The Dongjiang City Government Complex glittered under the morning sun like a bastion of prosperity, with its mirrored windows and towering columns. But beneath the polished surface, tension crackled through corridors and between departments.
And Lu Zhen stood at the center of that tightening web—calm, calculating, and more determined than ever.
---
Smoke, Tea, and Suspicion
A hush had fallen over the second-floor pantry of the Urban Coordination Office.
Two junior officers whispered in a corner.
"You hear about the White Fog permit scandal? Resolved—just disappeared."
"They say it was Lu Zhen."
"Impossible. He's just a junior advisor."
The other leaned closer. "Director Peng was seen walking out of his office smiling. When was the last time you saw him smile?"
They fell silent when the man himself passed by—Lu, a stack of folders in hand, eyes on the horizon, expression unreadable.
The whispers faded behind him.
He was already thinking three moves ahead.
---
System Update: Influence Spread Detected
> Proxy Mentions in Bureaucratic Network: +17
Suspected Attention from Vice Minister Hao: Confirmed
Shadow Alert: Active Monitoring by Internal Oversight Unit Level 2
Lu didn't flinch.
Instead, he pulled open a document file marked: "Rural Technology Zones Pilot Initiative – Stage II."
He had new ground to break.
---
The Call from Xu Qinglan
The encrypted app buzzed.
> Xu Qinglan:
"Prepare. Vice Minister Hao Yunlong is arranging a preliminary review panel. He'll be watching you through proxies. Your window of error is zero."
Lu typed back swiftly:
> "Time, location?"
> "Three days. At the North Bureau Annex. You'll be listed as a junior policy explainer."
> "Understood. I'll speak like a soldier and calculate like a general."
Xu Qinglan hesitated, then added:
> "And dress like a lamb."
Lu smiled.
Understood.
---
Mentorship in the Shadows
Later that night, Lu met Cao Tianyi again—this time in a low-key bookstore café in a back alley of Xichuan District. Cao's clothes were plain, but his presence was magnetic.
"You know why Hao Yunlong is dangerous?" he asked without preamble.
"He doesn't just remove threats," Lu answered. "He rewrites their failures into justifications for restructuring. He buries careers under reforms."
Cao nodded approvingly.
"Then make sure your ambition never looks like disruption. Feed his narrative. But keep your own."
He handed Lu a single sheet of paper.
A list of panel member names, along with psychological profiles.
"This," Cao said, "is how you win a silent room."
---
Day One of the Policy Panel
The North Bureau Annex was a far cry from the downtown tower. More cement than glass, more silence than ceremony.
Lu arrived early, dressed modestly. Not too sharp, not too plain. A light grey suit. Conservative tie. Polished shoes, but worn.
His panel badge read:
> Lu Zhen, Assistant Advisor – Urban Youth Employment Subgroup
But behind that plain title was a volcano.
The panel was chaired by a mid-level administrator, Hu Wenhai, a known protégé of Hao Yunlong. Every expression, every gesture, every slip of tongue—would be reported.
---
The Ambush Begins
They didn't start with Lu's work.
They began by tearing down a policy draft co-authored by Xu Qinglan's team—on urban-rural educational exchange grants.
"Naïve," one panelist said.
"Not economically scalable," added another.
Lu read the room.
It wasn't about the policy.
It was a test.
Then, halfway through the session, they called him.
"Advisor Lu, please explain the logic behind the Tier-II Infrastructure Flow proposal, particularly how it's meant to retain rural youth without increasing provincial deficit risk."
A trap.
That wasn't even his policy area.
But Lu had read every word of it.
---
Masterclass in Control
Lu stood. Calm. Deliberate.
"Chairman Hu, esteemed panelists—thank you for the question. The core of the Tier-II Infrastructure Flow isn't in cost—it's in redirection."
He pulled up a chart he had designed himself.
"This graph shows underutilized provincial education grants overlapping with transportation subsidies. By rebalancing these, we can allocate tech-based vocational opportunities along key train hubs."
He clicked.
A second graph.
"Retention rates rise not from wages, but from belonging and predictability. We're not funding buildings—we're funding hope."
There was silence.
Even Hu Wenhai paused.
---
System Alert: Panel Impact Registered
> Panel Influence Score: +12
Key Panelist Sentiment:
Neutral → Intrigued (x3)
Hostile → Defensive (x1)
Supportive → Strengthened (x2)
> Trait Progress: "Administrative Charisma" 54% to Lv.2
Skill Gain: "Meeting Presence (Passive):" Slightly reduces resistance to first-time ideas in formal settings
Lu took his seat.
One of the panelists, Professor Liang, leaned in and muttered: "You weren't supposed to be that sharp."
Lu merely nodded. "Then I did my job."
---
Xu Qinglan's Gambit
Back at the Central Bureau, Xu Qinglan received the panel feedback.
Encrypted Rating: "Candidate displays high-resolution cognitive agility."
She stared at the line for a moment, then forwarded it to a secure party file—one reserved for fast-tracked political cultivation profiles.
It was a silent vote.
One that would take Lu Zhen one level closer to true power.
---
The Whisper Network Reacts
In an unlisted messaging group used by mid-level officials in Dongjiang's policy sector, new rumors emerged:
> "That kid from Xinjiang County? They say he flipped the whole room in one meeting."
"Xu Qinglan's golden boy?"
"No. Something else is backing him. That's not just talent. That's shielded talent."
"Then we watch. And wait."
---
The Price of Progress
But not all was calm.
At night, as Lu returned to his small apartment in the government staff dormitory, he found the door ajar.
He stepped in carefully.
Nothing was stolen.
But on his desk was a small paperweight. Not his.
A black crow, carved in obsidian.
---
Internal Oversight Message
System Alert:
> "Hostile Bureaucratic Entity Identified"
Codename: "Raven Cell"
Risk Level: Moderate
Activity: Monitoring, Indirect Pressure
Countermeasures Suggested:
Increased Public Visibility
Controlled Leak of Harmless Controversy to Redirect Focus
Establish Ally Buffer Within Department
Lu stared at the crow.
Someone wanted him rattled.
But fear was a wasted currency.
He opened his notebook.
And began drafting a new policy memo titled:
"Silk Ladders: Hidden Pathways for Quiet Talent Elevation."
---
Final Scene: Hao Yunlong Reacts
In a quiet Beijing office, Vice Minister Hao Yunlong read the panel report.
He said nothing for a while.
Then set the file down.
"So. The Qinglan girl has found herself a blade."
He turned to his aide.
"Track him. But don't interfere. I want to see whether this one breaks when bent—or becomes sharper."
The aide nodded.
"And if he becomes a threat?"
Hao Yunlong smiled faintly.
"Then we turn him into a tool."
---
End of Chapter 15