681: In this battle of situation, who will compete?

Following this, the website began heavily promoting the topic of Presidential Candidates, and netizens speculated on who would ultimately ascend to the throne. Su Yue presented the voting results to Fells.

Fells saw that his vote count hadn't even made it into the top three. In his astonishment, he dropped his water cup, sending hot water splashing everywhere. "Why? My votes are even less than Washington D.C.'s Governor? This is absurd! In this situation, what am I even competing for the President position?" Fells's confidence was severely shaken.

Su Yue quickly comforted him, "Boss, don't rush. Although our base is not high, it means our room for improvement is huge, and it is entirely possible for us to become the dark horse in the end."

Fells looked at Su Yue with suspicion, unsure of what to do. After all, in this world, the truth is often hard to accept, while flattery can always easily move people's hearts.

"Then tell me, what should we do next?" Fells had originally planned to use his status advantage to compete, but various voices within rose and fell, and even Deng Liduō, also a Presidential Candidate, was at odds with him, restricting his actions everywhere.

Seeing that Fells was gradually trusting him, Su Yue said, "Although our approval rating is not high, our supporters are highly loyal people, and stabilizing them doesn't require much effort. The key is to find the reasons why the top three have high approval ratings and defeat them one by one." As he spoke, he handed the compiled list to Fells.

Fells saw that Su Yue was well-prepared, and a hint of relief appeared on his face. "Ranked first is Deng Liduō, second is Governor Huaklan, and third is Minsweite, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Federal Court. Why are their approval ratings so high?"

Su Yue explained, "The main reason Deng Liduō's foundation is solid is that in his previous struggle with Nep, he targeted his main audience in underdeveloped areas. After the Nep incident, his favorability soared even higher. As for the other two, they each have their advantages."

Fells glared angrily at Deng Liduō, who was ranked first, and gnashed his teeth, "Then tell me, how should we respond? Deng Liduō's approval rating is so high, we seem helpless!"

Su Yue took out another stack of documents and handed them to Fells. "Please take a close look, these are the opinions of the public we randomly sampled regarding Deng Liduō."

Fells flipped through the interview records, which were filled with praise for Deng Liduō and criticism of the and the Central Intelligence Agency. He impatiently turned the pages until Su Yue pointed out a particularly noteworthy answer.

"Look at this one," Su Yue said, pointing to an interview record. "This voter chose Minkovite and Fells, but not Deng Liduō. His reason is that Deng Liduō was unharmed in the Nep incident, which shows he is not a simple person either."

Fells's eyes lit up; he finally saw a glimmer of hope.

Fells's gaze was fixed on that line of text, and a plan formed in his mind. He looked at Su Yue approvingly, "You handled this beautifully." This comment was undoubtedly a weakness for Deng Liduō. As long as it was slightly guided during the last turmoil, creating a little suspicion about him, it would be enough to stir up a new wave.

Su Yue humbly lowered his head. "Thank you for the Boss's praise." Then, he turned and left, throwing the forged interview materials into the trash can. Soon, the trash was cleared away, as if nothing had ever happened.

Su Yue knew deeply that in front of people who were anxious and eager for information, any seemingly reasonable explanation could become the "truth" they firmly believed in. So, he made a phone call. "Hello, please inform all reporters that we will be holding a press conference tomorrow at 8 a.m. on the 39th floor of the Central Building."

An answering voice came from the other end of the phone, and Su Yue hung up. He knew that tens of thousands of such calls were made every day and would not attract anyone's attention.

Then, he dialed another number, his voice carrying a hint of playfulness. "Mr. Deng Liduō, hello. There's a press conference at the Central Building tomorrow at 8 a.m. I think you'll be very interested." Without waiting for a response, he hung up the phone.

The city was shrouded in thick fog, everything seemed so hazy, as if foreshadowing the impending chaos.

The next day, when the reporters flocked to the 39th floor of the Central Building, they were stopped by a worker. "Excuse me, this area has been requisitioned and entry is not allowed at the moment."

The reporters smelled news and surrounded the worker. "Is this true? Why has this place been requisitioned?"

The worker was clearly not good at handling such a scene; he stammered, "Because... because of a water leak problem, this building can no longer be used. The load-bearing wall has been corroded by water, it's very dangerous."

A hint of excitement flashed in the reporters' eyes; they seemed to have already envisioned this news exploding across the internet. They continued to press, "Whose building is this? Do you know something?"

The worker was overwhelmed by the questions and just kept repeating, "I'm just a worker, I don't know..."

Just then, the elevator doors opened, and Deng Liduō appeared before everyone. He frowned, looking at the chaotic scene before him, his intuition telling him that none of this was simple.

When the workers saw Deng Liduō, they subconsciously shouted, "Hello, Boss!" This address instantly made the reporters' eyes light up.

"This is the person in charge of this building!" "Deng Liduō is faking it!" "Hot candidate scandal revealed!" Various attention-grabbing headlines had already appeared in the reporters' minds.

They all started asking Deng Liduō questions, each one sharper than the last. Deng Liduō was dizzy from the flashing lights; he had only intended to come here for a press conference but hadn't expected to fall into such a predicament.

"It's not convenient for me to answer these questions." Deng Liduō tried to shake off the reporters' entanglement, but it was useless.

"How much public money did you embezzle? Are you the mastermind behind the Nep incident?" The reporters' questions became increasingly outrageous. Deng Liduō finally couldn't bear it anymore and rushed directly into the elevator.

The reporters followed closely, chasing the elevator's floor display as it descended. Meanwhile, Su Yue took the opportunity to take off the worker's clothes and blended into the crowd.

He smiled and struck up a conversation with a reporter who was reporting the floor numbers. "Your profession is really not easy!"

The reporter smiled wryly, "Yeah, there's nothing we can do, this is our fate. Running around everywhere, a life of toil!"

While chatting with the reporter, Su Yue observed the elevator's floor display out of the corner of his eye. When the elevator stopped on the 9th floor, his heart rejoiced, knowing his plan had succeeded.

After bidding farewell to the reporter, he quietly went to the rooftop. Looking down from here, the entire city was like a huge chessboard, and he was the player manipulating the game.

At this moment, Deng Liduō had found Fells. He furiously grabbed Fells's collar. "Why did you scheme against me?"

Fells was startled by the sudden attack; he struggled to break free. "What the hell are you doing? Let go of me!"

"Stop pretending! You're deliberately looking for trouble with me!" Deng Liduō shouted angrily. He completely failed to notice that someone was secretly recording this scene with a mobile phone around the elevator corner, even live-streaming it.

Fells also got angry. "Who's looking for trouble with you? You were the one who started it! What do you mean by blocking the dissolution order for the Central Intelligence Agency Special Task Force?"

The two accused each other, their voices getting louder and louder. Deng Liduō roared, "So what if I did it? I just want to make all your plans fail! You selfish guy, what right do you have to participate in the presidential election?"

"Why can't I participate? Just because of your bootlicking? Or your schemes? On the surface, you're like one person with everyone, but in reality? You can't wait for everyone to be worse than you!" Fells retorted without showing any weakness.

Deng Liduō's eyes were wide with anger; he tightly clutched Fells's collar as if he wanted to devour him alive.

"Are you sure you didn't say the wrong thing?" Fells also argued loudly with Deng Liduō, his voice full of questioning.

"What exactly is wrong with me? Why don't you tell me!" Deng Liduō was full of confusion. He had always been diligent and responsible, but now he was being pointed at and criticized by someone who appeared out of nowhere and rose to power by piling up money. His heart grew increasingly dissatisfied.

Thinking of this, Deng Liduō's anger burned fiercely.

"Do I need to spell it out? Regarding that website poll I created, why were you elected with high votes? Don't you have a clue?" Fells straightened his neck and roared loudly.

"You know? If you know, tell me quickly!" Deng Liduō had completely lost his reason at this moment. He had always maintained a humble image in front of others, and even when Nep was so provocative back then, he hadn't fallen for it.

However, anger is truly indiscriminate; once it takes hold, it's difficult to control.

"Alright, then I'll tell you. You were the one who designed to introduce Nep to me back then, wasn't that your doing? If it weren't for your introduction, how would I have become tied up with Nep! Deng Liduō, your scheme is truly brilliant! But you never expected, did you, that now I've become a Presidential Candidate? Are you so angry you could explode! You originally thought you had eliminated a major enemy, but you never expected that I would now become your opponent!" Fells laughed mockingly, watching Deng Liduō's loss of control.

This was the first time he had seen Deng Liduō so out of control.

"Hello, we are reporters from the Washington D.C. Times. We would very much like to interview the two of you. May we ask why you were fighting in public?"

"Also, regarding what Mr. Deng Liduō just said, we would like to hear your detailed explanation."

"Regarding the website poll mentioned by Firth, we are also very curious. Was it released by Firth himself?" The reporters hidden in the dark surged out like a tide, surrounding the two of them, not letting go of any detail.

"Sorry, I refuse to answer!" Fells adjusted his appearance and smiled at the camera.

"Is it refusing to answer, or is that just an undeniable fact?" After asking, the reporter couldn't help but laugh himself, then put down the microphone.

Su Yue witnessed all of this through the miniature surveillance camera installed earlier. Everything was proceeding exactly as he expected, both accurately and smoothly.

"Go quickly and help, the 9th floor of the Central Building is now completely surrounded by reporters, and Mr. Deng Liduō and Firth are trapped and can't get away at all." Su Yue called Mr. Tex of the Federal Court, who was waiting downstairs.

"What did you say?" Tex looked at the unfamiliar incoming call number on his phone, feeling puzzled and not understanding why he received such a call. However, the time he had agreed to meet Fells was indeed 8 o'clock, and it was almost 9 now, and the other party had not appeared. Should he go up and check?

Tex was deeply conflicted. If it was true as the phone call said, that they were surrounded by reporters, then going up now would be futile. But why would they be trapped?

Will the media expose this? Once they are also controlled, and the media's information cannot be transmitted, being blocked by Fells and Deng Liduō, then he will never know the grievances and entanglements between Fells and Deng Liduō.

Perhaps going up now might yield something.

Thinking of this, Tex decided to go upstairs and find out.

"Can't you explain your relationship with Nep?"

"May I ask if you were aware of the agreement reached between the and the Central Intelligence Agency?"

As soon as Tex opened the elevator door, he saw a dozen microphones clustered in front of Fells and Deng Liduō, and the flashlights were so dazzling that people couldn't open their eyes. However, Tex smiled when he saw this scene.

"No one is paying attention to him!"

"I said I have no relationship with Nep. Is what Firth said necessarily true?" Deng Liduō was annoyed by the questions and looked helplessly at these media.

Just then, he saw Tex standing outside the media circle, laughing triumphantly.

Deng Liduō tugged at Fells's clothes, signaling him to look outside. Fells looked in the direction Deng Liduō pointed and saw Tex smiling smugly. Instantly, the two reached an unspoken consensus.

"We cannot answer this matter, but I think our highest official of the Federal Court, Mr. Tex, must know."

"But Mr. Tex is not here right now."

"How could that be? He's right behind you!" Deng Liduō and Fells pointed with their fingers. Tex instantly felt the malice from life. He had wanted to say something, but this group of reporters had already swarmed over and surrounded him.

Seeing that the media's focus had shifted, Deng Liduō and Fells smiled and went from the office to the escape exit, fleeing this noisy place.

Su Yue watched the two figures leaving side by side, knowing in his heart that his goal had been achieved.

Previously, he had been playing the role of communicating between Fells and Deng Liduō, but now there was no need to continue the act. Fells was destined not to ascend to the President's throne, while Deng Liduō might. The chain of interests behind Fells was complex, and no one wanted to see the puppet they had been controlling grow stronger day by day.

Fells wasn't stupid either; he had previously allied with Nep to escape his current predicament of having no power or influence. However, he chose the wrong partner; Nep was too foolish and naive.

He didn't understand survival of the fittest and naively thought that as long as he got involved with various agencies, the position of President would be within reach. However, Deng Liduō's appearance completely shattered his plan.

Nep was eager for success and contacted the Central Intelligence Agency to reach his younger brother, but ultimately, it was his own younger brother who completely pushed him into the Abyss.