Huaxia Nation, Blue Sea City, Sanctuary Concession District Governor's Office—
In a spacious office, a middle-aged man with a proud demeanor and a sturdy build lounged casually in his chair, his legs resting atop the desk in front of him. He squinted at a thin middle-aged man standing on the other side of the desk.
The thin middle-aged man appeared anxious, bending over and lowering his head, not daring to meet the gaze of the man in the chair. It seemed the conversation had reached an impasse, and both remained silent, the large office enveloped in stillness.
Suddenly, the sturdy middle-aged man lowered his legs from the desk and slammed his right hand down on the desk, producing a loud bang. The solid wooden table shook violently, nearly splintering under the force of his blow.
The thin man seemed startled, his body trembling violently as he buried his head even lower. In a submissive and flattering tone, he said, “G-Governor, please give me a few more months. I will definitely accomplish what you have entrusted to me.”
The man referred to as the Governor exploded with anger, suddenly standing up from his seat and pointing a finger at the thin man’s face, shouting, “You useless fool! Are you toying with me?! You said the same thing half a year ago, three months ago, and now you’re saying it again! How did you become the mayor if you can’t even handle this trivial matter? My patience with you has reached its limit! Do you want me to show you what I’m capable of?!”
“Governor, please calm down. Let me explain. The situation is…” The mayor’s forehead was slick with sweat as he tried to maintain his composure.
“Most of the supplies you requested have been prepared, but I simply cannot gather the ten tons of gold you want. I’ve increased efforts and opened many mines, but because the workers extracting gold have been working day and night, many have fallen seriously ill due to exhaustion, leading to a significant decrease in our gold extraction efficiency, so…”
“These are all your problems! I don’t want to hear your excuses!” The Governor interrupted coldly, snorting. “You need to understand that if I fail to complete the task assigned to me by His Majesty the Emperor this year, I will be dismissed as Governor. I don’t care what methods you use; you must gather ten tons of gold within a month! Bring your entire family here tomorrow. Without my permission, they are not allowed to leave! If you fail to complete the task within a month, I will have your entire family taken as laborers until they drop dead. Do you understand?!”
The mayor’s face turned pale, sweat pouring down his forehead as he whispered, “Yes… yes.”
The Governor shouted, “If you understand, why are you still standing here? Get out!”
The mayor trembled as he lowered his head and left the office, his expression dazed and his eyes unfocused, as if he were sleepwalking away from the Governor’s residence and driving back to his home in the concession district.
“Dad, you’re back?!”
As soon as the mayor stepped through the door, a soft and clear female voice rang out from the room. A young woman, around twenty years old, emerged from another room and appeared before him.
This girl had an oval face, fair skin, and delicate features; her slender figure was complemented by soft, chestnut-colored hair cascading over her shoulders. She wore a gentle smile as she hurried to her father.
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The mayor seemed oblivious to his daughter’s presence, not reacting at all to her words. He hung his head low, a look of confusion and despair on his face, as if he had seen a ghost.
Seeing her father’s silence, the girl scrutinized his face closely. When she noticed the anxious expression on her father’s face, her gentle smile vanished, replaced by a look of concern.
“What’s wrong, Dad? What happened?” she asked nervously, reaching out to grab the mayor’s shoulders and giving him a gentle shake.
The mayor snapped back to reality, lifting his eyelids to meet his daughter’s gaze. He sighed deeply and said, “No, Nana, nothing happened. There’s nothing to worry about.”
The girl, named Nana, looked serious and sensed her father was lying. She continued to ask, “What exactly happened? Can you tell me? Maybe I can help.”
The mayor shook his head, feeling very dejected as he replied, “Don’t say anything more; it’s useless. You can’t help me. Just let me be alone for a while. If it’s nothing important, don’t disturb me.”
After saying this, the mayor ignored Nana and left the living room, returning to his bedroom, where he locked himself in.
Although Nana sensed something troubling had happened to her father, she didn’t know what it was or how to help him. She left the living room and entered another room, where a boy around seventeen or eighteen years old was sitting on the bed reading.
The boy was tall and slender, with black hair, fair skin, and bright, expressive eyes that gave him a handsome appearance. Noticing Nana’s arrival, he put down his book and looked at her, speaking in an elegant, clear male voice, “Did Uncle Qiao just come back?”
“Yes, my dad just got back,” Nana said distractedly as she sat beside him.
Seeing the look on Nana’s face, the boy, named Lulu, asked curiously, “Why do you look so glum, Nana? You look like an old woman.”
Nana was taken aback, then a reproachful expression appeared on her face as she complained, “Lulu, how many times have I told you to call me ‘sister’ from now on? And don’t joke about it!”
“Is that really necessary?” Lulu said with a faint smile. “You’re not much older than me. Do you really need to act so high and mighty? Besides, you’re not my real sister.”
Nana sighed, pinching Lulu’s nose and complaining, “Honestly, Lulu, you used to be so adorable and listened to me. Now that you’re grown, you’ve become rebellious and bully me. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have brought you back in the first place; I would have let you wander outside and suffer forever.”
“Hmph, it’s too late to realize that now,” Lulu replied with a mocking smile, grabbing Nana’s hand to prevent her from pinching his nose again. “Now, Nana, you can’t get rid of me. No matter where you go, I’ll follow you. I’ll always be with you.”
Although he was teasing Nana, the look on Lulu’s face was unusually gentle, as if he were gazing at a lover.
Nana froze again, shyly pulling her hand back and turning her face away to avoid Lulu’s gaze, softly saying, “If that were really the case, that would be great.”
“What’s wrong?” Lulu asked, his smile fading as he furrowed his brow and looked intently at Nana’s face.
Nana spoke softly, “It’s just that my dad has been frowning ever since he came back, as if the sky had fallen. He won’t tell me what’s wrong and locked himself in his room, not allowing anyone to disturb him.”
“I see.” Lulu blinked and pondered, “If I remember correctly, Uncle Qiao just went to the Governor’s office to meet that Governor, right?”
“Yes,” Nana replied.
“In that case, things might be a bit troublesome,” Lulu said, resting his chin on his hand, his expression darkening as he spoke almost to himself.
"As far as I know, the governor has a lot of power and is specifically responsible for managing the entire Blue Sea City and other surrounding areas. Although Uncle Qiao is the mayor of Blue Sea City, he must completely obey the governor's commands. Most importantly, this governor is sent by the Sanctuary, and can be considered a lackey of the Sanctuary, tasked with helping the Sanctuary plunder resources from other countries. I believe Uncle Qiao was just bullied by this bastard governor."
Nana nodded and said, “I think so too. I’ve heard that previous mayors of Blue Sea City were severely punished for failing to complete tasks assigned by the Governor; their entire families mysteriously disappeared. Because of this, Blue Sea City has changed mayors countless times. I’m worried the same thing might happen to my dad.”