Chapter 55: The Powerful Never Sit Still and Wait for Death

Bai Yujing was still working overtime.

Planting Jiro Watanabe as a deep-cover agent was merely a loose gambit, intended to probe the movements and potential next targets of the Organization for the Atonement of the Inevitable Evil. In this regard, he was temporarily in a position of passive response.

His focus lay on another, much more proactive front.

First, tracing the secret training base where Jiro Watanabe and the others had been trained.

Second, deeply investigating the unpublicized cases of those merchants who had been assassinated by Jiro Watanabe.

As long as he followed the social networks of these deceased merchants and conducted a thorough investigation—focusing on who profited the most after their deaths—there was a high probability of unearthing the Feathered Cult.

Bai Yujing firmly refused to believe that the Feathered Cult had assassinated these merchants out of so-called "justice"; there were bound to be vested interests involved behind the scenes.

So, which force should be deployed to carry out this investigation?

The local police department was ruled out first; their capabilities and the complex networks of relationships involved might not be up to handling such a confidential and sensitive task.

Should he pull elites from the Imperial Police Department? Or directly deploy the might of the legions?

After weighing his options repeatedly, considering that the nature of the case involved economic crimes and covert murder, Bai Yujing ultimately decided to activate the Imperial Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

This was an independent department he had personally ordered to be established in his early years, specializing in the investigation of major economic crimes, cross-regional serial cases, drug smuggling, human trafficking, and other heinous offenses.

Although its functions partially overlapped with those of the police department, its authority was higher and much more independent, answering directly to him and the Prime Minister.

He commanded the Imperial Bureau of Criminal Investigation to throw all its resources into investigating the network of interests behind the assassinated merchants.

As for searching for the secret base that trained espers, he pondered for a moment and handed the task over to the Third Legion.

The Eighteenth Administrative District happened to fall within the defensive zone of the Third Legion.

Since its inception, the Imperial Legions had shouldered a core mission: counter-terrorism.

Because the old aristocrats of conquered nations were unwilling to relinquish their power, they frequently instigated riots or attacked civilians in an attempt to disrupt the empire's order.

Even after those old aristocrats were physically eliminated, individuals among the newly emerged privileged class constantly manufactured trouble for Bai Yujing, for a very simple reason.

Bai Yujing's policies were perpetually "cutting flesh" from them.

In the eyes of those elites and capitalists, Bai Yujing was a demon, a tyrant, a bastard who deserved a thousand cuts.

Imagine this: a boss makes ten million in net profit, yet has to fork out seven million to pay for various employee benefits. Was this a policy a "human" could possibly formulate?

The free market economy was weeping!

What made it even more unacceptable to them was that if they chose to slack off in management or collude in secret, Bai Yujing would not hesitate to replace them entirely, strip them of all their property, and instead appoint more capable individuals to take over their enterprises.

Consequently, countless capitalists in the empire hated Bai Yujing.

When these people colluded with espers who craved privilege or held extremist ideologies, it caused various attacks under glossy banners to erupt from time to time within the empire.

Of course, the outcome of all these incidents was without exception: they were crushed by the iron fist of the empire.

Yet there were always elites who could not bear to part with the "flesh" being cut from them, believing they would be that special "lucky one."

Having arranged the relevant matters properly, Bai Yujing leaned back in his chair and smiled with a laugh, "Well then, at least one batch of vexing matters has finally come to a temporary close. Lucia, let's go another round!"

Upon hearing this, Lucia instantly perked up with vibrant energy and exclaimed excitedly, "Alright!"

The two of them once again immersed themselves in their gaming duel within the Imperial Study.

Out in the administrative office, Gao Jinzhong steadfastly remained at his post.

As long as the Sage did not finish work, he would never leave.

...

Splash.

Cold tap water was splashed across his face. Gao Jinzhong looked up at himself in the mirror—in his early thirties, an age that, to some youngsters, was already enough to warrant being called "Uncle."

Having pulled an all-nighter, as an ordinary human being, it would be a lie to say he wasn't exhausted.

Yet the mere thought that the Sage was right now in the Imperial Study separated by only a single wall caused a feeling of near-fanatical fervor to ignite all his fatigue, making him feel full of vigor once more.

He simply wiped his face with a paper towel, straightened his collar, quickly left the public restroom, and returned to the administrative office.

Picking up the internal desk phone, he familiarly dialed the number of the Head Steward of the Imperial Kitchen. "Hello, Steward Wang. The Sage did not return to the bedchamber last night and has been handling state affairs in the Imperial Study all night. Send breakfast directly here later."

"Understood, Chief Steward Gao."

Steward Wang responded immediately, then tentatively asked, "What is the Sage's mood like? If it needs smoothing over, I can whip up a few specially nourishing and calming breakfast dishes on my end."

"Just handle it according to your judgment."

Gao Jinzhong replied somewhat vaguely.

He knew very well that the other party was trying to probe the Sage's emotional state through him.

With such a big event happening last night and the Sage staying up all night in the Imperial Study without returning, it was inevitable that some people further down would let their imaginations run wild, and Gao Jinzhong was no exception.

However, he would never casually spout these conjectures to others.

For he understood very well where his power came from.

Ever since the Sage returned to the Imperial Palace and took up permanent residence in the Imperial Study, his life had changed.

In the past, it was his wife who frequently visited other people's homes; now, it was the female relatives of various officials who racked their brains to find ways to run to his house.

Because there was a most primitive power formula in the imperial officialdom: the closer one's physical distance to the Sage, the closer one generally was to the center of power.

Of course, Gao Jinzhong did not float on air because of this in the slightest.

Previously, when the Sage did not frequent the Imperial Study, the position of Head Steward of the Imperial Study wasn't coveted by all that many people.

Once the Sage showed the intention to reside there permanently, there were plenty of people secretly eyeing the position and wanting to replace him.

Yet Gao Jinzhong did not plan to expend too much energy guarding against those people.

He understood better than anyone that the only things truly determining his status, life, death, glory, and disgrace were the Sage himself.

Therefore, in front of the Sage, he had to constantly keep his position and attitude strictly in check.

He would rather hard-out an all-nighter than fail to ensure that he could respond to any command from the Sage at a moment's notice.

...

At exactly seven o'clock in the morning, an extremely lavish and exquisite breakfast was punctually laid out on the low table in the Imperial Study.

Bright morning light poured in through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, outside of which gardeners were meticulously watering brightly colored flowers.

Bai Yujing scooped up a spoonful of warm bird's nest and white fungus soup, listening as Lucia enthusiastically recounted the latest gossips and fun facts from the gaming world.

Her voice was crisp and bright, paired with her animated and expressive facial expressions, making her look precisely like a vibrant little deer in a spring forest, injecting a fresh burst of vitality into the solemn Imperial Study.

Having gone through the intense gaming battles of the previous night, Lucia had subconsciously come to regard Bai Yujing as a "comrade-in-arms" with whom she could speak her mind freely.

After all, within the social class and environment she inhabited, she could find virtually no one who could discuss gaming topics with her in depth.

Even her close friend Mary mostly showed a lack of understanding regarding her obsession with games.

"If you ask me, that newly released mechanic is simply—"

Lucia was only halfway through her sentence when—

Ding-dong!

A crisp doorbell suddenly rang, interrupting her eloquent discourse.

Gao Jinzhong's respectful voice came from outside the door: "Reporting to the Sage, the Prime Minister is outside requesting an audience."

Bai Yujing paused slightly.

It was not yet the official working hours, yet the Prime Minister was abruptly requesting an audience; clearly, something major had happened.

He immediately spoke up, "Nangong, open the door."