A world without Gefra.
Mr. Truman took a drag on his cigarette. Smoke drifted lazily around him, and a smile flickered across his face before quickly disappearing.
Through the smoke, he looked at Lin Qi. "I remember you once said that we needed an enemy."
Lin Qi nodded. "Without external pressure, it's difficult for us to unite. The conflict between the classes will escalate quickly."
"You know, once people think their surroundings are comfortable, they'll start thinking and complaining!"
"We have to make people feel a sense of crisis. When they feel threatened, they won't complain—and they won't have time to complain!"
"External pressure can make us more united!"
"I once thought Gefra would be our enemy. It seems we overestimated Gefra."
Mr. Truman remembered that. At the time, Lin Qi had treated Gefra as the Federation's potential target for the future, which had greatly shaken Mr. Truman. Back then, Gefra was still basking in the glory of defeating the Central Powers in the First World War. From top to bottom, no one in the Federation believed they could defeat the Gefrans.
That had also been one of the reasons Congress had ultimately decided to end the Federation's neutrality policy!
They had heard that Gefra hoped to impose stronger restrictions on neutral countries, so the Federation had no choice but to take a side.
But now, after ten years, this military power that had once made everyone acutely aware of their own weakness had become far less important—in the words of the Federal President, and in Lin Qi's words.
It was ridiculous!
We thought the enemy was powerful, only to discover later that we had overestimated the enemy and underestimated ourselves.
All the atmosphere, work, and goals we had created for that purpose now seemed like a joke.
Mr. Truman