Chapter 1

The wind in Great Capital today was particularly clamorous.

But not gentle.

Especially on the thirty-ninth floor rooftop of the Nanwan Building.

"It's said that standing here, you can overlook the entire Great Capital District…"

A gaunt man in a long black trench coat sat perched on the edge of the Nanwan Building's rooftop, his hands bracing against the ground. At this height, the biting wind scraped against the hem of his coat like a knife, causing it to sway back and forth.

"That's bullshit."

A calm but disdainful response came from behind.

The flowing wind swept across the rooftop of the building, forming a weak vortex close to the ground.

The person who spoke had his arms crossed, wearing a black trench coat almost identical to the previous one, but it looked rather comical on him. The hem of the long coat lay piled on the ground, and when the wind lifted a corner…it could be seen that his feet weren't touching the ground at all, but rather hovering above the rooftop.

The man appeared tall because he was actually suspended half a meter above the ground; his true height was probably only one and a half meters, or perhaps…a little more.

A dwarf who looked like a giant.

He said disdainfully, "Standing on top of this building, you can't see anything…just in terms of height, in Central Continent, it's not even a third of the height of the Source Tower, maybe even less!"

"After all, this is East Continent, just a small, broken building…it can't compare to the Source Tower."

The gaunt man smiled and slowly stood up. Half of his body hung over the edge of the building, swaying slightly in the wind, looking like he might fall at any moment. But in reality, his feet seemed to be glued to the ground, standing exceptionally steady, like refined steel.

"This is my second time in Great Capital in ten years…actually, it's developed quite quickly, and the scenery is quite beautiful, much better than I imagined." The gaunt man brushed the dust off his shoulder and said softly, "What I said earlier was actually what Chen San said. When he first won the seat of councilor of the Great Capital District, he was an ambitious man. At that time, he felt that the higher he stood, the farther he could see, and standing on the rooftop of the Nanwan Building, he could compete with Zhao Xilai, which could be considered overlooking the entire Great Capital."

The gnome hovering in the air sneered, "Give me a break. Nanwan is being beaten so badly by the Huazhi that they can't even lift their heads. Being able to see their own little patch of land in front of them is already a blessing. After the federal investigation team closes the case, how far can you see standing on this building? Can you see the distant Nan River? He's no match for Zhao Xilai at all."

The gaunt man smiled, agreeing somewhat, and then murmured softly, "Now that he's determined to oppose the bill…I don't think Chen San realizes what price he's about to pay for his choice."

As he spoke, a few faint lights flashed in the distance.

Several drones circling in the air, carrying the Deep Sea's "Sky Eye," patrolled the area above the Nanwan Building.

After the power outage, Nanwan's defense was extremely tight.

Every so often, the Sky Eye would capture the scenery around the building in all directions.

"Beep—"

The fleeting lights landed on the two men on the rooftop of the building, but there was nothing unusual, no alarm, no warning, as if…they had photographed the air.

At the moment of recording, an invisible force distorted the air, as if forming a twisted barrier, erasing the images of the two men.

In fact, thanks to the support of the massive database computing power, the Deep Sea's "Sky Eye" could detect unusual transcendent auras and report them immediately. The main brain would then calculate whether there was any danger…this layer of air wall could block the eyes of normal people, but it could not block the "Sky Eye" under Deep Sea's focus.

However, there were always exceptions.

All of Deep Sea's actions, from recording to uploading to warning…every level required permission. Although it was just a "moment" of completion, it actually went through layers of approval.

And at the instant of detecting an unusual transcendent aura, a certain command that had been predetermined in the program was automatically triggered and issued instructions.

The authority of this command was far higher than that of the Nanwan Building's administrator.

So.

The report was interrupted.

From the perspective of what happened on the surface…it was as if nothing had happened.

But…the normal patrol procedures still had to go through a complete process. The drones lined up in a formation, slowly rotating around the Nanwan Building—

The gnome hovering in the air frowned. He stared at the drones flying back and forth, gradually losing patience.

In his eyes…these drones equipped with the "Sky Eye" were like mosquitoes buzzing in his ears. Although they wouldn't trigger an alarm, it was still annoying to have them flying around him all the time.

The gnome flicked his finger.

Clang!

At the point where his fingertip struck, a ripple stirred in the void, like a chess piece being knocked out…but the transmission of this chess piece wasn't linear, but rather discontinuous, skipping, shattering the distance of dozens of meters of void before directly blasting all of these drones to pieces!

With a "bang"!

The Sky Eyes were blown up, and a puff of green smoke emanated into the air. The patrolling drones exploded one after another in the high air above the building, turning into a burst of shattered daytime fireworks.

Seeing this scene, the gaunt man's expression turned gloomy. He whispered, "Tie Wu, Lord Jiu should have reminded you, don't be high-profile on this trip to Great Capital. Before you act…don't let people know that the Apostle has arrived."

The gnome, Tie Wu, disagreed.

"Lao Qin, relax."

He said nonchalantly, "The Sky Eyes are damaged…all the time. Even if the staff of this little broken building investigate, they'll find that the final recording from Deep Sea is normal. It's just an ordinary accident. No one will care about the crash of these few drones. Besides, I'm responsible for the mission in Great Capital, it has nothing to do with you. I'll use my own way to resolve the dispute over the bill."

Lao Qin's expression gradually returned to calm, and he didn't continue to speak.

"Lord Jiu asked me to kill Lu Nanzhi…but Chen San's office is right below us. If we get rid of him, wouldn't the matter of the bill be resolved more thoroughly?" Tie Wu said regretfully, "Killing a woman sounds really boring."

"Chen San is always accompanied by a titled Transcendent."

The gaunt man reminded him calmly, "It's Gu Zhi of [Frost River], who retired from the North Continent Fortress ten years ago. You should have heard of his title, right? A starved camel is bigger than a horse…although his strength has declined, he's still a titled Transcendent."

Frost River…

Tie Wu narrowed his eyes, licked his lips, and said softly with a smile, "Of course I've heard of [Frost River]…but this old bone is about to fall apart, isn't it? Can he still fight?"

Lao Qin didn't give him any face, and said coldly, "If you don't use your artifact, he can kill you without a problem."

Tie Wu didn't feel embarrassed in the slightest.

He said frankly with a smile, "Yeah…if I don't use my artifact, I wouldn't dare to challenge a titled Transcendent. But who asked us to be 'Apostles'?"

"If you disobey the orders of the God Seat, it's another matter whether you can use the power of the badge artifact."

Lao Qin said calmly, "Lord Jiu asked you to kill Lu Nanzhi, you'd better obey the divine will."

"Okay, okay, okay."

Tie Wu looked helpless and raised his hands in surrender, "Of course I know I have to obey the divine will…I've served Lord Jiu for many years, and I haven't done anything wrong that goes against his will. What I said just now was just a joke."

"Let me make it clear to you in advance, the lord I serve has instructed me that I only need to monitor the passage of the bill in the dark. So from today onwards, whatever you do…has nothing to do with me." Lao Qin said, "I'm only responsible for confirming that the bill has passed when I leave Great Capital. Do you…understand what I mean?"

Although they were both Apostles, and had traveled from Central Continent to Great Capital together, Lao Qin and Tie Wu didn't actually serve the same God Seat.

But their goals were the same.

With the will of the highest seat, they would turn Great Capital into a chessboard.

"Understood, understood." Tie Wu's ears were almost calloused. He sighed softly, "I'll take care of the killing…you don't need to do anything."

"Yes, I won't do anything." Lao Qin stood on the rooftop of the building, overlooking the ground. Several people were gathered at the wreckage of the crashed drones. He said softly, "Even if you're beaten to death."

……

……

"Knock knock."

At the top floor of the Huazhi Building, a knock sounded at the door of Cui Zhongcheng's office.

The secretary said softly, "Mr. Cui…there's someone outside who wants to see you."

Because of the sudden change in the bill, the entire Huazhi had become very busy. The date for Lu Nanzhi to take over as a candidate councilor was approaching, and the negotiations at the Liberty Hall had been ineffective. Now, Huazhi was preparing to implement the final sanctions against her.

In order to ensure that enough pressure could be applied to force Lu Nanzhi to change her mind, simply freezing her assets and permissions was not enough…after all, she had already hidden in the old house in Lion Lane, and taking over the candidate councilor seat was a foregone conclusion. It was clear that Lu Nanzhi was prepared to give up everything from Huazhi and join the Nanwan camp.

"No appointments, no meetings."

Cui Zhongcheng was on the phone with an important figure…he didn't even raise his head.

In fact, everyone knew that the sanctions Huazhi could come up with were unlikely to change anything…if they wanted Lu Nanzhi to cast the decisive vote, then conventional methods were just a waste of time.

It was just that the old man didn't want to break ties completely.

Five minutes later.

The office door was knocked on again.

"…?"

Cui Zhongcheng frowned, put down the communicator, but didn't hang up.

And this time, there was no question. The door was pushed open, and a man in a trench coat hovering in the air slowly floated over. He circled in the air like a ghost, and then slowly landed on the sofa, found a comfortable position, and sat down lazily.

"From Central Continent." Tie Wu stretched out a hand, propped his chin lazily, and said softly, "Cui Zhongcheng, right…I've heard of your name. Don't worry, I'm just here to have a chat with you."

The door opened a crack.

Cui Zhongcheng's expression was gloomy. He glanced at the secretary who was lying unconscious on the ground.

From Central Continent…so presumptuous and rampant, his identity was already obvious.

"Is this the attitude of a chat?" Mr. Cui pushed up his monocle and said coldly.

"Don't worry, it's just ordinary hypnosis, she won't be harmed…at this juncture, if I want to see a busy person like you, I seem to have no other choice." Tie Wu smiled indifferently and said gently, "According to the original agreement with the Zhao family, the matter of the bill shouldn't be like this, with so many troubles, and even whether it can pass or not is a big question mark."

"Whether the bill can pass or not…is a matter for Great Capital, and to put it mildly, it's a matter for East Continent. It's not your turn, or the one behind you, to interfere." Cui Zhongcheng's attitude didn't change. He said expressionlessly, "The duty of the Apostle is to eliminate black spots and prevent the spread of disasters that destroy order…since when did you start interfering in other people's internal affairs?"

"Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the world." Tie Wu leaned forward and smiled, "As an Apostle, what you have to do is not just eliminate black spots, but also maintain the peace and stability of the Five Continents, which is also one of our responsibilities."

Shameless.

Extremely shameless.

"My meeting with Mr. Cui is definitely not to cause trouble. In fact, I have the highest respect for the Zhao family and Huazhi. In the future, after the bill is implemented, Central Continent will maintain close cooperation with everyone."

"I just want to convey the meaning of the lord behind me…Huazhi is handling the matter of the bill too slowly."

Tie Wu crossed his arms and sat back on the sofa, "It's just a woman, why is she so difficult to deal with? In Great Capital, is there anyone Huazhi can't bribe?"

Cui Zhongcheng said unceremoniously, "Sorry…there really is such a person, Lu Nanzhi is one."

What could be bigger than the conditions offered by Zhao Xilai?

Rejecting the right to inherit the entire Huazhi, and still opposing the bill…this kind of courage has actually inspired many people. The higher-ups who have seen the situation in East Continent and the other continents more clearly have more or less resistance to the bill in their hearts.

If we take a step back today.

What about tomorrow?

Taking one step back is taking ten thousand steps back.

"Since you can't bribe her, then just get rid of her." Tie Wu said calmly, "Kill her, and then cultivate a new candidate councilor in a short period of time…it's just a yes vote. Nanwan is now deeply mired in public opinion, and the federal investigation team will be here soon. Now is an excellent opportunity."

"……"

Cui Zhongcheng was silent for a long time, and said, "Sorry, as for the matter of the bill, how to do it…is not up to you to teach me."

"That's really surprising…has the current Zhao family become so weak? They have completely lost their initial determination."

Tie Wu shook his head regretfully, "I will truthfully convey today's conversation to the two lords of the Source Tower. I hope the two of them can still trust you so firmly. In addition, if you don't act within three days, I will have to reluctantly do the dirty work for you."

"……"

Cui Zhongcheng stared at Tie Wu, his face livid, "I won't see you off."

The black trench coat swaying in the air slowly left the ground, re-suspended and floated away. In the real-time monitoring displayed on the desktop screen…this was a shapeless ghost. Deep Sea ignored the existence of the "Apostle" and erased the traces of his visit.

After confirming that the person had left.

"Did…you hear everything?" Cui Zhongcheng said with a headache.

There was a long silence on the other end of the communicator.

"Yes…"

The voice of Old Master Zhao sounded a little weak, "Let Liu Yi take people there…"

The communicator was also turned off.

The entire office fell into silence. Cui Zhongcheng slowly leaned back. He was stunned, and the door was knocked on again.

"Like the previous person…no appointment."

The voice outside the door sounded with a smile, and it was very young.

Humble and gentle.

With no hostility.

"The difference is…my surname is Gu, and I'm from Nagano."