No Money to Divorce

The second last neutral member to vote was covered in cold sweat. The previous neutral member did not guess wrong.

Last night, Pearson spoke with him in secret and promised him great benefits, and Pearson himself would take the same vote as him. But who could have expected such a setback to happen in the middle?

What’s more, he never expected the seats to be arranged in such a way. If he voted in favor, then it didn’t even matter what Zhong Yan voted anymore. But at the very least, he wouldn’t be the one to cast the deciding vote, right?

The pressure of changing the future for mankind was weighing down his shoulders heavily. With sweat running down his head, his mind was in a mess and his heart was beating madly. Just as he was about to make the twelfth vote, he almost jumped in shock when he heard Stalvern call out his name coldly.

“Councilor Parser, why are you looking at Councilor Pearson? Even though we are at the final two votes, let me emphasize that everyone should vote responsibly in this meeting.”

If Parser had a clear mind right now, then he would’ve remembered that he had only inadvertently taken two glances at Pearson. He never stared at him at all. Unfortunately, the amount of pressure caused his vision to darken. He just thought that he was unable to control himself whilst being too nervous and that the whole world had seen it.

If he were to continue on and make a supporting vote now, then wouldn’t he be admitting to the entire world that he had an under-the-table deal with Pearson? But if he votes no, and Zhong Yan also voted no, then wouldn’t he be the reason that Pearson’s plans were foiled? Recalling the underhanded methods Pearson would use in private from the intelligence he gathered, Parser instantly began sweating buckets. However, he was still a representative councilor after all. He did not just throw his head in blindly.

After thinking for a long time, Parser said with trembling lips, “I…I abstain.”

Stalvern’s tight nerves finally relaxed. No matter how he thought about it, Number 11 still didn’t seem like one of Pearson’s men. So, Pearson definitely would not have enough votes.

There was still one more vote to go, and the final voter was Zhong Yan. Seems like Pearson would only end with 12 votes. But as the host invited to oversee the vote, it was reasonable to say that in order to keep everything fair, he must never interrupt someone when they were about to vote. Otherwise, whether it was reasonable or not, he would still receive criticism for it afterwards.

But just thinking that Pearson was about to get what he wanted…

If you were to call the AI, “Butterfly” a God created by the humans, then Stalvern must be his most loyal oracle. As the AI entered into a sleeping state, he and his apostles had their own designs, and just as their plans were about to turn south, his heart jumped and he took a gamble. Fortunately, he must have received the blessings of “Butterfly” sleeping above them, because he won the gamble!

With this, nobody would be able to achieve seven votes. Both sides will reach an equal vote. As for how they were going to deal with that situation, wouldn’t he have the talking rights as the host?

“How could you abstain?!” The opportunity was right in front of his eyes, but who would have imagined that he would be interrupted at the very last second? Even someone with such as much power as Pearson actually could not help but go against etiquette and shouted out.

Stalvern just interrupted someone just as they were about to vote , and now he was trying to take this opportunity to push the blame on someone else. “It is his natural right to abstain, Councilor Pearson. Are you going to interfere with this man’s decision?”

On such a solemn occasion where the entire world was watching at the same time, the two actually shouted in public. The expressions of all the councilors at the table distorted. Members of both party were wishing to themselves that they could go over and pull their party leaders back so they would stop talking.

Fortunately, they had only lost themselves for a short instant. It was only natural that Pearson understood what sort of occasion this was as well. He had said his piece. The more he tries to speak, the worse everything will become. Even if he hated it and had much to say in rebuttal, he could only squeeze out a sentence from his teeth. “Of course not.”

Stalvern also knew that this was not the time for arguments. So, he ignored Pearson and straightened his figure before speaking solemnly to everyone. “If that is the case, then the results of our vote…”

“Councilor Yate, I have not voted yet.” The thirteenth member of the round table who had not spoken from beginning to end suddenly spoke.

That’s right, Zhong Yan had yet to vote. This entire plan had been designed by Zhong Yan to begin with, so he always counted in Zhong Yan’s vote by default. Just now, he was so muddled by Pearson’s words that he nearly announced the votes as a draw.

“I know,” he spoke in a soft tone, but his heart was filled with dissatisfaction. He was angry that Zhong Yan did not remind him in a nicer way. “I was just about to say that the result of this vote will be decided by Councilor Zhong Yan’s vote.”

After saying that, he looked subconsciously to the young man at his side, and Zhong Yan happened to turn his head and looked at him too. After their gazes met, Zhong Yan suddenly smiled. The smile was not obvious, but the slight raise at the corners of his lips clearly showed its owner’s good mood.

At this moment, Stalvern’s heart was put back to ease. That’s right, the plan had not been destroyed so Zhong Yan must be relieved as well. But a draw…Was that anything worth being happy about? He had never seen a genuine smile from this man in his life. And strangely…A spark of suspicion arose in Stalvern’s mind.

That smile was only a fleeting affair. Zhong Yan moved his gaze away, and, unexpectedly, he stood up.

“It is a lucky day today.” The youngest member of the representing council spoke. He moved his left hand over to touch his bulging pocket at the right side of his suit. That there was the rabbit tail charm he made from the lucky rabbit foot’s fur that Adrian had passed to him last night.

This was the first time Zhong Yan had appeared before the public since he was married. Everyone could see that a wide silver ring adorning the ring finger of his fair and slender left hand. It was the very same one worn by Navi’s Supreme Commander at the beginning of the year when he attended the event at Lebor. They could guess that it must be a wedding ring.

“And the fortune of today, is the fortune of my own, and all my fellow brethren all over the world.”

What do you mean the fortune of your fellow brethren?! Stalvern raised his head to the handsome side profile of this young man standing beside him. A bad feeling quickly expanded inside of his chest.

“At the artificial intelligence impeachment bill, the current votes numbered six votes in favor, five against, and one abstained. According to the rules, the party whose opinion achieves seven votes will be adopted.” The live smart camera slowly descended and stopped at a height parallel to Zhong Yan’s line of sight. The entire world had turned silent and everyone was holding their breaths.

“And the thirteenth vote, is a yes.”

On the final day, God’s last apostle announced His death sentence.

The universe seems to have restarted as countless planets came back to life at this moment.

The Navi Military Command’s headquarters that had just been so quiet you could hear a pin drop suddenly erupted in cheers. All the soldiers gathered in the hall to watch the live broadcast embraced each other in excitement as they shouted in joy. On the other end, Fayn who was sitting inside the adjutant’s office’s office breathed a sigh of relief. He had been holding his breath for so long that he accidentally choked and began coughing.

“What’s wrong, deputy commander?” He had two virtual screens in front of him. One was displaying the scene of the round table meeting. And, at this moment, all the aged members were seated at the table with shock on their faces. On the other screen, a handsome man dressed in a white coat could be seen. When he heard Fayn cough, he looked over to the camera with concern, “Did you catch a cold?”

“No no, just something in my throat. Don’t worry about it, doctor,” Fayn quickly explained. But his heart was filled with contentment. The very first question Wei Lan asked him after such an earth-shattering moment was why he coughed. It almost felt as if that was more important than the great event that had just occurred. Though Fayn knew that Wei Lan likely did not actually think that way. His brain was just wired a little differently than the others.

Right now, they were still calling each other by their titles. For Wei Lan, he had never considered that an issue, while for Fayn, he was still extremely shy in the face of love and didn’t have the guts to bring it up himself.

However, thinking that Wei Lan would always be a doctor, and that Adrian was still alive and kicking, with no room for him to be promoted, it shouldn’t be a problem for now.

“What’s that noise over on your side?” Fayn asked when he heard the commotion from Wei Lan’s side.

“The students at the Supreme Institution are celebrating.”

Wei Lan stood up and looked down the window to see the ecstatic young kids pouring out of the dorm. Soon, he saw a tall boy being surrounded by the crowd. That was the current student council president of the Supreme Institution. A few days ago when they just landed, many of the trivial matters were arranged by that boy so Wei Lan remembered him well. Everyone threw him up high while the students and patrolling soldiers from Navi also went over to join in on the fun. The entire campus was filled with laughter.

The same festivities took place in every corner of the Federation. Everyone had walked out to the streets to congratulate the strangers who had gone through these difficult times with them. In an era where everything can be solved without leaving the house, nobody could remember the last time they had experienced such a scene anymore.

When Zhong Yan walked out of the meeting room, he was slightly stunned.

The impeachment bill was passed. The supreme council system commanded by “Butterfly” has now collapsed and was in utter chaos. The eighth floor meeting room that should have been clear was now filled with council members. They were all dressed formally for work so it was a sea of black. As soon as the door opened, and they saw Zhong Yan standing at the entrance, all of them stepped back subconsciously to make a path for him. Intron squeezed out of the crowd and went to his side.

Zhong Yan had his chin slightly raised as he left the eighth floor calmly with his assistant under the different gazes of the councilors around them. Just after reaching the floor where his office was located, someone stopped him before he could enter.

It was Bard Pearson.

“Councilor Zhong, why are you leaving so soon? You disappeared before any of us could react,” Bard Pearson said with a false smile. Relief and pride that could hardly be held back could be heard in his voice. “I came just to thank you, Councilor Zhong Yan. It seems the many benefits of human autonomy have also been imbued into your mind after being with Commander Yate. That must be the reason for your conscientiousness today. As for whoever is going to be governing this ‘human autonomy’…Hahaha, I’ll give my thanks in advance.”

Zhong Yan put on a smile and said, “Can a man who is suspected for murder still qualifiy to run for president?”

Pearson did not expect that he would not let go of that at all. He actually put that out in front of their two assistants. His eyes instantly dimmed and turned fierce as a strange laugh escaped his lips. “What nonsense are you saying, Councilor Zhong? Why don’t I let you in on a secret? The Supreme Commander of Navi is now in the Capital—Ah, you probably know that as well. But did you know that I met with him yesterday morning?”