Chapter 403

Chapter 403: "Everyone Is Very Satisfied"

A live speech? That sounds intriguing.

Nia glanced at the proposal from Arthur and murmured to herself.

Normally, she wouldn’t pay much attention to such things, but since the proposer was Arthur, ignoring the Speaker’s proposal didn’t seem appropriate.

Well then, let’s take a closer look.

With that thought, Nia began to browse through the document submitted by Arthur, page by page.

"…It seems quite good?"

Arthur’s document wasn’t lengthy, and its arrangements and intentions were straightforward.

In November, Hope City had just endured a large-scale beast tide attack; despite the emergence of a new Speaker, the New Year should still bring some fresh ideas.

Arthur proposed that on December 31st, all council members, including himself, would gather at the auditorium for a medal ceremony and deliver speeches. The content didn’t need to be meticulously planned; it just needed to be positive and uplifting.

Nia had never paid much attention to such events before. In Hope City, the last day of the year and the first day of the new year were hardly different—everyone still had to work hard to make ends meet.

This was the first time she had heard of such a celebratory event.

It seems quite good…

Nia pondered for a moment, deciding she should prepare a proper speech, and then marked the document as "Approved."

A similar scene unfolded in the offices of other council members. Some were busy with their tasks, while others were enjoying their leisure time, but everyone received the message.

Council member Sharma was savoring a dish she had personally suggested improvements for, while council member Zhong Ding was calculating the profits from the tidal power generator over the past period. However, their attention was soon drawn to Arthur’s proposal, and they began to consider its feasibility.

The older council members, confined to their chairs, also received the notification, and everyone fell into deep thought about the plan.

Could this be a trap set by Arthur?

It was possible, but it seemed unnecessary now.

They had reached a certain balance with him, and logically, this was their "honeymoon period."

If Arthur weren’t participating in the live speech himself, they might have been suspicious, but since he was…

[Approved].

Half an hour later, the results of the proposal returned to Arthur’s terminal through the network.

[Approval Result: Passed

Votes: 10/10]

A subtle smile appeared on the blonde man’s face; things were progressing more smoothly than expected, and the main event seemed about to begin.

"Come in."

As Arthur watched the terminal, he heard footsteps approaching his door. He knew someone was coming to visit, so he responded before the knock.

“Disaster Core” entered the room, seeing Arthur looking at her with a calm expression, as if he had anticipated this visit.

"Go ahead, what was the result of your discussion?"

Arthur smiled, signaling her not to be nervous:

"No matter what choice you all make, even if it goes against me, it’s fine; I will only act within the rules."

"Please allow me to ask you a question first."

"Take a seat and speak."

“Disaster Core” felt a sense of relief as he moved forward to sit in the chair across from Arthur’s desk, instinctively glancing around the Speaker’s personal space.

The result was that it was utterly ordinary.

There was no grandeur or solemnity that made it hard to enter; it was just as simple as a typical single dorm room. If it weren’t for the view outside that provided an unobstructed look at most of the inner city, “Disaster Core” might have thought he had come to the wrong place.

Unexpected, yet somehow very reasonable.

Arthur watched “Disaster Core” glance around, a smile creeping onto his lips, suggesting a knowing understanding without words.

Once “Disaster Core” settled into the chair in front of him, Arthur slowly asked:

"What do you want to ask?"

“Disaster Core” took a deep breath, seemingly reluctant to face a possible answer, but finally gathered the courage to speak:

"Do you know… or have you heard the name Luke? He is…"

"Lucas’s child, adopted."

Arthur said calmly,

"I have met him a few times; he was investigating me, and I set a trap to catch him."

“Disaster Core’s” expression changed several times, looking particularly vivid,

"Then how did you… deal with him?"

Arthur pondered for a moment:

"I told him about the council’s misdeeds and helped him remove the device inside his arm."

The device inside his arm… "Disaster Core" understood what this was. He felt reassured about Luke’s survival, but also excited that the Speaker seemed to have a plan for removing the device:

"How did you do it? I mean, how did you manage it?"

Arthur smiled:

"I cut off his right arm and kept it alive in the culture solution, disguised to look normal, until the council noticed something was off and voluntarily disabled the device’s operation."

"…"

“Disaster Core” was momentarily speechless. Arthur’s straightforwardness exceeded his imagination, and the way to break the deadlock was equally shocking.

"Then his disappearance…"

"He left on his own, but I happened to receive new information today."

Arthur took out a piece of paper and wrote down an address, sliding it across to “Disaster Core.”

"If you want to see him, you can wait at this place tonight."

At that moment, “Disaster Core” was already overwhelmingly shocked; to him, it was great enough that Luke could survive, but he never expected the Speaker to always keep track of his whereabouts.

He hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not take the paper.

On one hand, Arthur’s credibility was enough to reassure him; on the other hand, if the meeting failed, it would surely expose his connection with Luke and potentially harm the child…

Thinking of this, “Disaster Core” let out a long sigh:

"We all trust your credibility; as long as that child is safe, there’s no need to meet."

Saying this, he stood up and bowed deeply to Arthur:

"Thus, on behalf of the first team, I accept all arrangements from Mr. Speaker."

Arthur nodded in satisfaction, then walked around the desk to help “Disaster Core” up. With a mix of comfort and emotion, he murmured:

"I understand your concerns. A long time ago, I believed that for the survival of humanity, we should abandon our desires. But after all this time, I’ve realized that this principle can be used to restrain oneself but cannot restrain others.

“So whether there is selfishness is not really important; selfishness should not affect the greater situation, which is what I hope for in a collaborator.

"Go back and tell them this news. I wish you a smooth retirement."