Old Master Gu greeted the two to sit down, his face brimming with a smile, as if he were beholding an extremely rare sight.
"Two young ones, eh? Both still children at heart."
Lost in thought, Gu Zhun gazed at the two people in front of him, then leaned back on the sofa, saying, "I’ve never laughed as happily as I am now, you know. Ever since I left the People’s Commune, I aspired to join a party, but alas, neither the For Public Good Party nor the Democrat Party would have me. In the end, I set up a fruit stall on the streets. I’ll spare you the details of the journey in between. I heard that the Mainland’s most thriving industry is motivational speaking; there are plenty of motivational books and speeches. My story is not particularly motivational, but the basic details are pretty much the same."
Qin Chuan asked, "Old sir, what is your take on what you’ve seen and heard this time?"
Gu Zhun replied with a smile, "Rushing to the point so quickly? I was just reminiscing here."
Qin Chuan scratched his head, embarrassed, realizing he had been too eager.
Gu Zhun waved his hand, "No matter, no matter, it was something that needed to be discussed sooner or later."
Between nations, there is much competition: for money, power, influence, and various human and material resources. At the foundation of this competition is the pursuit of wealth, but if we break it down, the most important element is people. Even Marx said it, man is the primary productive force.
Master Ge said in a movie a super classic line, "In the 21st century, what’s the most expensive? Talent!"
Gu Zhun’s incredible pull in Tai City even exceeded that of the President surnamed Li. Since the efforts to prop up Mr. Li have failed, the only other option is to support another individual instead. The result is not important, having an effect is—losing control over Tai City would be hugely detrimental to the United States’ overall strategy in the Asia-Pacific, which would in turn cause significant damage to the American economy. This is something hegemonic nations absolutely do not wish to see. Since they do not wish to see it, then they will change it as much as possible.
Gu Zhun, is exactly that kind of a chess piece capable of turning the tide.
Huaxia has always maintained a firm stance on the issue of national unity, whether it’s those two colonial regions or the several small islands to the south. Its external attitude and wording have always been extremely strict, particularly with regard to the small island across the strait, which it values even more. Whether it was the two sea expeditions before the Republic, or the Black Flag Army during the anti-Japanese war, they demonstrated their firm stance. Most of the island’s population also originated from the Mainland, harboring strong nostalgic feelings for their Mainland home; this was an extremely unfavorable condition for the United States, thus they shifted their focus to individual representatives.
The next morning, two officials who were relatively high up the ranks visited the hotel where Gu Zhun was staying. Ye Tian didn’t know their exact positions, but he sensed a strong killing aura among the bodyguards secretly following them.
The officials were having a private discussion, so bystanders were kept at a distance.
Despite Gu Zhun’s attempts to keep them, Qin Chuan still pulled Ye Tian away. Standing at the door was the red-haired girl named Ling Rong.
Ye Tian nodded, acknowledging, and then asked if she needed something.
Qin Chuan looked at his eyes, which occasionally swept over the girl furtively, and thought the fellow seemed quite free-spirited. Deciding not to intervene, since there were plenty of National Security members around, Qin Chuan walked towards a nearby cafe. Only upon entering did he realize it had been evacuated and even the few staff remaining were from the National Security Bureau. Qin Chuan took out his temporary badge, made himself a cup of coffee, and could still see Ye Tian and Ling Rong standing at the hotel entrance, though he couldn’t make out their conversation.
"Did you kill a man named Liu Zhiming?"
Ye Tian’s head buzzed - did these two share some unspoken secret, or was this about revenge?
Looking at the fluctuating expression on Ye Tian’s face, Ling Rong said, "Don’t worry, even though we both play with fire, we are not friends but enemies. I won’t go into the specifics with you, I just wanted to thank you here."
Ye Tian breathed a sigh of relief, "No worries at all, it was nothing, miss. You’re so beautiful and generous, how could you possibly be in league with that guy?"
"Did you find a Red Flame Pearl on him? It belongs to my sect, Heaven Mystic Sect. If you’ve taken it, please return it to me; there’ll be a generous reward."
Ye Tian was dumbfounded, unsure of what to make of this. But after gathering his thoughts, he realized that the "pearl" inside his body looked more like a gaseous orb rather than a tangible one as she described. Smoothing out his brows, Ye Tian asked, "What does that pearl look like? Can you describe it to me in detail? I will recall carefully. The scene was very chaotic that day, and you may not know, although I participated in the battle, it was Sixth Group who took the lead, so if there’s anything unclear, you might want to ask someone from the Sixth Group."
"Zhang Liang said that at the end it was your fight alone, and that you saw with your own eyes Liu Zhiming’s body explode."