Chapter 395: New Bolivia (Part 2)

"Minister of the Interior..."

Numar merely gave the man standing before him, whom Yuri had solemnly introduced, a deep look; there was not much expression on his face.

Although he came from a military background, he still understood the basics of politics.

The position of Minister of the Interior was a trade-off made to gain the support of Yuri and the forces behind him for his coup; although the other party was jumping out so urgently to force him to acknowledge it, the way they went about it was perhaps a bit too unsightly, but it was, after all, a promise he had once made.

Therefore, he nodded reluctantly and, holding his nose, accepted it: "Mr. Mora Kotetier, is it? The provisional government is in ruins and waiting to be rebuilt; it is in need of talents like you to join!"

However, that was just talk; Numar did not even have the slightest intention of chatting with him more or taking the opportunity to probe his background.

Yuri raised his eyebrows but said nothing.

He knew that being so anxious to finalize the Minister of the Interior was a bit unsightly, but this was the will of those above, and he could do nothing about it.

Come to think of it, this Bolivian of Indian descent named 'Mora Kotetier' was someone he was seeing for the first time as well.

Considering that this guy probably knew the background of the Decepticons just like he did, he couldn't help but pay a little attention, so he spoke up to give him a way out.

"Mr. Minister, the President knows nothing about you yet; won't you introduce yourself?"

The middle-aged man named 'Mora Kotetier' smiled slightly, nodded politely to both of them in turn with great poise, and then took the opportunity to say: "That is only right!"

"Let me introduce myself first, Mr. President. My name is 'Mora Kotetier', a native of Santa Diagama. I studied abroad in Spain, worked in European enterprises after graduating from university, and only returned to Bolivia in the last two years!"

"Santa Diagama..."

Numar looked at him a few extra times. He knew of this southeastern city. Bolivia as a whole was considered decent within South America, with two exceptions: one was the capital, La Paz, where many vicious shootings and rapes had occurred in recent years; and the other chaotic city was Santa Diagama.

There was no help for it; it was close to Paraguay and Brazil, and since Bolivia banned firearms, many weapons and drugs were usually smuggled into Bolivia through Santa Diagama.

During the 1998 Bolivia-Paraguay border crisis, Numar had once led troops to garrison Santa Diagama for a period of time, and he knew of the chaos there.

Naturally, he also understood that if someone wanted to hide their identity, saying they were from Santa Diagama was a surefire way to prevent any further investigation; in that standard lawless zone, police agencies were basically just for show.

Although he was angry inside, the provisional government was just being established, and a pile of miscellaneous and messy affairs was weighing on his shoulders; Numar also felt a bit overwhelmed.

'Mora Kotetier' had arrived at a time that was barely convenient. He thought for a moment and, wanting to see what the man was capable of, asked immediately: "Then, Mr. Minister of the Interior... La Paz currently has a pile of matters that the provisional government needs to resolve as soon as possible, and other regions in the country are much the same? The military is dragging its feet on whether to acknowledge or support me? There is no response from Sucre either... Internationally, apart from the three countries of the Community calling to ask about the situation, the attitudes of various countries are currently unclear... What should we do next?"

The so-called five countries of the Community refer to the Andean Community, which was announced to be established in May 1969 in the city of Cartagena, Colombia, by five countries: Colombia, Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Because the member states were all countries at the foot of the Andes, it got this name.

Venezuela and Chile had both briefly joined the Community, but for various reasons, they eventually chose to withdraw, and now only Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador remain.

Yuri found a seat nearby and sat down. He was not familiar with this 'Mora Kotetier' who had suddenly popped up from nowhere, and he even felt a bit wary, fearing that this person's appearance would dilute the Decepticons' support for him.

After all, in just two or three months, he had obtained no less than one billion US dollars from Number Two and the Base, along with more weapons and drugs. His current luxurious life and power were all given by the Decepticons, and he certainly did not want to share that.

However, he dared not disobey an order given personally by the Precursor.

Lighting a cigar for himself, Yuri was happy to sit on the sidelines and watch how this guy would deal with that fat pig Numar.

The Minister of the Interior is actually quite important in Bolivia. Bolivia is a presidential republic, and the President is not only the head of state but also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

During the military government period, Bolivia had appointed a Vice President, but it was abolished after democratization. The previous president had been pushing to restore the Vice President upon taking office, but unfortunately, he was toppled by a coup before he could succeed.

In this country without a Vice President, the Minister of the Interior is the most important part of the cabinet. Their power includes being responsible for the national police system, managing all public facilities, state-owned land, mineral resources, etc., in Bolivia; disaster relief, veteran resettlement, and immigration management are also under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior.

It can be seen from the job description that the power held by the Bolivian Minister of the Interior is equivalent to the sum of three or four other departments, and the Ministry of Interior is also one of the government's most important sources of revenue. This was why Numar had been reluctant to trade away the position of Minister of the Interior in the first place.

Seeming to notice that both men were looking at him, waiting for his answer, Mora Kotetier smiled slightly, appearing very composed.

"Mr. President, the problems you described do indeed exist, but they are not difficult to solve. Let's talk about La Paz first. As the seat of all government agencies in our country except for the Supreme Court (La Paz is the administrative capital of Bolivia, while Sucre is the nominal capital), the most urgent issue to solve now is public security. I suggest sending troops to protect the embassy district so as not to leave any excuses for some countries to intervene, and let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs promise the ambassadors of various countries that their interests in Bolivia will not be affected. At the same time, extend the martial law over the entire city to one week, and strictly crack down on crimes such as robbery, theft, and rape. Considering that the police system suffered a devastating blow during the coup, I propose asking Mr. Yuri to send his mercenaries to patrol the city in shifts twenty-four hours a day..."

This was a standard, middle-of-the-road answer. Both men nodded slightly without further indication, but then he changed his tone: "... Of course, these are only stopgap measures. What the provisional government needs most right now is to unite all forces that can be united. Therefore, I hope you can approve me to step forward and control the prices of goods in La Paz, and even open the disaster emergency supply reserves under the Ministry of Interior to provide limited supplies of grain, cooking oil, and canned food to the public in the city, so as to win over more people to unite around you, Mr. President!"

Numar's eyes lit up. He dared not easily agree to controlling prices, as that would offend merchants, especially foreign capital, enough; however, the latter was a good choice.

The Ministry of Interior is responsible for national disaster relief. Although Bolivia's national strength is not great, there are still some emergency reserves. Taking them out to buy people's hearts and win more prestige for himself is quite good; besides, they aren't his things anyway, but all legacies from previous governments.

"... Continue..."

His attitude finally changed slightly. A faint smile appeared on Numar's face as he nodded at Mora Kotetier, signaling him to continue.

"Very well!"

Mora Kotetier continued: "There are indeed many problems in the country, but they are actually very simple to solve. Regarding the police system, please give me three days; within three days, I guarantee I will have control over the national police system. As for why the military has not made a statement, I believe that on one hand, they cannot be sure of the situation in La Paz and dare not easily bear the accusation of participating in a coup; after all, the former president had purged the military several times in the last two years..."

"Hmm!"

Numar nodded; not long ago, he had nearly been successfully placed under house arrest and stripped of his military power by the former president.

Although he was unwilling to admit it, Numar could not deny that the former president's ability and courage were among the best of all Bolivia's past heads of state.

Mora Kotetier turned his head to look at Yuri again. "On the other hand, some high-ranking officers in the military are probably waiting for the provisional government to make an offer; many are likely waiting to share in the benefits of the coup. Moreover, those officers newly promoted by the former president should also be worried that they will become targets of the provisional government's purges, and this will require your guarantee."

"Compared to them, the situation in Sucre is actually easier to resolve. Therefore, I suggest that you ask Mr. Yuri to immediately send a team of mercenaries to take Sucre and ensure that the voices of La Paz and Sucre are in alignment!"

"As for the international aspect, my suggestion is to ignore it for the time being. We only need to be vigilant about whether Chile might use it as an excuse to intervene unilaterally. As long as we can stabilize the political situation in Bolivia as soon as possible, whether it is the Andean Community or the Union of South American Nations, they will all eventually stand up and recognize the legitimacy of the provisional government!"

Numar thought about it carefully, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

He gave Mora Kotetier a deep look; he had to admit that this person pushed out by the forces behind Yuri had a very good grasp of the big picture and political wisdom.

"What you say is true... but..."

His face suddenly became miserable again; knowing what to do was one thing, but how to solve it was another.

The Presidential Residence had been almost bombed into ruins, and the former president could be certain to have died in the coup not long ago, so Numar was not worried about anyone continuing to use his name to militarily oppose the provisional government.

But just as Mora had said, there were definitely people in the military just like him, waiting for him to make an offer so they could share in the dividends of the coup.

Compared to them, those officers promoted by the former president were actually easier to deal with.

Moreover, there were government troops stationed in Sucre; although they were far inferior to those in La Paz, taking it down would not be easy. He had no troops of his own, and hiring Yuri would inevitably cost money.

Thinking about it this way, the international aspect was actually easier to deal with. Apart from Chile, that little hegemon of South America, potentially using it as an excuse to increase troops on the border, what they needed more was not international recognition, but to resolve domestic issues as soon as possible.

But all of this required money!

He looked at Yuri with some worry. Yuri exhaled a smoke ring, the smile on his face very cordial.

"Mr. President, I can take it upon myself to apply to my boss for an interest-free loan of at least two billion US dollars for your great cause, and at the same time increase the number of mercenaries by two thousand... but..."

He stopped and said no more, just smiling and waiting for Numar's answer.

Numar's face became even uglier; as expected, he would have to pay a higher price.

"These black-hearted bastards..."

He cursed inwardly, looked at Yuri, then looked at Mora Kotetier, who appeared harmless, and gritted his teeth as he agreed bitterly.

"I understand. Whatever you want, go talk to Minister Mola about it, but you must finalize your demands and bring them to me within today."

Anyway, the minerals and resources belonged to the country; only power and the money in his own hands were truly his. He knew that as someone who currently had nothing, objecting was useless, so he simply stopped talking nonsense and threw the burden onto Mora Kotetier to let him handle the negotiations.

It seemed he had also prepared to shift the blame in the future.

Upon hearing his appointment, Mora Kotetier nodded and immediately accepted.

Numar's mood was affected by the successive demands, and having no desire to continue talking with them, he soon spoke up to see them out.

Yuri and the others were not angry; they walked out of his temporary presidential office together and went down to the lobby on the first floor of the Ministry of Interior, seeing that apart from the squad of mercenaries standing guard at the entrance, there were no other outsiders around.

Only then did Yuri extinguish his cigar, wipe the smile from his face, and look at Mora Kotetier, who was following closely by his side.

"……Mr. Minister, how should I address you?"

Seeming to sense his somewhat subtle hostility, Mola also stopped in his tracks and flashed him a toothy grin.

"Just call me Mola, Mr. Yuri."

As the two locked eyes, his pupils suddenly changed from brown to pure red.

In an instant, Yuri felt a chill run through his hands and feet.

……

"……Have Atlas and the others finally built the Humanoid Decepticon I wanted?"

After reading the detailed intelligence transmitted by the Pioneer from Bolivia, Sun Cheng could not help but clench his fists, his face full of irrepressible excitement.

Finally, it was a success!

Mechanical Life is a miraculous form of higher life that is absolutely not inferior to humans. In fact, in terms of the degree of evolutionary development, neither the Earth in the 【Transformers Universe】 nor the real world Sun Cheng came from before his crossing has yet developed to a level where humans can compete with the Autobots and Decepticons, those Mechanical Lifeforms from Cybertron.

Just like the cells in a human body, inside a Mechanical Lifeform there are hundreds of millions of tiny parts they call 'Gear'. These 'Gear', some of which are as small as a few dozen nanometers, are the key to the ability of Mechanical Lifeforms to transform; it is precisely these that allow Autobots and Decepticons to constantly change their forms by scanning other objects.

Sun Cheng was, after all, not from the 【Transformers Universe】 world. He had once brought some Decepticons back to the real world, hoping they would become his important assets, but the peculiar shapes of the Decepticons destined that once they were exposed to the public, Sun Cheng himself would immediately be targeted by countries around the world.

Therefore, from the moment Base No. 1 in this plane was established, he had been thinking: since Decepticons can possess such transformative forms by scanning different cars, tanks, and even planes, why couldn't Mechanical Lifeforms also transform into the appearance of humans?

Ever since this idea popped up, it had been listed as the second project with a priority only lower than designing a New Body for himself. It was initially handled by Atlas, and later, Sun Cheng simply threw it to the Cybertronian Supercomputer with extremely high intelligence located in Base No. 2—Huan.

Because he hadn't heard any good news for such a long time, Sun Cheng had almost forgotten about it; he even once thought that he wouldn't see the day this concept succeeded for another three to five years.

And then, Atlas and the others quietly pulled off a big surprise.

It actually succeeded!