Starting as a Wallfacer, his defection to the Three-Body Problem shocked the world.

Chapter 190 Handover of the Sword

Zhi Zi's attack was actually within Luo Congmin's expectations.

Ninety years of struggle have made the Trisolarans increasingly impatient to coexist peacefully with humanity.

Their technological progress, after squeezing out the last vestiges of human cultural treasures, gradually stagnated.

After all, it's a grafted culture, not our own. It's already quite an achievement to have done this well in just one attempt.

Furthermore, they seem to be stuck at the development ceiling of a Type 2 civilization. To expand from a planetary civilization to a galactic civilization, they must solve the problem of having three suns.

The current situation is that Earth's human technology is rapidly advancing, gradually closing the gap with the Trisolaran civilization, while the Trisolaran civilization is stuck in front of a wall, unable to break through it.

Therefore, its best option is to turn around and attack the Earth civilization that is catching up with it.

What appears to be the Trisolarans becoming increasingly rampant is in reality nothing more than a desperate struggle at the end of their rope.

This terrifying civilization, which has threatened humanity for centuries, is now old and feeble, and is about to meet its end.

Simply put, the Trisolarans are in a panic, but the humans remain as calm as a rock.

Within the force field space, the game between Lin Xuan and Zhi Zi continued, but now their roles had been reversed, with Zhi Zi becoming the hesitant one.

"It looks like this game is almost over, and your plans seem to be completely ruined," Lin Xuan said with amusement.

At this point, the battlefield between black and white on the chessboard has been divided into two branches. Although the white pieces are still surrounded by the black pieces, they have split into two completely different paths.

If Zhizi tries to devour either of these two paths, she will pay an extremely heavy price.

"The only way for you to win now is to choose one of the two paths I have laid out for you. If you hesitate any longer, you will lose all your advantages and be completely defeated."

Lin Xuan lightly tapped the chessboard with her fingers.

Even without him saying it, Sophon could see the current situation on the chessboard, which was extremely disadvantageous to the Trisolarans.

This is an open strategy. Although Zhi Zi hasn't figured out where Lin Xuan's killer move is hidden, she is certain that no matter which side she chooses to take, she will fall into the other party's trap.

But if you don't go along with what the other party wants, you will lose even more miserably.

Left with no other choice, she picked up a chess piece and chose to neutralize Lin Xuan's most threatening attack.

……

"I will continue to serve as president."

When Luo Congmin said this at the meeting of the Earth Federation, all the committee members were taken aback.

The venue immediately erupted in an uproar.

Some were shocked, some were terrified, and some felt relieved.

Those members of the Earth Federation who had previously opposed curvature-driven technology all had complex expressions upon hearing this news.

They knew that Luo Congmin's sudden decision to continue serving as president was most likely to ensure the continued development of the warp drive.

Everyone knew that Luo Congmin supported Star Ring Group's curvature drive technology, but no one expected that the support would go to this extent.

As long as Luo Congmin remains in office, the research and development of curvature-driven systems will not cease.

This is already a consensus among all the top leaders of the Earth Federation, so they are all waiting for Luo Congmin to step down before they stand up to oppose the development of warp drive spaceships.

Anyway, she only has one year left in her term. It's only one year, so everyone can wait.

As a result, Luo Congmin suddenly said that she will continue to run for president.

This completely threw the morale of the top executives at the local network into disarray.

This is utterly unethical! You said you were going to step down, but now you suddenly want to take back the presidency. You're making a fool of everyone!

Immediately, local officials stood up to object.

"Your Excellency, isn't what you're doing a bit too frivolous? How can the presidency be changed so easily?"

The speaker was named Chen Ji, a staunch opponent of curvature-driven systems and a member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

When Luo Congmin revealed his desire to become the Swordholder and resign from the presidency, Chen Ji was overjoyed.

The reason is simple: once Luo Congmin leaves, the one who will succeed him as president will definitely be Cheng Xin, the leader of the dove faction.

Cheng Xin and he both belong to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He only needs to curry favor with Cheng Xin's faction. Once she becomes president, he will definitely be able to get promoted.

Many officials shared the same idea as Chen Ji. Over the past year, Cheng Xin has attracted a large number of speculators, all of whom are local committee members who want to invest in Cheng Xin's stock with a try-it-out mentality.

If Cheng Xin successfully becomes president, then their deal will be a sure thing.

As a result, Luo Congmin's strong return has disrupted everyone's original plans. Whether they are speculators or lurking opponents, they have all been caught off guard by Luo Congmin's sudden change of mind.

Most people were able to remain calm, but Chen Ji was different. Back then, in order to invest in Cheng Xin, he refused three job transfer opportunities, just so he could stay in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Now, all my efforts have been in vain.

“Me, playing games?” Luo Congmin’s expression remained unchanged upon hearing this.

"Since you think changing the presidency is too frivolous, then I don't mind running for president again to see if I'm qualified to continue serving as president."

"Of course, that is, you can find a second president in the world with a higher approval rating than me."

Luo Congmin's words left everyone present speechless.

This woman is insane! She's incredibly arrogant!

But she certainly has the right to be arrogant!

One person served as president for over ninety years. Even though her open support for curvature technology caused some people at the bottom of society to become resentful of her, Luo Congmin's voter support still crushed everyone present.

She is the only president who is supported by both the Common People and the Deterrent People, regardless of her identity; it is simply because her abilities are too dazzling.

Over the course of 90 years of the Deterrence Era, Luo Congmin gradually elevated human civilization from a surface-level civilization to one capable of threatening the Trisolaran civilization. Such remarkable achievements are in no way inferior to those of Lin Xuan and her father, Luo Ji.

If there were another presidential election, it seems that no one could possibly beat Luo Congmin.

“Then… if you wish to continue serving as president, the position of Swordholder will have to be filled by Cheng Xin,” said an official from the Earth Alliance.

"Yes, that's really the only way."

Luo Congmin has the highest approval rating among potential successors to the Swordholder.

But now she has to give up running for the Swordholder. Apart from Lin Xuan and Luo Ji, only Cheng Xin's 8% support rate is enough to qualify her for the position.

This was an outcome no one had anticipated.

To be honest, many people were quite unwilling to let Cheng Xin serve as the sword bearer.

After all, when Cheng Xin ran for the Swordholder, it was more of a dove's attempt to elect a representative to suppress the major parties. Her goal from the beginning was the presidency.

As for the Swordholder, what's the use of being the Swordholder? Apart from confining oneself to that airtight underground hut, it seems to serve no purpose at all.

The Swordholder has great power, but it doesn't extend to the Earth Alliance.

The doves have worked so hard to cultivate such a representative, investing so much resources and effort in Cheng Xin, and now they've handed her the position of swordsman. Isn't it all a waste?

Luo Congmin's move completely stunned all the top officials of the local alliance, leaving all the major political parties feeling suffocated.

The situation they had meticulously planned for so long was shattered in an instant. If it weren't for their long-standing high positions and Lin Xuan's repeated mental baptisms, they probably would have already broken down.

If we're talking about the most innocent person in this farce, it has to be Cheng Xin.

The previous year, she was a leader of the doves and the Minister of Foreign Affairs who was fawned over by countless high-ranking officials of the United Nations. However, after everyone learned that she could not become president, their attitude towards her changed drastically.

First, there's the change in how people address her. In the past, everyone would call her Minister Cheng, but now, people mostly address her sarcastically.

"Yo, the future Swordholder, the great hero of mankind."

This cynical attitude was also reflected in every aspect of her life.

Her former colleagues, who were very enthusiastic towards her at work, now avoid Cheng Xin like the plague.

Previously, Cheng Xin's orders would be carried out firmly with just a single command, but now, Cheng Xin's words have become the least effective in the entire Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This change in attitude is actually quite easy to understand.

Everyone followed Cheng Xin in the hope that she would gain some benefits after becoming president. Even some people who were not originally close to Cheng Xin for this reason would eventually develop this idea over time.

But now that Cheng Xin has been chosen as the Swordholder, all these people's hopes have been dashed, and the huge sense of disappointment has led them to vent all their pent-up resentment on Cheng Xin.

After all, everyone knows that if Cheng Xin were president, she might settle scores with them over such a trivial matter, but if she were the Swordholder protecting all of humanity, she would never do such a thing.

Just like Luo Ji, many people in human society condemned him, but Luo Ji, because of his identity as the Swordholder, never said anything.

They only ever dare to bully good people.

Furthermore, humanity's need for Swordholders is not as high as it was at the beginning of the Deterrence Era. The technological gap between humans and the Trisolarans has narrowed considerably, and the closer this gap becomes, the lower the status of the Swordholders will be.

After all, the Swordholder is there to deter the Trisolarans. Once humanity possesses the power to repel the Trisolarans, the position of Swordholder can be eliminated.

According to calculations, after Cheng Xin becomes the Swordholder, in a maximum of 60 years, humanity's technological level will be on par with the Trisolarans. At that time, humanity will no longer need the Swordholders.

Therefore, Cheng Xin will be the last swordsman of humanity.

However, whether she becomes president or the swordsman is not a choice Cheng Xin can make. From beginning to end, she is merely a puppet elected by the doves. Even if she becomes president, she is just a tool to be used.

In this political struggle, she was the one who had the least control over her own fate.

"This is absolutely outrageous, these people!"

After hearing about Cheng Xin's recent experiences, Ai AA slammed the juice in her hand heavily on the table in anger.

"They were the ones who lifted you up in the first place, and now they're the ones who are throwing you down. These scum from the Earth Alliance, their faces are truly ugly."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xin sighed helplessly.

"Isn't this what political struggle is all about? It may seem glamorous on the surface, but in reality, we are just pawns of those in power."

"Aren't you Lin Xuan's lover? How dare they treat you like this!"

Ai AA was somewhat puzzled. In his understanding, although Lin Xuan was a mysterious figure, her status was almost the same as Luo Ji's. Even if Cheng Xin did not receive the same treatment as Luo Congmin, she should not be targeted like this, right?