Chapter 1799: Chapter 1798: Declaration of War
Kaye City
"Dear," Jack pushed open the door and looked curiously at his wife sitting on the sofa watching TV, "What’s wrong?"
"You’re back?" His wife glanced back, "How’s the work at the mecha factory?"
"I just joined, the work is relatively easy, the factory is basically automated, there’s not much work for us to do," Jack took off his work uniform and hung it on the foyer coat rack, "Are you watching some television program?"
"It’s the live broadcast of Mayor Christos from Dawn City," his wife pointed at the silver-suited man in the rain on the TV, "It seems to be welcoming those protesters who sacrificed themselves at Ains, this is being rebroadcast by Kaye City’s TV station. It’s said that the corporate army has already surrounded Dawn City, the situation there is dire."
"Christos?" Jack was slightly taken aback and sat beside the sofa, also looking at the TV, "Dawn City, what distant memories."
——
Ains Grey Stone Palace
The handsome man sat in the spacious office, gazing intently at the TV in front, staring at the man speaking in the rain, observing the passionate crowd around.
The air seemed to resonate with a slight roar, he lowered his voice, hoarse, "What does Christos want? To welcome those dead from the protests at Ains, does he want to claim he organized those protests? Is he going against the Federation, the Grey Stone Palace, against me? He’s just a city mayor, what qualifies him?"
"Calm down, Mr. President," the figure with glasses bowed his head and quickly said,
"There are quite a few people in Dawn City who disapprove of going against us, Christos has been swaying between both sides before, he’s not so easy to make decisions, ultimately, he himself comes from a wealthy family, unlike those peasants caught in a dilemma,
"Under such pressure, he might very likely surrender."
He glanced at the handsome man and continued, "This might be just a simple political stunt, before the final negotiation, just raising his stakes, such tactics are common in the Federation’s political arena."
After hearing the words of the figure with glasses, the handsome man slightly nodded, took a deep breath, and said no more, but his gaze remained focused intently on the television scene.
——
Dawn City
"At this moment, lying on this square are these young people, who were the first to make themselves heard amidst this chaos."
The man in the silver suit standing on the high platform looked down at the coffins below, "They broke the silence, and for that, sacrificed their lives.
"Until just now, there are still people asking me, why are you hosting such a grand funeral for these young people, asking if I intend to provoke Ains, to provoke the entire Federation.
"But to me, what I see is these young people, fighting for rights for all those struggling to live, fighting for a chance for all those strangled by the corporate powers.
"We are engulfed in intense silence, we must not ignore those who dare to speak out."
The man in the silver suit raised his head, looking at the silent and somber crowd in the square, his voice gradually slowed, each tone becoming sonorous, each word becoming clearer,
"At this moment, after eight hundred years, history’s choice is once again in our hands,
"The corporate army, those armies supported by the corporate powers, are now outside the city, they have cut off trade routes, sealed the city, attempting to strangle us.
"Just as they are trying to strangle the throats of these young people here."
Crash——
Rapid rain droplets fell from the sky, hitting the massive rain tarp, creating a crackling sound.
The man in the silver suit still stood on that platform, raising his gaze to look at all in the rain below, "We have endured silence for too long, silence as if we never spoke,
"In the past four years, we have fought numerous battles and changes to reach the current situation,
"We have the food act, the medical insurance act, the employee act, the antitrust act...
"Generations of heroes ignited their blood to give us the chance to speak.
"To ensure our survival now, to ensure everyone enjoys basic security, to give our children, our descendants, the opportunity to stand on the land under the sun.
"Now, the corporate powers want to silence us again, to destroy everything we’ve built, to shroud this glorious land once more.
"Now, it is time for us to make a choice."
He gazed down, his hand on the balcony, looking at everyone present and at the camera that has been suspended in the air since the beginning, "To die silently in the silence,"
His hand gripped the platform tightly, causing the wooden edge to deform slightly,
"Or to fight furiously, for our future, for our children’s future, for the city’s future, for all those suffocating in silence within the Federation, to fight for a position under the sun where we can freely sing!"
Tat-tat-tat——
Dense rain droplets like a compact drumbeat hitting that massive rain tarp, hitting every person’s ears and hearts.
Hitting under this silent and quiet night sky.
Everyone looked up at the man standing under the rain, standing before that giant statue.
Beside the man, some of the figures originally standing next to him showed hints of various emotions in their eyes, surprise and bewilderment, seemingly not expecting the content of this speech.
But soon, some people reacted.
A young person in the crowd suddenly raised his hand, shouting loudly, "War! Fight them!"
"War!!!" "War!!!"
Resonating sounds erupted consecutively in the rain.
"For Dawn City!" "For the Federation!" "Long live Dawn City! Long live the Federation! Long live Christos!"
New voices rose among the crowd.
"For Dawn City! For the Federation!"
"Long live Dawn City! Long live the Federation! Long live Christos!"
Ultimately, all sounds were covered by this fierce roar.
Dense raindrops gathered on the rain tarp, forming into slender streams, falling off the tarp, gathering into flowing streams.
And the sound from the earth ultimately gathered into an overwhelming voice.
"Long live Dawn City! Long live the Federation! Long live Christos!"
And in the area behind the square, young people clearly infected by the atmosphere of the crowd, raised their hands, looking at the figure standing on the platform, and excitedly punching the air.
Dest raised his head, looking at the man in the silver suit on the podium, squinting slightly.
——
Ains Grey Stone Palace
The handsome man raised his head, looking at the bespectacled figure beside him, hoarsely said, "So that’s what you mean when you say he’s increasing his bargaining chips?"
"Negotiating through war is one of the techniques too," the bespectacled figure lowered his head, glanced at the television screen, and continued hoarsely, "He acts tough enough, threatening enough to us, only then can he push us to offer better terms."
"Negotiate through war?" The handsome man sneered, "Is sending someone to kill me also a negotiation through war for him?"
"Mr. President, please calm down," the bespectacled figure quickly said.
"I know," the handsome man took a deep breath, gazing at the television screen, "I know, you don’t need to worry. Contact the Rockville Energy Group and the Intelligence Bureau, have them speed up their actions. Since he wants to be tough, let him see who’s tougher."
"Alright." The bespectacled figure slightly bowed, retreated from the office, and gently pulled the door closed.
Click——
And as soon as the door was closed, a series of crackling sounds came from inside the office, interspersed with suppressed angry low growls, "A mayor! Just a mayor! What’s he trying to do! What’s he trying to do! They’ve all gone mad! They’re all against me! They’re all against me!"
Soon after, more crackling sounds were heard.
Hearing these noises, the bespectacled figure only sighed slightly, then turned and left the office.
——
Kaye City
"Dawn City seems to be on the verge of war," the wife sighed long as she sat on the sofa, "Lucky we left, if we stayed in Dawn City, it could be dangerous. Kaye City is better, and Mr. Vian is much more reliable."
But her words did not receive affirmation from her husband, she turned her gaze, looking at her husband beside her.
She discovered that Jack had already raised his head, watching the images on the TV, gazing at the dark coffin on the screen, somewhat dazed.
"What’s wrong?" The wife looked at her husband puzzled.
"What do you think, if Dawn City is taken down by the corporation’s army, who’s next?" Jack snapped back, suddenly said.
"I don’t know," the wife shook her head, after thinking for a while, "Perhaps those ’allies’ of Dawn City? Like the cities that participated in the reforms together with Dawn City?"
"Does the Nolanka Group count as Dawn City’s ally?" Jack continued to ask.
"Nolanka Group? We don’t seem to have any reform here, does the group stand with the corporation?" As she spoke, the wife seemed to realize something was off, shook her head, "But the way Nolanka Group does things is entirely different from those corporations, like two different worlds."
"Yeah, it’s like two different worlds," Jack took a light breath, slightly scratched the K necklace on his neck, whispered, "And have you noticed, a lot of Christos’s city government’s collaborations are with the Nolanka Group, even calling upon the Group’s Mercenary Corps to help in quelling the internal unrest in Dawn City."
"What does this mean?" The wife was puzzled.
"It means," Jack held the necklace on his chest, "The Group is highly likely one of Dawn City’s allies, and the most robust one at that. While being a conglomerate, the group is far more radical than Dawn City in many policies."
"So, will those corporations target Nolanka Group next?" The wife pondered, trying to keep up with Jack’s thoughts.
"If Dawn City fails, the group’s current strength is insufficient to withstand the corporation’s crackdown," Jack turned to his still confused wife beside him, "If the group is destroyed or assimilated, it would mean losing our jobs right now,"
He looked into his wife’s eyes, "Not just that, affordable housing, cheap healthcare, the children’s school, our current comfortable lives would be entirely destroyed, we’d return to that precarious life where a broken bone or a cold could leave us homeless."
"What?" The wife was slightly stunned, instinctively gripping Jack’s shoulder, "We can’t let this happen."
"Yeah," Jack took a light breath, "We can’t let this happen. The Group won’t let Christos lose, we might have to join the war at any time."
Buzz——
Then his wristband vibrated, he glanced at it, and immediately stood up, "The factory’s emergency notice requires us to return immediately, you might have to take the kids to school tomorrow morning."
As he spoke, he had already turned back towards the door.
"Okay, okay," the wife quickly stood too, she swiftly opened the refrigerator, took out two prepared sandwiches, handed them to Jack who was in uniform, "Be safe."
"I’m just going to the factory, don’t worry." Jack opened the door.
"What if you have to go to the battlefield?" The wife grabbed his hand at once.
At these words, Jack took a look at the warm, lit little room behind him, at the little door in the corner adorned with cartoon stickers, paused, "Then I’ll go."
The wife opened her mouth, trying to say something, but all she got in response was an open embrace.
Then, the warm embrace departed, accompanied by the crisp sound of a closing door.
Outside the door, Jack raised his head, looking down the corridor.
The door directly opposite him opened just then, his neighbor emerged from their room.
Seeing each other, they both paused slightly, then almost simultaneously turned to look at the other rooms down the corridor.
Figures were slowly emerging from the doors along the quiet hallway.
——
Vitland
In the wide, bright office, the young man with a bowler hat raised his hand, took the remote from the table, and pressed pause on the TV at the end of the office.
Freezing the image amidst the sudden rainstorm.
His movements were slow and gentle, his entire body slightly swayed, like a light paper man.
He turned back, looking towards the end of the narrow desk, a white-haired elderly man sat quietly, squinting his eyes, it was unclear whether he was asleep or gazing at the paused TV screen.
"He is declaring war on us." After a brief pause, the young man looked at the elderly man and slowly said.
Suddenly, the whole office fell into a brief silence.
After an unknown period, the elderly man slightly opened his eyes, glanced at the television screen ahead, and hoarsely said, "He has already made his decision."
"What should we do now?" The young man looked at the elderly man.
The elderly man only closed his eyes again, slowly saying, "Wait."
