Chapter 941: Responsibility and Investigation

Lans’s company building was lucky—it wasn’t hit by shelling; thank heavens, he no longer needed to find a new place for meetings.

Sitting at the head of the massive conference table, he looked at the executives on either side and the rows of captains behind them, and spoke these words—

“We are not just a gang!”

The Lans family suffered minimal losses: over twenty people died in the shelling, and another thirty or forty were injured, mostly lightly; two suffered serious injuries but were not in life-threatening condition.

The entire city was in mourning, and the nation’s attention was fixed here—this was the perfect moment to demonstrate our “responsibility.”

Lans’s gaze lingered on each face, then moved to the next.

Most people met his gaze, but some could not bear the pressure behind his calm eyes and lowered their heads.

After scanning the room, which took perhaps two or three minutes, he continued.

“Gangs have their advantages—we can disregard consequences and directly trample the law when necessary.”

“But gangs also have their disadvantages—we are inherently at a disadvantage on certain issues.”

“For example, when an incident occurs and no one knows who did it, people immediately assume it was us, not ordinary citizens.”

“It’s a stereotype, hard to change—and there are other problems too.”

What Lans really wanted to say was that “gang politics” would end with victory in this war; if we lose, it doesn’t matter.

The Federal government, and all ruling classes, now face questioning from the lower classes; society will remain perpetually unstable.

People no longer trust the Federal government or the ruling elite, believing they lack the legitimacy to govern; the lower classes will develop antagonism toward the upper.

So now, the value of gangs outweighs their disappearance—when dealing with difficult-to-control Federal citizens, direct administrative action might spark greater unrest, but letting gangs handle it is far easier.

Just like now: the federal government lacks control over many grassroots areas, and gangs fill that gap.

Gangs also need stability and order—this creates a natural complementarity.

But when the war is won, the authority of the Federal government and ruling elite will reach unprecedented heights; people will believe the government and elite can lead them further.

Then, gangs will shift from “helping social stability” to “undermining social stability”—and must be swept into the trash.

Currently, the Federal’s chances of victory are still high, so Lans must accelerate the Lans family’s transformation.

“After the shelling of Jincheng, I need you to do something.”

“First!” He raised one finger, pointing at the ceiling, “Send everyone out—rescue teams to every damaged area, dig through the rubble, see if anyone’s still trapped.”

“Move fast—don’t dawdle. If you’re slow, it’s better not to do it at all.”

“Second!” He raised another finger, “Set up relief stations in heavily shelled areas—distribute food and medicine to those in need. Ma Duoer, you coordinate this.”

Large quantities of food and medicine won’t be cheap—this is Ma Duoer’s job as Chief Manager.

Ma Duoer nodded. “Understood.”

“Third!” He lowered his hand—not because he couldn’t raise three fingers, but this point didn’t need the same emphasis as the first two.

“Everyone must wear uniform attire—so everyone can clearly see who we are.”

“If anyone asks who you work for—there will be a flood of reporters soon—don’t tell them you’re from the Lans family.”

“Tell them you’re from Wanli Group!”

“We are a Jincheng enterprise. Jincheng has been devastated. As a local business, we must shoulder our social responsibility: rescue civilians, distribute food and medicine, help solve problems, and maintain public order!”

“After this, instability may arise—spot it early and eliminate it.”

“That’s all. Dismissed.”

“Allen, Dai Wen, stay behind.”

Some captains glanced curiously at the two—they seemed to sense something. Those close to them gave subtle glances and gestures.

Allen and Dai Wen looked tense, standing stiffly without even breathing loudly.

Lans smiled and gestured for them to sit. “Your performance hasn’t gone unnoticed. The company is expanding—our areas of control will grow, and our workforce will swell.”

“More captains will be promoted to executives—gradually. You two are the first. Congratulations.”

Both faces lit up with surprise. They stood quickly to thank Lans, pledging loyalty and vowing to work tirelessly for him and the company.

The key difference between executives and captains: executives receive a share of the family’s profits, and hold higher status and greater influence.

Below executives, everyone gets only fixed salaries plus various subsidies—no profit share.

Executives are also generally safer—unless you’re like Hailam, always charging ahead, most executives no longer lead frontline assaults.

Lans raised his hand again, signaling them to sit. Other executives began offering their congratulations.

When their exchanges subsided, Lans turned to Ma Duoer. “How many people do we have now?”

Ma Duoer pursed his lips. “Last time you ordered us to recruit more—we now have about thirteen hundred.”

“Too few,” Lans said decisively, shaking his head. “Keep recruiting—from the Empire District, and from our own people.”

He turned to Ma Zi. “Have they completed military training?”

Ma Zi’s imperial soldiers had been training Lans family members—turning professional soldiers into gangsters, brawlers, or smugglers was a waste.

So they only trained others and handled Lans’s personal security—Ma Zi was essentially his bodyguard and head of military training.

All their families had been brought to the Federation—so Lans trusted them completely.

Unless they planned to quit their high-paying jobs, be hunted down for life, and have their entire families slaughtered, no one would be foolish enough to betray Lans.

“We’ve completed two training cycles.”

Each cycle lasted a month, followed by a rest period of two weeks to two months.

Because Lans demanded speed, they rested only two weeks—so everyone had received two months of military training.

Lans nodded slightly. “Our goal is two thousand. Ideally three thousand—because we’ll soon have a major mission.”

He paused, then decided to reveal part of the plan. It had already begun; even if he didn’t speak now, they’d learn soon enough.

Better to tell them now than have them discover their role only when boarding the ship.

“The Dentra attack on Jincheng has enraged the Federal government. To prevent recurrence, they plan to station troops across multiple regions in Yalan.”

“Also, Jincheng’s destruction will severely disrupt northern ocean transport. If this happens again, Jincheng’s status—and the Federation’s northern transport hub—will be challenged.”

"Constant attacks will push transportation hubs elsewhere."

“Strengthening the Federation’s overall defense in the East Ocean has become the top priority.”

The Empire has two major ports too, but its internal conditions and policies have long kept it isolated from the world.

Now that veil is lifting—they may seek to seize this hub.

The Empire’s situation differs from the Federation’s. Here, anything requires public opinion, presidential approval, and congressional passage.

In the Empire, the Emperor slams his hand—and the whole nation obeys. In execution alone, no other nation can match them.

“The Federation’s troop deployment in Yalan will provoke protests—even resistance—from local ruling elites and civilian groups.”

“It’s like strangers suddenly arriving in our home, declaring they need their own rooms—and we must obey them.”

“We’d resist. No one lets invaders become the new masters of their home.”

“Their resistance will slow the annexation—our masters still care about appearances. They can’t openly say, ‘This is invasion.’ So they need someone to do what they can’t.”

“The people who can help them? That’s us.”

“If the Federation government is light, we are the shadow!”

“What they can’t do—we can.”

The executives’ expressions turned serious. They didn’t fully understand—but they grasped enough.

Lans paused, lit a cigarette. “I plan to send five hundred men to Yalan first. If this mission succeeds without error, we’ll achieve a qualitative leap.”

What does the Federation government want?

They want no resistance. Stability. Complete annexation of Yalan—control of all its resources and population.

As long as Lans doesn’t touch their core interests, they’ll maintain close cooperation.

Will they discard him after using him?

Lans wasn’t worried. He knew one thing: even blood relatives are discarded if they offer no value.

To avoid being discarded, just keep creating value.

History is always written by the victors. The Federation’s official history claims indigenous peoples voluntarily gifted vast lands to the Federation in exchange for stable lives.

Everyone knows it’s false—but who the hell cares?

In a hundred, two hundred, even three or five hundred years, when the indigenous are dead or fully assimilated into the Federation’s privileged class, who will care whether this land was seized by slaughter, bought, or gifted?

The Yalan issue is the same. If Yalan’s people believe Federation rule improved their lives, then the Lans family, Wanli Group—they become heavenly messengers of light, angels of friendship!

As for the destruction along the way—who the hell cares?

As long as the fruit is large, plump, and juicy, who cares how it was grown?

Even if watered with blood, people will cheer: “What a damn fine crop!”

With Lans’s orders issued, uniformed Lans family members were everywhere, working. Public order did face some issues—but they were quickly resolved.

Many Federal journalists arrived in Jincheng. For outsiders untouched by shelling, the tragedy might not feel deeply personal—but anger was there.

Some were curious.

They wanted to know what happened here, how people lived after the shelling. Through newspapers and photos, they often saw a splash of red.

“Wanli Group” and “Lans family” began spreading beyond Jincheng—

Though Lans ordered them to identify as Wanli Group employees, ordinary Jincheng residents still said, “Those are Lans family people.” But it didn’t matter—even if Lans whitewashed everything, his gang past wouldn’t vanish.

Yet this made Federals notice a gang unlike the traditional kind—only looting, extortion, and violence for profit. Some even argued the Lans family wasn’t a gang at all.

They ran legal businesses. In some matters, their methods resembled gangs—but that didn’t make them gangs, right?

Gangs use weapons to harm others. Ordinary people use weapons to protect themselves. Both harm others—does that make ordinary people gang members?

If the Lans family’s reputation was shifting in an unimaginable direction, then General Miles was now truly in trouble.

The Army had protested to the Presidential Office and the Ministry of Defense, blaming Miles for the Jincheng attack, the destruction of warships and naval bases, and the heavy soldier casualties.

He failed to consider this was wartime—anything could happen, especially since last year’s film “The Raid on Jincheng” had already depicted the possibility of a Dentra strike.

In a situation that was practically an open-book exam, Admiral Miles still scored zero—not just a failure of ability, but a crime!

More importantly, Admiral Miles’ criminal conduct threatened the Federal supply line to Slad, potentially impacting the Federal Army currently engaged in combat.

This is the greatest murder of two million brave Federal soldiers!

Currently, warfare on the Tanfet Continent remains primarily land-based, and their complaints would force the Federal government to take notice; an investigation team was immediately dispatched to Jincheng City to determine whether negligence or other misconduct had truly occurred.

The investigation team was of exceptionally high rank: members from both houses of Congress, a civilian Admiral from the Department of Defense, two Lieutenant Generals, cabinet ministers, and military investigators—all gathered in an “assembly of stars.”

The higher the team’s stature, the greater the Federal government’s determination to bring down Admiral Miles; otherwise, they could have sent a few token personnel to merely go through the motions.

Now, deploying such a massive team meant they intended to find problems even where none existed.

Subsequently, the Navy also filed a protest; naval commanders argued that long-range raids were inherently unpredictable, and Admiral Miles had not been significantly negligent—even if someone else had been placed in his position, it would have been hard to do better.

Yet anyone with eyes could see that, after this attack, the Navy would struggle to rival the Army for the foreseeable future.

By mid-to-late June, Congress swiftly passed the “East Ocean Security Defense Act,” whose core purpose was to safeguard Federal security by deploying defensive measures across the East Ocean to prevent similar tragedies.

Naturally, it formally proposed for the first time the idea of stationing troops in Yalan.

This immediately provoked fierce opposition from multiple nations in Yalan, who denounced the Federation’s actions as blatant aggression, issued solemn protests, and refused to allow Federal troops into Yalan, let alone establish military bases there.

In various parts of Yalan, massive protests and demonstrations erupted; public debate over whether the Federation intended to invade Yalan grew hotter than the ongoing war itself.

Nations in Yalan with diplomatic missions urgently contacted the Federal Secretary of State and the Presidential Office, hoping to dissuade the Federation from its plans.

Yet they did not realize that, as detailed reports on Yalan’s resources became clearer, Congress had already made up its mind to annex Yalan.

Yalan possessed mineral deposits, oil, rubber production, and vast quantities of cheap labor—how could they possibly abandon it?

(End of Chapter)