Chapter 1257: Once you

What is the truth?

Whoever speaks first, theirs is the truth.

This is a fact both ridiculous and cruel. Because the public's channels for obtaining information are blocked, and many people have no access to the channels where events truly occur, the content they encounter first is what they will deem to be the truth.

They firmly believe in this news and will deepen this point during the process of spreading it. They will also spontaneously defend the information they have obtained—information they themselves don't actually know to be true or false—in order to gain a proactive stance regarding information.

If the person who releases the news first is not only ahead of others in time, but also ahead in social status, influence, and even authority, then what this person says is the truth.

An unquestionable truth. Whoever questions this truth is opposing everyone who believes in it.

By that time, those people—those who have already taken this news of unknown veracity as truth—no longer care what the questioner is actually opposing.

Because in the eyes of the people, what this questioner is questioning and opposing is them; it is the people!

Those who oppose the people and oppose society should be overthrown!

This time, the first to speak was the Defense Force. The authority of the Defense Force in federal society is still unquestionable, so the news quickly began to spread to society through the media.

People all knew about this incident: a group of bandits attempted to raid a warehouse where the Defense Force stored defense supplies in Laizhou, and they were repelled by the joint efforts of local guards and civilians.

This is the truth, a truth as golden as gold!

President Potter also saw this news. At first, he didn't pay much attention to it. Laizhou, as the most important port in the Federation, has naval bases and army bases there. He initially thought it was just some petty thieves planning to raid a Defense Force warehouse, to grab or steal some things from inside, and then they were finished off by the Defense Force people.

But soon, as if he associated it with something, he immediately made a phone call to Mr. Maple Yuan.

"The Defense Force released a statement today saying they routed a group of bandits who tried to raid a defense warehouse in Laizhou. Does this have anything to do with you?"

Mr. Maple Yuan was stunned for a moment. "I haven't heard about this..." He paused as he spoke. "I... I don't know. I need to confirm."

President Potter could still keep his composure. "Confirm it as soon as possible." Saying this, he hung up the phone, then frowned.

This matter was actually not good news for him; it caused the authority of him and the entire Potter family to suffer serious damage.

It was like an Emperor sending his guards to find trouble with a minister, only for the minister to directly finish off the guards the Emperor sent, and then tell the outside world that he had killed bandits, and even hung them up for display.

As for ordinary people, they might not know much, so they would firmly believe that those people were indeed bandits.

But for other ministers who knew the inside story, this was equivalent to a heavy blow to the dignity and face of the imperial family.

Mr. Potter was a bit angry. This anger came from two parts.

One part was his son. He had already given such clear instructions to be careful and cautious, yet such a consequence still appeared, bringing shame to the family and making him, the President, a laughingstock in the eyes of some.

The other part still came from that guy, Lans. He had made him lose face more than once. Ever since Luo Jiefu took charge of the Federal Investigation Bureau, he had been like a curse, always making him become passive.

Now, even though he had become President, Lans would still make him lose face. This damn underclass!

The ancestors of the Potter family were also in that oil painting. For him, anyone who did not appear in that oil painting was a slave, an underclass!

His annoyance with Lans had reached its limit!

However, he was very calm. Having moved against Lans so many times without achieving any good results was already enough to make Lans and the Social Party start to become vigilant. It would probably be very difficult to move against him next time.

Moreover, this matter involved the Defense Force, and perhaps even the military. He had heard that Lans had a profit-binding relationship with the Defense Force and the military.

If he could take down Lans before the people there reacted, there wouldn't be any big problem. Once it was a fait accompli, everyone would just have to accept the result.

But now that his son hadn't handled this matter properly, he had to stop. The military and the Defense Force might not give him, the President, any face.

One must know that having just experienced an "unprecedentedly huge war victory," the Defense Force and the military had already gained unprecedented elevation within the federal power-sharing system.

They could completely ignore orders that didn't suit their tastes, even if the order came from the Presidential Palace!

Regarding major proposals in the Assembly, a majority (sixty-seven out of one hundred people agreeing) was needed to pass. Proposals targeting the Defense Force and the military would only push them toward the Social Party. Therefore, even if the Defense Force and the military directly gave him no face, he didn't have any particularly good way to deal with it.

They had such strength, and there was no opportunity to grasp regarding the Assembly.

A bad start. Hopefully, things will go more smoothly later.

President Potter couldn't help but light a cigarette. He sat in the chair behind his desk and was dazed for a while before throwing himself back into work.

On the border line north of Laizhou, Mr. Maple Yuan had already started arranging for people to investigate the specific situation of this matter. Although no further real news had come, he had a premonition that this operation had been botched.

The announcement from the Defense Force was endorsing the action and result of Lans this time. He knew that neither he nor his father could afford to break with the Defense Force at this time.

Lans escaped a disaster again!

At this moment, on the farm, they were also waiting for the final news.

An officer in charge of the operation knelt on the ground. One of his legs was broken. He looked at the remaining intern agents beside him, his expression a bit lost.

The moment the armored vehicle appeared, he knew that everything was over.

The machine gun strafing directly caused everyone to lose the thought of resisting. When a round of machine gun strafing ended, everyone chose to surrender.

Especially those soldiers who had returned from the war; they knew too well that wearing bulletproof vests, they were no different from infants in front of squad machine guns, so they raised their hands immediately.

Even so, only thirty-something people survived, and almost everyone was injured.

Hu Zi, with a gloomy face, was reporting the losses here to Albert. More than twenty cowboys had died—these were all good lads—and several farmers and one farm woman had been shot dead.

This was the largest reduction in personnel since the farm was established!

Albert sat in a chair, holding a pipe in his hand, listening to these reports with an expressionless face.

After Hu Zi finished speaking, he glanced at him sideways. "Be careful with the method and manner when telling their families about this. Also, the money must be given in full. If I find out they received even a penny less, I will skin you alive!"

"The farmers and the farm woman should also be given compensation according to the cowboys'. After all, they also died to protect our farm. We can't let people feel cold-hearted."

"The compensation plan that Lans and the others came up with is very good. Bring the children of these people to the farm, let them go to school and grow up with our children. You should go ask him for the specific details."

"As for these people..." His gaze shifted to those people, and to the things in front of them.

Various weapons, as well as various documents, including the official Federal National Security Bureau agent credentials of these operation officers, and some other documents.

These things were enough to prove that they were people from the federal government's law enforcement departments, people who were "official."

Meeting the gaze of the old man Albert, the officer with the broken leg swallowed a mouthful of saliva. It was summer now, and the intense sunlight was roasting the earth. He felt as if he were about to be dried out.

Every time he swallowed saliva, it would also make his throat burn with pain, as if he had swallowed a small handful of glass shards.

They all knew, and were all waiting, waiting for a result, a result that could determine their fate.

After an unknown amount of time, they had finished cleaning up the chaotic aftermath on the farm, and the remaining people had gathered here.

They looked at these "captured" agents with hateful eyes, wishing they could tear their flesh and blood off.

Suddenly, the urgent ringing of a telephone disturbed everything here. Hu Zi picked up the phone, and after saying a few words, handed the receiver to Albert.

"I have already solved the matter. No need to worry about it triggering any bad consequences. Just continue doing what you should be doing."

"Brewing alcohol, crops, and those other things."

Albert licked his lips. "We still have some people left here."

"All solved. Collect all the things that can prove their identities. Don't leave any traces that shouldn't be left."

"In a while, the state police will come to receive these corpses. Just hand the corpses directly to them."

Albert gave an "um." "I know."

He said this, hung up the phone, then stood up, pulled up the duty belt on his waist, and strode to the front of that officer.

Perhaps sensing that his "end" was arriving, the officer with the broken leg struggled to straighten his body. He looked at Albert with a clean, simple, and even slightly stupid expression and eyes. "You can't do this. We are people from the federal government's law enforcement department..."

Albert pulled out the revolver at his waist. This revolver was given to him by his father after he became an adult. The ivory handle and exquisite carved patterns made it look like a piece of art.

But it was actually an out-and-out killing weapon!

This thing had a large caliber. In the countryside, during the slavery era, large-caliber weapons were the things that represented all justice.

Anyone, as long as they were hit by one shot, as long as it hit the torso, basically had little chance of surviving.

Of course, such large-caliber revolvers also have a very strong recoil; if one is not a person who has used it for many years, I am afraid they would be unable to adapt to its terrifying recoil, and it might even cause one to sprain their wrist.

Albert pulled out the pistol, used his thumb to pull the hammer back to the furthest point. Accompanied by the "click" sound of the sear catching, he released his thumb.

The muzzle pointed at the officer's head. The officer took deep breaths, mouth wide open. He closed his eyes. "Motherfucker, come on, come on bitch!"

"Fuck!"

With a loud "Bang!", a burst of smoke came out of the revolver's cylinder. The officer's head exploded with a "pop" sound, just like a watermelon!

The bullet shattered his entire face, including the bones, and then blew it away!

In the eyes of the people, this guy just "popped" and exploded, and then fell to the ground with a thud.

A large amount of fresh blood flowed out from his wound at an astonishing speed, and soon a small pool of blood seeped out in front of the old man Albert.

He walked to the front of the second person. "You chose your master, you should be punished!"

That young man was crying and begging, but the answer to him was just being pressed to the ground by someone stepping on his neck. In a very awkward and uncomfortable posture, he, like his officer, successfully played the role of a former Emperor!

Two shots were fired. The huge recoil had some impact on Albert's wrist. He put the revolver back into the holster, took two steps back, and made a throat-slitting gesture. "Finish them off."

The cowboys held their shotguns and closed in, pulling the triggers amidst those pleas.

Some people were unlucky, took two shots and didn't die immediately, struggling in pain for a while before being finished off by rifles.

Watching everyone being cleaned up, Albert nodded. He picked up his pipe and took a puff, then rolling thick smoke sprayed out from his mouth and nose together. "Clean it up, hand the corpses to the state police later."

"These sons of bitches!"

The state police arrived very promptly, arriving here two hours later. They even specially drove a truck over.

When they saw the corpses all over the ground, some state police were scared into vomiting by this big scene!

Finally, with the cooperation and efforts of both sides, these things were transported away, and the farm also returned to peace.

Only some people had left here forever.

Returning to the new farm, Albert talked about what happened here. The other two old men discussed it with him, and finally decided to abandon the old farm and move everything to the new farm.

The construction level here was higher, and whether it was safety or anything else, it had already been done to the best.

The small episode that happened in the countryside of Laizhou didn't stir up too much public opinion. A group of bandits were just shot dead while raiding state property. People had no interest in this news, or in digging into the deeper content of the news.

Mr. Maple Yuan soon also learned about these things through his own channels. Facing another setback and sense of frustration, he appeared particularly angry.

In the phone call with President Potter in the evening, he indicated that he would turn the tables as soon as possible.

"How will you turn the tables?", President Potter asked. "Tell me, what do you plan to use to deal with Lans, or make him suffer a loss?"

Mr. Maple Yuan was a bit stuttering and couldn't speak. "I haven't thought it through yet."

President Potter directly exposed his lie. "It's not that you haven't thought it through; it's that you haven't considered it at all, or you simply don't know how to do it!"

"I spent the whole day today thinking about this matter. Lans is indeed one of our most hated opponents at the moment, but he is also one of the most cunning opponents."

"I had people investigate the evidence that our law enforcement departments have mastered about the Lans family over the years. Do you know what I found?"

Mr. Maple Yuan asked almost subconsciously. "What did you find?"

"I fucking found a void!"

"We haven't mastered any criminal evidence against him. Even if there is some evidence that might point to him, these cases were quickly closed by some people taking the blame."

"He doesn't do the things that those gangs should do. He doesn't collect protection money, doesn't blackmail ordinary people, including businessmen. Apart from selling alcohol and killing people, he doesn't engage in any other criminal activities at all!"

"Oh, right, there's also prostitution, but this fucking can't take him down. We can't make him trip just by relying on a few prostitutes!"

"We should change our way of thinking. Don't be blinded by hatred. I admit I was a bit impulsive on these issues. Now I have calmed down, so I am telling you my findings."

"Don't think about using traditional means to deal with him. In this regard, we are not his match. I must admit this point, although it will make you feel I am ridiculous."

"But this is the fact. We have fallen into his rhythm. If we continue to move forward following his rhythm, we will only lose more!"

"So, what we need to do now is to stop, drag him into our rhythm, and then finish him off in our rhythm!"

Hearing these words from President Potter, Mr. Maple Yuan also had some realization. "You are right. Then what do you plan to do now?"

President Potter smacked his lips. "Isn't he very rich?"

"Let the Tax Bureau go find trouble with him. The Tax Bureau is definitely interested in his huge income every year, as well as where it flows." ===== CHAPTER 1258 =====