In the cruelest terms, those Federation soldiers who died—wouldn't their bodies require shrouds and coffins? Doesn't that generate employment and profit? Perhaps a few lumber companies on the brink of collapse could be revived. Not to mention the wounded Federation soldiers; they require astronomical amounts of medicine and medical fluid. The major pharmaceutical corporations of the Federation will reap immense fortunes!
“All glory belongs to you, Councillor Gu Xechen!”
Letting Jooan and Gu Xechen embrace passionately, he roared into the microphone, “All glory belongs to you!”
Gu Xechen, who had maintained a perfectly composed smile like a rubber mannequin, opened his arms wide and hugged Jooan tightly, completely obscuring his own face with his head. Twitching the corners of his mouth, which were cramping from smiling, Gu Xechen sneered chillingly, “All glory belongs to me? Are you trying to make everyone in the Federation Council turn against me?”
Snatching the microphone from Jooan’s hand, Gu Xechen bellowed, “No, all glory belongs to the great Federation, to the great citizens of the Federation, to every common man in the Federation!”
Jooan whispered, “Oh, you misunderstood me!”
Gu Xechen violently shook Jooan’s body; his immense arm strength nearly brought Jooan to tears. Accompanied by the creaking sound of ribs grinding against each other, Gu Xechen leaned close to Jooan’s ear and sneered, “I have the position of Federation Councillor; I still need a position with real power, or don't blame me if I come after you! Regarding that nuclear bomb at Triangle Hell Island, I'll be frank: I know you and Poison Wolf did it. If you don't want to face retribution from my Master, you’d better secure a good position for me, or we are not finished!”
Jooan stared at Gu Xechen in horror, whispering, “It was you? Then, you also know about Jack…”
He applied more force to his arms, squeezing Jooan with brute strength, and Gu Xechen sneered, “That’s right. I know Jack was one of yours, trying to test my strength, figure out my limits, and then use me as a pawn... Trying to understand my power so you could control me, right? But do you think I’m that easy to control? Jack died miserably; you don’t want to end up dismembered too, do you? Huh? Do you believe I can do it?”
Jooan hissed angrily, “Threatening me is not a wise move… Fellow, you need to understand…”
Gu Xechen sneered, “My Master sends his regards. He asked if you desire eternal life. He’s short a few corpse servants.”
Corpse servants? Those mindless, foul-smelling zombies?
Jooan shuddered violently and quickly said, “Thank you, I much prefer the elegance of the Blood Race! It’s a deal. I cannot afford to cross your esteemed Master. A position with real authority. The idea of bombing you with a nuclear core was Poison Wolf’s—it has nothing to do with me. I am the Chairman of the Federation Council; I don't have weird toys like nuclear bombs on hand. Poison Wolf wants to control you, not me; that’s an internal dispute within your Asian Dao Alliance. I merely acquiesced.”
Interrupting Jooan, Gu Xechen stated calmly, “You merely made the choice most beneficial to your own interests, didn’t you? Alright, alright, we are being a little too intimate. I will deal with that fellow Poison Wolf gradually. We should separate slowly. Hmm, do you think we need to shed some tears?”
Jooan pondered for a moment, then chuckled softly, “I think occasionally showing genuine emotion helps my approval rating.”
“Excellent!”
Gu Xechen delivered a clean, heavy punch to Jooan’s weak spot, a blow so forceful it nearly broke the man’s bones. Two streams of tears immediately gushed from Jooan’s eyes. The wizened old man’s eyes instantly turned red, and he clutched the back of Gu Xechen’s coat so tightly he almost cried out.
Two sharp threads of vital energy pierced directly into the outer corners of Jooan’s eyes, stimulating his tear ducts, causing large, fat tears to stream down rapidly.
The two men, red-eyed, slowly separated. Jooan shouted loudly, “The Federation thanks you! The citizens of the Federation thank you!”
The weeping Gu Xechen grabbed the microphone and roared, “Long live the Federation! Long live the citizens of the Federation! Long live the warriors fighting and bleeding for the Federation’s territory!”
A tidal wave of applause and cheers erupted in the hall. Everyone was swept up by the brilliant performance of Jooan and Gu Xechen. What a great Federation Chairman! What a magnificent rising star of the Federation! One represented the glorious present, the other the glorious future; how great their character was!
Gu Xechen choked up, his eyes red as he declared tearfully, “Ladies and gentlemen, today, because of my small contribution, I have been honorably appointed as a member of the Federation Council, joining this great collective. This is the trust placed in me by the people of the Federation, and I vow to wholeheartedly fulfill the duties required of a Federation Councillor and contribute to the Federation’s development.”
Jooan raised his cuff to wipe his tears, but that punch had been too heavy, too painful, and the tears kept rolling down. Gasping, Jooan stammered and trembled, “So moving, so moving. Our Federation possesses such excellent, perfectly principled youth. This proves that our Federation’s future will be incomparably bright! Let us applaud our hero, let us applaud the role model for all the young people of our Federation! I hope all Federation citizens will emulate Councillor Gu Xechen and strive for the future of the Federation!”
Applause thundered like lightning. Under the spotlight, the crystalline tears on Gu Xechen and Jooan shone brilliantly, like the medals pinned to Gu Xechen’s chest.
The master of ceremonies announced in a soft voice, “We now move to the open Q&A session. Councillor Gu Xechen will answer twenty questions from the audience.”
Before Gu Xechen could prepare, a female reporter in a red suit leaped onto the stage, snatched the microphone from Jooan, and loudly demanded, “Very good, I have a question here! According to firsthand intelligence obtained by this paper, a ******* man found at the ruins of Kronborg Castle in Copenhagen fifteen days ago insisted that Councillor Gu Xechen destroyed the castle! Is this true?”
Jooan froze, turned to look at Gu Xechen, and a fleeting smile flashed across his tear-stained eyes.
His heart jolted slightly, Gu Xechen frowned, and reached out to take the microphone handed to him by the host.
“Slander! This is absolute, out-and-out slander!”
Gu Xechen wiped the tears from his face and declared righteously, “When the Kronborg Castle incident occurred, I was visiting injured corporate staff at the Copenhagen Army Hospital. The medical personnel there can testify for me. Did I destroy Kronborg Castle? This is pure defamation! This is the slander of certain ill-intentioned groups against me; they are slandering the honor of the entire Federation.”
Pointing at the female reporter, Gu Xechen roared, “Which newspaper do you represent, young lady? The case of Kronborg Castle’s destruction is still under investigation; how did you obtain the details of the case? I suspect your newspaper fabricated this sensational news for illegal profit, and I reserve the right to sue your paper in Federation Court!”
With a cold sneer, Gu Xechen shook his head at the dumbfounded reporter, “Do you believe the testimony of a ******* body found at the scene, a suspicious suspect who is rambling? Why doesn't he say I colluded with the Romanians to steal the Eiffel Tower and take it to Mars?”
A burst of uproarious laughter erupted on the spot. The female reporter, her face burning red, was escorted off the stage by security.
It was widely known that during the Federation’s Self-Defense Counterattack War in 193, the Romanians colluded with certain Earthlings to steal the entire Eiffel Tower and transport it to Mars, where the tower now stands before the Romanian Council Hall. That incident happened nearly three hundred years ago; how could it possibly involve Gu Xechen?
After the burst of laughter subsided, the accusation against Gu Xechen dissipated. A newly appointed Federation Councillor could not possibly cooperate with the Romanians to loot the Eiffel Tower, nor could he have destroyed Kronborg Castle! How could the Federation’s hero, the model for all its youth, commit such an act?
The atmosphere in the hall grew even more passionate. Reporters from major media outlets eagerly raised their hands to ask questions, and Gu Xechen answered them all with witty eloquence. He provided the most brilliant answers to every question, including what he ate and drank while confronting the rebellious Holy Unicorn Mercenary Group on Paradise Star, and whether he felt fear or terror.
“Yes, I was afraid! I was terrified!”
Gu Xechen’s magnetic voice echoed through the hall.
“I was truly afraid… I was truly terrified! Because on Paradise Star back then, I was utterly alone, and they commanded an entire army!”
“…I feared in the darkness, I trembled in the storm!”
Gu Xechen shrugged, offering a slightly awkward, self-deprecating chuckle, “Once, more than a dozen mortar shells exploded right next to me. I nearly pissed myself from fright!”
There was no laughter in the room… Everyone watched Gu Xechen with solemn seriousness.
“But, fortunately, I was completely unharmed!” Gu Xechen laughed heartily. “A fragment grazed my scalp, but I didn't lose a single hair!”
Siren, standing behind the podium, rolled her eyes, while Aredia kept her head down, privately furious that she hadn't pulverized Gu Xechen into dust that day.
Jooan stood behind Gu Xechen, seething inwardly with a belly full of anger. Given Gu Xechen’s power, even a mortar shell would need extraordinary force to damage his hair.
“…Hmm, fear, terror, trembling…”
Gu Xechen’s voice drifted through the venue.
“…But I always kept one thing in mind: I am a member of the Federation. I could not let their conspiracy succeed. Paradise Star belongs to our Federation, to every citizen of the Federation. If the Romanians want to seize Paradise Star, they must step over my corpse.”
“…So, I succeeded miraculously. I succeeded!”
“The rest of the story, as everyone already knows, I transmitted the information back to the Command, and the Federation’s main force has already deployed to Paradise Star.”
“Paradise Star will be ours! Thank you all!”
By honestly confessing his fear and terror, Gu Xechen instantly gained immense popularity. Everyone cheered his name. His vulnerability made him a living person, not the untouchable god portrayed by Federation propaganda. The people of the Federation recognized Gu Xechen immediately, truly identifying with him, rather than merely respecting, admiring, or looking up to him!
Gu Xechen’s popularity in the Federation became unparalleled.
As a Federation Councillor, Gu Xechen had perfectly cleared his first hurdle.