Chapter 1257 - 460: Seeing Through Without Exposing (Part 3)

"Haha, I’m not weak. You know, I just took down Annabeth. And you don’t think the Holy Temple Knight’s rankings are a true reflection of our strength, do you? Those guys like Andro are only ranked so high because of their family background. If it’s purely about strength, I might not necessarily lose to them. Besides, I’m not the same as before."

"Is that so? Come back and talk about this when you beat Su Ming."

Limi replied coldly.

"Tsk tsk~ You really know how to pick a scapegoat."

"What? Scared?"

"Not scared, but Su Ming’s shooting skills are indeed something. To take him out, it’ll require some tactics."

Bailut said with a smile.

"I’m only interested in results."

Limi gave Bailut a cold glance, then walked past him briskly.

Bailut stopped in his tracks, watching Limi walk away with her swaying posture. He couldn’t help licking his lips and whispered with a mischievous smile.

"No wonder she’s the woman I fancy. She’s got such a strong personality, the harder to get, the more I like it!"

...

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Late Night·Doomed Light.

Su Ming came out of the room and immediately ran into Onite.

Onite was holding a tray, with a cup of jasmine tea and some osmanthus cakes on it.

"Boss, this is a late-night snack I prepared for you."

Onite said obsequiously.

"Great, I’m a bit hungry. Just give it to me."

Su Ming reached out to take it directly.

"Ah, boss, would you like me to bring it inside?"

Onite asked, surprised.

"No need, you can go!"

Su Ming told Onite directly.

"Alright, alright."

Onite scratched his head and left.

After making sure Onite had gone far, Su Ming carried the snack to the door of the next room and knocked.

Knock knock~

But after a long time, there was no response.

Su Ming was a bit surprised too; so late, and Irelia was not in her room.

He thought for a moment, then walked towards the command room with the snack.

At that point, Onite popped his head from behind, also looking puzzled at Su Ming’s departing figure. It was indeed strange.

It was the first time he’d seen Commander Su Ming being so attentive to a girl.

Onite quietly followed him.

Then Rhein happened to come out of his room. Seeing Onite sneakily tailing Su Ming, he immediately followed and called out to Onite.

"Onite, what are you doing? Got the nerve to secretly follow the boss?"

"Shh, I’m not following Commander Su Ming."

"Nonsense, I saw it clearly."

"Oh, I was just delivering a late-night snack for the boss, but didn’t you notice something off about the boss?"

"You’re the one who’s off!"

"No, didn’t you notice how attentive the boss is towards Irelia? I’ve never seen that before."

Onite explained helplessly.

"Come to think of it, you’re right. Wait, could it be that the two of them are together?"

Rhein asked with an incredibly expressive face.

"It’s possible. Irelia is indeed very beautiful, and she has a lot of style too."

Onite said with a bright look in his eyes.

"Let’s go, follow them and see."

Rhein quickly pulled Onite along to follow secretly.

...

In the central control room.

Su Ming walked in with the snack and saw Irelia sitting in the command chair, engrossed in going through some documents.

He walked to Irelia’s side with a smile, carrying the snack, and said:

"Irelia-senpai, still not asleep so late? Have some midnight snack."

"Alright, thank you."

Irelia stopped and turned her head to look at Su Ming with the snack.

Beside the command chair, Su Ming pressed a button, and a foldable metal table rose from the floor in front of Irelia. He gently placed the snack on it.

Irelia picked up the jasmine tea and took a sip, saying contentedly:

"Not bad at all."

"Glad you like it. By the way, Irelia-senpai, what are you reading so late?"

"I’m looking at the Federation’s public financial report. The deficit is quite bad."

"Senpai, how much debt does the Federation actually have?"

Su Ming asked with great curiosity after hearing Irelia’s words.

"I’m not entirely sure. According to some bloggers’ estimates, it’s about 30 trillion star coins, while the Federation’s annual GDP value is only 10 trillion star coins."

Irelia shook her head and said.

"300%, that high?"

Su Ming was stunned by what he heard.

Normally, a load ratio over 100% is already on the verge of financial collapse. That the Federation is at 300% and hasn’t collapsed yet is truly miraculous!

Keep in mind that GDP is just a number and doesn’t represent pure profit.

"Yeah."

Irelia responded calmly.

"I don’t quite understand how the Federation got such a large deficit. Is this accumulated over time?"

"Some of it is historical accumulation, but not much. During the Council Chairman’s tenure, although there was a deficit, it was minimal. A lot of this deficit has been generated in the last hundred years, especially in recent years, it’s grown particularly fast."

"It’s understandable, with so many wars fought in recent years, and each war requires an immense amount of funding."

Su Ming nodded in response.

"Even though this money isn’t squandered, the deficit doesn’t disappear and still needs to be repaid."

Irelia replied with serene eyes.

Su Ming heard this and asked thoughtfully:

"Irelia-senpai, if you were the Council Chairman, how would you handle this deficit?"

Upon hearing Su Ming’s question, Irelia cast a glance at him with her eyes moving slightly.

"I mean hypothetically."

Su Ming emphasized with a smile.

"If it were me, I would streamline things, tackle corruption, and even find various ways to eliminate the debt."