This Game is Too Real

  Chapter 653 This has nothing to do with right or wrong, it’s just their choice

  Buguera Free State.

  In the studio of a certain TV station, House in formal attire sat at a long table, stacked a thick stack of press releases, and began to broadcast today's news program live.

  "Dear viewers and friends, welcome to House's daily observation program. I am your dearest Mr. House."

"Just last night, the savages of Qingquan city shamelessly detained six law-abiding traders from the Buguera Free State! There is no doubt that this is an act of banditry by Chiguoguo... Look, they declared themselves enemies of the looters , but what's the difference between what they do and the looters?"

   "Just as they plundered the wealth of the residents of Boulder City back then, now they have extended their greedy claws to us who are honest and loyal."

   "It's a pity that we didn't establish diplomatic relations with them. Poor Mr. Sindisson can only pay for his carelessness... They should choose their trading partners carefully. Dealing with hooligans will never end well."

   "The following is a text message. Our beloved Mayor Odo said that at the request of the Chief of the Great Rift Valley, we will try to cooperate with the Alliance on issues related to mutant slime mold... What?!"

  Looking at the press release in his hand, House, who was still reading from the script a second ago, suddenly widened his eyes and almost fell off his chair.

  Working with the Alliance?

  Are you kidding me? !

  …

  Mr. House's program is not popular in the Bugra Free State, and the ratings are not ranked among countless similar programs.

  Most citizens don't like their mayor, nor does he like the guy's pedantic dog-licking accent, so his show is only popular in the eyes of the inner city nobles of Boulder City who fled to the Free State.

  Sometimes players in the alliance will watch his programs for fun, and occasionally share excerpts on the official website forum.

   But what's interesting is that today, only today, House's reaction on the show was surprisingly consistent with most of the citizens of the Free State who accidentally watched his show.

Whether it is intentional or unintentional, the alliance has ruined the good things of the Free State more than once, and the propaganda of the authorities has even rendered the alliance as an old enemy that "prevents them from getting rid of the rule of the Great Rift Valley" and hinders their companies from being established in Luoxia province. Rogues who go about their business.

   And now, they actually want to cooperate with the "rogue"!

   What a joke!

  The scene of the press conference.

   Facing a microphone sticking out in front of him, Odo knew that he couldn't explain to his supporters, so he could only bite the bullet and speak.

   "...The opinion of the Great Rift Valley is like this. I understand your dissatisfaction, but I have no other choice."

  Hearing his explanation, there was an uproar at the press conference, and people's emotions lost control for a while.

  A man with a reporter badge on his chest squeezed through the crowd and tried to rush to the podium, but was stopped by security guards wearing exoskeletons.

  Looking at the spineless mayor, the man yelled at him.

   "Mr. Odo, did you know that just a few hours ago, the soldiers of the alliance detained our merchant!"

   Otto looked helplessly at the angry young man.

"I know-"

   "You don't know!" the man interrupted angrily, shoving the guards who stopped him, "You're like a pug chasing after the Great Rift! I'm so ashamed of you!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, the guards cut his hands behind his back and put him in handcuffs, and he was taken down like a hero amidst the applause and applause of the crowd.

   Worried about being thrown a water bottle, the guards didn't dare to be rough on the guy.

  Watching the increasingly excited press conference scene, Otto sighed inwardly, but still patiently explained to these idiots.

  “…Regardless of whether we can succeed or not, we must try to talk to the people in the alliance, or the electricity bill will increase again next year.”

   "Or let me put it another way, you don't want to start next year, and the advertisement for opening the refrigerator door will change from 30 seconds to 45 seconds."

   That was what he said casually, no one knows if it will turn out like this in the end.

  After all, Mr. Chief didn’t tell him exactly how much energy prices will rise, and how much costs those business owners will pass on to those little leeks.

   While Odo was struggling to deal with the reprimands of the citizens, Sigma, who was sitting in the office on the top floor of the Flint Group building, was looking gloomy at the prosperous city and the desolation engraved on the skyline outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

   Just yesterday, he had just received the envoys of the Church of the Torch, but the instructions from the Great Rift Valley completely disrupted his plan.

  Although the Free State is actually in the hands of the Flint Group, even so, it is not convenient for him to blatantly disobey the orders of the Great Rift Valley.

  He knows it well.

  Although the settlements in the Great Rift Valley are far less prosperous than the Free State, there is an insurmountable gap in the force gap between the two sides.

  But at this moment, what he cares more about is actually another thing——

   "...There are rumors that the administrators of the alliance have met with the representatives of the academy and the enterprise in succession, and the representatives of the legion are also on their way to Dawn City."

   Standing in front of the desk, his confidant Xavier said respectfully.

   Looking away from the floor-to-ceiling windows, Sigma looked at Xavier.

   "College?"

   Xavier nodded solemnly.

   "Well... and, I heard that the contact between the academy and the alliance was before the enterprise."

  Looking at Sigma who was frowning, Xavier paused for a moment and continued.

   "It's also a rumor, I heard that... the alliance is planning to form a cross-regional cooperation organization, dedicated to solving the mutant slime mold nests that plague the wasteland."

   "Combined with their related technology of manipulating slime mold fruiting bodies, I suspect that they intend to take this opportunity to expand their influence outward."

   This guess is indeed reasonable.

  If the alliance really has the ability to control the behavior of mutant slime mold, then the territory governed by them will become their de facto jurisdiction.

   Build military bases on corporate and college turf.

  They dared to think.

   Sigma sneered in his heart, but he didn't take it lightly.

  Those ancient survivor forces have an extraordinary obsession with mutant slime mold, after all, those guys have ruined their world.

   This is completely different from most survivors on the wasteland.

  If the alliance establishes closer cooperation with enterprises and colleges, the living space of the Free State will be even smaller.

   Not only that.

  If the Great Rift Valley is also won over by the alliance, and that old guy suddenly says "The Boulder City has joined the alliance, you should join them too", that will be a real rift!

  He doesn't want to give away his years of hard work because of someone's words!

   Just then, a call rang on the desk.

   Guessing who was calling, Sigma reached out and touched his watch, and soon a light blue beam rose from the desk.

  The person standing in the holographic beam is Odo, who was at the press conference of the Free State authorities a few minutes ago.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at this time, Mr. Sigma, I believe you should have heard that the chief of the Great Rift Valley wants us to cooperate with the alliance on issues related to mutant slime mold... As before, they used energy as a bargaining chip to threaten , I can only promise him."

  Looking at the respectful Mayor Otto, Sigma said in a relaxed tone.

   "Your choice is correct, we don't need to stand against the Great Rift Valley."

  Seeing that Sigma expressed understanding, Otto heaved a sigh of relief and continued to ask.

   "Then what is your opinion?"

  Sigma closed his eyes and thought for a long time, then opened his eyes after a while, and spoke slowly.

   "I have no objection. You should follow the instructions of Mr. Chief and contact the alliance in the name of the Free State official."

  Although several contacts between the Flint Group and the Alliance ended in unpleasant results, the Free State has never initiated formal diplomatic contact with the Alliance in an official capacity.

  Odo hesitated slightly and asked.

   "Is this... really okay?"

   Sigma said succinctly.

   "It's not a bad thing to show a positive posture on the things that Mr. Chief cares about, and we can follow their movements by engaging with them. It doesn't matter if they refuse to cooperate, at least what we should do is done."

   "What about our citizens? There are many voices of opposition." Odo said cautiously.

  The candidate for the mayor of the Free State is nominated by the Great Rift Valley, but it is ultimately elected by the citizens. Because of the press conference just now, he has already lost a large number of supporters. If he is too cooperative, his approval rating will drop further.

  His opponents even started clamoring to initiate impeachment proceedings to remove him from office.

   Knowing what Odo was worried about, Sigma didn't care, and just said something lightly.

   "Don't worry about this, I will help you convince the opposition."

  Although it was just an understatement of promise, after hearing this sentence, Otto, who was originally nervous, suddenly showed a relieved smile.

   "With your words, I feel relieved!"

  Anyone in this colony knows that the real master of the Free State is Mr. Sigma.

  Firestone Group not only controls the most profitable business in the entire Free State, but also directly or indirectly controls more than 90% of the media in this settlement.

  As long as this lord makes a move, he doesn't need to worry about any opposition at all, those people will consciously shut their mouths obediently...

  …

Just when all walks of life in the Buguera Free State were arguing about the "Sindison case" and "Mayor Odo, the follower of the Great Rift Valley", the "industrial zone arson case" held in Dawn City also aroused a lot of attention from the Union society. wide attention from all walks of life.

  The case is open at noon.

  The auditorium of the Shuguang City Court was full of people, even the aisle in the last row was full of people, and there were people of different identities.

  In fact, the original trial process would not be so fast, but due to the decisive confession of the parties and the clear chain of evidence, under the pressure of all parties, the trial of the case was brought forward.

  At this moment, a young man in his early twenties was standing on the dock. His face was resolute and his posture was upright. He didn't look like a bad guy, and he was from the army.

that's the truth.

  His name is Sun Yong. He is a soldier of the First Corps. He joined the army during the Luoxia Provincial War last year. The reason for joining the army is also very simple, just to follow in the footsteps of that lord.

  Most of the soldiers of the First Corps were like this.

  Most of them do not have very high culture, either they are slaves rescued by the Alliance from the looters, or refugees who are sheltered by the home of refugees.

  He regards managers as something more important than life and honor, so when he heard that someone dared to insult his beloved leader, he was suddenly overwhelmed with anger.

   Now calm down and think about it, I really shouldn't be so impulsive at that time.

  No matter what the reason is, he shouldn't vent his anger on the person he should be protecting.

  Not only did he find the wrong partner.

   It almost led to more serious consequences...

  Looking at the young man standing in the dock, the judge couldn't bear it, but he still performed his duties conscientiously.

   "Are you aware of the mistakes you made?"

  Sun Yong nodded.

"I am clear."

  Defendant has pleaded guilty.

  The next step is sentencing.

  The judge sighed and continued.

   "Then do you have anything else to add?"

  Sun Yong shook his head.

"No."

  The lawyer sitting on the defense table kept winking at him, trying to remind him to say something to get clemency, but he didn't look that way at all.

   Wrong is wrong.

  He does not want to excuse his crime, he is willing to accept the trial of the law.

  Seeing that the defendant has nothing to add, the judge is ready to announce the outcome of the trial.

   At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the auditorium.

   "Mr. Judge, I want to say a few words for my soldiers..."

  Wrench, who didn't intend to speak at first, couldn't hold back his mouth after all, but just as he stood up, serious reprimands came from not far away from him.

   "Mr. Chief of the First Corps, pay attention to where you are standing now. This is the court of the alliance, not your barracks! Except for the defendant's defense lawyer, no one can speak for him."

  Wrench immediately looked in the direction of the voice, and saw that the person who spoke was Old Charlie who was also standing in the auditorium.

   Facing Wrench's astonished and puzzled gaze, old Charlie just looked at him calmly without frowning.

  Others are afraid of him because of his identity, but old Charlie is not afraid of him.

   "I—bah! I didn't mean what you said! I am standing here as a citizen... I am also a citizen of the alliance, what if I express my opinion?!"

  Looking at the wrench who was arguing with a rough voice, old Charlie continued to speak expressionlessly.

   "You are a citizen of the Union, and I am also a citizen of the Union! My position is here, and no one may interfere with the majesty of the law."

   Just as the wrench was scratching his head anxiously and unable to speak to the old man, the young man standing on the dock suddenly spoke.

   "Leader, I have realized my mistake. I have failed the trust of the manager and everyone... I should be punished by law, and please stop pleading for me."

   Looking away from the dumbfounded wrench face, old Charlie looked at the young man standing on the dock and nodded approvingly.

   This kid is a sensible person.

  Although it took some detours, but after a good transformation inside, it might not be a pillar when it comes out.

   There was a whisper in the courtroom.

   Right at this moment, there was another voice that made him frown.

   "Please wait a moment, Mr. Judge, I am the party involved... Although I don't have any identity, I think I should be qualified to say a few words!"

  A well-dressed middle-aged man got up from the bustling auditorium and walked to the aisle in the corridor.

   Seeing that the bailiffs maintaining order in the court did not stop him, he smiled and continued.

   "To be honest, I was really scared that night, especially when I saw the warehouse on fire. I seemed to see your bravery on the battlefield in the flames."

  Sun Yong said embarrassingly with a red face.

"sorry…"

   "No, actually, it's me who should say I'm sorry..."

  Wang Tu sighed, and turned to look at the crowd in the auditorium beside him.

"I'm the director of Tujia Printing Factory. I'm sorry that I failed your trust. I didn't carefully check the newspapers sent out from the warehouse, and some inexplicable things were mixed in. As a result, everyone has no newspapers to read today. Being able to come here to pass the time... Later I thought about it for a long time, and this actually has a huge potential safety hazard."

   "For a few dozen coins, three sheets of paper filled with lies can be circulated at newsstands all over the city. Thankfully it's just paper, not bombs or anything."

  Looking at the whispering crowd, he paused and continued.

"I have been introspecting all night. In the past year, I have been thinking about how to improve the productivity of the printing factory, how to improve production efficiency, save costs, and make more money...but I have been ignoring the most important issues. , My factory is not a pure machine, it is a part of this society, and its obligation should not only be production, but also its social responsibility.”

"Thank you for making me realize this. Before it caused more trouble, this lesson was not a bad deal for me... Besides, the insurance compensated for my financial losses. After that, I will go in and out of the warehouse An additional inspection process is added to the link to ensure that similar situations will not happen again."

"Besides, I don't think it's just my problem. I'm just a printing factory. I can check every order carefully, but you can't expect me to check every order for you. Words. At least we should have a media rating agency where good people who tell the truth get higher ratings! If no rep is willing to do this proposal, I will do it, and if I get elected, it will be my first proposal!"

   There was applause from the auditorium.

  Looking at his supporters, Wang Tu smiled and nodded, then turned to look at the judge, and said seriously.

"Mr. Judge, I know that there is no possibility of reconciliation in the public prosecution case, but can you please see that all of us bear the inescapable responsibility and we are all aware of the problem, and appropriately reduce his criminal responsibility... After all, there were no casualties in this fire, only some paper was burned."

"I don't think it's just my thoughts. If because of my negligence, a young man who should have given his blood to a greater cause sacrificed his youth, but I don't have to bear any responsibility... This guilt will accompany All my life."

   There was more enthusiastic applause at the scene.

  His rhetoric moved at least some people, and even business owners who originally supported heavy sentences could not help softening their attitudes.

   Mere re-sentencing is meaningless.

   This is not the Middle Ages when the gallows was needed to deter criminals. Besides, which guy in the wasteland is really afraid of death?

  If the rules are not perfected, the things they worry about will happen again and again, and the contradictions hidden under the water will become more and more acute, and this is just the beginning.

   "Well said!" Wrench applauded vigorously, his hands were all red.

   This guy can talk a lot more than he can!

   is a talent!

  Old Charlie didn't applaud, and the expression on his face didn't change, but when he looked at the guy who opened the printing factory, his face showed a little bit of surprise.

  He wondered if this guy was playing political speculation.

   But at least just now, with just a few words, that guy won the favor of soldiers, citizens and other classes for himself without offending other business owners.

   "Silence! Silence!"

  The judge knocked the gavel twice, waited until the noise of the scene subsided, looked at the person standing in the courtroom and continued.

   "According to the existing law, I should not adopt your suggestion."

  Wang Tu had a regretful expression on his face.

really.

   All he can do is intercede.

   But at this time, the judge paused and continued.

   "However, I have to admit that there are many details in the case that cannot be ignored, which are not covered in our current legal provisions."

   As he spoke, he turned his gaze to the crowded auditorium.

   "I remember correctly that legislation is the job of the representative council. There should be representatives among you. I want to hear your opinions."

  As soon as his voice fell, the auditorium immediately burst into chatter.

  Some people shouted not guilty, some shouted that the sentence should be reduced, and some shouted that the sentence should be changed to social labor... The noisy scene was not like a court, but like a vegetable market.

   Especially the wrench, who yelled the loudest, blushing with excitement.

Old Charlie looked at the boss with black lines all over his head, but he couldn't say anything. After all, the law of the alliance gave the judge a certain discretion in sentencing. If the judge let the people in the court speak, his behavior was legally reasonable. of.

  Although judges should not be influenced by public opinion in theory, how can they not be affected at all in practice?

  The laws of the Union are enacted by representatives, and representatives are born from citizens, and those clauses themselves are the projection of citizens' will.

  Looking at the noisy auditorium, the judge had no choice but to strike the gavel again, and said loudly towards the audience.

   "Innocence is impossible!"

   "However, I also agree that part of the defendant's criminal responsibility should be appropriately reduced... This is in consideration of the voluntary understanding of the injured party, no casualties, and the defendant's good attitude in pleading guilty."

  Looking at the cheering audience, Sun Yong's face was full of surprise.

   And when his eyes came into contact with the smiling Wang Tu, a trace of guilt could not help but appear on his face, and he buried his eyes in shame.

  At this moment, the guilt in his heart was far deeper than after he calmed down last night.

  If that person is more arrogant and domineering, or scolds him, or even throws things at him, he will feel a little better.

  However, that person, like him, longed for the alliance to become greater and better. His self-righteous justice did not punish any villains who should be punished, but only hurt a compatriot...

  Standing in the middle of the cheering crowd, looking at the wrench raising his eyebrows at him, old Charlie sighed, not knowing what to say, he shook his head, turned and walked out of the court.

  He expected that the wrench would come here, and he was ready to sing the bad face to the end and maintain the dignity of the law, but he didn't expect to kill an unknown person halfway.

   He has nothing to say about such a result.

   After leaving the court, old Charlie told Chu Guang the exact situation on the scene through VM, and expressed his opinion hesitantly.

   "I don't know if this is correct."

  Looking at the slightly disturbed old Charlie, Chu Guang, who had just reached a cooperation agreement with the company, smiled and said in a good mood.

   "It has nothing to do with right or wrong, it's just their choice."

  Looking at Chu Guang's smile, old Charlie might be mistaken, he hesitated for a moment and asked.

   "Can I understand that...you are very satisfied with the result."

  Chu Guang said with a smile.

"I can't say I'm satisfied, but I'm really relieved. Of course, this has nothing to do with the result of the penalty... Do you still remember that the earliest rules in this land are the clauses I wrote on the VM. The above content is only a short Three sentences, do not kill, do not rob, do not steal."

  Old Charlie nodded and said.

   "Of course I remember, that wasn't actually a long time ago."

  Chu Guang continued speaking in a relaxed tone.

"Yes, it didn't take long before those clauses became too thick to be written in a book. They began to propose solutions to our existing problems and took the initiative to take on more social responsibilities...I agree with that A small businessman said, this is not a loss-making business, we only exchanged a small fire for social progress and avoided greater troubles in the future."

   “I’m glad it didn’t take long for them to realize that the real freedom comes from self-discipline.”

  He is very clear that the omnipotent philosopher king described by Plato in "Utopia" cannot exist, but there are too many survivors in the alliance who have too many unrealistic fantasies about him. Fortunately, he has a clear understanding of himself, and he knows that he is just an ordinary human being.

  In fact, he has been guiding the residents of the alliance to solve some problems spontaneously.

  Whether it is selecting representatives from all walks of life and later all walks of life, or letting players initiate proposals on the forum, these are all things he has been doing.

   Even if some proposals are not mature, what does it matter?

  He has no better way to solve some problems.

  Some people propose, some people improve, things will always get better little by little.

  Old Charlie said with a wry smile.

   "Maybe my thinking hasn't changed yet...Maybe I really should retire."

  Looking at the self-deprecating old man on the screen, Chu Guang said with a smile.

  “You don’t have to force yourself to change. A conservative voice is also indispensable.”

  (end of this chapter)