Yes, Madam Prime Minister

For a moment, Ronan could only let Elena hug him and cry. After more than ten seconds, Elena still wouldn't let go, so Ronan had to raise his hand and pat her head from behind, comforting her, "It's okay, it's okay, I'm fine, don't cry, don't cry."

Ronan was trying to comfort Elena.

On the other side, the chieftain and other Seapipers of White Star City, who had been waiting there for a long time, had already carried away the surviving wounded priests.

Besides the Heidi people, waiting here were Ronan's other maid Alice, Dinia's advisor Yvette, and the White Star City Secretary General Baal, who was leaning on a cane.

Alice took a half step forward, about to speak to Ronan, but seeing Elena's expression, she stepped back.

After a long while, Elena finally let go and stepped aside, but her little nose was still twitching.

Alice stepped forward and reported to Ronan, "The Haidi people in Wright City are stable and there has been no trouble. The city hall is unaware of the situation yet."

“Very good, Alice,” Ronan nodded.

After speaking, Ronan looked at the seven elite police officers who had survived the ordeal and were still somewhat shaken. "You will go back to Wright City with Alice. After you get back, do not report to the police station. Go directly to the hospital under the pretext of treatment. No matter who asks about what happened, do not reveal it, not even your family members."

Alice glanced around and asked, "What about the families of the deceased?"

“To appease,” Ronan replied.

"How do you comfort someone who has died?" Alice countered.

Ronan chuckled. "Do I have to teach you this? Just pay me. The work of the Fisheries Conservation Department is inherently dangerous."

“We’re out of money, young master,” Alice said.

Ronan wasn't corrupt. The design and consulting fees he collected were just enough to ensure his family maintained a relatively wealthy and respectable lifestyle. This time, in order to suppress the matter, Alice had spent a lot of money bribing some important officials in the Wright City Hall, and Ronan's savings were all gone.

Ronan looked at Barr. "Ah, I believe our friends in White Star City are willing to be generous, aren't they, Secretary General Barr?"

Barr forced a smile. "At least Mr. Pierre is willing."

"You've had a hard time these past few days, Your Excellency Baal," Ronan said meaningfully.

He had already guessed why Baal was here.

It is clear that Dinia's advisor, Yvette, must have relied on Baal's help to stabilize the situation in White Star City.

Barr must have received some promises as well. Yvette knew Dinia's style and certainly wouldn't dare promise Barr anything like forgiveness. It would probably mean handing over the ill-gotten gains and then resigning.

I wonder how Dinia will react when she finds out about this.

On the other side, Yvette recounted the situation to Dinia, whose expression clearly showed displeasure.

However, Dinia did not react on the spot.

Ronan felt that his object of loyalty had improved.

“I suggest that Your Excellency Barr do not resign for the time being,” Ronan said, deliberately raising his voice.

Dinia, who was already uncomfortable with Yvette's private deal with the other party, immediately became furious upon hearing this, "Ates, what are you saying?"

“Madam, please believe me, Miss Orion, you understand, right?” Ronan said, looking at Yvette.

Evie nodded, having understood Ronan's meaning, and then said to Dinia, "Dinia, he makes a good point. Let's leave it at that for now."

As Dinia's advisor, Yvette initially planned to start with the White Star City smuggling case, hoping to use it as a springboard for a larger operation.

This grand plan aims to unite the seven special cities into a cooperative urban cluster.

Of course, Dinia must be the leader in this joint development.

This plan could now be even bigger, perhaps merging the seven special cities. But then the question arises: who would be the mayor?

Dinia's success depends on the support of the local faction. Currently, she only has Ronan's vote, but if she can win over Baal, that would be another vote.

Don't underestimate just two votes; two votes is already a huge advantage because there's more than one competitor, and others will split the votes.

Chapter 41 That truth is unacceptable.

Ronan and Yvette both saw this, which is why they said those words.

Seeing that Yvette was about to explain, Agustina secretly kicked her. "Let's not talk about that now. We almost lost our lives just now, and the captain is exhausted. We should be happy now. Hey, you old man over there, arrange a place to take a bath and prepare a banquet."

Agustina's interruption brought the conversation to a halt.

Bal bowed respectfully and said, "Rest assured, I have made all the arrangements for you."

This old fox with a long face, who had been entrenched in White Star City for decades, showed no emotion on his face, but was overjoyed inside. He didn't know what Ronan and Yvette's plans were, but he could tell that the plan needed him.

Forget about him supporting Dinia, even if you asked him to support a pig, as long as he could continue as the secretary-general, there would be no problem.

“Please follow me,” Barr said. For some reason, despite being sixty years old and using a cane, his legs felt stronger than when he was younger.

Indeed, power is the best medicine.

Barr led his group to a private estate in the suburbs.

After taking a bath and having a meal, Ronan immediately took his leave and went with Elena to the Heidi people.

He was so focused on escaping that he didn't have time to explain what happened on the ninth floor to the priests. After they came out, the Haidi people were busy taking people away for treatment and didn't have time to listen to Ronan's explanation.

Now is the time to explain the situation to them.

On the way, Ronan gave Elena a pair of black one-handed swords.

Elena swung her sword a few times and exclaimed, "Amazing! The feel is absolutely perfect." For true sword masters who focus on practical combat, the feel of the sword is an extremely important indicator.

Ronan pointed to a tree by the roadside, "You can try cutting down the tree, cutting down the trunk."

"Young Master, how can you say such unskilled things? Swords aren't for cutting down trees," Elena pouted.

Using a sword to cut down a tree can easily damage the sword itself, and she couldn't bear to part with such a fine sword.

"Trust me, give it a try," Ronan said, having personally witnessed the sword strike the wall without sustaining any damage.

Elena hesitated for a moment, but still slashed at the tree with her sword. She didn't use much force, but easily cut a deep gash in the trunk.

He quickly drew the sword to examine it closely, only to find that the blade was completely undamaged.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Ronan laughed. "This is my trophy."

Ronan felt that since the security guard had self-destructed, it wouldn't be unreasonable to count his head as his own.

Elena's face was filled with a happy smile. "Young Master, I love you to death. Let's do it on your birthday."

“If we do that, I won’t allow you to leave. Think it over carefully,” Ronan said. He couldn’t marry Elena. If they did, she would only be his maid and lover for the rest of her life, and her children wouldn’t be acknowledged. The same would be true for Alice.

“I’ve thought it over long ago,” Elena said with some resentment. She had been ready for three years, but Ronan made her think about it. She had said it more than once in the past three years, but Ronan always made her think about it.

Ronan sighed softly, "Alright then, you'll have to be my maid for the rest of your life."

When Ronan and Elena arrived at Conch Bay, it was already late at night.

After exchanging a few words with the chief of Conch Bay, Ronan and his companion followed him directly to the doctor.

On the way, the chief told Ronan about the situation of the surviving priests.

Most of the news was good. The old man Treka survived, and the other surviving priests were also out of danger. Only the old man's granddaughter, Terri, was in a less optimistic situation.

Ronan knew why this was the case. When Trii first piloted the Phantom and fought against Dinia, she forcibly fused with the power of the Resonance Stone, which caused her considerable damage. Afterwards, she continued to push herself to the limit.

By this time, the small private hospital was already packed with people.

The chiefs, high priests, and senior priests of the seven special city's Haidi tribes all came.

They were all involved in the Seapiper's plan this time, but the plan was basically a failure.

They were now extremely concerned about what Ronan had discovered in the basement of the tower.

“I don’t need to tell you what happened before we went underground, I believe you already know from the survivors,” Ronan said. “I’ll just tell you what happened underground.”

In Ronan's narration, terms like "time-space convergence" and "artificial intelligence robots" either don't appear at all or are replaced with other words, making it all very mysterious and easy for the Haidi people to understand.

As for the parts concerning Ronan and Dinia, they were naturally completely omitted. He couldn't possibly tell anyone about those things, and he believed Dinia felt the same way.

Ronan only briefly mentioned the process of killing the gardener Tyr, who was the god of the Haidi people.

The main point of Ronan's long narrative was why the Heidi people had a civil war, why the priests abandoned their people and left, destroyed the main city, destroyed the magical machinery, took away the basic teaching materials, and even tampered with the seeds of crops.

A thousand years ago, those awakened priests, after destroying everything, resolutely went to the place of the gods with the determination to die, vowing to kill the gods.

If we win, we start over.

If we lose, the other Haidi people will also be free.

What they never expected was that their descendants, clinging to the past, not only failed to integrate into this world and develop properly over the past thousand years, but instead regressed further and further, ending up in their current predicament.

The Haidi people were all shocked after learning the truth.

Is this the truth?

The Seafli people, recovering from their shock, either sighed deeply, remained silent, or felt that Ronan was deceiving them but dared not show it. Some even questioned Ronan, asking if he had made a mistake somewhere. Others muttered under their breath, wondering why they hadn't searched a little longer before the ninth floor collapsed. Perhaps they could have found the basic teaching materials. After all, the "god" was dead, and the effect might not still exist.

Ronan simply watched the group of Haidi people with a cold eye.

They still looked unwilling to accept reality.

The important thing they had been hoping for for hundreds of years, the hope of reviving those magical mechanical technologies—the basic teaching materials—was actually a tool used by "gods" to exert mental control over them. How could anyone accept this?

This plan was a gamble, investing all available manpower and resources, sacrificing the hard-won stability of life, and bearing the stigma of smuggling and treason, costing so many lives, all just to retrieve those basic teaching materials.

In the end, however, the basic textbooks were the root of all evil.

At that moment, they would rather know nothing at all.

Because all hope has been shattered.

"Have you had enough of your lamentations?" Ronan asked with a smile, then slammed his hand heavily on the white jar. "The past glories are gone. The dream we've been living for a thousand years should have ended long ago. This is the situation now. If you don't want to accept it, are you just going to refuse?"

After being questioned by Ronan, the group fell completely silent, like a row of salted fish hanging on a pole to dry in the wind.

Chapter 42 Seeds, Hope, Three Moves

“Actually, it’s not like there’s no hope at all. At least there’s this,” Ronan said, placing his hand on the white jar. “In this white jar should be the seeds of those high-yield crops that you’ve recorded in the past.”

The moment the words left his mouth, the Haidi man came back to life.

Those high-yield crops recorded in historical fragments?

“Don’t be too happy yet, this thing belongs to me now.” Ronan said, holding the white jar in one hand. “Of course, you will definitely be needed to successfully grow them, so the right to use them ultimately belongs to you.”

Others like to slap you first and then give you a treat, but Ronan doesn't like that. He prefers to give you a treat first and then slap you. "But you've caused such a big mess, you have to give an explanation. Everyone involved in the smuggling and helping Al-Rays commit treason must come forward and confess. As for when and how you confess, just listen to me."

Strictly speaking, all the Seaflies from the seven special cities participated, so Ronan could command them to bite anyone from any of the seven special cities.

The person who was falsely accused must be investigated. If they are investigated, surely they will find something.

To put it jokingly, Ronan, who charges design and consulting fees, is probably the most honest official around here.

“Secondly, the teleportation array must be contributed,” Ronan said.

Teleportation arrays are such convenient things that they can be very useful.

"Ahem, Lord Ronan, the teleportation array is probably no longer usable," Treca, who was lying on the bed, suddenly interjected.

"Huh?" Ronan wondered if he had misheard.

Old man Treka struggled to sit up. "In fact, the mechanism of the teleportation array is that branch teleportation arrays cannot directly teleport to other branch teleportation arrays. Branches can only teleport things to the central teleportation point. Only the central teleportation array can teleport to other branch teleportation arrays. But now the central teleportation array, which is the one at the bottom of the sea, has probably been destroyed. You are aware of this."

Ronan was stunned for several seconds; he had never imagined that the teleportation mechanism would be like this.

“In that case, your price has been lowered,” Ronan said with some regret, but then quickly added, “However, you still have a bright future.”

A bright future?

If someone else had said this, they would never have believed it, but since Ronan said it, they could only believe half of it.

On the one hand, Ronan had always enjoyed a good reputation among the Haidi people; on the other hand, they knew what kind of person Ronan was.

Especially the people in Wright City, they knew very well that Ronan was not a morally upright person. Ronan himself had said that in this world, nobility is the epitaph of the despicable, and despicableness is the epitaph of the noble.

His epitaph should read, "Here lies a selfless patriot."

The chieftain of the Sea Flute people in White Star City asked, "I'd like to ask, what does this future refer to?"

"Rescind the regional restrictions imposed on you."

Ronan said it casually.

These words, like a thunderclap before a storm, instantly stunned every member of the Haidi community present.

Lifting regional restrictions? That's something they wouldn't even dare to dream of.

More than a hundred years after the War of the Two Kings, Ronan's ancestors, a group of nobles who chose the wrong side in the struggle for the throne, came here and wreaked havoc. Over the decades, they reduced the number of Haidi people from nearly a million to one hundred thousand. Several decades later, the Haidi population is still just over one hundred thousand.

why?