Lian Ming meets Dai Zedong

In another part of the town, Lian Ming was visiting the Mayor's Office.

Without even talking to the Mayor's secretary, Lian Ming barged inside his office.

Mayor Wan Tao seemed to be waiting for her. He had cleared all his schedules for the day just to have this conversation with Lian Ming.

"Greetings, Mrs. Lian," Mayor Wan Tao spoke with a smile. He was wearing a light blue colored formal suit.

Lian Ming was extremely furious upon noticing that wicked look, but she retained a calm expression and spoke, "You called for me, Mayor Wan."

"That's correct. I wish to talk to you regarding your failure to destroy the JRA's base even after preparing for so many days. I heard from your subordinates that you were forced to flee from the battle," Wan Tao spoke.

Lian Ming had to restrain herself from shouting at Mayor Wan that her defeat was all because he collaborated with the JRA.

"This is such a great failure that even I cannot pardon you from the punishment," Wan Tao seriously spoke.

"Sir, our intelligence was lacking. The JRA had much greater number of warriors than we were expecting. I take full responsibility for this failure," Lian Ming spoke passively.

"Haha…No need to be so serious, Mrs. Lian. It's just that you will be demoted from the position of Warden of Prison to an officer of the Law Enforcement Department," Wan Tao spoke casually.

"I will soon assign another warden to the prison," Wan Tao added.

Lian Ming's eyes widened slightly as she heard this sentence.

"Very well," Lian Ming turned around and left the office.

After she left, a shadowy figure entered the Mayor's office from the window.

This figure belonged to the same man who had joined Pan Shi and fought against Lian Ming and Gu Bo.

"…Why did you merely demote her, Sir? What if she recognized me at that moment?" The man asked with a puzzled expression.

Wan Tao responded casually, "That is why demoting her was necessary. Her prestige is very high in Suqui Town. If she accuses me of collaborating with the JRA, there is not much I can say in return. However, if she tries to accuse me of collaborating with the JRA after getting demoted, I can say that she just wants to get back at me for demoting her. In this way, her statements will never be taken seriously."

"…But still. She is a hidden danger as she might know the truth. We should kill her while we have the chance," The man spoke with a worried expression.

"You worry too much. Besides, it would be a pity to kill such a beautiful flower," Wan Tao spoke with a lascivious look.

In the meantime, Lian Ming guessed the Mayor's plan as well.

"…Should I have listened to that masked guy? What if he is collaborating with the Mayor and wants to prevent me from revealing this secret about him? No…If that were his aim, he wouldn't have protected me from Pan Shi," Lian Ming was genuinely puzzled.

She returned to her house and informed her husband about this dreadful news.

Her husband didn't seem to care about her demotion. Instead, he consoled her with sweet words.

Lian Ming was genuinely grateful to have such an understanding husband. After spending some time with her husband and son, an idea struck her.

After some hours, Lian Ming left her house and headed towards the Trade Union. The Trade Union's primary task was to connect all towns and cities in the entire Zhongxing Kingdom. They also maintained the trade routes and even provided protection to the merchant wagons. Well, their protection fee was rather costly, but the rich merchants would generally pay for it.

The Trade Union has amassed a great wealth and funds because of their years of business. All the members of this Trade Union are influential merchants of the nearby area.

The Trade Union in Suqui Town was no different. All the members in the Trade Union belonged to the area nearby Suqui Town.

They were all cunning and greedy merchants who tried their best to increase their personal wealth.

The various branches of the Trade Union had a nominal leader. However, this nominal leader generally held no power as all decisions of the Trade Union were decided by a vote of the board of directors.

However, the man who becomes the branch leader of the Trade Union would generally have more than half of the votes in his favor.

Today, Lian Ming planned to meet the branch leader of the Trade Union.

After entering the Trade Union, she was treated respectfully as Lian Ming was one of the only 4 Star Warriors of Suqui Town. This was a status that not even the Mayor could take away from her.

"Please send a message to Sir Dai Zedong. Tell him that Lian Ming wishes to meet him," Lian Ming said to the receptionist. If it was anyone else other than Lian Ming, the receptionist might have ignored this request.

"Please take a seat. I will immediately contact Sir Dai Zedong," The receptionist spoke with a courteous tone.

Lian Ming took a seat on a comfortable chair and waited.

Nearly ten minutes later, the receptionist arrived and informed Lian Ming, "Please come. Sir Dai Zedong has agreed to meet you."

Lian Ming nodded as she followed the receptionist to Dai Zedong's office in the Trade Union.

Dai Zedong's office was incredibly large with a small table in the middle of it. There were three chairs attached to this table, one on the window side while two facing the entrance.

Dai Zedong raised his arm and gestured for the receptionist to return.

"What brings you here, Mrs. Lian?" Dai Zedong asked with a rather serious expression.

Lian Ming spoke, "…I would prefer to talk privately, Sir Dai."

"I see…" Dai Zedong understood and instantly spoke out, "Go out all of you."

All the guards who were secretly hiding immediately left.

"…As you know, the Law Enforcement Department launched a full-scale attack on the JRA's base recently. However, we lost that battle," Lian Ming spoke.

"That's very unfortunate, Mrs. Lian," Dai Zedong spoke without concealing the contempt in his eyes.

"I have been demoted for losing that battle. I am a member of Law Enforcement Department now. And today, I have come to strike a deal with you," Lian Ming spoke.

Dai Zedong remained calm even as Lian Ming spoke these words. He asked, "What does this deal entail?"