1124: Chapter 1124: Making a Move (Requesting Monthly Pass for Big Chapter) 1124: Chapter 1124: Making a Move (Requesting Monthly Pass for Big Chapter) “Suspecting that Chaotic Believers have infiltrated Minte City, to help defend the city, they want the rcenary Corps from the two major financial groups stationed outside South and North Cities to enter the city?”
The bright and opulent lights shone over an office adorned with various decorative items and artworks, as well as the magnificent desk embedded with gems.
The man seated behind the desk set the docunt in his hands onto the surface, rubbed the corner of his forehead, and scoffed, “They might as well tell to point a gun at myself and then hand the gun over to them, yes—and load it for them, too.”
“Mr.
Lockte, the two financial groups have sponsored our campaign foundation and have promised…”
The figure in the slightly pilled silk suit standing in front of the desk, softly began speaking to the man behind it.
“But I’ve already allowed them to cross the fifty-kiloter safety line to be stationed right outside the city gates,”
Lockte’s hand rested on the desktop, and he stood up with a swish, interrupting the suited figure, his icy gaze fixed on the person before him, “And now they even want to enter the city?”
The figure in the suit trembled slightly, with head bowed.
Lockte gazed at the figure in front of him, rubbed the corner of his forehead again, sighed, and sat back down, “Such a request—if it were you, would you agree to it?”
Hearing this question, the figure halted and said nothing more.
Ding-a-ling-ling—
At that mont, the phone on the desk suddenly rang.
Lockte reached out to answer the phone,
“Hello, what’s the matter at this late hour?…
Who?…
Suote?
The one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation?
What’s he doing here?”
As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the docunts on the desk, and after a brief pause, he slowly said, “Let him in, bring him directly to my office.”
After hanging up, he raised his head and looked at the figure in the suit, waving his hand, “You may leave now.”
“Yes!”
The figure in the suit nodded gently and backed out of the office.
Lockte lowered his head to look at the docunt in his hands.
…
Minutes later, a man dressed in black with He Ao stopped at the office door.
“Hello, you will need to leave your weapon here before seeing the Mayor.”
However, the man in black did not open the door imdiately, but instead looked at He Ao, extending his hand.
“This knife cannot be too far from .”
He Ao spoke softly.
Yet he still reached out, intending to unfasten the sheath.
“No need.”
A light chuckle ca from the office, and then the thick office door opened on its own, “Mr.
Suote from the Federal Bureau of Investigation doesn’t need to go through these procedures.”
He Ao turned his head to look through the open office door at the lavishly decorated office, and the poised and genteel middle-aged man seated behind the exquisite desk.
“Please co in.”
The man in black lifted his hand, indicating He Ao could enter the office.
He Ao walked in, looking toward the scene behind the desk.
At this mont, the man who seed approachable and refined had risen, and the wall behind him had sohow transford into a liquor cabinet filled with an array of fine spirits.
He Ao looked at the figure and spoke softly, “Mr.
Lockte.”
“Mr.
Suote,”
Lockte was holding a bottle of red wine and two glasses, pouring a bit of wine into both glasses and smiling at He Ao, “This is our first eting indeed, and you’re truly as heroic as legend depicts.”
He picked up a glass of wine and extended it to He Ao, “Now is not the ti to talk business, how about taking a break and having a drink?”
He Ao looked at the wine glass handed to him, reached out, and took the wine glass, “Thank you.”
He looked at Mr.
Lockte and smiled, “If it’s not ti to discuss serious matters, what should we talk about?”
“We can talk about anything,”
Mr.
Lockte took a sip of wine, chuckled, and said, “Like your experiences in Ains, I’ve been revolving around Minte City all my life and have never been to Ains.”
“Does Mr.
Lockte want to go then?”
He Ao held the wine glass and asked with a gentle smile.
At these words, Mr.
Lockte was slightly taken aback.
He looked up at He Ao and said with a casual laugh, “I’d like to go, of course I would.
Who wouldn’t want to visit Ains?”
“I’ve heard that Senators of the Senate,”
He Ao said with a smile, “all have their own office space in Ains, and that bureaucrats of the Federal Cabinet, even the Vice President and the President, mostly co from the Senate.”
“Indeed, I have heard of that.”
Mr.
Lockte also smiled and said, “I have good relations with both Senators from Minte City, and we often gather to discuss matters regarding Ains.”
“In another year, Mr.
Lockte, your term will co to an end?”
He Ao asked with a light laugh, holding the wine glass, not continuing the previous question.
“Indeed,”
Mr.
Lockte smiled and took a gentle sip of red wine, “Being Mayor is tough, it’s easy to offend people, and the salary isn’t high either, little pay for a lot of trouble.”
He Ao looked down and sniffed the rich aroma of the red wine in his glass, “Then does Mr.
Lockte have any thoughts about seeking reelection?”
There are no limits to reelection for the Mayor of Minte City, and this is already Mr.
Lockte’s third consecutive term.
“I’ve been working in this city for too long,”
Mr.
Lockte walked to the wine cabinet, gazing at the dense rows of red wine bottles, “So people like and hope I keep working until death, others dislike and wish I’d die in office right now,”
He turned around, looked at He Ao and said with a smile, “Actually, I’m also troubled about whether to continue or not.
Does Mr.
Suote have any suggestions?”
“In fact, I also know quite a few friends in Ains,”
He Ao held up his wine glass, took a gentle sip, and said with a smile,
“I’ve been lucky enough to et the President a few tis.
However, these connections can only be used in Ains.
If there’s a Senator who wants to enter the Federal Central, I could possibly help with an introduction.
In Minte City, there’s not much I can do.
As an outsider, I can’t offer much advice to Mr.
Lockte.”
“Hahaha,”
Mr.
Lockte laughed, “They say Mr.
Suote has traveled through cities across the eastern and western parts of the Federation, countless in number.
With your insight, you definitely must have your own opinions about the policies of Minte City.
Feel free to speak your mind.”
“Not many good insights,”
He Ao smiled, “but I do have one diocre suggestion.”
“Oh?”
Mr.
Lockte seed interested.
“Doesn’t Mr.
Lockte find that Note Intelligence and West Steel have extended their reach too long in this city?”
He Ao gazed out of the office window at the quiet city and said with a light laugh, “They have even sent rcenary Corps to the outskirts of Minte City.
I’ve seen quite a few instances like this.
Once corporations bring rcenary troops into a city, often not-so-good things happen.”
“You an, don’t let the two major corporations’ rcenary Corps into the city?”
Mr.
Lockte narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze subtly scanned the docunts on the table, then smiled and said, “This is indeed a fair suggestion, certainly worth serious consideration.”
“Then I hope Mr.
Lockte will be ‘perceptive’.”
He Ao raised his wine glass, smiling lightly.
“I dare not claim to be ‘perceptive’; I can only say, I will do my best to make Minte City develop better.”
Mr.
Lockte smiled and raised his wine glass.
Bang—
With a soft clink, their wine glasses touched.
——Several minutes later——
Lockte watched as He Ao disappeared down the corridor under the escort of the man in black, and the smile on his face also vanished.
He handed his wine glass and the red wine to a servant who had co in and then sat back down behind his desk, gently brushing his hand over its surface.
The unfolded liquor cabinet swiftly folded back and returned to its original form as a wall.
After a short while, the formally dressed man who had been there at the start knocked gently on the office door and entered the room.
He looked toward Lockte and spoke respectfully, “Did you call for , Mr.
Lockte?”
“The Deputy Chief of Staff from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Suote, was here just now.”
Lockte smiled at the formally dressed man, “He does not want the rcenary Corps of the two major consortia to enter the city.”
Upon hearing this, the formally dressed man’s complexion shifted slightly.
Then, without waiting for him to respond, Lockte continued, “He has offered a bargaining chip: as long as I prevent the rcenary Corps of the two major consortia from entering the city, he can introduce to a heavy hitter from Ains after I retire from running for Senator.”
“The Federal Bureau of Investigation is just an organization under the Departnt of Justice, and there are three Deputy Chiefs,”
The formally dressed man hesitated and then whispered, “A single Deputy Chief couldn’t be acquainted with that many significant figures.”
“I’ve seen his dossier,”
Lockte, smiling, looked at the formally dressed man, “He has close relations with both the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the current President.
Besides,”
He paused in his tone, squinting his eyes slightly, “are you sure the Departnt of Justice can really control the Federal Bureau of Investigation?”
“This…”
The formally dressed man swallowed, wiping the sweat from his brow, and defended himself, “I, I’m not very familiar with the situation over at Ains.”
The entire office fell into a montary silence, and after a brief hesitation, the formally dressed man cautiously began, “Are you planning to cooperate with that ‘Suote’ and firmly reject the suggestions of the two major consortia by refusing to let their rcenary Corps into the city?”
“What do you think?”
Instead of answering, Lockte picked up the docunts on the desk and smiled as he tossed the question back.
“I,”
The formally dressed man hung his head low, wiping the sweat from his brow, and said tremblingly, “This is a decision only you can make.”
“Alright, you may go now.”
Lockte did not speak further but simply waved his hand to dismiss him.
The expression of the formally dressed man stiffened.
Not knowing why Lockte had instructed so, he still nodded, “Yes.”
Then he left the office and closed the door behind him.
Lockte lowered his head and continued to examine the docunts in his hand.
Click——
A small door on the office’s side wall opened, and a deep voice erged in the now silent office, “He doesn’t seem very loyal to you.”
“He’s just a dog raised by Note Intelligence, placed by my side,”
Lockte, holding the docunts, stretched lazily,
“He won’t walk more than ten ters from this office before he calls his real master to report everything that just transpired.
“He will tell his masters that I have been persuaded by Suote and I’m inclined to absolutely forbid the rcenary Corps from entering the city.
“Then his masters will et to discuss counterasures.
“By tomorrow morning at the latest, soone will contact with a real ‘reasonable’ offer.”
He scoffed, tossing the docunts onto the desk, “What nonsense, they think they can get rid of with a couple of bones, treating like a stray dog by the roadside?”
He rubbed his temples slightly, “The consortium bastards are becoming less and less respectful of the rules.”
Then, as if struck by a thought, he chuckled lightly, “But Suote’s timing is impeccable, it’s just that he doesn’t have much in the way of bargaining chips otherwise I could have driven the price up even higher.”
The figure that had just spoken stood quietly by Lockte’s side, not uttering a word.
He knew that his ’employer’ just needed a ‘confessional’ to vent emotions and ponder strategies, not for any response from this ‘confessional’.
“By the way,”
Lockte looked up towards the figure beside him, “What do you make of that Federal Bureau of Investigation Deputy Chief, Suote’s capabilities?”
“Dangerous.”
The deep voice slowly resonated.
“Is he strong?”
Lockte was taken aback, nodding slightly, “I heard he’s the only ‘C’ grade among the three Deputy Chiefs of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, so he must have so skills, right?”
“He is not strong,”
The deep voice spoke again, “but his knife is dangerous.”
As Lockte looked on with a hint of confusion, the figure slowly added, “However, his will is strong when he conversed with you earlier, he was bearing almost fatal injuries on his body.”
“What?”
Startled by this revelation, Lockte widened his eyes in surprise, then said with so disbelief, “But during our talk, he behaved just like a normal person, with gestures and mannerisms.”
“Therefore, his willpower is strong, and so is his control over his body,”
The deep voice said slowly, “He managed to restrain his facial expressions and body muscles, so as not to show any abnormalities in front of you.”
“Could you beat him?”
Hearing the words of the figure, Lockte pondered.
“With that knife, it might take so ti,”
The figure spoke calmly, “Without it, he is unworthy to stand before .”
“My safety still depends on you.”
Lockte sighed with relief and smiled.
“That’s my duty.”
The figure stated in a deep voice.
Then it turned and walked back through the hidden door.
Lockte, hanging his head slightly, rubbed his temples as if imrsed in deep thought.
——
Mayor’s Mansion Side Door
Under the watchful gaze of two n in black, He Ao exited the side door, looked up at the night sky obscured by the lights overhead.
Before arriving in Minte City, ‘Suote’ had conducted an in-depth investigation of Minte City’s Mayor Lockte.
Greedy, malevolent, filled with ambition for power.
‘Advancing further within Ains to reach the Federal Central’ might indeed move him, but the chips He Ao could offer were not enough to sway him.
Compared to He Ao’s verbal promises, he would undoubtedly favor the two consortia with whom he had long cooperated.
And the ‘promise’ He Ao made would rely serve as a bargaining chip for Lockte to negotiate with the two major consortia.
He Ao understood this before coming, he never thought he could persuade Lockte.
His purpose in making this trip was to deliver ‘bargaining chips’ to ‘Lockte,’ so that Lockte would enter the ‘negotiation’ phase.
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