As the chief secretary to the Prime Minister, Yuan Lin is naturally not a real country bumpkin. He has been to countless so-called high-end clubs, but he has never seen one that can be so intimidating.
A true floating castle.
That kind of white is not dry, but a warm and soft white that seems to reflect light. The flickering light under the castle base reveals an indescribable magnificence in the gradually falling night.
Yuan Lin was silent for a long time, then whispered: "How did you fly?"
"It's an optical illusion."
Xiao Xu laughed softly and said: "Under the castle is a new type of alloy. The most advanced optical camouflage technology in Central Continent has been introduced. The alloy is mixed with a large amount of invisible materials. The entire castle is basically made of white marble, which can provide a stable light source.
, there is super alloy reinforcement inside. In this state, whether it is day or night, the invisible alloy below can remain invisible, so we look like this castle is floating."
"They... really dare to think..."
Yuan Lin said with difficulty, the most advanced optical camouflage technology in Central Continent is the technology of the Dongcheng family. It is still classified as a secret and is basically used in some cutting-edge weapons. But the result is that the East Palace is used to build a club?
"If you dare to think about it, you have to be rich. This castle plus nearly five tons of alloy below and some technologies cost more than 700 million. And there is also a saying about this height. The height of the castle is 20
Two meters, just beyond the attack limit of ordinary air-bending realm and ice-condensing realm. The alloy under the castle is also equipped with an automated weapon system. If fired at full strength, the sufficient firepower can even temporarily suppress the thunder realm masters. Inside
The security guards are all elites selected by the East Palace and rotate regularly. This club can be said to be the safest place in Xuanyuan City besides the East Palace and the City Hall. The membership fee is a full 100 million in the first year and must pass strict inspections.
Thirty million per year..."
Xiao Xu shook his head, feeling a little emotional.
"One hundred million?"
Yuan Lin gritted his teeth. Looking at all of Central China and even the whole world, there was no club that dared to ask for a membership fee of 100 million, and after that there would be an annual fee of 30 million.
Xiao Xu narrowed his eyes and nodded: "It is said that it was the idea of the little princess of the Beihai Wang family. She proposed the new city plan. The city in the sky is also part of this plan. The admission fee of 100 million seems to be a lot, but according to our
According to the investigation, in the past two years, more than two hundred applications have been received here, but less than one-tenth of them can actually become Sky City members. The club will conduct a preliminary review to determine whether to accept a new member.
The final decision lies with the Eastern Palace."
"What's the point?"
Yuan Lin's mind was still a little confused, and various thoughts kept wandering in his mind, and finally he became without ideas.
"This is the alliance of the Eastern Palace."
Xiao Xu curled his lips: "Pure financial resources are not enough to join the Sky City, but also have enough value. Donghuang Palace will bring all members together to achieve a state similar to resource sharing, thus forming a diverse community.
This is just the first club of the alliance. Donghuang Palace’s plan is to spread the Sky City all over the country. At that time, it may be divided into first-level clubs, second-level clubs, or even third-level clubs. Different levels have different thresholds, forming one and another.
In a circle of interests surrounding the East Palace, alliances at all levels will continue to operate, creating endless benefits for the East Palace. Under such circumstances, the annual membership fee is not worth mentioning at all, because everyone can count it.
Earn money back several times or even dozens of times.”
Yuan Lin's face changed, he was shocked and angry, and he said hoarsely: "This is equivalent to squeezing the resources of Central Continent to create benefits for Xuanyuan City. If this alliance is large enough, it is almost equivalent to invasion, is..."
Xiao Xu turned his head and glanced at Yuan Lin.
His eyes were sharp and calm.
"It cannot be considered an invasion."
He lowered his voice and said softly: "Unless Yuan Ting regards the Eastern Palace as the enemy of Zhongzhou."
Yuan Lin's expression suddenly froze for a moment.
Xiao Xu took a deep breath, said no more, took out a badge from his pocket, and took Yuan Lin a few steps forward.
The light from the base of the castle enveloped their bodies.
The exquisite emblem also glowed.
In Yuan Lin's confused expression, a crack suddenly appeared in the air that was clearly empty in front of him.
The crack grew bigger and bigger and turned into a door.
At the door is a simple but not monotonous grand hall.
A row of young girls in uniforms smiled sweetly: "Welcome."
Yuan Lin walked in silently and entered the elevator.
The elevator goes all the way up and officially enters the clubhouse.
Yuan Lin, who was dazzled all the way, entered a box under the guidance of the waiter.
It was like a middle-aged man with a stern face in a private room in the study room of a noble man in medieval Europe, looking at the notebook in front of him and typing rapidly on the keyboard with his hands.
He was obviously very familiar with Yuan Lin. When he heard the door opening, he just glanced at it casually, nodded and said to sit down, and then continued busy with the work at hand.
Xiao Xu poured Yuan Lin a cup of tea and quietly left.
Yuan Lin picked up the tea cup and took a sip. Amid the rich aroma of tea, he finally regained his composure.
Amidst the intensive typing on the keyboard, Yuan Lin glanced at him and asked: "Dahai, are you a member here?"
"To be precise, the first batch of members."
Liu Dahai responded expressionlessly. The two were college classmates, and they shared bunk beds in the same dormitory. Their friendship for many years no longer required any politeness. He waved his hand, picked up the tea cup in front of him, took a sip, and sighed.
: "There are a total of eighteen members in the three batches of Sky City. I am the first batch and the last one. To be precise, this quota is not mine, but belongs to the cabinet. I am just using it temporarily."
"Have you paid?"
Yuan Lin raised his eyebrows.
"certainly."
Liu Dahai sneered: "A full 100 million, special funds approved by the cabinet, Xuanyuan City is now very confident, and it is natural to accept the money."
"There's a lot of resentment."
Yuan Lin said with a smile: "The cabinet paid for you to come here to enjoy it, what else are you dissatisfied with?"
Liu Dahai typed a line of words on the keyboard, seemed dissatisfied, and deleted it completely.
He clicked the save button, turned off the computer, picked up a lot of information and sat on the sofa opposite Yuan Lin.
"It's not resentment."
His voice was low and muffled: "To be precise... I'm dissatisfied and a little scared."
He opened the drawer and took out a box of top-quality cigars provided for free by the club, and remained silent for a long time.
"Tell me more specifically."
Yuan Lin glanced at him and said slowly.
Liu Dahai is a typical scholar-type cadre. Although he has a very good relationship with Yuan Lin, such people are basically unlikely to be classified into any group and become a confidant of a certain group. He does not have a specific position in the cabinet.
Investigator at the level of Lieutenant Governor.
In the past two years, Liu Dahai has spent most of his time in Tiannan.
To be precise, it was in Xuanyuan City.
He formed a research team with an elite team drawn from various departments. From the beginning to the present, they have been conducting research work in Xuanyuan City.
Some information that does not involve the secrets of the Eastern Palace but is extremely important was basically provided by Liu Dahai to Zhongzhou.
The East Palace obviously knew this, and had no objection to the arrival of Liu Dahai, who had no group brand on him, but did not support it either, and simply pretended not to see it.
In the past hundred years, Liu Dahai has submitted more and more reports to the cabinet, from about one piece of information a month at the beginning to three or four reports a month now, basically one piece of information a week.
Yuan Lin came here for two purposes. The first was to secretly meet with a certain big shot in Tiannan on behalf of Chen Fangqing. The second was to contact Liu Dahai and get a deeper understanding of the current situation in Xuanyuan City.
"Xuanyuan City..."
Liu Dahai lit his cigar. Amidst the smoke, he thought seriously for a long time before slowly saying: "In the past six months, Xuanyuan City has changed a lot, very big..."
"Everything you see now was basically built in the past six months."
"Part of the urban planning of the city hall is submitted to the cabinet, but it is only a part and not complete. I have already said this in the report."
"Half a year ago, Xuanyuan City was being demolished. Except for the construction of the East Palace, they only built an area near the city hall."
"I collected some relevant information and intelligence, and observed in detail some investors who entered Xuanyuan City, and then asked Xiao Wang to make a relatively simple model that can roughly analyze the financial resources of the Eastern Palace. Xiao Wang
You should know that senior researchers from the Ministry of Finance are very professional in this area. Judging from the financial resources of the East Palace half a year ago, their construction of Xuanyuan City is relatively normal. That kind of construction speed allows them to retain some relatively abundant resources.
funds."
Liu Dahai took a puff of his cigar: "But the situation suddenly changed half a year ago. The city hall began to continuously introduce various projects. The city planning images were thrown out as if they had been prepared for a long time. The whole city was being demolished. Near the city hall
The downtown area changes every day. Famous designers from all over the world are rushing to Xuanyuan City. They gather to design different buildings, streets, and greenings. The young Mayor Ning of Xuanyuan City was even more so during the interview.
He said that he wants to make the entire Xuanyuan City a luxury product."
"A large amount of funds are thrown away as if they are free. Let me give you an example. Xuanyuan City has been developing for two years. In the past six months, they have spent much more money than they did in the previous year and a half. It is probably more than before.
It cost six times more in a year and a half.”
"In the past six months, some wealthy families have reduced their investment in Xuanyuan City under certain pressures. There has been no significant increase in the transfer of interests from the five Eastern European countries. Central Continent has also not allocated funds to Xuanyuan City..."
"So where does the money come from? This is not a little extra money out of thin air, but hundreds of billions out of thin air. Judging from the current situation, it may be more than hundreds of billions, because the transformation of Xuanyuan City is getting faster and faster.
Donghuang Palace seems not to have worried about not having enough money at all.”
"Such a huge amount of funds means that there must be more than one top financial group behind the East Palace supporting the development of Xuanyuan City..."
Liu Dahai hesitated for a moment, and his voice was a little complicated: "What I am most worried and frightened about is whether the wealthy family that secretly supports the finances of the East Palace and Xuanyuan City are actually the wealthy families of Central Continent..."
His voice was a little hoarse: "If not...then the built Xuanyuan City is still Xuanyuan City in Central Continent?"
Yuan Lin was suddenly startled and raised his head to look at Liu Dahai.
Liu Dahai lowered his head with a strange silence.
This almost means that Liu Dahai is accusing the Eastern Palace of treason and joining an overseas consortium.
He thought about that possibility and shook his head subconsciously: "Could it be the Beihai Wang Family? They definitely have the strength."
"The financial situation of the Beihai Wang family is very stable, with no fluctuations in the past two years. Of course, they also contributed money to the construction of Xuanyuan City, but most of their support for Xuanyuan City comes from armaments. It is not excluded that the Beihai Wang family
It is possible that the Wang family’s secret power can fund the East Palace, but it is unlikely. Such a large amount of money is not a small amount for the Beihai Wang family. It is illogical to give it to the East Palace for nothing.”
"So...you suspect overseas consortiums?"
Yuan Lin was thoughtful.
"This point was very critical half a year ago. Everything was normal in the East Palace, but I had no way of knowing the information about Desert Prison and Li Tianlan."
Liu Dahai said calmly.
Li Tianlan...half a year ago...
Yuan Lin's heart moved: "Half a year ago, the military advisor went to the desert prison."
"Who is the military advisor?"
Liu Dahai narrowed his eyes.
"have no idea."
Yuan Lin shook his head: "Not sure yet."
Liu Dahai looked at Yuan Lin silently for a while. The military advisor was the King of Samsara Palace and not a member of the Central Continent system. How could such a person go to the Desert Prison?
He then thought of Dongcheng Wudi, feeling weak in his heart. He shook his head, changed the subject, and said slowly: "Except where the money comes from, Xuanyuan City's current plan does not seem to be building a city."
"Um?"
Yuan Lin glanced at him.
"It feels to me that the development direction of Xuanyuan City is completely like an independent kingdom, or in other words, a foundation that belongs only to the East Palace itself, with an entire city as its foundation."
Liu Dahai said.
"I know about the new city plan."
Yuan Lin nodded.
"No, you don't know. In other words, the reality is even more exaggerated than you imagined, and it's much more exaggerated."
Liu Dahai took a deep breath, flipped through the information in his hand, and confirmed the data: "According to our research results, combined with their city planning map, most of the buildings in Xuanyuan City are unscientific and unreasonable. To be precise,
, which is a waste of quite a lot of resources. You should be able to see when you come here that there are no high-rise buildings in Xuanyuan City, and the distance between buildings is so large that it is almost luxurious. If this city is built, it can only accommodate about 150,000 people.
The limit for people should not exceed 250,000."
"Compared with Youzhou, the area of Xuanyuan City can accommodate at least 800 to 10 million people, and here, the limit is only 200,000 people. This means that Xuanyuan City alone occupies several areas of Central Continent.
There is only enough living space for ten people, and what’s more serious is that Donghuang Palace has no intention of letting the city’s population reach its limit.”
"Do you know what is the most precious thing in Xuanyuan City now? It's not money, it's household registration. The city hall has not yet clearly released relevant information about Xuanyuan City's future household registration. However, judging from various channels, Xuanyuan City's future household registration
The requirements for household registration will be incredibly strict. There are currently countless families who want to join Xuanyuan City and settle here, but what we know is that there are very few families that have actually received the promise from the city hall that they can settle here in the future."
"The city hall is already considering the issue of household registration, followed closely by the issue of social welfare. It is foreseeable that, just like this city that is almost a luxury, the social welfare in Xuanyuan City will also be staggeringly high.
Because they are so small, with more than 100,000 or 200,000 people, and with the financial resources shown by the East Palace, it is possible to provide them with free food, clothing, housing and transportation."
Liu Dahai paused for a moment and suddenly said: "Do you know what this means?"
Yuan Lin looked gloomy and nodded: "This means that the East Palace has not considered matters outside Xuanyuan City, including Zhongzhou, for the time being. The East Palace considers the environment of Xuanyuan City and Tiannan first, and then the environment of Tiannan.
It’s Middle-earth.”
He narrowed his eyes and said coldly: "The wolf's ambition is obvious!"
"Some insider information shows that in the future, to join the Xuanyuan City household registration, you must first become part of the East Palace. In other words, outsiders are not welcome here. The entire city, in the long run, and even the entire province, as long as they are from Tiannan, then
He must be from the East Palace."
"This should be a recent change made by the East Palace. It is not part of the original plan for the new city. It may be the military advisor from the Reincarnation Palace, or the new leader of the Lin clan, or it may be Li Tianlan's own idea. They
Learned the lessons from the Wang family’s game between Zhongzhou and Beihai.”
"The East Palace wants to completely turn Tiannan into a part of itself, nakedly, not as subtle as the Wang family in Beihai."
"A province... everyone is a member of the East Palace. At least one of their family members will work in the East Palace. The East Palace builds the best city, the most luxurious conditions, and the highest social welfare... This
Everything is just like a beautiful dream. If...I mean if, this scene continues, many years later, people in Nanxing Province will be immersed in this kind of life. They have become accustomed to it. Zhongzhou is like the Wang family in Beihai.
If we treat the East Palace like that, what will happen to the people of the East Palace whose best life is ruined?"
Yuan Lin's body trembled slightly.
"them..."
Liu Dahai's voice was a bit difficult: "To compare with others, they will tear apart anyone who wants to destroy their living environment like a madman, regardless of life or death, regardless of the consequences, at all costs!"
Yuan Lin suddenly felt a chill that penetrated into his bones.
There was silence in the box for a long time.
Yuan Lin puffed on his cigar and stretched out his hand to take a pile of information in front of Liu Dahai.
"It's a worthwhile trip."
He forced a smile, organized the information, and solemnly said: "When I return, I will hand these to the Prime Minister as soon as possible."
Liu Dahai nodded and asked with some confusion: "You won't go back now?"
"I made an appointment to meet someone here."
Yuan Lin smiled and looked down at his watch: "There are still ten minutes."
Liu Dahai immediately understood the meaning of his words, nodded and said: "I understand, I'll go first."
Yuan Lin stood up with a smile and walked him to the door. Then he stretched out his hand to hold the palm of his old classmate and said softly: "Thank you very much."
After a pause, he continued to smile: "But you shouldn't be in Tiannan for too long."
Liu Dahai smiled, turned and left.
Yuan Lin suppressed his smile, returned to the box with a heavy heart, picked up the pile of information, and read it carefully.
What he himself didn't want to admit was that there was already a trace of panic in his heart.
For him, the more powerful the Eastern Palace is and the brighter the future, the darker his future becomes.
It’s different from Liu Dahai.
It's different from most people.
He is Chen Fangqing's secretary.
It had been less than twenty-four hours since Li Tianlan came out of the desert prison.
Chen Fangqing has lost three immediate family members.
Chen Lijuan even died in front of him.
The bloody and ferocious aura rushed towards his face, with a strong desire for revenge. Yuan Lin could clearly feel the danger and tragedy in it.
East Palace, Beihai Wang Family, Prime Minister.
These three parties are now truly fighting to the death.
If Chen Fangqing fails and falls, it is foreseeable that Yuan Lin's future will be bleak. This is still the best outcome.
If something goes wrong even slightly, not to mention the future will be bleak, whether you can survive or not will be a question.
Yuan Lin lowered his head and studied the information in his hand carefully.
His body was trembling slightly and he was gritting his teeth.
"You are scared and angry. Does this mean you have no confidence in the next development of the situation?"
A voice with a faint smile suddenly sounded.
Yuan Lin's body shook suddenly, and he raised his head reflexively: "Who?!"
There was a familiar sound in the box.
Yuan Lin almost instantly thought of the heavy snowfall in front of the Cabinet Office.
The extremely fierce wind and the extremely sharp edge.
The invisible wind in front of me is not as sharp, but it is much thicker.
He thought of Chen Lijuan whose body had thousands of penetrating wounds.
Yuan Lin's face was pale, and his eyes were a little frightened and desperate.
A figure quickly sketched out where Liu Dahai had been sitting.
This is a figure that looks slender and tall.
Waves that seemed to be present or absent enveloped his whole body, like starlight or clouds, and no one could clearly see his appearance.
He was sitting opposite Yuan Lin, and Yuan Lin could vaguely see that he was smiling.
He smiled and nodded, seemingly politely: "I'm just a lobbyist."
Night falls.
The shining light of the city in the sky becomes more and more magnificent and dreamy.
The Passat was still parked there, leaning on the seat at dawn, listening to music, closing its eyes and concentrating.
Li Kuangtu gently tapped the edge of the car window, not knowing what he was thinking about.
The heavy and fierce wind blew from afar and into the city in the sky.
At dawn, I instinctively opened my eyes with vigilance.
"he came."
Li Kuangtu said calmly.
Li Xiao frowned, heard the gust of wind just now, and said softly: "It's a little strange."
"Not the real person."
Li Kuangtu shook his head, his fingers still tapping the edge of the car window. One after another transparent sword energy slowly spread out along the car window, extending upwards and entering the city in the sky.
The space in the box was distorted silently.
There was no sound of wind.
The air twisted into a vortex at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The vortex kept turning, becoming more and more scattered.
Countless scattered lines outline Kuangtu Li's figure, which looks more and more real.
Yuan Lin was stunned for a moment, then stood up and said respectfully: "I have met His Highness."
Li Kuangtu raised his head and looked at Yuan Lin quietly. After a while, he nodded slightly and casually said: "Sit down."
Yuan Lin seemed to have adapted to the unusual appearance of the two guests and sat down slowly.
"It's not you who asked me out."
Li Kuangtu glanced at Yuan Lin, and his eyes immediately fell on the starry cloud in front of him.
It was a cloud of starlight that even he couldn't see through.
"I made an appointment with you."
In the mist, His Majesty laughed sincerely: "Let me talk about a lobbyist. Your Highness, since he is here, you might as well listen to what he has to say. The price offered by the Prime Minister of Zhongzhou is usually not low. If you can reach an agreement directly,
I am willing to remain silent the entire time."
Li Kuangtu looked at His Majesty's figure carefully.
The sword energy was densely intertwined, forming an extremely blurry field.
The other party is obviously not the real person.
It's the same sword energy projection as him.
Li Kuangtu watched quietly, not knowing for a moment whether the other party did this out of caution or to show strength in front of him.
He was silent for a while, looked at Yuan Lin, and asked directly: "What does Chen Fangqing want to say?"
"The Prime Minister hopes to have in-depth cooperation with Tiandu Purgatory."
Yuan Lin spoke in a respectful voice.
Li Kuangtu moved.
The sword energy projection suddenly became ethereal, but his face became more and more real: "What about?"
Yuan Lin couldn't adapt to the other party's straightforward rhythm, so he could only bite the bullet and said: "The Prime Minister hopes that your Highness can participate in the decisive battle in Beihai. At least now, he has the same position as you. If you can make the Eastern Palace disappear, Prime Minister
Offer a reward you can't refuse."
Li Kuangtu chuckled softly and said calmly: "Be more detailed."
"As long as the Eastern Imperial Palace and the Beihai Wang Family disappear, the core industry of the Beihai Wang Family, he can make the decision to give a part of Tiandu Purgatory, and at the same time officially accept Tiandu Purgatory to re-enter Central Continent, and be responsible for the development of Tiannan."
Yuan Lin took a deep breath and said calmly: "In other words, if you can satisfy the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister will definitely satisfy you. If the East Palace does not exist, Tiannan, including Xuanyuan City, will belong to Tiandu Purgatory in the future.
Already."
"Sounds pretty good."
Li Kuangtu said calmly.
Yuan Lin took a puff of his cigar, and in the light smoke, his voice was a little low: "The Prime Minister can do this."
Li Kuangtu was unconvinced.
Looking at it now, Chen Fangqing's promise is undoubtedly a bit ridiculous.
However, if the East Palace and the Beihai Wang family disappear, Chen Fangqing will indeed be able to do this.
Cooperating with Chen Fangqing means joining the alliance of His Majesty in front of you.
Li Kuangtu quickly thought about the pros and cons.
He suddenly glanced at His Majesty in front of him and asked, "Do you have anything to say?"
"I just have one question."
His Majesty said with a smile: "Now the entire dark world thinks that Li Tianlan will become the new genius. Your Highness, have you really seen or understood the extreme state of the genius?"
The ultimate state of genius.
Kuangtu Li's pupils shrank slightly.
Before he could speak, His Majesty already laughed: "You don't want to see it."
He smiled and said: "I can guarantee this, so this is the reason for our cooperation this time."