In answer to their question, the mysterious man took a deep breath and said slowly, “This is what you call predicting what a person will be like in the future by observing a person when he is young.
“Wang Daoming is a highly intelligent man. He probably saw the prodigal Hong Dali’s true nature long ago. If it were anyone else, they’d worry that the person would do something irresponsibly irrevocable due to their inflated ego and power. That’s not the case for Hong Dali. Think about it, Hong Dali, then, did not have the kind of ability he has now. No one could have imagined he would reach such a position. However, at that time, he was a magnanimous man. Wang Daoming knocked into his car and all he said was, ‘Old man, why aren’t you leaving?’. That was the end of the matter. There was no thought at all of making things difficult for people in his mind.
“Even a man who went through all of life’s tribulations like Wang Daoming is willing to follow him. Do you think it’s because he offered him good terms? No matter how good his terms were, could they have been better than ours?”
When the mysterious man finished speaking, An Yangxu said with a bitter smile, “It seems like this little brat is really good at faking it.”
“This is not something that can be faked.” The mysterious man shook his head and smiled. “His character is like that. A leopard never changes its spots. Anyone who is pretending to be something they are not is bound to have some slip-ups, but Hong Dali has none at all. Everything about him is natural. Rather, he might be destined to be a prodigal in this life. This is his mission in life, what he must do.”
“Doesn’t he always say ‘I need to squander’? I feel that this may be his reason for being in this world. He has to be a prodigal, he must be a prodigal. If he were not a prodigal, he would not be Hong Dali.
“As for me, what I need to do is to support him. ‘Squander for the Rise of the Heavenly State.’ That was not conferred in jest.”
After the mysterious man finished speaking, he stubbed his cigarette out forcefully and looked at everyone present. In a low voice, he said, “That’s all I have to say. You all decide for yourselves how you should treat Hong Dali!”
Everyone was quiet after listening to what the mysterious man said. They could all see that the number one man in the Heavenly State was supporting Hong Dali, but none of them had imagined that it was to this extent!
Full support! So long as Hong Dali didn’t do anything against society or humanity, the number one man in the Heavenly State would have his back.
“Well, Big Boss, if we were to follow your instructions, Hong Dali would be beyond the reach of our military. But that won’t do,” said An Yangxu anxiously. “He might have other good stuff. He’s lucky, and everything he makes is pretty good. We can’t possibly just wait for him to come up with stuff, and to share some with us if he feels like it, or just keep quiet if he doesn’t. Take this Granzon, for example. If he were not forced to today, we would never know that such a thing existed!”
The others agreed. “Yes, wouldn’t that make us too passive? Everything would be under his control. We’re not agreeable to that!” “Yes! The 150th anniversary of the military parade is coming. We should have as many things as possible ready now and show the bastards in the rest of the world what we are capable of. See if they still dare to take us lightly then.”
“That’s right. When I think about the expressions on their faces when they see the Mechanical Man and this Granzon, I feel so excited!” An Yangxu said excitedly in a low voice. “Big Boss, think about it. That’s the 150th anniversary of our military parade. One hundred and fifty! All the reporters worldwide will be here. The heads of governments should also be here. It’s such a good opportunity. If we don’t grasp it and show them what we are made of, then I won’t be able to rest in peace even if I died.”
The other three men nodded vehemently. “Right! If we don’t show them what we are capable of, those sons of bitches will never know how powerful the Heavenly State is.”
“I know that, too.” The mysterious man frowned. To be honest, he had to be concerned about the 150th national military parade. He would have to preside over it when the time came and naturally hoped it could be as grand as possible. However, it was hard to say what could be done for it now. Hong Dali was not an issue. With his position, Hong Dali would definitely accede to his request. More importantly, just how many things did Hong Dali have? The question was a tough one. It was possible even Hong Dali himself had no idea just how much usable tech or other things he had.
After much consideration, the mysterious man shook his head decisively. “It’s hard for me to say now. The child is simply too playful. Everything he comes up with is fun. The more powerful it is, the more it’s wasted in his hands. However, I’m not quite sure what use those things can have.”
“That’s easy!” An Yangxu’s thinking was simple. “Take everything, leave nothing behind! Whatever we can develop or research based on those will be ours. That settles it, doesn’t it?”
The Bureau Chief frowned and shook his head. “No. The things we make are just of average quality, they will not make a strong impression even if they work. The things Hong Dali comes up with and produces, those are beyond expectations. You would not even be able to imagine that such a thing could be made, and the results are effective, efficient, and powerful. That’s why I feel it’s better for us to guide him along the path we desire.”
An Yangxu was thinking of taking everything and doing the developing themselves while the Bureau Chief wanted to take technology that was ready as it saved time and effort.
Then, another army General said, “If you ask me, I say we might as well just arrest him and have him develop technology for us. We will just release him when the military parade is over. That saves everyone some thinking and plotting.”
His words were temporarily welcomed and accepted by those present. At the moment, it seemed like the most practical method. “Yes, yes, yes. This method will work. It’s only for a little more than a month, it will be over in just a while. After that, if he needs this old man to apologize or make amends, I’ll do it. It’ll be okay even if I lose a little pride.””Yes, when that time comes I will go, too. Since the little brat has contributed to the Heavenly State, losing a little pride doesn’t count for much.”
The mysterious man’s eyebrows jumped furiously as he listened. My god, this man obviously had no idea how lucky Hong Dali really was. It was not just him they had to watch out for, there was also the Angel of Misfortune. If the misfortune was transferred to these few old men, there would be a huge furor.
“No, definitely not!” The mysterious man said anxiously. “You must not lay a hand on Hong Dali. We can advise and persuade him or we can bribe him, but we must not touch him. We must not!”
“My god! It can’t be, Big Boss.” An Yangxu was on the verge of despair. “You mean, the entire Heavenly State must go along with his wishes? We must not do anything to him? Did I hear wrongly? He’s nothing but a prodigal. Yes, he does have good character and good luck, but do we have to go to this extent? He is not a god…”
To be honest, the few old men on the scene held ninety-nine percent of the power in the Heavenly State. If these people said to go along with Hong Dali… were they taking things a little too seriously?
“Wu Di, you tell them.” The mysterious man sighed, expressing his helplessness in this matter. “The reason is rather complicated.”
“Exactly what reason is it?” Everyone turned their eyes as one toward the Bureau Chief. “Tell us quickly! There’s not much time left!”
“In that case, I will summarise.” The Bureau Chief shrugged helplessly. “All of you should have heard of the Angel of Misfortune from Merika?”
“The Angel of Misfortune? The kid Lucifer?” An Yangxu’s opened his eyes as wide as bronze bells. “His curses are indeed very powerful. However, up to now, his curses have had no effect on people of our level, right? Has he gotten involved with Hong Dali?”
“He did not just get involved. The actual situation is much more complicated.” The Bureau Chief smiled bitterly and said, “We have researched the Angel of Misfortune’s curses before. He has only cursed those with lower positions in the government so far and they have all come true. Toward those who hold higher positions, the effect is not as good. There is one thing, however, that’s terrifying!”
He stopped talking and looked at everyone. “The curses made by the Angel of Misfortune are not very potent. But recently, we discovered something even more terrifying. The effects stack up!”
The Bureau Chief explained slowly, “In the past, whenever the Angel of Misfortune cursed someone, the effect was usually a little delayed and no one died. Things are different now. The Angel of Misfortune is physically in the Heavenly State now. We do not know exactly where, but that’s not important. What’s important is, his target was very obviously Hong Dali after he arrived here. However, his misfortune curses have been deflected by Hong Dali’s infallible luck. Worse, the effects of both stack up!
“Which is to say, when the Angel of Misfortune curses Hong Dali now, the curse gets amplified by Hong Dali, and then transferred to his enemy. The situation is clear now. If you insist on going for Hong Dali, it’s very likely you would drop into a water well while walking along the road, or get hit on the head by a flower pot falling from above. I’m not just trying to scare you. There have already been a few deaths this way and they died fast. The victims were assassins sent to kill Hong Dali and ninjas sent by the Toyoda Conglomerate. It is, however, only conjecture as we do not have any proof.”
The Bureau Chief did not forget to make his key point. “Have you heard the news about the Merika Defense Minister Itra and the Director of the National Security Bureau Salon eating shit a few days ago? This was what happened—the fake video they made was seen by the Angel of Misfortune. He then posted on Weibo saying they were a herd of pigs and told them to go eat shit. Normally, with their positions, nothing would happen. Now, because they have always been going up against Hong Dali… you saw what happened to them.”
Gasp!
When the Bureau Chief had finished speaking, An Yangxu and the other few men looked at each other and collectively drew a sharp intake of breath.
