fine clothes, were well-mannered and wealthy. Holding wine glasses, they huddled together according to their political affiliations, forming groups of three to five. One could even spot a group of aristocratic children running and playing in the central hall. The ladies sat together chatting, while the men were most likely discussing state affairs.
Qin Che and Lina were clearly different from outsiders, and were forced to face all sorts of stares as soon as they entered the house.
There are feelings of reverence, apprehension, respect, admiration, and tension...
Qin Che took in all the expressions on these people's faces.
Both he and Lina were dressed in Sandcastle attire, but they did not have the so-called 'noble air'. However, as an extraordinary being, Qin Che was able to look down on the entire scene and held the highest status. Some people even bowed to him from a distance, and no one dared to approach him for the time being.
"Old Master Fu will be here soon, Brother Qin, come with me, I don't want you to feel awkward," Li Xin said with a smile.
"My dear minister, since we'll be eating from the same pot from now on, you don't need to call me brother anymore."
Li Xin smiled and said, "Yes, yes, my advisor, please."
Qin Che rolled his eyes and followed Li Xin into the central hall.
I could hear the voices of many people around me, both men and women.
"That's Sandcastle's extraordinary talent? He's so young."
"Minister Li was so polite to him. This is the first time I've ever seen that scoundrel smile."
"Is his name Qin Che? It sounds nice and fits my aesthetic. I'm thinking of going up and striking up a conversation with him."
"What does a transcendent being mean to Lingbi City? It goes without saying. No wonder Elder Fu held this banquet to welcome him back."
The men looked at Qin Che with a mixture of politeness and apprehension.
Most of the ladies were infatuated with him.
Qin Che, not yet 20, was already a Great Transcendent, handsome with deep, penetrating eyes and a composed demeanor. How could anyone not be attracted to him? Dressed in noble robes, he exuded an even more captivating aura. In modern terms, he could be summed up in three words: —
So cool!
"Where is your extraordinary partner?"
Qin Che said, "Yuan Lin is dead. From now on, he will act separately from me to prevent others from taking advantage of the situation and luring us away from our base."
Qin Che was not lying. He did indeed place the Black Soldier in West Fortress to oversee things. With the Black Soldier's computing power, it would faithfully carry out Qin Che's orders. Before that, Qin Che had already charged it once, enough to cover the energy consumption of a Transcendent II.
Li Xin didn't say much, but smiled and said, "Jia Yuanlin is also dead. He was secretly executed by firing squad at Execution Ground No. 1 not long ago. Old Fu instructed that this matter should be known to the No. 3 and No. 4 financial magnates of the Forest Group. It's a pity that Deng Xian is not as smart as Duan Wujiu."
Qin Che asked, "Have they made any moves?"
"They are all vying for Yuan Lin's inheritance without prior agreement."
"Hasn't his power already been taken back by your city council?"
Li Xin shook his head: "We should let them taste some sweetness, so that our efforts won't be in vain. Old Fu doesn't value the Forest Group. The city council has already successfully taken control of the salt lake in the desert, which is already a huge gain. As for food, arable land, and population, they should still be distributed. Besides, haven't we already got your support? Who would risk losing more than they gain in this situation?"
Qin Che smiled.
It seems that Fu Xian already knows about his request.
The first shipment to Sandcastle consisted only of synthetic starch, while the second shipment, currently en route, includes a large quantity of munitions, which will be delivered to West Fort in boxes.
In fact, both sides got what they wanted.
The city council has gained complete control of the salt flats, increasing the Forest Group's influence and power, which aligns with their desire for 'centralization'.
The conglomerate obtained what Yuan Lin called the 'inheritance,' which can be understood as being snatched from the teeth of the city council. Actually, it wasn't bad; at least Deng Xian and Duan Wujiu both showed a 'satisfied' attitude.
Qin Che, on the other hand, gained control of the entire West Fortress organization and, moreover, seized military power at the most crucial and vital point of the No. 1 wall.
With Yuan Lin dead, all three parties benefited. The only one who might lose was Qin Guan of the Oasis Alliance. He has now become the target of everyone's criticism. Without Yuan Lin protecting him at Wall One, Qin Guan will have no time to protect himself. Perhaps after a while, the Oasis Alliance will naturally reveal its true colors.
But Qin Che understood very well that he was like a rootless duckweed.
He was an outsider, and in terms of social class, he was the same as Yuan Lin.
However, Qin Che also has an advantage: he and the Black Soldier are equivalent to two extraordinary beings, and even the Number One Wall would not dare to provoke them easily.
When the Demon King is enraged, he slaughters the entire city. This is no joke; he is a walking weapon of mass destruction.
Since they were giving him so much face, Qin Che couldn't act too 'aloof'.
Wherever there are people, there is a world of intrigue. Qin Che himself understood this principle. Compared to living on the run, he wanted to seize power over the world. Therefore, it was inappropriate to kill too many people with violence. If you can kill someone with other means, it is best not to use violence. But violence should always be the last resort.
"Today is the general meeting for voting. Elder Fu will put the appointment of you as an advisor to the Awakening Department and your seat on the elders' bench on the agenda. This is a great gift. Just wait for his good news." Li Xin offered his congratulations in advance.
With Fu Xian's influence on the elders' seat, as a long-established member of the royal family, he has many supporters, and even many elders of the same rank follow his lead.
Fu Xian does not represent a single faction, but a large faction composed of many smaller factions.
Otherwise, how could he have become the third elder of the city council?
Therefore, in Fu Xian's eyes, Qin Che's matter was a trivial matter.
Qin Che couldn't help but sigh: "The favor that Yuan Lin had worked hard for his whole life but never received was so easily obtained by a very few people."
Li Xin laughed and said, "Are you praising yourself?"
"No." Qin Che shook his head and sighed. If he didn't have a system and wasn't extraordinary, it would probably take him a lifetime to climb to his current position, just like in the simulator, and the chance of success would probably be less than 5%.
All of this is part of the 'influence' he wields because he is extraordinary.
This is a kind of inertia.
Qin Che didn't want to enjoy himself too much; he had to be on high alert at all times.
At that moment, the door was pushed open, and three or five armored soldiers escorted an old man into the central hall.
Qin Che's first attention wasn't on Fu Xian, but on the armored warriors. Each of them was nearly two meters tall, with a robust build and bulging muscles, like a wild bull. Their gazes were deep and focused, and they held thick, heavy guns, which must be the new weapon, the '.75 incendiary gun'. It was about the size of a cannon. It wasn't hard to imagine that any one of these people could take on a hundred enemies. Although the armored machinery on the outside was not visible, their entire bodies were covered in heavy armor.
Compared to those armored warriors, Fu Xian looked like he came from Lilliput...
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