CHAPTER 544: CHAPTER 442 PROBLEM SOLVING

"We can’t keep wasting time with these people. They clearly have no intention of negotiating with the authorities. Let’s proceed with forced eviction!" Outside a refuge still resisting, Lucia’s official was negotiating with a representative sent by the revolutionary army on how to resolve the situation.

Currently, there are several such refuges in the capital of Lucia that are resisting, but a small portion has agreed to negotiate and reached an agreement after the authorities issued a final ultimatum, no longer resisting.

Yet, there are places like this refuge before them that not only refuse to compromise but also seem resolute in their resistance.

This undoubtedly infuriates the officials, who are no longer willing to tolerate it and are preparing to resort to violence to solve the problem.

Of course, he hasn’t the authority to deploy troops, but Lucia does have police, and he does have the authority to order the police for forced eviction. Although police manpower is quite strained right now, the authorities have still reallocated some police forces to form a special task force to resolve the matter properly.

The representative from the revolutionary army naturally knows this. He doesn’t seem to hope for things to reach such extremes, so he suggested, "I propose we wait awhile longer, give them another chance, and let our people talk to them again! During the last negotiation, I felt their attitude had softened; there should still be an opportunity for negotiation."

The representative from the revolutionary army was not intentionally opposing the authorities; although their stances were antagonistic, they would not purposely hinder each other’s efforts in city reconstruction.

However, the leadership of the revolutionary army consisted of a group of idealistic young people, and most of those who joined later were ordinary civilians. This resulted in many of them having a simple perspective on issues, usually deciding based on personal emotions.

This of course cannot be said to be wrong, but many times, acting on emotions can be detrimental.

Just like now, the official’s thoughts were that he wanted to proceed with demolition when the final ultimatum was issued. However, the representative of the revolutionary army kept persuading him, causing the matter to be delayed.

But this time, the official clearly did not want to listen to the revolutionary army representative’s opinion anymore, and shook his head directly, saying, "No, we have fallen far behind schedule. The authorities require all issues to be resolved by midnight tonight.

It’s only thirteen hours until midnight. Even if they surrender immediately, time will be tight for us to clear the area. We don’t have time to waste anymore!"

The official’s attitude was very firm, yet he wasn’t a bad person. Under the revolutionary army representative’s repeated pleas, he hesitated for a moment and then said, "I’ll give you just the last half hour; after that, irrespective of whether you come out or not, I’ll order the demolition."

"Thank you! I’ll persuade them!" The representative thanked the official and ran toward the refuge.

She must act quickly. Half an hour isn’t long, and she must persuade the others to give up their resistance, leaving no time for leisurely walking.

As the representative ran toward the refuge, the official also began organizing the police task force to prepare for the demolition.

Just then, someone suddenly reported to the official, "The Flame Country has sent people to investigate and are verifying the unconnected heating pipelines to prepare for the Energy Tower’s pressure test."

"The Flame Country’s people have already arrived?" The official wasn’t surprised, having been notified beforehand, and told his subordinates, "Invite them over... Wait, I’ll welcome them myself. You all get ready; when the revolutionary army’s people return, we’ll start the action."

"Alright!" The subordinates agreed and proceeded with the official toward the Flame Country arrivals.

However, when they met the staff sent from the Flame Country and exchanged greetings, a gunshot suddenly rang out.

"What’s going on?" The Flame Country staff’s hand, extended for a handshake, froze in mid-air, showing a puzzled expression to Lucia’s official.

Lucia’s official listened carefully, determined the gunshot came from the direction of the refuge, and his face changed instantly, saying, "Something’s wrong! Take them to the command post! Protect the Flame Country personnel!"

Saying this, he ran toward the refuge while calling for the police special task force to act immediately.

The Flame Country staff felt greatly surprised but were still led to the command post by Lucia personnel, waiting for a resolution.

Though there were serious corruption issues within Lucia’s police, their actions were swift and efficient, without any hiccups. After a brief firefight, the police special task force quickly stormed into the refuge.

After waiting for about an hour, Flame Country staff saw Lucia’s official and the revolutionary army’s representative, the latter’s arm wrapped in bandages, enter the command post together.

"May I ask what happened?" The Flame Country staff looked at the two, who seemed somewhat disheveled, with curiosity and concern.

"Sorry, it was my fault!" The representative apologized first, then explained, "I tried to use the last moments to persuade those inside not to continue resisting. However, as soon as I entered and said a few words, one of them, overcome with emotion, pulled out a gun, claiming he’d fight the authorities. Others tried to stop him, and when I was persuading, I was accidentally hit in the arm by a stray bullet."

"So that’s what happened, is it resolved now?" The Flame Country staff raised his eyebrows, showing an expression of helplessness, and asked a question.

The official nodded, saying, "After we stormed in, the resistance was dismantled. Now the police special task force is clearing the site. They will remove all obstructions, and then we’ll send workers in to lay down the pipelines."

"That’s good, it seems you have things under control here." The Flame Country staff felt relieved, showing a relaxed smile.

Due to the Energy Tower’s construction progressing faster than expected, it was necessary to assess the situation of the heating pipelines to arrange equipment test operations, so Chen Xin specifically sent some technicians from the Flame Country to understand the situation.

They each had an assigned area, and this refuge was the last resisting refuge within the area allocated to this staff member.