Darkstone Code-Chapter 844 - 842: Bound for Greatness

Everything has two sides.

For instance, a crowd on the street is waving their arms and cheering for the decision of the President’s Mansion, believing this to be the Federation’s finest moment in history.

Meanwhile, some are sitting indoors, gazing at the clear sky outside with furrowed brows, worried that this move could trigger a new round of world-destroying wars.

For every person who likes it, there will always be someone who dislikes it, and that’s normal.

If everyone likes it, surely someone is pretending to like it.

The Federation Ministry of International Affairs held a press conference punctually, and no matter if people liked or disliked Minister Truman and his international policy, everyone came here to listen to what he had to say.

There was no long table at the press conference, just a projection screen and a podium, where Minister Truman stood.

He was looking over some materials and scripts, and when his assistant informed him that the time had come, he tidied up his materials and looked at the scene of the press conference.

The place was packed with people, with reporters holding notebooks and pens at the front, among whom were hidden some unregistered diplomats, commonly known as spies, followed by rows of cameras and video recorders.

Since the Federation’s status in international society has been constantly rising, every time a Federation Government level press conference is held, it is packed with people. Every country wants to obtain first-hand information to determine whether these news stories are valuable or harmful to them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am very pleased you could all be here. Regarding some of the discussions and views in society today, I will provide a unified response."

"I know some people think our actions are too aggressive, but I want you to understand that Federation people never resort to force first, unless our interests are harmed."

"It has always been this way, and it will continue to be this way!"

Someone raised their hand wanting to ask a question, but Mr. Truman did not agree, "Put your hand down, ma’am; it’s not time for questions yet."

"However, I know what you want to ask, and that is also why I’m holding this press conference," he said, gesturing to his assistant nearby.

Soon, the room’s lights dimmed, and the projector began to work.

Distorted photos, along with details about the people in the photos, were projected onto the screen. The records on these people were very detailed, even down to their local nicknames in Suge and the influential things they had done.

When the final person’s photo was projected, some of the ladies in the front row gasped softly.

It was a man slightly overweight, but not flabby—robustly overweight.

Standing at six feet tall, this man was considered tall even in the Federation, and he appeared to weigh at least three hundred pounds. His entire body was covered in scars, and his face had a grim expression. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Even though it was just a slightly distorted projection, one could feel the menacing aura emanating from it.

"Alright, make it brighter here..."

Subsequently, the brightness of the lights gradually increased, but the photos on the projection screen did not disappear, only becoming somewhat thinner and less solid than before.

"The people I’m showing you are the perpetrators of the Mike massacre. They killed law-abiding citizens of the Federation and stole his property."

Mr. Truman’s expression became particularly serious, and he forcefully poked the podium in front of him.

The thumping sound echoed in the room; it didn’t sound like it was made by a person’s finger but rather as if it were hammered out.

The sound was full of angry power!

"... Until this very moment, the Suge Central Government has been deceiving us. The photos they provided to prove they have done something are false themselves."

"They are merely stalling us, or perhaps from the very beginning, the motive for the murder of the law-abiding Federation merchant Mike was not just for robbery."

"Perhaps this was a despicable means by the Suge Central Government to expel the legitimate trade activities of Federation merchants!"

The entire press conference erupted with noise, reporters raising their hands while loudly voicing their questions, unable to maintain even the most basic order.

Because the news Mr. Truman provided was too shocking, if the Suge Government really did this, it would mean they were indeed toying with the Federation government.

Even Gafura now has to resolve things with the Federation through negotiation, how could a backward, insignificant country dare to toy with the Federation, even colluding to force the Federation to abandon its tough stance.

Do they... really believe the Federation wouldn’t dare to go to war?

"Minister Truman, where did you get these pieces of information..."

"Minister Truman, does the Federation have any plans to use force next..."

"..."

...

Mr. Truman raised his hands, "Quiet, quiet down, I can’t hear what you’re saying." After he said these words, people did not quiet down, so he closed his mouth and remained silent.

He was not like those "soft" politicians who had to care about their image in front of the media.

Mr. Truman, who came from a military background, might compromise, but the extent of his compromise would never cross his bottom line.

He just watched on, and after more than a minute, people realized they had to follow the rules here, and only then did they have to quiet down.

"Just now I heard some questions, let me first answer the questions I heard simply."

"First, where did this information come from?"

"There is not only one Federation Merchant in Suge. Besides Federation Merchants, there are also many Gold Diggers. These people already have some connections locally and have ways to get information that you can’t get."

"After multi-party verification, we finally confirmed that these people were the true perpetrators of the Mike murder case, but they were hidden by the local government and the Suge Central Government, so we have to suspect that the entire incident may have been directed by the Suge Central Government..."

The reporters below were all crazily taking notes, and the entire press conference site was filled with the rustling sound of pens on paper, flashlights were flashing frantically behind, and the cameras kept rolling.

Everyone’s focus was solely on "Minister Truman" and his words.

"Secondly, we cannot currently determine the attitude of the Suge Central Government. We have already issued a formal diplomatic negotiation letter, and if we cannot reach an agreement on some issues..."

He licked his lips, and the room suddenly quieted down again, everyone realized something, and at this moment stopped what they were doing, staring intently at Minister Truman.

This might perhaps become an indispensable page in the history of the Federation.

Under the gaze of the public, Minister Truman said solemnly, "...we may first resort to force to resolve our differences and disputes, and seek a fair and just result for those victimized Federation citizens!"

People were boiling over again; Federation reporters were going crazy, for in the past years, none of the Federation leaders had ever said such morale-boosting words.

They could foresee that by tomorrow morning, the entire Federation would be boiling over!

Those foreign media and some diplomats without any treasured positions felt a chill, even though the heater in the room was fully turned on, a severe chill continued to invade their bodies.

A giant beast was beginning to try to show its claws and teeth; how terrifying this was!

Although people had many things to ask, they remembered Minister Truman’s rules; even though they were excited, they still maintained order, just raising their hands instead of speaking while raising hands.

This scene was actually broadcast live and re-broadcast, and in a short time, shown to all the citizens of the Federation.

Among the many viewers watching these TV programs, there was a rather special person.

He looked to be in his fifties, had a very upright posture, and even while sitting on a sofa, he gave the impression of sitting on a hard chair.

Whether it was the cuffs or collar, they maintained the most appropriate position.

Even his hair, every strand was in its right place.

There was a slight smile on his face, as if he was seeing something that made him truly happy.

There were also many young people around him, these young people were very excited and found it hard to be as stable as the elderly man.

At this moment, the phone on the sofa table suddenly rang, the elderly man looked at the phone, and the young people in the room got up one after another, voluntarily walking outside the room and closing the door.

The elderly man, as if accustomed to it, moved over a bit, turned down the volume on the TV a bit, and then picked up the phone, "It’s me..."

"Your Excellency, the Lieutenant General, ... the Admiral hopes to meet with you."

"Tell him, I am not suitable to leave this house for the time being, if he wants to see me, let him come himself, or wait until I finish serving my ’sentence’."

Yes, he was serving a sentence because he refused to obey the Ministry of Defense’s order to sink all the surrendered Gafura warships, so he was sentenced to ten years by the military court.

Considering his status and age, the court agreed to let him serve his sentence outside of prison.

Actually, for him, let alone ten years, even a hundred years didn’t matter, whenever needed, a parole or sentence reduction could let him out anytime and anywhere.

All this was just for show to foreigners, see, we tried and imprisoned the disobedient naval commander...

However, the Ministry of Defense and the internal affairs of the Navy had already arranged for this Lieutenant General; as long as he left this house, he would immediately be promoted to Federation Navy Admiral!

He hung up the phone as if he were hanging up on a neighbor, not caring that the other party was the liaison officer of the Federation Navy Admiral.

He turned the volume back up, looked at that fellow Truman, smiled from the inside out, and also let out a sigh of relief.

The Federation finally stood up.