Light Fortress
Chapter 169 - 156: I, Object

Chapter 169: Chapter 156: I, Object

"By the way... yesterday, there was an explosion near Freedom Hall, did you hear about it?"

Zhou Jiren swirled his glass, asking with a low chuckle.

"Hmm..."

Zhao Xilai responded in a languid tone.

"Gu Shen, that kid, has been rather unlucky recently... he went to the hall for a concert, and ended up encountering a bomb arranged by Xiao." Mr. Shu said regretfully, "Tell me, how could such a coincidence happen?"

"The ways of the world are unpredictable; there’s no such thing as a coincidence that can’t make a good story."

"I also like to attend concerts at Freedom Hall." Knowing that Mr. Shu was beating around the bush, trying to probe his stance on the meeting between Lu Nanzhi and Ye Ningqiu, Zhao Xilai replied crisply, "It’s a nice place, classical, elegant, with great acoustics."

He emphasized the last three words.

"Although I don’t know why you would like that kind of place..." Zhou Jiren understood and chuckled, "but I still want to say, good for you if you like it."

The countdown on the screen ended.

In the center of the screen appeared the flag of the council and a square podium.

The nomination ceremony for alternative members of parliament usually requires the attendance of many key figures, but this time, because of conflict avoidance, both delegates from Da Du chose to withdraw.

Everyone clearly understood the reason for this.

As for the Awakening Bill, Zhao and Chen had completely different views, and indeed it was inconvenient for the two to meet today.

If no one suitable could come, then it was better that no one came at all.

"I heard South Bay nominated three alternative members of parliament." Zhou Jiren said, "There should be a fierce battle coming up, right? I’m quite anxious for Nanzhi right now."

Despite his words, there wasn’t the slightest sign of tension in his demeanor.

The drinks that should be drunk were drunk.

The desserts that should be eaten were eaten.

Purely... just a spectator.

And soon, something happened that caught everyone by surprise.

South Bay’s first nominated alternative member of parliament contender ascended the podium, hand on his tie, bowing his head, looking around, softly testing the microphone. After confirming it was working, he announced a piece of news.

"I... withdraw from the election."

Outside the screen.

Zhou Jiren narrowed his eyes, slowly chewing on a piece of strawberry burst cake.

It truly was... a historic moment.

Deserting the battlefield.

Being nominated as an alternative member of parliament is not a trivial matter... South Bay nominated three people at once, all three with outstanding backgrounds and records. Though horizontal comparisons cannot compete with the lady’s, the intention was clearly to fight to the death against the Huazhi Group at the last pass of the Awakening Bill.

The nomination of three alternative members of parliament was meant to staunchly block Lu Nanzhi, preventing her from securing a seat as a member of parliament smoothly.

But now, there was a "deserter."

The proclamation in front of the screen set off a multitude of disputes, and one could even hear the raucous noise of the guests outside the screen.

Zhao Xilai sat in his wheelchair, watching the scene unfold, expression unchanged.

The second nominee from South Bay followed in the predecessor’s footsteps, slowly approaching the podium... and made the exact same gesture, saying the exact same words.

"I too... withdraw from the election."

The second bombshell dropped.

Then came the third.

"I’m sorry... I too withdraw from the election."

All three of South Bay’s members of parliament consecutively declared their withdrawal, leaving the meeting without further comment, a scene no one had ever witnessed before, only leaving behind a hubbub.

South Bay gave up the nomination for the election of alternative members of parliament...

Perhaps in everyone’s eyes, the hope was slim to begin with.

But regardless, this was something worth fighting for.

...

...

Laughter erupted from the Flower Flag top floor.

Even Zhao Xilai, seated in his wheelchair, couldn’t help but laugh.

For those high-level invitees who had come to the victory celebration, they had contemplated how this election would come to an end.

But no matter what, they had not anticipated

it would be over this quickly.

The speed of South Bay’s exit seemed somewhat comical.

As for Zhao Xilai, he felt that Zhou Jiren had arrived at just the right time, and he greatly appreciated the astonished expression on the face of the East Province Grand Judge right now... Those in power often relish this feeling—

because he had already known what would happen today.

Everyone thought the election was laughable.

And Zhao Xilai found everyone laughable.

The biggest joke of all was Zhou Jiren.

Mr. Shu noticed there was one person who wasn’t laughing, that was Cui Zhongcheng, whose face seemed incapable of laughter... He stood silently like a wooden stake, devoid of any emotion, devoid of life.

The noisy sounds from the screen slowly settled down.

Finally, a lady in a purple dress graced the podium.

The election had just begun—

The election had already ended.

All three candidates from South Bay had chosen to "self-terminate" their campaigns, making their somber exit, and the real protagonist made a grand entrance.

Flashes from countless cameras bombarded her as she stood before the podium, with the Da Du flag waving behind her, the dress and flag fluttering together in the wind.

She stood silently for a long time, as if in thought, or perhaps firming her resolve about something.

One minute later.

Lu Nanzhi slowly began to speak.

Her voice was firm and powerful, unaffected by the earlier abandonment of the other candidates... As praised by the public, the lady had an iron hand and a presence stronger than that of men.

The moment she spoke, a hush fell both inside and outside the venue.

Everyone quietly listened to Lu Nanzhi’s electoral declaration, even though there was no need for such a thing now.

"Today’s podium... I believe no one is more qualified to stand here than myself."

"Ten years ago, this was my father’s podium."

"Here he shed sweat, tears, and ultimately...blood."

"Da Du has nurtured me, it is my hometown, my mother... I have often pondered what I would do if I could offer my strength to this land?"

The flashlights shone on the woman’s cheeks.

Lu Nanzhi’s eyes burned brighter than the lights.

Zhao Xilai, seated in his wheelchair, looked on with satisfaction at this scene.

Next came a compassionate electoral speech.

Everyone knew that after the speech ended, the main event would begin.

After taking a deep breath,

the lady looked directly into the camera, her voice calm and restrained, "We all know that Da Du needs reform... and the most urgent of these reforms is the Awakening Bill. Deep Sea has provided the equations to calculate human destiny, we have argued over this through countless days and nights, and my attitude is actually very simple."

"The fate of humanity, should be held in the hands of humanity."

Lu Nanzhi lifted her head.

When she uttered this sentence, the audience erupted into exclamations once again.

The lady firmly stated, "Reform takes time, order needs stability... and the power to push the historical process forward should not be entrusted to machines."

"Regarding the implementation suggestion of the Awakening Bill provided by Deep Sea..."

"I, oppose."