Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 485

"It seems like we really won't get anything."

"So believe it if you want, or don't, it doesn't matter to me."

After saying that, Guan Xiao pursed her lips with a "pop," made sure her makeup was perfect, put the lipstick in her pocket, and then turned to leave.

Watching her retreating figure, Shen Lingshuang hesitated, hesitated again, and hesitated once more, but in the end, she was moved.

That's how the two of them suddenly became incredibly close.

During this time, Guan Xiao also taught Shen Lingshuang many little tricks that Qiu Tu liked even more.

For example, she's understanding, she's good at undressing, she's obedient when Qiu Tu is irritable, and she's a little mischievous when Qiu Tu is in a good mood, and she tries her best to help Qiu Tu solve problems when he encounters difficulties, etc.

In short, it boils down to three points: providing emotional value, providing physical value, and providing value through one's own abilities...

During this time, Shen Lingshuang felt that her relationship with Qiu Tu was growing every day, thanks to these three tips!

This made her relationship with Guan Xiao even better...

Now, she has learned to observe and learn on her own when Guan Xiao is facing Qiu Tu.

For example... This morning, she learned from Guan Xiao's shocking slap in the face that she should not only help Qiu Tu solve his problems when he encounters difficulties.

We should have anticipated Qiu Tu's difficulties before he even encountered them!

For example... now... she has also learned to remember Qiu Tu's every habit, so that she can provide him with what he wants when he needs it.

Thinking this, Shen Lingshuang came back to her senses and continued to observe Guan Xiao and Qiu Tu's interaction...

After exchanging information with Guan Xiao, Qiu Tu nodded with a serious expression, and then gave a few instructions and arrangements.

Immediately afterwards, Guan Xiao went out, while Qiu Tu, with one hand in his pocket, smoked a cigarette and walked to the window, seemingly lost in thought.

It has to be said that Qiu Tu was a natural clothes hanger. With his handsome face, strong body, and the air of authority he had cultivated in his high position, he simply strolled around like a model walking a runway, a sight to behold.

Upon seeing this, Shen Lingshuang was slightly lost in thought, and her little face flushed slightly.

However, she knew that now was not the time to be infatuated, so she quickly shook her head and banished those strange thoughts from her mind!

Then her mind raced, and she quickly went to pour a glass of water, running over and handing it to Qiu Tu. "Qiu Tu~ Your throat is dry from smoking, have some water."

Perhaps not expecting Shen Lingshuang to have such insight, Qiu Tu looked at her with obvious surprise before reaching out to take the water glass and taking a sip.

After finishing his water, Qiu Tu stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and then casually asked, "By the way, Ling Shuang, are you an only child?"

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Shen Ling Shuang blinked in confusion.

Although she didn't understand why Qiu Tu asked that question, and... why he had suddenly become so interested in her these past two days, she still remembered what Guan Xiao had taught her:

A smart woman does what her man tells her to do without asking or inquiring.

He'll tell you if he wants to. And even if you're incredibly curious, you can ask him after everything is over.

Asking probing questions while things are in progress will only make an already irritable man even more irritable.

Thinking this, she shook her head cutely and said, "No. I'm an only child."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu nodded and then smiled as he patted her head.

Shen Lingshuang felt the palm was warm, comfortable, and made her feel safe, so she closed her eyes and enjoyed it like a kitten...

.....

News of the special catastrophic artifact spread quickly, and soon Tao Yaoyao also took the initiative to come in and report the news to Qiu Tu.

Clearly, she also obtained this information from her intelligence network.

However, the speaker and members of the state legislature managed to maintain some basic rationality and composure at this critical moment. So, although the news spread quickly, it did not reach lower levels and remained only known to the middle and upper management.

Even so, Qiu Tu knew this matter wouldn't drag on any longer. Neither Huang Shangzong nor the state council would allow public opinion to fester; they would definitely reach a consensus beforehand and then prepare for war!

Therefore, that evening, the second meeting of the Speakers' Council after Qiu Tu became Vice Speaker was held on the top floor again...

Stepping through the four-meter-wide double doors, Qiu Tu entered the conference room, which resembled a small palace.

Liu Xiongyuan, Dai Yukang, and Li Tingdong were already in the conference room. Only Huang Shangzong and Ye Mingfeng were absent.

Upon seeing Qiu Tu enter, Dai Yukang adjusted his frameless glasses and smiled, nodding at Qiu Tu.

The old man, Liu Xiongyuan, casually raised his hand and waved. His dark face was full of indifference, as if he was ready to retire at any time.

Only Li Tingdong was still holding a pile of documents, writing and drawing incessantly.

Because he was a fourth-order Cataclysm, Qiu Tu was able to see the contents of the documents at a glance.

It seems to be an economic analysis of the city "Wuhai City" under its jurisdiction.

Because some of the text and numbers were obscured by Li Tingdong's arm, but judging from the numerous "red crosses" or "circles," the situation doesn't seem very optimistic...?

Qiu Tu calmly took in everything in the conference room, then walked to his seat and sat down.

As soon as he sat down, Dai Yukang, who was sitting next to him, took off his glasses, wiped them, and said with emotion, "Speaker Qiu, thank goodness you discovered the 'Blood Sacrifice Mark' in time. Otherwise, our Dongye Prefecture would have been utterly humiliated this time."

Hearing Dai Yukang's words, Qiu Tu leaned back in his chair, turned to look at him, and asked curiously, "Is the matter resolved?"

Dai Yukang nodded slightly and then said, "It's resolved. We urgently transferred a batch of 'Cleansing Spring Water' from the shelter at considerable cost to wash away the 'blood sacrifice marks' from those thousands of prisoners, thus saving their lives."

At this point, Dai Yukang paused, then said gently, "However, even so, this afternoon several cities still saw sudden deaths and people turning into mummies."

"It must be the 'blood sacrifice mark' that's been triggered on those remaining anti-government elements who haven't been apprehended yet?"

Hearing Dai Yukang's words, Qiu Tu nodded slightly, then said coldly, "This was the path they chose themselves."

"To defect to anti-government forces is an unforgivable crime."

"We've already done a great deed by saving so many people."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Dai Yukang smiled, put his frameless glasses back on his nose, and then echoed, "Yes...they have been engaging in riots, which is a capital offense."

"We've already done more than enough by rescuing a group of prisoners. It's impossible to save everyone."

"Leaving aside the manpower and resources, just consider the impact on ourselves: as long as those nearly 4000 prisoners do not die in one place, the deaths of a few hundred or a thousand strangers in a dozen cities are nothing at all."

"At least... the disaster zone can no longer take advantage of the situation to launch an attack."

"It's just a pity... they didn't find a pretext for launching an attack with the 'Blood Sacrifice Mark' in the disaster zone, but they found a new one—searching for a special disaster material."

At this point, Dai Yukang changed the subject, turned to look at Qiu Tu, and suddenly said, "By the way, Speaker Qiu, did you know anything about that special disaster material during your interrogation?"

After speaking, Dai Yukang, behind his glasses, had a smile on his face, but his eyes were full of sharpness and shrewdness.

Qiu Tu had always thought that Dai Yukang was just chatting with him, so he didn't raise his guard. So when Dai Yukang revealed his true intentions, cold sweat instantly broke out on his palms!

Fortunately, Qiu Tu had already prepared his speech before he arrived.

So, he said calmly, "Special disaster materials? I know about them."

“I not only know about this, but Speaker Liu also knows about it.”

"Oh? Speaker Liu knows about this too?" Upon hearing this, Dai Yukang couldn't help but look up at Liu Xiongyuan opposite him.

While Dai Yukang and Qiu Tu were chatting, Liu Xiongyuan pulled out a peach from somewhere and was gnawing on it with his mouth full of yellow teeth.

Seeing Dai Yukang looking over, he stopped what he was doing, grinned, and asked, "What? Director Dai wants to eat my peaches?"

Dai Yukang smiled and shook his head. "Peaches have too high a sugar content, which may irritate the oral and pharyngeal mucosa and cause gum bleeding. That's why I don't like them."

Upon hearing Dai Yukang's words, Liu Xiongyuan chuckled, his dark face full of mischief. "A Cataclysm living so meticulously must mean he's too weak."

"If you were like me and Speaker Qiu, a fourth-tier Cataclysm, you could eat a peach, or even chew on bricks every day without breaking your teeth!"

Dai Yukang: ....

Qiu Tu: .....

That's how Liu Xiongyuan is; he ruthlessly crushes everyone on equal terms.

Moreover... his way of roasting people has another amazing effect. That is, even if it's an incredibly vulgar remark, and it's blunt and completely without any ulterior motive, just roasting and roasting! But... he can still achieve his goal perfectly.

After he finished speaking, Dai Yukang, who had originally wanted to test him, suddenly didn't know where to begin.

So after pausing for two seconds, Dai Yukang smiled, stopped talking, and looked at Qiu Tu, preparing to continue testing him.

But... Qiu Tu is shrewd, and... his greatest skill is using someone else's strength against them. So when he saw Liu Xiong Yuan break Dai Yu Kang's momentum with a single sentence, he casually picked up a document and started reading, ignoring Dai Yu Kang completely.

Dai Yukang: .....

Seeing that Qiu Tu was ignoring him, Dai Yukang glanced at Qiu Tu, who was looking down at the documents, and then at Liu Xiongyuan, who was eating a peach with his head held high. He smiled helplessly and finally withdrew his probing.

While the three were engaged in a silent struggle, Li Tingdong, who was also in the conference room, seemed completely oblivious, continuing to review documents with his head down.

Now that the three had calmed down, he looked up, glanced at them expressionlessly, and then continued working with his head down.

Soon after, Huang Shangzong and Ye Mingfeng arrived together.

Tang Feifei is currently stationed in the New Territories and the incident occurred suddenly, so she will be absent from this Speaker's Meeting.

With all six speakers present, the four-meter-high double doors of the conference room slowly closed from the outside, shutting out the darkness outside the luxurious conference room. Only the lights on the ceiling of the corridor struggled to emit their glow.

Once seated at the head of the table, Huang Shangzong demonstrated his responsibility as speaker by clenching his fist and slamming it on the table, thus setting the tone for the entire meeting!

He swept his piercing eyes over all the vice-speakers present and said in a firm and forceful voice, "This is an attempt to sow discord!"

"Undoubtedly a provocation!"

"That special cataclysmic material doesn't exist in this world; it's something the enemy fabricated to demoralize our troops!"

"In this way, he can have a legitimate reason to attack, while also making us suspicious and distrustful of each other!"

"If this continues, Dongye Prefecture will likely fall into chaos on its own without them even lifting a finger, allowing them to take advantage of the situation!"

Upon hearing Huang Shangzong's words, the vice speakers all nodded slightly.

These people are all shrewd; regardless of whether this matter is true or false, it can only be false.

Otherwise, before the battle even begins, the middle and upper management of Dongye Prefecture would probably be in chaos.

At this moment, Ye Mingfeng also spoke up.

He said coldly, "Fortunately, before this incident, Speaker Qiu had purged the entire Dongye Prefecture."

"Otherwise... what if this news is deliberately spread by anti-government spies and agents?"

"The morale of the troops may even waver."

"After all, soldiers are human too, and they are unwilling to fight to the death for some unknown catastrophe material."

"Now that their manpower has been removed and no one is helping to spread the virus, everything is under control."

"We must unify our thinking and our statements, and not let the other side take advantage of us."

Hearing Ye Mingfeng's words, Dai Yukang adjusted his frameless glasses slightly and then said, "I think... although the other side's spies have been removed, this matter will still spread. It's just a matter of time."

"At that time, things might still get chaotic down below."

"So...we can modify their conditions a bit, promote it ourselves, and turn a bad thing into a good thing."

Huang Shangzong looked at him and asked, "Oh? Director Dai has a method?"

Dai Yukang said with a half-smile, "Just a little idea."

After saying that, he said, "I think... we should make it public that we're deploying troops in the disaster zone on the border, and then negotiate with the state."

“We demand that the state cede three cities; select 500 young and beautiful women from each of the 16 cities, for a total of 8000; 1000 goldfish; and 100 special disaster materials, and only then will they be willing to withdraw their troops.”

"Otherwise, they would sweep across the entire Dongye Prefecture and massacre people for three days and three nights."

"This way, the soldiers can be united in their hatred of the enemy, and it will be of no use if the real information is leaked."

"After all, if two pieces of information have some similarities, most people would suspect that it is one piece of information but has been misrepresented as another version."

"And because of preconceived notions, coupled with official propaganda, they naturally tend to believe the first one more."

“We can even use some of our ‘bargains,’ such as goldfish, to boost the morale of our soldiers.”

"When the soldiers are in high spirits, their fighting ability is high, and who knows, they might even lose a few more men."

"Killing many birds with one stone".

Upon hearing Dai Yukang's words, the people present reacted as follows: ....

Although this plan was insidious and manipulated hundreds of thousands of soldiers, it was indeed very effective.

So after a moment's hesitation, seeing that no one present was willing to take on the responsibility, Huang Shangzong made the final decision and approved the plan.

With the speakers reaching a consensus, the massive political machine of the state legislature immediately began to operate at full speed.

The resources that a state can mobilize are enormous, and when the top leaders reach a consensus, the power that can be unleashed is even more astonishing.