Chapter 938: Chapter 938

The raindrops clamored as they pattered on the cheap umbrella.

Petite in stature, Liz lifted her head to glimpse the sky through her transparent umbrella.

White jasmine petals danced in the wind, mingling with the drifting raindrops.

Not far off, near the roadside, where the Jasmine Flower Sea was closest, people clad in the Mayor’s Guard uniforms and exoskeleton Mechas were hastily erecting a makeshift giant electronic screen.

The shifting crowd seemed to gradually change direction, carrying her body towards the congested front of the Mayor’s Mansion.

The leader up front waved a flag, guiding the procession to turn the corner.

Liz withdrew her gaze, lifted her wrist, and looked down.

All she saw was a white mark, a trace left from wearing her smart wristband for a long time.

Her wristband had been taken, not just hers, but most from this group of part-timers had theirs taken too.

Only those standing on the periphery of the formation still wore their normal wristbands, some even with additional Bluetooth earpieces.

But obviously, these individuals weren’t with the part-timers.

She looked up again, catching sight of the banner raised overhead that opposed the Mayor.

Before she came, Liz had no idea that this march was against the Mayor.

Although she had guessed it was some sort of protest, she hadn’t thought it would be this.

Protests in Yilan City often chose the front of the White Jasmine Palace, for the area was bustling and close to the Palace, easily attracting the news media.

She wouldn’t mind joining an ordinary march here to earn some money, but a protest against the Mayor was absolutely out of the question for her.

She neither opposed the Mayor nor was a supporter.

Her reluctance to participate was simple, getting involved in these anti-Mayor protests could easily taint her with undesirables, even risking danger.

In fact, most of the people standing here felt the same as she did; they didn’t care much for politics or who was Mayor. They were just doing a side job, supplementing their income or getting by.

This was probably why the organizers were secretive and reluctant to disclose the ’nature of the work’ initially because if it were made clear that it was an anti-Mayor protest, they might not have attracted so many people, and there was the risk of leaks.

Indeed, as Ini had said, a price well above the market average always concealed risks.

Yet with such high risks, they should have offered a higher price to recruit people, that’d be fair.

Haven’t earned the money, but took on more risk—these bastards.

Liz turned her head to glance at the ’personnel’ encircling them.

These people were professional, locking down all escape paths, and they exuded a fierce aura—likely gang members they’d recruited.

They could overpower her single-handedly.

If it weren’t for the menacing figures blocking the periphery and her wristband being taken away, she would have already snuck away.

These bastards had it all figured out.

Cursing inwardly once more, Liz lowered her head, inhaled deeply, and blended in with the crowd, trying not to stand out or let the nearby photographers—who seemed like journalists—capture her face.

All she hoped for now was everything to go smoothly, for those scoundrels to settle the payment, and return her wristband.

Even though it was second-hand, that wristband was of good quality and still ran smoothly. It cost her a whole hundred federal coins, one of her few ’expensive electronics.’

If those people took it, she’d have to buy another one, which would be an expense of at least another hundred federal coins. Plus this week’s rent, that came close to two hundred federal coins in total.

After deducting the money for her father’s and mother’s medicine... Hopefully, the ’Grand Discount’ supermarket will have more expiring hard bread tomorrow morning.

Half a piece of bread with just water should be enough to fill her up. Two meals a day should suffice; going without dinner, she’d consider it dieting.

Hoping last week’s salary would be issued by next week.

If there was no other way, she would have to take out a salary loan.

With a weekly interest of 8%, it was a greedy vampire indeed.

She raised her hand, rubbed her cheeks, and in the noisy and hectic environment, the woman slightly shrugged her nose.

It was indeed a foolish thing to do.

The crowd that had been moving forward slowly came to a halt, but the chanting from the protest march continued unabated.

"Please stop, this area is closed off."

Members of the Mayor’s Guard stood on the edge of the rain-soaked street, blocking the protest march from moving forward, and behind them was a huge screen that had already been set up.

Due to the momentum of the protest march, the surrounding crowd had mostly cleared a spot for them.

This had inadvertently given everyone in the protest march a front-row central position.

As the crowd came to a complete standstill, Liz raised her head, watching the giant screen in front of her.

Jasmine flowers swayed in front of the screen, and a few twinkling lights appeared on the screen, which seemed like the system was performing a self-check.

Liz turned to look back.

Those standing further back were looking up at the screen or taking out their wristbands.

It seemed the speech was being streamed online simultaneously, and the Mayor’s speech could be watched on the official website through the wristbands.

The surrounding noise began to quiet down, even the loud clamor seemed to have diminished a bit.

Even the most vociferous protestors were now watching the screen, anticipating the changes within.

After a brief wait, accompanied by flickering lights, an old man appeared on the screen, dressed in a grey suit, sitting behind a marble table, with an old window and simple curtains behind him.

Liz observed the simple decor of the room on the screen.

This was, in fact, the first time she had listened to a speech by the Mayor, and saw his full appearance.

Most of the time, she was too busy with work, or on her way to work, to care about such things.

But for some reason, the sight on the screen didn’t strike her as completely unfamiliar.

Though the heavy marble table exuded an air of antiquity, and the slightly carved walls faintly suggested expensive opulence,

underneath the simplicity of the window and curtains, as well as the combination of plain-colored books, the office seemed like just an ordinary, unremarkable room.

And the old man sitting behind the stone desk, his gaze meeting theirs, looked dignified but also kind, seemingly not much different from an elderly family member at home.

For some reason, Liz found her heart growing calm. She watched the old man, waiting for him to speak.

She couldn’t help but want to listen to what the old man would say.

In the alleyway between the crisscrossing low buildings, the walking crowd lifted their gazes with exclamations of surprise, looking upwards.

A little boy who had just stepped through a small door looked up, following the direction of those around him, toward the huge billboard in the distance.

The giant screen, which usually displayed nothing more than adult products, strip club advertisements, or underground loan services, was now, it seemed, finally changing its tune to display a "live broadcast pending" pattern.

"What does ’live broadcast pending’ mean? A live broadcast of the Mayor’s speech? What does the Mayor have to do with us? What new gimmick has some brand come out with now?"

Queries of confusion filtered through the crowd.

The little boy’s gaze also fell upon the slightly unclear ’explanation’ beneath the text "live broadcast pending".

[From the White Jasmine Palace, the Mayor’s live speech is now connecting...]

The boy took a deep breath, clutched the medicine in his arms, raised his umbrella, and began to run swiftly through the small alleys filled with puddles.

As he ran, one after another, people heard the news, some opened their doors, others stepped out onto their balconies, and raised their heads to look at the massive billboards overhead.

South City Command Center

In a simply decorated office, the elderly General watched the holographic projection map in front of him, observing the various Mecha units simulated to be threading through the Wilderness.

Several officers stood respectfully at his side.

It was then that he seemed to perceive something, lifted his head, and looked forward.

A large screen hidden in the wall was opening up before him, displaying the official website for Mayor’s Mansion at White Jasmine Palace.

At this moment, the entire webpage was occupied by a large video window, in which the Elderly man’s gaze was directed forward, seemingly looking out at the people beyond the screen. He slowly began to speak,

"I am delighted that I am still able to sit here today..."

Jerin abruptly pushed open the door, removed his bracelet, activated the City Government website already loaded on his bracelet, placed the medicine aside, and then set the bracelet in front of his mother.

Then, under the puzzled gaze of his mother, Zhao Jia, he quickly picked up the flyer beside him and sat next to her.

The video from the bracelet was projected onto the blanket, and the Elderly man, who had already begun his speech, appeared on the screen.

He slowly superimposed the simple image of the Doctor from the flyer onto the Elderly man in the video.

"Today, we talk about something that began with an Assassination, but that is not the essence. I am sitting here not to loudly denounce the murderer—that is a task for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City Police Station.

"I just want to talk to everyone about what the City Government has implemented over the past year, why we have implemented these things, why these things have led to this Assassination, and, what we should do next."

His voice was calm and gentle as it flowed from the bracelet, not like someone giving a reprimand or instruction from a position of power, but more like a family member sitting by your side, earnestly sharing his thoughts in a narrative way.

Zhao Jia, sitting on the bed somewhat confused, lowered her head and began to Listen to the Elderly man’s speech attentively.

The Elderly man’s weathered voice echoed through the somewhat empty house, through the posters covering the undulating windows, sinking into the drizzling rain, and into the dilapidated, tranquil, and gloomy city.

Beneath the bustling streets, people walking by came to a halt along the side of the street, looking up at the massive screens overhead, watching the gentle and kind Elderly man on the screen.

"When I sat behind this desk, I have seen many faces flash before my eyes.

"Among them are Consortium Employees from factories, mines, and food plants, but also waitstaff moving between the counters and tables, and even more so, people lying in front of their beds, powerless to treat themselves, struggling to survive.

"Yilan City is facing an unprecedented crisis, a turning point in history and Fate that has not been seen in eight hundred years.

"During this crisis, the vast majority of Yilan people can only obtain meager wages, struggle to get by with just enough food and shelter, and are forced to spend their dwindling wealth on medications insufficient to treat their illnesses.

"Jobs that could be lost at any moment, endlessly accumulating debts, pain, and incurable diseases—these things entangle every person and slowly strip away our lives.

"This is a crisis that is relevant to the vast majority of the city and continues to affect it.

"In response to this crisis, we have made many efforts, among which the most important are the healthcare and employee protection laws, and both of these laws can be attributed to the same purpose,

"That is, to ensure that every citizen of Yilan City, that we, our children, and our descendants have the right to live a healthy life under the sun.

"In our city, twenty percent of the people are employed in mines,

"The vast majority of them suffer from dust, noise, toxic gases, and extreme heat, leading to diseases such as pneumoconiosis, deafness, and organ failure,"

"But when disease struck them down, the mines that employed them offered no assistance, those in Yilan City that profited from the people’s labor; they would not spend a penny on the miners’ treatment but coldly cast them aside,

"The most they would give was a few hundred federal coins, like the crocodile’s insincere tears, tossing out these bills along with those who had lost the capability to work due to illness.

"Those who fell ill because of their work often had no health insurance whatsoever, or only the bare minimum that nearly afforded no coverage at all. Unable to pay for costly surgeries and medical expenses and having lost the ability to work, they could only rely on cheap drugs to endure life in pain and suffering."

Outside the White Jasmine Palace, standing in the pouring rain, Liz subconsciously clenched her fist as she listened to the elderly man’s words.

On the screen, the old man continued his speech,

"Such phenomena are not limited to mines; they occur at every workplace, machine factories, chemical plants, agricultural facilities, and even large retailers and fast-food restaurants.

"Employees who suffer accidents or death due to their jobs, like those who become ill due to exposure to harmful substances, receive no compensation, and have no way to treat their injuries or diseases. Many of the deceased’s families can’t even afford the funeral expenses.

"But the mines, factories, all of these places that are owned by the Consortium, they exploit the lives of employees to amass huge profits, living lives of extreme luxury. Can they truly do nothing?

"The Federation is not short of equipment to handle dust and toxic gases nor lacks proper noise reduction safety measures. However, mines do not purchase these, as it would increase their operating costs.

"People who are unable to work due to illness do not cause the Consortium to compensate them, which would increase expenses, but improving the working environment for employees would actually cost them money.

"Thirty years ago, I sat beside an elderly woman’s bed, holding her withered hand, and watched helplessly as she passed away.

"She had two sons, one died in a factory without any compensation, the other died at home because he could not afford medical fees.

"Over 70% of Yilan residents are employed by large cross-city Consortiums and need to deal with hospitals owned by these giants. This crisis encompasses not only Yilan City but the entire Federation.

"So, we need to enact Employment Protection legislation, increase the minimum wage, require Consortiums to improve safety measures for every employee, address dangerous working conditions, and purchase appropriate accident insurance for every employee—so that if they are injured or fall ill, they can receive basic compensation.

"So we need to push for healthcare reform, ensure that every employee gets health coverage, make the medical Consortiums lower their prices, turn unaffordable illness into affordable ones, and allow everyone the opportunity to be treated.

"I did all this, so I have been attacked.

"Protests, smear campaigns, assassinations—they use every power at their disposal, trying to silence my voice forever.

"They do not wish for us to live under the sun; they want to continue controlling this city, wringing money from every person’s life.

"We live in an old city; in the nearly eight hundred years since its establishment, under the banner of the White Jasmine Flag, we have suffered countless assaults,

"Crises have tried time and time again to conquer us, but we still stand here.

"Defeatism has never been written in the dictionary of the Yilan people, and we will not back down here.

"At this historical crossroads, at this moment determining the fate of Yilan, I want to tell the people of Yilan straightforwardly,

"The crisis will not stop, the attacks from the Consortiums will become more ferocious,

"We are now at the crossroads, deciding the fate of ourselves and our posterity,

"If we do not want our children to live the same life as us and our parents, do not want our children to only rely on cheap drugs to await death in hunger and pain when they fall ill, then we must unite and confront this crisis together,

"Next, I will continue to push for more reform policies, to draw our swords against those flourishing ’Consortiums’ that have created this crisis, for us and for our descendants.

"I firmly believe that bullets can pass through my chest, but they cannot penetrate the united convictions of the Yilan people.

"We will ultimately get through this crisis, united we stand, and victory will finally be ours."

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Levis watched the paused screen after the end of the speech, trembling, fumbled a cigarette from his pocket, clamped it between his fingers, and shakily brought it to his lips.

But before the cigarette could reach his mouth, it fell to the ground. He shook as he picked up the cigarette, put it to his lips, and bit down, his face pale with fear.

He fumbled for his lighter, and after a few trembling attempts, he finally managed to light the cigarette.

He took a deep drag, the rich smoke filling his lungs, seeming to ease his nervousness and fear.

He removed the cigarette, glanced at the FBI investigator beside him, then turned back to look at the old man on the paused screen, his throat tight with a trembling voice that was slightly out of control,