Chapter 965: Chapter 965

"What? You resigned?"

A voice slightly shocked came through the bracelet.

"Yeah, just looking at that bastard annoys me,"

Vehicles passing by stirred up dust, as Ini stopped on the somewhat deserted sidewalk, gazing at the towering, isolated buildings around her.

People hurried by like flowing illusions, with only her holding a plastic box, standing quietly amidst these fleeting shadows.

"I definitely regret it, after all, jobs are hard to find nowadays,"

Feeling the silence on the other end of the phone, Ini sighed, smiled, and continued, "But I think I would regret it more if I stayed there, doing things I don’t like, following that bastard and burying my conscience."

Sounds of clinking came from nearby as some workers were installing a brand-new billboard on the side of the pedestrian path.

"It’s okay, my great journalist,"

The person on the phone sighed lightly and then laughed, "Didn’t you just make a huge scoop? Talented people won’t starve."

"Come on, Liz, stop teasing me,"

Ini shook her head, "I know my own level. This news was so hot, firstly because we got exclusive materials that no one else had, secondly because Mayor Lin En himself handled it very spectacularly, which was very newsworthy, and thirdly because that bastard was willing to spend a lot of money on special effects and publicity.

"I just happened to be in this position and got blown up by the wind, anyone could have been in my place."

"But you found that news with your own skills,"

Liz laughed on the phone, "Why didn’t anyone else find it? How does that saying go, ’Heaven never seals off all exits’? There’s always a place for the capable, you’re so talented, you’ll definitely find a new job. I’m still waiting for your exclusive interview."

Speaking of which, she paused, a bit hesitant, "Speaking of which, if that jerk of a boss decides to pull your hard work from the publication, doesn’t that mean you’ve been busy for nothing?"

Ini said as a smile curved on her lips. She blinked, "I originally signed a conditional exclusive authorization with that young guy, Jerin. The news had to be pinned on the homepage in a prominent place for a certain period to be exclusive, not to be released by others. If it is retracted or hidden, then it can be published by others."

"Your boss had no objections to you signing that? Didn’t he read the contract?"

Liz sounded surprised on the phone.

"This is actually a normal practice. I thought of giving Jerin a bit more leverage at that time,"

"Because not everyone who wants to sign an exclusive on the news wants to publish it to attract traffic; some may want to lock up the news to seal off the leak. So, news that needs to be published normally usually has some additional conditions attached. At that time that bastard boss probably didn’t expect he would pull the news."

"Then you still have big news in your hands."

Liz quickly realized.

"But you have to act quickly, while the hype hasn’t died down,"

Ini nodded, "People’s attention easily shifts, soon it will be drawn to other new things. Once more time passes, no one will care about it."

"But under the current circumstances, who would want to publish this news? After all, supporting Mayor Lin En means offending the consortium."

Liz’s voice became slightly lower.

Ini’s voice also dropped.

"Welcome to today’s Yilan News, where we start with the main event,"

Just then, a somewhat exaggerated opening remark came from nearby.

Ini turned her head and looked toward a screen above a shopping mall.

A middle-aged host was holding a tablet, speaking a bit dramatically outward the screen,

"Our great Mayor Lin En’s inner court seems to have encountered some minor issues. We’ve received an anonymous tip-off, covering a lot of ’explosive news’ from the city cabinet.

"Do you remember our shrewd and capable Minister of Internal Affairs? As a close confidant of Mayor Lin En, the manager of Yilan City’s urban assets, our mayor’s loyal supporter, who claims to stand with all employees as a reformer, is actually a business genius.

"He recently sold a villa in Dawn City for 1.5 times its buying price in just a few months, making millions of federal coins, not to mention, he also owns multiple villas in Vitland, Ains, and other cities..."

City Council Building

The mocking news broadcast echoed through the silent city.

The man biting the cigar put down the cigar in his hand, watching the news on the TV before him, exhaling smoke.

Yilan News is under Yilan Morning News, and also the highest-rated news program across Yilan City.

Then he gently raised his hand to switch the TV channel through a gesture control.

And at this moment, this TV program was also airing dark secrets about the city cabinet, but this time, the subject of the scandal was not the Minister of Internal Affairs but the Minister of Education.

"It seems the consortium is really coming down hard this time."

The man in the white shirt spoke hoarsely beside him.

"The consortium’s usual tactics, pinpoint to expose,"

The man with the cigar placed the cigar back in his mouth,

"They are obviously trying to discredit certain members of the city cabinet through exposing their scandals, thereby discrediting the entire city cabinet, the city government, and all the policies of the old mayor.

"And this is just the beginning. They will likely step up their game, intensifying their propaganda campaigns, leading public opinion. Sometimes people’s thoughts are like dough, manipulated endlessly by the person in control of the microphone."

"If we let things develop, the old guy’s directives in the Mayor’s Mansion will likely not pass anymore. The fence-sitters in the city council will also turn towards our side."

The man in the white shirt poured a glass of liquor and gulped it down, "I want to see that old man step down with my own eyes."

"I am quite curious how the mayor will fight back,"

The cigar man took a puff.

Just then, his bracelet vibrated a bit, seeming to have a new incoming call.

He lifted his wrist, glanced at the caller ID, his gaze slightly concentrated, then reached out to answer the call.

After a brief exchange, he took a deep breath and hung up the phone.

The man in the white shirt looked at him.

"A friend from the Yiwis Space System,"

The cigar man clenched the cigar, took a deep drag, "He hopes that in the next few days, we and the other impeachment legislatures will show unity, speeding up the impeachment proceedings against the mayor."

"In the next few days?"

The man in the white shirt was shocked, "Have they lost their minds? The public opinion against the Old Geezer hasn’t even surfaced, and the residual impact of his speech from yesterday still lingers. If we now forcefully push for impeachment and appear too radical, what if the voters lose trust in us? Will we still be able to serve as legislators in the next term?"

"Not just us, but also those swing voters, as well as some legislators within the Linen Ruling Alliance,"

The man with the cigar exhaled and opened a new message on his wrist device, passing it to the man in the white shirt, "They’ve offered an irresistible price. With this, we won’t have to be the scapegoat legislators anymore. We could move to Vitland or Dawn City and start our retirement life. As for the future of this city, we no longer have a say."

Looking at the string of zeros on the message interface, the man in the white shirt swallowed his saliva and set his glass down on the table beside him, "This world has truly gone mad."

Sitting on the modest sofa, He Ao quietly watched the news playing on the projection TV before him.

Then he slowly rose and walked to the window of his office, looking out.

Behind the pristine sea of jasmine flowers, among towering skyscrapers, it seemed every giant advertising screen was displaying similar news.

These reports spoke mainly of the City Cabinet’s scandals, barely mentioning the Consortium’s role in it all.

Just then, a phone call came through.

He Ao reached out to answer it. The image of a blonde chief of staff appeared in the projection on his wrist device,

"Mr. Lin En, the press conference is nearly ready. As you requested, besides inviting major media like the Yilan Morning News, many smaller media outlets have also been invited. Essentially, almost every significant media unit in Yilan City will be present at this conference."

He Ao nodded slightly, "Start releasing some of the information now."

The blonde chief of staff nodded softly and then terminated the communication.

He Ao slowly reached out and opened the window.

A gentle breeze brushed through his hair.

At that moment, his wrist device vibrated.

He lifted his wrist and saw an unknown number.

He used a private number for this device, known by very few, and almost never received calls from unknown numbers.

He Ao stared at the number, stretched out his hand, and chose to answer.

"Mr. Lin En, I’m glad to have made contact with you,"

A rather refined man with glasses appeared on the screen, slightly bowing to He Ao before raising his head, "Let me introduce myself, I am Lunsar, the Executive Director from Nord Bank."

He Ao lifted his hand slightly, and the call was transferred to his office computer, and the call projection was cast out by the computer’s projection device.

"I’m just here to analyze the pros and cons for you, Mr. Lin En,"

The man in the projection smiled slightly, "I can understand your feelings, Mr. Lin En. It is said that one should govern from their position, and as the Mayor of Yilan City, you naturally consider what’s best for its people. However, from your position, many things you’re doing might not be worth it.

"Your policies might not change the city, but they could bring about fatal troubles for you, and you might not be able to make this city better. Your strong opposition to the Consortium, harming it, will only affect the economy of Yilan City,

"If this city no longer had employers, there would be no jobs, and a large number of people would become displaced. Society would become unstable, and more people would die in the turmoil."

"In this world, not only consortia can be employers,"

He Ao looked at him, his gaze calm, "The creation of jobs isn’t due to consortia hiring, but because of people’s demand for certain products. It’s because there is a demand that products are produced or developed, and jobs are created to produce or develop these products."

Hearing He Ao’s words, the man in the projection paused slightly, then he lowered his head and spoke softly, "Mr. Lin En’s perspective is quite interesting, but no matter what reforms you undertake, they will cause turmoil in this city, and I have a better option here.

"We know your supernatural ability is ’Talent Sequence 96: Judge,’ and we also know that you encountered some issues during your promotion, sustaining some internal injuries that have shortened your lifespan. With age, your body is probably weakening rapidly.

"I wonder if you know that the health of B-level Transcendents undergoes a tremendous change; a regular B-level can live well over a hundred years without problems, and we just happen to know the subsequent B-level Talent Sequence for ’Judge’,"

He looked up at He Ao, "’Talent Sequence 168: Legislator.’ We happen to possess the secret medicine and formula for this B-level Talent Sequence. If you need, we can utilize all available resources to treat your injuries and allow you to smoothly promote to B-level.

"As you know, this is not a difficult task for us,"

His tone paused slightly, smiling as he continued, "Your lifespan would be extended by several decades, allowing you to fully enjoy your life and future.

"Additionally, the Yiwis Space System Consortium would be willing to hire you as a senior executive consultant. You would have access to a vast array of resources from within the consortium. If you don’t fancy Yiwis Space System, the doors of Nord Group are sincerely open for you.

"I heard your daughter is currently pursuing her doctorate in Dawn City? If she needs, we could also invest in establishing a company solely for her, enabling her to contribute to the advancement of human civilization."

With that, the man slowly raised his hand, displaying a bank account and several securities accounts,

"At the same time, we’ve also brought you a ’little gift,’ a combination of cash and equity worth ten billion federal coins."

"And all I need to do is resign now, right?"

He Ao looked at the projection before him, smiling.

"Is it either a dead end or a prolonged, prosperous life,"

The man in the projection slowly smiled, "You’re a smart man, you know how to choose."

The meaning of this statement was simple: either die or be a dog.

"It seems you must have offered similar terms to others. Let me think,"

He Ao stared at the projection, "The city council members? But perhaps for a lower price than mine?"

The man in the projection paused, then smiled, "Mr. Lin En, you worry too much."

"Unfortunately, I am not considered a smart man."

He Ao glanced at him, gently shaking his head.

The facial expression of the man in the projection shifted slightly.

And at that moment, He Ao already stretched out his hand, severing the communication.

The sunlight touched the elderly man’s streaks of white hair as he lit up a cigarette, standing by the window, quietly staring at the somewhat desolate yet oppressive skyscrapers outside.

There was a knocking at the door. Tucker, dressed in a police uniform, pushed open the door and looked at He Ao, "Mr. Lin En, it’s all taken care of, all involved members of the city cabinet have been dealt with."

"Good, release the news, hold a press conference,"

He Ao snuffed the cigarette butt in an ashtray nearby, looked up at the news screens outside the window, "Every change requires determination, show our resolve."

Tucker immediately straightened his posture.