Fearing resentment from the military, Du De cautiously looked up, only to find that General Qin was still coldly looking down at the documents on the table.
"It's good that no one noticed," Duds said cautiously, patting his chest.
The conference room was large, with cabinet members and military personnel seated separately.
Given Levi's status as Crown Prince, and the fact that the military intended for him to counterbalance Qin and Chu, Levi was positioned very close to the head of the table.
Just sit down and everything will be fine.
As Dudley was thinking this, he turned his head and saw Levy pull out a chair with a whoosh without any politeness.
This person is used to being arrogant and doesn't care about the occasion or what others think.
So even at this joint meeting of heads of state, this guy was still excessively casual. He leaned back in his chair, his long legs casually propped up on the conference table.
Levi was wearing an imperial court dress, which was luxurious from head to toe. However, he did not wear a bow tie, and only three buttons on his jacket were fastened. The collar was wide open, and he wore such an elaborate dress in a way that made him look a bit slovenly.
Given their current posture, they don't look like they're here to attend a meeting; they look like they're here to cause trouble.
This top-tier imperial conference room, which has been shrouded in a serious atmosphere since its construction, was stunned to encounter such an arrogant sitting posture for the first time in its life. Even the long table made a small noise under the pressure.
Not to mention the people in the conference room.
Whether they were already seated, still standing, or even just standing by the door, everyone was taken aback by the arrogant behavior of the imperial prince.
Especially across the long table, the military commanders all turned their gazes toward Levi almost simultaneously.
The person sitting in such an arrogant posture is completely unaware of it.
The pair of boots, polished to a shine and engraved with the Roy Palace inscription, sat on the edge of the table, even swung arrogantly twice amidst the surprised or angry gazes of the crowd.
The faces of the military personnel on the other side immediately turned even uglier.
It's over.
Dodd almost fell to the ground.
He began to reflect on why he wanted to seek Levy's protection.
Is this guy a powerful backer? He's clearly on his way to attract hatred and getting beaten up.
Is this blatant disrespect towards Qin Chu?
Not only did Dud think this way, but everyone else in the conference room also guessed the same thing, and they all subtly observed Qin Chu's expression at the head of the table.
Dudley shakily placed his buttocks on the bench, not daring to sit properly, just in case a fight broke out so he could stand up and run away.
His face practically wore a mask of prayer.
What are you praying for?
Of course, we're praying that Qin and Chu won't make a move!
This General Qin is not someone to be trifled with.
It is said that during a previous meeting with the cabinet, General Qin angered several elderly cabinet members to the point of fainting. As a result, these elderly ministers later began to bring heart rate monitors to meetings.
Qin Chu couldn't easily lay a hand on those old men, but he might have to pick up and beat up someone as young as Levi.
After praying for a long time, Dud mustered up his courage and secretly looked at Qin Chu's expression at the head of the table.
He turned his gaze and happened to see General Qin looking in their direction. Perhaps influenced by Levy's earlier remark, when Duds first saw Qin Chu's face, he subconsciously thought, "He is indeed quite handsome."
Who would have thought that this young general, who had already commanded the entire military, would have such an excessively handsome face?
It looks really good, but it's also really freezing.
Dudley only glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and felt a chill run down his spine; he simply couldn't appreciate it.
The others in the conference room were also secretly observing Qin Chu.
The acting marshal lifted his eyelids, glanced at Levi with his dark eyes, and then looked down, seemingly focusing on Levi's toes sticking out of the table.
Is a fight about to break out?
The cabinet had indeed made a clever plan, using this mysterious crown prince to counter Qin Chu.
They're both young and impetuous; who knows, maybe they'll...
To everyone's surprise, General Qin, known for his bad temper, showed no displeasure or anger. He seemed to have no intention of even telling the Crown Prince to put his foot down; he merely glanced at him and then looked away.
This behavior is somewhat like ignoring it.
But it also seemed to be something they were used to, and even carried a vague sense of tolerance.
tolerant?
Are you kidding me? The Royal Palace belongs to the Cabinet. Given the relationship between the military and the Cabinet, do you think Qin Chu would tolerate this Crown Prince?
Everyone gathered their thoughts and took their seats.
Apart from Levy and a few others who were brought in by the cabinet to fill in, everyone else was a regular at this meeting room and knew the meeting procedures by heart.
The meeting was aimed at vying for control of the empire, so it started with a fierce verbal battle. The cabinet accused Qin Chu of potentially being taken over by artificial intelligence, while the military presented a series of evidence accusing the cabinet of dereliction of duty.
Levy was neither familiar with nor interested in such occasions.
He barely listened to what these people were arguing about; he was looking at Qin Chu.
As the head of the military, General Qin did not speak easily. He just lowered his eyes, like an AI in standby mode, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Since entering the conference room, General Qin's expression had remained unchanged.
For a moment, one might think that he had no other expression besides being expressionless.
But Levy felt, for no apparent reason, that he had seen other expressions on this man's face before.
Anger, resentment, tension, or a touch of joy, a hint of tenderness… or even other more private, unspeakable expressions, such as confusion and crying…
Even though I have no related memories in my mind, I can't recall these scenes at all.
But Levy felt that he had seen this person in every possible form. Accompanying this feeling was a strange, inexplicable sense of pride.
Because... only he has seen it.
Before stepping into the conference room, Levy had not expected that he would feel this way upon seeing Qin Chu.
This wasn't the first time he and Qin Chu had met.
Because he had met and known Qin Chu many years ago, he didn't know when, but the impression Qin Chu left in his mind was that he was completely uninteresting.
Because of these stereotypes, he missed several opportunities to get in touch with news related to Qin and Chu, but he never felt regretful about it.
That's why, when he heard the man in black mention Qin Chu's name, he felt nothing but a slight displeasure. In fact, he hadn't originally intended to attend this meeting.
Levi rubbed his chin with his fingers and began to ponder what had almost made him overlook Qin Chu.
Perhaps because he was forced into military school by the cabinet, he disliked it and felt a bit disgusted with anything related to it.
Even when he met Qin Chu, the man was standing on the podium while he sat in the last row of seats, glancing up half-asleep.
There was no other contact.
Or perhaps...
Someone wanted him to ignore Qin Chu, so they subtly suggested something to him.
Unfortunately, all his preconceived notions and suggestions vanished the moment he met Qin Chu in person.
Levy was very quiet, so quiet that Dudley was somewhat surprised.
He glanced to the side and found that Levi was still staring at Qin Chu. Judging from his posture, it seemed that his gaze had not left Qin Chu since he entered the conference room.
Dud was startled and immediately tried to speak up to warn Levy.
What are you staring at?
Don't you know that sometimes looking someone directly in the eye is a form of provocation?
Just then, seemingly noticing the increasingly brazen gazes of some people, Qin Chu, who was listening to the argument at the conference table, suddenly turned and looked at Levi.
A group of people were watching his movements. When Qin Chu turned his head, even the two officials who were arguing fell silent.
All eyes in the conference room were once again on Levi and Qin Chu.
Levi hadn't expected his gaze to suddenly meet Qin Chu's.
Although he had been staring at this man ever since he entered the conference room, and General Qin occasionally glanced at him, whether intentionally or unintentionally, the man always avoided his gaze until now.
Under Qin Chu's ambiguous gaze, Levi, who was sitting leisurely, couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth and reveal a smile.
To others, this scene would clearly appear as Qin Chu glaring angrily at the suddenly appearing Crown Prince, while the Crown Prince, who belonged to the Cabinet, actually gave Qin Chu a provocative smile!
This...this is finally going to turn into a fight!
However, after his gaze fell upon Levi's smile, Qin Chu, sitting in the head seat, inexplicably looked away again.
He lowered his gaze, tapped the table lightly with his long fingers, and said in a cold voice, "Keep arguing."
This was a sarcastic remark, practically implying that the two arguing council members were behaving like shrewish women.
Despite having slept in the nutrient tank for several months, General Qin's words remained as sharp and cutting as ever.
The two members who had just been "discussing" chuckled awkwardly, unsure whether to continue speaking.
A moment of silence fell over the noisy conference room.
In the midst of the silence, someone seemed to find Qin Chu's words amusing and let out a muffled chuckle.
For a moment, everyone's gaze silently turned to the Crown Prince who had laughed.
Burke, sitting opposite him, was furious.
He glanced at Qin Chu furtively, feeling somewhat puzzled.
Normally, if he encountered someone like Levi, Qin Chu would at least give him a piece of his mind, even if he didn't grab him and throw him out. But why is Qin Chu not reacting at all now?
"Is there anyone else who wants to speak?" Qin Chu tapped the table again, as if urging him.
Everyone assumed he was about to lash out at Levi, and no one dared to utter a sound. Interior Minister Mullin and others were also present, but for the sake of balance of power, Mullin also hoped that Qin Chu and Levi would clash.
Unexpectedly, Qin Chu had no intention of causing trouble for Levi.
He said in a deep voice, "Currently, the empire's total population has been reduced by two-thirds, and the beast tide is coming in a month. The mainframe is still waiting for an opportunity to act. The crisis level has exceeded level two. According to Article 3 of the Empire's Supreme Management Regulations, the empire should enter a state of war and transfer control from the cabinet to the military."
Upon hearing this, the first to be uneasy were several cabinet ministers.
Although they anticipated Qin Chu's purpose in convening this meeting, and even summoned Levi to mediate, no one expected that Qin Chu had no intention of giving them the choice.