Qin Siyang asked in surprise, "Secretary-General Gu is here too?"
"Mm," Zhao Longju nodded, "Big Brother said that the crystal coin issuance plan concerns the United Government's economic development going forward, so Secretary-General Gu has to attend to show how seriously he takes it."
"Economic development, my ass. Those grand-sounding reasons are only good enough to fool outsiders," Zhao Longfei spoke bluntly, "The United Government is getting the biggest share of the crystal coins from this issuance. If Gu Weiyang doesn't come, how is he supposed to keep all the different factions in check?"
"Couldn't the Minister of Economic Affairs take charge?"
"You mean Jiang Yuanrui? With that little weight, is he worthy of presiding over a feast where the Safe Zones divide up the meat?"
Qin Siyang deeply agreed and then asked, "Principal Zhao, will Guo Jiuxiao come to this crystal coin issuance conference?"
Zhao Longfei shook his head, "He's not qualified."
"Not even the Ace of Clubs of the Tiger rank?"
"Tiger rank? He's nothing more than someone with strong individual strength. Even if you're made entirely of iron, how many nails can you forge?", Zhao Longfei smiled, "Among the eighteen warlords who participated in the campaign against Dong Zhuo, was any one of them invited because he was the strongest warrior under heaven?" [T/N: Three Kingdoms reference.]
Qin Siyang could hear the domineering tone in Zhao Longfei's words. He curled his lips, "All right, all right, I get it. A Tiger rank isn't qualified to attend. You have to be ranked on the Lion list."
"That's not completely correct either. There are people who can qualify based on Tiger rank alone. For example, Deputy Joker Yu Jianyun, and Ace of Spades Zhu Haifeng. In short, if your personal strength is so great that everyone is afraid of you to some degree, you naturally qualify."
Qin Siyang couldn't help asking, "You told me about Yu Jianyun before, and he really is impressive… But Zhu Haifeng is that strong?"
Zhao Longfei smiled, "During the battle at North Glory, after Yu Jianyun killed Tiger-rank Deputy Joker Lei Xiaoting, Heart of Hearts Yang Guanglie, and King of Spades Bao Fengjiang, he still had enough strength left to wipe out all of North Glory by himself. But he stopped. Do you know why?"
"Could it be because Zhu Haifeng stepped in?"
Zhao Longfei shook his head, "Zhu Haifeng didn't make a move. He only arrived at the gates of North Glory and exchanged a distant glance with Yu Jianyun. Yu Jianyun then left."
Qin Siyang stared wide-eyed as if he were listening to a legendary tale, "He just showed up and Yu Jianyun left? Seriously?"
"There were quite a few people there who can testify to it. Zhu Haifeng went to North Glory because he had a good relationship with Lei Xiaoting and planned to mediate. But when he arrived, all he saw was Lei Xiaoting's corpse. If Yu Jianyun had continued killing, Zhu Haifeng would definitely have taken action. But Yu Jianyun left directly. Either Zhu Haifeng and Yu Jianyun have a close relationship, or the two of them understand each other's strength. In any case, from then on, Zhu Haifeng firmly became the strongest person below the Jokers."
"My god… The apocalypse really is producing one hero after another," Qin Siyang sighed repeatedly, "The reality is actually even more legendary than the stories in books."
Seeing Qin Siyang sighing, Zhao Longfei said, "Life itself is more full of stories than any story. Because telling a story requires logic, but life doesn't."
"Makes sense."
"Little Qin, don't go outside the Safe Zone for the next two days, so you don't end up unable to make it back in time. On the day of the crystal coin issuance conference, come with me to greet the guests at the entrance."
"Huh? Why me? What about Little Zhao and Gu Yunpeng?"
Zhao Longfei explained, "The two of them already received guests at the Zhao Chamber of Commerce's opening ceremony last time. This time, I want to take you around and introduce you to some people."
Qin Siyang knew that Zhao Longfei wanted to use this opportunity to let him establish some connections with the big shots from the various factions.
Putting aside whether those connections could help him in the future, at the very least, he wouldn't feel awkward because of unfamiliarity when he needed to ask someone for help.
Qin Siyang was also very grateful for the effort Zhao Longfei was putting into raising him.
Although ninety-nine percent of the relationships in this world could be measured in terms of benefits, it was precisely that remaining one percent that made Qin Siyang feel that living another life was so full of possibilities.
"All right, I understand. Thank you, Principal Zhao."
———
After leaving the principal's office, Qin Siyang did not return to the guesthouse. Instead, he went to the God Hunting Tower.
There was currently no way for him to quickly increase his Sequence ability or Sequence level. Eating the sticky, foul-smelling corpses of Nightmare Octopuses… was both time-consuming and exhausting.
So, fully mobilizing himself and exploring the potential of the Origin Sequence became Qin Siyang's main goal recently.
He felt that awakening the Origin Sequence was not the end point of improving his own strength, but the gateway to a new world.
The countless lessons of death on the God Arena had given him a clearer understanding of the Origin Sequence. The Origin Sequence was like a mysterious gift containing astonishing energy.
As long as he found the key to open this gift, his strength would definitely increase significantly.
Qin Siyang constantly forced himself to perform meditation and perception training in moments when his life hung in the balance.
Gradually, that mysterious sensation brought by the Origin Sequence became stronger.
It drew him in even more.
BOOM!
Suddenly...
Just as the vines came lashing toward him, a white speck of light suddenly appeared in Qin Siyang's mind.
The white speck of light was extremely faint, as if a grain of dust had fallen into the depths of his mind, but its appearance instantly made Qin Siyang, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, tense up.
The moment he saw the white speck of light, he sensed an extremely subtle connection extending from it, resonating with his consciousness and body.
The vines' attack remained fierce, sweeping toward him with a gusts of wind.
But Qin Siyang's attention was locked onto the speck of light in his mind.
He focused his mind and reached out to touch the white speck of light with his consciousness.
Buzzz!
In an instant, a strange sensation surged through him, as if his senses had been magnified several times.
The movement of the air, the vibrations of the ground, and even the intricate, subtle changes in air pressure caused by the dozens of vines sweeping toward him could all be clearly detected.
A wave of energy spread through his body, following the flow of his consciousness.
He suddenly came back to his senses and opened his eyes, only to find that the Sacrificial Giant Vine had already reached him.
But just when he thought he was going to die again, the Sacrificial Giant Vine suddenly seemed to slow down.
No, the Sacrificial Giant Vine was still moving extremely fast.
It was just that before, he could only catch its afterimage, whereas now he could see its trajectory clearly.
Qin Siyang shifted his body slightly and watched the vine sweep past the tip of his nose.
Bang!
Stones flew everywhere, but Qin Siyang barely dodged the fatal blow.
'What is going on?'
Qin Siyang's eyes became wide.
"Holy shit… That's awesome!"
Bang!
The good times didn't last long. It didn't even last a second.
Just as he was distracted by his own amazement, another giant vine swept in from behind.
The back of Qin Siyang's head went cold, and everything before his eyes went black.
When he woke up, he was back in the empty God Arena.
[T/N: Your support keeps the novels and fanfics going. Consider joining P@treon or giving reviews to make me motivated to keep going. Thank you~ Enjoy~
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