Chapter 1956 - 1955: Vice President

[Age 50: With the help of reproductive assistance provided by Stars Pharma, you and your wife have a child, a very lovely little girl.

Tetis brought Swinno to Gray Stone Palace to introduce him to you. You realized that Tetis intended to support Swinno in inheriting his political legacy, which was bad news for you. You began consciously networking with other political resources.

Noder Finance saw through your intentions and came to contact you. Of course, you knew this former employer was influential and were happy to cooperate with them.

In the summer, a cult scandal erupted at Kajet Grain Industry, and Noder Finance reached out to Montshanto Group to find you. You provided them with some ’suitable’ legal clauses to offer them little assistance in their ’rights protection.’ Ultimately, they successfully acquired most of Kajet Grain Industry’s market and resources.

You did not ask them for compensation, but they all knew what kind of compensation you needed.

The situation in the Federation was becoming increasingly chaotic, with seemingly more frequent Evil God incidents than ever before. Sometimes you also felt that these consortiums were too greedy, but without their support, you had no possibility of advancing any further.

A senator named Skewis frequently caused trouble for you, occasionally attempting to expose Cabinet scandals and portraying himself as a partner of justice.

But you looked into his eyes; they burned with flames, a thirst for power.

You continued collaborating with Stars Pharma, mixing Extraordinary Secret Medicines for them. Your concoctions were easier to absorb and greatly reduced the mortality rate of Transcendents, and because of this, you learned many secret formulas.

The relationship with Stars Pharma needed to be maintained. The resources they invested in politics were indeed ’generous,’ although they paled compared to their terrifying profits.

The influence of an anonymous figure known as ’K’ was expanding more and more, and many consortiums contacted you, hoping you would suggest to Tetis to completely define ’K’ as an Evil God and impose a federation-wide ban on this nameless ’Evil God.’

You knew Tetis was unwilling to do so. Tetis actually liked seeing a force confront the consortiums; he was a President who wanted to accomplish something.

This also matched his personality. He had spent years gaining this position, not for enjoyment — he had higher ideals in mind.

Of course, you still made the suggestion. Tetis neither denied it nor agreed, which was, in itself, an attitude.

The consortiums could only use their power to suppress ’K’ in various cities.

For the first time, you witnessed the power displayed by the consortiums. Without the Federation Central’s permission, without any order from Gray Stone Palace, they could turn a word into something unspeakable in most places in the Federation.

Sometimes, you felt they were the true rulers of the Federation. ]

[Age 51: The true rulers of the Federation were clearly dissatisfied with the nominal ruler sitting in Gray Stone Palace.

The reforms in Dawn City were in full swing. You had no doubt the consortium hired assassins every month to settle Christos, but Christos always managed to escape. You knew Christos was a Transcendent, and in these moments, you were grateful for choosing the path of a Transcendent.

At the beginning of the year, Rockville Energy Group lost Wint City. Even though that large northwestern city was being ruled by a local consortium called United Industries, everyone in the Cabinet knew United Industries had always been a pocket item of Rockville Energy Group.

And all this was related to ’K’ and Dawn City.

The entire Ains could feel the fury of Rockville Energy Group, but in Gray Stone Palace, everything was as usual. Tetis seemed blind at this moment, completely ignoring the various ’visits’ and hints from Rockville Energy Group.

It was said that the furious Rockville Energy Group had purchased two additional assassinations of Christos in one month.

The lucky Christos.

Tetis wanted to weaken the power of the consortium; you once again confirmed this idea. You could also be sure that Tetis was playing with fire.

You even heard from Noder Finance about Rockville Energy Group visiting Snow.

This old president didn’t have much time left in his term, yet he still firmly grasped power. As the Justice Minister, you could hardly mobilize the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which reported directly to Tetis.

However, you were happy to be separated from it and never inquired about the FBI’s affairs.

Sometimes, having too much power was not necessarily a good thing.

In the summer, Evis Spatial System and Kopes Mining, several major consortiums, lost Yilan City. You could already foresee the messengers coming and going over the rest of the year.

One must admit that Mayor Linen was as legendary as a hero king in a novel story.

But what shocked you was the consortiums dispatching troops to curb the city’s betrayal.

This was entirely different from the peaceful and stable Federation in your memory; it had nothing to do with those small internal urban conflicts.

Your wife was also worried, fearing the Federation’s ongoing direction might risk a civil war. To this, you remained silent.

The Cabinet meetings in the following days were somewhat silent as well. Tetis didn’t make any significant comments, seeming to have accepted this outcome by default.

You didn’t know what he was thinking. But this time, whether it was Yilan City’s or the consortium’s behavior, it was essentially challenging the dignity of the President of the Federation.

Perhaps the President’s power wasn’t as great as you imagined.

Moshanto Grain Industry was also involved in the incident. That was unfortunate, as you had to deal with their messengers every few days. They always wanted you to probe Tetis’s attitude and see if Tetis would sanction Dawn City or Yilan City.

They might not ignore all this as Tetis’s deliberate indulgence, but they still wanted to try, leaving you, caught in the middle, afraid to offend either side.

But Yilan City’s events were only the start of the chaos.

When the true rulers of the Federation realized the nominal ruler wouldn’t heed their orders, they would personally address the threat.

But you didn’t expect the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be involved, and with such high-ranking officials like the Deputy Chief of Staff.

You had met that ’Suote;’ he was an honest and reliable person. But you didn’t expect him to have connections with ’K’ either.

You couldn’t help but feel grateful for your previous judgment not to get involved with the FBI.

Sometimes, you wondered if the President might also have connections with ’K.’ From his actions, you couldn’t rule out this possibility.

To say, Dawn City and these ’K’ believers had overly strong combat power. The consortium suffered a big loss again, not having a comfortable New Year.

More disruptive to them, though, was Curtis’s attitude. Curtis clearly leaned toward Dawn City during these events.

Now, with the consortium’s few failures, Curtis was even trying to push some anti-consortium bills forward.

Perhaps this had always been Curtis’s intention, and you felt he was playing with fire.

But the consortium maintained rare silence over Curtis’s actions – they’d indeed suffered significant losses. Yet the Central Army, loyal to the President, still retained formidable power.

You visited Vice President Adric, a ’true insider’ of the consortium. You hoped to gain his perspective on the current situation.

He didn’t give any advice, just told you that the Federation’s situation is becoming increasingly dangerous. If you want to continue living in Ains, you have to make a choice.

You understand his implication: either leave or pick a side.

You can’t leave; you’ve spent fifty years moving from Keskein to Ains, a journey countless people couldn’t complete in a lifetime.

Then you can only make a choice. For you, this choice is easy to make; you have your people contact Noder Finance and express your desire for their support.

Noder Finance didn’t respond but asked you to be patient.]

[Age 52: There are dark undercurrents everywhere in the Federation. Sometimes, you even consider resigning to save your life.

When you first became the Minister of Justice, you thought of yourself as a promising Cabinet official, at the center of Federation power. Now, you realize you are just a minor Cabinet official.

The new election is about to begin. Curtis is doing everything to support Swinno’s ascendancy, giving speeches all over to assist in the election.

Swinno is indeed a qualified successor. His family is a Senatorial family, his wife comes from an ancient family, and he has been navigating Ains’ political scene since his twenties, with sufficient experience.

In fact, even if Tetis chooses a successor from the Cabinet officials, it wouldn’t be you. Vice President Adric’s qualifications, background, and abilities far exceed Swinno’s. However, he and Tetis have never gotten along, and he became a running mate as Tetis wants to win votes from the Consortium.

Even if the Vice President is removed, there are at least five people ahead of you. But you also know you have no background to rely on; your family standing isn’t enough to support you in that cold seat at Gray Stone Palace.

You don’t know if Swinno will follow Tetis’ path. After all, he seems close to the Consortium, but people are unpredictable. Tetis trusts him so much; maybe all of this is an act.

You returned to Keskein to attend your uncle’s funeral.

The Consortium continues trying to block information on ’K,’ but even on the streets of Keskein, you see some information about ’K.’

In unseen places, the entire Federation seems to be undergoing a violent upheaval.

You bought back your grandmother’s old house, had your wife take your daughter to stay temporarily in Keskein, and returned to Ains alone.

You started considering resigning to Tetis, then received news of Tetis being assassinated.

That night, a lobbyist from Noder Finance visited you alone, hoping for your support, and you could only agree hastily.

Before you could react, Adric took over as President, and Adric found you, expressing his intention to nominate you as ’Federal Secretary.’

This far exceeded your expectations. You originally thought the highest position you could obtain was Finance Minister, the top-ranking Cabinet official.

Federal Secretary is a special position. It sounds like some auxiliary role, but actually, it is the head of the Cabinet. Its responsibility is to communicate between Ains and the major cities of the Federation.

In critical moments, the Federal Secretary can be considered as the President itself.

Most importantly, it is the third in line for presidential succession, after the Vice President and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Now, only two people are ahead of you.

You realize that getting this position might simply be because you aligned yourself quickly enough.

When you contacted the Consortium, most of the Cabinet was possibly still undecided.

You became the ’symbol’ most capable of demonstrating the Consortium’s power and correctness.

Throughout this process, you are both excited and panicked; excited because you will soon become the Federal Secretary, one person below and tens of thousands above, panicked because the position you dream of is, to the Consortium, like squares on a chessboard, able to place whichever pieces they prefer.

Especially when investigating the assassin Paxiu who killed the President, you find that Tetis’s power is far greater than you imagined.

Despite having many Angels loyal to him and being a B-level Extraordinary, firmly controlling the Central Army, he still died so easily.

Even though this death was caused by the intelligence director’s betrayal, you still feel a chill down your spine.

Adric seemingly feels the same as you, yet he doesn’t show it, and you don’t know if your guess is correct.

However, as the investigation concludes, Adric apparently possesses extremely high prestige in the Federation. As long as he runs for election, he will almost certainly be re-elected.

This eases your mind a bit. You know Adric isn’t someone who turns his back easily. As long as he is re-elected, you can remain as Federal Secretary.

If he wishes, he can even choose you as a running mate, then you will become the Federation’s Vice President.

Even though the Vice President’s real power might be less than that of the Federal Secretary, that would truly be one person beneath only.

Adric’s father was Vice President back then. Without his father’s support, Adric wouldn’t have come this far.

You even feel thankful to the assassin Paxiu, even though that guy is ’K’s envoy.’ Without him, you probably would have resigned and fled.

But something unexpected happened: Adric announced he was withdrawing from the election.

This is a decision you cannot understand; he gave up the position of Federation President so easily.

You secretly visited him, asking why he withdrew from the election. Perhaps you appeared overly excited, but he just sighed in the end, advising you not to continue forward.

You certainly can’t give up, but you also know that regardless of who the next President is, you have no chance of reaching the center of Federation power.

However, what you didn’t expect was that Kemingda seemed to have such high support.

Even managing to turn the tide and become the President of the Federation.

You also didn’t expect that the obviously power-hungry Skewis would become Kemingda’s running mate.

You approached Noder Finance, probing the Consortium’s attitude, but surprisingly the Consortium remained silent. You could only express some regrets and start packing.

Once again, you are left with nothing.]

[Age 53: Kemingda was assassinated, Skewis took over, and he cleaned out Kemingda’s Cabinet in a very short time.

People from Noder Finance found you again; they brought just one message.

Skewis will nominate you as Vice President.

The new Cabinet suffered a purge; Adric is unwilling to return, and Ains is plunged into rapid turmoil. You inadvertently become the most reliable and ’prestigious’ person from the old Cabinet.