Then let them offer their loyalty!

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Chapter 288 Vice Speaker Confirmed! (10,000 words, please vote!)

As for which shelter's upper management to cultivate relationships with?

Qiu Tu had already made up his mind—Old Wang.

In the past few days, he also learned about the factional distribution of the Eighth Sanctuary from Tang Feifei.

According to Tang Feifei, the Eighth Shelter was only established a little over a decade ago, which was the peak period of factional integration and division.

Within the three major institutions, there are more than a dozen factions of varying sizes.

The six largest are: the Iron-Blooded Faction, the Fengtian Clique, the Freedom and Democracy Faction, the Local Armed Alliance, the Academic Faction, and the Reform Faction.

Among them, the Iron-Blooded Faction is the largest faction in the Eighth Sanctuary. Its leader is Rao Shou, the Speaker of the Supreme Council, and its main sphere of influence is the military.

Most of the middle and upper echelons of the Iron-Blooded Faction came from the military. They were either Rao Shou's former subordinates or military leaders and warlords with whom he had good relations.

Therefore, they control the most powerful armed forces and army in the Eighth Sanctuary.

The second-ranked group is the Fengtian Clique. The name Fengtian Clique comes from the former site of the Eighth Shelter, Fengtian City.

This is a faction with regional characteristics. Its main members are the three major political families around Fengtian City: the Tang family, the Zhou family, and the Song family.

These three political families were already powerful clans with centuries of history before the cataclysm. Although the cataclysm caused them to lose a significant portion of their strength, they still produced many talented individuals within their families, and their trusted followers were all highly capable.

The Eighth Shelter was originally built with Rao Shou as its framework and them as its flesh and blood.

Therefore, their influence extends to various departments within the city hall and the investigation department.

Tang Feifei is a direct descendant of this faction.

The third major force is the academic faction. The academic faction is considered an outsider.

During the construction of the Eighth Shelter, the Third, Sixth, and Seventh Shelters all provided some support.

The biggest support they provided was helping to establish a comprehensive talent system and training institutions, namely the Eighth Sanctuary Officer Academy.

Officers who graduated from military academies naturally possess the attributes of this faction. People like Huang Shangzong, Yan Chen, Jia Shu, Yu Zhengyi, and Shi Youxin all belong to this faction.

Due to the training mechanism, the main sphere of influence of the "Academic Faction" is the Investigation Bureau and the military.

The fourth major force is the local armed alliance.

Although the establishment of the Eighth Shelter was led by a powerful warlord like Rao Shou, it also gathered together some small and medium-sized armed forces.

To avoid being swallowed up by Rao Shou, they spontaneously formed a close alliance and, with the support of the Third Shelter, gained a foothold in the Eighth Shelter.

In the fourth year, he successfully obtained a seat as vice speaker and gained his own influence.

The fifth and sixth major factions are different from the previous four.

The first four factions are either factional or regional, while the fifth and sixth factions are ideological factions:

The liberal democratic faction and the reformists.

The former was created by a powerful figure who had a huge influence even before the cataclysm.

He was one of the founders of the Eighth Sanctuary, and his main political proposition was to restore pre-disaster freedom and democracy, namely, universal suffrage.

The "liberal democracy" movement advocates granting all adult citizens in asylums the right to vote, regardless of their status, gender, or wealth.

They demanded that laws be enacted to protect the democratic nature of shelters and limit the power of shelter administrators.

The latter (the reformists) were founded by Wang Jingwei. Their main political proposition was to reform the political system!

The main political demands are: to break the rule of the upper echelons of the shelters, to open up upward mobility channels for middle-level staff, and to conduct reasonable democratic selection.

However, since these two factions are "ideological factions" and do not have their own political "base" like the previous four factions, their influence is much smaller.

However, as shelters develop rapidly, the awareness of the middle class and the general public has awakened, and the power of these two factions has grown stronger.

This is also a major reason why the Supreme Council has added two vice-speaker positions in recent years and brought them into the council.

After learning about all the factions from Tang Feifei, Qiu Tu did a simple calculation.

If he wasn't mistaken, Ye Mingfeng was the "Iron-Blooded Faction," while Yan Chen was the "Academic Faction."

Committee Member Jiang is most likely a member of the "liberal democracy faction" or the "reformist faction"—because he and Tang Feifei don't seem to be very familiar with each other.

Furthermore, by analyzing the relationship between Dai Yukang, Qin Shuman, and Ye Mingfeng, it's highly likely that they are also part of the "Iron-Blooded Faction."

Tang Feifei belonged to the Fengtian Clique, while Liu Xiongyuan belonged to the Reformists.

Therefore, high-ranking officials or those in reserve for high-ranking positions in major cities must indeed have factional backgrounds, just as Tang Feifei said.

Qiu Tu only had access to three factions: the Iron-Blooded Faction, the Fengtian Faction, and the Reform Faction.

The first two factions are very powerful, and... Qiu Tu is quite different from their standards. Even if he could join, he would be a marginal figure and wouldn't get much support.

Therefore, after considering all the options, the "reformist" faction is still the most suitable for Qiu Tu.

It's no wonder that after Liu Xiongyuan recognized him, he immediately took him to see Old Wang; and when Tang Feifei found out, she didn't try to "keep" him—the reformists were indeed the best place for Qiu Tu now.

With this in mind, and after going through the details of the six major factions in the shelter in his mind, Qiu Tu no longer hesitated.

He picked up his communicator, preparing to call Liu Xiongyuan and formally pledge allegiance to the "reformists."

Have Liu Xiong Yuan recommend him to the higher-ups within the "Reformist Faction." Then, using his status as one of the initiators of the "Boundless Heart Sea Expansion Project," get him promoted again...

Picking up the special communicator used to contact Liu Xiong Yuan, Qiu Tu pressed the number and then held the communicator to his ear...

at the same time.

When Qiu Tu made the phone call, Tan Huimin was still in the living room and hadn't left.

To be honest, she hadn't really realized what was happening yet.

She originally came to Qiu Tu's villa today with a feeling of "the wind is howling and the Yi River is cold".

She thought that Zheng Tao's disappearance yesterday, and Qiu Tu's invitation to come to her house today, were all part of Qiu Tu's scheme.

Qiu Tu intended to use Zheng Tao's safety as leverage to force her to comply.

Therefore, before coming to Qiu Tu's villa, Tan Huimin had already prepared herself to lose her virginity to Qiu Tu.

This is also why she treated Qiu Tu coldly when she first entered the house—she hated this man who had hurt her ex-husband and humiliated her.

However...when she arrived at the villa, Tan Huimin discovered that everything was not as she had imagined.

Qiu Tu not only did not lay a hand on her, but also gave her some space and provided her with some materials.

That document was a statement from her ex-husband, Zheng Tao.

In his confession, Zheng Tao recounted in detail how he obtained her and how he slaughtered her entire family.

To be honest, Tan Huimin's hands were shaking when she was looking at that statement.

Although she was influenced by the "rosemary love drug" and fell in love with Zheng Tao, she was not stupid!

Many things from back then were suspicious, but because Zheng Tao brainwashed her and she was all alone, she selectively ignored them.

Now that the whole truth is laid bare before her, how could she not distinguish between what is real and what is fake!

So, she broke down and despaired.

So... when Qiu Tu appeared in front of her, she wanted to vent everything on him and hurt the man who had told her the truth!

To put it bluntly, she has been living in a false dream for years, so she finds it hard to accept returning to reality.

Unexpectedly, although Qiu Tu stopped her madness, he was not angry with her. Instead, he still arranged a way for her to verify the truth of the matter.

Thinking about this... for a moment, Tan Huimin felt somewhat lost.

She found herself somewhat unsure how to deal with Qiu Tu.

Was Qiu Tu her benefactor or her enemy?

How should she face Qiu Tu and Zheng Tao in the future?

Thinking this, she stared blankly at Qiu Tu for a while. Then she slowly got up and, following Qiu Tu's instructions, prepared to go to the security office to see her "husband".

Although she had almost come to believe it all, she still wanted to hear her ex-husband admit it with his own ears.

As for what she will do after admitting it?

She hadn't decided yet.

Revenge against Zheng Tao?

But what kind of revenge could make Zheng Tao suffer as much as I have?

Thinking this, Tan Huimin left the villa in a daze, then got into the security department's car and headed towards the security office...

At that moment, she had absolutely no idea where her future would lead her...

......

Meanwhile.

Qiu Tu didn't know where his future path would lead him.

He listened to Liu Xiongyuan's secretary's words through the receiver, looking completely bewildered.

"I'm sorry, Minister Qiu. Director Liu has just been promoted to a fourth-tier Cataclysm and is currently in seclusion for recuperation. It is expected to take about three days."

"Before he went into seclusion, he specifically instructed me to write down what you said if I received a call from you, and to contact you as soon as he came out of seclusion."

Upon hearing what Liu Xiongyuan's secretary said, Qiu Tu asked incredulously, "Director Liu has already been promoted to the fourth rank?"

When was he promoted?

The secretary said with a smile, "It started last night. It was successful this morning."

"Director Liu was also lucky. After accumulating experience for so many years, and then obtaining the 'Boundless Divine Crystal,' his breakthrough was just a natural progression."

"Furthermore, the 'Boundless Divine Crystals' he left for you have already been prepared. He will hand them over to you when he emerges from seclusion."

Qiu Tu: .....

Does Qiu Tu care about the "Boundless Divine Crystal"? He cares about his future!

His path to catastrophe is unique; unlike other catastrophe victims who can break through through external forces, he must be bound to an official position.

Therefore, getting promoted was far more important to him than any kind of catastrophic material.

As a result, at the most crucial moment, Liu Xiongyuan actually went into seclusion for three days!?

Qiu Tu looked completely bewildered.

Three days... the daylily has gone cold!

Given the importance of the "Boundless Ocean of the Mind Development Project," everything was finalized in just three days!

Uncle Liu! I was thinking that since you don't have a son, I could take care of you in your old age and see you off in your final days as your nephew, but you've turned out to be playing me?!

For a moment, Qiu Tu was speechless.

After hanging up the phone, Qiu Tu's mind was torn between "letting luck run out" and "taking another chance".

It all depends on luck... whether Old Wang still remembers me.

I remember, so the matter of me becoming the Minister of the Political Department was probably just a matter of him giving me a glance.

I don't remember; all of that is over.

As for taking another gamble... that would mean continuing to sell oneself.

Now, the only connection Qiu Tu can rely on is Tang Feifei.

He could simply bury himself in work for a few more days and nights to take good care of Tang Feifei. Then the "Fengtian Clique" would step in and help him out.

However, this would inevitably brand him with the mark of the Fengtian clique. It's uncertain whether this will affect his future development...

After hanging up the call, Qiu Tu stood quietly by the window for a while.

In the end, he made up his mind: to take a gamble!

In any industry or in any matter, it's a matter of either moving forward or falling behind!

When an opportunity presents itself, giving it up could mean missing out on everything!

Moreover, given the current chaotic and catastrophic world, what future is there?

The present is the future!

Only by making the most of the present can we have a future!