Chapter 82: Where Is the Truth?

At 10 a.m., the hearing of the Reconstruction Council of the 33rd Komsomolsk was about to end.

In the final vote of this hearing, 113 council members overwhelmingly chose to “stop the state of emergency.”

They demanded that the local garrison and security departments immediately stop the blockade of the city and stop conscripting female workers into the paramilitary defense system.

“Without any concrete evidence, and without any omens, to lock down the city first before it is even attacked, and to plunge the entire city into man-made panic, this approach is fundamentally wrong.”

This was the summary speech of Andrew, the Speaker of the City Council. He said, “We demand that the military leave this city. Even for defense, it should start from the edge of the city, not entering the city center. This action gives us sufficient reason to suspect the military’s motives: do they want to resist the so-called monster invasion, or do they want to plunder wealth in this city?”

The Speaker’s speech was interrupted many times by the applause of the council members, which made the 47-year-old Speaker even more high-spirited. He said loudly, “Let us demand that the army leave the city, let us demand the return of Council Member Nusyanov, let us demand the severe punishment of the murderer who killed Vice Speaker Tubrushev, let us demand that the grievances of those innocent dead be redressed.”

Even louder cheers rose again, and the council members began to applaud simultaneously, shouting loudly, “Punish the murderer, return the council member.”

This sound was so loud that it penetrated the magnificent council hall; even standing on the street, one could hear it clearly.

Ilyenko stood in a jeep by the street, expressionlessly lighting the cheap cigarette in his hand, turned his head to look in another direction of the block, where women instigated by the council members were holding signs walking toward the city hall.

Walking in front of them was the mayor of the 33rd Komsomolsk. The female mayor, who had not attended the hearing, waved the sign in her hand while shouting loudly.

“Army leave the city! Let us continue to work!”

The surging voices of the female demonstrators and the sounds coming from the council hall slowly converged, gradually raising a wave of sound in the center of this city.

The soldiers standing amidst these sounds could not help but swallow their saliva, and invariably turned their gazes toward Ilyenko.

The garrison commander lit another cigarette, took two deep puffs, turned his head to look at his adjutant, and whispered, “Prepare to make a move.”

The adjutant froze for a moment and whispered, “Comrade Major, have you really thought it through?”

Ilyenko turned his head to glance at the council hall and said, “Take down this council hall and make everyone quiet down a bit. If we don’t take out a few of those guys who could cause division at any time, we will all die in the end. Understand?”

The adjutant looked at Ilyenko again, paused, nodded, and quickly left. A few minutes later, two old-fashioned tanks slowly drove into this square from another street corner.

After providing enough deterrence to those demonstrating women, the two gun barrels turned toward the council hall. Although they did not fire immediately, the threat was clearly issued.

“Either shut up, or die!”

“They wouldn’t dare to fire!”

The female mayor screamed hoarsely, she nearly madly wanting to break through the military’s blockade line.

However, compared to the male soldiers, this mayor, who had transformed from a council secretary, had much less strength.

A burly soldier suddenly pushed her away, spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on the ground, turned his head to look at those two tanks, a hint of fanaticism in his eyes.

Compared to those mid-level officers, these soldiers were simpler. They were naturally unwilling to open fire on those women, but they also knew that if today’s matter was not resolved, this city might suffer an even more terrible attack in the end, and more people would die, while the ones who would be spared in the end would be those council members who only knew how to open their mouths and talk.

At this time, those council members who only cared about their own interests were the true source of turmoil.

The top covers of the two tanks opened, and the tank commanders looked at Ilyenko at the same time, waiting for this commander to make the most important decision.

Once the shells were fired, it meant a complete severance of relations with the parliament. By then, no one would have any room to turn back.

Regardless of whether Ilyenko could ensure that this city was not violated, he would definitely be removed from this post after the war and would be tried by a military court.

If Ilyenko’s judgment was wrong and those monsters never appeared, he might even be sentenced to death by a military court for “attacking the parliament.”

Life and death depended on Ilyenko’s judgment, and this was the basis for that beautiful female mayor to be sure that the army would not open fire on the council hall.

Under everyone’s gaze, Ilyenko threw away the cigarette butt in his hand and asked, “Did I order you to stop the operation just now?”

The two tank commanders were slightly stunned, then immediately drilled into the tanks, closed the top covers, and the muzzles began to adjust slightly.

“No!!!!”

The female mayor screamed loudly, but the sound was drowned out by the huge artillery sound that was emitted at the same time.

Two shells flew out of the barrels, instantly hitting the windows of the council hall. The huge vibration made the whole building tremble, and the frantic shouting of those council members came to an abrupt halt.

Ilyenko turned his head to look at the approaching adjutant and asked in a low voice, “Armor-piercing shells?”

“Using high-explosive shells would make it impossible to control the number of casualties, Comrade Major.”

Ilyenko nodded, lit another cigarette, and quietly waited for the subsequent development of the situation.

Accompanied by the shattering of a large amount of window glass, a white flag supported by a metal pole finally slowly poked out.

Truth lies only within the range of the cannons. Those council members had always sneered at this phrase, but now, they finally realized it firsthand.

When they realized that their destiny had begun to be controlled by others, renegotiating with the army became the only choice.

“That was fast. I thought we’d have to wait a while; I didn’t expect to see it now.”

A dilapidated, blood-stained jeep easily bypassed the military blockade line and drove close to Ilyenko.

Before the Major’s adjutant could stop him, Xiao Fen had already walked out of the vehicle wearily. In his hand, several strange crystals were clanking.

Ilyenko turned his head to glance at this “hillbilly” and asked in a low voice, “Solved?”

Xiao Fen stretched his muscles and said, “Of course, otherwise I wouldn’t have come back. However, these were just those internal agents, and most of the Sources of Mutation have already dried up. The real monsters might be more numerous and more troublesome than we imagined.”

Ilyenko took a long drag of his cigarette and said, “This makes me look forward to it very much.”