Li Xiao, however, was no longer in a rush.
He glanced at Zhou Jinyu, who still maintained his gentle deanor. When Zhou Jinyu noticed his gaze, he even offered a nod and a small smile.
Li Xiao lightly tapped the fingers of the hand resting on the table.
’Zhou Jinyu fancies himself clever, but he really doesn’t know anything. He’s always been one for backstabbing, yet today he suddenly steps forward to attack . I’m afraid his intentions lie elsewhere.’
Sure enough, soone soon chid in. "Mr. Li was indeed careless about this. As I recall, the military provisions allocation plan is usually submitted for review at the end of the year. How did word get out at a ti like this?"
The man shook his head, casting a disapproving glance at Li Xiao. "This was all baseless rumor, yet it caused such a stir. If the Military Departnt misunderstands because of this and a rift forms with the base, that will be your responsibility, Mr. Li."
Li Xiao scoffed. ’The decision to reduce military provisions every year wasn’t mine alone. Now that these people see the military is on the verge of rising, they want to pin all the bla on ?’
’Hah. Do I look like cannon fodder?’
"Shouldn’t you all hear out first?" Li Xiao’s gaze swept slowly across the people on the holographic screen as he admitted frankly, "That’s right. I did intend to reduce next year’s military provisions allocation..."
Before he could finish, several people looked up in surprise.
’Is Li Xiao that foolhardy? He knows the military isn’t what it used to be... trying to control them with provisions will be difficult now.’
Li Xiao continued, "It’s because tis are tough for the base as well. Our grain reserves are dwindling year by year, and the mutation index remains stubbornly high. That’s why I planned to compensate for this portion of the military provisions quota through other ans."
"Other ans?" soone asked, their mind racing. "Mr. Li, are you suggesting... we cooperate with the military to vigorously cultivate crops that have undergone reverse evolution?"
Just as Li Xiao was about to nod, soone sneered sarcastically, "So that was Mr. Li’s plan. What a pity this technology is currently in the hands of the Military Departnt..."
The speaker then looked up at the military representative seated to one side. "I just wonder if the Military Departnt is willing to share this technology..."
All eyes snapped toward him.
By this point, even a fool could see that Li Xiao’s proposal to reduce military provisions was rely a pretext. This was the real issue.
The military representative on the left frowned. Just as he was about to state his position, soone suddenly scoffed.
"When all is said and done, isn’t it just that everyone wants a piece of the pie?" Ye Xin let out a light laugh, ignoring the stares fixed on her as she casually blew on her fingernails.
The vast conference room fell silent in an instant.
The silence held until the silver-haired old woman, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, suddenly let out a cough.
Soone had a flash of inspiration and asked, "Director Chen, what are your thoughts?"
’That’s right, this old woman was the one who called today’s eting. And since Zhou Jinyu was the first to launch an attack, she must have had a hand in it.’
For a mont, everyone was lost in their own thoughts as they looked up at the smiling old woman. Only Ye Xin raised an eyebrow, leaning back slightly and relaxing into her chair with the air of soone completely unconcerned.
The old woman, in turn, gave Ye Xin an imperceptible glance before raising her head to address the room.
Though she was advanced in age, she was full of vigor, and her voice was strong and clear. "I hear the Military Departnt has been recruiting Ability Users lately. They must be a bit short-handed, I imagine? So, I suggest our various departnts could each dispatch so personnel over to provide support..."
’Is she brazenly trying to get her hooks into the military?’
Everyone was stunned by the old woman’s words.
The old woman paid no mind to the others, simply looking at the military representative with a smile. "Young Yan, what do you think?"
The military representative, whose surna was Yan, was quite decisive, agreeing at once. "That’s no problem."
The Military Departnt had no intention of being secretive about it, and Miss Gu was more than willing to train newcors. It’s just...
He looked up, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "However," he said slowly, "the matter of plant malignancy must be disclosed to the public."
"Absolutely not," soone objected vehently. "The impact would be too great. Once this is made public, it’s bound to cause mass panic. Who will take responsibility for that?"
"That’s right," another person chid in. "The situation across the country has only just stabilized. If there’s social unrest, all our previous efforts will have been for nothing..."
"But have any of you considered the consequences of keeping this a secret indefinitely?"
The military representative frowned, his tone heavy. "Many mutant plants in the wild are already showing signs of malignancy... You can’t wrap a fire in paper. This is sothing that simply can’t be hidden."
"Blindly concealing it will only lead to greater panic and casualties!"
"Why can’t it be hidden?" soone said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Hasn’t the Military Departnt been conducting screening operations in the wild all these years? I think that work could be done a bit more ticulously..."
"As long as our soldiers clear out all the plants showing signs of malignancy ahead of ti, won’t that solve the problem?"
"Easy for you to say," the military representative said, clearly angered. "Right now, over ninety-eight percent of the country is covered by wild vegetation. How difficult do you think it is to screen all of it?"
"But there are always more solutions than problems..." soone offered with a placating smile.
"But the plants in the ground aren’t static. They can undergo a secondary mutation at any ti, anywhere..."
"Then just screen them more often," soone said, adding flippantly, "Protecting our hos and defending the nation is your job, after all..."
The military representative shot to his feet, his face ashen with fury. ’It’s so easy for so people to talk when they aren’t the ones doing the work...’
Just then, Li Xiao stood up.
"Actually, there is a way to solve this..."
Ye Xin, who had been leaning back in her chair and seemingly detached from the eting, suddenly lifted her eyes to Li Xiao.
Li Xiao rose and addressed the room. "The efficiency of ordinary people conducting these field screening missions is naturally low. But Ability Users are different. The range they can perceive is beyond what an ordinary person can imagine..."
"The Military Departnt was short-staffed before, so progress was naturally slow. But now, since everyone is preparing to support the Military Departnt, let’s not be stingy..."
He looked at everyone with a smile. "My suggestion is this: since the Military Departnt is willing to share, why not use this as an opportunity to gather all the Ability Users and dispatch them across the country? While they select backup plant species and learn the technology, they can also eliminate so of these latent threats ahead of ti..."
No one present was a fool; it didn’t take long for them to grasp Li Xiao’s intention.
This way, not only would they all get a piece of the pie for solving the food crisis, preventing the military from taking all the credit, but they could also justifiably infiltrate more of their own people into the ard forces.
Who would object to such a good deal?
And the Military Departnt... was in no position to object.
...
After the eting ended, Ye Xin remained seated until the door was pushed open from the outside.
"Deputy Director Ye, you’re a hard woman to find," Li Xiao said with a smile as he sat down across from her.
Ye Xin wasn’t the least bit surprised. She looked up, studying Li Xiao as if for the first ti. "Mr. Li, you truly have a grand vision."
’Before, I underestimated him. I thought he was just a fool, obsessed with petty, imdiate gains. I never expected... I really misjudged him. He’s been hiding his true depths all this ti.’
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