I Have Infinite Skill Points-Chapter 626: This Also Counts as an Orphanage
"I’m deeply grateful to the International Security Council for their assistance this time. You’ve completed the mission successfully, and I give you perfect marks. Although the mission is over, on behalf of Baron Country, I sincerely invite you to stay and enjoy a few more days.
Baron Country is a beautiful place, and all expenses during your time here will be covered by our country. Stay as long as you wish..." The President’s voice was very tired, and he seemed not to be in good spirits.
"May I boldly ask if Councilman Hosi will ultimately be the winner of the election?" Wang Lan asked indifferently.
"Do I have a choice? Aside from him, who else could I choose?" The President laughed bitterly. He had a favorable view of Hosi but had also been optimistic about the other three candidates. Now that they were all dead, who could he possibly choose?
Could this successful assassination be blamed on Wang Lan and his team? No, they weren’t responsible for protecting dignitaries. The fact that they saved Hosi, preventing all four candidates from being assassinated, was already a tremendous help. Otherwise, Baron Country would have become the laughingstock of the world.
If anyone was to blame, it was Baron Country itself for its incompetence. Its defense system was a mere formality. The President even wondered if he would be lying in the morgue now had his name been on the assassin’s list.
"Mr. President, although our mission is officially complete, I must say this matter is likely not that simple. We understand Paradise Bird and their methods.
They don’t engage in actions that don’t benefit them. What advantage is there for them in assassinating a few politicians from Baron Country? Merely to vent their anger? That’s not Paradise Bird’s style."
"Oh? What do you mean by that...?"
"Who is the biggest winner behind all this? Also, Mr. President, don’t you think Mr. Hosi’s victory was a bit too smooth? Half a year ago, Councilman Hosi held no advantage in the election. His status as a business tycoon made it inherently difficult for him to win the support of most citizens.
But, when did his support start to soar?"
The President’s face changed instantaneously upon hearing this.
"The police department led the previous three operations against Aigel, correct? They suffered heavy losses. And the former head of the police department seemed to hold political views contrary to Hosi’s, didn’t he?
Three operations resulted in heavy losses, yet the fourth was unbelievably smooth. Although it appeared we played a part, frankly, the resistance we encountered was minimal. Those thirty thousand drug dealers were virtually annihilated without a fight.
Leveraging the prestige from eliminating Night Hawk’s forces, Mr. Hosi surged as a popular candidate. However, that was merely a fleeting public frenzy. Once the fervor subsided, the citizens would regain their composure and recall Councilman Hosi’s background.
Then, Mr. Haqi’s assassination became the spark that ignited public outrage. Whoever was first to condemn it would gain public approval. This was followed by leveraging the situation into fierce conflicts with the hidden mastermind, eliminating other rivals. Finally, capturing all the assassins ensured that the ultimate profit and the perfect outcome fell neatly into his hands.
Of course, these are just my speculations, and I don’t have any evidence. We will be leaving soon, and this is just a friendly reminder."
"Ah—"
The President heaved a long sigh. "Do you think I haven’t had such suspicions? But if it’s true, what would become of Baron Country? That’s why I’ve been trying to convince myself I was merely overthinking it.
But your words today have made me realize that I might not be overthinking it; it could very well be the truth. Mr. Fire Phoenix, would you be willing to accept an S-rank mission?"
"What do you have in mind, Mr. President?"
"Investigate Hosi. Determine if he is innocent. I cannot entrust Baron Country to someone with ties to Paradise Bird."
"That’s acceptable, but Mr. President, you must provide all of Hosi’s information. I know much of it is classified, and I need all classified information pertaining to him."
"You’ll have it. Your office will be in the Presidential Palace, and I’ll personally authorize all your actions."
As per the President’s arrangements, Wang Lan and his team once again settled into the Presidential Guest Palace. Soon, a dossier on Hosi was delivered to them—a stack of documents a foot thick. The four of them divided the material and read until the President finished his workday.
"Hosi claimed his family had nothing left but that manor. He conveniently forgot to mention his charitable organization manages seventy-three businesses. What a tycoon," Xu Xiangwen couldn’t help but remark.
In Jade Country, Xu Xiangwen’s family could also be considered tycoons. However, compared to Hosi, Xu Xiangwen’s family enterprises wouldn’t even measure up to Hosi’s little toe.
"Did you actually believe his nonsense? If the Hosi family had truly declined, how could he have become the head of the business alliance? They would have been picked clean by others long ago, surely?"
"Hosi’s charitable foundation takes in orphans under thirteen years of age. They are provided with free accommodation, education, and medical care. However, after completing their studies, they must work for Hosi’s enterprises for twelve years without pay... What kind of charity is that?" Xie Sisi fumed.
The door opened, and the President walked in, looking weary. "Just enabling those orphans to survive is an act of charity in itself."
"Hosi’s charitable organization indeed doesn’t meet international standards of charity, but it suits Baron’s national condition. Baron has ninety percent of its population living in poverty, and the government is powerless to help them. Any government expenditure over ten million requires approval from civilian oversight organizations. And these so-called civilian oversight organizations are merely representatives of those who control ninety-eight percent of Baron’s wealth.
Every year, Baron sees many new orphans, and the government can do nothing. Hosi’s efforts in this regard have significantly aided the government. It’s a mutually beneficial situation: Hosi’s contributions are rewarded, and these orphans get to survive."
"So, is that why Hosi qualifies for politics?" Wang Lan asked.
"Yes. This model was established by Hosi’s father. When Hosi took over the family business, this was the only charitable organization under his name, so it complies with our legal provisions."
"By the way, Mr. President, we’ve observed another strange phenomenon. Baron introduced the Soul Resonance Instrument long ago, but starting twelve years ago, the Star Martial Warrior awakening rates became unbalanced. Wealthy families have a far higher awakening rate than poor families."
"Sociologists raised this issue five years ago. However, our analysis yielded no firm conclusions. Currently, we can only speculate that it might be due to poor nutrition from a young age and harsh living conditions gradually depriving them of the potential to awaken."
"However, in reality, while Star Martial Warrior awakening is related to physical development, the correlation isn’t strong. Other countries also have impoverished populations, yet their awakening rates remain within the normal range. Furthermore, I’ve uncovered another issue: people are selling children to these ’welfare homes.’ To think charity has reached the point of buying children to raise them... I’ve never witnessed such a thing. This Hosi, with his network of welfare homes, is truly something else."
"This... Hosi’s enterprises are vast. Ten years after the welfare homes began operating, the Hosi family’s profits surged beyond previous levels. They discovered that children graduating from these homes had an incredibly strong sense of loyalty to the Hosi family. Hosi only needed to meet their most basic survival needs and pay them a pittance to gain returns ten, even dozens of times greater. So..."
As he spoke, anger and shame flickered across the President’s face. He disapproved of the Hosi family’s practices but felt powerless to change the situation.
"It’s also because there are too many poor people. Even if children aren’t orphans, many families struggle to support them. Selling a child to a welfare home can ease the family’s burden and allow the child to survive. For many impoverished families, this is a viable option. And..."
"And it’s not as if they’ll take any child offered. They first conduct a physical examination, followed by an IQ test," Wang Lan added, closing the file in front of him.
"So, it’s become a widespread trend for poor families to sell their children to these welfare homes, hasn’t it? According to this data, over seventy percent of impoverished families have inquired about selling their children. What a horrifying statistic..."
These words left the President of Baron utterly mortified.
"Combining this phenomenon with the skewed Star Martial Warrior awakening rates among children from ordinary families, I’ve reached a rather bold conclusion: the proportion of Star Martial Warrior awakenings among children bought by these welfare homes is exceptionally high."
Upon hearing this, the President of Baron’s expression changed dramatically; he turned pale.
"Mr. Fire Phoenix, are you suggesting...?"
"It’s quite obvious. The proportion of humans awakening as Star Martial Warriors falls within a certain range, consistent across all countries and races worldwide. This is the second time I’ve witnessed a deviation beyond this range.
The first instance was in Saint Dearth in New Blue Country. The citizens there believed they were cursed by the God of Heaven. In reality, the Hell Monarch had acquired advanced Star Martial Art talent identification technology and was preemptively abducting children with such talent.
It’s the same phenomenon, just a different method. Hosi is simply buying children with Star Martial Art talent in advance."
"But unfortunately, the awakening rate among the children in the welfare homes isn’t high either..."
"Are you certain that all the children who were bought actually underwent the Soul Resonance ceremony?" Wang Lan’s question left the President of Baron utterly dumbfounded.
"Just recently, there was good news from Jade Country’s genetic engineering field. They successfully extracted the X-gene. By observing the activity of this X-gene, they can determine in advance if someone possesses Star Martial Art talent. It’s possible Paradise Bird discovered this technology even earlier."
"I need information on the whereabouts of the children from the welfare homes," Wang Lan said, looking up.
"Only the charitable organization knows the whereabouts of the children from the welfare homes; it’s not reported to the government," the President of Baron said hastily. "I can issue a presidential decree. You can take it to the welfare homes to investigate."
"Okay."
「The next morning」
Wang Lan and his team, armed with the presidential decree, arrived at the headquarters of the welfare homes. Initially, the staff there even refused them entry, only reluctantly opening the door after seeing the presidential decree.
"I apologize. Every year, many of our children are adopted by international families. It’s said that children from Baron possess the bloodline of Angels. Every child from Baron is beautiful and endearing, making them very popular with international families who are unable to have children of their own.
We delete the records of children who are adopted. We are a purely charitable organization and do not wish for the children to feel obligated to repay us in the future. Therefore, once a child is adopted, they are no longer our concern."
