Chapter 84: Chapter 83, Is This the CPU?
Gu Hang spoke with an attitude that seemed earnest, as if he were not conversing with a prisoner.
However, the content of what he said was so chilling.
What mattered most was that Bradford believed every word that Gu Hang uttered.
He was acutely aware that Mr. Gu held no interest in deceiving him.
His mind raced, the pressure of death forcing him on.
“You can’t make me wait too long; the night is long, but I have even more to do and no time to waste on you,” Gu Hang’s words rang out again, undeniable harbingers of doom.
Bradford had never felt his mind work this fast in his life; his thoughts were still incomplete, his reasoning not yet thorough, but he was forced to speak immediately, “I’ve been on the Alliance Council for four years and am well-acquainted with many businessmen inside and outside of Revival City. I know a lot of intelligence!”
“Good, that’s one point,” said Gu Hang, “But it’s not enough. Your will isn’t strong enough to withstand torture; in the end, you will tell everything. There’s still some time until the public execution meeting commences, enough time for us to pry out everything we want to know from you, and it won’t interfere with your ultimate execution. Only then will you have served your purpose to the fullest.”
The words that Mr. Gu spoke with a smile sent shivers down Bradford’s spine. Served your purpose to the fullest… is this what it meant? Truly ‘use’ me?
Sometimes he really wished Mr. Gu wouldn’t be so honest; he wasn’t accustomed to such candid conversations and felt extremely frightened.
But he had no choice but to toughen up and deliver another reason, “After the Purge… The quality of the administrative personnel you promoted is hard to guarantee, and their work will be very difficult. I started from scratch and got to where I am today because I am capable. I will serve you loyally, doing everything you want without regret or complaint!”
“A valuable proposal, but keeping an old councilman would flaw the deterrence of the Purge and the revelation of crimes at the public trial. Your personal capabilities are not enough to outweigh the loss,” Gu Hang continued after a pause, “Bradford, you’re disappointing me. I thought you were smart enough to understand that neither intelligence nor service could save your life, yet you still proposed those two reasons, making me doubt whether listening to you was worthwhile. My time is running short, and so is yours.”
With every exchange with Gu Hang, Bradford felt the fear and despair building inside him. The Governor’s words, his demeanor, were like giant hands gripping his heart, squeezing tighter with each moment of conversation.
He felt like he was running out of breath, his faculties almost shattered by the terror of impending death.
But at this point, he was finally ready to lay everything on the line.
Gu Hang had always been candid, openly discussing the Purge and his subsequent plans. And now, more than ever, he needed to be equally forthcoming with all his thoughts and ideas.
“I’m a channel merchant; my foundations aren’t just in Revival City, they are spread everywhere. In the many city-states of the Eastern Province, each with a population of over two hundred thousand, I have contacts; the landowners in the Southern Green Valley Region enjoy my company, even Wohan, who wanted to engage in grain trade, had to use me to connect with them; as for the Oasis Kingdom on the Western Great Wasteland and further west, Blackbird Heavy Industries, I’ve painstakingly built trade routes there. That is one of the very few industrial cores on the entire Rage Owl Star…”
“My connections, the trade routes I’ve established, and the many hands I’ve placed along these routes are my greatest wealth. Yet, it is invisible and will vanish with my death. Even if I wanted to hand them over to you, if I were dead, I couldn’t do it. You can torture me into revealing every contact person, method of communication, and even their personalities and histories, but their trust in me isn’t something you can replace just by sending someone else. Once I’m dead, they will disappear like raindrops falling into the sea, never to be found again.”
“You might worry that if I don’t die, the public trial will be flawed. But I am willing to be your tainted witness and, according to your needs, testify against every councilman’s crimes. There are many things for which you wouldn’t even need to fabricate or enumerate—I know plenty of truths.”
“Being a liaison officer, a diplomat, a trade representative, an intelligence officer… These are the irreplaceable values I hold while alive. But you will invariably have doubts. Given my vast network of connections abroad, I could easily escape once I am freed. To address this, I am willing to relocate all my family members to Revival City to live; I am willing to be constantly accompanied by your most loyal guards when I act outside, who can monitor and execute me at any moment; or if you have some kind of periodically administered poison and antidote, I am also willing to accept that.”
“Of course, all this may not be secure. I could heartlessly abandon my family, loyal guards might be taken out by me, and an antidote for the poison might also be found outside… But that’s the risk.”
Having said this, Bradford gritted his teeth and spoke the audaciously brave words that even he found too daring in hindsight, “You are testing whether I am smart enough, honest enough, and I’ve given my answer; now it is your turn to see, Mr. Gu, do you have the courage to take the risk?”
“Do you have the confidence that the great deeds you will do in the future will make me sincerely impressed from the bottom of my heart, so much so that I would not consider betrayal?”
“Hahaha!”
Gu Hang burst into laughter and slapped Bradford on the shoulder, taking the somewhat provocative last words in stride, “I now think you are indeed a smart man. It is clear that I have full confidence in myself. Let’s do as you say, and I hope you won’t disappoint me. I also hope you will see the day when the great endeavor succeeds and be a part of it, rather than fall by the wayside.”
Bradford knew he had passed the test.
But, unexpectedly, his heart wasn’t filled with much joy.
His feelings at this moment were strange.
Relief from surviving a catastrophe? Certainly, that was there, but there was also a special emotion towards Gu Hang.
A mix of a little hatred, a lot of fear, some admiration, some respect… and a touch of hope he himself scarcely noticed.
He remembered Gu Hang’s declaration on his first day after arriving on the surface.
He said he would rebuild the entire Wasteland World, ensuring everyone who submitted to him would live a good life.
This Mr. Gu, unlike any governor before him…
At first listen, his declaration seemed full of platitudes, but on closer inspection, does he really have the capacity to achieve it?
If he does, would his future prospects really be worse than being an Alliance Councilman, a channel businessman?
At this thought, Bradford suddenly came to a realization: Eh? Have I been CPU’d?