Chapter 12

A thunderstorm.

Soybean-sized raindrops instantly covered the entire city and the surrounding areas.

The human world seemed to be covered by a thin veil, making things appear indistinct.

The streets were full of people hiding from the rain; those pretty skirts were now soaked and stuck to long, shapely legs, becoming even more attractive.

Some people hiding from the rain came into the bakery, and out of social obligation, they purchased some bread, more or less.

If it were usual times, there would certainly be some regular customers chatting at this time, enlivening the atmosphere inside the bakery and making it seem a bit more cheerful.

But today, it seemed no one had the mood to chat, and everyone was burdened with worries.

They were all looking at the dark sky outside the window; the dark clouds were pressing down very low, as if one could touch them by reaching out a hand after walking outside.

It not only pressed down on the sky over New Jincheng, but also suppressed people's emotions.

In fact, such thunderstorm weather often occurs in New Jincheng; it is summer now, and this is by the sea, so thunderstorms come quickly and leave quickly.

Sometimes people would even be grateful for such thunderstorms, as their arrival washed away the dust of this city, made the air fresh, and could also bring a trace of coolness to the sweltering city.

But now, people did not have the mood to think about these things.

It is not that the Federation has never had a war, nor has it never participated in a war; precisely because they know the horror of war, they have fallen into a state of hesitation and anxiety.

Watching others have bad luck is always a happy thing, but when this bad luck falls on oneself, no one can laugh.

At this moment, the gloomy sky was very much like people's hearts, which were obscured by dark clouds.

Lanse, who considered himself to have seen some big scenes, could only stare blankly as the torrent of history came rolling in, whistling toward him, with no way to stop it.

Because of the thunderstorm, there was no one on the streets until noon.

At a little past eleven, the thunderstorm finally ended, and the golden sunlight pierced through the haze again, tore apart the dark clouds, and shone on the earth.

New Jincheng, which had been washed by the rain, was full of freshness everywhere, and the pedestrians on the street gradually increased.

Councilor Peiterite looked at his wet trouser legs with some dissatisfaction; in fact, federal politicians at the level of "city councilor" do not need to take sides in principle.

On the surface, that is the case.

But in reality, they still need to take sides.

If they want to climb higher, whether running for mayor or entering the state legislature, they must have someone supporting them from behind.

The person behind Councilor Peiterite is a majority party member of the state senate, and behind this senator are even higher-level figures in the Congress.

Political directives are transmitted from top to bottom, and layer by layer they reached him; he originally had a press conference to hold today, but a sudden heavy rain made him somewhat irritable.

Perhaps he cannot summarize the insightful remark that "once in politics, one is not one's own master," but he understands that from the moment he made the choice to enter politics, he lost many things, even a part of his personality.

At this stage of the city's political circle, especially in an economic engine like New Jincheng, there is simply no opportunity to continue climbing based solely on personal ability.

Taking sides has thus become a necessary choice.

Resources in the team are distributed layer by layer; if you have a share, then when you are needed, you must also contribute your own strength to the entire team.

When Councilor Peiterite stood on the wet stage, feeling the rainwater seep into his leather shoes through the unsealed seams along the edges, and feeling the obvious sensation of being wrapped in water whenever he moved his toes, he became even more irritable.

Damn politics!

But his face was as bright and dazzling as the sunlight that had just broken through the dark clouds.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for coming here; this is a brief press conference...", many reporters had already started shouting, and a very irritable emotion was brewing within him.

He resisted the urge to destroy something, pursed his lips, and continued, "Regarding the shootout a few days ago, after a detailed investigation by our investigation team, there are a few things that need to be clarified."

"First, not everyone on the smuggling ship was an armed militant; the militants were only a minority, totaling perhaps less than ten people, and the rest were illegal immigrants."

"Second, the number of Coast Guard officers who died at the scene was two, with many others seriously injured, while the price paid by those militants was that they were almost all eliminated."

"The remaining seven died during rescue efforts after being sent to the hospital because there were not enough emergency and surgical doctors."

"In other words, they could have survived."

"Finally, I must admit that after the shootout ended, our officers, for the purpose of venting private anger, murdered about thirty-seven innocent civilians."

"I apologize to the innocent victims on their behalf..."

Peiterite actually knew what he was about to face when he said this, but he was prepared; this was something he had to do.

Only in this way could the "big brothers" in the "team" see that he was a good brother who dared to take responsibility and did not fear responsibility.

The content he published seemed to be a supplementary investigation of the case, but in reality, he was negating the previous conclusions.

In the first point, he hinted at the incompetence of the Coast Guard and local police, as eleven people died on their side when facing fewer than ten militants.

If the other side had been a large number of militants, the public might have felt that perhaps the militants had strong firepower and were very professional, and they would only sympathize with the victims.

But now, they would only think these people were simply fucking stupid!

In the second point, he was telling the media and the public that only two people actually died in the shootout, and the rest died because of delayed rescue.

He shifted the public's dissatisfaction and hatred toward illegal immigrants, or even legal immigrants, to the medical system.

In fact, it is not just one or two days that federal people have hated medical groups and the medical system; this is a suitable target to bear responsibility, and they actually do not care about these things.

The last point was to demonize the sacrificed officers whom some were heroizing, in order to reduce people's favor and sympathy for them.

People only sympathize with the departure of heroes; they will not express such emotions for demons.

Thereby, he aimed to make people withdraw from this matter.

No one likes to be deceived, and these people who join in the fun are the same; they will certainly have a feeling of being annoyed and ashamed, feeling that they have been used.

Councilor Peiterite knew very well that after saying these words, he would become a figure at the center of the storm, and if he were not careful, he would have to be silent for a period of time.

But this was also an opportunity; as long as he could safely survive this crisis, he would be qualified to run for mayor or enter the state legislature.

This public statement, which clearly negated the previous conclusions in its entirety, immediately triggered crazy reposts by the media, and public opinion became even more complex.

Two other city councilors also actively jumped out to criticize what Peiterite said as bullshit and slander without actual evidence, and the Coast Guard people even said they would sue him!

In fact, neither side could produce any real and effective evidence to prove that what they said was the truth; there were indeed innocent illegal immigrants slaughtered to vent anger.

A Coast Guard officer entered the cabin with a submachine gun, and then other officers, in order to silence witnesses and not let the situation become complicated, could only go in and fire extra shots.

At the same time, regarding the issue of delayed rescue, it cannot be said that it was completely wrong; anyway, as long as they entered the hospital with a breath left, and as long as they did not die on the spot, the responsibility at the scene would be halved.

Both sides splashed dirty water on each other, cursed each other, and exposed each other's old secrets, vividly demonstrating the essence of federal politics—

According to a survey by the world's mainstream media "All-Wisdom," random interviews conducted in various mainstream civilized countries in the world showed that among more than 50,000 samples, 77% of people indicated that they would pay attention to federal political news.

It is not because they are interested in politics, but because they want to know how absurd and ridiculous federal politics can be!

Some people want to reduce the seriousness of this case, and naturally, others want to keep increasing the stakes.

Soon people were divided into two factions, which is also a type of social activity with the largest number of participants in the Federation, commonly known as "political brawling."

But no matter how it changes, the people who are destined to be unlucky will still be unlucky.

Because they listened to Lanse, Erwin and these people would huddle together every day; two days ago, when things were at their peak, some people tried to attack them.

But seeing that they had many people, and they were all young and strong men, they did not succeed in the end.

It is just that in the past few days, as the matter has continued to ferment, and with the imperial emperor's constant hysterical and absurd demands, the dissatisfaction, and even hostile attitude, of federal people toward imperial people has continued to rise.

Just today, when they arrived at the pier, the people in the pier management office told them that they had to leave.

"I know you are all good guys, but you have already seen the current situation; they may not be able to find any trouble for you, but they will find trouble for us."

"Some people have already gone to the company entrance to block the door, just demanding that we stop hiring you."

"And this matter is not aimed at anyone; everyone without a social security number and a work card will be required not to work at the pier; we respect and comply with federal law."

The pier staff member who had always been responsible for assigning work showed a very regretful expression; in fact, they also quite liked these illegal workers.

These illegal workers could endure hardship and were willing to do anything; even if they were asked to clear the sewers, they would jump straight in.

Instead of being like the locals, who demand this and that, and also demand extra pay for "work outside the job description."

But now they cannot do otherwise; anyone with a discerning eye can see that New Jincheng is becoming a place where two forces, or rather multiple forces, are clashing.

Although the pier management company also has a big tree behind it, compared to the stability of stock prices, firing some illegal workers temporarily is obviously more cost-effective!

Capitalists know what is the right thing to do.

This decisiveness also made Erwin and the others realize that they were unemployed.