MCL CH66

Chapter 066: “Are you planning to step down?”…

Gu Beiqiu was still holding the half-finished debriefing report.

Because of Yan Xingzhou’s move at the funeral, he had to give an explanation for the events of three years ago that was convincing enough for everyone. Just moments ago, the entire conference room had been completely divided into two factions amidst a tense atmosphere. Based on the premise he provided—that former Executor Lin Xi’s ability had completely spiraled out of control after devouring the Calamity—one side believed that the operation to ensure Executor Lin’s life record was not tarnished by using the guise of dying in the line of duty was understandable. The other side, however, furiously condemned this act of covering up the truth, demanding severe punishment for the entire Hua Country United Administration.

This meeting had already been going on for a full day and night. The true cause of Lin Xi’s death had gradually become less important. With the representatives of various countries each having their own agendas, the final outcome of this meeting had become a stage for their balancing and pulling.

This was a situation Gu Beiqiu had anticipated from the beginning. From the start of the meeting until now, he had consistently maintained the appropriately humble demeanor customary for diplomatic occasions.

This was not the first time he had participated in such a meeting. From initially following behind Lin Xi, watching the Executor skillfully navigate such occasions with ease, to now, he himself could already appear unmoved by honor or disgrace.

For this debriefing, Gu Beiqiu had envisioned many possibilities and was prepared to accept any outcome. However, he had never expected such a major turn of events to occur just as the meeting was about to conclude.

His gaze fell on the holographic map in the center. As the red markers continuously increased, a crimson hue gradually stained the depths of his eyes.

No one knew when these rifts had started to appear. It was just that from the moment the first monitoring station submitted its report, intelligence about new rifts began to pour in continuously. And it wasn’t just one country. At almost the same time, within the conference hall alone, the highest-ranking executors from no fewer than five countries had received emergency signals from their own nations’ ability bureaus.

As if summoned by something, rifts all over the world began to reactivate all at once.

The usually solemn conference hall became like a chaotic market due to the incessant ringing of cell phones. These top-tier ability users, who had seen their fair share of major events, all showed grave expressions during this process.

Someone had just finished a call, glanced at the surrounding chaos, and asked in a complicated tone, “Should this meeting be paused for a moment?”

This remark made the people next to him exchange glances. Another Western representative in a suit and tie stood up. “I think we should continue. The meeting has basically finished its discussion. It won’t take too much time to reach a final conclusion. It’s common knowledge that the Hua Country United Administration has been inactive for years, and now they are being vague about Executor Lin Xi’s matter. Executor Gu Beiqiu took over this position as Executor Lin Xi’s deputy. Whether his succession is legitimate is still debatable. It shouldn’t be too much to ask for his resignation to take responsibility.”

Gu Beiqiu glanced at that person, his expression still calm, as if he weren’t the one being discussed.

In the past, when Lin Xi was still in office, these people wouldn’t have dared to utter an extra peep, each one more respectful than the last. But since the news of his death in the line of duty spread, the loss of a top-tier X-code ability user had greatly weakened Hua Country’s ability circle, and it had also allowed many small-minded individuals with ulterior motives to jump out.

Gu Beiqiu was not Lin Xi, after all. Although he possessed powerful abilities, he was indeed not quite enough in front of these people from the global ability association. This had made his takeover of the Hua Country United Administration difficult in many matters. Many people who had dared not voice their anger under Lin Xi’s tyrannical power now looked down on Gu Beiqiu. Although Lin Xi had firmly established Hua Country’s status as one of the five great nations during his tenure, and even if those people looked down on Gu Beiqiu’s strength, they still had to give him, the nominal Executor of Hua Country, some face. And now, having finally learned the truth of the “death in the line of duty” incident, they were naturally eager to exploit the situation, wanting to squeeze Hua Country out of the five great nations so their own countries could take its place.

“Exactly. The existence of the five main council nations is meant to better maintain global stability. With the current strength of the Hua Country United Administration, I’m afraid it really can’t bear such a great responsibility.”

“Changing executors one after another, before the Hua Country United Administration stabilizes internally, the representatives of the five great nations should indeed reconsider.”

“The cause of Executor Lin Xi’s death is still questionable. I’ve said it from the beginning, there are still major problems with Executor Gu’s report.”

After someone raised the point, a chorus of agreement immediately followed.

Gu Beiqiu was not in a hurry to state his position. Instead, he smiled and looked at the person next to him. “Director Primo, what do you think?”

Sitting in the center of the long table was Primo, the director of the International Special Abilities General Bureau. His phone, placed to the side, was also vibrating constantly. He didn’t rush to pick it up and look. Hearing the question, he finally spoke slowly, “Are you planning to step down?”

“I had already prepared my resignation report before coming here. If you need it, I can submit it to the General Bureau at any time,” Gu Beiqiu replied. “As for whether Hua Country can continue to hold its seat among the five great nations, we can discuss that after the next executor agrees to take office.”

The person next to him was stunned. “What do you mean, ‘agrees to take office’?”

Gu Beiqiu smiled at him. “Because with the current downturn in our country’s ability field, there are very few people who can accept the position of Executor. If it’s determined after the meeting that I need to be relieved of my duties, the only candidate I can think of is the current president of Wanyuan Group, Mr. Yan Xingzhou. But everyone should be well aware of the relationship between our United Administration and President Yan during this period.”

The meaningful trailing note of his voice plunged the surroundings into silence. The crowd that had just wanted to drag Gu Beiqiu and the Hua Country United Administration down couldn’t help but fall silent with complicated expressions.

It was precisely because Yan Xingzhou had left the Hua Country United Administration after Lin Xi’s death that others had come to look down on Hua Country’s ability circle even more, believing they could easily manipulate it.

But if Yan Xingzhou were to really return to his original post, or even replace Gu Beiqiu and take over the position of Executor, then that would be…

After all, in comparison, even the eccentric Lin Xi of the past was much easier to get along with than Yan Xingzhou.

When the crowd looked at Gu Beiqiu again, their eyes were filled with complexity.

This old fox had long planned to use this move to turn the tables on them!

Sensing the change in atmosphere, Primo glanced at Gu Beiqiu with a faint smile, then swept his gaze around the room. “Since Executor Gu has so cooperatively made all the preparations, let’s table this matter for later. Does anyone have any objections?”

No one objected when he finished speaking. He smiled with satisfaction. “Alright, let’s move on to resolving the more critical issue at hand.”

Primo nodded and looked at the holographic map, which was becoming increasingly dense with red dots. “According to the rift data statistics provided by the monitoring department, reserve forces are already on their way to support various countries. The number of rifts that have suddenly appeared is indeed quite large, but there’s no need to worry too much for now. At least this rate of increase is still within a controllable range. Compared to these, what I’m more worried about now is that S-class rift in Lar Asia.”

He turned his head to look. “Is there still no new information from Samuel’s side?”

“No,” replied the A-Country diplomat who had accompanied Samuel to Hua Country for the funeral. His usually composed face could not hide his worry. “This has never happened before. You know Samuel’s ability. No matter what, it’s impossible for there to have been no response until now.”

Primo’s brow finally furrowed slightly.

Although the situation inside that rift was still unknown, for even Samuel to have an accident, any support would have to be a top-tier ability user, at least of special-grade strength, if not an X-code user. If there hadn’t been a tide of rifts erupting elsewhere, he might have been able to allocate manpower. But now, just with the locations where these red dots appeared, the manpower within A-Country was already very tight. Although there were other X-code ability users in the country, sending that person to rescue Samuel would probably be counterproductive.

His gaze slowly swept across the room. He could see the representatives of various countries subconsciously avoiding his gaze, given the tight manpower situation in their own countries.

As a suitable candidate came to his mind, he was just about to reach for his phone when, with a clang, the conference room door was pushed open from the outside.

The conference hall on the top floor of the International Special Abilities General Bureau—for someone to make such an impudent move in such a solemn place, even without looking, Primo already knew who it was.

Instead of feeling any relief at the person’s appearance, he rubbed his temples with a bit of a headache. “Weren’t you on vacation? Why are you suddenly back?”

“With something this big happening, of course I should return to my post at the first opportunity.” The newcomer was dressed in a tight-fitting leather outfit. Facing the gazes of the crowd, he wore a nonchalant, teasing smile. “What do you think, did I come at just the right time? The problem that good-for-nothing Samuel can’t solve can, of course, only be handed over to me to solve, right?”

Primo looked up, his expression momentarily dark and unreadable.

Suddenly appearing here at this time, are you sure you’re here to solve problems and not to add more trouble?

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