"Qin Chu! The Prime Minister is not here; you, as an acting marshal, have no right to announce this decree!" Mu Lin immediately stood up. "Is the military plotting a rebellion?!"
"The primary task of the Imperial Military is to ensure the personal safety of all Imperial citizens, not to maintain the rule of the Cabinet. When necessary, the Military can overthrow the Cabinet and assist the people in establishing a new government," Qin Chu said coldly.
He glanced at Burke, who understood and immediately turned to the corresponding page of the military regulations.
"If the cabinet wants to stop this decree, it's simple: awaken the two-thirds of the population imprisoned by the mastermind."
After speaking, Qin Chu stood up. "The final result will depend on a vote by everyone here. I must remind you that the upcoming beast tide is the largest since the founding of the empire. In the face of the survival of the entire human race, personal interests are nothing."
Silence fell over the meeting room, and then the voting began.
Surprisingly, quite a few people chose to support the decree.
When it was Dud's turn, Dud, who had been brought in by the cabinet to fill a position, also chose to support Qin Chu after much consideration.
The voting order came from the military, with Dodd followed by Levy.
Although there were two people sitting in front of Levy, they had already raised their placards to show their opposition.
As luck would have it, the final, crucial vote fell into Levy's hands.
Everyone looked again at the Crown Prince who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. If he supported the cabinet, then the decrees proposed by Qin Chu at this meeting would be invalid.
Qin Chu's words had laid bare the current predicament facing the empire, and a tense atmosphere filled the conference room due to the impending crisis and their own interests.
Except for Levy.
This person was clearly sitting in the position of the crown prince, but he seemed to care little about the survival of the empire or even the human race.
He idly fiddled with the ballot in front of him, switching it from front to back, looking utterly irritating.
This attitude infuriated the military personnel on the other side, and even the cabinet members were so anxious they wanted to snatch the voting paddles from his hands.
Sitting in front, Mulin looked at Levi, who held the key vote, and suddenly regretted calling the Crown Prince to the meeting.
Why are you looking at me?
Under the tense gaze of everyone, the man raised an eyebrow and chuckled.
Why are you looking at me?
You deserve a beating...
"Want to know which side I support?" Levy twirled the ballot in his hand again. "It seems like voting for either side won't affect me, unless..."
Unless you kiss me.
These words suddenly appeared in Levy's mind, making him pause for two seconds.
He subconsciously looked up at Qin Chu.
Everyone in the conference room was looking at him, except for General Qin.
"Forget it, let's see how it goes."
These words made almost everyone so angry they nearly fainted.
It really was a matter of luck. Levy simply stuck the ballot on the table, then flicked it with his finger, and the ballot started spinning rapidly.
Seeing this, Burke was so angry he wanted to grind his teeth to dust, wishing he could fly over and kick that bastard prince.
It was a crucial vote, and everyone present couldn't help but let their eyes dart around as they cast their votes.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Levi glanced at the head of the table again and saw General Qin raise his hand to rub his temple, seemingly showing an expression that looked like he wanted to punch someone.
For some reason, Levy suddenly felt like laughing.
Under the glare of the crowd, the ballot finally came to a halt, its red ballots dominating the vote.
Mullin covered his face in anger, and the others leaned back in their chairs.
"I hereby formally declare that the Empire has entered a state of war, and the Cabinet shall prepare for the transfer of power." Qin Chu stood up and signed the document.
A lengthy meeting finally ended, and the cabinet and the military ultimately did not come to blows.
The conference room door opened, and everyone streamed out.
Qin Chu walked at the front, his steps quick, as if trying to avoid someone.
Levy slowly walked out of the conference room, with Duds following behind, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
He suddenly remembered what Levy had said before the meeting: "Hey, didn't you say you were going to ask General Qin for people?"
“We do need someone.” Levy smirked.
Dud quickly regretted reminding Levy.
The next second, Levi strode forward and lazily called out, "General Qin."
As Levy spoke, the people who were about to disperse stopped and looked at Qin Chu again.
Qin Chu was almost at the corner when he heard Levi's words and frowned. He had no choice but to stop and turn to look at Levi.
The two were not far apart, and Levi approached Qin Chu step by step.
Before Qin Chu could make any move, the people around him had already adopted a defensive posture.
The atmosphere became tense again, as if a fight could break out at any moment, causing everyone to instinctively move aside.
A cabinet official whispered to Mulin, "Although this crown prince is unruly, he is still on the side of the cabinet. He's probably looking for trouble with Qin Chu because he's unhappy with the voting results."
Seeing this, Mulin's brows relaxed.
Qin Chu and Le Wei are both extremely dangerous individuals, and having them check and balance each other is the best solution. Moreover, judging from their personalities, these two should ideally fight.
Dud heard the entire conversation between the two men, but his expression was quite peculiar.
Just now at the conference table, everyone assumed the ballot stopped on its own. Only he saw that, just as the ballot was about to stop on the "Against" side, Levy seemed to reach under the table and tap it...
Moreover...
Thinking of Levi's unwavering gaze on Qin Chu and the words Levi had spoken when they entered the conference room, Dud suddenly realized a very horrifying possibility and immediately cursed.
Driven by the principle of "the more the merrier" and the fact that many cabinet officials were in a bad mood, they were eager for Levi and Qin Chu to clash.
Amidst a multitude of gazes, some filled with expectation and others with worry, Levy walked step by step into Qin Chu.
He seemed unaware of social distancing, walking extremely close and even leaning towards Qin Chu, taking advantage of his height.
Burke couldn't resist reaching for the particle gun on his waist.
At this moment, Levi stared at Qin Chu with his blue eyes and suddenly asked, "Have we... met somewhere before?"
Cabinet officials anticipating a fight: "..."
The officers about to draw their guns: "..."
Dudley, who felt he had seen through everything, was speechless.
What the hell is this, talking like a primary school student trying to pick someone up?!
Is the next line going to be, "You look familiar, shall we exchange contact information?"
The cabinet officials, led by Mullin, were so angry that their faces turned red, and they wished they could bang their heads against the wall.
We were expecting you to charge into battle, but instead you just slide down to your knees and the next second you're singing "Conquer"?
Those councilors who were afraid that a fight between them would cause collateral damage couldn't help but roar in their hearts, "If you're not going to fight, why act so scary?"
Unfortunately, the person who approached her was cold and unreasonable.
Before Levi could finish his sentence, Qin Chu glanced at him and then continued walking forward indifferently: "I don't know him."
Qin Chu didn't look back or even glance at the expressions of his subordinates along the way.
After he got out of the elevator, he went straight into his office in the government building, changed out of his military uniform, and went into the training room on the ground floor.
This government building was originally built before the cabinet and military were separated, so it has all the necessary facilities. The only problem was that the training room hadn't been used in a long time, so Qin Chu led his team inside for a while.
By the time I came out, it was completely dark outside, and the building, which had been bustling all day, had finally quieted down.
Qin Chu went back to his office and took a shower. Just as he came out, Burke knocked on the door and came in.
Burke glanced at him and said, "Look how anxious you are. You've been lying in bed for months. It's not like your body can recover in a day or two. Now you can punch through a door, and the power has been handed over. What's the rush?"
"The beast tide is coming soon, and the transfer of power won't be so simple." Qin Chu didn't explain further, but looked up at Burke and asked, "How's your son?"
“He woke up from the nutrient pod a while ago and is still staying at the medical center.” Burke stretched and sat down on the sofa. He sighed. “My wife is also busy with the Second Legion. Neither of us has time to spend with the kids right now.”
Burke's son was only five years old. Qin Chu didn't understand anything about children and didn't know how to comfort people, so he remained silent.
Burke was already used to it. Thinking of the incident at Roy Palace, he casually complained, "What kind of information did you leave? You wrote down your identity ID from back on the garbage planet. If I didn't have a good memory, how could I possibly remember it?"
"..." Qin Chu glanced at him. "It took you two months to realize something was wrong. Is that what you call a good memory?"
"That's because you were too good at pretending! You put on a black robe and said you were going to tell stories to His Highness the Crown Prince. I never thought you would tell stories to people in my life." Burke shook his head.
Qin Chu paused in his drinking, then said ambiguously, "There are too many spies in the Royal Cabinet."
“That’s true.” Burke nodded, patted his stomach, and laughed with a hint of schadenfreude. “You know what? His Highness the Crown Prince has actually taken a liking to the black-robed man you played. I heard he’s been running around looking for him all this time.”
Qin Chu didn't speak, but closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.
“Even if you didn’t want the cabinet to find out, you delivered the message far too subtly. You said you were looking for the Crown Prince right off the bat; I never imagined your real intention was to contact me,” Burke said.
"..." Qin Chu choked for a moment, looked up at him, and wondered whether she should explain.
Burke didn't realize anything was wrong.
Qin Chu went to the Royal Palace, so he must be looking for him. Could it be that he really went to tell that dog prince a story?
After hesitating for two seconds, Qin Chu opened his mouth as if to say something, but suddenly frowned, got up and walked to the window, and opened it.
"What's wrong? Is someone there?" Burke asked. "Is it those little bastards from the cabinet...?"
Burke's words came to an abrupt halt as a familiar figure suddenly appeared from the side.
The man was still wearing the same elaborate suit he'd worn that morning, clinging to the wall like a giant gecko, having been eavesdropping for who knows how long. Now that he'd been discovered, he even waved to Qin Chu with interest: "Hi, good evening."
"How dare you eavesdrop!" Burke's old and new grudges against the gatekeeper surged up all at once.
"How did you know I was eavesdropping? Did you say something you couldn't let me hear?" Levy replied to Burke with a smile, but his gaze was fixed on Qin Chu. "I'm here to see General Qin. I have something to ask him."
"Ask, ask, ask! Is this how you ask someone by climbing through a window?" Burke glared.
Levy ignored him completely, only looking at the silent man by the window.
It was pitch black outside, the neon lights were all off, but Levi's nonchalant smile was clearly visible. He leaned against the wall with one hand, looking at Qin Chu and asking, "I wonder if General Qin has a habit of telling stories?"