Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 372 Military, Political, Financial, and Espionage: Covering Up the Sky

The silver electronic door opened, and the cheerful voice came from Valery.

He dismissed the male and female waiters and said to Guan Tong with a smile, "Come in, my friend."

Guan Tong stepped through the door and saw a complexly laid-out exhibition hall inside.

The exhibition hall featured spiral staircases on both sides leading up to the second floor, with a dance stage in the center where handsome men and beautiful women with great figures were dancing. Surrounding the stage were various expensive entertainment facilities, many of which Guan Tong had never even seen before.

Male and female waiters dressed in tailcoats and wearing masks carried red wine and moved between the various facilities, serving the sons of the wealthy and powerful who were dressed in light silk clothing.

Accompanied by soft music and a faint fragrance, under the slightly dim warm light, anyone who enters will inevitably feel a sense of leisurely intoxication.

"So, my friend. Are you satisfied with the environment here? Isn't it pleasant and relaxing?" Valery said with a smile.

Like the other guests, he was dressed in light silk clothing, but the fabric, combined with his bulky figure, was hardly flattering.

"Minister Valery has requested a meeting with me. What is it about?"

To be honest, Guan Tong didn't find the place pleasant or relaxing at all; on the contrary, she felt nauseous and disgusted.

Staying in this decadent place was worse for him than staying on the desolate mountains of Mingdao. At least the air there was fresh, unlike here filled with the nauseating smell of perfume.

"Hehe, my friend is a bit impatient."

Seeing that Guan Tong went straight to the point without any pleasantries, Valery pointed to the second floor.

"Then let's talk in the VIP room upstairs."

"Let's go."

The two walked through the hall and up the spiral staircase. During this time, many eyes were cast at Guan Tong. Most of these eyes were full of malice, with only a few showing curiosity and inquiry.

Valery led Guan Tong into a VIP room on the second floor. It was not visible from the outside, but the room was extremely large, comparable to the presidential suite of a star-rated hotel.

After they were seated, Valery asked the waiter to serve wine, but Guan Tong refused and told him directly to explain the purpose of their meeting.

"My friend, the night is long, why rush? Wouldn't it be better to enjoy some wine and talk?"

Guan Tong remained silent.

Valery smiled helplessly: "Heh, alright then. Let's get down to business."

As he spoke, he took out a tablet he was carrying with him, tapped a few times, and placed it in front of Guan Tong.

The screen displayed a long string of signatures.

He vaguely remembered a few of them; he had occasionally heard Yelena mention them in the past few days. They were all high-ranking officials in Sisia.

"The signatories encompass almost all sectors of Sisia, including the military, political, and financial spheres. And the new ruler they support is Rijeka."

Valery was quite blunt, and Guan Tong glanced at him a few times: "Rijeka is dead."

"That's right, and it was indeed your doing."

"..."

“Don’t misunderstand, my friend.” Valery waved his hand. “I’ve invited you here today not to dredge up old grievances, but for a fresh start.”

"What do you mean?"

"Yelenka is unpopular, and important figures in the official system dislike her. Even if she succeeds to the throne, her position will be unstable. She knows this herself, which is why she asked you to be her bodyguard and protect her, isn't that right?"

Valery looked confident, leaned back on the sofa, and smiled as he said, "But 'Shadow' can't stay by her side forever. When she can't offer a price anymore, you'll leave—we mean to bring that outcome forward."

Guan Tong: "Stop beating around the bush and just state your conditions."

"Haha, good, I like straightforward people!" Valery laughed. "No matter how many Ascension Coins Yelena pays you, we'll pay three times that... Of course, our governor is very beautiful, and you may like her beauty. But in Sisia, beautiful women are not a rarity."

Valery clapped his hands, and three beautiful Sisian women entered the room. Guan Tong recognized one of them; she vaguely remembered her as a Sisian actress from before the post-apocalyptic era.

"How about it? If you're not satisfied, you can choose for yourself later." Valery lit a cigar and put it in his mouth, his cunning eyes observing Guan Tong's reaction through the smoke.

What displeased him was that Guan Tong didn't react much; her expression was one of almost indifferent calm.

Seeing this, Valery changed his tune: "If you're not satisfied with these prices, we can discuss it further. But I think you must be a smart person, and smart people know how to assess the situation."

"Assess the situation?"

“That’s right. Ye Lianka is like the emperor without a body in your ancient Northern Star. Even though he is high above and has a superior status, his decrees are either not implemented or are deliberately distorted and implemented haphazardly. Such an emperor who cannot exercise imperial power is nothing more than a mascot in the palace.”

Valery spoke of Yelena with particular disdain, as if he did not take her seriously at all.

Guan Tong countered, "Then who is the real emperor? You?"

“To be precise, it’s ‘us’,” Valery admitted directly. “Others control the military, politics, and finances, while my security bureau holds the evidence of their crimes, that is, ‘spies’.”

"The group of us together is what truly makes the country of Cissia function, not that naive young woman who thinks she can rest easy after killing Rijeka."

"..."

Seeing that Guan Tong seemed interested, Valery immediately seized the opportunity.

"If you're not satisfied with these prices, we can offer something even higher—to make you one of us."

"Oh?"

"Shadow" is indeed powerful, but as far as I know, it is not affiliated with the official departments of Beixing. A lone Ascensionist, no matter how powerful, has limitations... Joining us will grant you the protection of this powerful nation, and you will have priority access to rare and precious resources.

"And what would you get for being Ye Lianka's bodyguard? Just some Ascension Coins... Even if you're doing this for her sake, it's not worth paying such a high price." Guan Tong was silent for a moment: "Aren't you worried that I'll relay your words to her?"

“I believe a smart person will make a smart choice.” Valery finished speaking, exhaled a smoke ring, and grinned indifferently. “Besides, even if you tell her, she can’t do anything to us.”

"So, what do you want me to do?"

Valery laughed and said, "It's very simple. You just need to do one thing to gain our trust and join us to share resources."

"what's up?"

"Kill someone."

"You want me to kill Yelena?"

"No. Mascots may not be very useful, but they can be troublesome if they die... What we want you to kill is the only sword she has."

Guan Tong understood: "You want me to kill Sgorchin."

“That’s right!” A cold glint flashed in Valery’s eyes. “This blindly loyal woman is a nuisance. We would be very grateful if you would help us get rid of her.”

"I don't understand," Guan Tong asked. "You say you control military, political, financial, and intelligence affairs, and that you have absolute power. Why do you still need me to kill her? Can't you do it yourselves?"

Valery shook his head: "That's different... We certainly have the ability to kill that woman, but it could cause a lot of trouble. And when it comes to assassination skills, who can compare to you, sir?"

After saying that, Valery took the initiative to initiate a transaction request.

"To show our sincerity, we will pay a deposit first."

After Guan Tong agreed, she saw Valery enter 100 million Ascension Coins.

This amount was indeed a bit too high for a deposit. Guan Tong, however, did not refuse and chose to accept the transaction.

“This one million is just a deposit,” Valery said. “I will pay another four million after the deal is done. I think this amount is enough to show how much we value you.”

A reward of five million Ascended Coins is a figure that would drive any mercenary group crazy, and Valery dared to put one million as a deposit because he was aware of this.

He believes that even a "shadow" would be unable to resist the immense temptation of five million Ascension Coins.

"If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."

"Why don't you stay for the night?" Valery urged. "You can enjoy yourself here, I'll pay the bill."

"No need."

"Alright. Then I'll await your good news."

Not long after Guan Tong left, several people pushed open the door and came in, sitting down next to Valery with gloomy expressions.

Are you sure he will cooperate?

"If this kid takes the money and doesn't do the job, that million will be wasted!"

"To be honest, the deposit I gave was a bit too much."

"Heh, if you're unwilling to feed them meat, how can you expect the wild dogs to work hard?" A cruel glint flashed in Valery's smile. "But if he takes the money and doesn't do the job, then the four million will become his death warrant... I think many people would be happy to accept it."

The group exchanged glances and vaguely understood Valery's meaning.

“Don’t forget we have the recording,” one of them said. “If he dares to disobey, we’ll edit it and release it…hehe, the entire Sisia won’t let him get away with it.”

Unbeknownst to them, their every word and action was overheard by the shadowy figure hidden in the corner.

As Guan Tong walked down the street, he wasn't too surprised by Valery and the others' conspiracy, thanks to their shared hearing.

Cooperating with these people means you're bound to be betrayed after you've served your purpose. So from the beginning, his goal was to make a quick buck and then find an opportunity to eliminate them.

If it were up to him, he would have immediately launched an attack after the deal was completed, taking control of Valery first.

But he still had to consider Yelena's situation and couldn't act recklessly according to his own desires.

When Guan Tong returned to the manor, it was already past midnight. The light in the study was still on, and Ye Lianka and Shang Yuanzi were waiting for him to come back.

Guan Tong pushed open the door and, under the watchful eyes of the two, recounted everything that had happened.

Yelena's face turned icy cold after hearing this, but she wasn't furious yet, probably because she had already prepared herself mentally.

“I’ve memorized all the signatures on the list. Do you need them?” Guan Tong asked.

"No... not everyone on the list is necessarily one of their people. I can't make a judgment without evidence."

"Well, that's true."

"However, the person they wanted to kill was Sgorchen... Unforgivable!"

Guan Tong and Shang Yuanzi exchanged a glance, and the former asked, "What do you plan to do?"

Yelena pondered for a moment: "Teacher, you just said that your negotiations with Valery were recorded by hidden cameras. If I get the recording and release it, I can use it to take action against the Security Bureau."

"The video also shows the leader accepting the deposit," Shangyuan Zi said at this point. "If it gets out, won't the people of Sisia collectively turn against him?"

Ye Lianka was slightly taken aback, not having considered this point, and looked at Guan Tong.

Guan Tong, however, seemed indifferent: "As long as it's explained afterward that it was just a pretense, that's fine. As for whether the public believes it or not... it's up to us to decide right and wrong, and let others decide whether to praise or criticize us, so why worry too much?"

(End of this chapter)