CHAPTER 332: 0330 INTERRUPTED DINNER

"You have ten minutes!" The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs looked at his assistant, brushed off his clean shoulder, "You have ten minutes to resolve all of this. By seven o’clock, I want the streets outside to be as clean as the hairless cat in your home, understood?"

The deputy minister’s emotions were at their peak of anger at this moment. His use of insulting profanity in front of his assistant was proof of this; he was about to lose his rationality.

Undoubtedly, this tumult would eventually affect his political career. People would discuss the situation outside, and as the key diplomatic officer responsible for reception, he had an unavoidable responsibility.

If this matter had any negative repercussions, it could very likely become a political stain on his life.

Just a moment ago, he was ambitious, wanting to make his mark in the political arena. He had thought of what he would do once he replaced the foreign minister and became the first minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He had secretly drafted an inaugural speech in advance, but now these plans seemed elusive, all because of those people outside.

He stood still, rearranging his appearance with large movements, forcing some smiles as he returned to the banquet hall. Many people noticed his sour expression, and even as he tried to maintain a smile, he still left a bad impression.

Stiff, angry, unapproachable.

After his assistant left the hotel, many investigators from the Investigation Bureau and police had arrived outside for reinforcement, but they did not take further action; they simply formed a human wall to protect the hotel.

Within just a few minutes, the number of people demonstrating outside increased somewhat. Some passersby paused briefly and then joined them.

The freedom to assemble, demonstrate, and march is a fundamental right granted to every citizen of the Bail Federal by the Constitution, an expression of their free will. They can hold, join, or stop these activities anytime, anywhere.

Of course, if it’s a large-scale demonstration or march that impacts traffic within a certain period, an application is necessary.

This is not hindering freedom; rather, the freedom of others is also freedom, so the local government needs to coordinate new traffic routes.

But such small scales can start anytime, anywhere.

The more people gather, the greater the external influence, drawing even more people in.

Seeing more and more people coming toward this side, the deputy minister’s assistant felt that waiting would not be a good solution. He wanted to do something; he planned to talk to the leader of this group of demonstrators.

But he understood after listening outside the crowd for just two minutes that this person was impossible to communicate with...

"...We are enduring hunger. I heard that the unemployment rate in Federation has hit a new low this year, countless people have no jobs, and they have to rely on relief food as disgusting as dog shit to get by."

"We face poverty and persist through any difficulty, because we believe our government can change this, can reinvigorate us, bring new opportunities and new job opportunities to our society."

"But look at what those bastards inside have done. They are willing to send the money they shave off from us taxpayers to those savages inside, even build factories for them, give them orders, increase their employment rate, yet no one cares to look at us even once!"

"Just because doing so makes their performance look slightly better, let me say, this is all bullshit!"

"Let those savages roll back to their country, keep the money domestically, create more job opportunities, and provide more security for people!"

Reporters excitedly focused their cameras on Martin. Martin was very emotional, his face flushed, spit flew everywhere, and the front-row reporters constantly wiped their faces but did not feel disgusted, only excited.

This is a big news story, undoubtedly a big news story!

Some people like the Progressive Party’s policies, like the President’s political platform, but surely there are people who dislike it.

When you try to take care of more aspects, there will be more opposing sides; this is politics.

If you can trigger the attitude of this group, you’ll have news hotspots for next week, even next month.

Through these clearly meticulously crafted words, the deputy minister’s assistant somewhat realized that this was highly likely a premeditated protest, making the prospect of resolving the issue through conversation with the leader nearly impossible.

Just as he was preparing to try resolving the issue in a different manner, the person being interviewed by the media suddenly waved his arms, shouting out some shocking statements.

"The decayed and corrupt government is harvesting the lives of us ordinary people. Many people died last winter, and this summer will inevitably see many deaths as well, but they don’t care."

"The ugly bureaucratic rule will eventually cause the Federation, along with our past glory and honor, to sink to the bottom of the ocean. We cannot remain silent anymore. We should stand up; we are the real owners of this country!"

These words, compared to previous complaints and grievances, were bolder and more dangerous.

If you said his earlier words and attitude only expressed dissatisfaction with certain policies of the President’s Cabinet and established diplomatic ties with Nagariel were mere grumblings, they were mild, even harmless.

Regardless of his mood, attitude, or tone then, everything he expressed was fundamentally within the framework allowed by the rulers. He didn’t challenge the rulers’ power but merely showed discontent toward representatives of the ruling power.

But now it’s different; he aimed his criticism at the Federation Government’s system, and even the reporters temporarily lost their ability to speak.

Though the Federation Government would do some foolish things every few years, some even feel that the Federation elected comedians instead of a President, it’s undeniable that the country’s system is quite lenient.

No one goes to jail for saying the wrong thing, nor does anyone lose their life for reading forbidden books.

You can unabashedly criticize politicians, but you should not criticize the system; this is common knowledge.

This guy got so excited that he said things he shouldn’t have.

And at this moment, when people realized he said foolish words, he himself realized he said things he shouldn’t have, suddenly several cars quickly arrived on the street; they were police cars.

The mayor frowned slightly, glanced at the police station director beside him, "You called for reinforcements again?", his tone was not very friendly, "Do you think too few people know about this yet??"

Large gatherings of police will naturally create pressure on the public, inciting fear, although the situation within the Federation has improved somewhat recently, contradictions are still prevalent.

At this time, the gathering of police is likely to trigger unknown situations, even riots.

The police station director wanted to shake his head to indicate this was not his doing, yet he felt that even if he denied it, the mayor wouldn’t believe him. In this city, all police are under his command; others cannot accomplish this. He could only wipe his sweat while walking toward the roadside.

Too many police gathering here would create a tense atmosphere for people, he wanted to disperse them, but surprisingly, before he could do anything, the police coming out of the cars charged at the demonstrators with batons.

In an instant, a black arrow cut through the crowd, curses, screams converged together, tumultuous and deafening.

"What’s happening outside?"

Masu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nagariel United Kingdom, who was chatting with the temporary Speaker, was exchanging his views on the prospects of the visit when the chaos outside made him somewhat stunned, looking at the temporary Speaker in front of him. The temporary Speaker then looked at the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the main person responsible for the reception.

The latter wore a bewildered expression; he didn’t know what was happening, but he knew what to do, "I’ll go have a look. This is the city center; perhaps there’s a traffic accident or some incident outside..."

His face looked grim; he wasn’t sure what was happening outside, but it surely wasn’t good.

The temporary Speaker nodded coldly, while the attitude of the Nagariel United Kingdom’s Minister of Foreign Affairs was relatively better, always maintaining a smile.

At this moment, suddenly there was louder noise from outside the door. Several demonstrators burst into the hotel lobby, and the sound of glass breaking and their screams couldn’t be muffled by the heavy wooden doors of the banquet hall. The temporary Speaker gave the Deputy Minister a sideways glance, turned, and walked toward the entrance, pushing the door open.

Then, a scene of varied facial expressions unfolded before the viewers.

Some demonstrators lay amid broken glass and pools of blood, while policemen in Federation uniforms were beating and kicking them forcefully, looking menacing, instilling fear.

Seeing this, the initially joyful atmosphere in the room instantly vanished.

When a blood-covered person shouted, "Savage natives get out of civilized society" in standard lingua franca, everyone’s expression changed.

It’s over!

This was the only thought in the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs’s mind at this moment; everything was over, damn it. His mind was blank; he couldn’t find any way to save the current situation because he didn’t even know what to do.

In the past decade or so, Bail Federal’s diplomatic workload mainly involved interpreting written materials and occasional telegraphic exchanges with neighboring countries.

Under the isolation policy, domestic diplomats were essentially on holiday; they had nothing to do, just reported to work on time with no tasks or responsibilities.

This led to a batch of diplomats severely lacking diplomatic skills and crisis management abilities, although they might not see it that way themselves.

Faced with unexpected situations, this Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, considered having a promising future, could only stare blankly as everything unfolded before him.

And he, utterly powerless to do anything!