Versatile Mage (Web Novel)
chapter-1856

Chapter 1856: The Opportunist

Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Ming Jian was dumbfounded as he watched the two votes he could not possibly buy with a thousand gold bars being placed in his box. Mo Fan’s words were not pleasing to his ears, and normally he would instantly lose his temper, but when he recalled how Mo Fan had rebuked Dan Yong and Councilman Nan, he believed he could endure it for now!

“I thought the Honorable Councilman was just an honorable title, but I didn’t think you would make such a sound decision!” Councilman Ming Jian exclaimed while clapping.

The atmosphere of the meeting shifted all of a sudden. It was supposed to be an award ceremony where the people were only going to exchange pleasantries politely, but those who had already made up their minds initially began to have second thoughts.

Councilman Nan did not speak. His eyes were scanning those whom he had already reached deals with.

There were people who had already boarded Councilman Nan’s ship. Mo Fan’s righteous speech was irrelevant compared to their personal gains. Many of them rose to their feet and voted for Councilman Nan.

“I believe in the Honorable Councilman. His guarantee is I, Wen Xia’s guarantee too!” Wen Xia voted for Councilman Ming Jian without any hesitation.

Wen Xia fixed her eyes on Lu Bin as soon as she cast her vote.

Lu Bin was feeling troubled. He had already given Councilman Nan his promise before the meeting, but now…

“Lu Bin, you clearly know who you should be voting for. For the sake of the efforts that everyone has put in, you should overlook the petty gains you were promised and follow your conscience instead,” Wen Xia said.

1

The people in the meeting were not idiots. Wen Xia, Xie Qinghua, and Lu Bin were aware of Councilman Nan’s background. They knew the man was not reliable, but there were situations which they could not do anything about even if they wanted to. They already expected the city to eventually end up in the hands of manipulative politicians.

“I…I just…” Lu Bin glanced at Mo Fan. Even though he was displeased by Mo Fan’s arrogance and was envious of his achievements, he could see Mo Fan’s wounds, which had yet to heal fully, as he was standing very close to the younger man.

Mo Fan was not lying. His wounds showed that he had just returned from the gates of Hell on Dawn Island. This man whom Lu Bin found annoying had been fighting constantly. He was true to his character, especially compared to the rest of the politicians in suits and their perfumes in the meeting!

“I vote for Ming Jian,” Lu Bin clenched his teeth and cast his vote.

Ming Jian was overwhelmed with surprise. The votes he thought he would never be able to secure were now in his hands, especially Lu Bin’s vote.

Ming Jian had always assumed Lu Bin was on Councilman Nan’s side, but the man had voted for him instead. Not only did Councilman Nan lose a guaranteed vote, his own votes had increased by one!. He actually had a chance to win the election!

“I believe in the Honorable Councilman, too. Councilman Nan, this city might not be suitable for you. I hope you can achieve better results in other cities,” Xie Qinghua cast his two votes for Ming Jian.

Ming Jian felt like he was dreaming!

The three authority figures of the city had voted for him, not to mention the Honorable Councilman who had appeared out of nowhere. The rest of the people were seriously having second thoughts.

At this rate, even if Councilman Nan did win the election, the leaders of the city would still be against Councilman Nan. They would have trouble passing the motions for their proposals, unless Councilman Nan was somehow able to convince even more people to join his side!

The rest of the votes were cast as the people finally made up their minds. Councilman Nan was supposed to win the election by five votes, but after the two votes from Mo Fan, the betraying vote from Lu Bin, and those from a few others who changed their minds…

The final outcome was… Councilman Nan had fourteen votes, while Councilman Ming Jian had sixteen.

Councilman Ming Jian had won by two votes!

“I”m sorry, when I recall how the Honorable Councilman stepped forward when the city was in grave danger, I could not help but put my trust in him,” an aged Hunter bowed to Councilman Nan as he spoke.

Li Dong was initially standing behind Councilman Nan. He was hoping Councilman Nan would teach Mo Fan a lesson on his behalf, but for some reason, he was slowly moving toward Mo Fan instead.

“I still have some evidence with me. It might not be conclusive, but you might find it useful… Brother Mo Fan, I’ll give you the evidence if you need it. I can give you a ride back too if you need,” Li Dong spoke to Mo Fan softly.

Mo Fan glanced at the fawning smile on Li Dong’s face. He was seriously impressed by how shameless the man could be as an opportunist!

“Councilman Nan, there’s no need to hold back. Emotions are meant to be displayed on your face. Otherwise, what’s the difference between your face and your butt? You don’t have to pretend you’re enjoying it when you’re slapped in the face…” Ming Jian rose to his feet and patted Councilman Nan on the shoulder.

Regular expressions were no longer suitable to describe Councilman Nan’s face. The man’s face was on the verge of crying, raging, and exploding. It was twisting out of shape. Everyone could tell he was about to lose his mind, like he was being driven crazy!

——

Mo Fan let out a relieved sigh after leaving the building.

“Honorable Councilman, thanks for upholding justice. Please let me know if I can be of any help,” Ming Jian said while they were going down the stairs.

“Just don’t mess the city up,” Mo Fan replied.

“Don’t you worry about it, if you aren’t pleased when you come back for an inspection, you can impeach me at any time. I will not complain,” Ming Jian declared.

Mo Fan nodded. Meanwhile, Wen Xia quickly caught up to Mo Fan and said, “Someone is looking for you. It sounds urgent!”

Mo Fan took over the phone with a confused face. He immediately heard Lingling’s voice on the other end.

“Mo Fan, the military took all the Manta Ray Evil Birds away!” Lingling said.

“Took them? Weren’t they supposed to eliminate them!?” Mo Fan blurted out.

“I have no clue, the soldiers said it’s an order from their superiors to capture the Manta Ray Evil Birds instead… Those guys haven’t given up on taming those corrupted creatures. Damn it, I wouldn’t have used the Anesthetic Seaweed if I knew beforehand!” Lingling swore.

“Those Manta Ray Evil Birds even turned against the Bird Emperor. There’s no way they can be tamed… damn it, I’ll drag Councilman Nan over and ask him in person!” Mo Fan said.

Mo Fan was seriously mad. The threat of the Manta Ray Evil Birds was supposed to be taken care of. To his surprise, those people still thought they could use the corrupted species. The Manta Ray Evil Birds were obviously untamable and invasive!