Me! A high-ranking official!

Faced with Guo Nanguo's honesty and trust, he no longer held back. He straightened his back and said in a deep voice, "Director Guo, since you've asked me this, I'll share some of my humble thoughts with you."

"It's just the two of us here, so let's skip the formalities and get straight to the point!" Guo Nanguo waved his hand.

"Good!" His eyes sharpened. "Director Guo, the core advantage of our bid for this project can be summed up in two words: saving money! Why is the city zoo moving? Because there's no more land in the old city, and the city's finances aren't exactly flush. If we were to carry out a massive demolition and construction project to build a new zoo in Yong'an County, the city wouldn't have the funds. Our advantage in Linshui County is that we need to revitalize idle assets!"

He held up two fingers: "My suggestion is to tackle this from both the internal and external perspectives simultaneously. Internally, we need to immediately draw up the project blueprint! The martial arts city project is abandoned, but the framework is still there. How can we transform that ruin into a mythical world from the Classic of Mountains and Seas with minimal funding? This requires an extremely stunning and highly feasible visual design. We need to impress the city with a realistic and cost-effective renovation plan!"

"What about external relations?" Guo Nanguo's eyes lit up.

"For external matters, we need to find outside help," he said in a deep voice. "Director Guo, I suggest we pay a visit to our former Party Secretary!"

Guo Nanguo was taken aback: "The old Party Secretary? He's now the city's vice mayor. Although he's been promoted, he's not in charge of the culture and tourism sector."

"He's not in charge of culture and tourism, but he is in charge of urban construction and finance!" he pointed out incisively. "Moreover, the old Party Secretary served in our Linshui County for a full five years; he has an emotional attachment to this place! That fantasy martial arts city project was initiated during his tenure, and it also failed during his tenure! It's a scar on his resume! If we can tell him now that there's a project that can revitalize his unfinished project with a small budget, and even turn it into a city-wide achievement, do you think the old Party Secretary wouldn't support it?"

He looked directly at Guo Nanguo and said, "If the old Party Secretary were willing to act as a go-between for us at the Municipal Standing Committee meeting, or even just say that the Linshui plan would be more beneficial to reducing the burden on the municipal finances, the resistance we face from Yong'an County would be greatly reduced!"

"Snapped!"

Guo Nanguo slapped his thigh, his previously cloudy eyes suddenly flashing with a sharp light: "Good lad! Using someone else's strength against them, winning hearts and minds is the best strategy! This isn't just a cultural tourism plan, it's practically a political essay!"

Guo Nanguo took a deep breath and made a decisive decision: "Okay, this is an absolutely feasible and ingenious plan! Here's the deal: you'll have to work hard tonight. You immediately contact GG Design Company, which we've been cooperating with for a long time, and have them send their best designers over tonight to assist you! You guys need to get the design drawings and detailed implementation plans out as quickly as possible!"

Guo Nanguo glanced at his watch: "Ideally, we should have a first draft ready before work tomorrow afternoon! Secretary Zhou is going to the city tomorrow afternoon to report on the handling of the safety accident. I'll talk to Director Zhang first thing tomorrow morning and try to get a ride with Secretary Zhou to ask her for permission to add an activity to the itinerary—a county leader visiting the old secretary in the city!"

"No problem, I'll stay up all night to finish this set of drawings and plans!" He nodded emphatically.

"Well, you've had a long day. I won't be going home tonight either; I'll just spend the night on the sofa in my office." Guo Nanguo was also decisive: "If you need any information from the bureau, or encounter any obstacles, just knock on my door anytime! Even if the sky falls, this old soldier will hold it up for you!"

"clear!"

He strode out of the deputy director's office, feeling his blood boiling. Back in his department, he immediately called Wang Pingping. He woke her up late at night and got the phone number of the owner of GG Company, Dingtu Vision, the company the bureau had a fixed partnership with.

When the call was made, the boss on the other end was initially reluctant, but as soon as he heard that it was a political task involving Deputy Director Guo working overnight and reporting to the county party secretary, he was immediately wide awake. In less than half an hour, he rushed into his office with two lead designers with dark circles under their eyes, carrying high-end computers.

"Director Zhao, what should we do? Please give your instructions," the GG company boss asked, wiping his sweat.

"Get me all the original floor plan of the fantasy martial arts city and real photos of its current unfinished state. Also, find me the most detailed map of the mythical beasts from the Classic of Mountains and Seas." He loosened his tie and rolled up his shirt sleeves to his elbows.

The three computer screens lit up instantly.

Standing behind the designer, staring at the vast expanse of chaotic, unfinished buildings in the martial arts city, the crazy plan that had been suppressed in his mind for a long time began to take shape little by little.

"Listen carefully, our core principle is to transform the mundane into the extraordinary, without dismantling a single brick or tile, and with minimal cost!"

He pointed to the huge pit in the center of the screen, which was originally intended to be a Jiangnan water town but is now full of silt and steel bars: "This place was originally intended to be an artificial lake, but now the water hasn't been filled in, and the pit has been dug three or four meters deep."

"Keep this pit! Lay greenery and water features at the bottom to create a free-range area for amphibians and waterfowl! We'll name it Lei Ze from the Classic of Mountains and Seas!"

His finger slashed sharply at the half-built, bare concrete pillars surrounding the pit: "Don't tear down these ugly concrete pillars! Let the investment group connect them with steel structures, cover them with high-strength tempered glass, and make a completely transparent cloud walkway! Tourists walk on it, and animals run below! What do you call that? You call it a three-dimensional tour with separation of humans and animals!"

The two designers were stunned; this idea was too wild! What was originally the ugliest abandoned foundation pit had been transformed into an immersive animal-viewing atrium!

"And here too." He pointed to the northwest corner, an area that had originally been used to imitate a desert border fortress, with over a dozen earthen forts built there: "This place is all rammed earth walls. No need for fancy decorations; just preserve this rugged desolation. Designate this area as a predator zone! Name it Kunlun Ruins, and put tigers and lions in there. Those earthen forts will be their natural dens and shelters. Use an antique finish to paint murals of the White Tiger and Qiongqi from the Classic of Mountains and Seas on the earthen walls!"

"What about these half-built three-story antique-style wooden buildings?" The boss pointed to a cluster of unfinished attics in the very center: "The wood has turned black from the wind and sun."

"Black is better! A coat of clear varnish will prevent corrosion, and you won't even need to touch up the paint!" He became increasingly excited, his fingers flying across the screen. "These buildings are densely packed and intricately connected. We'll use high-strength wire mesh to completely enclose these buildings, creating a super-sized 'Hundred Monkeys Mountain'! Various monkeys and primates will leap and bound through these abandoned ancient buildings, and tourists will walk through enclosed wire mesh corridors, watching the monkeys reign supreme in these abandoned structures. The visual impact of this wasteland style is definitely a million times stronger than those dry, lifeless iron cages!"

The night grew deeper.

The office was filled with smoke, and the sound of keyboards and mice clicking was as dense as a torrential downpour.