The Most Arbitrary Wizard

Chapter 127: Chapter 81: Behind-the-Scenes Tactics

Otherwise, if Sean was really dead, hadn’t he wasted his time?

Sabeck was getting antsy.

But being antsy wouldn’t help.

Other than sending his men to ask around, he had no better way to find out what happened to Sean. He didn’t even know if Sean was dead or alive.

From the moment the plane crashed, Sean and the others were out of his control. They had been taken over by the Florist Family or some even more terrifying power behind the scenes. The only thing he could do now was wait.

So, Sabeck decided not to bother going into the city. He found a hotel near the airport and booked a luxury suite.

’When in doubt, just fucking sleep on it!’

「The next day.」

The newspapers ran the latest updates on the crash of Flight G404.

The plane had crashed in a forest within Siracle State, sparking a massive fire.

Luckily, local residents had spotted it early, and government helicopters arrived promptly to help. Thanks to their combined efforts, the fire was quickly brought under control and completely extinguished by 8:37 p.m. The number of casualties was still being tallied.

By this point, public outcry was immense.

Citizens everywhere were speaking out. Some even organized protests, demanding the government release the true death toll.

In their view, since the crash site had been located, the casualties should have been tallied quickly. At the very least, they should be told how many people had died, how many were injured, and how many were missing. The complete lack of numbers made it hard not to suspect the government was deliberately stalling, hoping the story would blow over and be forgotten.

But it wouldn’t be that easy.

It was the peak of the tourist season. Ever since the news of the crash broke yesterday, many travelers had already canceled their flights. This wasn’t just for their own safety; it was also a way to pressure the airline and the government.

"You have to give us an explanation!"

"Doesn’t the airport have security checks?"

"How did a bunch of terrorists get through? With explosives, no less?"

"This happened during a holiday, when security should have been even tighter. Who would dare fly with you people after this?"

The wavering of trust was a precursor to the collapse of faith.

And if faith collapsed, this society, which was akin to a theocracy, would also slowly crumble.

If the power behind the scenes was truly responsible for this, it looked like they had shot themselves in the foot.

「But on the third day...」

...public opinion took a shocking turn.

A massive headline took up nearly half the front page of the newspaper—

You Can Always Trust the Government!

The Governor of Siracle State had personally appeared to hold a press conference.

"As you know, two days ago, Flight G404 met with an accident and crashed in the forest."

"This is the first time one of our planes has been involved in a disaster since the 6/19 Incident ten years ago."

"This is undoubtedly a distressing and heartbreaking event. We have lost loved ones, money, and the sense of security our society relies on for its stability. Just as a citizen asked us yesterday: after a terrorist attack during such an important holiday, who would dare to fly again?"

"But what I want to say is, the truth may not be what you think."

"The reason we have delayed announcing the number of casualties is because..."

"No one was injured or killed in this incident."

"Not a single person!"

The moment the Governor said this, the entire hall erupted in an uproar.

Some of the more rustic citizens in the audience started throwing sandwiches directly at the stage, splattering ketchup everywhere.

"Who the hell are you trying to fool!?"

"Are you taking us for idiots?"

A disaster this huge, and he was claiming not a single person had died?

"You’re not going to tell us the government was shooting a movie, are you?" a citizen jeered.

A reporter seized the opportunity to ask, "In that case, Mr. Governor, when will this movie be released? Next year on June 19th? Are you commemorating the last air disaster by shooting with the most realistic footage possible?"

Every word dripped with sarcasm.

Clearly, no one believed the Governor’s bullshit.

Not until the passengers who were supposed to be on Flight G404 appeared.

More than three hundred of them filed onto the stage, one after another, and stood there in neat rows.

At the same time, the large screen behind them began displaying their flight tickets and the text messages they had received from the airline the day before the flight.

[Dear passenger, we have been informed by relevant authorities of a potential terrorist attack on your flight, G404, scheduled for tomorrow. For your safety, we have rebooked you on flight G818. Relevant information will be sent to your phone within half an hour. Please check for the update.]

The text messages were dated and couldn’t easily be faked.

One passenger took the microphone and said with a choked voice, "At first, I didn’t believe it. I thought it was a scam message. It was only when I called the airline that I found out it was real."

"But I was still very unhappy about it because the new flight was delayed by three days, messing up my family’s travel plans. I didn’t take the terrorist threat seriously at the time; I just thought it was an excuse the airline made up to delay the flight."

"It wasn’t until the next evening, when I saw the news about the crash of Flight G404, that I realized the airline and the government had saved my family’s lives. If it weren’t for them, we’d be a few charred corpses right now."

The Governor chimed in with a timely joke, "No, perhaps not even corpses would be left."

The passenger laughed through their tears and shook the Governor’s hand. "Yes, with an explosion that powerful, we would’ve been burned to ashes. Thank you, Mr. Governor... truly, thank you!"

The venue once again erupted.

"What does this mean?"

"There were no passengers on the plane?"

"Then why did it still take off?"

The Governor took the microphone at this moment to answer that very question.

"I know you’re all wondering why we allowed the flight to take off as scheduled, even knowing there was a terrorist threat."

"Even without passengers, an airplane isn’t cheap. Factoring in routine maintenance costs, this crash resulted in an economic loss of tens of millions for us."

"But I want you all to understand one thing."

"Money is just a number."

"This isn’t to brag about how much money the government has. It’s to tell you that compared to your lives, no amount of money is worth mentioning."

"These criminals were very cunning. They had explosives strapped to them. If we had tried to apprehend them rashly and the bombs had detonated in the airport, the casualties would have been far greater."

"That is why we chose to let the plane take off as scheduled."

"I was fully aware that this decision would come at a great economic cost to the government. But even so, we were not willing to see a single innocent citizen get hurt. More importantly, we were not willing to let these heinous, utterly deranged terrorists get away with it—"

"I wouldn’t give them the slightest chance!"

"Those who kill must face justice."

"I wanted them to reap what they sowed."

"I wanted to make sure they couldn’t even die in peace!"

The Governor’s voice was powerful and resonant. "I will make sure that everyone who harbors malice towards us, towards our peaceful society, disappears from this world!"

"We will protect our people at all costs! We will destroy our enemies at all costs!"

"No price is too high to pay!"

"This terrorist attack is the best example."

"And at the same time, this is the explanation I owe all of you!"

As the Governor’s voice faded, the crowd once again erupted.

The difference was, this time it wasn’t with angry curses and accusations, but with thunderous applause and cheers.

The public opinion, which had been overwhelmingly negative and one-sided against the government, was completely reversed in that moment.

Just like the headline said—You can always trust the government!

Sabeck was in awe.

’So this is what a politician is like?’

’Seems I’m really not cut out to be a leader. I can put on airs, but I could never pull off something like this—twisting right and wrong, turning black into white.’

’Honestly, even a scumbag like me thinks this is dirty.’

Sabeck was now almost certain that the power behind the scenes was the one that had made this move.

The Florist Family he knew couldn’t have pulled off so many interconnected moves in such a short amount of time.

What was clearly a hunt for their prey had been forcibly twisted into a counter-terrorism operation.

They had even figured out how to handle the aftermath before they even made their move.

Hiding all the passengers, waiting for public opinion to turn completely against them, and then using those same passengers to stage a reversal, leveraging the public’s guilt to make them trust the government even more than before.

Such tactics made Sabeck very worried.

’Can Sean really survive being targeted by a power like this?’

Soon, his diligent subordinate gave him the answer.

"Mr. Sabeck, I see Sean!"

"And Flame Crow."

"They’re coming out of West Port Airport right now!"

Sabeck’s head snapped up. "Huh?!"

’Sean isn’t dead?!’

He was overjoyed. His energy returned in a rush, and he slapped the newspaper down on the table with a loud THWACK.

"Keep an eye on them! I’m on my way!"

...