Chapter 126 Eliminating the Parasites (Completed)
The True Lies newspaper.
"Retraction? No, impossible, I won't agree... Okay, you don't need to say anymore, this isn't about the money... The author's address and contact information? You must be crazy, are you trying to threaten him?!"
"Threatening me? Fine, come on then, anyone can come, I'll be waiting in my office!"
"Smack!"
A desk piled high with manuscripts; a hand angrily slams the microphone back onto the landline; then, the same hand rubs its face in annoyance.
His golden-brown hair was a mess, his pale green eyes were bloodshot, he wore a shirt he hadn't changed in days, his ashtray was piled high with cigarette butts, and there were crumpled pieces of paper next to the trash can.
All of this paints a picture of a bitter and resentful editor-in-chief.
Hearing the knock, the editor-in-chief sat up straight and called out, "Come in!"
The guest pushed open the door and entered; his voice was heard before he was seen.
“Igor, you seem to be very busy. It seems our latest newspaper issue has been an unexpected success.”
Upon recognizing the person, Igor instinctively stood up, hurriedly pulled down his shirt sleeves, and then quickly buttoned up his collar.
Because of the haste, several buttons were fastened incorrectly.
"Miss He."
Igor's voice was somewhat hoarse, polite yet tinged with a hint of wariness.
"Do you have any new instructions? But the next issue of the newspaper has already been typeset and sent to the printing plant, so..."
He Changyi said lightly, "Editor-in-chief, what do you think I'm here for? To interfere with your journalistic independence, objectivity, and fairness?"
Igor coughed and said, trying to cover up his misunderstanding, "Of course not. As an investor, you have always respected the newspaper's autonomy, and I am always very grateful to you for that."
He Changyi smiled and asked in return, "Really? I thought you would be unhappy with the 'Katch Bogk' article, after all, it disrupted the newspaper's original plans, didn't it?"
Igor was pushing aside the clothes, documents, and unfinished canned food on the sofa to make room for one person to sit down.
Upon hearing He Changyi's words, he paused in his actions.
"Of course not. In fact, the article you brought is of exceptionally high quality, with detailed and truthful content. Even the person being reported on wouldn't know more than this."
Igor silently added to himself, "It's as if this was recorded while lying under the subject's bed."
To be honest, Igor was completely shocked when he received the manuscript. He had heard rumors about some of the content, but much of it he had never even heard of before.
Who would believe that the bigwigs of Irbuyat have been frantically sucking the life out of the oil industry for the past thirty years, continuously transferring their wealth overseas, and committing murders to cover up their crimes, with their bodies hastily buried in suburban cemeteries and even dragged out and devoured by wild animals?
This explains why, despite possessing abundant oil reserves, Irbuyat remains underdeveloped and impoverished during the current era of booming oil economy. Ordinary people have not benefited from these reserves and instead have to endure severe pollution caused by oil extraction.
If the alliance hadn't already disintegrated, the Irbuyat oil case might have been included in any major cases when reviewing the alliance's major scandals.
Of course, the article did not immediately target the systemic corruption of the local oil company, but instead first released several cases of adultery and murder in a shocking way.
Sex and violence can always excite audiences, especially when the parties involved in a case are prominent local figures.
For example, an octogenarian became infatuated with a 30-year-old man, leading to a jealous rivalry between the grandfather and grandson, turning their Christmas dinner into a brawl; another example is a father and son sharing a husband, just to extract oil to prolong the family's life, and photos of the scene have now been leaked.
There was also a case of a gigolo having an affair with a married woman, only to be shot 18 times by her husband when he returned home, each shot hitting him in the back. In the end, the police closed the case as a suicide, and the body was dumped in a cemetery, where it was dragged out and devoured by impatient stray dogs.
All sorts of things, these are the gossip news that the people love to see.
Igor initially refused, arguing that his "True Lies" was a respectable newspaper, not a tabloid that flaunted erotic novels to boost sales.
But the investors gave way too much.
Igor was once a reporter for a state-run newspaper. Unable to tolerate the rigid system and bureaucratic style, he resolutely left the government to start his own business, founding a small newspaper called "True Lies," where he served as editor-in-chief, reporter, administrator, and accountant.
Through his tireless efforts, he successfully brought the newspaper to the brink of bankruptcy.
If it weren't for a sharp report about Vakim and Trotsky that attracted a wealthy patron, Igor would now be back in the sex trade, selling himself to pay off his debts, and the journalist would have become a stripper.
Although taking the money means doing the job, the priority is to get the Katch reporter's article published in my beloved newspaper...
Even though Igor was prepared to endure humiliation, this was still too much of a disgrace!
"Ms. He, you may take your money, but I will not allow such vulgar news to appear in my newspaper!"
He Changyi was not angry when he heard this. Instead, he was surprised and said, "Mr. Igor, I originally thought you were a rare upright person, but you only saw vulgar content in the manuscript?"
She took a pencil, circled a few keywords, and then pushed the manuscript to Igor.
“I thought these were the things you should have noticed.”
Igor paused, picked up the manuscript with suspicion, and looked at the paragraphs she had marked as important.
As he read, his expression changed slightly. He suddenly looked up at He Changyi, pursed his lips, and then lowered his head to read carefully from beginning to end.
The Christmas dinner, in which a grandfather and grandson engaged in a violent fight, was held at a Mediterranean holiday villa. The weapons used as weapons were Iranian caviar, known as the "black diamond," and top-quality Iberian ham.
The father and son shared a husband in order to get a share of the oil corruption. They only needed to offer two chrysanthemums to obtain huge profits of more than ten million US dollars every year.
The young man who committed suicide after being shot in the back did not cause a ripple in his death. Instead, several other similar unidentified corpses were discovered in the cemetery, which fattened up several packs of stray dogs in the vicinity.
Igor put down his manuscript, looked up at the overly good-natured investor, and said seriously:
"Why did you come to me? There are private newspapers in Orosdo. You can just buy any one. The newspaper will only have the news you want, not an editor like me. You will need to explain why."
He Changyi said with a smile, "Because I don't need a human megaphone."
She seemed to be saying something self-evident, rather than something that went against common sense.
"It's good to be obedient, but being too obedient is the same as being brainless. A fool can cause far more trouble than he can gain from being obedient. I don't want to worry about fools all the time; that would be the worst thing ever."
Igor said with difficulty, "Not all obedient people are fools..."
He Changyi abruptly interrupted him.
"But why should I take that risk, especially over something so trivial—yes, to me, buying a newspaper is a trivial matter."
...His newspaper, insignificant?
Igor, who was already a man of few words, now seemed even more silent.
"I'd say I bought you as a person rather than the book 'True Lies'."
He Changyi said cheerfully, "You are very good, a smart and principled person. Being smart means knowing the boundaries and not easily causing trouble; being principled means self-discipline and not easily betraying others, and that is enough."
Igor said with difficulty, "Do I need to thank you for your appreciation?"
He Changyi raised an eyebrow and said, "If you're willing, I don't mind. After all, as someone said, not everyone has a pair of smart eyes."
Clever eyes?
The editor-in-chief has kept a respectable silence on this matter.
Ultimately, Igor agreed to publish the article about "Katch Bogk" in the next issue of the newspaper. He even asked the investors whether Katch Bogk's identity needed to be kept confidential.
The female investor said meaningfully, "I think Mr. Katz doesn't mind the leak, or rather, he and they are looking forward to having guests visit."
Igor glanced thoughtfully at the investor, then at the manuscript filled with too many secrets and scandals, and as if realizing something, the corner of his mouth twitched.
"I really hope no one wants to bother Mr. Katz, otherwise I can only mourn for them."
However, after the latest issue of the newspaper was published, there was an overwhelming number of people trying to bother Mr. Katch.
Igor: ...He really wished he could give Mr. Katch's address; if only he knew it.
In the editor-in-chief's office, the landline, which had been quiet for a short while, started ringing again.
Igor turned to answer the phone, but then, as if remembering something, he turned back to look at He Changyi questioningly and unplugged the phone.
He Changyi asked him, "Are you very troubled?"
Igor said, "I'm used to it."
He even revealed a slight smile of pride: "In the past, my reports also caused a great uproar. Although the editor-in-chief of the newspaper could not withstand the pressure and decided to retract the article... Fortunately, such a thing will not happen again now."
He Changyi gave him a half-smile: "Yes, you're the editor-in-chief now."
She then changed the subject: "I sent ten bodyguards."
Igor instinctively refused, saying, "I don't need bodyguards."
He Changyi said, "Don't flatter yourself, it's just to protect my investment."
Igor: ...
He Changyi stood up and instructed, "Continue publishing the articles by Katch as originally planned. I want to make a series of special reports."
Igor couldn't help but laugh: "This will be a major earthquake that will change Irbuyat."
It's hard to say whether Irbyat was changed, but Igor was almost changed to the point of wanting to die.
Two groups of people broke into his newspaper office and residence at the same time. If He Changyi hadn't sent ten bodyguards, Igor would have almost ended up in the cemetery feeding the dogs.
When Igor saw He Changyi again, his already pale complexion now looked like a breathing plaster statue.
Even with bodyguards around, he still suffered a minor injury, with a bandage on his leg. However, instead of being dejected after his injury, Igor appeared full of fighting spirit.
“That article must have hit their weakest spot! I knew it, I knew it! Irbyat could have done better!”
He Changyi encouraged them, "Then go for it, my warrior, use your pen to defeat them."
Igor nodded solemnly: "I will, and no one can stop me."
Unable to go to the newspaper office or his residence, He Changyi found Igor a new office in the manor. There was sufficient security there, with not only guns and WWII grenades, but also shoulder-fired artillery and civilian armored vehicles, making it as safe as a small military fortress.
He Changyi even moved the printing plant into the manor, with workers working in three shifts and printing presses running all night, producing a steady stream of newspapers with ink still wet.
"Breaking news! Breaking news! The biggest corrupt official in Irbuyat may have been exposed!"
"Oil companies have become breeding grounds for corruption. Who stole our money?!"
"While ordinary people are lining up to receive relief porridge from the church, some people are buying diamond-encrusted collars for their pet dogs!"
"Why did the father and son, or the brothers, fight? Perhaps it was due to unfair distribution of beauty pageant contestants!"
Headlines that shocked the world, detailed and truthful reports, and eye-popping photos...
The people of Irbuyat were almost entirely in a frenzy; the first thing they did every morning was rush to the newsstands to buy the latest issue of "True Lies."
That cunning fellow Igor re-edited the original manuscript, cross-cutting the subject's extravagant life abroad with the tragic scenes of local factories closing down and workers not receiving their wages.
On one side are multi-million dollar mansions, custom yachts, private jets, and parties and weddings worth millions of dollars; on the other side are endless lines of starving people outside churches and retired elderly people freezing to death in unheated houses.
Igor also linked a series of unsolved murders or attacks to oil corruption, citing allegations from "anonymous sources" or "former partners" describing how they used violence to remove obstacles.
People's anger is like a barrel filled with gunpowder; just one spark is enough to blow everything to smithereens.
However, local rentiers reacted swiftly, immediately declaring "True Lies" an illegal publication and demanding the closure of the newspaper office and a ban on the sale of the latest issue.
Police blocked the newsstand and demanded that the owner hand over all the "True Lies" newspapers.
"Hurry up, stop dawdling. I know you got 10,000 newspapers from the distributor at dawn. Do you intend to sell them all?"
The newsstand owner smiled obsequiously and said, "You must be mistaken. I'm a law-abiding citizen; I would never do something so illegal."
The policeman scoffed, "I've heard that from a thousand newsstand owners! Quick, are you going to hand over the newspapers yourself, or am I going to overturn your stall?"
The newsstand owner simply shrugged and made way for the police to search freely.
"Go ahead and overturn everything. You've already emptied out the oil companies, so what wouldn't you dare to do? While we ordinary people can't even afford to eat, they're vacationing by the sea, buying castles in Europe, and throwing diamonds into the pool like they're just pebbles."
As more and more people gathered, the newsstand owner's voice grew louder and louder.
"What can we do? There's nothing we can do! In the end, we'll all be nameless corpses in the cemetery, dragged out and eaten by wild dogs!"
The policeman's face flushed red and then turned pale. He wanted to overturn the stall, but when he saw the indignant expressions on the faces of the people around him, he sheepishly withdrew his hand.
"What are you talking about? Did I get a share of the oil company's money? What do you mean by 'yours'? I'm not one of you, I'm one of 'us' too."
As he spoke, the policeman himself became angry, threw his police cap on the ground, and roared:
“I’ve been owed wages for six months, and my child can’t even afford a new pair of shoes, so he has to go barefoot! Meanwhile, they can buy diamond collars for their dogs! That money should be ours, ours!”
Those around him indignantly echoed, "That's right, that's our money!"
"We should be living a better life, instead of struggling to survive on the brink of starvation and freezing!"
"I've had enough! That's our oil, it belongs to every one of us, not those damn guys!"
"Take back our money, take back our oil!"
As the massive crowd surged toward the city hall, the cunning mayor Smolensky told the public that he would deal seriously with all those involved in oil corruption and return the money and oil to everyone.
Mayor Smolensky successfully defused the crisis, but the rentiers did not.
The area around their house was crowded with people, and stones were constantly being thrown at the windows, leaving broken glass everywhere. As a result, they had no choice but to take refuge in the windowless storage room.
"Damn it, why haven't the police arrived yet?!"
"Police? What are you talking about? Didn't you see the police downstairs?!"
"What do we do? What are we going to do? They want to kill us..."
"Where is Smolensky? Why didn't he come to save us!"
“That old bastard would love for us to die right now, so that no one can stop his power! He doesn’t need to share even a single kopek with anyone!”
The people of Irbuyat shouted in unison outside:
"Give us our money! Give us our oil!"
"You are thieves! You have stolen the nation's wealth!"
Amid the agitated crowd, someone climbed through the window, smashed the lock with an axe and hammer, and dragged out everyone huddled inside.
At this moment, the rentiers' faces lost all their former arrogance, replaced by terror as they pleaded for mercy, "I'll give you money! I'll give you all my money! Please don't kill me, please, don't kill me!"
The policeman in uniform spat at them disdainfully, even though not long ago they were the people he needed to fawn over.
"We won't kill you. Go beg for mercy at the cemetery and among the stray dogs!"
The rentiers' luxurious and comfortable mansions were looted, and it took a long time for a new batch of police to arrive.
"What should we do? They look like they're about to be killed."
"Then let them get beaten to death. Does anyone here even care?"
"Hmph, they deserve it! The wages I owe them have turned into their castles and jewels. They deserve to die!"
Another policeman, who seemed to be the leader, said perfunctorily as the crowd gradually dispersed, "Alright, it's our turn to work. We can't leave any evidence against us. Although our wages are in arrears, they will be paid eventually."
When everything settled down, all the profiteers involved were thrown into prison, falling from grace to inmates overnight.
However, their situation did not improve even in prison.
"Pah! So it was you bunch of trash who almost made me freeze to death last winter!"
"Try the rat droppings and borscht and the sawdust and black bread! This is the food you provide to the prison!"
“I may be a thief, but I only stole a few thousand or tens of thousands of rubles, while you stole hundreds of millions of dollars. You are the ones who should be called thieves!”
"Come on, big shots, let me show you what we little guys can do. You're not the only ones who bully the weak!"
A newspaper exposed the corrupt officials who had been entrenched in Irbuyat for decades and cleared the way for the oil company.
Although the legal process has only just begun and a verdict is still a long way off, at least for now, the local rentiers are struggling to survive and can no longer hide in the shadows to attack; they have been dragged into the sunlight.
"You're right, assassinations are indeed very boring."
Mikhail said lightly, "It's more interesting for them to be alive than dead."
He then changed the subject, saying, "But I don't understand why Mayor Smolensky would choose to stand on your side. You know, this incident is very dangerous for him, like sprinting towards the edge of a cliff. Mayor Smolensky could very well end up in jail with him."
Mikhail shrugged. "Does anyone really believe that the mayor is as pure and innocent as snow?"
He Changyi said, "He doesn't need anyone else's belief, he only needs Mosk's acceptance."
Today, the central government of Oros has a control over the local areas that is comparable to that of Shah. Mosk cannot truly control the local areas, nor can it truly benefit from the abundant mineral resources.
When local leaders like Mayor Smolensky genuinely gravitate towards Mosk, it becomes all the more precious.
He even thoughtfully included local forces in the package, a truly generous gift.
"Mayor Smolensky will probably be sitting in the White House soon."
After listening to He Changyi's words, Mikhail looked like he had a headache.
"This is too complicated. I prefer something simpler. For example, when does the auction start? I can't wait."
He Changyi said, "It probably won't be long. I heard they're already drafting the auction rules."
However, before the auction officially began, Mayor Smolensky said apologetically to He Changyi:
"I'm sorry, but you cannot participate in this auction."
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