The high-speed train slid silently into Dongjiang like a sword sheathed in velvet. Lu Zhen stepped onto the platform with a steady gait, wearing the same navy-blue tie he had worn during his Beijing presentation.
But this time, the air didn't feel like home.
It felt...warmer.
Stale.
Like something had burned in his absence—and only the ash remained.
---
Unwelcome Reception
There were no banners, no colleagues waiting, no polite provincial aide sent by the Deputy Governor. Instead, Lu found his official government sedan parked haphazardly near the station exit, a junior clerk waving half-heartedly.
"Sir. They...sent me."
"Where's Director Qiao?" Lu asked.
"He's been reassigned. Interim admin is Deputy Li."
Deputy Li?
A silent man with soft eyes and a brutal mind. Lu hadn't seen him since the budget hearing two months ago—back when Li's water purification funding proposal had been shut down thanks to Lu's numbers.
"Take me to the office," Lu said, voice calm.
The air had shifted.
There were wolves in the house now.
---
System Alert: Local Loyalty Declining
> Loyalty Deviation Detected: Administrative Disruption
Affected Stakeholders: – Director Qiao (Removed) – Deputy Li (Installed: Adversarial Alignment)
> Recommended Action: Secure Core Team Loyalty
System Option Available: Trigger "Inner Ring Protocol"
Lu tapped the confirm button.
If someone wanted to play games in Dongjiang while he was away, they were about to find out that he wasn't playing alone anymore.
---
The Inner Ring
The Inner Ring Protocol allowed Lu to designate five trusted individuals as "Anchors." Each would receive enhanced influence and internal political protection within local governance, drawing systemic boosts and unlocking coordinated progress bonuses.
He selected immediately:
1. Guo Min – The young data analyst who had backed his urban-rural projection model.
2. Auntie Zhao – The logistics officer in charge of village outreach (and a former soldier).
3. Professor Yang Weiguo – The semi-retired advisor who had connected him to early community leaders.
4. Chief Inspector Lin Shu – Low-profile, but incorruptible and well respected.
5. Zhou Yiming – His former university classmate, now an ethics auditor.
> Inner Ring Established.
Core Loyalty Secured.
+40% resistance to administrative sabotage
Bonus Trait: "Shadow Citadel" – Hidden influence network activation enabled.
Lu smiled faintly.
Let them come.
---
Deputy Li's Gambit
At the government headquarters, Lu entered a changed environment. Posters were down. Floors hadn't been swept. Staff avoided his eyes. It was the quiet rebellion of bureaucracy—a thousand tiny cuts of indifference.
In the council chamber, Deputy Li waited with folded hands.
"Ah, Zhen. You've returned," Li said smoothly. "I trust your trip was...educational."
"It was," Lu replied. "Beijing says hello."
That made Li blink, just once.
"I've made some adjustments while you were gone. We're shifting the project schedule. Your rural data loop initiative is being reviewed by the Internal Oversight Panel—standard procedure."
Lu raised an eyebrow. "Which panel?"
"Mine," Li said.
Ah.
So it was open warfare now.
---
A Knife in the Folders
Later that afternoon, Guo Min burst into Lu's office with a tablet.
"They've altered the monthly report templates," she said. "Rerouted them to bypass our internal verification logs. It'll make it look like we've failed to meet our rural feedback targets."
Lu's eyes sharpened.
Data falsification.
It was amateur, but politically lethal if left uncorrected.
"They'll use that as justification to end the project," Guo continued. "If we don't have raw logs—"
"We do," Lu cut in. "I had Zhou Yiming install a shadow cache last month."
He pulled out his secure drive and plugged it in.
Data doesn't lie.
People do.
---
The Confrontation
Lu didn't go to Li's office.
He called for a public meeting of the Mid-Level Policy Evaluation Committee, and walked in holding a 78-page printed report.
"Deputy Li," he said before the others, "we've discovered a discrepancy in last month's implementation data."
He didn't accuse.
He presented.
Screens lit up with side-by-side comparisons.
Timestamp logs. Metadata. Real-time loop metrics.
He cited three policy guidelines on procedural integrity. Then laid out an internal memo draft for immediate audit clearance.
No shouting. No threats.
Just precision.
Just law.
Deputy Li remained calm—but his fingers drummed the table once. Twice. Fast.
Then stopped.
"Well," Li said after a pause, "perhaps some overzealous interns misaligned the framework."
"Then we should ensure those interns never touch a terminal again," Lu said.
He turned to the committee.
"Shall we vote?"
They did.
Unanimous. Project integrity reinstated. Oversight transferred to Lu's neutral ethics liaison.
The room emptied quickly after that.
But the message had landed.
---
Shadows Stir Again
That night, a call came from Xu Qinglan.
Her voice was lower than usual.
"You made noise."
"He tried to bury us."
"I know. But you're not the only one fighting that kind of war."
Silence.
Then she added, "Watch your Inner Ring. If I were them, I wouldn't go for you directly. I'd...unravel your net."
Lu paused.
"I'll strengthen the net."
"Do it quickly. Because after this, they'll send someone better than Li."
"Who?"
She answered slowly.
"Someone with clean hands—and a smile you can't read."
---
System Notice: New Adversary Emerging
> Codename: The Masked Hawk
Role: External Envoy from Central Reorganization Bureau
Cover Identity: TBD
Threat Level: Moderate-High
Intent: Unknown
> Optional Mission Unlocked:
"Fortify the Five Pillars" – Strengthen each Inner Ring member through field-tested challenges
Reward: Permanent Loyalty Bond + 1 Secret Skill per member
Lu closed the alert.
Challenges were coming.
But he would prepare them first.
---
Seeds of Resistance
Two days later, Lu visited the outskirts of Tianhe village, one of the poorest clusters in his jurisdiction. There, amid bamboo groves and stubborn red earth, he met with villagers who had long stopped trusting officials.
"You say you listen," one elder grunted, arms crossed. "So what?"
"So," Lu said, kneeling beside him, "you'll decide where the new wells go. Not a map. Not a form. You."
The elder raised an eyebrow. "And if we choose wrong?"
"Then we fix it together."
That night, dozens of villagers gathered in the schoolhouse. No speeches. Just chalk, boards, and questions.
It was slow.
Messy.
But it was real.
Lu wasn't building policy anymore.
He was building faith.
---
Closing Scene: The File That Moved
In Beijing, inside a quiet wing of the Reorganization Bureau, a woman with neatly braided hair opened a red file marked "Lu Zhen – Uncommon Vector".
She read every line.
Frowned.
Then wrote a single instruction.
> Dispatch Envoy. Use soft probe protocol. Observe behavioral divergence. Trigger stress cascade if feasible.
She closed the file.
And smiled.
---
End of Chapter 20