The young and talented, exceptional and beautiful.

It's rare for someone to receive such praise from the old man before us.

It's been a long time since a new generation Chosen One could earn such admiration from him. If word got out, it might stir up some attention.

You know, the last person to receive such praise was Su Biluo, now the guardian of Void Abyss, known as 'Tian Yuan White Jade'.

Lv Yingyue smiled slightly, "I always feel like exceptional and beautiful isn't a good phrase. The last time I praised him like that, his face turned pale."

"Having successors is always a good thing."

The old man sighed, "Tong Shan, Wen Wen, Lou Yanyue, Zhou Yu, Chen Haiqiu... and now there is a chief craftsman, under your leadership these years, you've truly achieved remarkable results."

"Just luck, the achievements of the young have nothing to do with me," Lv Yingyue dismissed, "Kids who've been through hardship grow fast, but among the short, even a mediocre person seems tall, how to compare with the rich talent pool of Central City?"

She paused, sighed softly, "Hai Province is the same, remote and difficult to recover its strength. It's merely screaming out, that's why it seems louder.

Everyone just overestimates me."

"Whether overestimated or not, that's the reality."

The old man said, "Now the two-party struggle is like fire and water, at this critical juncture, indeed there is room for you to leverage small to gain big. But don't forget, there will always be a day when things come to light, and a person's patience is ultimately limited.

If you still plan to swing between both sides, waiting for the highest bid, I'm afraid in the end neither side will tolerate you."

"I know."

Lv Yingyue nodded without refuting, "I understand, if I continue like this, I'll likely end up with a bad outcome, but if I don't take a risky move, I'll just be trampled on, at others' mercy.

Sir, is this something I can choose?"

The old man was silent.

"Hai Province is remote, resources sparse, after the Day of the Sea Burn eleven years ago, agriculture completely lost its vigor, now relying on other provinces for imports, with prices high and fluctuating. Since the Great Depression, industry has also been in decline. Originally hoped Coast Group could turn the tide, but just when there was some improvement, it was pressed down and carved up…

Disasters are becoming more frequent, and life is getting harder."

Lv Yingyue slowly said, "So many people toil away but end up heavily in debt, suffering day and night, seeing no hope.

Yet there are still people sitting on top, fed to full and overflowing, unwilling to let even a drop of oil go to the ants and cattle below.

If it weren't for a little bit of leftovers from maritime trade, we wouldn't get by, and if things continue like this, in a few years, we may not even be able to pay the Spiritual Quality Tax."

Lv Yingyue questioned, "Sir, do we even have a choice?"

In the silence, the old man said nothing more, just nodded slowly, "Since you've already made up your mind, it seems you don't need this old thing to ramble anymore.

I reckon you wouldn't like some half-hearted compromise either."

Those four families went through great effort to ask me to come forward, all they wanted was to make money together. But if Lv Yingyue were willing to compromise and seize the opportunity for personal gain or position, she would have already taken advantage of this wave and shed the burden, jumped ship, so how could she have persisted until now?

But, the deterioration of Hai Province's situation is not caused in a day or a moment, how hard it is to want to invigorate it overnight?

"Have you thought it through?" the old man asked.

"Hesitating before and after, cautious and timid, is really not my style, some things, always have to be done before saying anything."

Lv Yingyue answered solemnly, "Moreover, what's picked up cannot compare to what's earned. If I can't prove my value, even if I choose a side, I'll be used as cannon fodder and a pawn, right?"

The old man said nothing, quietly watching her.

In those pitch-black pupils, there was no intimidating power or chilling light, merely a faint cataract after years of tempering.

"But, Lv Yingyue—"

He solemnly asked, "What are you doing all this for?"

"I just don't want to let down Tao Gong's sacrifice."

Lv Yingyue answered decisively, "Today's glory of mine, one part might be opportunistic, but the rest is all dependent on Tao Gong's legacy. Without him tirelessly connecting all sides for decades, how could I have the momentum I do today?

How could I let Hai Province handed to me by him before his death fall apart again?"

At this, she paused, then smiled wryly, "If there's anything else, if you must say… it's just not reconciled."

Lv Yingyue lowered her eyes, gazing at her reflection in the teacup, blurred and hazy, even to herself she seemed unfamiliar, no longer the person she once was.

"Like a wild child struggling for survival, suffering enough being under others' roofs since young, to make a name for myself, I'd resort to any means.

In the end, after years of risking life and limb, I managed to scrape together some position, but upon looking back, I found no relatives or old friends were left.

Those stronger than me, more likable than me, nobler and more upright than me… they all died, only I survived, simply because of luck, nothing more.

Apart from me, besides what you see, how many young talents, exceptional and beautiful, vanished into obscurity before they could shine.

Yet those vile people, owing to their families and means, parade around in halls of power, enjoy Central City, commanding the winds and rain…"

Lv Yingyue lifted her head, no longer concealing her determination, "Instead of letting them continue wanton and idle, I'd rather ask:

— Why can't I take charge of this world?"

"..."

From that resolute gaze, the old man's expression subtly changed, yet not with anger, but surprise and reflection. After a long while, he sighed lightly, "For personal gain, leveraging others' hope to shake the great picture. Should I say, 'a wolfish ambition'?"

"How much do men differ from beasts?"

Lv Yingyue replied without hesitation, "If I'm a wolf, then I must be a wolf raised by the Federation. How can anyone blame it for biting too fiercely?

Wasn't it the great Tian Yuan that empowered us, the selfish and ambitious tigers and wolves?"

The elder said indifferently, "What if I don't allow it?"

Lv Yingyue raised her hand, pulling her gray hair back, and smiled, "Then would you please behead me, to satisfy Lord Tao, and give the Federation and Hai Province an explanation?

Only..."

She asked curiously, "Is it really me that you want to behead?"

For a moment, the entire lounge seemed to freeze. No, it wasn't just the lounge; the invisible force swirled, enveloping the entire Federation Security Headquarters, making many people look up in shock, yet none dared approach or cross the metaphorical line.

When the elder lowered his eyes and looked down, all of the world's manifestations seemed to appear in his palm.

Everything was so fragile, small like dust.

Just one thought...

Would be enough to uproot this plan that threatened the entire Federation.

But after that moment passed, everything seemed to disperse like a gentle breeze, including the invisible guillotine.

"I didn't expect, besides the ambition of a tiger or wolf, there's also a treacherous mind..."

The elder sighed softly, "Why didn't I realize earlier back then?"

Lv Yingyue laughed, "Isn't it precisely because of that ambition and treacherous mind that someone like me, who can't make it on my own, was chosen by you?"

"You weren't this unpleasant back then, and you didn't have the guts to prattle in front of me."

The elder shook his head, picked up the cup in front of him, hesitated for a moment, pinched his nose with a troubled look, poured the medicine from the cup into his mouth, then set the cup down, grimacing, and his hands fumbled for a while, finding the candy jar in front of him empty.

Then, he saw Lv Yingyue's outstretched hand.

A peppermint hard candy in her palm.

Lv Yingyue said, "I made sure to bring this from Hai Province before leaving. Whether successes or failures, it's a token of my sincerity. Want to try it?"

"Bribery? Just this?"

The elder sneered, took it and opened it, threw it into his mouth, habitually crunching it, and soon, the sour taste made him inhale sharply.

His face twisted.

Damn, I knew candy never tastes good!

Expecting Lv Yingyue to bring something decent, it seems I'm indeed getting too old, almost to Parkinson's stage.

"Then let's fight."

Among the historically unwavering nine members of the cabinet, the Minister of the Federation Security Department, the living Saint maintaining the current tripartite order of Tian Yuan, spoke like this.

Talks have been held, medicine has been taken, candy has been eaten.

No need to waste each other's time further.

"Things have come to this. Since neither is willing to back down, there needs to be a loser to emerge..."

He slowly supported himself to stand, finally turning to look at Lv Yingyue with curiosity, "But, can you win?"

"Who knows?"

Lv Yingyue shrugged, carefree and indifferent.

Someone without shoes, even if losing, would just continue living without shoes.

But not necessarily for those wearing shoes...

Before leaving, she gave one last smile:

"Anyway, the one who loses the worst will definitely not be me."

At that moment, at the silent end, the excited cheers and applause of the audience returned on the TV screen.

Right at the end of the press conference, after a stint of chaotic jabbing that agitated unknown numbers of competitors, Ji Jue, the factory director, seized the moment to make an announcement to everyone.

This year, the Coastal Automobile Factory will respond to the invitation, sending a professional team to formally participate in the major event starting mid-month—

——The Desert Sea Extreme Rally Race!

A large-scale rally race held every three years, mainly sponsored by Huan Yu Heavy Industry, involving major car manufacturers and military industries of the Federation, the rally race is one of the most coveted honors, regarded as the ultimate test for all off-road models.

In half a month's time, from the northern Huang Province to the southern Hai Province, from the small arctic snow town of Heihe in the Federation's extreme north, to the southernmost Tide City of the Federation!

The extreme cold of Huang Province, the mountainous clashes of Kunwu, the sand dunes and dust storms of Dragon Plains, and the mud and swamps of Hai Province...

Traversing the entire Federation, this is a wild ride over 5,960 kilometers of wilderness.

A journey that can be deemed the hellish pursuit, is about to begin!

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