Chapter 67: The Dispute

Shen Xing successfully gave the citizens of Kyoto the feeling of following a live television drama through his segmented editing that consistently cut off at the climactic moments.

Once the emotions of the public were thoroughly stirred, discussions surrounding the topic grew increasingly intense.

The fervor eventually escalated to the point where small-scale protests and rallies began to emerge, causing certain top officials in Kyoto to finally lose their composure.

Inside the municipal building, a tense atmosphere pervaded one of the high-level conference rooms.

On either side of the conference table sat the representatives of the military and the municipal government, forming a stark and distinct division.

The military personnel remained entirely silent, leaning back in their chairs. Their expressions were cold, tinged with a lingering trace of mockery.

They were already well aware of today’s public uproar, and watching the municipal officials scramble in a panic brought them a fair amount of schadenfreude.

Back when this matter first arose, the two sides had held completely opposing views, ultimately parting on bitter terms.

It was just that the military had lost the upper hand at the time, failing to win the vote against the opposition.

This directly resulted in the abandonment of Tianhe City.

All sorts of news concerning Tianhe City had been strictly suppressed, forbidden from ever reaching the public eye.

Yet now, the people of Tianhe City had actually devised such a method to thrust themselves back into the public view.

The military personnel found this both amusing and admirable.

Because this move not only disgusted the municipal bureaucrats but also achieved the desired effect.

During the past few consecutive days, the complete lack of any news from Tianhe City had inevitably weighed heavier and heavier on the hearts of the military.

Under such circumstances, without any reinforcements, the situation was practically absolute suicide.

Yet as soldiers, all they could do was watch helplessly as everything unfolded, utterly powerless to change a thing, which naturally cast a heavy gloom over every one of them.

One had to remember, this was not a matter of twenty or thirty people, nor one or two hundred, not even a thousand or two.

These were... hundreds of thousands of people!

The military had never understood why the municipal administration made the decision to abandon them.

Claiming they feared it would implicate more cities was simply laughable.

At that moment, a young municipal official stepped forward as a representative and briefly outlined the impact currently generated by public opinion.

The underlying meaning of his words boiled down to one point:

The paper could no longer wrap up the fire; everyone needed to reconvene and discuss how best to handle the situation moving forward.

Should they intensify efforts to suppress the topic, or should they revise the previous strategy regarding Tianhe City?

In response, the military personnel all maintained blank expressions, offering no stance whatsoever.

For everyone present knew very well that what was ostensibly being brought up for rediscuussion was actually just a way for the municipal side to find a graceful exit for themselves.

If they truly intended to continue suppressing the topic and silencing public discussion, why even bother summoning the military?

As long as their faction remained united, the military's votes would inevitably fall short.

Therefore, there was only one conclusion: even the municipal officials were now shifting their attitude toward Tianhe City.

At least, a faction among them was.

Yet, despite the military's determination to remain non-committal, the municipal officials were no pushovers.

Following a fierce debate, they quickly dragged the military into the fray, turning the meeting into a genuine battle of sharp tongues and fierce retorts.

After more than an hour of this, everyone began to feel parched.

Following a tacit truce, all eyes instinctively turned to the two individuals seated at the very front.

A man and a woman, positioned on the left and the right respectively, occupying opposite sides.

The man was Chen Tianming, the mayor of Kyoto.

The woman was Ye Xuan, the commander of the Zhongzhou Military Region.

Both were the highest-ranking authorities present and possessed veto power of equal weight.

In other words, as long as either of them disagreed with a particular decision, the policy would ultimately fail to pass, even if every other person on both sides voted in favor of it.

The reason the military had lost the previous vote was simply because Ye Xuan had abstained from start to finish.

Now, after both sides had bickered endlessly for ages, their gazes had ultimately reverted to these two.

No matter how heated the arguments among the subordinates might be, they held little practical significance.

After all, the final verdict still rested in the hands of these two.

Realizing the moment had arrived, Chen Tianming took the initiative and spoke:

"Commander Ye, you chose to abstain last time, but you cannot remain on the sidelines this time. Having just listened to all these discussions, some of I found exceptionally reasonable. I wonder what Commander Ye's thoughts are right now?"

Ye Xuan had been quietly sipping tea from a small cup, nursing the same small portion from the very beginning.

She had never refilled it, yet half of it still remained.

Hearing Chen Tianming's words just then, Ye Xuan acted as though she had only just snapped out of a trance, and asked with a blank expression:

"Mayor Chen, what did you say?"

Chen Tianming furrowed his brow, a surge of irritation rising within him.

Well aware that Ye Xuan was deliberately trying to embarrass him, he could only suppress his anger and, feigning magnanimity, repeat his previous words once more.

Ye Xuan nodded after listening:

"Mayor Chen is quite right; my thoughts are identical to yours. You can simply state your own decision directly; I will cast a vote in favor this time as well."

Dark lines streaked across Chen Tianming's forehead. He thought to himself: *I was trying to get you to propose it so I could find a graceful way out for myself.*

*Now you're asking me to propose it? Isn't that just forcing me to admit my previous decision was flawed?*

"Commander Ye, perhaps you should share your own perspective instead? Half the people in this room are not soldiers; they have never experienced blood and fire, and therefore may not grasp the situation currently facing Tianhe City adequately.

If Commander Ye could offer a few words, we might be able to make a more objective decision. After all, this concerns the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. I must ask Commander Ye to treat this with utmost seriousness."

Chen Tianming said with a smile, his phrasing polite, yet the gunpowder in his words was palpable.

What did "treat this with utmost seriousness" mean?

Was he not simply accusing Ye Xuan of not having been serious enough previously?

Without batting an eye, he had seamlessly shifted the responsibility for this entire debacle onto Ye Xuan.

Whether Ye Xuan understood the implication or not remains unclear, but she chose that exact moment to abruptly change the subject:

"What is the point of dragging a matter that has already been decided back out for rediscuussion? However, since it is rare for everyone to gather in such full attendance, I actually have another matter I would like to share with you all."

Chen Tianming had anticipated all sorts of things Ye Xuan might say, but this certainly was not one of them.

He stared at Ye Xuan on the opposite side with a completely dumbfounded expression, utterly unable to guess what medicine she was selling in her gourd.

"Mayor Chen, may I speak?"

Seeing Chen Tianming dazed, Ye Xuan asked with a smile.

"Please... by all means."

Chen Tianming harbored a rather ominous premonition.

Especially when recalling what he knew of Ye Xuan, which sent a sudden jolt of panic through his heart.

To become the commander of a military region in a place like Zhongzhou at such a young age, Ye Xuan relied on hard-earned combat achievements and sheer strength.

Chen Tianming was a bureaucrat; he had never personally set foot on a battlefield, nor had he ever faced the monsters pouring out of the dimensional gates.

Yet he had read numerous reports, including Ye Xuan's file.

Whether in the official documents or among the officials who had once cooperated with Ye Xuan, evaluations of her never once included the phrase "harmless to humans and animals"—nor, naturally, any synonym thereof.

On the contrary, descriptions like "extremely dangerous," "scarlet tyrant," and "frost queen" appeared with astonishing frequency.

He had been deeply shocked at the time, which was why Chen Tianming remembered them so clearly.

And right now, Ye Xuan was undoubtedly displaying a thoroughly deceptive facade.

Could this possibly be a good sign?

Or a dangerous signal?

The answer seemed self-evident.