Am I really hallucinating?

Chapter 642 The Chief's Story
After Lu Chongming finished speaking with Zheng Fan, he was planning to find a place to rest. Originally, the meeting was supposed to be a small one, not necessarily split into several sessions. However, the topic was quite explosive, involving many points, so another meeting would be held tomorrow to finalize the decisions.

Suddenly, he saw Chief Rymanov looking melancholy on one side of the corridor.

He had a good impression of the chief and could understand the dilemma the chief faced due to his background.

As the footsteps drew closer, Lemanov slightly turned his gaze and saw Lu Chongming about to pass by.

"Chief Lemanov." Their eyes met, and Lu Chongming still greeted him politely.

Lemanov nodded, forcing a smile as he looked at Lu Chongming: "Did you just finish reporting to Zhang Xue?"

Lu Chongming thought for a moment. The chiefs seemed to have a good relationship, and Zhang Xue's personality was well-known. Since no one had given her any special instructions, he said directly, "Yes. Chief Zhang Xue has chosen the handling bureau."

Lemanov chuckled, "As expected. Although she's completely unreliable, only this Disposal Bureau can tolerate her. Although she likes to slack off and not do any real work, if it were necessary for her to sacrifice her life for the Disposal Bureau when needed, she would do it without hesitation... What a contradictory character, isn't she?"

Discussing one's own chief in private with other chiefs might not be a good habit, but since it's Zhang Xue, it doesn't really matter.

"Chief Zhang Xue wasn't always like this, was she?" Lu Chongming asked.

Lehmanov nodded and said, "Yes, she was also full of vigor at the beginning. Zhang Xue is the record holder for the fastest rise to chief since the establishment of the Bureau, and she became the chief of the region in one go. Her strength is impeccable, but she was too ambitious and offended a lot of people. With the arrangement of someone with ulterior motives, and with her own fearlessness as a newborn calf, she plunged headlong into the Jiangwen Street of the past."

The rest is self-explanatory.

Although Lu Chongming had never seen the original Jiangwen Street at that time, he was already so exhausted just dealing with Wang Shizhong, a remnant of the old regime. Back then, people like Wang Shizhong were practically a commodity in Jiangwen Street.

Lemanov continued, "People in the bureau often say that Zhang Xue doesn't understand business and that she failed to cultivate her own team during her many years in office, which is why she was so easily overwhelmed when things went wrong. There's some truth to that, but there are other reasons as well. In the past, it wasn't really her fault. She had organized her own people, but those people were all taken away by those shady characters who had taken root in the streets of Xinjiang. People died or scattered, and Zhang Xue's abilities didn't really shine. Instead, she watched as her trusted subordinates died without receiving the treatment they deserved, and in the end, she couldn't even get justice for them."

"As the chief, she was isolated within her own group, so she gradually became disheartened and stopped caring about anything else, completely disappearing from the Jiangwen Street."

Lu Chongming never expected that the carefree chief had such a past.

"So, the fact that Zhang Xue is willing to support you like this now shows that she has begun to recover. It was indeed too late for those who died in the earthquake disaster, but it is not too late for those who will live to come."

"Although I just feel that she wants to get me promoted quickly so she can retire herself," Lu Chongming couldn't help but complain.

If I don't make a comment here, I might be moved by the story of that slacker.

"Hahaha, that's very possible!" Lemanov laughed loudly.

The laughter gradually subsided, and he regained his melancholy expression: "Sometimes, I really envy how decisive other people are. In everyone's mind, there's not much distinction; we all belong to the same world. That's the true ideal... But even though I've reached the top position, when faced with such a cruel choice, I find that the ideals I stubbornly held in my youth, even after many years, still seem so fragile. Deep down, this barrier has probably never been eliminated."

Lu Chongming couldn't help but say, "You haven't betrayed anything. Regardless of how you view Dadu, or the white and gray, as the regional chief, you have already saved countless people."

Rymanov shook his head: "I can't overcome my family background. Many famous thinkers and writers may have come from privileged backgrounds, but their ideas are rooted in the hardships of ordinary people. I am far inferior to those great figures..."

As he spoke, he stood up: "But it feels better to be able to say these things out loud. Thank you, Lu Chongming. I can understand a little better why everyone takes such good care of you. I hope that one day in the future I will see you wearing the uniform of the Director-General."

Lemanov patted Lu Chongming on the shoulder forcefully, then turned and left.

Lu Chongming rubbed his shoulder, which was sore from being slapped: "No, I'm not even a regional chief, how did I jump to the position of director-general?"

“Maybe?” Zheng Fan suddenly said from the side. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

“Sometimes happiness comes unexpectedly,” Zheng Fan said with a grin.

Lu Chongming continued to represent Zhang Xue in the Triangular Pagoda Building for some time, working until evening before finally finishing his work.

He could choose to stay in a hotel and have Zhang Xue reimburse him later, or he could stay at the Triangular Pagoda.

Lu Chongming still planned to stay in a hotel. Although staying at the office would be more efficient, he was only a chief representative and didn't need to be such a corporate slave even at the bureau headquarters.

It was his first time visiting the Central District, and he wanted to take a look around.

However, I was slightly disappointed. It seemed that there was no food street in the central area, and the cheap street vendors that he was most used to eating at in Xixi Keke were nowhere to be found.

The surrounding shops, from their storefronts to their decor, all looked quite neat and were arranged in an orderly manner.

The pedestrian street was just as crowded, much more vibrant than the clean and simple streets. The people here were no different from those in the grey neighborhood; everyone was the same kind of person.

Seeing him in his uniform from the processing bureau, people occasionally greeted him.

This is a relatively uncommon situation in the gray neighborhood. When you see the police station in the gray neighborhood, you often think that something bad has happened in the area again, or that you're hallucinating. Some people who aren't exactly clean themselves would rather stay away from them.

It was a bit conspicuous, so Lu Chongming took off his uniform and prepared to find a place to eat first.

"Hmm?" After taking a few steps, he suddenly smelled something was wrong and frowned slightly.

blood.

It's the smell of blood.

That's very strange. This is the heart of the white world, where violence is normally completely restricted. How could you possibly smell blood on the streets?
"Go to the third path on the left," Zheng Fan said, indicating the location.

Lu Chongming nodded and cautiously approached.

The path was dark at dusk, but a swaying figure could be vaguely seen. Lu Chongming's gaze fell on the bright red stains on the ground; perhaps it was just his imagination, but the bloodstains seemed so glaring in this world.

"Sir, do you need any help?" Lu Chongming asked directly.

The figure suddenly stopped, then quickly turned and ran away.

At that moment, Zheng Fan's voice suddenly came from Lu Chongming's phone: "If you run out directly, you probably won't live past tonight, Li Busi."

The person in front of him stopped running away, turned around against the wall, his face was pale and he was covered in sweat, and his injuries were quite serious.

"Was this a hallucination he had before he died?" he said, a smirk playing on his lips.

(End of this chapter)