Chapter 1019: Public Speech

In the morning, a thick layer of fog drifted in the air of Golden Port City. The yellow warning lights in the fog rhythmically brightened and dimmed, forming a continuous stream of yellow halos that spread and contracted along the railway.

Everything looked somewhat unreal. The train conductor had slowed the train to a very low speed. Although he didn't believe the train would derail here today, he still needed to be careful.

The visibility was too low.

In the depths of winter, Golden Port City was mostly foggy in the morning, especially when there was no strong wind, the fog was even thicker.

This time of day was full of fun for some people, such as children.

They would run in the fog, and their crisp laughter would echo with their companions, but for some people who might have psychological problems, this was too bad.

Everywhere were continuously spreading and contracting halos. They couldn't see anyone around, and suddenly, the laughter of children came from nowhere, which was enough to make these people feel their scalp tingle.

One by one, figures would walk out of the thick fog with their hands in their pockets and their heads lowered, and then disappear back into the fog. Sometimes, this kind of scene would give people a feeling of unreality.

It was as if everything was still in a dream!

With the train chugging into the station, the platform had already been completely cleared.

This morning, the Lance Family had taken over the Golden Port City train station because very important supplies were being transported from New Golden City.

Ten million in cash, and openly, 90 million worth of firearms. These things filled more than twenty train cars, and they were all very important things. No mistakes were allowed.

So, starting at four in the morning, the Lance Family's men had completely cleared the station. Now, besides the necessary staff, there was no one else.

Some people might have an opinion about this, but even if they did, they had to endure it.

The train slowly stopped by the cargo platform. Soon, the loading vehicles, operated by reliable workers, began to work.

They transported the things out of the train cars and loaded them onto another train—

The Golden Port City train station was the terminus. The goods arriving here would travel on the city's internal transport railway to the two docks.

This part of the railway was not publicly accessible. It was built by the Golden Port City government and some of the rich people in the Bay Area, so it was not connected to the Southern Railway Network.

Moreover, transporting from here to the internal railway didn't even require leaving the station. It was just on the other side of the platform.

The porters were all workers from Lance's company. These people were all Golden Port residents with known backgrounds. If they were to act recklessly, they would definitely not be the only ones to suffer the consequences.

Of course, this was only the worst-case scenario. The selected workers couldn't possibly do such a stupid thing. And even if they wanted to, they couldn't.

Around them were members of the Lance Family holding guns. Under so many eyes and muzzles, they simply had no opportunity to do anything, nor could they be anyone.

Looking at the boxes of military firearms, printed with the McGreg Industries logo, on the pushcarts, everyone's heart was filled with a deep shock.

How many weapons are here?

They were also guessing in their hearts, what on earth is Lance going to do?

Are they participating in a war abroad?

Or are they engaging in the arms business?

People didn't know, and they didn't dare to ask, but it didn't prevent them from becoming more reverent of Lance and the Lance Family!

Lance also soon appeared on the platform. He hugged Mello, then turned his attention to the nine wooden-crated, waterproof boxes being transported out, and sent to the other train car.

"What are these?" Mello asked.

Because he then saw the people who had come back with Lance enter the car with the boxes. They were all holding weapons, and their expressions were very serious.

Lance did not hide it, and told the truth. "Money. Ten million in cash."

Mello sucked in a breath of cold air. He was worth over 2 million himself. Because he wasn't a front-line cadre, he got a slightly smaller share of the dividends than the others.

However, his salary was higher than others.

But no matter how high the salary, it couldn't surpass the subsidies and dividends from one operation. Dividends and subsidies of tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, had made those who were constantly fighting on the front line, such as Hiram, already worth over 5 million.

Lance didn't even know how much money he specifically had now, but in short, it was a lot.

This money, in the bank, in a passbook, was just a string of numbers.

There were many numbers much larger than this string in math books, and people wouldn't be too shocked by this string of numbers.

But the scene in front of him was different. This was real, tangible money. Mello could already imagine what was in the boxes, and his gaze immediately returned to those wooden boxes.

"I think we should arrange for more people to follow. This much money might not be safe with just these people."

Lance did not agree with his view this time. "Arranging a few people is to prevent some fools from making a move on these things. There's no need to arrange more because I believe that in Golden Port City, no one who can pose a threat to them would dare to touch my things!"

That overwhelming, strong confidence was like a sudden sea wave, giving people a very strong sensory stimulation.

The "fools" Lance was talking about referred to possibly some porters, who might be curious and want to see what was inside, and then cause some unnecessary problems.

The trouble caused by these people could be easily dealt with by Lance's men.

But if a trouble arose that they couldn't solve, it would definitely be a big trouble, and behind the big trouble, there must be a big shot.

In Golden Port City, in Likalai State, there was no big shot who was so stupid as to proactively find trouble with him.

The goods were quickly loaded onto the car, and in about forty minutes, they were transported to the Golden Port docks.

The dedicated line from the train station to the dock was clear. The moment it arrived at the dock, a ray of golden sunlight broke through the fog and began to rise from the sea.

The sky gradually brightened.

At this time, there were already many workers at the dock. With the help of mechanical tools, they loaded all these things onto the freighter.

The entire loading process took about an hour. Around eight o'clock, after Lance had finished his breakfast, everything was loaded.

He simply wiped the corner of his mouth. "I won't chat idly with you. I have to rush to Zhuolan."

They had chatted briefly while having breakfast. Morris's wife was already pregnant.

Although Lance had told him that he could continue his life through organ replacement in the future, he still wanted to create an heir first.

In case it couldn't be realized, his legacy could still be passed on to his child.

Life after the wedding had clearly made Morris gain some weight, and his spirits also looked very good.

This reflected a fact from the side: rich people are never short of a happy life.

Mello escorted Lance to the dock. After checking the cargo, Lance left the port with the ship.

...

The next morning, a little after four, the freighter had already arrived at the Zhuolan dock.

The dock was also under martial law. Not only were Lance's men here, but also the local government army.

Diego had been notified, and had arrived at the dock early in the morning.

The moment Lance stepped down from the dock, Diego, somewhat agitated, took the initiative to walk over. He looked at Lance, his eyes full of anticipation.

He really didn't want to die.

But he also knew that whether he died or not was not up to him.

Now the anti-government armed forces outside were pressing very hard. If he didn't get new aid, he would likely be besieged in Zhuolan and would become a "symbol of the victory of the liberation movement" in the mouths of some "progressives."

Those anti-government armed forces claimed to be saving Rapa and its people from the corrupt and brutal dictator. These manifestos had already gained the support of many young people.

The fact that they were continuously expanding the scale of their army showed that more and more Rapa youth who were "ideologically awakened" had broken the shackles of their past thinking and had begun to seriously, and with an independent and free personality, to think about and to view this country and everything here.

According to unofficial statistics, the number of anti-government armed forces in Rapa now exceeded 550,000, and it was still continuously increasing.

The government army was, on the contrary, the smaller part, with only a little over 100,000.

If it weren't for the fact that there were also some conflicts, opposition, and clashes among these anti-government armed forces, there would probably be nothing left for President Diego to do.

He had been having nightmares during this period. The content of the nightmares was nothing more than a few types.

Either he dreamed of the leaders of those anti-government armed forces, the masterminds, that Pedro and Ross. They would rush into the Presidential Palace with weapons, drag him out of his office, and hang him on the gallows outside the Presidential Palace in front of everyone.

He would swing constantly with the sea breeze, and the wooden gallows would also creak, playing a symphony for his corpse's swaying.

Or, the federal army would suddenly appear by his side, and then would lift him onto the square outside the Presidential Palace, and in the gaze of many Rapa people, would declare him a tyrant, an anti-human ruler, and then execute him.

Every time he had these nightmares, he would wake up with a start, and would then find it difficult to fall asleep again.

This was also one of the reasons why he had lost a lot of weight recently. Poor sleep certainly leads to weight loss.

"The goods, are they on the ship?"

Diego's eyes were glowing with a trace of light. Lance nodded. "90 million Federal Sols in military supplies, firearms, shells, bullets, and some other supporting items, as well as 10 million Federal Sols in cash."

He looked back at the deeper silhouette of the freighter in the dark night. "They are all on the ship."

Diego's heart was on fire. The cold sea breeze could not dispel the astonishing heat in his body. "Then what are you waiting for?"

"Have them start unloading!"

Lance neither nodded nor shook his head. He just looked at Diego. "You know, this is a transaction. I have brought these things, showing my sincerity. Then what about the things I want?"

Diego was stunned for a moment. The flame in his heart was extinguished in an instant.

He had actually been thinking about this for the past two days. He was not as brainless as people imagined. He was still using his brain, although not much, but at least he was.

He could already imagine the consequences of taking this poison. Even if he barely achieved a miserable victory in this round, he would still be destroyed in the next.

His end was already destined. There was a high probability that it could not be changed.

He looked at Lance, his gaze constantly changing. Sometimes it would show fear, and sometimes it would show fierceness.

Lance just looked at him calmly, meeting his constantly changing gaze, staring into his eyes without any fear.

In this process, Diego had even considered whether to kill Lance and the people here, and then to negotiate with the anti-government armed forces.

But the fear of the Federation immediately made him give up this idea, because he knew that if he really did that, the Federation would definitely send troops to Rapa.

So, he was constantly unable to make any decision in his heart. In the midst of the constant changes, he finally began to compromise.

"I will announce it... after dawn," his voice was a bit dry. His whole person seemed to have lost something, and the light in his eyes had also dimmed a lot.

Lance nodded slightly. "Then after dawn, I will hand these things over to you."

He said this and did not give Diego any chance to continue talking to him. He walked directly to the convoy by the roadside, got into his armored car convoy, and left this place.

Diego looked back at Lance's car, which was getting further and further away, and finally disappeared into the night. He gritted his teeth tightly, and his hands clenched into fists.

But in the end, he had relaxed again.

...

At half-past nine in the morning, Rapa Central Radio, a channel that could cover the whole country, and now broadcast some news or political propaganda every day, began to work again.

People who had the means sat behind their tables at home, listening to the static from the radio quiet down. As for those who didn't, they gathered under some of the public loudspeakers on the street, and began to listen to the sound that came on time at half-past nine every morning.

"This is Rapa Central Radio. Next, we will switch to the Presidential Palace. President Diego will deliver a public speech to the nation in ten minutes."

"Repeat..."

Lance was also listening. The exquisite radio was placed on a nearby table. He sat in the sofa, smoking a cigarette.

There were already some Rapa "locals" sitting around him, representatives of some major families, or family heads, including people like the Foreign Minister.

They had completely defected to the Federation, to Lance, so they were here now, instead of in the Presidential Palace, or their own offices.

They also knew that after Diego's public speech this morning, Rapa would, in a very short time, and the Ravila family would end its long rule over this land.

Everyone's expression was a little agitated. This was an important historical moment. They were not only witnesses, but also participants.

And at the focal point of their gaze, Lance White, he was the driving force behind the entire plan.

Although he was still very young, everyone's expression when they looked at him was filled with reverence.

At 9:41, President Diego's voice came from the radio. He first coughed twice. His voice sounded a little hoarse.

After returning to the Presidential Palace in the morning, he had sat there slumped for a long time. He seemed to be able to foresee his own end, and at the same time, he was hating himself.

He clearly knew that the end was fixed. Why didn't he have the courage to fight to break all the shackles?

Maybe there was still hope?

He didn't know. He didn't have that courage, although he really wanted to.

"I... am the President of Rapa, Diego Ravila. It is now 9:41 and 36 seconds. I will now deliver the following speech from my office in the Presidential Palace."

"In the past period of time, Rapa has experienced many things. Famine, turmoil, civil war, many things."

"Many people have left us, forever left us."

"There are many problems of ours in this. I, and the other officials, we were overly optimistic, blind, and greedy, which led to this tragedy."

"The famine."

"I want to apologize to all the people who have died during this period. Because of our stupidity and greed, all these tragedies have happened."

"I know that an apology may not be able to change anything, but I still want to, at this moment, apologize to everyone..."

The entire Rapa seemed to have fallen silent at this moment.

People looked at the radio, at the large loudspeakers that were erected, in disbelief. They couldn't believe that President Diego had actually apologized in public!

The guy who would have been a dictator and a tyrant even in death, has actually apologized to the people?!

They all found it incredible!

Ross, hearing this, sneered. "Another political trick."

Pedro did not speak. From President Diego's tone, he felt a sense of desolate desperation, a grief of reaching a dead end.

He could roughly guess what had happened.

Lance was also listening. The members of the Rapa ruling group around Lance were also listening. It was just that compared to Lance's calmness, their faces had somewhat exasperated expressions.

Diego apologizing means that they are also wrong.

Can a ruler make a mistake?

No!

A ruler never makes a mistake!

"Damn it, he is undermining our prestige!" someone said. The others immediately echoed. Diego had disgraced the Ravila family, and had also made them suffer some reputation damage.

"I know deeply that I am an incompetent person. This country is a mess under my governance."

"Now there is a civil war, and also a famine. I am truly unable to help everyone return to the right track."

"Therefore, I announce that from this moment on, I allow the people who want to survive, the local communities, to have a high degree of autonomy, until the war is completely over..."

The ordinary listeners did not yet know what had happened, but in the anti-government armed forces, some people, for example, Pedro, suddenly stood up.

He stared at the radio in front of him with wide eyes. He knew that President Diego's situation was very bad, but he had not expected that the Rapa government's situation had already deteriorated to this point!

This was no longer selling out the country. After selling out the country, he had personally completely dismembered this country, just to make it easier for the federal people to use their knives and forks when it was served on the dining table!