# 1884
Chapter 1884: Voting
When Shen Qingzhu finished his last sentence, the temperature in the conference room seemed to drop a few degrees.
The people present looked at each other, quietly discussing something. After a moment, one of them spoke up:
"Shen Acting Director, please give us a bit more time to discuss."
"No problem." Shen Qingzhu closed the file in front of him. "Let's take a ten-minute break first, and then proceed with the seventh vote by show of hands."
As he finished speaking, Shen Qingzhu stood up and pushed open the door to walk out.
The voices of discussion and argument rose again inside the conference room, but it was as if he couldn't hear them. He walked straight to the corridor, took a cigarette from his chest, lit it, and gazed at the distant gray sky as he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke...
"Brother Qingzhu, this is already the sixth time... Haven't they reached a consensus yet?" Wu Quan walked to his side and asked with a frown.
"Mm."
"You and Seventh Night and the others spent so long discussing and finalizing the plan. How come when it gets to them, so many problems suddenly appear?" Wu Quan's eyes narrowed slightly. "They probably don't understand what Great Xia is about to face... If Fate Monk were here, he probably would have already..."
"They view problems from a different perspective, so disagreements are inevitable." Shen Qingzhu flicked the ash from his cigarette and said calmly, "Wu Quan, we can turn our anger into strength, use it to cut down enemies... but not for them.
If we can't even mediate internal conflicts within Great Xia, what right do we have to fight against the Cthulhu Faction?"
Wu Quan stared at Shen Qingzhu's composed profile, momentarily stunned.
Shen Qingzhu took a drag of his cigarette and glanced at him. "What are you looking at?"
"Nothing, I just think you've changed so much, Brother Qingzhu..." Wu Quan gave a helpless smile. "Back in the day, you'd be the first one to flip the table with a blade."
Shen Qingzhu fell silent for a moment, as if recalling something, and exhaled a thin wisp of smoke...
"When you get older, you'll understand."
He checked the time and stubbed out his cigarette. Just as he was about to turn back into the conference room, he caught sight of a figure approaching from the corridor's end and paused slightly.
"When did you get back?"
"Just now." Lin Qiye smiled. "Junliang mentioned you were holding a meeting here, so I came by on my way."
"You've returned at the perfect time..." Shen Qingzhu rubbed the bridge of his nose, exhaustion evident in his voice. "Go handle the negotiations with them. I've been stuck in that cramped room for two days and I'm about to lose my mind."
Shen Qingzhu's gaze drifted past Lin Qiye to the figures standing behind him.
"These几位是...??"
"Let me introduce them properly." Lin Qiye stepped aside and gestured to each person in turn,
"This is the Goddess of the Night, Nyx. The one beside her is the President of the Oath Society, Jinian— you've met both of them before. Then this is the Goddess of War, Athena, and the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis... Oh, and someone needs to go coordinate with the Sunken Dragon Pass—the Oath Society's envoys are nearly there. the Utopia is also on its way, and we'll be providing daily living resources for their hundreds of thousands of people... The intelligence department also needs to send people to copy the classified archives from the Oath Society's archives..."
As Lin Qiye continued, Shen Qingzhu's expression grew increasingly bewildered.
You're telling me you brought back the entire Oath Society?!
And there's a Supreme God, three Chief Gods... Weren't you just supposed to take a trip to Antarctica? How did you bring back so much external assistance??
"Got it, I'll handle it." Shen Qingzhu didn't hesitate, hurrying off toward the administrative offices. The workload alone would keep him busy for days.
Lin Qiye turned to enter the conference room and suddenly noticed that the discussion inside had stopped without him realizing. Everyone was staring blankly at Nyx and the others outside the door, their mouths slightly agape, their eyes filled with shock.
"Sorry everyone, I'm a bit late returning." Lin Qiye spoke earnestly. "Let me introduce everyone..."
"No, no need for introductions... We've already heard."
"Yes, Commander Lin is truly formidable, bringing back so much external assistance for Great Xia."
"With Commander Lin leading Great Xia, we truly feel at ease."
"..."
Lin Qiye smiled politely, then his expression quickly sobered, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.
He slowly sat down in the central seat, and a mysterious aura emanated from him. Though there was no divine power being invoked whatsoever, those deep eyes were filled with sharpness and majesty.
The moment Lin Qiye sat down, the entire conference room fell deathly silent.
There were also high-ranking members of the Oath Society present among those seated, and their expressions were somewhat startled... Whether it was an illusion or not, the current Lin Qiye seemed different from before.
"So, let's begin the seventh vote by show of hands for the 'Winter Protocol'." Lin Qiye glanced at the meeting notes Shen Qingzhu had made in the file, his eyes narrowing slightly,
"Before we proceed, a final addition: the 'Winter' Protocol is the final plan selected after countless deliberations between myself and the high command of the Night Watch, and it is also the only plan that can maximize the protection of Great Xia's citizens... If anyone has objections to this plan, you may raise them now, so we don't waste everyone's time after the vote fails."
The crowd hesitated for a moment, but still no one spoke. The conference room was so quiet you could hear each person breathing.
"Very well... Let's begin the vote." Lin Qiye spoke calmly. "Those in favor of passing the 'Winter Protocol' proposal, please raise your hands."
After a brief silence, hands began rising one after another. Although a few still hadn't raised their hands, the number passing had already become a overwhelming majority.
Lin Qiye nodded slightly,
"Eleven votes in favor... The 'Winter Protocol' proposal is passed. Meeting adjourned."
Lin Qiye collected the files on the conference table, stood up, and walked out of the room. Beside him, Jinian was already leaning against the corridor wall, bored out of her mind, having yawned several times already.
"So I still prefer Utopia... Unlike you all, who make doing things so troublesome."
"Great Xia has a large population, and any high-level decision can affect the lives of countless people, so sometimes being cautious isn't a bad thing." Lin Qiye turned to look at Nyx. "Mother, you should explore Great Xia for a bit. I still have some matters to attend to..."
"Go ahead, don't worry about us." Nyx smiled gently. "Whenever you need me, just come find me."
"Mm."
Lin Qiye didn't return to his own office, but instead transformed into a streak of light and flew off into the distance.
...
Kunlun Mountains.
Temple.
Before a disheveled chessboard, Fate Monk, who had been lost in thought, seemed to sense something and looked up toward the mountain path.