187: Chapter 187 This seat, isn't it upside down?

The screen unfolded. The first video clip. Sining City.

Two thousand soldiers from the Wilderness Suppression Bureau descended from the sky, slamming into the defensive line of the Sining City wall. Within moments, they all burst out of their clothes.

Two thousand thirty-two-meter-tall Obsidian Giants stood atop the city wall, their pitch-black rock patterns reflecting a cold, sharp luster. They strode into the beast tide. One foot, one beast. One punch, a whole swath.

In the center of the screen, a scarlet figure stood outside the city. The Lieyuan spear pointed forward. The figures of three Tier 6 exotic beasts were clearly visible. Fifteen seconds later, the screen froze; three corpses of Tier 6 exotic beasts lay on the wilderness. In the conference room, breathing suddenly stopped.

The second video clip. Outside Pingan City, deep in the wilderness. Exotic beasts filled the sky, confronting each other from a distance, a dark, overwhelming mass covering everything.

In the center of the screen, a giant spear hung high. That scarlet figure gripped the spear in the Void Realm and slashed horizontally.

The moment the purple light bloomed, the earth split open. An abyss extended from under his feet to the end of the line of sight; the ground on both sides collapsed, and the exotic beasts stopped in their tracks. In the distance, a hundred-meter giant python coiled on the other side of the abyss. Golden slit pupils stared for a moment. It turned around. It retreated. A Tier 7 exotic beast... had retreated.

Fang Yuanxing felt secretly smug. It was a pity he hadn't captured the kill footage; he didn't know how that python king had eventually died, but just the footage of it being forced to retreat was shocking enough.

The screen switched again. The third video clip. Outside the Pingan City walls. The sun was shining brightly. A group of commoners squatted in the fields outside the city wall, wearing straw hats, planting vegetables. Outside the city! Planting vegetables!

A group of elderly men and women squatted in the fields, watering and fertilizing the vegetable patches, while children played and frolicked on the ridges. Someone had set up a parasol and moved a table outside the city to play cards. Further away, the Public Security Bureau was patrolling, and the engineering department was constructing defensive works. It was a scene of prosperity.

The conference hall was deathly silent; people even forgot to drink the tea they had brought to their lips. Outside the city walls... planting vegetables? Playing cards? Playing around? The absurdity of this scene was more suffocating than the previous two combat clips.

Fang Yuanxing crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. His mouth stretched from ear to ear. He had collected all this footage himself, and every segment had been carefully selected. The combat footage was meant to shock. The vegetable planting footage was the finale. First, show them gods, then show them the human world. The impact was maximized.

The conference room exploded.

"My god..." City Lord Ma Chong slumped in his chair.

"Thirty-meter-tall giants... two thousand of them? What kind of spiritual power is that? How is that possible?"

Zhou Mingyuan braced his hands on the table. His eyes were wide open.

"The three Tier 6 beasts in Sining City... so that's how they were dealt with! No wonder Chen Zhan had that tone..."

"It turns out the big shot was sitting right next to him."

"I just want to know one thing now... how old is he?"

Chen Zhan's voice drifted over, very calm.

"Eighteen."

Silence, a long silence.

"...I reached Level 5 at thirty-seven and thought my talent was pretty good," one city lord said with a dry voice, "Now I feel like I've lived my whole life for nothing."

"No, you haven't lived for nothing; you're just highlighting how brilliantly others live."

Fang Yuanxing huddled in the back row. He forced himself not to laugh out loud. Awesome! Seeing the expressions on these people's faces was fucking satisfying!

"Planting vegetables outside the city..." Secretary-General Chen Yongzhi's voice drifted, "This means... it means the commoners aren't afraid of exotic beasts at all! Inside the city, outside the city, it's a safe zone!"

"Within a 500-kilometer radius, have the exotic beasts really been cleared out?!"

Secretary-General Chen Yongzhi's hand holding the document was trembling. He glanced at the empty chair at the head of the table, then at the young man resting with his eyes closed at the end of the table. This seat... isn't it swapped?

Representative Shen Zheng's expression was grim. He had already seen this footage once at headquarters. When the intelligence department submitted it, he had stared at the scene of the spear splitting the abyss and watched it repeatedly. Seeing it again now, his heart still couldn't stop racing. It was too absurd! Level 5. This level of combat output could not be matched by any reference case in the headquarters' database.

The screen turned off. The conference room fell silent. The silence lasted for a long time. They had thought it would be a competition to see who was worse off, but who knew that Pingan City would stand alone as the best.

Secretary-General Chen Yongzhi swallowed hard. The reporting phase was over. Next was the resource allocation.

His eyes darted. He looked at Representative Shen Zheng. This matter would offend people; whoever got more or less would always leave someone dissatisfied, especially in the current situation... Qin Yaotian had just died. The new head of the government hadn't been decided. Him, a secretary-general, making the final call? No way, let whoever wants to do it, do it!

"Representative Shen Zheng," Secretary-General Chen Yongzhi cleared his throat, "regarding the resource allocation, please let headquarters make the final decision."

The ball had been kicked away. The hat had been passed. Representative Shen Zheng remained silent. Damn it, this guy is really not a good person! However... this was also an opportunity.

He stood up. He scanned everyone present.

"Since the situation in each city is now clear." His voice was not loud, but his articulation was clear, "The exotic beasts within five hundred kilometers of Pingan City have been cleared, their troops are abundant, and according to the principles of joint defense coordination..."

"Except for Pingan City, the resource allocation ratio for other cities will remain unchanged."

"As for Pingan City..."

"At the current stage, there is no defense pressure."

"For the sake of the big picture."

"I suggest transferring 2,700 soldiers from the Pingan City Wilderness Suppression Bureau to assist in the defense of the other six cities."

"At the same time, they should give up 80% of their resource quota."

The words fell. Silence. Deathly silence. No one dared to speak. Everyone deliberately lowered their breathing. That was a ruthless move! Two thousand seven hundred people. 80% of the resources. This wasn't coordination; this was cutting meat!

Was the reasoning correct? Yes, it held water; Pingan City had no exotic beast threat, so idle troops were indeed a waste. But reasoning was one thing. The reality was another thing entirely. This god of slaughter had just twisted off Qin Yaotian's head, and the blood on his spear hadn't even dried yet. Now you want to move his people? Move his resources? Are you looking for death?

Representative Shen Zheng, relying on the backing of headquarters, dared to speak openly and push it to the limit. But they didn't dare to agree! The entire room was silent. No one seconded. No one opposed.

Zhou Mingyuan hunched his neck and stared at the table. City Lord Ma Chong held his teacup, pretending to drink. Secretary-General Chen Yongzhi lowered his head to look at the document, reading it with extreme focus, his finger pointing at each word. No one dared to pick up the conversation.

Chen Zhan clenched his fists. Fang Yuanxing subconsciously looked at Su Ming. Big brother, you must stay calm! This is just a proposal, just a proposal, it's open for discussion. Representative Shen Zheng pushed the price so low all at once, which was somewhat mixed with personal vendettas, but it also fit standard operating procedures.

Principal Han Chengde and Elder Yan exchanged glances, both remaining silent. They were waiting. Waiting for that young man's reaction.

Su Ming leaned against the back of his chair. His fingertips tapped lightly on the armrest. Everyone's breathing hitched, and their gazes instantly converged on him.

"I agree."

Wha... what?! A dozen pairs of eyes instantly widened. Su Ming's mouth twitched.

"I am willing to transfer three thousand soldiers of the Wilderness Suppression Bureau."

Representative Shen Zheng was stunned. It wasn't just him; everyone present was stunned. City Lord Ma Chong's hand holding the teacup hung in mid-air. Zhou Mingyuan's mouth was open, having forgotten to close it.

The document in Secretary-General Chen Yongzhi's hand slid onto the table with a crisp slap, sounding exceptionally jarring in the quiet conference room. Representative Shen Zheng was the first to regain his senses.

"You... agreed?"