The Interrupted Dinner Party

"You have ten minutes!" The Vice Minister looked at his assistant and patted the assistant's clean shoulder. "You only have ten minutes to resolve this. By seven o'clock, I want the streets outside to be as clean as your groomed kitten. Understand?"

The Vice Minister's anger had reached its limit, as evidenced by the fact that he didn't hesitate to utter insulting profanities in front of his assistant; he was on the verge of losing his temper.

Undoubtedly, this incident will eventually affect his career. People will discuss the situation outside, and as the diplomatic personnel mainly responsible for receiving guests, he has an inescapable responsibility.

If this matter causes any negative repercussions, it could very well become a political stain on his record.

One second he was full of ambition, wanting to make a name for himself in politics. He had already planned what he would do after he replaced the Minister of Foreign Affairs as the First Minister Ministry of Foreign Affairs minister. He had even secretly written an inaugural speech in advance. But now all of this has become uncertain, all because of those people outside.

He stood still and made a big fuss about his appearance, forced a smile and walked back into the banquet hall. Many people noticed his grumpy expression, and even though he kept trying to smile, it didn't give off a good impression.

Stiff, angry, and unapproachable.

After the Vice Minister minister's assistant left the hotel, there were already quite a few investigators and police officers outside who had come to reinforce the Bureau of Investigation, but they did not take any further action. They simply formed a human wall to protect the hotel.

In those few minutes, the number of people demonstrating outside increased, and some passersby only stopped for a moment before joining them.

The freedom to assemble, demonstrate, and march is the most basic right granted to every citizen of the Bayer Federation by the Charter, and it is also an expression of their free will. They can hold, join, or stop these activities anytime and anywhere.

Of course, if it is a large-scale march or demonstration that will affect traffic for a certain period of time, then an application is required.

This is not an infringement on freedom, but other people's freedom is also freedom, so the local government needs to coordinate new transportation routes.

But these small-scale events can start anytime, anywhere.

The more people gather there, the greater the outward influence becomes, and the more people are attracted.

As more and more people walked towards them, the Vice Minister minister's assistant felt that waiting was not a good idea. He wanted to do something and decided to talk to the leader of the protesters.

But after listening for only two minutes outside the crowd, he realized that this was someone who couldn't communicate...

"... We are suffering from hunger. I have heard that the Federal unemployment rate has hit a record low this year, and countless people are out of work and have to rely on those dog shit-like relief foods to get by."

"We can grit our teeth and persevere in the face of poverty and any difficulties because we believe that our government can change these things, can help us get back on our feet, and can bring new opportunities and new jobs to our society."

"But look at what those sluts inside have done. They'd rather give the money they've squeezed from us taxpayers to those barbarians inside, build factories for them, give them orders, and increase their employment rate, but nobody ever pays them a second glance!"

"Just because they do this makes their political record look better, in my opinion, it's all bullshit!"

"Let those barbarians go back to their countries, leave their money there, create more jobs, and provide more security for people!"

The reporters excitedly pointed their cameras at Martin. Martin was extremely agitated; his face was flushed, and spittle flew everywhere. The reporters in the front row kept wiping their faces, but they didn't feel disgusted; they only felt excited.

This is big news, without a doubt, this is big news!

For every person who likes the Progressive Party's policies and the president's political platform, there will always be someone who doesn't.

When you try to take care of more aspects, there will be more opposing sides; that's politics.

If we can ignite the attitude of this group, we'll have news headlines for the next week and even the next month.

Through these clearly meticulously crafted words, the Vice Minister minister's assistant already had a pretty good idea that this was very likely a premeditated demonstration, making the possibility of talking to the leader to resolve the matter extremely slim.

Just as he was preparing to try a different approach to resolve the matter, the person being interviewed by the media suddenly waved his arms and shouted some astonishing words.

"A corrupt and decadent government is reaping the lives of ordinary people like us. Many people died last winter, and many more will die this summer, but they don't care."

"The rule of corrupt bureaucrats will ultimately sink the Federal, along with our past glories and honors, to the bottom of the sea. We can no longer remain silent; we must stand up. We are the masters of this country!"

These words are bolder and more dangerous than his previous complaints and grumbles.

If his previous words and attitudes were merely expressions of dissatisfaction with some of the Presidential Cabinet's policies and the push to establish diplomatic relations with Nagaril, then such complaints were mild, even harmless.

Regardless of his mood, attitude, or tone at the time, what he expressed was actually within the framework permitted by the rulers. He did not challenge the rulers' power; he was merely expressing his dissatisfaction with those who represented the ruling power.

But things are different now. He has turned his attention to the Federal Government system, and even journalists have temporarily lost their ability to speak.

Although the Federal Government does some lousy things every few years, and some people even think that the Federal elected a comedian instead of a president, it has to be said that the country's system is already very lenient.

No one goes to jail for saying the wrong thing, and no one loses their life for reading books they shouldn't have read.

You can criticize politicians without restraint, but you shouldn't criticize the system; this is a common understanding.

This guy got so excited that he said things he shouldn't have.

At that very moment, just as people realized he had said something foolish, and he himself realized he had said something he shouldn't have, several cars suddenly sped up on the street—police cars.

The mayor frowned slightly and glanced at the Police Chief beside him. "You've asked for reinforcements again?" His tone wasn't friendly. "Do you think there aren't enough people who know about this yet?"

The large gathering of police officers will naturally put pressure on the public and create a sense of panic. Although the situation in the Federal government has improved recently, there are still many contradictions.

The gathering of police at this time could very likely trigger some unforeseen events, or even riots.

The Police Chief wanted to shake his head to indicate that he hadn't done it, but he felt that even if he denied it, the mayor wouldn't believe him. In this city, all the police officers were his subordinates, and no one else could have done it. He could only wipe his sweat as he walked toward the roadside.

Too many police officers gathered here would create a tense atmosphere. He wanted the police to leave, but to his surprise, before he could do anything, the police officers who got out of their cars rushed towards the demonstrators with batons in hand.

In an instant, a black arrow tore through the crowd of demonstrators, and curses and screams mingled together, creating a deafening uproar.

What's happening outside?

Masu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagaril United Kingdom, was chatting with the Interim Speaker and exchanging views on the prospects of the visit when the commotion outside made him look at the Interim Speaker in surprise. The Interim Speaker, in turn, looked at the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, the main person in charge of the reception.

The latter looked bewildered. He didn't know what had happened, but he knew what to do. "I'll go check it out. This is the city center; maybe there's been a car accident or some other incident outside..."

His face looked grim. He wasn't sure what was happening outside, but it certainly wasn't good.

The Interim Speaker nodded with a cold expression, while the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagaril United Kingdom was much more polite, maintaining a smile throughout.

At that very moment, an even louder commotion erupted outside the door. Several demonstrators stormed into the hotel lobby, and the sound of shattering glass doors and their screams made it impossible for the heavy wooden doors of the banquet hall to block out the noise. The interim speaker Vice Minister at the Interim Speaker, turned and walked to the door, and pushed it open.

Immediately afterwards, a scene that elicited a variety of reactions came into view.

Some protesters lay on broken glass and in pools of blood, while police officers in Federal uniforms were violently beating and kicking them. They looked menacing and frightening.

Upon seeing this, the previously harmonious atmosphere in the room vanished instantly.

When a man with a face covered in blood shouted in standard Common Language, "Savage natives, get out of civilized society," everyone's expression changed.

It's over!

This was the only thought in the Vice Minister at that moment: everything was fucking over. His mind was blank, and he couldn't even find any way to salvage the situation because he had no idea what to do.

For the past decade or so, the work of the Bayer Federation in foreign affairs has been limited to interpreting written documents and exchanging very few telegrams with neighboring countries.

Under the policy of isolation, domestic diplomats are essentially on vacation. They don't need to do anything; they just need to clock in and out on time. They have no tasks and no responsibilities.

This resulted in a severe lack of diplomatic skills and adaptability among this group of diplomats, even though they themselves did not perceive it to be true.

Faced with the unexpected situation, this Deputy Vice Minister, who was considered to have a bright future, could only stare dumbfounded as everything unfolded before his eyes.

And he could do nothing; he was powerless in the face of all this!