How can we transform these barbarians into good people?
The smiles of both representatives instantly froze; they clearly didn't want to smile, but they were forced to.
After a moment's thought, Smith, the North America representative, dressed in a suit and tie, stepped forward.
"Mr. Chairman, I fully agree with your benevolent philosophy, but we may not have the conditions to educate them right now. At the very least, we need a prison, but that's not difficult; we can find people to build it at any time..."
Sweating profusely, Smith couldn't help but loosen his tie, wanting to continue speaking, but then he saw President Zhang glance at him indifferently, say nothing, and turn and walk away.
Before he could react, he saw the Mutual Aid Society soldiers behind him suddenly walking towards the North America convoy, as if preparing to drive them away.
"Hey!"
Smith quickly waved his hand, blocking the way for the soldiers, while anxiously searching for Zhang Tianyuan.
But where can I still find it?
However, he saw another figure.
" Captain Wang!"
Smith rushed to Wang Lei's side and clung to Wang Lei's exoskeleton armor like a koala. If Wang Lei hadn't seen Smith's face clearly, he would have taken a heavy punch from Wang Lei.
" Captain Wang, please help me, I beg you... I really need your help!"
"What's wrong?"
Wang Lei, who had been focused on the prisoners from the Vulture Tribe, was completely oblivious to what was happening here. He calmly pried open Smith's tightly gripped fingers one by one.
"It's like this..." Smith quickly pulled Wang Lei to his convoy and began to explain what had just happened.
"... That's how it is. I absolutely did not mean to shirk responsibility or refuse to cooperate with your work!"
Smith even raised three fingers to swear, though it's unclear where he learned that from.
Wang Lei glanced at it.
Very good, you're raising your middle finger, ring finger, and little finger...
I still need more experience in learning local customs.
Wang Lei remained calm and unhurried, but Smith was practically frantic. The soldiers who were driving them away were standing right there, only refraining from doing anything out of respect for Wang Lei.
Smith hurriedly urged Wang Lei on, looking anxious.
It seemed as if they already knew what would happen to them if they slunk back like this.
Beside him, the representative sent by Ski watched silently without saying a word, but a hint of expectation for the future lingered in his eyes.
If Smith is sent back, wouldn't his next task be much easier?
This is a damage assessment meeting; the division of responsibility between the two parties will be a long debate going on.
Now that Smith is heading home early, doesn't that mean he can say whatever he wants when it comes to assessing the damage?
Then they can bear the least responsibility in this incident...
Thinking of this, even Ski's representative couldn't help but smile.
Smith glanced at him unintentionally and immediately understood his ulterior motives, which made him even more anxious.
Wang Lei stroked his chin and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I understand what you mean."
"You may not realize it, but we've always discouraged excessive interference. Your assistance here is appropriate, but including prisons in the aid is inappropriate."
Having traveled through so many different time periods, Wang Lei had figured out some of the unwritten rules within the Mutual Aid Society.
Although there are close connections among the member states of the Mutual Aid Society and within different time periods, close connections are different from remote control.
Although this rule usually only applies to cases involving cross-temporal and spatial dimensions.
But what's the situation now?
Connor and Ski's representatives came to this wasteland to atone for their sins, not to expand their influence.
Formal aid and rehabilitation efforts haven't even begun, yet they're already thinking about building a prison here. (Xxs-2)
This kind of institution cannot be built by ordinary outsiders.
Perhaps Smith's words were unintentional, but they reflect a part of his subconscious, which has become a habit.
In situations like this, if we don't give them a wake-up call, they'll continue operating according to their usual practices, and before they know it, they'll be heading in a direction where they support each other and then compete against each other...
The Mutual Aid Society doesn't have time to focus its energy on this, much less time to get involved in politics with Connorsky and his partner, going back and forth with their moves.
This has never been something the Mutual Aid Society excels at.
So just slap him.
Just let them know where the line is.
This place was already a wasteland; if we bring in politics, isn't that just changing the name but not the substance?
Wang Lei didn't explain it to Smith and his colleague explicitly, but he only hinted at it indirectly, which was enough for the two representatives to understand the seriousness of the matter.
Smith broke out in a cold sweat.
Only he knew that what he had just done was not an unintentional mistake, but a purely instinctive move in order to expand his country's influence here.
If he can build a prison here with the Mutual Aid Society, wouldn't that indirectly indicate that he has some form of control?
Even if it's only temporary, there's still plenty of room for maneuver.
A small hole in the wall was gradually turned into a window, then into a door, until finally the entire wall was demolished and the house collapsed.
He certainly had that in mind.
After all, in Smith's view, they couldn't possibly have come here to be great philanthropists, could they?
"I... I need to make a phone call." Smith wiped away his cold sweat, hurriedly said goodbye to Wang Lei, and rushed back to his car.
Wang Lei looked at the representative sent by Ski.
This was a bald, middle-aged man Yuri. He wiped the sweat from his brow and, feigning composure, said he had suddenly remembered something urgent.
"Then hurry up and go. Everyone needs to use the restroom sometimes; you can't hold it in."
Wang Lei waved to him, then gestured for the soldiers who had come to drive Smith away to disperse, and went to see President Zhang.
"I've already told them the general requirements."
"Yes, thank you for your hard work." Zhang Tianyuan nodded. "Go check on those prisoners from earlier and have them lead the way for us."
Wang Lei agreed, but before leaving, he couldn't help but ask one more question, "President, if Smith doesn't find me, will you really expel him?"
"Otherwise what?" Zhang Tianyuan said nonchalantly, "What does it matter to us who bears more or less responsibility? We're not the ones providing the aid supplies anyway."
That's right!
Wang Lei suddenly understood.
As long as there are enough aid supplies, who cares where they come from?
The refugees in this wasteland don't care who provided the supplies, so why should they?