Chapter 146 Preface to the Performance
After passing the inspection and actually entering the imperial capital, I felt much more relaxed.
Although patrols can be seen from time to time, as long as there is no abnormal behavior, these patrols are no different from walking scenery and buildings. There is no need to pay too much attention to them. On the contrary, paying attention to them will lead to questioning.
At least Lin Guantang didn't bring anything with him, so he had a smooth journey and entered the performance venue quite smoothly.
The performance was held in the largest indoor venue of O College and officially began at seven o'clock. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows was endless darkness, while inside the windows was dazzling light and shadow.
When Lin Guantang was guided to the scene, the audience seats were already full of people.
They were not students or alumni of O College - perhaps there were some, but they seemed to be attending the performance only as aristocratic companions.
That is to say, the audience seats were filled with richly dressed aristocratic families and their young alpha offspring.
In the middle of the first row, Sheng Fenghua, Jian Yinglai, their parents and relatives were sitting.
Sheng Fenghua nodded and smiled at him as a greeting. Jian Yinglai sat upright, like the most perfect model of a gentleman.
She just looked at him for a moment and then looked away silently.
Apart from them, the people sitting in the first two rows were all members of the school board, and their gazes towards Lin Guantang were filled with disgusting ridicule or scrutiny.
When Lin Guantang saw the smug looks on the faces of these board members, he felt an indescribable disgust.
But he has learned to remain calm on the surface. No matter how turbulent his heart is, he still remains gentle and calm on the surface.
He raised his eyes and looked further back. Just a quick glance revealed that among the young people who came with them, there were many students from the Central Military Academy.
Most of the other young alphas present were laughing and making a lot of noise, probably because they were excited and curious about entering the All-O Academy for the first time. The parents and elders had different expressions, and from the front to the back, they seemed to be in a worse mood. It couldn't be that they were dissatisfied because they were arranged too far back.
Except for a few cadets who were laughing foolishly, most of them had solemn expressions and were worried. The eye contact between them conveyed messages that outsiders could not understand.
After seeing Lin Guantang, he looked shocked or hesitant.
As if she had something to say to him.
Then more people saw Lin Guantang coming.
The crowd was excited and pulled the people around them to look at the savior who came out of the slums at the door.
With black hair, black clothes and black shoes, he seemed to be shrouded in a black fog from top to bottom, which made the exposed skin look even more pale. Even his ice-blue eyes seemed to be misty, revealing a quiet and sad mood.
The white flower-shaped brooch on the clothes is also made more eye-catching.
This reminded those who knew the situation that Young Master Huo had already died, and they felt that the way he wore this outfit didn't seem like he was attending a celebration or performance, but rather a funeral or mourning service.
It seems very rude and inappropriate, but who can be harsh on a widow who has just lost her lover? Besides, black dresses are suitable for all occasions, so you can't say he wore it wrong.
After all, the crabapple brooch on his chest was made of jade, not paper.
After he appeared, the discussion in the venue was obviously reduced, but after only about one or two minutes, it became noisy again. However, it was obvious that the focus of their discussion had changed from "What kind of performance is today, what programs are there..." to various discussions centered around Lin Guantang.
Even as he watched him being led into the venue, Lin Guantang still felt countless eyes on him.
Even if he wanted to keep a low profile and sit in an inconspicuous place, he couldn't do that because the booklet with his name on it was placed right in the center of the front.
And someone was leading him in, so it was impossible for him to ignore it.
There were only two seats in that row, one of them was his, and the name tag on the other seat read "Jing Maoxun".
Seven days ago, this was still a very unfamiliar name to Lin Guantang.
But he had just seen this name in the archives of the underground research institute not long ago.
The former richest man and former district chief of Fugan District, his status was once comparable to that of Mr. Huo, but he was always inferior to the Huo family and his performance was mediocre during his tenure. However, it was rumored that it was only because he had no ambition and the imperial capital excluded Fugan District.
After all, Mr. Huo was still quite active before he claimed to be ill, while this one suddenly retired at the age of about sixty, resigned from all his positions, stayed at home, enjoyed his old age, and played with his grandchildren, without interfering in any imperial affairs - at least on the surface.
In addition, there are some files about him, such as one of his daughters married into the Sheng family, and another omega in the family married into the Jian family. These are information that were found out through special investigation. They are not confidential, but aristocratic marriages are normal. To be honest, if you count back three or four generations, you can even use a relative network to connect almost all aristocratic families.
Therefore, generally no one will be asked to check it out specifically. If the owner finds out, he will be suspected of having bad intentions.
He appeared in the archives of the underground research institute because he was involved in a leak - the researcher sold confidential information about the experimental subject at a high price, and in the end only found clues pointing to the Fugan District, and then there was no more. No matter how many people were sent to the Fugan District for open or secret investigations, they all ended up in vain and no news was heard.
It is inferred that this person was protected by Jing Maoxun, but there is no evidence to support this, and such words will only make people think that it was a deliberate frame-up.
How could a district chief who is the richest man have any connection with a small researcher who comes from a poor family? Moreover, one is in the vicinity of the imperial capital and the other is in Fugan District. It is ridiculous to say that they have any connection when they are thousands of miles apart.
Moreover, every time he wanted to search for something, he would signal his subordinates to fully cooperate. To say that he was the culprit was too ungrateful.
——Though looking at it now, I was probably right.
All in all, Jing Maoxun is now about eighty years old, one level older than everyone here.
No wonder he sat alone in the first seat, and every noble who came to the performance greeted him first.
Although he looked to be only in his fifties or sixties, he was no different from the old men who bowed respectfully to him.
——It can be seen that the work is still very exhausting. As far as Lin Guantang has seen people of the same age, Mr. Yuan relied on various tubes to keep him alive before his death. Mr. Huo was better, but he also had gray hair and looked very old. He was nowhere near as energetic as this person, who was so enthusiastic to come and participate in the performance.
However, it may also be because people are in high spirits when something happy happens.
It is easy to force those who are unable to deal with it, so-called imperial weapons to choose their own destruction;
They had played a cruel trick on the Imperial Capital, rendering the mission against the Fugan District—arguably one of the largest joint missions since the new era of the Empire—a hollow victory;
He took this opportunity to gain control of the military academy, successfully grafted the X system, and replaced the Hexi system. It seemed that the imperial capital had also fallen, so it was natural for him to control the entire empire.
Coming to this performance in person was just a way to give back to the school board members who helped him, and to demonstrate to the other noble families who were still watching and hesitating.
Oh, and probably also the humiliation of Lin Guantang.
Otherwise, why would they refuse him entry into the imperial capital before, and now actively invite him to participate in the performance?
Under everyone's attention, Lin Guantang was honored to walk to the only seat in the same row with Jing Maoxun.
The personal secretary standing on the other side of Jing Maoxun was Hermes.
Lin Guantang only exchanged glances with Hermes, and in the face of the other's half-smile, he looked away as if nothing had happened, not intending to have too much communication with him at this time.
After he sat down, Jing Maoxun started to greet him, acting like a respected senior, and pretentiously asked for simple personal information, such as age and background...
Boring Q&A.
However, the other party did not intend to reveal the real purpose of this performance for the time being, so Lin Guantang answered a few questions without any objection.
During this process, many guests came in one after another.
Most of them were people they knew but not too familiar with. They would just nod and smile, or say a few simple greetings, until they saw Shao Qingbai walk in reluctantly with a sour face.
"Haitang!"
Of course Shao Qingbai also noticed him. He first showed a look of surprise, then walked up to him with great guilt, and actually apologized first:
"I'm sorry, if I hadn't come here with you, my sister and classmates—"
"Mr. Shao."
Hermes interrupted him and said with a smile:
"Today is a happy day. The old man finally gets to go out. Don't talk about these irrelevant and bad topics."
What do you mean by irrelevant and bad topics?!
Shao Qingbai glared at him, looking like he wanted to beat him up.
But there will be no chance to take action.
Soon, Shao Qingbai was forcibly pulled back by his haggard and resentful mother. His father also suppressed his emotions that seemed like grief and worry, gave a forced smile and greeted him, then hurried to his seat.
But even these few words were enough for Lin Guantang to guess something.
Shao Qingzhu, who escaped, was probably captured and used as a hostage just like Ge Xihe.
Use her to threaten her family to participate in the celebration performance, or use this to threaten her family to change their allegiance - if you want to control the imperial capital, you always need the support of the police station.
Taking Shao Qingzhu as an example, her parents' previous pressure on her to marry was not necessarily because they did not care about her life at all, but more because of the deep-rooted bad habits they inherited.
Judging from the information Lin Guantang had - the contact between him and Shao Qingbai and Shao Qingzhu, and the seemingly unintentional but actually very obvious initiative to chat with Shao's father after several parliamentary sessions - he wanted him to convey some concern on his behalf.
It was obvious that her parents had known her whereabouts for a long time and knew that she had some kind of contact with Lin Guantang.
However, after a series of shocks such as "being tricked into an entertainment venue" and "being abused and having her glands cut off" and a long and fruitless search, everything that happened in O College probably made her parents re-examine the issue of her engagement, including more free topics.
In short, after finding her trace, he did not bring her back by force. Instead, he secretly tried to give her the help she needed, sent out certain secret signals that he wanted to reconcile with her, and patiently waited for the time when she chose to return.
Of course, Shao Qingzhu also felt the temptation and flattery of this silence, but he had not yet decided whether to confess.
She wasn't sure whether these flattering signals were just a trick to lure her back or if they were genuine, so she continued to wander around, volunteering with charity organizations.
——Speaking of this, it means she no longer has to worry about being discovered and caught, and no longer has to rack her brains to hide her whereabouts.
This should be a good thing.
But now she is being used by someone with ulterior motives, who kidnaps her and threatens her parents and brother.
It's not just about using her to threaten her relatives and family.
According to Shao Qingbai's interrupted speech and the performance of the cadets who came here, some of them were probably staying in the academy as bargaining chips to threaten others to come and participate in this performance.
——Considering that almost all the military academy students present were accompanied by their elders and were all wearing expensive clothes, it could be more accurate.
Those who were left in the military academy as bargaining chips were alphas of civilian origin, while those brought here were all descendants of famous nobles.
The purpose of doing this is...
While Lin Guantang lowered his eyes in thought, the performance had already begun.
The host's speech interrupted Lin Guantang's thoughts. He looked up and saw You Guangyu standing in the center of the stage in gorgeous clothes.
When he met Lin Guantang's gaze, You Guangyu seemed to feel guilty and quickly looked away.
Oh, I remember now. Since he is a cousin of Jian Yinglai, he is naturally related to Jing Maoxun. Moreover, he has never concealed his goal of becoming the most perfect omega. It is only appropriate for him to host this performance that is attended by many distinguished guests.
But...for a performance, according to convention, shouldn't there be at least two people?
Everyone who came to participate in the performance today is a heavyweight, at least five or six people.
——The reason why there was only one host was quickly explained.
After signaling the audience to be quiet, You Guangyu began to introduce the process and program of the performance.
It is mainly divided into three parts.
First, there were speeches by guests including Jing Maoxun——
That's for sure. Even if the old man hadn't prepared in advance, it would be inappropriate not to introduce himself and ask him to come on stage and say a few words since it's a rare opportunity for him to come out.
Secondly, it is a comprehensive introduction to the personal resumes of all O College students——
When he heard this, Lin Guantang frowned. Shouldn't the performance introduce the specific programs? Why was the focus on the classmates? It didn't sound like a performance, but like... an auction.
What You Guangyu said next made his ominous premonition come true.
The final step is to let the nobles present take a fancy to which omega——
If both are nobles and present at the scene, they can get married on the spot;
If you come from a poor family, you can just raise your sign and select someone on the spot.
If two or more people are interested in the same omega, they can state their own advantages on the spot and let the chosen omega make the choice.
That's a really thoughtful note.
Lin Guantang sneered in his heart. He already understood what the content of this performance was.
An unmistakable omega auction;
A blow that completely knocked him into the mire;
A night that completely separated A and O, common people and nobles.
A and O, nobles and commoners—
It really exacerbates conflicts.
With such a small performance, months or even years of efforts by many people were destroyed, and the conflicts that had been greatly eased were pushed into more intense division and hostility.
Lin Guantang suspected that Jing Maoxun's goal was not to gain the empire, but to destroy the empire.
However, what he should be more worried about now is his own survival.
The series of developments concerning All O College marked a turning point in Lin Guantang's career.
Before his live broadcast about completely changing the entire O Academy, he was just a popular internet celebrity because of his good looks, and he was not much different from other good-looking anchors.
Only after that did he truly become a truly influential figure, and began his new destiny of gathering power and embarking on a political career.
If all the students of O College were judged and assigned one by one like commodities in front of him today, not to mention whether his classmates would transfer their hatred to him, his reputation among the people would definitely plummet, and he would go from being a savior praised by everyone to a degenerate hated by everyone.
Because he deceived everyone.
He took advantage of everyone's hopes to rise to a high position, but after being promoted to that position, he chose to sacrifice all his classmates just to be a tail-wagging dog for the nobles.
No matter how many explanations or difficulties he has, it will be of no avail. It will only provide more material for the people to mock him.
But he is alone and helpless now, what can he do?
Lin Guantang lowered his eyes and said nothing. The light shone on his body, leaving only a layer of tired shadow.
After the process introduction, Omega’s appearance will follow.
All omegas were forced to wear school uniforms, and most of them were locked in other empty classrooms, projected around this conference room through interactive screens.
Another group of selected omegas were urged to rush into the conference room and wait at the window nearby, like merchandise being previewed by the people in the audience.
I don’t know what kind of hardships they had endured in the past week that caused them to suffer such humiliation, but they remained motionless and silent, only their eyes uncontrollably conveying emotions of fear, terror, resentment and hatred.
Especially when they saw Lin Guantang, these omegas became obviously excited.
The blaming look filled with anger, resentment, and pain was like a blade scraping against Lin Guantang, causing him to feel as if he were being cut into pieces.
He didn't have to guess, and he knew that no matter what his classmates experienced during this period of isolation, it was probably because of him.
——That must have been a very bad experience, which caused their emotions to be expressed in such overwhelmingly negative ways.
but--
Amidst the intense pain, he could still feel countless eyes filled with hope staring at him.
In front of him, behind him, and in all directions, almost everyone's eyes were on him, all watching to see what he would do.
But he just sat there in silence.
Several scolding voices of varying pitches came from behind.
Those young alphas who were confused at first finally understood the purpose of asking them to come here. After some hesitation, some of them bravely stood up to protest, saying that this was an unfair and unjust act - but they were quickly pulled away and stopped from making noise.
Although only a few people had the courage and stood up, Lin Guantang just lowered his head and remained silent, like a flower branch broken by a rainstorm, unable to raise his head again.
From Jing Maoxun's perspective, his pain, anger, and helplessness, as well as his self-blame and guilt, can be seen clearly.
He had just suffered the blow of his lover's death and lost his greatest support. Now he had to watch his classmates suffer because of him, and he could do nothing about it. This had plunged him into eternal darkness.
But that's not enough.
Perhaps people are very keen on arranging marriages when they get old, and they can't bear to see a young and beautiful woman's husband die before she even enters the house.
Or maybe they thought that Lin Guantang, as the most famous omega, should lead by example—
Or simply to humiliate him—
Jing Maoxun began to enthusiastically recommend one of his grandsons named Jian. Although he was not a biological grandson, he had a good family background, and his appearance, temperament, and abilities were very suitable for Lin Guantang. It would be better for them to re-enter the marriage palace instead of living alone in an ice coffin.
After he finished speaking, he received no response, but only smelled a faint smell of blood.
Glancing sideways, I saw that Lin Guantang had actually bitten his lip, or perhaps he had vomited blood out of anger.
In short, there was a terrible bloody mess on his lips and mouth, but he just wiped it away with a tissue, although blood immediately gushed out of the wound again.
"I know what you're planning."
Lin Guantang felt a pain in his mouth, but he didn't care.
He pulled out a specially printed document, pressed it on the desk, pushed it to the side, and said expressionlessly:
"I've already had a sterilization operation. Even if I'm forced to do something today, there's no way I'll give birth to a child for you to brainwash and exploit from a young age."
"You think these kids are led astray because I've brainwashed them."
Jing Maoxun chuckled and said meaningfully:
"Natural union is not the only way to create offspring."
Lin Guantang retorted:
"Just like maintaining youthfulness, there's more to it than just cosmetic surgery."
"You seem very ill-intentioned towards me."
"Shouldn't it be?"
Lin Guantang did not hide his disgust. Now that things had come to this, there was no need for any more.
Involving the death of his lover and today's sinister performance, he did not overturn the table in class, which was already very humble.
Jing Maoxun forgave him for his verbal offense and said with emotion:
"What a touching friendship. However, you still hold on to the idea that he will be resurrected, that he can live and continue to support you. Without the chip, he has lost his life. Has he or his grandfather been honest with you about this?"
“It’s you!”
Lin Guantang suddenly looked up at him, his teeth chattering, his tone uncontrollably filled with hatred and excitement. He was talking about the Fugan District and the leak of secrets many years ago.
But things have passed, the goal has been achieved, and there is no point in saying these things.
Jing Maoxun ignored his anger and continued:
"Without the Huo family as your biggest support, you should know very well how difficult your future will be."
"Then there's no way I'll surrender to you."
Lin Guantang looked at him without dodging, his blue eyes burning with a clear flame:
"I would rather die than be used by you."
"To die for one's cause, to express one's will through death, is an interesting choice."
Jing Maoxun laughed and said slowly:
"But if you choose to commit suicide, or continue to cling to your so-called ridiculous integrity, who knows what will happen to your kind."
This is a thinly veiled threat.
Lin Guantang couldn't help but grit his teeth and immediately wanted to stand up and do something, but as soon as he moved slightly, Hermes' gaze was cast towards him.
The man in black standing next to him suddenly pressed down on his shoulders, preventing him from moving. He could only say viciously:
"You have lost all conscience and will never die a good death!"
"Cursing is meaningless."
Jing Maoxun stood up because he had been repeatedly requested by the host and guests at the venue to go on stage and give a speech.
Before leaving his seat, he took one last look at the furious junior next to him.
People are too small and too incompetent, so even extreme anger seems pitiful.
In response to his curse, Jing Maoxun simply sneered and completely forgot about it.
Then, under the gaze of Lin Guantang, who was in pain and anger, and gradually became silent and indifferent, under the gaze of countless specially invited guests behind him, and under the gaze of those omegas, he walked to the center of the podium and began his speech as the ultimate winner.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
