Get the Atmosphere Going First

"Sir, you say all of this was the work of that international businessman named ' Preton,' what evidence do you have?"

The translator of the Nagaril United Kingdom was dutifully translating the words of the person beside him, "And how can you prove that what you are saying is true, and not something you made up?"

Over the years Preton Merchant House and Nagaril have become highly integrated, a distorted unity. In reality, they are aware of these problems but are ashamed to talk about them; rebuttal is merely a way to save face.

After glancing at the translator, Mr. Truman quickly immersed himself in what he did best, or rather, what every politician does best—lying.

"We've been keeping an eye on him for a while now. As we all know, our country is actively expanding its foreign trade and participating in more international affairs. In the process, we discovered a pirate group led by ' Preton ' entrenched in the East Ocean!"

"They pose a great threat to merchant ships, and we have begun an investigation into Preton and his gang at the request of the Federal merchants."

"During the investigation, we discovered that he had businesses all over the world, including in Nagaril ..."

This is a momentous era of great change, where not only news is being shared internationally, but also culture and legendary stories.

People are fascinated by those legendary stories, which is why Lin Qi's "Lin Qi's Adventures" were accepted by mainstream Federal society; people yearn for these interesting lives.

Lin Qi not only compiled his adventure stories into a book called "The Lin Qi's Adventures," but Fox Film is also reportedly working on adapting Lin Qi's adventure stories into a movie for the big screen.

People love legendary tales and adventure stories, and are also very curious about stories about pirates.

When Mr. Truman uttered the word "pirate," even the ladies who had been feigning unconsciousness snapped back to reality and became interested.

"Attacks, ship sabotage, and trade monopolies against Small Country without strong military power—in our investigation, this Mr. Preton not only organized a very dangerous pirate group in the East Ocean, but also used the pirate group's armed forces to monopolize the foreign trade of many island nations and Small Country, controlling the economic lifeline of these countries!"

At this moment, some reporters walked in, led by a few "staff members." They were not allowed to enter, and who knows if there were any people with ulterior motives hiding among them.

But now that problems have arisen, the task is to correct some things, and given Mr. Truman's intention to have the entire Federal on his side, he must make people understand the "truth."

The venue seemed to have become his personal stage. "This attack actually came from Mr. Preton and his interest group. In fact, we had already deployed a large number of agents to protect everyone here to ensure that our guests would not be injured."

People naturally imagined those unassuming waiters from earlier, or some of the people they thought were invited guests but were actually National Security Committee Agent. Mr. Truman's words did not seem to be a lie, which made his words more convincing.

"As for your questions about me, I believe Mr. Lin Qi can answer them for you..." Mr. Truman looked at Lin Qi, Lin Qi paused for a moment, then casually placed his wine glass on the tray held by the approaching waiter.

After saying "thank you," he walked to the stage that had been prepared for the band at the dinner and stood next to Mr. Truman.

"I'm handing the microphone to Mr. Lin Qi now. He'll answer everyone's questions..." As Mr. Truman took the microphone, he whispered in Lin Qi's ear, "I can't keep up the story. You'll have to wrap this up for me..."

He squeezed Lin Qi's wrist. "This is a good opportunity to persuade those who don't support us!"

Lin Qi maintained a warm but not enthusiastic, reserved and composed smile. He nodded slightly and greeted Mr. Truman's elderly mother. Mr. Truman returned the smile and nodded, making way for her.

Those who didn't know might have thought they were talking about something or that they had a very good relationship. Only Mr. Truman himself knew what Lin Qi had just said.

He stood behind Lin Qi, watching Lin Qi's back. He never really regarded this young man as a young man, but as a peer.

It's impossible for a 21-year-old to sit across from you at a table one afternoon and discuss how to instigate civil war in other countries. Dominating a country through economics is not a topic for young people, nor is it their way of thinking. This is a monster with a youthful appearance.

He possessed a mind and soul far beyond his years, so Mr. Truman believed that Lin Qi wouldn't mess things up.

"You can call me Lin Qi, or some people call me Mr. Explorer ..." Lin Qi's opening remarks were quite unique, which immediately eased the serious atmosphere. "As you all know, I spent quite a while in Nagaril before this. During my time in Nagaril, I received an invitation from Mr. Preton to Preton Merchant House."

"It was a trading company with a very monopolistic position. They firmly controlled almost all of Nagaril's import and export trade."

"As the key figure of the Preton Merchant House, Mr. Preton set the profit distribution method for every import and export trade. Everyone had to accept the profit distribution plan he proposed, otherwise he would incite pirates to attack those disobedient merchant ships at sea."

"He exploits and oppresses the people, paying them less than one Federal Sol sole a day while forcing them to work more than twelve hours a day, without any insurance or protection..."

"I have personally witnessed many injured and disabled workers living a life worse than death, and many more workers are suffering from various forms of unequal treatment..."

"He corrupted local officials. He used his personal interests to pave the way and recruited a large number of grassroots officials to unite around him. Anyone who was unwilling to be recruited by him would be excluded!"

"Most local officials receive an additional salary from Preton Merchant House in addition to their regular government salary..."

"They monopolize the market, suppress merchants, and restrict trade..."

As Lin Qi recounted these things, the ladies and gentlemen of the Federal civilized society exclaimed in astonishment. They could hardly imagine that Nagaril was such a backward and chaotic country.

The faces of Nagaril's men darkened further; they didn't even want to ask any more questions, even though they knew Lin Qi was telling the truth, but the truth was too hurtful.

When Lin Qi felt the time was right, he finally got to the point he was about to make after all that build-up. "This attack..." He paused slightly here because he wasn't using "riot" or "demonstration," but "attack," a word that carries a strong sense of aggression and is different in both meaning and nature from what came before.

"This attack was orchestrated by Mr. Preton. His real purpose was to sabotage the Nagaril United Kingdom's search for a new path forward!"

"Once the Federal and Nagaril establish diplomatic relations and become friendly and mutually supportive nations, we will be able to help the Nagaril United Kingdom break free from the control of pirate merchants!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Bayer Federation is far more powerful than we imagine!"

"We possess thousands of warships, countless soldiers ready to rush to the battlefield at any time, and the determination to defend the interests of the Federal, as well as the confidence to safeguard World Peace!"

"It is precisely because we are so powerful that Mr. Preton and his interest groups are so afraid of us, afraid that we will extend a helping hand of justice and help the Nagaril United Kingdom out of his shadow!"

As he said this, he looked at Nagaril's diplomatic delegation, observing them, and said, "He is using such clumsy tricks to undermine our friendly diplomatic relations, which precisely shows that they are truly afraid."

"This is not an insult to you. I think we should be happy about it. The Preton Group has revealed their true, weak side. They are not as terrible as we have seen."

"They are utterly vulnerable before the Bayer Federation; they can only resort to such despicable means to try and change their unwavering decisions!"

"In my opinion, this dinner will not be terminated because of this, nor will the issue of establishing diplomatic relations between us be shelved because of this."

"Not only will they not, but they should submit a diplomatic agreement even more quickly, so that we can help the Nagaril United Kingdom break free from the control of certain interest groups and allow them to bask in the sunlight just like us."

"This is no longer a simple diplomatic issue. From the moment these people entered the Federal, they were not only targeting the diplomatic delegation of the Nagaril United Kingdom, but also provoking us!"

"They are carrying out terrorist attacks on our soil, attempting to provoke conflict between us and the Nagaril United Kingdom. This is a declaration of war against the Bayer Federation!!"

"This is more of a battle between good and evil!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot remain silent. We cannot run away from all of this as we have in the past. We have grown up. We will no longer run away. We will face it!"

"The brave Bayer People and the valiant soldiers will make them understand what a terrible decision they made!"

"The sword of justice will eventually tear through all shadows. Justice will prevail, the Federal will prevail!"

Long Live the Free Federation!