"I never expected you to come here tonight." Corvey withdrew his gaze and looked towards the distant lights beneath the incessant drizzle. "Nor did I expect to find myself here tonight." He Ao also let out a soft sigh, turning his attention to the distant lights as well. Corvey stared into the darkness below and suddenly exclaimed, "Had you arrived tonight and found me absent from the command center, perhaps at the Mayor’s Mansion instead, and had you not encountered me, wouldn’t your trip here have been in vain?" "Not everyone will follow you," He Ao stated, setting down his brass cane. The solid brass cane tapped the stone floor with a crisp sound, and his gaze sweeping the direction from which he came, the dense formations of Mecha and Dragon Cavalry Fighters still stood in the dark night sky. He began slowly, "There would still be a large contingent of City Defense Soldiers staying behind; they are the brave warriors of Yilan, and I am the Mayor of Yilan City." Corvey turned around, looking back deeply at the elderly man beside him. ’Linen’ guessed it correctly; he was truly loyal to himself, and the troops willing to follow him in staging a coup were actually quite few. If he had led his forces to the Mayor’s Mansion, then the majority of those left behind would not have been his core followers. He also couldn’t possibly tell the remaining City Defense Soldiers he was going to ’overthrow the Mayor’, only that it was a ’military exercise’. Then, if ’Linen’ arrived in South City in the name of the Mayor, and exhibited a firm hand, it was indeed possible to rally the remaining soldiers in South City and cut off his retreat. In the end, he murmured with a slight sense of loss, "It seems my ’understanding’ of you, had some discrepancies." "Which is to be expected, considering we’ve only met a few times." He Ao turned back to Corvey, smiling at the man before him. "It seems I am indeed getting older," Corvey sighed softly. He turned his head aside, looking beyond the radiant lights afar. The darkness engulfing the entire city, the pattering rain slipping past his ears, passing through his graying locks of hair, beating upon him, "I hope that the flame within you can truly withstand the assaults of the storm." "That flame also dwells in our hearts." He Ao looked towards the darkened city, his brass cane planted in the damp rainwater on the ground. Corvey turned to glance at him once more; this time, he did not speak. By the time Fren and the other officers reached the corridor entrance, the two elderly figures in the rain were slowly walking this way. Fren lifted his head to look at He Ao with his brass cane, then glanced at Corvey standing beside him. At that moment, the two elderly men appeared as if long-time friends in harmony. His mouth opened slightly, his tone somewhat perplexed. He Ao gently shook the few droplets of rain from his suit; the wet leather shoes stepped on the polished floor of the corridor. He lifted his head to glance at the portraits of the past Commanders hanging in the hallway, used the brass cane to lightly tap the ground, and looked at Fren. Fren gave He Ao a puzzled look, then glanced at Corvey beside him, hesitated for a moment before asking softly, "Did you come to an agreement with General Corvey?" "We talked about the past, and also about the future." He Ao gently picked up his brass cane, his gaze sweeping across the faces of Fren and all the other officers, "General Corvey is a respected elder and the staunchest shield and pillar of Yilan City." It was as if Fren had been struck in the head with a sledgehammer, completely dazed for a moment. Surprise flickered across the faces of the surrounding officers as well. While standing next to He Ao, Corvey also shook off the raindrops beside himself and slowly said, "Mayor Lin En is quite charming. In all my years of service, he is the most capable mayor I’ve ever seen. I believe he will bring a bright future to Yilan City." As soon as he finished speaking, the military officers standing in the corridor seemed as if their brains had been struck, their expressions changing. Although the statements made by the Commander and the Mayor seemed like clichés they had repeated countless times before, the same clichés took on different meanings when spoken at different times. The mutual praise between the Mayor and the City Defense Army Commander was normal during peaceful times. However, at this sensitive time, uttering these words was tantamount to Corvey’s re-acknowledgment of the current Mayor. At this point, a tall military officer burst out, looking toward Corvey as if he wanted to say something. "If there’s something, it can wait until after Mayor Lin En has left," Corvey said, his aged eyelids rising slightly. An invisible pressure spread along the narrow corridor, and the officers who had stood by, hesitating to speak, fell silent once again. Under the weight of this pressure, Fren, standing aside, also turned pale, his breath briefly catching. The tall officer who had stepped forward hesitated after looking at Corvey and slowly retreated. He Ao gracefully bid farewell to Corvey with a lift of his cane. Finally, Corvey and the military officers escorted him onto the Floating Warplane. Corvey watched as He Ao’s silhouette entered the Floating Warplane, his gaze lingering until the warplane’s door closed, and the aircraft departed from the city’s airfield. As the warplane’s exhaust faded into the darkness, a middle-aged military officer who had stood closest to Corvey seemed unable to restrain himself any longer and slowly began to speak, "General, that Lin En, he..." "He has suffered a serious injury," Corvey suddenly said. The middle-aged officer was taken aback. "He’s nearly dead," Corvey added slowly, lifting his wristband and showing the officer a message he had just received. The message on the wristband detailed Mayor Lin En’s injuries and the recent assassination attempt he had suffered. Now the officer looked bewildered, gazing in the direction where the Floating Warplane had disappeared, somewhat incredulously asking, "Are you saying he’s currently in a critically injured, dying state?" He raised his hand slightly, seemingly puzzled, "But he seemed to be moving freely, with no evident major wounds or signs of problems." The middle-aged officer hesitated and then continued softly, "And when you exerted your pressure just now, his complexion didn’t change at all..." "His wounds are probably all underneath his clothes," Corvey turned his head back, looking in the direction where the Floating Warplane had left, "Our Mayor Lin En has an exceptionally strong will and self-control. In that respect, I am not his equal." "If he’s currently severely injured, doesn’t that mean now would be the best..." the officer trailed off. "Do you remember the Staff Department’s assessment of Mayor Lin En?" Corvey asked, his voice hoarse. "A qualified and mature politician, a good person who has reasonable prestige and connections among the public and parliament. "But to win over allies and establish the Ruling Alliance, he gave away too much, lacking a stable foundation. His personality is somewhat indecisive, "His power structure does not support his ambitions, and he doesn’t have the strength or means to deal with the possible fierce counterattack from the Consortium." The middle-aged officer spoke softly, "He’s a good person, but the current situation and conditions dictate that he will die from the Consortium’s aggressive targeting." "Having seen him with your own eyes tonight, what do you think of him as a person?" "If his injury is real," the middle-aged military officer slowly opened his mouth, looking at the distant dim night sky, "his means and abilities might far exceed our estimation of him," He paused for a moment, gazing into the dark depths of the rain curtain, and said slowly, "His performance even made me feel like he’s a heroic figure straight out of mythological tales." Upon hearing this, the surrounding officers couldn’t help but unconsciously lift their heads to look into the darkness outside the airfield. Clearly, they all harbored similar thoughts, to some extent or another. In this moment, the middle-aged officer seemed to understand something, he lowered his head to look at Corvey beside him, "General, he may not be able to control the current situation, and furthermore, his Cabinet seems not too friendly toward us..." "There are no absolute friends in this world, nor are there absolute enemies." Corvey shook his head slightly, his gaze withdrew from the distant darkness, his voice aged and deep. With this statement, the middle-aged officer knew the Elderly had made his choice, he bowed his head and said no more. All the officers closed their mouths as well. It was at that moment, a voice tinged with a bit of panic and confusion called out from behind, "Lika seems to have disappeared." "Lika was still here just a moment ago, wasn’t he?" "He seemed to fall behind just a moment ago." "When did he disappear?" "This guy was very close to the Consortium, he wanted to question the General when Linen was here." "He wouldn’t have..." Everyone hastily monitored their surroundings but failed to find the person they were searching for. And at this time, the middle-aged officer suddenly raised his wristband, looking at the message on it, he looked up at Corvey with some urgency, "Lika has taken off in a Blazing Angel Mech." As he spoke, the hubbub of quiet discussions around them quieted down. Everyone seemed to guess what Lika intended to do with the mech. But it seemed none of them had anticipated Lika would do such a thing. If he managed to pull it off, this disaster would inevitably fall on General Corvey’s head regardless, then Corvey would be forced into a coup even if that was not his wish. They stared, bewildered and panicked, almost simultaneously lifting their heads to look at Corvey. "Send a message to Mayor Lin En, and also deploy the First Mecha Squad," Corvey watched the rain curtain outside, his tone calm and icy, "At any cost, protect the Floating Warplane, kill the defector Lika." The middle-aged officer nodded immediately. He operated his wristband for a moment, then abruptly looked up at Corvey in shock, "I can’t find the signal of Mayor Lin En’s Floating Warplane." A dazzling bolt of electricity flickered across the sky, and the already intense wind and rain seemed to become even more violent. The Elderly slowly raised his hand, touching the medal on his chest. As the rain outside the window grew heavier, He Ao sat near the hatch, watching the scenery outside. Once again, they passed the column made up of Mechas and Dragon Cavalry Fighters, once again walking in front of those soldiers. Different from the solemn atmosphere upon arrival, this time, the soldiers had laid down their weapons. Behind those thick cabin covers, their gaze seemed filled with more curiosity. Some Mechas, after the Floating Warplane left, even turned slightly to track the people inside with their cameras. People knew the current Mayor was sitting inside this Floating Warplane, but the ones who actually saw Mr. Mayor were few. The soldiers here, most likely, did not know exactly what was happening, they were merely strictly following the orders of their superiors. When not under strict orders, they were ordinary people, with their own emotions, curious to see what the city’s highest theoretical ruler really looked like. He Ao stretched out his hand to open both the left and right hatch doors. He sat in the doorway, his gaze calm and gentle, looking toward every Mecha, every Dragon Cavalry Fighter outside the window. It seemed nobody expected He Ao to do this, and the surrounding Mechas and fighters visibly panicked. Some Mechas that had turned their cameras to track the Floating Warplane quickly spun back, pretending as though nothing had happened. In Linen’s memories, many citizens of Yilan City would stand by the roadside and watch whenever the Mayor passed by. Actually, they might not have been particularly fond of Linen, but they simply gathered to watch the excitement, to see what the city’s highest ruler looked like. At that time, Linen would try his best to return a sincere and gentle gaze to every person who paid attention to him. And now, He Ao also tried his best to return the gaze to every person who paid attention to him. The surrounding Mechas and Dragon Cavalry Fighters seemed unchanged, but under the silent curtain of rain, a particular emotion began to slowly spread. The movements of the fighters blocking in front of the Floating Warplane to part did not seem quick, somewhat affecting the Floating Warplane’s speed going forward. But at some point, the moving fighters sped up, and the lines they formed became more orderly. They stood like an army waiting for inspection, neatly positioned on both sides. The Floating Warplane soon left the dense area populated by war machines. At this moment, He Ao stood up, looking back at the Mechas and fighters gradually receding into the distance, he gently raised his hand, half-clenched his fist over his chest and, within the blurry rain curtain, saluted. In an instant, the towering Mechas almost simultaneously lifted their arms, returning the same gesture to He Ao. Splashing rain veiled in a mist, the Dragon Cavalry Fighters also tilted their bodies, like arms slanted in the sky. This was a particular ’salute’ unique to these fighters. All the fighters and Mechas stood in the darkness, watching He Ao on the Floating Warplane depart. The night rain kept pouring harder, until the Floating Warplane had completely vanished from their field of view, then they slowly lowered their arms, returning to a level position. The machines began to regroup, preparing to return to base. Inside the blurry rain curtain, one Mecha left behind from the group started to break away from the formation. "Mr. Mayor, you seem to be quite respected by those soldiers." Fren, holding the control stick from the pilot’s seat, asked softly. "They were only returning my salute," He Ao settled back into his chair, grasping the brass cane, his gaze fixed on the rain curtain outside the door, "Actually, I’ve always had a question, Fren." "Have I ever wronged you in any way?" The Elderly spoke slowly.