—The difference between a politician and a statesman lies in their mindset: one, with a guest’s mentality, merely seeks to profit and flee; the other, with a host’s mentality, intends to dictate and command.
The ‘Maiden’s Pact’ Opera House building was truly magnificent. From its interior layout, a harmonious blend of Eastern and Western styles, to its elegant and grand exterior design, it unmistakably showcased the unique architectural vision of Vega’s building department. They hadn’t simply mimicked other skyscrapers; instead, they had poured considerable effort into crafting something truly original, evident in the numerous thoughtful details.
Alas, its former splendor had vanished like smoke. Now, the building stood charred black, its interior a scene of utter devastation. It was impossible to discern that this had once been the very stage where Pippin conducted ‘Torrent of Fate’…
Shi Yiguang ascended the steps, her gaze sweeping over the dilapidated scene, and shook her head with a sigh. She had visited this place before the Great War, even having the privilege of witnessing Shangguan Yunyan and Sakamoto Kōen’s joint performance of ‘Drifting Through the Century’. The experience had been sublime, a pinnacle of perfectly integrated Eastern and Western music.
Stepping lightly, she skirted the gaping craters blasted into the floor. Looking up, a massive hole marred the ceiling, suggesting a shell had pierced the roof and detonated inside.
Though riddled with countless scars from the explosions, the building beneath her feet still stood, unyielding after two decades of weathering storms. Vega’s construction standards, inspired by Qiming Star, placed paramount importance on durability and resilience.
“B-be careful, Director. You’re moving too fast.”
Matsuno Miru, her sailor hat askew, trailed close behind Shi Yiguang, visibly anxious that the Director might stumble and fall.
Shi Yiguang seized the girl’s hand, then pushed open a shattered door, striding cheerfully towards the window.
“Yoo-hoo! Look! Even though the building is pitch black, the sky above is still perfectly clear.”
“But why did we have to come all the way here?”
Matsuno Miru, utterly bewildered, found herself unable to fathom the Director’s whims. Shi Yiguang’s ideas often struck her out of the blue, leaving no time for preparation, forcing the girl to simply rush after her.
The girl was clad in a sailor uniform, yet it bore no insignia of rank or unit. One might easily assume it was surplus from a military supply store, and no one would question it.
Her only identifying mark was the observer’s badge pinned to her chest, bearing her name: Matsuno Miru.
“To look at the sky, of course! There’s a unique beauty to gazing at the heavens from this very spot!”
“Just for that?”
Matsuno Miru sighed. ‘To have climbed all this way, enduring such hardship, all for such a reason…’
“What else?”
Shi Yiguang leaned against the window, turning to face Matsuno Miru.
“So? How does it feel to be back home?”
The breeze flowing through the window caused the small braid at her temple to sway, much like a pendulum.
“Director, I’m an Oceanwind-born from overseas, born on the Yang Continent. I’ve never been here before, so how can it be my hometown?”
Matsuno Miru stepped to the window and peered outside. The window overlooked the street, with the Imperial Guard Bureau diagonally opposite, about a hundred meters away to the left. Following the street’s expanse, another tall, surviving building stood at its end—the former Vega Urban Planning and Architectural Engineering Design Institute.
Though they stood in a long-abandoned building, it felt perilously unsafe. Who knew which sections of the floor were unstable? Should it collapse, the Director’s ‘Thousand and First Mission’ would forever remain unfulfilled…
“Oh, right! You’ve been living on the Yang Continent all this time!”
Shi Yiguang felt a pang of disappointment. She casually turned her head to glance at Matsuno Miru’s watch.
“It’s almost time for the exchange.”
“Speaking of which, Director, why did Southern Dipper Star arrive here in a minivan?”
“Because it’s their ‘hometown vehicle’! If they drove cars from other academies while away from home, wouldn’t people think Southern Dipper Star couldn’t even produce a single vehicle? That would be such a loss of face!”
Shi Yiguang fanned herself with her hand, then turned to gaze down from the window. She could faintly discern the silhouette of Fifth Column below. Confident in her eyesight, she believed she hadn’t mistaken him.
“So, their ‘hometown vehicles’ don’t include bulletproof sedans or anything?”
“Of course they do! Isn’t that what their Dean rides in when they go out? It’s called… right! The ‘Gan Jiang’ automobile. But that wouldn’t suit the man down there.”
Shi Yiguang pointed downwards with her thumb, a smile playing on her lips.
“The one below only likes riding in minivans. People in intelligence are all like that, they have their unique quirks. The former Internal Affairs member from Polaris… I apologize, I know too many people, it’s a bit hard to recall. Oh, right, right, right! His name was Man Jianghong! He used to love driving a garbage truck when he went out.”
“Ah… well…”
Matsuno Miru truly didn’t know how to respond. Director Shi was excellent in every regard, save for her occasional forgetfulness and overly lively personality. Matsuno Miru couldn’t shake the feeling that one day, the Director’s eccentric nature might lead her to drive a garbage truck to work herself…
However, with the neutron star’s new waste reclassification system, traditional garbage trucks were rarely used anymore. Perhaps the Director wouldn’t even have the chance to drive one in the future…
While Matsuno Miru was lost in her fantasy of the Director driving a garbage truck, Shi Yiguang suddenly slapped the windowsill, startling her into frantically looking around.
“What is it, Director? What happened?”
“My brain, ah! Man Jianghong didn’t drive a garbage truck! It was a swill truck!”
“Huh?”
Matsuno Miru blinked several times, staring at Shi Yiguang in astonishment.
‘That’s… that’s all it was?’
‘Oh, Director…’
“Why the surprise that a scoundrel drives a swill truck? It’s merely the difference between dry and wet waste.”
Hearing the low female voice emanate from the doorway, Shi Yiguang offered a faint smile.
‘Finally…’
The dilapidated door was pushed open once more, this time finally succumbing to the strain. After a few wobbles, it toppled to the ground.
Hua Qianshu, a young woman clad in a white shirt and black tie, entered the room with a wooden sword strapped to her back, respectfully taking a stand to the side.
‘East Wind Unleashes a Thousand Trees at Night…’
Matsuno Miru observed the newcomer. After all, this was the woman who had driven seven men to suicidal despair, a modern-day ‘Three Fruits Eliminate Five Generals’…
As Hua Qianshu settled into place, a tall, slender woman appeared at the doorway.
The last time Shi Yiguang had seen Ma Yun, the Great War had just concluded, and Ma Yun herself was mired in the public outcry surrounding the ‘Kite Ridge Death March’ and the ‘Feiping Atrocity’…
‘In truth, ‘mired’ was too strong a word… at most, she was merely taking the blame for the United Commune…’
Back then, despite facing immense pressure, she had appeared far more composed than now, her eyes still reflecting a full spectrum of emotions. Now, she seemed alarmingly indifferent.
“Hehe! ‘Treading Little Horse’!”
Shi Yiguang extended her arms, ready for an embrace, while Matsuno Miru watched with bated breath, utterly tense. Director Ma, head of the United Commune’s Forest Police Bureau, was rumored to possess the highest individual combat prowess among all Eastern Continent intelligence agencies, even surpassing the former Taiyin Star Military Communications Bureau Director, Chi Sanzaii…
‘I always feel that close proximity to such a person is incredibly dangerous…’
Ma Yun did not respond to Shi Yiguang. She walked to the window and immediately spotted Fifth Column standing on the street below. He was almost perfectly aligned with the street, making him easy to identify.
“What took you so long to come up?”
“I’m not as carefree as you, able to spend my days sightseeing. Even when I’m not on Gouchen Star, my work remains undiminished.”
Ma Yun turned her head, her gaze fixed on Shi Yiguang. Though not intimately acquainted with her, Ma Yun was well aware of Shi Yiguang’s extensive influence. Her network spanned every academy and renowned guild in the current world, granting her a voice virtually anywhere.
Though she herself was an intelligence operative from Gouchen Star, her sphere of connections simply could not compare to that of Shi Yiguang, a non-intelligence operative from the neutron star.
“I’ve seen the information you brought me earlier. I don’t doubt your capabilities in the slightest, but I don’t believe you can sway Southern Dipper Star’s council, especially after the failure of the ‘Grand Southeast Vision’.”
“Relying solely on words certainly won’t suffice. The key lies in action.”
Shi Yiguang yawned. The pillows on Xuanji Star were a bit firm, making for uncomfortable sleep.
“What kind of action?”
“Money! Or something of equivalent value.”
“The former is undoubtedly the priority, but that would be a substantial sum. You must be aware of Gouchen Star’s economy and the United Commune’s financial situation…”
“I know, I know! I’m aware of all of it! But compared to the coastline, this money pales into insignificance.”
Shi Yiguang, full of zest, tapped her finger against the wall, as if sketching something.
“As for this land! You surely know that Tianyuan Star has consistently refused to take it over. Naturally, they also prevent Xuan’ge Star and Lianzhen Star from acquiring it. It’s currently under direct federal administration. If money were involved, they’d undoubtedly demand an exorbitant price. Zhaoyao Star is currently riding a wave of influence in the council, and they won’t rest until they’ve thoroughly fleeced you! If your side is truly interested, I can approach Fifth Column and have him speak with his former employer (referring to Zhaoyao Star, as Fifth Column was originally a Zhaoyao Star intelligence operative). Coincidentally, he also has matters to discuss with his old employer. So, exchanging money for land should be acceptable to you, right? As for the drawbacks… you probably know which land Southern Dipper Star will choose… and that long-standing disputes will ultimately leave you at a disadvantage. But it doesn’t matter! Your side just needs to heavily promote how wonderful the newly acquired land is, and downplay the importance of the land you’ve lost.”
Shi Yiguang rattled off a string of words, leaving Matsuno Miru utterly bewildered. Yet, seeing Ma Yun listen intently, Matsuno Miru couldn’t help but feel she was witnessing a conversation between two riddlers.
“Where does the neutron star benefit from this?”
Ma Yun suddenly posed the crucial question. She trusted Shi Yiguang’s sincerity, but she did not believe this scheme originated from the neutron star’s benevolence. It made one wonder if Lu Shize, who was practically a son to Polaris Dean, could truly be so kind-hearted…
“It expands our global influence, of course! People will speak of this great deed as having been facilitated by the neutron star. Years from now, it will become a cherished tale throughout the Eastern Continent, and when they recount it, they’ll never forget to emphasize that the core catalyst for this wonderful event was the neutron star’s naturally beautiful paragon, Shi Yiguang, and so on…”
Shi Yiguang clasped her hands together and swayed slightly, as if lost in a delightful fantasy.
Though she appeared less than brilliant, Shi Yiguang had been the head of the Foreign Affairs Commission Bureau since the Qiming Star era. Ma Yun would sooner believe she was feigning ignorance than accept she was truly foolish.
“It’s ‘offshore balancing’, isn’t it? By altering territories, you allow Gouchen Star and Southern Dipper Star to each get what they want, but the real objective is to prevent Polaris from bordering Gouchen Star’s north and Tianyuan Star’s west.”
A flicker of brilliance crossed Shi Yiguang’s brow, and then she stretched her lips into a wide grin, using two index fingers to pull the corners upwards, forming a cheerful smile.
“You got it exactly right!”