When Qin Shilei and An Qian stepped into the conference room, two to thirty people were already seated inside.
"Mr. Qin, Mrs. Qin, please take the seats of honor."
Seeing Qin Shilei and his wife walk in, Tan Anguo and several other important figures immediately stood up and motioned for them to sit in the front row.
After they were seated, Tan Anguo spoke first, "As long as the Insect King hidden in the shadows is not eliminated, we will not be able to sleep or eat in peace, and we might even face the destruction of our city. Everyone, please share any ideas you have."
Someone immediately interjected, "The Insect King is too powerful. Only Mr. and Mrs. Qin can deal with it. We should listen to their opinions."
Instantly, all eyes turned to Qin Shilei and An Qian.
Qin Shilei asked calmly, "To deal with the Insect King, what price are you willing to pay?"
As soon as he said this, the entire conference room fell silent.
After a short pause, someone tentatively asked, "Mr. Qin, what do you mean by that? Are you asking us for money, or for you to become the City Lord of Bei'an City?"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of Feng Yuxin, Wen Zhiyuan, and Tan Anguo, who were seated in the seats of honor, changed simultaneously.
If it was money, they could pool resources without much issue. However, if Qin Shilei truly intended to become the City Lord, this would touch the sensitive nerves of the three of them.
Qin Shilei said plainly, "On account of being fellow citizens of Great Xia, I have already intervened multiple times to help you deal with the bugs. However, I am ultimately not from Bei'an City. If you want me to continue to act, shouldn't you give me a reason?"
The leader of the Heavenly Wolf Gang immediately spoke up, "We support you becoming our City Lord, Mr. Qin. Please take action."
Feng Yuxin and the other two immediately glared at the Heavenly Wolf Gang leader as if they wanted to kill him.
The Heavenly Wolf Gang leader showed no fear and continued, "If anyone can resolve the current predicament, I am willing to support them in becoming the City Lord of Bei'an City." After all, this City Lord position would not fall to him, and it had nothing to do with him who occupied it.
Immediately, several more people below voiced their agreement, "I also agree with the proposal of the Heavenly Wolf Gang leader. Whoever can resolve the current predicament, I am willing to support them in becoming the City Lord of Bei'an City." These individuals' strongholds were the closest to the city walls, and they had suffered the greatest losses in the recent battle against the bugs. They were the most eager to resolve the crisis of the city being besieged by insects as soon as possible.
Feng Yuxin glanced at those few individuals and then turned to say coldly, "Mr. Qin, Bei'an City is not Junhai City. This position of City Lord is a very hot potato. Are you sure you want it?"
Qin Shilei smiled faintly and said, "I have never said I want to be your City Lord. Whoever among you has a plan to deal with the Insect King and the swarms of insects outside the city, if I had a vote, I would vote for him." He had initially only intended to extort some equipment and crystal cores from these people, but he hadn't expected someone to proactively suggest he become City Lord, which did pique his interest somewhat. However, Bei'an City, being the capital of Great Xia, had a particularly complex power structure, and it was best to advance by retreating for now.
"Humph!" Feng Yuxin snorted, "Do you think Bei'an City will perish without you?"
"Of course not," Qin Shilei said nonchalantly. "I am the City Lord of the City of Hope. I have been away from home for many days and miss my family dearly. I am currently preparing to leave Bei'an City."
Bang!
General Fan slammed the table and reprimanded, "You are blackmailing us! You are attempting a coup! You are not worthy of being a citizen of Great Xia."
Qin Shilei glanced at him and said with a cold laugh, "What's wrong with going home? As a dignified general, shouldn't you be creating the conditions for us to live and work in peace? You are incompetent yet dare to blame me? Do you really think I covet your City Lord position? Whoever wants it can have it, what does it have to do with me!"
An Qian also chimed in, "Not only Bei'an City is under threat from the bugs, but there are also spatial rifts a few kilometers away from our City of Hope, and countless bugs are eyeing the City of Hope menacingly. As the City Lord of the City of Hope, shouldn't my husband be defending his city and protecting the residents of the City of Hope? Is there anything wrong with us planning to go home? Or is there anyone among you willing to go and help us drive away the bugs?"
The conference room became deathly silent. No one could refute their words. After all, they did not know the current situation of the City of Hope. If it were indeed besieged by bugs like Bei'an City, who would have the right to ask Qin Shilei to abandon his own affairs and instead stay in Bei'an City to help them resolve the insect siege?
The Heavenly Wolf Gang leader spoke again, "Mr. Qin, I still support you becoming our City Lord of Bei'an City. I hope you can save everyone."
Feng Yuxin gave a meaningful look to a woman sitting opposite him. The woman, Zhu Shan, the mistress of the Heavenly Immortal Pavilion, immediately understood and stood up, smiling, "Mr. Qin, do you have any good strategies for this?"
"I don't have much confidence," Qin Shilei shook his head. "If you can find the Insect King within half a day, I can help you slay it, without taking a single cent." Zhu Shan had expected Qin Shilei to confidently declare he had a plan and then she could mock and taunt him in various ways, painting him as an extremely detestable cold-blooded person, thereby inciting the people of Bei'an City to resent Qin Shilei and making it impossible for him to establish himself in Bei'an City.
"Are you truly not confident, or are you trying to use this to threaten your way into the position of City Lord?" Zhu Shan sneered.
"Humph!" Qin Shilei snorted, "Qin is merely an outsider. The position of City Lord and the threat of the bugs have nothing to do with me. You all discuss." With that, he closed his eyes and remained silent.
Tan Anguo glared at Zhu Shan, reprimanding, "Miss Zhu, what are you saying? Apologize to Mr. Qin immediately." Zhu Shan reluctantly apologized, but Qin Shilei seemed not to have heard, showing no reaction whatsoever.
Tan Anguo spoke again, "Quickly think of a way to find the Insect King. As long as Mr. Qin can deal with the Insect King, we can find ways to handle the swarms of insects outside the city." The crowd began to discuss in a hubbub, but after half an hour, there was still no solution.
Buzz!
A sharp alarm sound rang out again. The faces of the crowd changed, and they got up and rushed outside. They reached the city wall about ten miles away and found that countless more bugs were emerging from tunnels. Fortunately, there were only twenty to thirty tunnel entrances this time, and the number of invading bugs was not large. After sacrificing two to three thousand lives, they finally destroyed the tunnels again. The group found another conference room nearby and gathered again. This time, Qin Shilei and An Qian claimed to be physically exhausted and needing rest, and did not attend the meeting again. The conference room was filled with a dead silence; everyone looked solemn but helpless.
Bang!
The leader of the Heavenly Wolf Gang slammed the table fiercely and said in a booming voice, "I stand by my words: whoever can resolve the current predicament, I am willing to support them as City Lord. Since Mr. Qin has the ability, why are you unwilling to let him be the City Lord? Are you going to watch as the bugs incessantly devour us?" The Insect King was truly cunning, creating dozens of tunnels at intervals to allow bugs to invade. The number of bugs was immeasurable. Although there were over a million survivors in Bei'an City, they could not withstand such constant attrition.
"Humph." Feng Yuxin coldly snorted, "I will never agree to an outsider climbing over my head. Let us migrate together. If we continue to stay in Bei'an City, we will be eaten by the bugs outside the city even if we are not killed by the Insect King. Since the bugs have not completely surrounded Bei'an City yet, let's leave Bei'an City from the south."