Once, I wanted to be a good person

The process of a cross-state operation isn't so easily approved, which means the Devil Sect's security can be greatly enhanced.

All these reasons combined, were why Fang Ze eventually settled on this city.

As he thought this, Fang Ze also finished signing all documents and procedures, and after handing the documents to the Executive Councilor, he politely took his leave and left the office.

After Fang Ze left, the Executive Councilor looked down at the map and pondered for a while, then he took out a map of the Eastern Administrative Region from the cabinet, found the advanced city Congyun City, and the residential city called Sanzhou City chosen by Fang Ze, and circled them.

After drawing the circles, the Executive Councilor took a careful look at the map, and finding no issues, he picked up the phone on the desk and called his assistant.

When the assistant arrived in the office, the Executive Councilor rolled up the map and handed it to him, instructing, "Take this to the Chairperson."

The assistant respectfully took the map and replied, "Yes, sir."

.....

Some fifteen minutes later, in a farmhouse on the outskirts of the Provincial Government.

He Weidao handed the map to Jing Tai and said, "Take a look. These are the subordinate and residential cities chosen by Fang Ze."

Jing Tai took the map, looked it over carefully, and recalled the information about Congyun City before he slowly said, "Congyun City is indeed a very good choice. Fang Ze has an eye for this."

He Weidao nodded and then commented with his hands behind his back, "He does have an eye for it. The development of Congyun City relies not only on the support from the state policies but more so on its unique geographical location."

"So, even if the support from the state is withdrawn and shifted to support nearby cities, it wouldn't completely diminish the potential of this city."

"However... there are disadvantages here as well."

"Firstly, due to its proximity to Sanzhou, Congyun City has also become a gathering place for fugitives and desperados from Sanzhou. Those desperados don't care about your status; if you irritate them, they dare to kill and then flee."

"And due to the difficulty of cross-state operations, once they escape, it is often very hard to capture them again."

"Secondly, because there are too many desperados, the local custom of Congyun City is rather fierce, with a prevailing culture of martial arts, which leads to a higher proportion of Martial Artists and Awakeners in the area, making it very difficult to manage."

"Lastly... there is a Law Secret Realm there."

"Moreover, that Law Secret Realm is not as peaceful as the one during the Flower Morning Festival..."

After listening to He Weidao's evaluation, Jing Tai quickly offered flattery, "Teacher indeed cares for the livelihood of the entire Xida State and is so knowledgeable about each city. It puts your student to shame."

After praising He Weidao, he then asked, "So, does Teacher mean... that you agree to Fang Ze's application?"

He Weidao glanced at him indifferently and asked, "What do you think?"

Jing Tai pondered for a moment, then said, "I think agreeing is fine, but... the tax revenue of Congyun City is really too high. Should we propose some additional conditions to Fang Ze?"

"For instance, demanding that out of the 16 billion in fiscal revenue, no less than 10 billion should be used for urban construction."

"Or demanding that his fiscal revenue for urban construction and livelihood must not be lower than the average of all cities in Xida State."

"Or maybe, require him in the first five years to submit 50%, 30%, and 10% of the fiscal revenue in succession for fiscal balancing."

Hearing Jing Tai's suggestions, He Weidao laughed twice and then waved his hand, saying, "Forget it. The city is his now, there's no need for these petty maneuvers."

"It's his city. If he dares to drain its fiscal resources and cause its development to deteriorate, he will be the one to suffer in the future."

"And if he wants the city to develop better or even just maintain its current scale, he will definitely have to spend money."

"It's a situation where he can't have the best of both worlds; it only depends on how he chooses, so there's no need to set so many terms."

"Since he wants it, then let's give it to him generously. It's just one advanced city. I can afford it."

"Besides, in the recent inspections we conducted on him, no evidence was found linking him to collusion with the Demigods of the Outer Realm. Although there are still many doubts about him, and indeed, his gender does not match that of the lost descendant of the Si Family, suspicion alone doesn't constitute guilt. Since we can't find any evidence of his betrayal to the alliance or collusion with Demigods of the Outer Realm, he can be trusted temporarily, there's no need to hold him back."

Hearing He Weidao's words, Jing Tai quickly bowed, "Yes, I understand. Thank you for your instruction, Teacher."

He Weidao grunted in acknowledgment, then added, "Also, you can ease up a bit with your scheming. Right now, the pressing matter is dealing with the Dahei Jialuo issue."

"Fang Ze has already sent his subordinate with special abilities to help out the Special Service Department; there should be some progress on the case tonight."

Upon hearing He Weidao's words, Jing Tai inquired, "Teacher, do you really believe that special ability capable of bypassing a Demigod's protection belongs to that Shadow Warrior?"

He Weidao spoke lightly, "Whether it is or it isn't, won't we know tonight?"

As he said this, he seemed to think of something, fell silent for a moment, and then added, "And you haven't encountered that member of the Si Family; you don't realize how uniquely gifted he was back then."