In the Governor's Mansion on Hefang Island, at the center of the round table in the conference room.
Margaret listened to her subordinates' work reports with a frown on her face, which was divided by scars and looked haggard and tired.
It's not just her, the same is true for other managers present.
Managing a group of people living in doomsday is not an easy job. In the desperate situation of being gradually submerged by the sea, they are only a thin line away from a mob that has lost its bottom line.
If not handled properly, they can easily cross this line, and there are some people with bad intentions who are constantly tempting them to cross this line.
"The resettlement of the islanders in the dock area was completed yesterday. The navy has been stationed in every street and has taken over the public security work. All laws are currently subject to wartime..."
"Personnel transportation is being planned. According to the calculations of the Administration Department, the reduction of young and middle-aged people can significantly reduce the occurrence of violent crimes, and—"
The middle-aged woman who was reading the report was interrupted by the old voice.
"Governor, the most valuable thing in Earthsea right now is the population. If we really send young and middle-aged people to the surface continuously, we will be throwing away the future of our island!"
Margaret looked at the old man with age spots in front of her with indifference. "The most valuable thing about the Earth Sea right now is the entire Earth Sea itself. If things don't go well there, He Fang will have no future. You know, Mochen Island has been completely submerged."
"But!"
"No buts, the plan has been finalized, is there anything else? If not, let's just leave it at that for today."
The old man seemed to want to say something, but seeing Margaret's firm attitude, he finally sat down again in despair.
After a few seconds of silence in the hall, it was broken again by a male voice.
"Governor, the initial effect of using faith to stabilize people's hearts has been achieved. People have gradually joined various religions, but now most religions on the island are Protestant, and the cohesion is somewhat insufficient. The monks of the Eye of Truth expressed through a telegram that they are willing to cooperate with us to settle in Hefang."
Religion wants believers, and the governor needs stability. The combination of the two just meets the interests of each other, and faith flourishes all over the Earthsea.
No matter what they believe in, they seem to have agreed on something beforehand and are all spreading the message that as long as they believe in their own gods and are devout enough, when the end of the world comes, their gods will lead them back to the kingdom of God, or stop the sea from rising.
Margaret never trusted these things, and no sensible person would trust them, but it was too difficult to expect the islanders to remain rational in such a situation.
"Tell them to come to the Governor's Mansion tomorrow morning. I want to talk to them in person. If there is nothing else, then let's stop here today."
The sound of stools being moved could be heard, and everyone present bowed respectfully to their governor before turning around and leaving.
Margaret sat in the chair and looked at the empty hall for a while, then she stood up and walked towards her office.
Sitting down in the chair that once belonged to her father, Margaret closed her eyes and rubbed her swollen head with her hands.
She didn't know why her father was always so bad-tempered before, but now she finally knew.
Dealing with these endless troubles every day, it is impossible for one to have a good temper.
After a short rest, Margaret opened her eyes and looked at the documents brought by the secretary on the table.
The first document showed that Julio's invincible fleet had arrived in the East China Sea and had a preliminary battle with the Fortan Cult.
Judging from the battle situation, the Fortan Cult does not intend to fight to the death. From their point of view, the gods are about to revive and a better life is about to come, so there is no need to fight Julio now.
His participation in this battle was not only to divert the conflict on the island, but also to prevent the Fortan Cult from causing trouble for Charles on the surface again.
The best defense is offense. As long as he stays in the East China Sea like a thorn, the Futan Church will have no time to get involved in the above affairs.
After reading it carefully, Margaret opened the second copy, which was related to her power.
The spiders on Spider Island suddenly took special actions. Seeing that the sea water was gradually flooding the island, all the spiders began to gather together and kept weaving webs day and night.
They plan to use spider webs to weave a boat to leave the island and migrate to other islands that have not sunk.
Although it is not known why these spiders, which are the size of small houses, have such habits, their actions are doomed to be futile, and all the islands are the same.
"If the spiders leave, the spider silk products on Spider Island will disappear, and all kinds of finished clothes sent to the surface will be insufficient. We must find a way to keep them here."
Just as Margaret was thinking about this question, she heard a knock on her door.
She looked up and saw Anna, smiling, leaning against the door, tapping rhythmically with her fingers. "Miss Margaret, we haven't seen each other for a while. Why didn't you send a telegram to chat with me?"
"Are there any new discoveries on the surface?" Margaret put down what she was holding, stood up and asked.
"My visit to you this time has nothing to do with the surface, and nothing to do with Charles. I just came to see you."
Anna walked slowly to Margaret, put her hand on her shoulder, and pushed her back onto the stool.
"Looking for me? What?" Margaret was a little surprised.
"Don't worry, I'll take you to a place and you'll know after you get there."
As Anna was speaking, the space around her gradually distorted, and soon Shanshan, who was 1.3 meters tall, appeared next to her. Now Shanshan not only increased in height, but also had a greatly changed appearance.
If she was just a child before, then now she is between a child and a girl.
Shanshan has grown up a bit. I don’t know if it’s intentional, but she looks a bit like Anna now.
Looking at the flashing green cross pupils, Margaret was a little unrecognizable. "She is...?"
"Sparkling, haven't you seen her before? My and Charles' daughter, don't you think she has changed a lot? It's normal, she's not little anymore, after all, she's three years old now."
Shanshan pinched the sides of her skirt with her hands, crossed her legs and saluted Margaret.
Margaret is now very shocked, the other party's growth rate has exceeded her comprehension.
"Margaret, can you keep your surprise for now? I'm very busy. I have to learn a lot every day."
(End of this chapter)