Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 515 - 498: Centralization of Power!

Chapter 515: Chapter 498: Centralization of Power!

Mouth King remained unmoved, "Ha, I have no idea what you’re talking about.

"Don’t tell me you think I can control the rising temperatures?"

Li Wenhao grew even angrier, "Cut the crap!

"Of course, you don’t control the temperature, but as soon as it started to rise, I made arrangements in advance, and you just deliberately delayed time on purpose, acting so slowly, and to top it off, you deliberately missed out the old industrial district!

"If you had conducted normal operations, how would the old industrial district have caught fire due to the high temperatures?"

Mouth King still justified himself proudly, "No, how did I operate slowly?

"With so many industrial districts, don’t I have to search for and manage each one?

"When I was the leader, you complained about my slow operation, and you were unhappy, saying that when you become the leader, you’d definitely leave me plenty of time to operate and not interfere with me.

"Now what? You’re saying your own words were just hot air?

"You’re also complaining about my slow operation, aren’t you?

"What did you say before? Operations naturally take time; it’s easy for you to criticize when you’re not the one doing it, so why don’t you try? You’d be even slower than me!

"And what do you mean I deliberately left out the old industrial district?

"Four industrial districts burned down this time, I wasn’t specifically targeting the old one.

"It was purely because I didn’t have enough time, so I could only prioritize those with higher levels and higher output, the new industrial districts. As for the old industrial district, its production isn’t that high anyway, so what’s the problem with giving it the lowest priority?"

Li Wenhao’s mouth twitched slightly, "You said it!

"Are you blind or something? Didn’t you see the inspector investigating inside?"

Mouth King chuckled, "Hehe, what does his investigation have to do with me?

"I could only save so much; the other industrial districts and workers are all creating value, while this inspector doesn’t create any value, so naturally his rescue priority should be placed at the back of the line.

"Besides, it’s not like I didn’t try to save him; I attempted to put out the fire, but the temperature rose too fast and the blaze was too fierce. I just couldn’t manage it."

Li Wenhao was simply lost for words.

So you’re just not admitting it, huh?

Clearly, by now, Li Wenhao understood exactly what Mouth King did, and Mouth King also knew that Li Wenhao knew what he had done, and Li Wenhao also knew that Mouth King knew...

In short, both were aware, but Mouth King just wouldn’t admit it.

After all, it’s a natural disaster; you don’t have the evidence to prove it was my doing.

"Fine, so we’re tearing off the masks, huh? Just wait."

Li Wenhao was also seething with anger; he was done playing house with Mouth King.

Today, it’s either you go down, or I do!

He immediately began searching in the technological tree related to the system.

To get rid of the governor, the game provided two methods.

One was centralization.

The other was public opinion trial.

Centralization is easy to understand; it is when the emperor further expands his power, weakening the governor’s authority.

When the emperor’s power has expanded to a certain extent, he could, like ancient emperors, wield supreme authority over life and death.

At that point, if he wants to dispose of the governor and replace him, it’s just a matter of a few mouse clicks.

The public opinion trial, on the other hand, is an entirely different approach.

In this process, the emperor neither centralizes power nor weakens the governor’s authority. Instead, he steadily increases the influence of public opinion within the system.

By revealing more and more information, public opinion is allowed to judge both the emperor and the governor.

When the governor’s public support drops to a certain level, the emperor can follow normal procedures to replace him.

However, there is a risk to this approach: if public satisfaction with the emperor falls too low, they might also be able to topple the emperor.

Or, the governor might be able to use public opinion to his advantage, to carry out a so-called "coup d’état."

Although Li Wenhao wasn’t exactly sure how to do it, the risk was apparent.

"Ha, since it’s like this, don’t blame me for being ruthless!"

Li Wenhao decisively chose the first method.

To him, the second method obviously had its pitfalls.

What if the governor turns public opinion around and backstabs him?

This is, after all, a game; who knows how this so-called public opinion system is designed within the game, and if there’s a flaw in the AI, wouldn’t that be awkward?

It’s like lifting a rock only to drop it on your own foot.

As for the first method, it seemed much more stable.

Centralization, obviously, is a negative term in real society, but in a simulation management game like this, it’s hard to say.

After all, in other similar games, when there is only one player, doesn’t one always play an extremely authoritarian leader?

At the worst, I’ll just be a bit more tired and handle all the dirty and tiring work myself.

Li Wenhao decisively lit up this tech tree.

To reach the ultimate goal, he had to unlock it step by step.

In the beginning, it was just about imposing many restrictions on the powers of the executive, like, when the executive built a certain route or construction that was not to the Emperor’s liking, it had to be dismantled once the Emperor issued an order.

Later on, when the executive wanted to build a certain route, they had to send a request and could only begin construction after the Emperor agreed.

Otherwise, the plan would be sent back.

By the final stage, the executive had become a mere tool, almost without any power, as everything from development planning to specific construction schemes was decided by the Emperor with a single word.

The moment this tech point was activated, Mouth King immediately panicked.

"Come on, you’re using the resources I’ve worked so hard to earn against me??"

Clearly, Mouth King could not accept this.

The previous appearance of the supervisor had already annoyed him.

In his opinion, fudging the data a little wasn’t such a big deal since it didn’t affect the normal production and construction.

If you turned a blind eye, I could have a bit of an easier time too, isn’t that a win-win?

You had to bring in a supervisor just to make me sick.

After finally getting rid of the supervisor, you should have just let it be. You might be the Emperor, but without me, you can’t even start the game, right?

But no, the Emperor didn’t know to back down or to maintain a tacit understanding. Instead, he directly tore off the mask, trying to fundamentally limit his power.

How could this be happening?

If he really followed this tech tree all the way down, then he would need the Emperor’s approval for every single construction he photographed; wouldn’t that be kneeling down and acting like a dog for someone else?

Resist, he must resist!

Mouth King’s first reaction was to be as uncooperative as possible.

He didn’t place production lines properly, didn’t construct buildings properly, and even openly inflated the data with more fake figures.

He clearly took on an attitude of complete non-cooperation.

However, the consequences of this act were far beyond his expectations.

The executive’s public opinion data began to plummet, and the tech points the Emperor lit up developed even faster!

Clearly, the speed of developing the political system’s tech points didn’t just depend on the number of resources, but also on public opinion data.

The public opinion data system was interesting; it didn’t always play a role. For example, once the Emperor completed autocracy and centralized power, public opinion data was completely useless.

Conversely, if the Emperor decided to go to the other extreme, then public opinion could directly determine the stay or removal of the executive and the Emperor.

At this point, the system on Comet was somewhat in a middle state, a bit like a feudal society where the Emperor and the chancellor balanced each other’s power.

The Emperor had more power, but the chancellor also had a lot of executive power.

At this time, public opinion data didn’t have much of an effect.

But when the executive deliberately didn’t cooperate with the Emperor’s goals and wasn’t serious about construction, public dissatisfaction with him, in turn, would promote the whole tech point research.

This meant that the public was also dissatisfied with the executive, and so they supported the Emperor in imposing further restrictions on him.

"???"

With the completion of the tech point, Mouth King typed a series of question marks on the screen.

Because the moment this tech point was completed, he saw a building he had slapped together randomly tagged by the Emperor with a "demolition" label.

The building itself, built in his non-cooperation and messiness, had no accompanying resources, and aside from wasting materials, had little significance.

The only way to save it was to build a new industrial zone around it, but that would severely affect the existing planning of the surrounding industrial zones.

The reason Mouth King did this was actually a show of defiance.

You want to mess with me? Fine then, I’ll randomly throw up buildings!

In the end, neither of us will be able to clear the game, so who’s afraid of whom?

But unexpectedly, after the completion of this tech point, the Emperor immediately marked it for "demolition," and the building entered a demolition countdown.

Some resources would be lost in the demolition, but fortunately, thanks to Comet technology, most of the resources could be recovered.

That is to say, the executive could indeed construct haphazardly, but the Emperor could tear it all down with a flick of his wrist.

And every time the executive built randomly, there was an internal AI that assessed the reasonableness of the action and influenced the public opinion data of both parties.

The more the public opposed the executive, the greater the power of the Emperor became, and the faster the measures to restrict the executive were introduced.

The more Mouth King resisted, the more the situation on this planet strode in the direction the Emperor hoped for.

"Heh, do you think I’m a sick cat when I don’t show my claws?

"I can still take care of you."

At this moment, Li Wenhao just wanted to put his hands on his hips and laugh heartily.

Aren’t you looking smug anymore?

That’s why I say, this executive is just inferior. The Emperor is the one holding the supreme power, isn’t restraining a small executive like pinching something in the palm?

And after taking care of you, leading the silicon-based minions out of Comet, heading for the starry sea, won’t be too late at all!