Becoming an Emperor Starting from the World of The Wandering Earth

Murphy looked at her but didn't reply.

Seeing this, Betty leaned forward, crossed her arms on the table, and looked directly at Murphy.

"Fine, I'll be frank. I can roughly guess why you're here today. But since you've made an appointment with me, I'll give you a chance."

Murphy nodded, his smile unchanged.

"Ms. Betty is straightforward, so I won't beat around the bush either."

He paused, then met Betty's gaze.

"Those recent articles about me online, were they written by you?"

The restaurant was silent for a second.

Betty looked at him, a slow smile spreading across her face, then leaned back and crossed her legs.

"It's me, so what?"

She admitted it.

They acknowledged it readily, even with a hint of self-righteousness.

Murphy didn't speak, he just watched her quietly.

Seeing this, Betty raised her hand and straightened her cuffs. "You think nobody sees your little tricks?"

"Why build a vertical farm and then set up a security company? Tell me, what's the point of a small private business owner who makes energy storage equipment keeping all these people around?"

Her gaze lingered on Murphy's face for a second before shifting to the dark clouds outside the window.

"I'm just stating the facts. How those articles are interpreted is the readers' business; what does it have to do with me?"

Murphy nodded, his expression unchanged.

"So, Ms. Betty is saying that what you did was also true?"

Betty's gaze returned to him, and she raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What do you mean?"

Murphy didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took a folded piece of paper from his suit pocket, placed it on the table, and gently pushed it over.

Betty glanced down at the paper, then looked up at Murphy. "What's this?"

"You'll see when you see it."

Betty stared at him for two seconds, then reached out and picked up the paper.

Linda also turned slightly to the side, her gaze falling on the paper.

Several paragraphs of text were printed on the paper, but Betty's expression froze the moment her eyes swept over the first line.

Then the second line, the third line

"A year ago, at a private party in Austin, in front of seventeen attendees, you promised that if the proposal passed, you would return 30 percent of the energy quota to a few key voters as consulting fees."

"For seven months, you abused your position to transfer a batch of emergency energy quotas that should have been allocated to the South City Relief Station to a trading company under your brother's name. Those quotas later appeared on the black market, selling for three times the official price."

"Three months ago, you transferred 200,000 credits to an overseas account of a UEG audit officer through your secretary, and if I remember correctly, that audit officer was reviewing your department's annual expenditure report at the time."

As Murphy recounted his story, Betty's face gradually paled.

"Where did you get all this?"

"You don't need to know where this information came from. I just want to ask you, what would be the consequences if this information ended up on the desks of the UEG's internal investigation team?"

Betty's face was completely bloodless.

Behind her, Linda's eyes flickered for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure.

"you……"

Betty took a deep breath, trying to steady herself, but her voice still trembled slightly. "What do you want? To make me cancel those reports?"

Murphy nodded.

"Yes, as long as those articles disappear, it will be as if this never happened."

Upon hearing this, Betty suddenly smiled.

"Damn it, you think you can threaten me like that?"

Betty's voice grew louder and louder, even attracting the attention of the other guests, but she paid no attention and stared angrily at Murphy.

"You think you can make me bow down with this information? Who do you think you are?"

After she finished speaking, she suddenly reached out and grabbed the coffee cup on the table, splashing it on Murphy's face. Then she threw the empty cup back on the table and looked at Murphy with disdain.

"You think you can mess with me? You don't even know your own limitations. Let's just wait and see who dies first."

Seeing that the woman in front of him dared to splash water on his superior, Wilson was about to draw his gun when Murphy raised his hand to stop him.

Murphy actually knew very well why Betty acted this way.

Decades ago, before the solar helium flash crisis was officially confirmed and the world was relatively stable, Betty Warren, then known as Wang Cuihua, went through unimaginable hardships before finally reaching the paradise she envisioned.

To completely break free from her past, she changed her name and her accent.

And it took him a lot of "effort" to climb to his current position as the UEG Energy Affairs Committee representative in Texas.

But this glory only lasted a few years?

The solar helium flash crisis has been confirmed, and a global state of emergency has been declared.

UEG was established, and centralized control was implemented.

Faced with this matter concerning the survival of humanity, the original social order underwent subtle changes.

With its formidable industrial base, efficient mobilization capabilities, and complete industrial chain accumulated over decades, China has undertaken almost all major industrial projects involving the world, such as underground city construction and planetary engine manufacturing.

However, the United States gradually declined due to the hollowing out of its industry and the collapse of its financial system.

For Betty Warren, this was a joke, the most vicious joke of all.

She couldn't accept any of this.

If things have gotten better and better in the past, then what does her "effort" count for, and what does she count for?

So it wasn't her who was wrong; it was the world that was wrong.

In order to avoid going insane, Betty has no choice but to reconstruct a twisted set of logic.

They blame all their suffering on external factors and begin to seek a sense of existence in an almost manic manner.

This behavior has a psychological name: convert fanaticism.

Generally speaking, it refers to a person who, after changing their stance, will exhibit a more fervent and determined attitude than the original members.

Of course, Betty Warren was simply successful.

She climbed higher, had more cards in her hand, and was more destructive.

For example, she might try to steer the narrative at meetings or use resources to smear those who sting her—like Murphy.

However, not everyone is like Betty Warren.

Cheng Hongtu, Long Anyi, and even Chen Mo, who worked under Murphy, are the best examples.

They were loyal to Murphy, friendly to their fellow workers, and did what they were supposed to do, neither flattering nor slandering.

But this behavior was a thorn in Betty's side.

Therefore, Betty must suppress Murphy.

Murphy was well aware of Betty's anger, but he wasn't angry. He simply took the handkerchief Wilson offered and slowly wiped the coffee off his face.

"Understood, Ms. Betty. See you next time."

"There won't be a next time."

Betty snorted coldly, flicked her sleeve, and slammed the door shut as she and Linda left.