The Road of Escape

The news that Lynch had agreed to speak at Cullinan State University spread quickly.

The principal Vice-Principal, and many teachers mobilized their resources to promote the public speech. State Television Station and local Television Station also approached the school, hoping to broadcast the speech, even if it meant paying a broadcasting fee.

The celebrity effect still works well in this relatively simple and honest era. Apart from thinking that politicians are talking nonsense, people still have a certain basic trust in what most celebrities and other public figures say.

They probably don't believe that those Upper Class celebrities would fabricate lies to deceive an ordinary person, but in fact, they often do.

Lin Qi returned quickly, arriving in Kuli Lan City on the third day and even having dinner with the mayor of Kuli Lan City.

The mayor of Kuli Lan City is a 47-year-old middle-aged man, a little younger than the mayor of the neighboring Sabine City, and a very charming middle-aged man.

At first glance, Lin Qi thought he looked a bit like... a celebrity. He had a very fashionable hairstyle that was a departure from traditional styles. The small tuft of hair at the front of his forehead was not flat against his scalp like the rest of his hair, but was curled back after being permed, giving it a modern feel.

The colorful shirt also made him look unlike most people his age who adhere to certain traditions and stereotypes, though it could also be a change in his fashion sense to conform to societal norms.

After a brief introduction, the mayor of Kuli Lan City asked a question, "Mr. Lin Qi, have you considered investing in York State?"

"We have the best academic and research environment in the state. The State University is right here, and in some areas of research, we are not lagging behind international standards."

"We are very open to new things and we are very friendly to investors. Maybe you should consider it."

Most of the leaders in the country are facing the same problem: the employment rate remains low. Compared to the neighboring Kuli Lan City, which has an unemployment rate of 19.4%, the situation is better, with only 14.7%.

It seems much better, but the problems are still serious.

Many families are relying on food relief to survive, and after more than half a year of distributing food relief, the finances of the City Hall in various places are also nearing their limit.

The wealthy are no longer willing to contribute, as they themselves don't have much money left to spare.

This isn't something that can be achieved with tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of dollars. It concerns the food supply for everyone in a city. Even if a city only has 300,000 people in need of food aid, and each person only needs one dollar of food aid per day, they could consume 300,000 dollars' worth of food in just one day! How many 300,000 dollars can the wealthy donate?

One? Ten?

Or a hundred?

No matter how much they donate, the money will quickly be consumed by those who need food. Distributing food aid does not truly solve the problem; the solution is to enable them to earn wealth through labor and purchase food.

Even if Lin Qi can provide a hundred jobs, it means that he can help at least a hundred families struggling to make ends meet in Kuli Lan City every month, reducing their expenses by thousands of dollars.

If we can reduce it a little, the government's burden will be lighter.

But Lin Qi shook his head. "I have no intention of investing in China for the time being. The current environment in China is not suitable for large-scale investment, and you know..."

He picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, saying, "My future development will focus on overseas, so I can only apologize."

The mayor wasn't too disappointed. He hadn't had high hopes to begin with, and he was just asking casually, in case the mayor agreed.

"I've heard some rumors about you and I'm very interested in the Trade War you mentioned. Could you tell me more about it?" the mayor of Kuli Lan City asked.

Lin Qi nodded slightly. "Of course, but we don't have enough time. We can only give a general overview. If you want more details, perhaps you can come to the State University tomorrow." He smiled and shrugged. "You know, they invited me to give a public speech..."

Meanwhile, while Lin Qi and the mayor of Kuli Lan City were enjoying a sumptuous dinner in good spirits, Mr. Preton was on a terrifying escape.

Who could have imagined that Gefra's invincible Royal Fleet would lose to the Federal Navy? If he had known this would be the outcome, he would never have dared to ask the Navy Minister to stand up for him.

He severed all contact with everyone, regardless of who they were. The moment he learned the outcome of the naval battle, he disappeared from sight and fled alone.

He no longer trusts anyone, because anyone could betray him, whether to the Gefra or the Federal, for a good price or perhaps a favor.

These people will be honored because of him, but he will die because of it!

Without a doubt, based on his understanding of Gefra Emperor, that easily angered man would tie him to the Condemnation Cliff and let the Shield-Beak Eagle peck him to death.

That was one of the most cruel punishments in Gefra. The Shield-Beak Eagle was a species of hawk unique to Gefra. Compared to the sharp and hooked beaks of its many relatives, the Shield-Beak Eagle's beak was like a bone hammer, a hammer with sharp points.

These special eagles mostly live in coastal areas and mainly feed on various shellfish and crustaceans. They find their prey in the air, aim at it, and swoop down like lightning. They use their fist-sized, high-density, blunt beaks to precisely smash the hard shell of their prey and then peck at the flesh inside.

The Shield-Beak Eagle has a complex diet and will prey on some large mammals if given the opportunity; it is also quite intelligent.

They knew that if they smashed the heads of these animals, they might only get one-thousandth of the food; the rest would be eaten by other animals or rot.

Therefore, when they hunt large mammals, they will start by targeting the lower limbs of their prey.

With its hard, hammer-like beak capable of crushing bones, combined with the speed of its descent from the air, it can easily break the bones of any animal.

Animals that lose their ability to walk will fall to the ground because they cannot walk upright. Then, these Shield-Beak Eagle will slowly crush the limbs of their prey, while ensuring that they do not die immediately, thus achieving an alternative purpose of storing food.

According to some scholars and experts, a large mammal can survive for about three days to a week under their siege, spending each day in despair.

These animals watch helplessly as their bodies are eaten piece by piece, enduring intense pain and high fevers caused by various infections, until finally, just before they are about to die, their heads are smashed in a terrifying way.

The Emperor of Gefra were never known for their good temper. To vent their anger, they would clean and bandage the wounds of those condemned to the Condemnation Cliff, subjecting them to the maximum fear and torment, and slowly dying in endless pain and terror.

Whether those legends are true or false, Preton has no intention of trying.

He had just come out of the train station. The station, in the sweltering summer heat, was filled with a strong smell of sweat and some kind of foul odor. He was carrying a bag. He stood in the square outside the station, glanced at his surroundings, and quickly walked to the roadside.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Preton, whom both Gefra and the Federal were searching for, was actually within Federal territory at that moment.

He created a false impression last time, making people think he had fled, but he hadn't; he remained in the Federal.

In his view, the federal government is safer than Gefra or other places, and the loose political system and liberal institutions mean that the intensity of arrests here is never high.

Furthermore, since there aren't any particularly clear photos of him circulating in the outside world over the years, it's practically impossible to catch him through Wanted Order.

This is a country of money. As long as you have money, you can live well here. He has money, a lot of money.

In addition to some well-known accounts, he has many emergency and backup accounts, enough for him to squander in the Federal government for a lifetime.

As he thought of this, a smile appeared on his lips. Those fools were probably still chasing after his fake identities outside.

From the first day he set foot on Nagaril's soil, Preton had already anticipated this day, after all, he possessed enough to make some people take action against him.

So he had everything planned out very clearly. He would go to the western part of the Federal as soon as possible, then find a small town without communication or television to stay for a while, blend in with the locals, and then figure out a way to get out...

Just as Preton was about to find a place to stay, a few young men stood up in an alley next to the station.

A girl was the first to emerge from the alley and walk toward Preton.

From the latter's perspective, he has already disguised himself as "ordinary" enough, but in reality, what he considers ordinary is still not ordinary enough. At least in the current environment, it seems unlikely that an ordinary person would be able to walk out of the station in the middle of the night wearing clean clothes and carrying a small leather bag.

So the girl decided to try her luck. She quickly caught up with Preton, Preton turned around alertly to look at the woman, a flash of murderous intent in his eyes.

"Is there something you need, ma'am?"

The person in front of him was dressed in very revealing summer clothes: a short skirt, a tube top, and perhaps some underwear to tie up his hair.

She displayed her beautiful body and even struck a pose, saying, "Sir, would you like to have some fun?"