Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1146 - 1139: Conference Atmosphere

Chapter 1146: Chapter 1139: Conference Atmosphere

"Old Lin, who is this?" a military officer asked, pointing at Luo’er, his words barely out before another person heckled and interrupted.

"Old Lin, bringing your son to this kind of meeting isn’t quite proper, eh!" another general teased.

In the face of teasing, Lin Wei didn’t get angry but simply smiled slightly and introduced, "Let me introduce you. This is Luo’er, captain of the Otherworld Advance Team and also the major contributor to the opening of Gate Number Two."

"Luo’er, Luo’er..." Hearing the name, everyone exchanged glances, all falling into deep thought.

Luo’er’s appearance was distinctly different from the others’, with features too handsome, and although weather-beaten, his skin remained fair and flawless. Besides, he had a pair of noticeable, drooping, pointed ears.

Such an unusual appearance quickly reminded people of his identity.

"Oh, from Luo Qishan, Elder Luo’s grandson!" an officer exclaimed, suddenly enlightened.

"Now I remember, the child born to Luo Chuan and the elf; I recall seeing him at Haiya Academy when he was little." another officer said, pointing at Luo’er.

"Alright, since everyone is aware of his identity, there’s no need for such surprise. Let’s proceed with the meeting," Lin Wei said, gesturing for Luo’er to sit down next to him.

"It doesn’t seem appropriate for Luo’er to be attending a meeting of this level, does it?" a young gentleman frowned and queried.

He wasn’t in military attire but was wearing a suit, standing out among the many generals; it was clear he was not from the military and thus unaware of Luo’er’s status.

"Are you questioning his lineage, or his qualifications?" Lin Wei asked calmly in return.

"Uh..." Faced with the counter-question, the young man and his colleague looked at each other, speechless.

"Let it be, why make an issue of it? Luo’er is someone I’ve watched grow up, and I think there’s no problem with him!" a Major General with venerable seniority waved off dismissively.

As a star of Haiya Academy, Luo’er could almost be said to have grown up in the spotlight. Thus, to some degree, any army officer who had been involved with the Origin Project or had visited Haiya Academy could rightly claim to have watched Luo’er grow up.

"Well then, since no one objects, let us commence the meeting," a bespectacled, scholarly-looking young man stood up, adjusted his glasses, and spoke to the artificial intelligence, "Little Ai, activate meeting mode, and enable electromagnetic shielding."

"Received, initiating meeting mode, meeting mode activated!" the artificial intelligence responded with a soft, synthesized female voice.

As her report finished, the doors and windows of the conference room were locked, and at that moment, all communication devices in everyone’s pockets were cut off from the outside world to prevent eavesdropping and the leakage of meeting details.

"Hmm," after the meeting mode was initiated, the bespectacled young man picked up a thin touchscreen, swiped a few times on it, then cleared his throat slightly before saying, "Well, before we start the meeting, let’s first convey the essence of the documents from our superiors."

"Er, according to the arrangements in superior documents, within a month after the opening of the Otherworld Gate, the Headquarters, that is, the General Staff Headquarters for Alien Affairs, will be reorganized, renamed as the Headquarters for Alien Affairs and be directly led by the State Council, primarily responsible for economic, cultural, political, and military exchanges with the Otherworld. Existing positions remain the same, but many new positions related to economic trade and culture will be added to ensure the department’s stable operation. On this point, I presume there are no objections?" the young man with glasses said, looking around at the assembly.

"No problem, soldiers do military work, and everyone has their own specialty, right?" a General leaned back in his chair and said to the people around him. His words were met with unanimous agreement from everyone present.

"Alright, moving on to the second item," the man with glasses continued to swipe the screen, and then said, "At the same time, the frontline Headquarters also needs to be reorganized and renamed as the Otherworld Office. It will be incorporated into the Lipei government and become one of its departments. Personnel remains unchanged and will still retain independence, directly led by the Headquarters for Alien Affairs. Does anyone have an issue with this?"

"The frontline Headquarters is a military department, and incorporating it into the Lipei government doesn’t seem quite right. If we’re talking about a military and civilian partnership, it should be an equal relationship. Moreover, the frontline Headquarters is directly led by the General Staff Headquarters. So, in that case, it should be even more of an equal relationship, right? It’s like an old man had two sons, and then the younger one ends up calling the older one ’Dad’. What kind of situation is that? It’s not normal," said one officer, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

"Uh, it’s just a nominal incorporation..." the moderator said awkwardly, adjusting his glasses.

"Even in name, it’s not acceptable. Originally, we had a brotherly relationship, but once we step out the door, I call you ’Dad’, and you call me ’brother’, what kind of situation is that?" The officer spread his hands, and the laughter among the crowd grew even louder.

"Well, if there are objections to this matter, let’s put it aside for now and move on to the next topic," the moderator said, feeling the peak of embarrassment, but the senior figures in attendance were all ranked higher than him. Even if he had complaints, he did not dare to show them in front of everyone.

"This needs consideration. It’s not that the military necessarily has to be above civil governance, but people shouldn’t forget their origins. The Otherworld Gate and Lipei were both secured by the military. Now, a government is established and they want to take over a military department, that doesn’t seem quite right, and it won’t make the rank-and-file soldiers happy," another General said.

"I understand, I will pass this up the chain," the moderator nodded and replied.

Luo’er watched the laughing people with wide eyes and felt his entire worldview being turned upside down. In his imagination, meetings should be very formal. All the participants should sit up straight, speak without showing emotion, and everything should proceed in an orderly manner.

However, this meeting, even though it’s attended by senior leaders, didn’t seem to be so serious. The moderator tried hard to maintain the atmosphere of the meeting, but the high-profile attendees didn’t seem to care and treated it more like a casual discussion, where everyone just relaxed and chatted about anything.

"Not used to it?" Lin Wei asked with a smile, noticing Luo’er’s expression.

"A bit..." Luo’er nodded in response.

"Hehe," Lin Wei laughed, "Most of the time, military meetings are like this. Everyone knows each other, so we speak more freely and aren’t so cautious."

"I see," Luo’er nodded, then took a deep breath and gradually relaxed his stiff back.

The moderator rattled on, but most of it was just platitudes. The Generals listened quietly, and nobody caused any more trouble.

"Now, let’s officially start the meeting. First, let me explain the agenda items, which mostly revolve around the new city of Lipei and the Otherworld Gate," the man with glasses said.

Turning to the next page, the man with glasses coughed and said, "According to the documents, in principle, the General Staff Headquarters is still fully responsible for managing both Lipei and the Otherworld Gate, including the establishment of the Lipei municipal government. As for the discussion about Lipei, there are a few points: first, the sovereignty issue of Lipei; second, the naming issue of Lipei; third, the planning issue of Lipei; fourth, the management issue of Lipei. Now, let’s discuss them one by one..."

"First is the sovereignty issue of Lipei. Currently, in this regard, we always face international pressure. Some international media accuse us of neo-colonialism, with Lipei City being a new concession. Concerning these worries, some internal suggestions state that around fifty years into the Mingming Plan, we will have trained enough Otherworlders capable of governance. Then, we will transfer all sovereignty over Lipei to these Otherworlders, letting them manage themselves, while we provide advisory opinions. The Otherworlders would manage the Otherworld city, and we would just act as interim managers. If we do this, international public opinion should hopefully improve."

"Bang!"

Before the man with glasses could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the sound of a table being slammed. Everyone was startled and turned to look at the source of the sound, seeing an infuriated Major General with flecks of white in his hair, glaring at the man with glasses. His anger was so intense that he had snapped the plastic pen in his other hand.

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