Shadow Empire

Chapter 685 The Train That Can't Stop
God is supreme and pure in the heart of every believer.

Just like Hope in the eyes of his followers, he may have some flaws, but overall, he is still good.

The moment the bald boy said "he is destroying us", the followers sitting on the chairs couldn't help but stand up and shout something at him.

Soon, they were warned again that if they still could not control themselves, they would have to leave.

Eventually they promised to sit there quietly and if they made any noise again they would be asked to leave.

Two police officers wrote down what he said. The chief tapped his finger on the table. "Why do you say he is destroying you?"

The bald boy glanced at the people behind the branch chief, then at the reporter, "Hope advocates gaining attention through confrontation, thereby improving our social status in the federation."

"If some strangers broke into your house and wanted to gain the right to live in the house by punching you a few times, would you agree?"

Those followers who were prepared to refute his views could not find any points to refute after hearing his simple description.

Because what he said and what is happening now are the same thing.

Everyone had a different expression on their face, shock, thought, frowning. Although they felt that this analogy was not right, they didn't know how to refute it.

However, George (the gold medal reporter of "Today's Golden Port") gave the bald boy two close-ups.

"When I heard he was going to call a new opportunity to fight the city on January first, I knew I should do something."

"The relationship between us and this city is already bad enough. If it gets worse, what we will get is definitely not the city's tolerance, but their anger!"

"We wanted to persuade him, but when we saw him wearing expensive suits, driving a luxury car, and wanting to teach us some great truths, I realized that I couldn't change anything."

"Except ending his life!"

The branch chief licked his lips, "Where did the weapons come from?"

The bald boy replied, "I stole it. When we broke into a house, we found a weapon inside. I hid it."

"I was originally going to sell it for some money, but I changed my mind and decided to use it to save our community!"

There are also many houses in Xingang District that have been sold before, and they may contain anything, just like a large blind box.

Now the houses in many communities have been pried open, but there are still security guards on duty in some communities.

During this period, there were indeed many "lucky things" that happened, such as finding clothes, winter supplies, some sellable items and even cash in the broken-in houses.

Finding a gun was a little unexpected, but definitely within reason.

The branch chief nodded. The bald boy was very cooperative, which made his questioning work go smoothly. "When we caught you, there were more than just you. Are you an organization?"

“Who is the leader?”

The bald boy shook his head. "We are just ordinary friends who share the same ideas and concepts. We are not an organization and we don't have a leader."

"Who suggested you do this?"

The bald boy seemed to hesitate for a moment, "I proposed it, I provided the weapons, and I fired the gun."

The branch chief nodded and said, "Do you know what this means?"

The bald boy nodded again, "I know I will go to jail and even be put in a noose, but I don't regret it."

"Hope has taken everyone on his dangerous chariot and is heading towards destruction. If we can't stop the chariot, we will have no choice but to overturn it!"

"Even if I will pay a price, at least more people survived."

The chief shook his head. He leaned on the back of his chair and turned to look at the audience behind him. "Now that the suspect has admitted that he shot Mr. Hope Wright and explained why, do you have any questions?"

Hope's assistant stood up immediately, "This is murder!"

"He is just an executor. There are even deeper masterminds behind the scenes!"

He spoke very confidently, and the followers around him who were listening looked at him with doubtful expressions, and then looked at the bald boy.

The branch chief's expression was calm. "Do you have any evidence?"

"Federal law is based on evidence. If you have evidence, I can continue to investigate."

"If you don't have evidence, these groundless speculations can only be regarded as your personal inferences, and will not be considered as factual basis by us."

"He has confessed his guilt!"

There is a suitable motive, and the suspect has pleaded guilty and is not resisting. Basically, the case cannot involve more people at this point.

Unless Hope's assistant can come up with more evidence, everything ends here.

This is also one of the reasons why gangs are so rampant. When they hurt or even kill some people and are discovered by the police, they only need to push forward a few people to take the blame to get away with it.

Spend some money, speed up the judicial process, and everything will come to an end after the verdict.

Even if new evidence is discovered, it will be difficult to continue pursuing the case based on this one, unless other cases are used to indirectly prosecute based on the new evidence.

George could actually see that this bald boy should be a character pushed to the forefront, but in any case, this news did have some value.

What is valuable is not the assassination of the leader of a new refugee movement by a group of young people, nor the death of this leader, but the fact that the refugees are divided.

Regardless of whether this was created by Lance or it really existed, George believed that his news report would accelerate the occurrence of this incident.

He has won a major award, the Golden Newspaper Award, the highest honor for a journalist.

Apart from the fact that winning this award repeatedly can give him some new sense of accomplishment, simply winning awards and continuing to expand his influence no longer seems to bring him more freshness.

But this time, standing here, he suddenly had a completely new experience.

Because he knows that after his report comes out, this group will change, the refugee group in the entire federation will change accordingly, and even the political environment between the federation and the refugee group will change!
This is a kind of "power" he has never felt before, which controls the occurrence and changes of these major events through his pen.

That feeling brought him more pleasure than winning the Golden Newspaper Award or seeking some comfort from his girlfriend!

He turned to look at Hope's assistant and switched the camera to take a picture of him. The expression of shock and anger on his face mixed with his subconscious avoidance when he was suddenly photographed, creating a feeling of panic.

It has a very vivid image and he feels that this photo is a success.

Being interrupted repeatedly, Hope's assistant didn't know what to say. He had no evidence to prove what he said.

The branch director looked at the others, and they didn't have anything to say. Some of them were still cursing, but some were thinking.

The branch chief looked at the bald boy and asked the most important question of the day, "Are you from the Federation?"

Everyone else's eyes immediately focused on the bald boy. He shook his head and said, "Although I really wish I was a federal, I'm not. I'm a Slade."

"Is there anything that can prove what you said?"

The bald boy was silent for a while, and then he said, "There is something in my underwear that can prove my identity."

The police chief asked the police officer to take out the things in his underwear, a small rusty iron box. The police chief opened it in front of everyone.

There are several photos in it, which clearly show the different body shape changes of the smiling bald man at different time periods.

His family was around him and he had a smile on his face, as if taking photos was a very happy thing.

His father, on the other hand, always had a serious expression on his face.

In addition to these photos, there are also some documents that can prove his identity during his life in Slade.

There was no doubt that he was a Slad, a true pure-blood refugee. After the reporter took photos of all the evidence, the branch chief collected them and said, "That's it!"

"I hope you can spread what you see truthfully without any personal modification or processing."

"If I knew that someone had recreated our interrogation process and added some malicious descriptions, then we would find you, arrest you, and put you in jail!"

He paused, then stood up, "You may leave, gentlemen..."

The news of Hope being shot spread throughout Jingang City in an instant and was still spreading outward.

When the news reached Mayor Williams, he was a little surprised. He didn't expect Lance to act so quickly and have such good results.

Refugees killed refugees, and people could no longer accuse the Federals of doing these things.

Even if they think so in their hearts, can they provide evidence?
Evidence actually has no practical significance in most of the time, but at certain specific times, it becomes very meaningful.

For example, when the Secretary of State once again faced the questioning of Ambassador Slade, he could also ask back, "Do you have any evidence?"

Bargaining is also an important part of diplomacy.

At this time, Mayor Williams put down the phone. He looked at the young man in front of him, who claimed to be 37 years old and looked very much in line with the federal aesthetics of Slader. He nodded slightly and said, "Mr. Fitz, I have some very bad news."

Mr. Fitz was stunned for a moment. He changed from sitting back in the chair to leaning slightly forward. This change was a defensive change, indicating that he was at a disadvantage between the two and was very uneasy and cautious in his heart.

Mayor Williams smiled and said, "You don't have to be so nervous. I just received news that Mr. Hope Wright died unexpectedly due to the assassination of the Slade people."

"Right outside the residence where he currently resides, the assassin shot him dead in front of everyone."

"Oh my God!" Mr. Fitz's face showed an expression of disbelief and shock. He held the armrests of the chair with both hands and was even about to stand up.

He looked at Mayor Williams, and the half-smile on his face. His originally turbulent emotions suddenly cooled down quickly as if a bucket of cold water was poured on them.

He stopped there, half standing, stopped there.

After several seconds, he slowly sat back down. "I'm sorry, Mayor Williams, I was so shocked when I heard the news that I couldn't control myself at all. I deeply apologize for my disrespectful behavior!"

Everyone was talking nicely, but you suddenly stood up. That's impolite!

No matter what the reason is!
Mayor Williams is now very accommodating, "I accept your apology."

Mr. Fitz sat there and waited for a while before his brain gradually regained its ability to think. "So, is what we discussed before invalidated?"

There was some regret on his face.

He is also a Slad and a relatively active social activist in recent times.

He holds high the opposite concept to Hope, and puts forward the viewpoints of "only by non-confrontation can one gain acceptance" and "first give, then gain", which has won the support of some people.

Not everyone is as radical as Hope. Some people are willing to be down-to-earth and humble.

Originally, Mayor Williams wanted them to have a debate on the 31st, which is tomorrow.

He will prepare some back-up plans for this debate, and more people will support Mr. Fitz's point of view, and he will win the debate with a big victory -

If Hope doesn't come to the debate, then they will spread the word that Hope knows he can't win, so he can't afford to lose and won't come.

If he came, he would definitely fall into the trap.

Unexpectedly, the planned things suddenly changed like this, which made Mr. Fitz very upset!

Originally, he was only one debate away from success, but Hope's sudden stabbing drained all the joy out of his body.

There had never been a time like now when he hoped Hope could come through and still have a debate with him.

Mayor Williams shook his head, seeing Mr. Fitz's frustration and disappointment. "No, even though he is gone, I can still see the shining value in you!"

He paused, "Tomorrow's debate will not have Hope. You will be performing a one-man show. You need to convey your ideas and thoughts to more people."

“Let more people know your idea, it’s the right idea.”

“Guests come to someone else’s house and if they want their own room, their own seat in the restaurant, they have to pay rent.”

"It can be their hard work, or their dedication to anything, but it can't be toughness!"

"You need to get more people to support you. When the time is right, we will have several consultations."

Mayor Williams picked up the cigar on the ashtray, took a puff, and then slowly exhaled, "In the end, you will lead people to a new life as a hero."

The expansion of the city requires too much basic labor. The local people of Jingang may not be interested in these jobs, but these refugees definitely are.

By turning the demand into a kind of charity, the city can be stabilized again and some of the dirty water on him can be wiped off.

Mr. Fitz nodded repeatedly after listening to this, "This is what I hope for, to bring a better life to people!"

Although he joined Mayor Williams, it doesn't mean he doesn't understand his own value.

"Very good, you are a smart person, you will definitely succeed, Fitz, I am very optimistic about you!"

Mayor Williams arranged for Mr. Fitz to replace Hope and become the new generation of "Light of Slade"——

This iteration is a little fast-paced, and Hope is off to a bad start, so hopefully this Mr. Fitz can hold on.

Otherwise this title will eventually become a joke.

Mayor Williams knew the news, and Mr. Charles naturally knew it too.

He was walking back and forth in the office. He had just been discussing with others some things that needed to be done in Maintenon after the New Year, and now such bad news came.

Hope is a very important character for what happens next. Suddenly losing such a person makes their war with Mayor Williams passive.

"I heard that there are many new social activists emerging in the New Port area, and some of them have become quite influential."

Mr. Charles shook his head and rejected the proposal, "It's too late. Hope is unique."

“If all we need are the influential people, then yes, that would work.”

"But what we need is someone who can actually drive people to riot, and he must have extraordinary influence and authority."

“It’s not that others don’t have such opportunities, but we don’t have the time to cultivate them.”

He stopped and looked around. "If we change the plan, we will still be in a passive position. We must continue to push forward the New Year's Plan."

"I remember Hope had an assistant who was always with him. Find this person. We need him to replace Hope."

Some people have raised the question, "Can he do it?"

Mr. Charles shook his head. “He must be able to do it, or he must not!”

"We're going to capitalize on Hope's murder and say he was murdered by Williams' people because they were scared."

"We need to let them know one thing: the federals were afraid, so they assassinated Hope. This way they will continue to believe that the path they are on is the right one."

"If a larger-scale conflict doesn't break out on Issue One, and the Speaker asks us to negotiate, should we talk or not?" He looked at the other people in the room and asked a simple rhetorical question, which unified their thoughts.

Things have come to this point, and there is no possibility of reconciliation.

But they can't express their stance by saying "I refuse adjustment", they need another way to tell those who want adjustment.

They refuse to compromise!
(End of this chapter)