Chapter 359: The Risk of Falling Out of Favor

Sitting at the counter, Ling Ping’an was still savoring the taste of the roasted mushrooms.

“It’s really delicious…” he said, “It’s just a little little…”

Meow!

The kitten beside the counter agreed with its owner.

It casually turned on the television, and there was a debate show on it.

Such a debate show usually had a strong sense of legitimacy in the federal empire.

Academic and governing had been intertwined since ancient times!

However, the current academic debate was very peaceful.

Everyone was a modest gentleman who would stop at nothing and surrender half of it.

In fact, it was not as tragic as a few hundred years ago. At that time, if one lost academically, even their physical body could be destroyed!

The different party struggles of the previous dynasty had made the country a mess.

Therefore, after the founding of Taizu, he was deeply evil!

In the next hundred years, the construction of the entire country was also centered around ‘going to the party struggles’.

Until today, the election game of the Datong Party and the Gonghe Party was actually somewhat similar to that of the ministers and doctors from two thousand years ago.

The people of the two parties were actually very loosely based on academic thoughts.

There were even people who often rebelled.

Today could be Datong Party, tomorrow could be Gonghe Party, and the day after that, they might feel that the idea of Datong Party is more in line with their mind.

And this was common in the federal empire. No one would feel that something was wrong.

It wasn’t something like deceiving one’s teacher, destroying one’s ancestors, or repeatedly being a villain.

On the contrary, this was considered to be ‘following the Dao’.

Hmm..

Scholars and officials have always followed the Dao and never followed the monarch.

If I felt that something is wrong, I would oppose it!

In addition, there was the so-called idea that if a gentleman had nothing to contend with, he would surely shoot.

This was also a debate.

Whether it was a mule or a horse, they had to drag it out for a walk.

What they had to do was to use this method to convince the people to choose the blueprint they had drawn up. Then, they would hand it over to the professional officials, which was the cabinet system, to carry out.

Finally, it was the special gentleman. It did not matter if they lost. As long as they did not lose too much, they could more or less get something.

Because according to the constitution, any party had to obtain more than 70% of the electoral votes before they could have the right to govern completely!

In other words, they had to recommend all the cabinet ministers and formulate all the policy lines.

But…

In fact, the self-proclaimed gentlemen of the university, even if they won more than 70% of the electoral votes.

It is also very gracious to invite the losers to work together for the country.

Of course, during the election, there was a lot of tension.

Like right now, the guest in the studio.

The Datong Party and the Gonghe Party are at war.

For the sake of the ‘Great Road’ that they firmly held in their hearts, saliva flew everywhere. They criticized each other and exposed each other’s shortcomings.

This kind of exposure was mainly due to the mistakes and scandals that the other party had committed in history.

For example, the Gonghe Party had always blamed the last time the Datong Party was in power. They had let loose the control of financial capital and caused the financial tsunami and the stock market disaster.

Meanwhile, the Datong Party had mainly seized the opportunity when the Gonghe party was in power. Some of the policies that they had designed had caused the economic downturn during the current cabinet term.

Ling Ping’an watched for a while and felt drowsy.

“What’s all this…” he ridiculed. “All this talk…”

“Actually, I prefer to watch you guys fight and expose your secrets…”

“It’s best to tear apart the image of a gentleman on those grand scholars!”

Young people always liked things that were a little more entertaining.

Of course, Ling Ping’an also knew that his idea was completely unrealistic.

How could serious national affairs be turned into entertainment?

After all, national affairs had to be serious and prudent!

That was why Taizu, Taizong, and Gaozong had formulated those decrees and policies during the political training period. They had even chopped off countless brains to pave the way.

He leaned back in his chair and looked at the time. It was almost ten o’clock.

“Oh…” He picked up his phone and glanced at the message his aunt had just sent him. “Have you arrived at the hotel in Nanzhou?”

He looked at the location of the photo: Nanzhou Kingdom, Jiangdu Port, Jiangdu Manor Hotel.

Just then, he sighed, “Another five-star hotel…”

“The treatment is so good!”

With a beep, another message came from his phone. “Little Ping’an, will you go to the capital’s Fellowship Party next month?”

Ling Ping’an found it strange. “How did you know about this?”

Hehehe…

A mountain man has his own connections!

Ling Ping’an shook his head. He knew that Aunty’s colleagues or friends had probably received the news.

So he typed a reply. “Hmm… I’m going to…”

…

Yay!

Chu Weiwei had just finished taking a bath when she suddenly heard the captain’s cheers in the living room.

She put on her bathrobe and walked out. She was extremely happy to see the captain holding his phone on the sofa.

“Captain, what’s the good news?” Chu Weiwei asked.

“My little nephew… is finally willing to go to the capital to participate in the Fellowship Party!” Li An’an clenched her fists and said happily.

She didn’t believe that her little nephew would be able to control himself in front of all the beauties in the world when he arrived in the capital?

If that was the case.

Then she would have to doubt her nephew’s orientation.

Chu Weiwei listened and did not quite understand.

But since the captain was happy, then it was a good thing!

…

Zhang Hui looked at the time. It was already ten o’clock.

He walked out of the car that had been in a daze for almost two hours and closed the car door.

Then, he took out the flashlight that he had not used for a long time and thought that it might never be used again.

He tried it, and the light from the flashlight was still very bright.

So he took it and walked forward.

He crossed the road and went around a quiet street.

In front of him was the industrial park.

He walked along the abandoned wall of the industrial park and soon arrived at an intersection.

He turned his head and looked at the Quiet Street. It was quiet, and only the street lights were flashing.

Zhang Hui took a light breath.

Then, he took the flashlight and turned on the power, shining it forward.

The strong light shone on the fog.

At some point, everything around him had changed.

He was surrounded by the fog.

But Zhang Hui had been here once, so he was not surprised.

He took the flashlight and walked forward.

In the depths of the fog in the distance, there was a flickering light.

As he walked, Zhang Hui thought.

“This time…”

“My mission is to find out his opinion on the construction of the neighborhood…”

If he opposed it…

Naturally, everything would not be mentioned.

If he acquiesced…

Zhang Hui began to plan in his heart.

There was a lot of land here that could be developed.

It could be taken over by the cabinet and built into a dormitory for the children of meritorious people, key research institutions, and potential new stars.

Using the situation of the country to develop, build, and distribute this area.

This was Zhang Hui’s idea.

In his opinion, rich private capital or transcendent being didn’t have the right to distribute these benefits.

Because they did not bear any obligations and responsibilities, all the risks were borne by the Blackguard.

It could not be said that the Blackguard took all the risks, but the benefits were taken by them, right?

There was no such logic!

Of course…

Zhang Hui understood that his plan must be approved and accepted by the owner of the bookstore.

If he did not nod, he could not do anything.

Because…

Everything here and in the vicinity was brought by him.

In a sense, the blackguard had already been classified as a diplomatic consulate in the vicinity.

This was both a respect for the other party.

It was also a respect for himself.

Thinking of this, Zhang Hui slowly walked to the entrance of the mysterious bookstore.

Raising his head, Zhang Hui could feel that there seemed to be water-like liquid slowly flowing on the seemingly ordinary exterior wall of the building.

In his soul, there was an inexplicable voice saying to him, “That is one of the incarnations of the nameless fog…”

“Nameless Fog?” Zhang Hui memorized this honorific title. “An unknown ancient god?”

He had been cultivating the book of reason for quite some time.

As a result, he also understood who wrote this book?

It must be an ancient race of transcendent being.

A race known as the ‘absolute reason’.

This race was famous for their powerful mind energy.

They could ignore the invasion of most spiritual aspects.

They could even reverse time and space, using the vigor of their spiritual bodies to travel through one era after another.

In this way, they could avoid the danger of extinction and continue their civilization.

Unfortunately…

In the end, they still met a hunter that they could not avoid.

The interstellar transcendent being called the Flying Hydra destroyed them.

The final Isle was even made into a specimen and became the owner’s collection.

It was also because of this that, in a certain sense, Zhang Hui, who had obtained the book of reason, could be considered a descendant of the Isle.

The Isles’ worldview was very unique.

Genes, bloodlines, souls…

These were all things that they did not approve of.

This was because to isles, these things were just like the skin and flesh mentioned by Buddha. They could be discarded at any time.

Therefore, in a certain sense, Zhang Hui was treated as one of the Isles who had been made into a specimen. In fact, he was already dead, and there was only a remnant of his instinctive vigor left.

Sometimes, the dead spiritual vigor would tell Zhang Hui some secrets.

Just like what was happening now.

Unfortunately…

It did not dare or could not reveal more information.

Zhang Hui walked to the door and gently knocked on it.

“Knock… Knock… Knock…”

The owner of the bookstore’s business quickly came out of the door. “Please come in!”

Zhang Hui gently pushed the door open and stepped into the bookstore.

As soon as he entered, he saw the mysterious owner of the bookstore. Just like last time, he was sitting in the old wooden counter as if he was looking at the computer screen in front of him.

He raised his head, and the flames under his eyes were flickering.

The head shrouded in fog was hazy.

Zhang Hui’s psionic sense sensed that he seemed to be ‘complete’ a little more than the last time they met…

“Complete?” Zhang Hui thought of this sudden idea.

He already understood something.

“This ancient god is living in seclusion here… Not just in the mortal world?”

“He might be looking for something of himself…”

Thinking of this, many of Zhang Hui’s questions were immediately answered.

“That’s more like it!”

“How can such an existence casually stay in the mortal world for a long time?”

In the mythical grade, there was an era when humans and gods coexisted.

But whether it was in the east or the west, they all mentioned a common concept: gods would eventually leave the secular world.

Because staying here for a long time was not good for them.

Thinking of these things, the owner of the bookstore’s words rang in his ears. “May I know who you are?”

Ling Ping’an looked at the familiar-looking customer in front of him. He scratched his head and asked, “Are you a staff member of the Federation?”

Today, Zhang Hui was wearing a very standard set of uniform for a federal civil servant.

Zhang Hui looked at the ancient god and the fire in his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt blessed and nodded his head. “Yes, I am a staff member of the Federation!”

As he spoke, he took out his wallet from his pocket.

There were many business cards in his wallet, all designed to make it easier to deal with ordinary people.

Looking at these business cards, Zhang Hui’s sixth sense made him pull out a black business card.

Then, he took it and handed it over. “Sir… I’m from the Social Investigation Department of the Federal Empire’s cabinet…”

“I’m currently under orders to conduct a social investigation…”

The Department of Social Investigation of the Federal Empire’s cabinet was an organization shared by the Gonghe Party and the Datong Party.

It was also an organization responsible for providing social data to the cabinet, the central government, and the Council of Ministers.

It could be considered a variant of the think tank.

Many policies were decided based on the investigation information of this department.

Zhang Hui looked at the ancient God holding his business card, and the fire in his eyes slowly swirled.

Immediately, he smiled and said, “I was ordered to inquire about the area near Your Excellency…”

At this point, Zhang Hui’s heart couldn’t help but thump.

He was a little scared.

But fortunately, Zhang Hui knew that this ancient God knew that everyone was playing the game.

A game rule that the ancient God had set himself.

The proud ancient God wanted to dress himself up as an ordinary bookstore owner.

So, everyone cooperated with him and played the game.

Even if, in fact, everyone knew.

But those who didn’t want to die had to obediently follow his game rules.

Playing this game with him was called ‘guess what I want to do’.

Of course, the kind-hearted him would give some kind hints to the poor human through words or some actions.

But in general, the framework of the rules had already been determined.

This was a bit like the fairy tale about the emperor’s new clothes.

To a certain extent, Zhang Hui knew that this was also a test.

To test whether he, the Blackguard, and the others had enough respect and loyalty to him.

Sure enough!

The ancient god on the opposite side handed the business card back and said, “So it’s investigator Zhang…”

“Please have a seat,” he invited Zhang Hui to the sofa and sat down.

Then he sat on the opposite side.

Then he asked, “Mr. Zhang, have I seen you before?”

Zhang Hui was stunned at the moment.

He knew that this might be a test.

Could it be some kind of hint?

He immediately began to think hard.

If this question was not answered well, he would be angry.

At least he would ‘dislike’ himself.

In the past, this was called ‘falling out of favor’.