Chapter 966: Chapter 966
The boy raced along the uneven road, facing the rising sun, when suddenly with a ’thump’ he tripped over a stone and fell to the ground.
A light chuckle came from above.
The boy lifted his head and looked forward to see a youth with dark skin and short hair, dressed simply, standing to one side, offering a hand to him.
"Thanks," said the boy as he took the offered hand and clumsily got to his feet, letting out a silly chuckle, "I was running too fast."
"Got some good news?"
The youth watched the smile on his face and asked with a smile.
"Yeah, Mr. Lin En helped me find a doctor who’s willing to do the surgery for my mom at a very low price,"
the boy said with a hint of excitement in his voice, "I have to take my mom to Saint Ilan now."
The youth offered with a smile, "I just happen to have a car."
"No need, no need, don’t want to hold up Brother Wills’ business,"
the boy quickly gestured with his hands, glanced at the various old electrical appliances and repair equipment in the youth’s shop, and at the television broadcasting the news, and continued, "There are brothers and sisters in the medical aid delivery convoy going that way who are willing to give us a ride."
"All right then, I wish you all the best,"
the youth called Wills said with a smile as he patted his hands. Then, he suddenly realized something and asked softly, "The Mr. Lin En you mentioned, is he that Mayor Lin En?"
The boy nodded briskly, "That’s the Mr. Lin En!"
Wills frowned subconsciously, then he looked back at the TV and said slowly, "All of those aides he’s recruited seem to be criminal officials. Could these politicians end up screwing you over?"
"Mr. Lin En is a great man!"
The boy’s face flushed red as he immediately retorted, "The medical aid he arranged is taking place there today."
Then, realizing he’d become a bit too impassioned, he took a breath and slowed down his tone to explain,
"Those things they say in the news might all be lies, and even if they aren’t lies, whatever kind of people his aides are, it doesn’t mean Mr. Lin En is the same. I’ve met Mr. Lin En; he really is a good person. If his aides really do commit crimes, Mr. Lin En will surely bring them to justice!"
"I know you have a lot of trust in this Mr. Lin En,"
Wills sighed, "but it’s still better to be careful. Although we poor folks don’t have much they can exploit, you never know what these dirty politicians are really plotting."
He sighed and continued, "Moreover, if what’s said on the news is true, and the corruption of these Cabinet members has become so well-known that even the street news knows about it, wouldn’t Mayor Lin En be aware of it? If he knew, why wouldn’t he deal with it..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the television sound paused briefly in the shop behind him. The news anchor at the desk paused and quickly announced,
"Breaking news just in: White Jasmine Palace has just issued a statement that the City Police Station has arrested a group of seventeen former Cabinet members, including the former Minister of Internal Affairs, former Minister of Justice, and former Minister of Commerce and Enterprise, on charges of abuse of office, illegal bribery, and insider trading among other crimes.
"Notably, these Cabinet members had been dismissed by the City Government just yesterday morning, along with a total of nineteen officials including the Minister of Education. Mayor Lin En has nearly dissolved the entire original Cabinet.
"White Jasmine Palace will hold a live news conference at noon today to respond to the public’s questions regarding this matter."
Immediately after, the anchor hesitated for a moment before continuing with the regular news broadcast.
At that moment, Jerin, standing outside, peeked at the TV inside and then looked up at Wills with a grin, "See, Brother Wills, I told you to trust Mr. Lin En!"
"Alright, alright, maybe he is different from the previous mayors,"
Wills waved his hand, "Come to me if you need any help."
"Thank you, Brother Wills!"
The boy dusted himself off and continued to sprint down the pitted road.
The youth standing in front of the shop, however, looked up at the huge advertising screen not far away.
The advertisement screen had already directly switched from commercials to a live broadcast backdrop emblazoned with the White Jasmine Emblem.
"Liz, I think I know where I might be needed."
Standing beside the street, Ini withdrew her gaze from the TV overhead and turned her head to look at the advertisement panel next to her that already roughly bore the White Jasmine Emblem.
At the moment, the not yet completely repaired screen of this advertisement panel was already lit with the backdrop of the live broadcast room.
A slight start came from Liz over the phone.
Ini took a deep breath, turning her head to look into the depths of the overlapping steel forest, "We’re going to the White Jasmine Palace."
Standing in the backstage control room, He Ao smiled at Tucker beside him as they watched the reporters who had already begun to take their seats on the monitors.
Tucker gave an awkward laugh, "I’ve only ever faced vicious crooks or Wilderness Wanderers before. It’s my first time sitting under the spotlight, facing these cameras and microphones."
"Relax, don’t worry,"
He Ao said soothingly, "You just need to answer questions concerning the case. I’ll handle the rest. Now that you’ve entered the political system, you must learn to engage with the public, but you can’t do everything at once, take it slow."
Tucker took a deep breath and nodded firmly.
He Ao glanced at the monitors where the reporters were almost all seated, nodded to Tucker, and a blonde chief of staff beside him, "Let’s begin."
Both nodded lightly to He Ao and then stepped out of the control room.
He Ao himself then lifted his arm to glance at his wristband, scrolling through some materials collected by the South City Defense Army from several Prisoners’ Gang strongholds, waiting until Tucker in the monitors had almost finished explaining the case content before slowly rising and leaving the control room.
He then walked down the corridor to the back door of the press conference room and went in through the back.
At that moment, nearly everyone was standing in the press room, and some members of the Mayor’s Guard at the back, who were maintaining order, saw He Ao come in and were about to speak when He Ao gestured them to silence.
Then He Ao squeezed through from the very back of the crowd, standing behind everyone looking up at the main podium.
This press conference was divided into two main phases.
The first phase was ’announcement,’ where the main speaker, Tucker, publicly explained details about the case, which Cabinet officials were involved, what crimes they were accused of, and whether the City Police Station had solid evidence.
At this time, Tucker’s release of the main case details was drawing to a close, and this phase was nearly over. Next would be the second phase—the ’question and answer’ session.
"...the overall content of the case is as such, seventeen former Cabinet officials have been apprehended. We will absolutely not tolerate any act of corruption, any betrayal of the City Government, or betrayal of Yilan City,"
Tucker was now sitting at the center of the main stage, sitting upright facing the microphone. As he completed the case introduction, he seemed to gradually get into the flow. He lifted his head to look at the reporters below,
"Now, let’s move to the question period. Today’s press conference will primarily focus on the criminal issues of former Cabinet officials. Please keep your questions related to the case itself."
Immediately, seven or eight reporters raised their hands, and Tucker randomly chose a journalist from a small media outlet.
"Director Tucker, could you please tell us how long of a sentence these Cabinet Ministers will face?"
The journalist raised the microphone and asked quickly.
"Sentencing and penalty determination are matters for the court,"
Tucker glanced at the materials in his hands and replied quickly, "However, based on the crimes currently in our possession, even the lightest offense could lead to a sentence of 10-15 years. Considering the possibility of cumulative sentences for multiple crimes, the longest sentence could be as long as 40-60 years."
Everyone in the room inhaled slightly.
Federation penalties for corruption were not actually considered harsh, but accumulating so many years of sentences proved these individuals truly committed excessive acts.
"Director Tucker, what are the primary criminal behaviors exhibited by these Cabinet officials?"
Another reporter, selected by a nod, began to ask.
"Nearly all the Cabinet officials involved were led astray due to accepting additional ’bribes’ from consortia,"
Tucker slowly replied, "these bribes might take the form of greasing the wheels for their children’s or grandchildren’s education, special medical coverages, or certain stocks guaranteed to rise. The forms of bribery are diverse, but the outcomes are the same; they all require that the Cabinet officials provide ’looser supervision or preferential treatment’ in certain areas to the bribing consortia."
After answering, Tucker waved his hand, signaling the next reporter to ask a question.
"Director Tucker, don’t know if you’ve seen this morning’s news, currently many news programs are exposing the ’City Cabinet’s’ dirty secrets. Are these exposés true, and is the City Government acting urgently to deal with these Cabinet officials because it fears the negative impact on its approval ratings after these secrets are leaked?"
A reporter wearing a ’Yilan Starlight Report’ press badge stood up quickly and asked.
This question was obviously pointed. Tucker took a brief breath, his voice eased,
"I’ve seen those news stories as well, and I can only say that some of the rumors that grab at straws are indeed connected to the truth. But I can also confidently tell you all that the process of case handling, evidence collection, and arrests takes time; it isn’t possible that they got arrested immediately after the dirt surfaced this morning,"
He slightly leveled his tone, then continued, "all investigations and case handling had already begun well before this."
"And as announced by the White Jasmine Palace, these Cabinet officials were already dismissed by the City Government yesterday. The so-called dirt today refers to people who are in fact no longer members of the current Cabinet.
"Mr. Lin En would never shelter any criminal, rest assured."
With that, he waved his hand, "Alright, next."
The reporters’ questions continued, one after another.
He Ao looked up, following Tucker’s responses.
At that moment, a young police officer squeezed in from the back door. Standing at the very end, he glanced at Tucker by the door. Just as he was about to approach, the corner of his eye caught the elderly man standing toward the back of the crowd, holding a brass cane.
His movements halted slightly, and after a closer look, he hesitated, then quickly squeezed up to the elderly man, speaking in a lowered voice,
"Mr. Lin En, there are two reporters outside wanting to come in, but their media affiliations aren’t among the invited. One of them claims to be the author of the viral article about your assassination attempt, and the other is the girl who stepped forward in the White Jasmine Palace attack yesterday morning to expose the consortium’s conspiracy."
He Ao glanced at the young man next to him, Sena, and asked softly, "What are their names?"
"One is called Liz, and the other goes by...," Sena paused to think, "Ini?"
He Ao looked forward to the stage, speaking softly, "Let them in,"
Then he paused, as if remembering something, and turned to Sena, "Go to my office and take out the package from the second drawer on the left side of my desk."
Sena nodded, squeezed out from the crowd, left through the small door, and picked up the walkie-talkie on his chest.
Director Tucker was still answering questions on stage.
Although the reporters’ questions were becoming sharper, most of the time, he handled them quite well.
Looking at the time, the Q&A session was also coming to an end.
This time, a reporter who had kept raising her hand and displaying an Yilan Dawn Report badge stood up, looked toward Tucker, and rapidly asked,
"Director Tucker, I’d like to ask, out of the twenty-one ministers in the City Cabinet, nineteen were dismissed this time, and seventeen were arrested for their crimes, which is an overwhelming majority of the Cabinet. The City Cabinet has almost been thoroughly infiltrated and corrupted,"
Her voice rose slightly, "Does this imply that Mr. Lin En is inept at discerning character, or could it be that Mr. Lin En himself has been corrupted?"
This reporter had not been called upon but stood up on her own. She spoke very quickly, finishing all her questions before Tucker could interrupt her.
And now, Tucker was at a loss for words, the response stuck in his throat.
Not answering this question seemed like an admission of guilt; the options in the question appeared to force a choice but were both negative. The reporter was deliberately leading the responder into a pre-constructed answer.
A misstep could severely affect the City Government’s image.
The entire conference room fell into brief silence; all eyes converged on the main stage, quietly awaiting the speaker’s response.
Fine beads of sweat seeped from Tucker’s brow.
Just then, the sound of unhurried footsteps arose from the back of the crowd, breaking the silent stillness.
A reporter, following the sound of footsteps toward the figure in the rear, paused slightly in surprise.
One after another, people turned their heads back, all converging their gazes on the figure who was walking slowly forward. Wearing a gray suit, his hair touched with gray, the elderly man walked out from the crowd. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he moved step by step to the front of the podium, then he stood next to Tucker, looked at the reporter who had asked the question, and smiled,
"This is a very good question, but it goes beyond the scope of this case, and it’s not within Director Tucker’s jurisdiction, nor within the purview of this press conference. Let me answer this question instead, and it just so happens that we’ll conclude this press conference with this question."
At that instant, as if granted a pardon, Tucker quickly stood up and moved to stand by He Ao’s side, while the blonde Chief of Staff also rose and took a position behind He Ao.
A slight stir came from the crowd behind, a red-clothed woman with a camera hanging around her neck and a short-haired woman squeezed out from the back of the crowd, with Sena in a police uniform following behind them.
After a brief commotion, the crowd settled down again, and all eyes unconsciously fell on He Ao at the podium.
He Ao did not look at the two women who had just arrived. His gaze remained on the reporter from the Yilan Morning Post, and he asked with a smile, "As I recall, reporters from the Yilan Morning Post make between 200 to 1000 federals a week. Senior reporters responsible for the White Jasmine Palace incidents can make about 900 a week. With such a salary, how much can you save in a month?"
Hearing He Ao’s question, the reporter was slightly taken aback; she did not know why He Ao would ask this, and reflexively she answered in a slow voice, "Not much is left over. After paying off student and housing loans each week and subtracting daily expenses, at most 100 federally coins can be saved. Sometimes not even a penny can be spared, and it’s even possible to overdraw the credit card, so saving two or three hundred federally coins in a month would be pretty good."
While the reporter spoke, Sena had already brought over a black leather pouch and handed it to He Ao.
He Ao opened the pouch and then began pulling out federal coins in stacks of one hundred, until he had accumulated a thick pile, and he raised his head to look at the reporter in front of him, "There’s roughly a little over one hundred thousand federal coins here. Would it excite you?"
The reporter eyed the thick stack of cash, her mouth slightly opening, and she did not immediately answer, instead swallowing carefully.
"Over the past decades, Cabinet members caught for corruption span almost every iteration of the City Government. Does this imply that the character of the people of Yilan City is inferior?"
He Ao placed a hand on the pile of money, his calm gaze sweeping over everyone,
"In fact, this issue isn’t unique to Yilan City; it also exists in Ains, in Dawn City, in Vitland, and in every city of the Federation.
"Greed is human nature, and every person seeks a better life. Everyone present here does, I do, and so do the officers of the City Cabinet.
"But we also contain our nature because of responsibility, ideals, and fear of the law.
"However, we should not test human nature; in most situations, it fails the test.
"When a wealth of resources and fortune is concentrated in the hands of a few consortia, they can, without restraint, offer amounts beyond the reach of average people—bribes, ’donations,’ breaking the integrity of the saints, turning them into dogs who abandon everything.
"As a result, both the City Council and the City Cabinet easily become puppets of the consortia, continuously passing pieces of legislation and decrees favorable to them.
"And our current approach is incapable of restraining these mighty consortia. Instead, the consortia easily control them, and this is the root of all our problems,"
He lowered his gaze, sweeping over the faces of each person listening below and across every camera,
"And that is why I must take action against the consortia.
"Of course, this is not to say that these Cabinet members are in the right. They carried the trust of the Yilan people and my own, yet they used this trust for personal gain, defiling their positions and shaming the entire city of Yilan.
"But fortunately, within our Cabinet there are still those who are not afraid of temptation, who adhere to their principles,
"Removing these dozen or so corrupt Cabinet officials is not the end; it is merely the beginning,
"The City Government has already started drafting new anti-corruption laws, new laws to punish the bribed, and a large number of laws we previously promised to restrict consortia are also being implemented,
"And the City Police Station has also joined forces with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to start investigations into all consortia involved in bribery.
"Even if this city’s chronic malaise runs deep into its marrow, even if addressing this malaise means facing assassination time and again, we must cut them out, one by one."
He Ao lifted his head, gazing directly into the live broadcast camera,
"As long as I live, as long as I sit in this position for another day, and as long as the belief in changing this city survives, the slashing blade will never cease. This is our resolve!
"The crisis has already begun, but the unity of the Yilan people and the belief in changing everything will not be crushed."
Throughout the press room at that moment, a somber silence fell, everyone was silent, seemingly shocked or perhaps frightened, only the elderly man’s strong and aged voice echoed in this quiet.
He Ao withdrew his hand, spoke in a calm tone, "Today’s press conference ends here. Dismissed."
Standing in front of a shop, the young man watched the ended live broadcast on the giant screen, slightly bowing his head, lost in thought.