Chapter 31: Is This the Governor?
Millian Hodgson indeed had no knowledge of the fact that an Alliance Council Member, Wohan, was a heretic cult member. He had no prior information about this.
Now that Gu Hang had exposed this, he was completely stunned.
Once he regained a bit of composure, his first reaction was suspicion: Was the Governor fabricating the story about Wohan being a heretic just to create trouble for Revival City?
“This is a serious matter, Governor. Do you have concrete evidence to prove this?”
“The evidence is irrefutable. The people who attacked the convoy were acting under Wohan’s orders. I eliminated those bandits at his manor and captured him personally. I saw him using storm heresies with my own eyes…”
“You seem completely unaware of this, Council Head Hodgson. I’m very disappointed. An Alliance Council Member has been corrupted, yet you, as the Council Head, had no knowledge of it. Is this negligence, or has the Alliance Council been condoning the spread of heresy in Revival City?”
Hodgson immediately denied it: “Absolutely not! We’ve been strengthening our efforts against heresy. How could we possibly condone the spread of heresy? I will conduct a thorough investigation into this matter…”
Before Hodgson could finish his sentence, Gu Hang interrupted him: “An investigation? By the time you slowly investigate, what will become of Revival City? If even Council Members can be corrupted, how can I believe that you will uncover anything?”
Hodgson was being cornered by Gu Hang.
This unexpected news caught him completely off guard. He had no contingency plans for this situation and could only brace himself and say: “We will take concrete and effective measures to address this issue. We will conduct background checks on all Council Members and strengthen the crackdown on heresy throughout the city.”
Gu Hang responded: “I’m giving you this chance. But I must remind you, our city is facing a severe threat. I want you to resolve this issue quickly and thoroughly! If I don’t see a more proactive attitude from you, I will take action myself and hold you accountable.”
Hodgson could only strive to assure: “We will do our utmost to take all necessary measures to ensure the city’s safety. I promise you, we will provide you with a satisfactory explanation.”
“You better follow through.”
…
After hanging up the phone, Hodgson’s brow furrowed deeply.
He did not want every communication with the Governor to be from a position of weakness.
But what could he do?
The first time, the Governor requested supplies, using his authority to demand allocation.
The amount was significant but just within Revival City’s financial capacity, forcing them to grudgingly comply.
No one wanted to completely offend the Governor or turn against him over this amount of supplies.
The second time, it was Wohan who independently attacked the convoy.
This was his own action, and Hodgson sold him out without a second thought.
During both instances, the Governor vaguely hinted at using his authority and orbital bombardment to apply extreme pressure and threats, all with the aim of obtaining something.
When the conversation reached this point, if Hodgson didn’t want to turn against him, he had no choice but to compromise.
Now, this third time, although the Governor did not make many threats or demand anything, his tone was the harshest yet, directly accusing the Alliance Council of either negligence or treachery.
He had a firm grip on the situation.
But Hodgson had no way to rebut.
This time, the Governor stood on high ground.
The Original Owl Beast Sect was an enemy of many factions in the wastelands.
They did not worship the God Emperor but instead worshipped some “Original Owl Beast”; they mastered storm heresies and had indeed committed many atrocities that destroyed settlements.
How could one explain that an Alliance Council Member was part of this heretical cult?
There was no way to explain it!
The Governor’s anger was entirely justified.
Hodgson initially thought he was just selling out a greedy grain merchant.
If that guy wanted to oppose the Governor, let him be the target and die for it. But it turned out that this person was a heretic cult member, which completely caught Hodgson off guard.
He also realized the seriousness of the matter.
After hesitating for a moment, Old Hodgson turned to his grandson Lambert and asked, “The Governor says Wohan is a heretic cult member. Do you think it’s possible?”
“Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s false.”
Lambert Hodgson had listened to the entire conversation between his grandfather and the Governor.
He cautiously gave his considered answer, “But right now, that’s not the key issue. Since the Governor is using this as leverage, it means he has some evidence. Even if the evidence is not real, the Governor must have fabricated it well enough. We are indeed in a passive position now.”
Regarding Lambert’s speculation, Old Hodgson sighed and continued to ask, “Then what do you think the Governor will do next?”
Lambert pondered and said, “He might use this as an excuse to further intervene in the politics of Revival City, under the pretext of combating heresy, to strip us of our power and eventually control the entire Revival City.”
“You seem quite displeased with this,” Old Hodgson observed.
Lambert was taken aback.
“Grandfather?”
Lambert couldn’t understand why his grandfather would ask such a question.
“The Governor is the Imperial-appointed planetary ruler and the head of the Alliance government. Isn’t it only rightful and proper for the Governor to thoroughly control Revival City?”
Lambert furrowed his brows tightly and spoke with difficulty, “You… you are right… but…”
Old Hodgson brought up another matter, “I remember you once said that your dream was to save this world?”
“…Yes, it was the foolish words of my youth…”
“Then I ask you now, is that dream still buried in your heart?”
Lambert didn’t want to answer, “Grandfather, why are you bringing this up?”
“I told you before, only the Governor can save this world. I don’t know if it’s this Governor Gu, that’s why I have always been hesitant, just like the previous Governors, who all failed. But recently, I’ve come to understand one thing: how many more Governors can we wait for?”
“I don’t understand… are you suggesting that…?…”
“No, it’s not yet to that point. I just feel that this Governor is somewhat different from the previous ones,” Old Hodgson said. “For now, I think you are missing the key point.”
“Please enlighten me.”
“The key point now is not what the Governor will do next, but what we need to do. What we need to do is very simple: find out how deeply the Original Owl Beast Sect has infiltrated Revival City and what their objectives are. This is the most important matter, a matter of life and death. What is the point of political scheming? Winning against the Governor only to have the city destroyed by heretics would be too absurd.”
“I understand!”