Chapter 248, Wang Bu: We didn't put much effort into forging alliances.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Earth, across the ocean in New York, Ugly Country, at the East River Park near the United Nations headquarters building.

Although the scenery here was pleasant with a gentle river breeze, and the building symbolizing world peace and order could be seen in the distance, the middle-aged man from the Eastern Country standing by the riverside railing was in no mood to appreciate the view.

This middle-aged man was none other than Minister Wang, the person in charge of the Eastern Country's diplomatic affairs.

He had just hung up the phone.

On the other end was a representative from a country that had previously verbally agreed to support the Eastern Country's position.

However, just moments ago, the other party had stammered, indicating that due to "unexpected situations" at home and having received some "friendly suggestions," they might be forced to abstain at tomorrow's hearing.

"Sigh…" Minister Wang looked at the shimmering river surface and let out a long sigh.

His grip on the phone tightened slightly.

It was too difficult.

It was truly too difficult.

This time, Ugly Country had suddenly launched an attack by submitting a proposal to the United Nations regarding "new rules for outer space development and utilization," commonly known as the "space ownerless" proposal, which was full of unreasonable hegemonic logic.

Their core message was simple: whoever occupies an orbit first is in the right; whoever launches a satellite first owns that territory.

This was clearly an attempt to bully the Eastern Country for its late start in the low-orbit satellite field. They wanted to leverage SpaceX's existing scale advantage to use this treaty to legally lock down the Eastern Country's future space development.

This was a blatant, overt conspiracy.

To block this proposal at the upcoming hearing, Minister Wang hadn't had a decent night's sleep in days.

He had exhausted every effort to contact all possible allies, from old friends in Africa to neighbors in Asia, and even countries in Europe that had reservations about Ugly Country's hegemony.

He made call after call and held meeting after meeting.

Yet… the situation was not optimistic.

In fact, it was quite dire.

There were very few who responded.

Although most countries privately felt that what Ugly Country was doing was underhanded and overbearing, when it came time to take a stand, they lost their nerve in the face of Ugly Country's pervasive threats and inducements.

After all, not everyone had the strong backbone of the Eastern Country.

'Could it be… that we really have to let that proposal pass?'

Minister Wang frowned, his eyes filled with anxiety.

If that proposal were to pass, establishing the international legal principle of "first come, first served," then the Eastern Country's planned GW Constellation project and all those future space blueprints would likely become worthless.

It would be a major setback at the national strategic level.

The weight of this responsibility was so heavy it made him feel breathless.

Just as he was feeling exhausted and bordering on despair, he heard the sound of footsteps—steady and unhurried—coming from the side path.

Minister Wang turned his head subconsciously.

He saw a man in a gray trench coat, with an incredibly plain face, walking toward him along the riverbank with his hands in his pockets.

The man looked so ordinary—the type you would never be able to spot in a crowd.

He had no murderous aura or any particular aura at all; he looked just like a common tourist or someone who had just finished their workday.

However, Minister Wang only needed one glance for his pupils to contract slightly.

He recognized the tiny, almost invisible, special pin on the man's collar.

It was an internal code.

He immediately understood that the man was a comrade from the domestic Special Front—an intelligence operative.

Their eyes met for a fleeting second, without a word of exchange or a nod of greeting.

They passed each other as if they were total strangers.

But at that exact moment, Minister Wang keenly caught the rhythm of the man's fingers tapping against his trouser seam.

It was a sequence of Morse code.

The meaning was simple: Follow me.

Minister Wang's heart stirred.

At this critical juncture, for someone from the Special Front to suddenly approach him, it must be something significant.

He didn't follow immediately but continued to stand by the river for a while, pretending to enjoy the breeze.

Only after making sure no one was paying attention to him did he turn around and leisurely follow in the direction the man had left.

Half an hour later, inside a safe house in an old apartment building three blocks from the United Nations headquarters.

The security here was tight, with anti-eavesdropping lead layers embedded in the walls.

Upon entering, the plain-looking man skillfully turned on the bathroom faucet, letting the rushing water fill the room to jam any potential laser eavesdropping devices.

After doing this, he turned around and saluted Minister Wang.

"Minister Wang, hello."

"Hello."

Minister Wang looked at the young man, a spark of hope reigniting in his eyes.

Since someone from the Special Front had sought him out at this moment, they must have brought some crucial information.

Minister Wang subconsciously assumed the man had brought good news on the diplomatic front.

After all, besides intelligence, the Special Front was sometimes responsible for covertly winning hearts and minds, striving to gain support from neutral countries that found it inconvenient to take a public stance.

"How is it?" Minister Wang took a step forward, looking at the man with anticipation, and asked eagerly, "Are there a few countries we can win over now?"

"Is it those brothers in Africa? Or has there been a breakthrough in South America?"

"As long as we can secure even a few more opposition votes, or even abstentions, we'll have more confidence at the hearing!"

At this moment, Minister Wang desperately needed any shred of good news to alleviate his despair.

However, facing Minister Wang's hopeful gaze, the comrade from the Special Front wore a somewhat strange expression.

He looked at Minister Wang and, instead of following along with what he had said, shook his head directly.

"None," he said.

Three words. Simple and crisp.

The hope that had just ignited in Minister Wang's heart was instantly extinguished.

He froze for a moment, the light in his eyes dimming in an instant.

None… Even with a comrade from the Special Front stepping in, they hadn't managed to pull together an alliance?

It seemed that this time, in order to pass the proposal, Ugly Country had gone all out and played dirty behind the scenes.

"Sigh…" Minister Wang sighed, and he seemed to age a few years in an instant.

Although disappointed, he knew this was to be expected.

He really shouldn't have held such high hopes.

After all, while the comrades from the Special Front had done a commendable job over the years in building alliances and developing their own contacts, diplomatic games ultimately came down to the overall trend and raw strength.

Under the absolute hegemonic oppression of Ugly Country, expecting a few Special Front comrades to turn the tide was truly asking for the impossible.

Thinking of this, Minister Wang forced himself to perk up, not wanting others to see his dejected side.

He reached out and patted the young man on the shoulder, comforting him in a gentle tone: "It's alright."

"It's understandable that you couldn't secure an alliance. The current international situation is complex, and everyone has their difficulties."

"Don't carry any psychological burden."

"Regardless, you've been working hard on the hidden front, and I appreciate your efforts."

Minister Wang's words were absolutely heartfelt.

He truly empathized with these warriors who walked in the darkness.

However, just as he finished speaking, before his hand had even left the young man's shoulder, the Special Front comrade, who looked so plain and even a bit dull, suddenly spoke up.

He looked at Minister Wang, his expression remaining that calm, typical of an agent, or perhaps one could even call it… blunt.

"It wasn't hard," he said.

Then, he added a sentence that Minister Wang would remember for the rest of his life: "We didn't put any effort into building alliances at all."

Huh?

The air instantly fell silent.

The sound of the rushing water in the bathroom seemed exceptionally jarring at that moment.

Minister Wang's hand, which had been patting the man's shoulder, froze in mid-air.

His kind face, which had been radiating "I am very understanding of my subordinates" and "I am a good leader," instantly cracked.

This famous diplomat—a veteran who had been through countless battles and could hold his own against a crowd of opponents at the negotiation table without changing his expression—was stunned on the spot.

His eyes widened, his mouth slightly agape, and his expression looked comical.

He could hardly believe his ears.

Didn't… didn't put in any effort?

Didn't try to build alliances at all?

After being stunned for a long time, Minister Wang finally managed to find his voice with difficulty and, in disbelief, confirmed once more: "…What did you say?"

"Say that again?"

The Special Front comrade remained calm, as if completely unaware of the shocking thing he had just said.

He looked at Minister Wang and, very obediently, repeated it again: "Reporting to Minister Wang."

"I said, we didn't go to build alliances, and we didn't go to lobby for votes."

"We didn't do that at all."

Minister Wang: "…"

Silence.

The room was deathly quiet.

Minister Wang looked at the innocent-looking young man in front of him, feeling a surge of hot blood rush to his head as his blood pressure skyrocketed.

He cursed wildly in his heart:

'Listen to that!'

'Is that even human language?'

'We've been working ourselves to death over here, trying to get the support of one or two countries, wearing our lips thin and our hair white!'

'And you guys!'

'You were just slacking off over there?'

'And you have the nerve to say you didn't put in any effort?'

'Was all my empathy for my subordinates just fed to the dogs?'

Minister Wang felt his heart couldn't take it; he was so speechless he couldn't even find the words.

If it weren't for the fact that the other party was a comrade from the Special Front, he would have really wanted to ask if he was an undercover agent sent by Ugly Country, and then give him a good punch or two.