life copy game

Chapter 1699 Flames Burn the Earth (Long Chapter After Fifteen Dungeons - Requesting Monthly Tickets)
Irons Greystone Palace
The rays of the rising sun descend from the sky, passing through the dense city and the narrow skyrail tracks, through the closed windows, and into the brightly lit reception room.

The elderly man sitting on the sofa looked at the middle-aged man who walked in with a straight posture, stood up, extended his hand, and shook hands with the middle-aged man. "Welcome, President Keminda."

“Mr. President, you are joking,” Keminda quickly replied. “You are the president now, and I am only the president-elect.”

“The electors in all the cities have already finished voting,” the old man said with a smile as he looked at Keminda. “You are already confirmed as the next president. I’m just warming up your seat for you with my backside.”

“But in any case,” Keminda laughed, “you are still the current president.”

"Hahaha, you're even more cunning than I thought," the old man shook his head. "I'm not going to talk about this with you anymore."

He looked up at Keminda's face. "You're so young."

“Actually, I’m not that young anymore,” Keminda sighed softly.

“When you first met me, I told you this,” the old man walked to the wine cabinet, slowly picked up the red wine in the decanter, took out two glasses, and poured one into each glass, “This is a ship riddled with holes, and it is very dangerous to steer it.”

He handed a glass of wine to Keminda. "Are you ready?"

“I think I’m ready.” Keminda took a deep breath and accepted the wine the old man offered.

“On my first day as vice president,” the old man didn’t continue the question directly, but took a sip of his drink and said slowly, “my predecessor told me that the presidency was one of the worst jobs in the federal government, like walking on a narrow, precarious plank bridge that could break at any moment—even though I was just his vice president at the time and didn’t see any chance of becoming president in the long run.”

"The old president who was assassinated?" Keminda asked slowly, holding his wine glass.

“Yes,” the old man sighed, “we can hardly know whether tomorrow or an accident will come first.”

He looked at Keminda and smiled. "Do you know what the Vice President's main job is?"

"The President of the Senate?" Keminda pondered.

“Yes, the vice president will directly serve as the president of the Senate, but he can only vote when the Senate vote is fifty to fifty,” the old man took a sip of his drink. “Do you know what the probability is? Anyway, I never encountered it once during the years I was vice president. Most of the time, I was just a rubber stamp in the Senate.”

He turned his head to look out the window. "I know my ex didn't like me. He only chose me as his running mate to win over my supporters in Westland and to other cities in the western part of the Union."

He glanced at Keminda. "And he's a domineering guy. I can hardly share any power. However, he often talks to me, sharing his insights on policy and why he makes these decisions."

"Is he paving the way for your presidency? He foresaw his own end long ago?" Keminda pondered, holding his wine glass.

“I’m more inclined to believe this is just a precautionary measure,” the old man chuckled, leaned back on the sofa, and took a sip of his drink. “No one can accurately predict their own future. If he finishes his term normally, it won’t be me who succeeds him, but Svino.”

He turned to look at Keminda, and chuckled hoarsely, "To be honest, I don't like him. Sometimes I dream that I'm president."

The old man took a sip of his drink. “But when I actually became president, I realized he was right. This narrow bridge is indeed difficult to cross, especially when the previous one broke and your predecessor fell down.”

Upon hearing this, Keminda fell into a brief silence.

"When I first became president, I was so excited I couldn't sleep at night," the old man took another sip of his drink and chuckled. "I had even imagined how many terms I would serve and how my name would be etched in federal history."

His glass was empty. He walked to the liquor cabinet and poured himself another glass. "But after I actually took over the mess he left behind and dealt with all these numerous incidents one by one, I felt that being president was truly the worst job in the entire Federation."

He turned to look at Keminda, "This isn't a golden throne at all, but a cesspool disguised as one. If you're not careful, you'll fall right in and drown."

He took another sip of his drink, looked at Keminda, and smiled, "But you're right, he really does treat me like the president-elect, especially when I'm dealing with the things he left behind and I find that many things can be handled through my network of connections."
"And he did influence me, making me tend to do things in his style. Of course, you could also say that it was because he thought my style was similar to his that he chose me as vice president."

"He fell into this shithole, and he even thoughtfully made a suitable spot for me next to him. That old bastard is just so annoying sometimes, even in death he's still scheming against people."

The old man took another sip of wine and stared at Keminda. "Later, I thought about it for two months and finally decided to withdraw from the presidential race. I can't walk this narrow bridge; I don't have his determination to face death."

He reached under the liquor cabinet, pulled a storage chip from a drawer, placed it on the cabinet, and said in a hoarse voice, "This is the information he left for his successor, as well as his insights into many forces. It was originally for me, but now it's for you. Good luck, young man."

After saying that, he downed the wine in his hand in one gulp, slowly walked to the sofa, lay down on it, and fell into a deep sleep.

Keminda lowered his head, stared at the chip on the wine cabinet, reached out and picked it up.

bang bang bang-

Just as he raised his hand to try to read the chip, there was a knock on the door.

Keminda raised his head, glanced at the sleeping old man on the sofa, then at the door, and frowned slightly.

There were only the two of them in the meeting room at the moment; normally, the Secret Service agents should have been guarding the door.

bang bang bang-

Just then, there was another clear knock on the door.

click -

Then, the door was slowly pushed open, and a young man wearing a top hat walked in. He was light and his movements were very light, but he seemed to float, like a moving paper figure.

He saw Keminda standing in front of the liquor cabinet, and slightly removed his top hat. "Mr. President."

"The president is asleep," Keminda said in a low, hoarse voice, glancing at the sleeping old man.

“Mr. President,” the young man smiled and looked at Keminda, “I’ve come to see you. We’ve never been able to get your approval for the invitations we’ve submitted, so we can only meet you here, in this way.”

Upon hearing this, Keminda turned his gaze to the sofa beside him.

The old man on the sofa seemed to be sleeping soundly, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.

Keminda raised his eyes and looked at the young man.

The corridor behind the young man was empty; there were no Secret Service personnel in sight.

No one can enter Greystone Palace without the president's permission.

After a brief silence, Keminda looked at the young man and asked, "So, which faction do you come from?"

“I do not represent any faction; I am Mr. Pierpont’s messenger,” the young man said with a slight bow.

“Pierpont, Nord Financial?” Keminda raised an eyebrow. “What does your financial conglomerate want with me?”

“We know that the President is dissatisfied with the current dominant position of the corporations,” the young man said with a smile. “Coincidentally, Mr. Pierpont also feels that the current federal system is somewhat rigid and needs some changes. He asked me to tell you that he is a partner you can cooperate with.”

"How do we cooperate?" Keminda scoffed. "By listing the Federation on the stock exchange and then letting your financial conglomerate take control?"

“That’s a brilliant idea, Mr. President. You have a real talent for the financial industry,” the young man said with a smile that didn’t falter. “We have many tools to help you achieve your reform goals, such as currency and bonds. Greystone Palace always needs to work with us.”

"For the time being, I can't think of any reason why we can cooperate," Keminda said calmly.

“Mr. President, you are young and promising. You became president at such a young age, so you must feel that nothing in the world can stop you,” the young man said with a smile. “But the rules of this world are always a bit more complicated. You can contact Mr. Pierpont anytime you call the office of the Nord Financial Group. We look forward to your reply.”

He took his top hat, bowed slightly, left the room, and closed the door behind him.

The old man on the sofa was still fast asleep, as if nothing had happened.

Keminda lowered his head.

The clouds outside the window obscured the sun, casting a faint shadow over the bright room.

-

Irons Post, January 20th
[President Keminda was sworn in today in front of Greystone Palace and delivered his inaugural address. In his speech, he stated that the Federation had reached its most dangerous moment, as the excessive power of corporations had strangled the Federation, leaving everyone suffocated. A series of reforms to save the Federation were imperative.]
President Kemminga stated that during his term he will implement a series of policy measures to promote change in the federal government, including pushing for healthcare reform, increasing employee benefits, significantly raising corporate, estate, and wealth taxes, promoting antitrust legislation, breaking up large corporations, limiting debt interest rates, regulating financial lending, expanding public universities, and providing interest-free student loans.
[After his speech, Kminda received thunderous applause; the crowd that had listened to him in front of the Greystone Palace erupted in cheers, which lasted for over 30 minutes.]
[Some scholars believe this speech is the most popular presidential inauguration address in nearly two centuries.]
[Some scholars also believe that the speech heavily imitated the content of former Elan Mayor Lynn's speech, and that there are many areas for improvement in terms of structure and wording...]
-

Dawn City

"What do you think?" Sert asked Christos.

“He was too hasty.” Christos put down his tablet and sighed.

“I think so too,” Sert remarked. “Many of the measures involved in this process took a long time to implement in individual cities, one bill at a time. But he wants to push them across the entire federal government, which is very difficult to do through administrative means.”

"Did you contact him?" Christos asked. "What did he say?"

“He said that since these things can be implemented in cities like Elan and Dawn, they must have a fertile ground for survival,” Sert sighed. “The people of the Federation will accept these laws.”

Christos remained silent in response to these words, but sighed softly once more.

Dark clouds covered the sky, and snowflakes began to fall outside the window.

-

Rooftop of the Winter City Industrial Group Building
The blonde girl stood on the edge of the towering rooftop, gazing at the brightly lit city under the night sky.

The howling wind blew through her hair and brushed against her cheeks.

She raised her hand, as if touching some invisible object in the void.

A blood-red butterfly slowly flew out from behind her and landed beside her, transforming into a little girl in a red dress.

“Alice,” the blonde girl looked up at the darkness in the distance, as if she could see the ocean roaring in the darkness, “a storm seems to be coming.”

The little girl in the red dress stood quietly beside her, silently gazing into the darkness.

After a brief pause, the little girl turned around and looked behind her, her gaze passing over the brightly lit city and the vast, dark wilderness, looking into the depths of the earth.

-

Vitland

The dazzling lights illuminated the entire venue, and a dense crowd of people crowded together, looking up at the podium in front of them.

The bright lights reflected in their pupils, creating a dazzling display of colors.

Under the spotlight, a figure slowly walked to the center of the light. He raised his head, placed his hands on either side of the podium, pressed his hand on the podium table, leaned forward, approached the microphone, and smiled, "Hello everyone, I am Keminda."

"Keminda! Keminda! Keminda!"

A deafening roar erupted under the night sky, echoing throughout the stadium.

The stadium's dazzling lights illuminated the night sky, reflecting their glow onto the floor-to-ceiling windows of the surrounding buildings.

At the top of the tallest building in the distance, a young man wearing a top hat stood by the window, quietly watching the venue flashing lights.

“It seems he’s quite popular in Westland.” A hoarse, aged voice sounded behind the young man.

"He still hasn't contacted us." The young man turned slightly to the side and said in a low voice, his movements as light as a paper doll.

“But some guys can’t wait any longer.” Behind him, from deep within the office, a hoarse and aged voice continued to ring out.

thump—

A crisp sound seemed to echo in the darkness.

Immediately afterwards, the office lights went out, and the lights in the street below also went out quickly.

Darkness engulfed the entire city in an instant, until it reached the brightly lit stadium.

The dungeon is over; the next chapter will conclude.