Chapter 682: The Next Step

An emergency plan, to put it plainly, is a choice on how to handle a situation when something unexpected occurs.

When Tang Mu voiced this idea, Senator Cleveland's first thought was that mediation might not be possible.

He frowned slightly; although he had listened very carefully to Tang Mu's retelling of those things, there were still some details he might have missed.

After all, to him, this was just a small matter; it shouldn't be this troublesome.

Looking at the confusion on Senator Cleveland's face, Tang Mu voiced his own thoughts.

"Mayor Williams and the local financial magnates have formed an absolute opposition; their goal is for the other to disappear from this world."

"Judging by their actions over the past few days, there is a high probability that mediation will not work."

"If it doesn't work, will the situation deteriorate further?"

Tang Mu spoke very tactfully, "Animals feel danger and will flee; if they cannot flee, they will fight back with their lives."

"Humans are more advanced than animals; whether in thought or action, they are more complex and harder to predict."

"We cannot rule out a positive development, but we also cannot ignore the result of it potentially developing toward the worst side."

Senator Cleveland nodded. He took out a cigarette and lit it himself, "Not bad, your reminder is very reasonable!"

He took two puffs of the cigarette and thought for a while, "General Miles should have had contact with Lans, right?"

Tang Mu nodded, "They have already made contact, and they should be getting along quite well."

A bit more of a smile appeared on Senator Cleveland's face, "With him over there, we can ensure no major problems arise."

After saying this, he picked up his pen again, "I still have a lot of work to do; you handle these matters."

Tang Mu understood his intent, then said, "I understand," and left the office.

General Miles and Lans are on the same side, which is roughly equivalent to being on the same side as Mayor Williams; if it truly is irreconcilable, one side must die.

Senator Cleveland is no saint; he certainly hopes that Lans, who provides him with value, benefits, and a good relationship, can stay.

However, this is just a 'what if'; as for the final solution, perhaps Lans and the others won't need to use such brutal means?

The office door closed again. Senator Cleveland, who was just about to dive back into his work, suddenly seemed to remember something. He looked at the closed door and frowned.

But he soon shook his head and returned to his working state.

Lans put down the phone and went into the dining room. Patricia had already gotten up while he was on the phone and was making breakfast.

The breakfast might not be that sumptuous, nor that visually or aromatically perfect, but at least it was edible.

Today's breakfast was milk with banana slices and whole-wheat rings, plus the bacon and eggs that Lans quite liked.

He was quite fond of that bacon with its special smoked flavor, and with a bowl of "soup," it could already be considered a hearty meal.

Lans walked behind Patricia and hugged her waist; the girl's delicate, smooth skin was something one couldn't bear to let go of.

There was a central heating system in the room; outside it might still be several degrees below zero, but the temperature inside the room was above twenty-five degrees.

The two of them were wearing robes and were barefoot, yet they didn't feel cold.

The heat radiating from the floor and walls made the temperature in the house just right at this moment.

"Don't touch me randomly!" The girl dodged, but couldn't escape. She turned around and glared at Lans angrily, but it wasn't fierce at all; instead, it stirred up Lans's competitive spirit.

She was picked up by Lans, and amidst her exclamation, she was placed directly on the dining table, "I still have to go to work!"

Her cries for help didn't make Lans stop; they only made him faster!

After seeing Patricia off to the Commercial Services Bureau, Lans took a turn and, without walking long, arrived at City Hall.

Two groups of people had already gathered outside City Hall.

One group was refugees; they held high banners like "Refugees are people too" and "Refugees have the right to survive," demanding that Mayor Williams not deport them.

To be fair, although the cost of living in New Jincheng is relatively high and survival isn't that easy for them, it is, after all, a big city!

Actually, if they were willing to go to remote cities where the cost of living isn't high, they might not be in a situation where their lives have no security at all like they are now.

But this is precisely the most complex side of humanity.

They would rather starve in a big city than go to a remote rural village to live a life where farming can support themselves.

They don't want to leave this city; they still want to find opportunities in this city, develop, and even eventually become a part of it.

Federalists are very "free" and don't quite understand the lives of these refugees from Slard in their hometowns. Many have never left their villages or towns in their entire lives, and they don't even have the most basic qualifications to go live in a big city.

Being able to come to a place like New Jincheng to live, some of them have already used the most simple methods to prove how much they want to stay—

Husbands let their wives sell their bodies, parents let their daughters sell their bodies, and young girls take the initiative to sell their bodies.

As long as they can stay, they are willing to pay everything.

And those refugees who have considered these problems to some extent might have already started new lives in some places.

Opposite them was another group; they also held high banners like "This place does not belong to refugees," "Keep traitors away from us," and "Go back to your own country" while standing there.

These people are typical old-school Federalists; this is the Federation of the Federalists, and they are full of hatred and disgust for refugees destroying the city's ecological environment.

They are more willing than anyone else to deport these refugees.

The two groups have been cursing at each other, and similar situations have appeared in many places in the city, but it must be said that the Bay Area's choice is essentially not a smart one.

After all, these refugees are outsiders, but at the same time, this is the most suitable choice for them.

If they chose to go to war with the locals and the Williams family, and go to war with Lans, there is a high probability that those people would turn around and strike them.

The Williams family has left too many marks on this land; people cannot avoid such a family, such a group of people.

Only the refugee group, these outsiders who are desperate to settle down, don't care about the heritage and the relationship with the rulers here; whoever can let them live here, live stably, and obtain corresponding rights, they will rely on that person.

Lans entered City Hall from the side. It was evident that the atmosphere inside City Hall was also somewhat tense; some people might not yet understand what had happened, but there were also some who already felt that Mayor Williams's regime was being challenged.

He went directly outside the mayor's office. The mayor's secretary immediately called to notify Mayor Williams, and then took the initiative to push open the door to the mayor's office for Lans.

After the door opened, Mayor Williams was already walking toward the door. Lans took off his coat and hat and shook hands with him; this was an attitude of treating each other as equals.

They returned to sit on both sides of the desk. Mayor Williams first sighed, then said, "From last night until now, many people have called me."

"Some I have only heard the names of, and I don't even know them!"

"Do you know what they said to me?"

Although Lans had a guess, he still pretended that he knew nothing, "What did they say?"

"They said they would fully support me in deporting the refugees from the city; as long as I agree and start doing so, they will speak out."

Mayor Williams shook his head while saying, "Among them are mayors of other cities, municipal councilors, state legislators, and some socialites, celebrities, and the like."

"It was the first time I received so many 'friendly' calls in such a short time, as if I were about to light the spark of human civilization!"

He laughed a few times as he spoke, "The call of duty!"

Lans couldn't help but laugh too, "They treated you like a fool." Mayor Williams shook his head, "No, they saw my predicament; not one of them is truly considering things for me; they only hope I will set an example."

"I feel fear, Lans."

He couldn't help but pick up the cigarette case on the table and light a cigarette for himself, "When so many people call you at eleven or twelve at night, the implication between the lines is for you to go die!"

Once he truly did that, his days would certainly be very difficult; a mayor cannot shoulder the responsibility of destroying the civilian relationship between two countries during a war; it would be more appropriate for a governor.

He is just a small mayor; his political pressure-bearing capacity is limited to within the state.

Once the Congress decides to take action against him, and the state government cannot protect him, the Williams family will not only fail to leave a mark on this city, but will instead become a joke in its development history!

An ant, trying to intercept a fast-moving chariot!

So those people are ostensibly supporting him and encouraging him, but at the core, they are letting him crash headlong into a tungsten steel wall at an even faster speed, smashing himself into pieces.

"So I brought good news!" Lans didn't keep him in suspense. Mayor Williams raised his eyebrows, signaling him to continue.

"Tang Mu called me this morning..." There are many people called by this name; not only are there many people with this name, but there are also cats and dogs and such.

It was normal that he couldn't remember for a moment. Lans reminded him, "Senator Cleveland's aide, Tang Mu."

!

"Oh, it's him, I remember him, a young man, what's wrong with him?"

"He called me and talked about this matter; Congress has already started to pay attention to this matter, and soon they will send people to mediate."

"Mediation?" Mayor Williams was also not optimistic about this result; after all, he was one of the parties involved!

"We have already completely torn off our masks; either they are finished, or I am finished; at such a time, mediation is meaningless!"

He took a puff of his cigarette, "However, our goal can be considered achieved; when are they coming?"

The "goal" he spoke of was to use extreme conservatism, with the slogan of deporting refugees, as a political bargaining chip to at least keep his current position.

Politics is very simple; it's you give me what I want, I give you what you want, and then everyone shakes hands.

But politics is also very complex, because behind every event, there will be more than one driving force.

When ordinary people go to the bathroom, it might really just be that they want to go to the bathroom, but in politics, when politicians go to the bathroom, it might not be as simple as just wanting to go to the bathroom; there might be other purposes.

As for how things will develop later, no one knows now.

Lans actually didn't quite know how long this would take, so he could only answer with a vague word, "Soon!"

While Lans and the others were discussing the current situation in the city, Mr. Charles and the others also gathered together to discuss some of the current changes.

"This is Hope Wright, a gentleman from Slard, who has considerable prestige among the refugee group."

"Some of you should be meeting for the first time; let me introduce you first; our connection will be closer in the future."

Hope, who had already put on a suit worth thousands, did not shy away from shaking hands with the gentlemen who introduced themselves one by one, and exchanged business cards.

This is what he dreamed of obtaining: wealth, status, and the respect of rich people!

For many years in the past, he had been engaged in expanding his influence, but in Slard, class solidification was even more severe than in the Federation, and he had no chance to stand out.

So he chose to take the risk of coming to the Federation. Now, his dream was beckoning to him, and he had already started to touch his dream!

At this moment, his body felt light, his entire soul was joyful, so the smile, attitude, and emotions he displayed were also full.

However, even so, the gentlemen here still looked down on this person to some extent, looking down on him just like looking at a dog.

They had completely split with Mayor Williams this time because of certain issues, but they still approved of Mayor Williams's sharp comments about these refugees at the press conference.

If a war broke out in the Federation, they would most likely run away too, but before the fact of their running away happened, they would still stand on the moral high ground to despise these people.

However, despising is despising, looking down is looking down, cooperation is still needed, and now he is needed.

After they got to know each other, Mr. Charles asked everyone to sit down. Hope sat in a relatively rear position.

Mr. Charles took out a cigarette, and someone immediately lit it for him. He crossed his legs, leaned back on the single sofa, his toes swaying slightly, giving people a feeling of being arrogant.

As he exhaled a puff of smoke, he said, "The plan is proceeding very successfully; the only small flaw is that the group of people from the Holy Bell Party lost Arthur."

"Otherwise, we would soon be able to win this game with an absolute advantage!"

Arthur originally still had great use; he was going to use Arthur's life to threaten Mayor Williams, make him admit his mistakes, and then resign in disgrace.

This actually had two possibilities. It was possible that Mayor Williams would do as told, and he would announce his resignation in disgrace; then this story would be considered to have come to an end.

It was just a "paragraph"; they would wait, wait for a period of time after the storm ended, solve Mayor Williams and his family, and find a reason.

Say that after they failed, they moved away together; as for where they moved, no one knew; this reason was very reasonable, and the public would accept it.

The whole city would return to the control of the Bay Area, and everything would be as before.

Another possibility was that Mayor Williams would not announce his resignation in disgrace; then Mr. Charles would let the people of the Holy Bell Party kill Arthur, and then expose this matter!

Of course, he would not expose that he asked Mayor Williams to do so, but he didn't do it, so Arthur died.

He would tell the public that Mayor Williams was greedy for power, and even when facing the life-and-death choice of his favorite youngest son, he firmly refused to hand over the power in his hands.

This bucket of dirty water poured on him, giving him a heavy blow from both physical and psychological aspects; at such an old age, he might not be able to withstand such a thing.

Then they would use the refugee matter to continue to target him crazily, and even find ways to threaten James's safety.

One Arthur died, and he could still hold on; what if another James died?

He certainly wouldn't be able to hold on.

Mr. Charles already had a whole set of plans and methods to execute these, but Arthur was lost.

Fortunately, losing Arthur would make things a little more troublesome than planned, but only a little.

The dissatisfaction he expressed toward the Holy Bell Party at this time was also the thought in many people's hearts.

Hope, sitting at the end, thought that perhaps he could use those refugees to form a large-scale gang within the state of Liklai.

Slard also had gangs, but the scale was not that large, unlike here in the Federation.

He had browsed a lot of content related to gangs these past few days; gangs could even participate in the game of top-level politics—assassinating the president.

This made him feel that this was also a path.

Now that Mr. Charles mentioned these things, plus Lans and Mayor Williams are on the same side, after solving Mayor Williams, Lans would certainly have to be driven away too.

The vacuum environment left behind at that time would become the stage for him to display his talents.

Mr. Charles didn't know that this guy he looked down upon in his heart had thought of so many things; he was still talking about some of his ideas.

"Judging from the current situation, Williams is already very passive; although many citizens are supporting him now, I heard that the Slard ambassador met with the Secretary of State overnight last night to discuss this matter."

"Congress seems to be investigating this matter and is preparing to intervene."

"It's just that in the current state, it lacks a bit of heat; we need them to be more extreme and violent, preferably with more bloodshed and casualties, so that the contradictions are completely intensified and irreconcilable!"

"Only in this way can those above completely lose hope in Mayor Williams, and we will have the opportunity to topple him in one go!"

His gaze soon fell on Hope, "Mr. Hope, for the following work, you are the key!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 683 =====