Chapter 347

Whenever the Mayor encountered trouble, he liked to light a cigarette. The dopamine helped him feel less anxious and agitated.

The secretary stood to the side. “Should we postpone tomorrow’s speech?”

The Mayor looked at him. “Why postpone it?”

“Because of the strike?”

The secretary nodded. “If a real strike happens, the entire port will shut down, and the nation’s attention will be focused here.”

“At that time…”

The Mayor closed his eyes and shook his head. “How would you solve the strike problem?”

The secretary fell silent. “We can talk to the management company, have them satisfy…” He trailed off as he spoke, because he suddenly realized that if this was Councilman Williams’s “move,” then the management company would absolutely not agree to the workers’ demands.

They were creating an irreconcilable conflict, not trying to resolve one.

When the only party that could resolve the strike was considering not a solution, but an escalation of the conflict, then there was no way the conflict could be resolved.

Unless the person escalating the conflict gave up on escalating it.

No one knew the situation here. He didn’t know, and the Mayor didn’t know, but the Mayor clearly had his own ideas.

“Tomorrow’s speech doesn’t need to be postponed. We’ve chosen the time carefully and made many preparations,” he said, taking a drag from his cigarette. The smoke gave him a sense of relaxation. “Since they want to cause trouble, let it all come together!”

“Owen, you need to understand one thing. No one cares what we go through before we achieve our goal.”

“What people care about is only whether we fulfilled our promises and did what we were supposed to do.”

The secretary lowered his head, accepting this idea, even though behind it might lie a bloody and cruel reality.

After fermenting overnight, the strike officially began the next morning.

A large number of dockworkers appeared outside the docks, blocking other workers who were going to work and demanding they join the strike.

The management company was not doing nothing. The manager was constantly buying off workers who were sympathetic to the company, influential workers, and having them pull more workers back to their posts.

Just a simple sentence—”This has nothing to do with me”—was indeed enough to persuade some people to return to work.

The vast majority of these people were under great pressure to support their families. This could not be blamed on them. It could only be said that they were the best employees, carefully selected, and that was all.

As for the others, they refused to work unless the manager came out to apologize to Johnny and restore his job.

But this was clearly unacceptable to the manager. If he really did that, he would be even further from his ultimate dream.

Just as the major strike began, the Mayor appeared in the middle of the Golden Port stadium.

He was wearing very simple and plain clothes. The cotton and linen short-sleeved shirt gave him an indescribable sense of strangeness.

Although the clothes were plain, they didn’t give off a cheap feeling. Perhaps this was the value of temperament.

Quite a few citizens had come to the stadium, but there were even more reporters. The Mayor stood on a wooden platform in the middle.

The sunlight fell on him, adding a sense of righteousness and positivity.

The time pointed to 9:50. He began his official speech. The stands were almost full—not packed, just looking full, as many people still had to work.

So this speech was being broadcast via radio to the entire region and even surrounding cities.

In factories, in offices, many people turned on their radios. They also wanted to hear what this mayor could possibly say about the currently chaotic city.

The Mayor’s voice when he spoke was somewhat low but full of emotion, and it contained a power that had not yet been revealed.

“I know, many people are waiting, wanting to hear what I will stand here and say.”

“Some are waiting for me to say some nice things to gloss over our actual situation.”

“Some are also expecting me to say some unpleasant things, to give more people a more direct understanding of the current chaos.”

“Since when did our city become this terrible?”

The entire city seemed to have been put on slow-motion by this one question. The movements in people’s hands seemed to pause. The workers on the assembly lines in the factories were not as nimble as before.

Since when?

Perhaps it was the changes of this recent period, or perhaps it had been some time. Everyone’s understanding of stability and chaos was different, so their interpretations of the Mayor’s speech would not all be the same.

“Every mayor hopes that their city is prosperous, stable, and constantly developing.”

“I am no exception.”

“The first day I came here, I held the most beautiful hopes and dreams for this city. I wanted to build this place into the most brilliant pearl of the Federation.”

“But I overestimated my own abilities and underestimated the trouble I would encounter.”

“Big trouble!”

Councilman Williams, sitting behind his desk, frowned slightly. The old masters in the Bay Area, who were drinking and laughing, also gradually put down their wine glasses and started paying attention to the radio.

They had a premonition that the Mayor was planning to rip off the fig leaf.

What rulers disliked people knowing the most was the inside story of their rule. This would cause the people to have more doubts about them.

Once the ruled develop distrust, the work of ruling becomes very difficult.

It was like when people firmly believed in their rulers. When the rulers told them that sacrifices were needed to achieve a better life, they believed it and began to achieve a better life through sacrifice—though it might not be so beautiful.

But at least they believed the rulers and believed that sacrifice was the prerequisite for a better life. They would not oppose the demand for sacrifice, nor would they resist it.

But if one day, they began to question the rulers’ demands and orders, then they would also begin to doubt whether a better life must be obtained through sacrifice.

Then they would observe whether the ruler was happy, whether his happiness was obtained through sacrifice, and what he, they, the entire ruling class, had sacrificed to obtain such a happy life.

This was a very frightening thing. But now, the Mayor, as one of the ruling class, was actually planning to uncover these things. How could this not make some of the ruling class angry and terrified?

Even Councilman Williams and Councilman Wade, who had already removed himself from the situation, felt a pang of panic.

The Mayor did not stop because of their unease and panic.

“The trouble in Golden Port has always revolved around ‘interests’.”

“I once tried to continue building the new port district and the New Bay Area to expand Golden Port’s capacity for future development.”

“Our dock’s load has already reached eighty percent. Soon it will become crowded, and arriving and departing ships will have to queue.”

“But if we build the new port, then we will have more berths and become more competitive!”

“These constructions will provide more job opportunities, allowing more people to enjoy the dividends of the era brought by Golden Port’s development.”

“But the new port has not been built to this day, because I touched the interests of some people.”

“The interests of some who call themselves ‘locals’!”

“You know who they are. You’ve heard their names from the newspapers or other channels. They are common guests in high society, big shots in the eyes of the people.”

“They and their families built the glory of Golden Port, but they also limited its future.”

“To me, this city is like a huge cage, and you who live here, all of you, are the prisoners in this cage!”

“Smack!” Someone slammed the table, unable to sit still. He looked at the people around him. “Shouldn’t we do something?”

“We can’t let him go on like this!”

But the reaction of the others was cold. “We can stop him from doing what he wants to do, and we can make him lose the rights he should have, but the one thing we can’t do is stop him from talking!”

The speaker leaned back on the sofa. “I really wish someone could put a bullet in him right now and make him shut up forever!”

The others also looked somewhat gloomy, even desperate. The Mayor’s speech would inevitably attract the attention of higher-ups. If Congress truly believed that Golden Port was “out of control,” it would be a very bad situation for them.

It was possible that they would intervene directly, at this critical moment!

Once Congress began to actively intervene, both the Mayor and the locals would lose their real “power.”

This was also why they thought the Mayor was crazy. He clearly still had some advantages, so why did he suddenly act so recklessly?

They didn’t understand.

It was like in a company, when the board of directors asks a junior manager of a department if he can handle his department and his work, everyone’s answer is the same—

“I can, sir!”

No one would say, “Oh, my God, I can’t manage my department or my subordinates at all, can someone please help me!”

No one would say that, because it would have no other meaning than to make the board think you are a waste.

A country is the same. The Mayor seemed to be personally cutting off his own political future. Was he really crazy?

Could it be that the despair and pressure they gave him were too great?

That shouldn’t be it!

While they were here, unable to figure out why the Mayor suddenly pulled such a move, the Mayor’s speech would not stop.

“Those de facto rulers are the owners of the cage. They use a hound to manage the people living in the cage. By the way, you may not know who that is. He has a very unique nickname, the ‘Bay Area’s Hound’!”

The Mayor laughed. “A very unique nickname. If someone called me that, I would definitely think they were insulting me.”

“But this ‘Bay Area’s Hound’ doesn’t think so at all. On the contrary, he thinks it’s an honor, because by becoming a hound, he has reached a height that many people cannot reach.”

“He even wants to run for municipal councilman!”

Speaking of this, the Mayor couldn’t help but laugh. Apart from those who didn’t understand and laughed along, thinking how could there be such a stupid or boring person, no one else could laugh.

Including Charlie himself. He couldn’t laugh either, and his face was ashen.

He knew that after this, even if he could win the election, he would not be a respected municipal councilman.

With the backing of the Bay Area people, it was impossible for him to fail in the election for municipal councilman, but this was not the success he wanted!

Yet, he was utterly helpless.

There was some hatred hidden in the bottom of his eyes, but also some longing, some desire.

This is a politician, a top-tier politician in terms of the city’s scale. As long as he was willing to go all out, he could ignore all the rules, say whatever he wanted, destroy whatever he wanted.

“I feel distressed, citizens, every citizen at the scene and listening to the broadcast.”

“It’s like there’s a thick layer of dark clouds pressing down here, making it impossible for me to use my abilities, pressing down on me so I can’t move.”

“Colluding officials and capitalists, those who should have upheld justice but became the running dogs of the rulers, layer after layer, circle after circle, leaving me breathless.”

“They are like a great mountain, making people feel despair!”

“I thought about it for a long time. The only way to change the current situation is for me to borrow a little strength from each and every citizen of Golden Port.”

“When everyone’s strength is gathered together, we will have the ability to move this great mountain!”

“Move it from over our heads, and then throw it away.”

“I don’t know if life will become better, but I know, at least it won’t be worse…”

In a VIP box that should have been empty, a sniper was aiming at the Mayor during his speech. They had already done several experiments on what angle to shoot from to produce the largest and most astonishing effect without being fatal.

Although some people had died during these experiments because they couldn’t be rescued in time, those were criminals with sentences of several hundred years. No one cared about their life or death, including their relatives.

The sniper loaded a shiny yellow bullet into the chamber, pulled the bolt, and began to aim.

This position was specially chosen after discussion with the Mayor. It allowed him an unobstructed view of the Mayor and a stable shot.

The distance here was not too far from the Mayor, so he didn’t need to excessively consider the influence of parameters like wind speed. Moreover, this was inside a stadium, so the wind speed wouldn’t be too outrageous.

He glanced at the flags on the steel cables above the Mayor, estimated the wind speed, adjusted his scope, and then began to wait.

Waiting for the Mayor to say that key word!

“I will use my remaining time and energy to fight against these interest groups. I may not necessarily represent justice, but I can represent myself, and declare war on evil!”

The reporters frantically took pictures. At the same time, a gunshot echoed through the stadium. With a crack, the Mayor suddenly fell to the ground, and blood stained his clothes!

Countless cameras were aimed at the Mayor lying on the ground with his eyes closed. The blood on the ground and his pale face formed a stark contrast. Every reporter was so excited they wanted to pee. This was fucking big news!

The surrounding staff screamed in panic, and bodyguards rushed over to protect him. The scene instantly descended into chaos!

The broadcast faithfully transmitted all the sounds from the scene. Apart from the citizens, the old masters in the Bay Area couldn’t help but smile when they heard the commotion.

They even asked each other who had done such a good deed.

Councilman Williams and Councilman Wade frowned deeply. They felt this shooting was too suspicious. Who the hell would assassinate a mayor for no reason?

To be honest, if they were to be assassins and had to assassinate a politician, they would rather assassinate the president than a mayor.

Assassinating the president might not have serious consequences, but assassinating a mayor would be a sure death sentence.

In a Social-Democratic Party stronghold like Likalai State, key positions throughout the state were held by party members. There was no hatred between them, which meant the Mayor currently had no enemies.

Assassinating the Mayor was tantamount to declaring war on the Likalai State Social-Democratic Party, declaring war on the Likalai state government!

But assassinating the president wasn’t so bad. After all, the president has enemies. Some people want you dead, but some people will want you alive!

Councilman Wade had a fleeting guess, wondering if this was a political show directed by the Mayor himself, but he quickly dismissed it.

After all, it meant taking a bullet. The Mayor might trust the sniper, but could the sniper trust his own hands?

A large number of police surrounded the entire stadium. Director Dale also arrived at the stadium with a large number of agents, but it was useless.

They found nothing but a rifle with its serial number wiped off in the VIP box.

The Mayor was urgently transferred to the best hospital in Golden Port for surgery. Before he lost consciousness, he appointed his secretary to preside over the work of Golden Port during his coma.

The entire city seemed to have become different. Many big shots came to the hospital, including Councilman Wade and Councilman Williams.

Through their connections, they learned that the Mayor’s condition was indeed very dangerous. The bullet had passed through his body, but it was hard to say whether he was lucky or unlucky, as it hadn’t caused too much damage.

This was also why they hadn’t found a shell casing at the scene. The sniper had used a non-standard bullet.

In short, the Mayor was down, and the entire city seemed to have become even more chaotic.

The Mayor’s speech and the shooting had a huge impact in Likalai State, and even throughout the Federation.

Many people began to discuss and study the “stubborn forces” and “interest groups” of Golden Port. Congress even demanded that the killer be found within a time limit and sent to the gallows.

This was a blasphemy against justice, a blasphemy against the hard work of politicians!

The Governor of Likalai State decided to use the state police as the backbone and draw elite police forces from various regions and departments to investigate the stadium shooting.

The Mayor’s distrust of the Golden Port police system, led by Charlie, in his speech also made people feel horrified by this large network of interests.

If even the police were their thugs, perhaps the despair and helplessness in the Mayor’s speech were not exaggerated.

That very afternoon, Shengli Bank was even robbed, with more than five hundred thousand in cash taken by the robbers. The entire city seemed to have plunged into chaos at once.

Despite Charlie immediately having the police handle these cases and maintain public order this time, it seemed to be a little too late.

The Wolf Gang, which had been quiet for many days, also suddenly launched an attack on Lance’s territory, as if… it was all arranged.

(End of chapter)