"Without putting in the effort, nothing else matters."
Ma Lin reflected on his current self, thinking that he really didn't deserve the position of Chief Officer of Zhongtian City.
He yearned to blow off some steam, to give the western region's enemies a good thrashing, but he knew his understanding of the big picture wasn't yet sharp enough to handle such matters.
How could he improve his grasp of the big picture?
Back to square one, he must first elevate his ideological awareness. It was an unavoidable hurdle.
He found himself standing before this hurdle once again, looking at it, feeling somewhat helpless.
If he avoided it, he wouldn't be able to handle the challenges that were to come; if he faced it head-on and really got over this hurdle, a life of immense hardship awaited him. It might even be harder than what Su Lanji went through.
His only hope was that if society developed well enough, even those living austerely could lead happy lives.
