Chapter 1195: A Series of Changes

Unless God descends, then it is highly probable that this person won't be able to wake up.

There were some more smiles on the lieutenant governor's face. Sitting well in the office, suddenly the above called him, telling him that he was about to become governor?!

This kind of good thing was unheard of. He had heard of the vice president sleeping late and not waking up, suddenly being broken into and dragged to the presidential palace, but

He was feeling wonderful inside right now. If one were to make a ranking at this moment of all the people who did not want Governor Wei De to wake up, then without a doubt, the Lieutenant Governor would rank first by an absolutely landslide margin!

If given the chance, he would even be willing to run over and strangle Governor Wei De in his bed, provided the Department of Justice didn't give him any trouble!

He pursed his lips and thought for a moment; Lanse's words had actually already told him what he needed to do next.

He had also heard of some "grudges" between Governor Wei De and Lanse. Given that Lanse was now capable of manipulating the change in governorship, he did not dare to slight Lanse in the slightest.

"This matter... I will consider it seriously. If there are any issues, we should maintain efficient communication."

His attitude was very proper. After Lanse took a sip of coffee and set it down, he said, "I heard the Wei De family is also colluding with gangs. This is a good opportunity to conduct a serious investigation, identify the problems, solve the problems, and put an end to the problems!"

"Do not be afraid of problems being found within our own officials. Only by facing these problems squarely and not hiding them can we truly solve them."

"If there is anything you need my help with, you can call this number," Lanse said, pushing a card over. "Even if I am not there, you can tell the person who answers the phone your request."

The Lieutenant Governor picked up the card, took a serious look at it, and then tucked it safely into his breast pocket. "I understand."

"Then I will now..."

Lanse stood up, bracing his hands on his knees, and the Lieutenant Governor followed closely behind. "I won't disturb you any further; you have very important work to do."

The Lieutenant Governor nodded. "Exactly, let me see you to the door."

The two walked together in a very friendly and familiar manner, which led some people to speculate about Lanse's identity.

Not until he watched Lanse's motorcade leave did a flash of ecstasy appear on the Lieutenant Governor's calm face. He gave a small, subtle fist pump and let out a "Yeah" under his breath.

He then immediately straightened his attire, put on a solemn expression, and sat into his car.

Ten minutes later, his car appeared at the hospital. There were many people gathered here, and none of them showed the slightest respect when they saw the Lieutenant Governor.

Many even rolled their eyes at him, and no one paid him any mind.

When he reached the entrance of the emergency room, the core members of the Wei De family were all gathered there, and Governor Wei De's younger brother only gave him a brief greeting.

"How is his condition?" The Lieutenant Governor took out a cigarette. Just as he was about to smoke, another of Governor Wei De's younger brothers reached out, grabbed the cigarette from the Lieutenant Governor's hand, and threw it into the trash can.

"The doctor said no one is allowed to smoke here."

The Lieutenant Governor froze for a moment, a flash of anger passing through his eyes, but he quickly hid it. There was even a hint of apology on his face. "Sorry, I didn't know."

Governor Wei De's most trusted younger brother reached out and pushed his own brother aside, then came to the side with the Lieutenant Governor. "Forgive him; he is in a terrible mood because our older brother is still in emergency surgery."

The Lieutenant Governor wore a look of deep grief. "It looks like the current outcome is very bad?"

Governor Wei De's younger brother nodded. "The doctor said his condition is very bad, and there is a high probability... that it will be very difficult to save him. They are just trying their best now, and even if they do save him, he might not necessarily wake up."

The time he spent shot was too long, and the blood loss was too great; it had already affected his brain.

In reality, Governor Wei De could only prove he was still alive through his vital signs at this point, but in truth, he was practically already dead.

A person is practically gone after two minutes of brain hypoxia; he had been hypoxic for much longer. It was just that the hospital was now using all means and instruments to ensure his heart was still beating, his blood was still flowing, and his lungs were still breathing, sending oxygenated blood to all parts of his body.

But in reality, he had completely lost consciousness, and the doctors were also discussing how to announce this.

If this patient were an ordinary person, they would have long since stopped the rescue efforts and told those people outside with a blank face that they had done their best.

But this was the Governor; they could not so rashly judge that he was beyond saving and had to continue the rescue for a while longer.

This aftermath was the best embodiment of the inequality between power/wealth and life. People always say that money cannot buy life, but in fact, this view is wrong.

When two people have the same illness, the wealthy person can simply live longer than the poor person, and there is even a possibility of a cure!

Governor Wei De's younger brother was clearly aware of this point as well. Having not been saved after such a long time, the possibility of being saved could be said to be slim to none.

The Lieutenant Governor sighed. "I didn't expect these things to happen. Have the shooting suspects been caught?"

Governor Wei De's younger brother shook his head. "Not yet."

At this moment, the Lieutenant Governor seemed to have activated something. He gritted his teeth and said, "These idiots, whenever we need them, they never do anything right."

"And when we don't need them, they are always causing trouble."

"I will go keep an eye on them and get the people caught as soon as possible. If you have any place where you need my help, give me a call!"

Governor Wei De's younger brother nodded. In fact, at this moment, he did not realize that when there was a high probability that Governor Wei De could not be saved, the Lieutenant Governor could already replace the Governor.

It only required the legislature to pass it, or for no one to jump out and oppose it, and the Lieutenant Governor would soon officially become the Governor.

And for now, in this emergency situation, the Lieutenant Governor was only acting as the Governor.

But even if it was only acting, it meant that his power in this state had reached its peak.

After returning to the state government, he immediately called the local mayor over.

With such a major event occurring, the mayor must also be very anxious. The Lieutenant Governor calmed his emotions slightly and then said, "The situation in the city is a bit chaotic now. On my way back, I saw police, state troopers, and some people who might be gang members harassing ordinary people."

"This kind of thing should not happen here, at least not gang members harassing pedestrians. You need to make the Redstone City Police Department do its job."

"Finding criminals is the business of the police and law enforcement agencies, not those gangs or any other social groups. Do you understand what I mean?"

The "social groups" the Lieutenant Governor spoke of were actually the gangs controlled by the Wei De family, as well as roles like security guards from their own companies.

The mayor's pupils contracted sharply. He found it a bit hard to believe, but he quickly regained his composure. "I know what to do."

The Governor was still lying in the hospital's emergency room, and the Lieutenant Governor was already going to seize power?

However, this also made him realize that the situation at the hospital might be very dire, to the point that the Lieutenant Governor was already starting to exercise the Governor's power.

After the mayor left, the Chief of the State Police also arrived at the office. He tried his best to look composed, but true composure cannot be faked.

With just one glance, the Lieutenant Governor saw through the facade he was trying to maintain.

"There were many police and state troopers at the scene. They formed a defensive line, isolating Governor Wei De from those dangerous members of the public."

"When someone fired the first shot, our officers didn't even do anything. None of them went to find those gunmen or stop the gunmen from continuing to shoot."

"They also didn't find a way to protect the Governor, leaving him standing on the high platform to become a target for those people, getting hit by many shots."

"You have to bear a great deal of responsibility in this matter."

The Chief of the State Police froze for a moment, seemingly realizing something. He did not admit his mistake, nor did he ask for a solution, but instead stared at the Lieutenant Governor and asked, "Governor Wei De... how is his condition now?"

Sweat had already started to bead on his forehead. He realized that this Lieutenant Governor had not called him over to urge him to catch those gunmen, nor to consult him on whether there was any way to stabilize the current situation, but to give him trouble.

A Lieutenant Governor, wanting to give him trouble—why?

In this instant, the slow-moving thoughts in the State Police Chief's brain seemed to have been electrocuted, rapidly starting to spin, and a clear truth was laid out before him.

This Lieutenant Governor intended to remove him from office, just because he was Governor Wei De's man!

What was this about?

This was... he didn't know how to describe the situation he was encountering at this moment; he felt instinctive resistance and terror!

He knew very well what would happen once he lost the power he currently held. He only wanted to know how the Governor who could protect his power was doing!

The Lieutenant Governor stared at him with a cold smile on his face. "The Governor's condition is not good; there is a high probability that he will not wake up. During the time until he wakes up or passes away, I will act as the Governor."

"Because of the State Police's operational errors, the State Police must bear responsibility for the Governor's assassination."

"Your ability makes me unable to believe that you can do this job well, so..."

A hint of a smile, neither here nor there, appeared on his face. "You are suspended."

The Chief of the State Police immediately reacted. "You don't have the authority to do this!"

The Lieutenant Governor smiled. "Sorry, it just so happens that I do have the authority to do this. It seems you are very unconvinced, but you don't need to worry, because the prosecutor will be talking to you very soon."

The State Police Chief, who had intended to resist, went silent in an instant. He knew very well that his own hands were not clean, or rather, the hands of law enforcers in this era were never clean.

When you only make five or ten dollars more than an ordinary worker in a month, but have to endure hundreds of times more danger than them to do your job, it is hard not to think about other things.

And those criminals, they would wave countless banknotes to corrupt you, make you wealthy, and most importantly, make you safe.

Officers, sheriffs, chiefs—almost all law enforcement departments in this era collected dirty money, and some even actively sought out those gangs and criminal organizations to demand it.

The simplest way to judge whether a person is suspected of occupational crime is to see if their official income can be linked to their life and expenses.

When a person who only makes about a thousand dollars a year lives in a house worth tens of thousands, drives a luxury car worth tens of thousands, and has monthly expenses in the hundreds.

You say this person hasn't done anything illegal?

Even those with intellectual disabilities would look at you with pity!

Looking at the State Police Chief, who seemed to have had his bones pulled out all at once, the Lieutenant Governor felt a bit more disgust. "I will have someone come to you later to handle the handover of work; you had better cooperate."

"Now, leave my office, and get out."

Under the Lieutenant Governor's leadership, the state government soon recovered from the turmoil of Governor Wei De's assassination, and people also realized that this was not a simple assassination event.

But no one dared to discuss it, let alone think about it deeply. Who knew if they might inadvertently discover the truth, let it slip, and become the next victim?

At the same time, the Liberal Party legislators of Denuozhou also gathered in the local committee chairman's large villa.

The atmosphere in the room was very gloomy. Just a few days ago, it had been very lively here; they held all kinds of cocktail parties and gatherings, everyone had a smile on their face, and the courtyard was filled with laughter.

Because they were about to win a Senate seat here that originally belonged to the Socialist Party, which would allow them to completely crush the Socialist Party in the legislature.

But at this moment, the Governor Wei De who supported their work was already lying in the hospital.

"I called their dean and asked; there is a high probability that Wei De will not survive."

"Now they are just maintaining his vital signs to see if there is any miracle that will allow him to wake up."

"The Lieutenant Governor is a die-hard Socialist. Once he takes office, he will definitely resubmit the candidate list. Do you have any way to continue to resist?"

There were more than twenty people in the room, but not all of them were from the State Senate; there were also some from the House of Representatives.

Several state senators sitting on the sofa looked at each other and shook their heads.

They did not have a "veto" advantage in the local legislature; in other words, they had no way to decide whether the nomination of candidates passed or failed.

Watching them remain silent, the local Liberal Party committee chairman was full of sorrow. In such a short time, such a huge change had actually occurred.

He sighed heavily, feeling a bit at a loss.

After a while, someone suddenly spoke up. "This is a political assassination, Mr. Chairman!"

"It is very obvious; the person who assassinated Governor Wei De must be from the Socialist Party. Only in this way can they fundamentally solve the nomination problem of the candidate list."

The speaker was a state representative. Everyone else looked at him, but their gazes did not have the surprise of discovery; they just looked at him like he was an idiot, which made him feel a bit embarrassed.

"I... am I not saying it right?"

The local committee chairman shook his head. "No, you are saying it very correctly, but so what?"

"We all know this possibility now, but what can it change?"

"Unless we can catch those people, those gunmen, right now and try to get the answers we want from their mouths, otherwise, even if everyone knows it is like this, it is still useless."

"We are facing the top brass of the entire Socialist Party. If we don't have evidence, the law won't judge them. Do I still need to tell you such a simple thing?"

The state representative curled his lip and did not continue speaking.

For a moment, they all didn't know what to do.

After half a minute, the phone in the corner suddenly rang harshly. The State Committee Chairman immediately walked over and picked up the phone.

He turned around, lowered his voice, and after saying a few words, he put the phone down. When he came back, there was no expression on his face.

"Wei De has been declared brain-dead. He won't wake up."

The atmosphere in the room became even worse. Wei De was finished, which meant the Lieutenant Governor would officially take over, and they couldn't stop it.

A group of people didn't even want to talk now. They hadn't even had a chance to be happy for a few days before they had to return to an environment ruled by the Socialist Party.

At this time, the hospital had already announced the result. The Wei De family members did not accept this result; they rushed into the ward, grabbed the doctor by the collar, and forced him to continue rescuing and treating Governor Wei De.

But the doctor did not do so. He just steadied his glasses, which had been knocked askew by a slap, and looked at the irritable man in front of him.

"From a medical perspective, his brain had already almost completely necrotized due to hypoxia before he arrived at the hospital."

"He is still 'alive' now, but it is just a miracle of medical technology development. I can even say that if we were to remove his head from his body, as long as we maintained blood circulation, he would still breathe, and his heart would still be able to beat."

"But these no longer have any autonomous behavior. As long as we remove the life-support machines, he will die immediately."

"Rescue is no longer necessary. Even if God came before me now, I would have no way to make him wake up."

Someone punched him again, but he remained the same, just looking at these people and straightening his glasses again.

Standing in front of him was Governor Wei De's younger brother, who gritted his teeth and asked, "Is there really no way at all?"

The doctor shook his head, not wanting to speak anymore.

Governor Wei De's younger brother let go of his collar, wiped his own cheek, and then strode toward the outside.

Usually in the family, he had the best relationship with Governor Wei De, so now that Governor Wei De was lying there having been declared brain-dead, the family members silently took him as their leader.

As he walked out, he said, "Liquidate the family's assets as soon as possible; cash out whatever can be cashed out, and find a way to transfer all the family members out. We can't stay here anymore."

The people around him were a bit confused. "Why can't we stay?"

The Governor's younger brother stopped abruptly. He turned around and looked at the people behind him. "They dared to kill our Governor brother, so they dare to take action against us!"

"Do as I say!"