The capital of the Norse Empire was located in Planet Norse 1. This was the core of the entire empire.
This was a grand and magnificent city. Looking down from the sky, one could see countless skyscrapers rising from the ground and soaring into the clouds.
As the spaceship descended, one would realize that the buildings were connected to each other. Between the huge buildings, there were connecting tunnels, circular tunnels, and space tunnels to fill in the gaps. And this was just the middle class residential area of the capital. Just like the Holy Tree on Planet Poison Hazard, the tree, branches, leaves, roots, vines, and vines were a whole. The richer the citizen, the higher they would be able to live. As for the commoners on the ground, they could not even see a trace of sunlight all year round.
Other than the residential areas, the capital was also divided into many functional areas: the commercial area, the industrial area, the military area, the entertainment area, the administrative area, the slums, the trade area, the martial arts area, the school area, the port area, the tourist area …
Every area was filled with all kinds of strange buildings. Not only was it wonderful and spectacular, but it was also huge. Even if one looked down from the sky, the city was an existence that one could not see the horizon.
Below the surface, there was an even bigger underground city. It was 1200 stories deep. That was the area where many low-level citizens were active. The space above and below the surface was enough to show the vastness of the empire's capital. It was like a huge machine that operated with precision. It was even more like a colorful steel wall in space. It was truly awe-inspiring.
Planet Norse's capital was a steel jungle world that accommodated a population of 13 billion. The permanent population was 8 billion, the floating population was 4 billion, and the remaining 1 billion was the reserve power for the military and education. The famous Star of the Empire University and the revered Martial Arts Hall were both located here. The strength of the empire was evident from this.
Ding Meng and his group first flew to the International Space Station in space. Then, they took a train and landed at the port area. This port area was very interesting. There were many floating ports that were built a thousand meters above the ground. They were like giant silver plates. All the trains that landed from the space station had to stop at the port area. Tourists could only leave on various small flying units after they got out.
Tens of thousands of flying cars, shuttles, trains, and transport vehicles could be seen scattered around the capital like fairies scattering flowers. It was a beautiful sight.
When they arrived at Port 23, Ding Meng and Lan Bing switched to the designated flying car and headed to the capital's administrative area.
This area was not located in the center of the city. Instead, it was located at the edge of a lake in the northeastern corner of the capital near the outskirts. The lake covered an area of several hundred thousand square meters, and it was as blue as a mirror. All the structures in the administrative area were built around the lake. These buildings were not skyscrapers. Instead, they were mostly low-rise buildings similar to large theaters. The tallest building, the Parliament Building, was only thirty stories high. The building was shaped like a cross between two daggers held together by a steel ring. This was the symbol of the Nuoxing Empire. It represented the iron will of the empire's warriors.
This was the center of power of the Empire. All orders, laws, and decisions were made here.
Under the blue sky and white clouds, the Capitol building shone brightly under the sunlight. Only when one arrived here could one feel the majesty of political power up close.
The staff at the entrance of the building had already come up to greet them politely. After Ding Meng showed his work pass, he patiently explained, "Deputy members of the Parliament can choose to stay in the designated hotel in the administrative district, or you can make your own arrangements."
The so-called "make your own arrangements" was actually an unwritten rule. The members of the major factions all had their own financial backers, so they could choose to stay in their faction's sphere of influence.
Lan Bing was already prepared for this. She immediately asked Yuan Sheng to drive them to a multi-purpose hotel on the west bank of the lake. This hotel was called "Floating House", and it was more like a multi-purpose restaurant. It was only five stories high, and it was built in an ancient style. It was surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the scenery was very pleasant. It was a very popular place in the administrative district.
Because the administrative district did not allow any entertainment venues, restaurants were often a good place for politicians to meet in private. This Floating House happened to be one of Chuangyu's businesses.
When Ding Meng and Lan Bing arrived, they saw that the parking lot was filled with flying shuttles. It seemed that many people had already arrived here in advance.
Tomorrow, the Parliament and the Senate would jointly hold a meeting to gather opinions on the new laws. The topic was about the Empire's control over foreign trade. To put it bluntly, it was about the Empire increasing its efforts to open up normal trade with other countries.
This topic was very delicate. If one thought that it was just a routine meeting of the upper echelons of the Empire, one would be wrong.
Now that the war in the Fertile Chalk System had calmed down, it meant that the opportunity to mine resources had been greatly reduced. This had the biggest impact on Chuangyu. Now that the Empire was going to open up trade with other countries, who had the biggest chance?
Of course, it was the Holy Grail Federation.
Once a new opening was opened, the first to benefit would be the major financial groups. As they had the largest trading volume, this seemingly ordinary meeting to gather opinions was actually very important. Politicians from all the major factions would come in advance, and this house on the water was undoubtedly an ideal place to gather.
The staff of the hotel naturally knew about Ding Meng and Lan Bing's identities, so they had already prepared a luxurious suite for them. After the two of them settled down, they went to the buffet restaurant on the second floor. The restaurant's decor was very elegant, and there were booth seats everywhere. The customers gathered in groups of two or three, holding wine glasses and chatting in low voices.
Ding Meng and Lan Bing chose a seat by the window and sat down. Lan Bing went to the ordering area to take care of the dishes.
After sitting down, Ding Meng observed his surroundings. Most of the men and women here were ordinary people with the status of politicians. They were all older, but they were all wearing suits and looked quite energetic. Of course, there was no lack of Origin Ability Users among them. Occasionally, there would be an old man with a bodyguard, and these bodyguards were quite strong.
However, this was the capital's political district, so it was unlikely that a fight would break out. Moreover, the security here was top-notch. Humanoid robot patrols could be seen everywhere on the streets and riverbanks.
Ding Meng looked around for a while before his gaze fell on a booth far away. He saw two men and a woman chatting happily over there. The men were handsome and sharp, and the women were also beautiful. They didn't look like girls from ordinary families.
Lan Bing walked over with two trays of food. When she saw Ding Meng's expression, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "You know them?"
Ding Meng definitely knew them, because the handsome young man was Roger, General Ross's son and Qu Xiaoqing's loyal fan.
He didn't know the two beauties, but seeing how Roger was flirting with them, he guessed that their relationship wasn't simple.
Lan Bing laughed. "You're in a good mood, aren't you? You're actually in the mood to watch people flirt."
Ding Meng smiled and shook his head. He could roughly guess what was going on.
The real Chancellor Wen Yang had a lot of trust in Anvil Group. Although it wasn't a first-class group, Qu Xiaoqing started her career in the military because of it. However, Qu Xiaoqing had been shelved for the past two years, so the Qu family naturally didn't have much influence.
A person like Roger would definitely not pursue a woman with no future, so it was normal for him to flirt with other beauties here. The relationship between a man and a woman was just that. Ding Meng saw it very clearly. Whether it was love or not, you had to at least seek one or two benefits, right?
Roger had pursued Qu Xiaoqing because the Luo family was interested in Qu Xiaoqing's future. Such a young major general had a bright future. However, now that Qu Xiaoqing was treated coldly, it was normal for Roger to fall in love with someone else. Besides, Qu Xiaoqing wasn't some kind of beauty.
After watching for a while, Ding Meng seemed to be bored and turned to admire the beautiful scenery of the lake outside.
At this time, a luxurious Blue Bird flying car slowly landed in the parking lot. This immediately attracted everyone's attention. Everyone knew that the Government District wasn't a place for rich people to show off their wealth. Even if the people who came here were important, they were particular about keeping a low profile. Very few people dared to land in a luxurious car directly.
However, everyone also noticed a small detail. The hotel staff and the Congress staff were already waiting in the parking lot to welcome the person. The person who came was definitely someone important.
Lan Bing was a little expectant. "Chancellor Wen Yang?"
Ding Meng immediately denied. "Definitely not!"
"Why?"
Ding Meng said, "Based on my understanding of him, he wouldn't be so ostentatious."
The boss of the Hidden Front wouldn't expose himself to the public so openly unless he had no other choice.
The car door was quickly pulled open and a beautiful white-collar woman in a lady's suit walked out. She was generous, confident, and beautiful. She had a strange charm. Even Roger stopped joking and looked at this beautiful woman curiously. This woman couldn't be considered beautiful, but the more one looked at her, the more one would be attracted to her.
Lan Bing was surprised. "Why is she in the Empire?"
Ding Meng was also a little surprised because this beautiful woman was an old acquaintance of his — the CEO of the Holy Grail Federation's Starbow Group, Transit String.
Transit String's aura had always been strong. In terms of generosity and confidence, she wasn't inferior to Ji Chenxue.
As soon as she got out of the car, she walked towards the hotel entrance in high spirits with her head held high. Behind her was her beautiful secretary, Jin Xiaoyan. Behind Jin Xiaoyan were two middle-aged men in black suits. Their faces were covered by large sunglasses, so their faces couldn't be seen clearly.
Lan Bing smiled. "I've realized that beautiful women have one thing in common, and that is that they have extremely long legs."
Ling Xingxian did indeed have long legs, especially in her one-step skirt and black stockings. When she walked, she was especially eye-catching under the sunlight.
Lan Bing was originally teasing Ding Meng, but Ding Meng's attention wasn't on Transit String. He had a thoughtful look on his face.
"What's wrong?" Lan Bing was curious.
Ding Meng said seriously, "Those two in black suits should be bodyguards."
"That's about right!" Lan Bing agreed.
Ding Meng sighed. "My guess is that you can beat any one of them in a one-on-one fight. However, when the two of them work together, your chances of winning are less than thirty percent."
Lan Bing was shocked. "Are you sure you're not joking?"
Ding Meng said, "Do I look like I'm joking?"
After a long while, Lan Bing sighed. "Did we … underestimate Xing Hong and Sheng Hao?"
Ding Meng's face was expressionless. "I'm afraid so!"
Lan Bing said, "Wow, looks like it's going to be interesting again."