Chapter 2967: Struggle and Concession
"Since it involves a brand new government structure, it can't be finalized right away." Minister Ji quickly spoke up.
"Mr. Xu, we meet again." Zong Lanzhi bowed slightly. "Last time we met, I invited you to join my club. Now it seems I may never see that day come."
Xu Huo found a nearby chair and sat down, gesturing for the others to take their seats as well.
After everyone had settled, he spoke. "I've heard of your club. Most of the members are players who have undergone secondary evolution. Once the district government is established, a dedicated Super Evolver management department will definitely be created. Let them come over. Perhaps in the future, they can obtain entry tickets to the Chaotic Time-Space Venues from the game."
Zong Lanzhi's eyes dimmed slightly. "Mr. Xu is joking. This negotiation is precisely about deciding the specifics of how players will control the district government in the future."
Xu Huo gave a faint smile. "You've been to many districts. Which one that developed well was truly fully controlled by players?"
"Most players live precariously from day to day and cannot maintain a district's stability. What truly keeps a district running are the people who stay here forever."
"Don't mention everyone present. I might die out there one day myself. When that happens, I hope my district won't fall into chaos because of my death, and I hope my family can live out their lives in peace."
"Players can lead a district, but don't separate yourselves too much from ordinary people. The day degeneration begins, any player will become an ordinary person."
Not every degenerated player can bounce around in the game like Lawrence Li. More players, after losing the ability and confidence to struggle in the game, choose a place to retire. Since it's retirement, their own district is naturally better, and the Paused Player status is also more convenient.
As a brand new district, District 014 hasn't yet reached the point where any player has truly evolved to the stage of degeneration. Everyone is full of ambition, selectively forgetting this hidden danger.
As always, the better the atmosphere in a district, the more beneficial it is for everyone.
"Mr. Xu makes a good point." Xiao Yue, representing the three player organizations in the negotiations, agreed. "Every one of us has family in District 014. Naturally, we hope they can live well too."
"However," she changed her tone, "I come representing several player organizations from the southwest. We don't intend to place ourselves above anyone else, but we hope to obtain the rights we deserve."
"So far, to protect our cities, we have suffered nearly two hundred casualties. These people struggled hard in the game just to survive until now. The government hasn't taken care of every place, and we, without support, have suffered heavy losses. They also have families and deserve preferential treatment."
Xu Huo looked at Minister Ji.
Minister Ji's scalp tingled. He was almost being pushed out of the game. What use was asking him? His words didn't count for anything anyway.
"Heroes who risked their lives for the country, and their families, should be given preferential treatment." The old man in the head seat spoke up. After a moment, he added, "From today onward, players will be independent from all government departments. They will only be subject to oversight and will no longer directly obey the orders of other power institutions."
Most members of the military players and the Special Defense Department players came from their original departments. Especially the former, even after becoming players, their positions hardly changed, and they still obeyed the orders of the military high command. But now, it wasn't just about whether they were willing. Zong Lanzhi, Xiao Yue, and the Special Defense Department, besides fighting for their own rights, more urgently wanted to separate players from the original government system. Only then, when players occupied important positions on the political stage, would they not be too constrained by the original government forces.
The identity change after independence would alter many things.
However, they also had demands. The original military player units and the Special Defense Department's government personnel had to form separate departments. They would mutually check and balance local forces like Zong Lanzhi and Xiao Yue, as well as player organizations.
As for the original government personnel, their numbers would be significantly reduced once the district stabilized. But for oversight needs, both sides had to contribute people to establish an independent regulatory body.
Correspondingly, Zong Lanzhi's side also put forward conditions: limiting the number of family members of original government personnel. That is, among one or more closely related families sharing the same surname or connected by marriage, no more than a certain number of people could simultaneously work in various government departments, especially in important positions.
So, regardless of what positions those people had held before or how talented they were, from now on, they would have to permanently withdraw.
Some important positions had to be filled by players. During the transition period, help could be provided, but once things stabilized, those temporary helpers also had to be dismissed.
Additionally, Gray Players and Paused Players had to occupy a certain percentage of positions in government institutions. This was to leave a way out for all players.
As for the quotas and distribution of Gray Players and Paused Players, that was a matter for later.
Furthermore, there was the issue of resource allocation for the district government. For example, the energy sources appearing everywhere now, the items concentratedly unearthed and collected by the government, and the future support from the Game Government to the district government—all of this would be taken over and distributed by players. The training and screening of new players would also be done by players. Original government personnel could only provide assistance and would no longer have decision-making power.
Player relatives should naturally receive special protection. Crimes targeting players and their relatives had to be legislated and punished severely. As for players who made the ultimate sacrifice, besides the government holding public funerals, their families had to be given generous pensions.
When it came to understanding the various parts of the original government, no one knew better than the people in the original meeting room. But Zong Lanzhi and Xiao Yue weren't completely ignorant either. They had received support from local governments to varying degrees and had learned in advance about the truly critical positions. These were the positions they had to fight for. No matter how unwilling the original government personnel were to retreat, they had to.
The original government personnel, having their power stripped away, were caught between a rock and a hard place. While having to do their utmost to fight for their own interests, they also had to worry that the players, knowing nothing, would run the country into the ground.
"You're strong, so you call the shots on foreign affairs. But you can't interfere in some domestic government affairs!" The original government personnel were determined to keep weapons research and development in their own hands.
"We are players, but we never said we would give up energy weapon research." Zong Lanzhi naturally wouldn't concede. "I can only take a step back and let your people participate, but everything must prioritize players!"
The parties argued until they were red in the face over this issue, but in the end, the players still had the upper hand. Because currently, besides temporarily providing technical personnel, the only thing the original government could compete on was the players within their own families. To prevent players from pulling strings, they had to arrange for players themselves. And once the channel for communication with the Game Government was controlled by players, the suppressed original government forces would soon lose their advantage in technology as well.