Ling Cage: I come from Hisakawa

Chapter 26 You guys have really put me in a lot of trouble!

The night is deep and quiet, but power never sleeps.

At the brownish-red round table, Bai Jingyu and Camilla sat facing each other. As the projector was turned on, a figure appeared in the empty space on the round table.

"Mayor Bai, what exactly happened?"

Why is a state of emergency being declared?

The lawmakers were full of doubts.

The declaration of a state of emergency signifies that Hisakawa City has encountered a significant situation, either war or something equivalent to war.

All power was centralized in the administrative center, namely Bai Jingyu's mayor's office.

The military, the judiciary, the administration—everything must revolve around Bai Jingyu's will.

It is no exaggeration to say that Bai Jingyu could even represent Jiuchuan City to issue a "Declaration of War Against All Nations"!
The significance is extremely significant!

However, there was nothing unusual in Hisakawa City today. What could have happened to warrant a sudden state of emergency?
All eyes were on Bai Jingyu.

Bai Jingyu unexpectedly shook his head, looking bewildered: "I don't know what's going on either; this is ASH's judgment."

How to determine ASH?
The lawmakers looked at each other in bewilderment.

At that moment, a sound came from the ceiling.

"Dear councilors of Hisakawa City, good evening. Two days ago, I was invaded by foreign forces. Although I fought back in time, after two days of self-examination, I found that some confidential information has been leaked, which may threaten the safety of all citizens of Hisakawa City."

ASH calmly stated, "I need to update this data immediately to prevent foreign forces from finding vulnerabilities in my system."

"But when I update the data, the smart services in Hisakawa City will be temporarily suspended."

"The entire city of Hisakawa will enter an unprecedented state of weakness, and external forces may enter and cause damage."

"I believe we have met the criteria for declaring a state of emergency, so this meeting was convened."

"Report complete," ASH said softly.

The lawmakers' eyes darted around.

Although it was ASH who proposed activating the state of emergency, in Jiuchuan City, who doesn't know that ASH and Bai Jingyu are in cahoots?
So, is this what ASH meant, or what Mayor White meant?

"Bai Jingyu".

"ASH was attacked two days ago and only now has it been discovered that data has been lost. When did ASH become so inefficient? Since ASH is not up to the task, I think there is no need to discuss the 'AI in Law Enforcement Act'."

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone held their breath.

Bai Jingyu remained calm and said, "Director Gray, tonight's discussion is about whether or not to activate a state of emergency, not the AI ​​Enforcement Act. Please don't go off-topic."

The person who spoke just now was none other than the head of the Federal Police Department, Gray Weaver.

His left eye has been replaced with a prosthetic limb, radiating a captivating red light. Even though it is just a virtual projection, his face is full of oppressive power.

Gray snorted coldly: "Only two days have passed before you thought of activating a state of emergency. Whether this was ASH's suggestion or yours, only you know."

Gray stared at Bai Jingyu's expressionless face.

He had no evidence, but based on his intuition honed over many years as the head of the Joint Police Bureau, he was certain that it was Bai Jingyu's own suggestion.

Hisakawa City is far from needing to declare a state of emergency.

As for what Bai Jingyu will do after activating the state of emergency, he doesn't know and doesn't want to know.

At this moment, a councilor who supported Gray spoke up in agreement: "Mayor Bai, Hisakawa may not necessarily be attacked by foreign forces. Even if it is attacked, it is not too late to activate the state of emergency then."

"Kukawa is under the protection of the Coastal Alliance. It's one thing for foreign forces to steal some data, but how dare they openly attack Kukawa? Declaring a state of emergency is making a mountain out of a molehill!" Another member of parliament also expressed his opposition.

The other members of parliament remained silent.

Hisakawa City has a total of 30 councilors, whose identities and professions vary, but they can be broadly divided into four factions.

The mayor's faction, led by Bai Jingyu, won 11 seats; the deputy mayor's faction, led by Camilla, won 6 seats; and the UN police faction, led by Gray, won 3 seats.

The remaining legislators, from the social and judicial branches, are neutral and comprise the final 10 seats.

Those who spoke just now were all from the Joint Police Department.

More than ten years ago, when Hisakawa City changed mayors, Gray should have taken the position based on his performance record. However, the Coastal Alliance internally decided to appoint Bai Jingyu, who replaced Gray.

From then on, the Joint Police Department and Bai Jingyu were at odds.

At this moment, Bai Jingyu slowly spoke: "As I've already said, this was ASH's proposal, and I don't know what happened. Let's start the vote now, since Director Gray has doubts about my motives."

Snapped!
A blinding red light rose from the tabletop, illuminating Bai Jingyu's face from below.

Bai Jingyu removed his hand from the "disagree" button: "Now Director Gray should believe me, right?"

Everyone was stunned.

Did Bai Jingyu himself oppose declaring a state of emergency?
Gray frowned.

What the hell is this guy doing?

He stared at Bai Jingyu's face for a couple of seconds, and finally pressed the "disagree" button.

Another red light appeared.

A virtual bulletin board was set up on the conference table. [Voting in progress]

[0 votes in favor: 2.5 votes against]

Gray received 1 vote, and Mayor Bai Jingyu received 1.5 votes, for a total of 2.5 votes against.

“Mayor Bai, I think it’s too early to declare a state of emergency. If it turns out to be a false alarm, it may affect the outside world’s judgment of Jiuchuan’s business environment, which is not conducive to Jiuchuan’s long-term development.”

"I also object; there's no rush to declare a state of emergency!"

"I object!"

“I agree with declaring a state of emergency. Even if it’s just a false alarm, it’s always good to take precautions. Anyone who doesn’t invest because of this is losing out.”

"I object!"

"I'm sorry, Mayor Bai, I also object!"

"I agree!"

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
[Voting in progress]

[10 votes in favor: 14.5 votes against]

Most of the councilors voted, with only the deputy mayor's faction, led by Camilla, remaining silent.

Gray leaned back, feeling pleased.

Camilla is a power-hungry woman; there is absolutely no way she would vote in favor of letting Bai Jingyu take control of all the power in Jiuchuan City.

Gray smirked.

No matter what tricks Bai Jingyu tries to pull, he feels great as long as he fails!

He absolutely would not allow Bai Jingyu to activate the state of emergency. If Bai Jingyu succeeded, he could openly extend his influence into his joint police station, which was something he could not accept.

Just then, Camilla pressed the button.

Snapped!
The green light illuminated Camilla's face, making the sexy Camilla look like a ghost.

Gray's smile froze.

“I agree.” Camilla’s expression was blank, making her look even more like a ghost.

Gray slammed his hand on the table and stood up: "Camilla, are you crazy?"

His eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

Camilla remained silent.

But other members of parliament voted enthusiastically.

"I agree!"

"I agree too!"

"I agree!"

"Agree!"

"I agree too!"

In the blink of an eye, the ticket situation underwent an astonishing reversal!

Voting has ended.

[16 votes in favor: 14.5 votes against]

Despite Bai Jingyu's own opposition, the number of votes in favor still exceeded the number of votes against.

"Attention all citizens of Jiuchuan City: Following a vote by the City Council, Jiuchuan City is now under a state of emergency. Mayor Bai Jingyu has ordered all citizens to cease work and school, close the airspace, suspend civilian internet access, and shut down all roads leading into and out of the city."

Shopping mall screens, subway TVs, street projections, mobile phone screens—all networked displays popped up huge red exclamation marks and emitted ASH's cold voice.

"Bai Jingyu, you tricked me!" Gray gritted his teeth.

The shape of the ticket doesn't lie.

At this moment, he could easily understand that Bai Jingyu had already informed Camilla.

This vote is just a formality. No matter what others vote for, even if Bai Jingyu himself votes against it, the state of emergency will still be activated!

What use am I as a member of parliament?

At that moment, Gray felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

Bai Jingyu stood up from his seat and shook his head slightly: "Director Gray, I myself voted against it and didn't want to activate the state of emergency, but there was nothing I could do. Jiuchuan City is a democratic society, and the minority obeys the majority."

The air was deathly silent.

“From now on, I will be in charge of everything in Jiuchuan City. Just thinking about it makes me feel tired,” Bai Jingyu sighed.

"Oh, you guys have really made my life miserable!"

(End of this chapter)