The first National People's Congress of the People's Party, convened in 1941, was set to elect a new Chairman. The process was calm and unsurprising; all comrades of the People's Party Central Committee participating in the election knew the result, and most importantly, no one intended to oppose it.

In the subsequent National People's Congress meeting, the election for the State Chairman had some subtle differences. As thousands of NPC representatives cast their ballots into the boxes for the State Chairman election, their expressions were solemn. In the election of the State Chairman, everyone hoped their vote would achieve the result they anticipated.

Li Runshi did not care about this. As an NPC representative, he solemnly cast his own vote. Since there were practically no opponents for the position of Premier, Wu Xiangyu, who should have felt no pressure, looked even more agitated than Li Runshi. The two were to work as a team, so Wu Xiangyu eventually said to Li Runshi, "Some representatives will absolutely not vote for you."

"If there are no parties outside the Party, it's imperial thinking. If there are no factions within the Party, it's all kinds of strange things," Li Runshi replied calmly.

"Will it trigger more confrontation?" Wu Xiangyu really did not possess Li Runshi's breadth of mind.

Li Runshi's attitude remained calm. "This is a result triggered by confrontation, not confrontation triggered by a result. The essence of democratic elections is that the loser must accept the election results. If even this cannot be done, what meaning does a democratic system have? Then it would no longer be internal democracy, but a problem between two irreconcilable lines."

Wu Xiangyu felt that the implications behind these words were even stronger than what he had worried about, and he paused for a moment. If it were a comparison of specific administrative implementation, Wu Xiangyu's level was much higher than Li Runshi's; he didn't even have to use much brainpower to come up with countermeasures. But Li Runshi's attitude suddenly made Wu Xiangyu feel much more at ease. Of course, this might also have had something to do with Wu Xiangyu's self-positioning. He had never been an overly ambitious comrade.

Seeing Wu Xiangyu was still a bit nervous, Li Runshi smiled. "The NPC is supposed to represent the stance of the people. What we need to do in the future is to enable the NPC to truly represent the will of the people, and ultimately practice the democracy of the working people on a scientific basis."

To be able to consider future development even under the current situation where a line struggle was clearly laid out, Wu Xiangyu didn't know whether to praise Li Runshi for being worthy of the title of General Secretary of the Party, or to feel that he was being overly optimistic.

When the final round of election results came out, Li Runshi, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the People's Party, surpassed the other candidates, including Lu Huitian, with a huge advantage of seventy-five percent of the votes. Facing this result, Lu Huitian actually felt a burst of relief. If he had really been elected, it would have meant a true political earthquake that even Lu Huitian himself did not want to see. Not just Lu Huitian, but most of the People's Party cadres breathed a sigh of relief.

Led by the Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, Li Runshi walked onto the podium. With his hand on the Constitution of the Republic, he solemnly swore his oath of office to the National People's Congress representatives. After the oath was completed, the political system of the People's Party finally moved onto the track determined by Chen Ke. Next would be the appointment of the Premier; the elected Wu Xiangyu breathed a sigh of relief, completely not for his own sake.

The last item of the "Two Sessions" was very traditional: attending the flag-raising ceremony.

Before dawn in the spring, the wind still carried a chill. The streetlights around People's Square had not yet been extinguished, and the NPC representatives gathered on the square from their lodgings. On the viewing stand of the Pentagram Building opposite the square, several figures appeared. Although one was slightly blurry, some people with particularly sharp eyes had already recognized that the tall figure was likely Chen Ke.

The news that Chairman Chen was also on the viewing stand watching the flag raising spread among the representatives in the blink of an eye.

"Why doesn't Chairman Chen come down?" someone immediately asked.

Some comrades were quite knowledgeable. "It's not necessarily Chairman Chen, and besides, Chairman Chen isn't one of our NPC representatives."

Some representatives looked at the position where Chen Ke was said to be with rather complex gazes; most of them were representatives who had not voted for Li Runshi. The failure of this political struggle was so obvious. The academic circles had conducted rare networking beforehand and even employed quite a few means. They had thought they could have some influence on the country's decision-making, but Chen Ke hadn't even moved a finger to let these people know exactly how much weight they carried.

Looking at the NPC representatives composed mainly of workers, farmers, and soldiers—ordinary laborers—and their bright gazes filled with longing and enthusiasm looking towards the position where Chen Ke might be, some of the losers couldn't help but think: if Chen Ke were to openly say something to these people, what would the result be then?

While they were looking at Chen Ke, Chen Ke was also looking down at these people. A piece of news received recently had finally settled a thought that Chen Ke had been hesitating about. Comrade Stalin of the Soviet Union was preparing to restart the honorary title of "Guards." Comrade Stalin certainly didn't know, but Chen Ke was very clear that when the Soviet Union collapsed, the Guards displayed the old traditions of their Tsarist Russian predecessors, and so those Bolsheviks just washed up and went to sleep.

Although in this changed spacetime, the future would certainly be different. Even if the history of the Soviet Union remained the same as before, Chen Ke knew he would not live to see that day regardless. But Comrade Stalin's decision was also a stimulus to Chen Ke.

Standing at the very front of the NPC representatives were Li Runshi and Wu Xiangyu. Chen Ke suddenly remembered a letter he had seen before: "...Things always turn into their opposites; the higher you blow, the harder you fall. I am prepared to be smashed to pieces. That doesn't matter much; matter is indestructible, it's just being shattered. There are over a hundred parties in the world, and most of them don't believe in Marxism-Leninism anymore. Marx and Lenin have been smashed to pieces by people, let alone us?..."

The person who wrote this letter in history had once launched an unprecedented movement. It must be admitted that the movement failed. It destroyed many things but failed to establish a corresponding new order. However, within that movement, the political concept that "the working people are the masters of the country" completely became China's political correctness. Regardless of the subsequent processes, no one dared to openly deny this concept or openly overturn this political correctness. However, evaluating it from the perspective of historical materialism, that movement ultimately failed.

Chen Ke was born and grew up in an era that thoroughly negated that movement, and during his growth, he heard countless negative viewpoints. But too many people like him eventually began to reflect and try to restore the essence and truth of that movement, to reflect on the reasons for its failure. Because no matter what, Chen Ke and his peers identified with the concept finally established in that movement: the working people are the masters of the country.

After that movement, accompanied by the high-speed development of China's industrial level, amidst great material and technological development, and after finally entering the information age, Chen Ke and his generation finally had the opportunity to look at the world. Then, they finally began to understand why that person, standing at the very apex of the ruling class, would choose to have his own body shattered and bones crushed to carry on that movement destined for failure.

Just as Chen Ke was lost in his contemplation, the order below became slightly chaotic. Many newly elected NPC representatives had never seen Chen Ke before, and they had long looked forward to the day they could see him with their own eyes. This initiator of the People's Party, this founder of the Republic, this patriot who saved China from the brink of destruction, this revolutionary who brought China back to the core position of Asia and then towards the peak of the world, this opener of new territories unprecedented in Chinese history. Whether they supported or did not support Chen Ke, everyone positioned Chen Ke in a place transcending the natural.

They all wanted to see this person in reality with their own eyes, this person who was human but seemed to be a completely different kind of human. This person who could assemble an army of millions with a wave of his hand, who could defeat powerful enemies ten thousand miles away. The reason everyone could stand here today was all because of Chen Ke. If Chen Ke issued a summons, they would die for it without turning back. When they learned that it was likely Chen Ke standing high up watching the flag-raising ceremony, the ceremony itself seemed unimportant, because Chen Ke himself was the flag of the Republic.

Some NPC representatives tried to approach the viewing stand but were stopped by the armed police comrades responsible for order. Such actions triggered a small commotion.

"Chairman Chen, should we go down first?" the comrade responsible for security nearby asked in a low voice.

"...No need," Chen Ke replied after a hesitation. This hesitation was because Chen Ke suddenly discovered that he had actually felt a trace of fear just now. For Chen Ke, this was a feeling he hadn't had for a long time.

*What am I fearing? Fear that someone mixed in the ranks will assassinate me? The only ones who can accurately shoot a rabbit's front teeth off from several hundred meters away right now are Chinese, and they are currently engaging in production in the Southern Hemisphere. Is it that I'm afraid of causing chaos? Compared to the effort I have already decided to make to continue pushing China forward, this bit of chaos counts for nothing,* Chen Ke thought quietly.

*Then what am I fearing? Fearing my own choice? After sending so many enemies, so many comrades-in-arms, so many Chinese people, and so many foreigners to the altar of history, am I, who has walked to this step with such difficulty, hesitating when it comes to sending myself to the altar?* Thinking of this, Chen Ke said to the security comrade beside him, "No, we will stay here."

After saying this, Chen Ke ignored the security personnel who looked slightly troubled and quietly looked towards the square shrouded in the darkness before dawn. Under the streetlights radiating light throughout the night, the square was full of vague figures. Presumably, from their perspective looking at Chen Ke, Chen Ke was just a faint silhouette as well. Although the security personnel were a bit worried, they didn't really think anyone could attack Chen Ke in such lighting. Though they did stand a bit forward, skillfully forming a protective barrier.

Chen Ke didn't notice this, because he closed his eyes slightly, his train of thought returning to just now. *If I have any hesitation, it is only because all my achievements are the past that has already happened; I have merely stolen these achievements. For me personally, the long road I have traveled is a road with no future. But the me who has walked to the present finally has the opportunity to walk forward. Whether it was that person, or the predecessors who inherited the flag after him, they all followed the basic theories of Marxism and pushed China forward according to their own understanding. When I left that spacetime, China had already achieved unprecedented results; this is absolutely not to be denied. So my hesitation is a questioning of my own abilities. I am most worried that even standing on the shoulders of giants, even standing at the forefront of the road opened up by predecessors, even having seen so many successes and failures, so many experiences and lessons, I might fail to push history forward even a truly small step because of my own incompetence. But regarding sacrificing myself, I have no fear, nor any resistance. When I returned to this era decades ago, I was already destined to sacrifice everything for China. Because since I was small, I heard a teaching: we are the successors of communism. And the politics textbooks told us that laborers are members of the ruling class, and the state is the tool for the ruling class to implement class rule. I, along with millions of ordinary children, grew up in such an education.*

Thinking of this, Chen Ke heard the ringing of a wireless walkie-talkie. The comrade responsible for the security of the flag-raising ceremony on the viewing stand spoke into the device for a moment. When Chen Ke opened his eyes, he saw the man run over and say, "Premier Wu asks if you can, after the flag-raising ceremony ends, temporarily receive the NPC representatives on the podium. And after the reception, can you specifically meet with everyone in the Great Hall?"

"Good!" Chen Ke replied readily. The person in charge immediately ran to the walkie-talkie position and began to communicate with those below.

Chen Ke looked down again; order on the square had been restored. The crowd lined up neatly, surrounding the national flag on three sides. The martial National Flag Guard was ready to move out; in a moment, they would clear the path for the national flag.

*After this war that has swept the globe, peace will eventually descend. The China of that time will discard many institutions that have been very effective up to now. I will stand upon the history I have seen and attempt to push down a path that China in the original timeline did not have the opportunity to attempt. At that time, I am not too clear how many comrades within the Party will be able to understand me. If I fail, I will inevitably lose everything I have now. But I did not walk to this point to repeat the same mistakes, nor did I walk here to satisfy delusions of self-pity. I will do my utmost to continue pushing China forward from the height history has already reached, until I die!*

Looking at the horizon, Chen Ke, who had survived countless sleepless nights in his work, easily judged that in a while, dawn would drive away the chaotic shadows created by the night. The red glow of dawn would dye this world, already full of color, with a bright golden red. Accompanied by the rising of the sun, the Five-Star Red Flag would also rise slowly.

The red color smeared over everything would soon be dispersed by the daylight following closely behind. At that time, unstoppable, everyone would be able to see Chen Ke clearly, and see Chen Ke clearly for who he is.

Chen Ke stood quietly on the viewing stand, waiting for the arrival of that moment.

(End of Full Text)