CHAPTER 457: CHAPTER 257: FLIPPING THE TABLE

The entire council suddenly realized that Chen Che had already completely shut down most of the smuggling routes.

Even without Luo Qingtian having to go through the hassle of targeting Chen Che, and blocking all his smuggling routes, some of Chen Che’s business would naturally cut off.

Currently, the way Chen Che makes money can completely be regarded as legitimate, and the core is fully controlled by him.

What they took over was essentially an empty shell.

Furthermore, as the news spread, all the residents of the Earth Nine Special Zone began to riot.

You should know that not long ago, Chen Che cut off all sources of contraband, which practically helped the entire Upper City District of the Ninth Special Zone undergo a wave of drug withdrawal.

In the whole Upper City District, nearly one-third of the people are addicts, and setting off their contraband.

With such a large number of drug users, withdrawal reactions would cause unimaginable turmoil.

How did Chen Che handle this before?

He was able to help all addicts quit drugs for free, to stabilize these addicts. Similarly, some people, although obsessed with the extreme neural stimulation that contraband brings, also hate such things for destroying their neural networks and bodies.

Being able to quit these things is like a dream to them.

Originally, they were able to continue quitting, but the council’s interference has now caused the entire Lighthouse to suddenly disappear without a trace.

This also led to the Lighthouse being unable to help most addicts quit those drug addictions. Many of these addicts were mercenaries, street thugs, and such a huge contrast naturally vented all grievances onto the council.

The council originally wanted to cultivate several new gangs to rebuild these systems and reintroduce contraband.

On one hand, it could help the council accumulate funds, and on the other hand, it could stabilize these addicts in the districts.

But how easy is it to rebuild a new force?

It would take at least more than half a month.

In this more than half a month, the council could still suppress the excited crowd through forced military power, but developments often exceed expectations.

A snowflake fell from the sky, followed by a heavy snowstorm. It was over 40 degrees and unbearably hot the previous day, and the next day the cold wave suddenly arrived, a gust of cold wind swept by, and the surrounding air plummeted to below zero.

Every household was burning coal to ward off the cold wave.

Similarly, snow blocked roads; in the first month of the cold wave, which is the coldest time of the year, basically no caravans would trade.

Roads in major regions would be blocked.

Essentially, each major district would be self-sufficient.

In the cold, ecological development would also stop, making it the safest time, with only nature to fend off.

But nature is also the hardest to fend off.

During this time, attempting to source contraband externally is next to impossible.

Internally produced contraband, the council’s investigation found, had most of its production bases destroyed by Chen Che.

Rebuilding these contraband production lines also required introducing some resources externally.

But the cold wave has already arrived.

As a result, the price of existing contraband within the Ninth Special Zone skyrocketed, and even the council found it difficult to obtain.

The only option was to go to the Lower City District to find the underground godfather.

Try to get some other resources from the underground godfather.

However, when the council approached the underground godfather in the name of the entire council, the godfather wouldn’t even meet them, completely disregarding them.

This left the entire council in an extremely awkward situation, in a really indescribable predicament.

The council couldn’t control the social unrest in the Ninth Special Zone.

The main reason was that a group of capitalists previously had conspired to raise the price of coal, and the council did nothing about it.

If these capitalists really succeeded, the capitalists’ sickle would harvest the city’s populace, and many poor people unable to afford coal would freeze to death, with unknown numbers dying in the Ninth Special Zone.

Had the populace been oblivious, it might have been a different story, but with the appearance of newspapers, Chen Che preemptively disclosed this information to the public, further diminishing the council’s reputation.

Due to the coal incident, Chen Che’s reputation reached its peak among the populace.

Now rumors have started to circulate about the injustice Chen Che suffered, and many in the populace feel indignant on his behalf. Coupled with the arrival of the cold wave, most people are idle.

In their restlessness, the entertainment-deprived populace pushed the entire Ninth Special Zone to a boiling point.

Everyone in the council sensed an uneasy mood.

Vazmir frequently convened meetings, and the unease in the President of the Council’s heart grew stronger, seeking to hear other opinions for discussion.

But other councilors couldn’t come up with solutions.

Luo Qingtian looked at these people with a headache, coldly snorted, and said: "Don’t forget who caused this situation?

It’s Chen Che; he’s the key person!

He gave you those businesses, but he didn’t give you the most crucial stuff.

Now, under the control of Qian Yunshan, the Judicial Bureau has mastered most of the power. I suggest we go all out and take action from this front.

Have the Judicial Bureau arrest Chen Che, as for the charges, just fabricate one!

Once he’s in prison, make Chen Che give up those cores, and everything will be sorted out!"

Deputy Director of the Finance Bureau, Guan Ning, heavily smacked the table, opposing: "Absolutely not, Chen Che has such a powerful reputation among the masses. If you dare arrest him now, a public uprising might happen.

In the current situation, everyone is under heavy pressure, and once the masses have an outlet or reason to vent, it could challenge the entire council’s rule.

Moreover, considering the many confrontations between the council and Chen Che before, when did we ever gain the upper hand?

Do you really think he would surrender so easily with no backup?

A cornered rabbit will bite. Be careful that trying to steal a chicken doesn’t cost you the rice used to lure it!"

Guan Ning’s words also plunged the council into a momentary silence, and obviously, some people had considered this aspect.

Yet, besides this, there seemed to be no other options.

The entire council erupted in loud disputes over this.

Ultimately, it was Vazmir in the council who decided to take a risky move.

"No matter what, the council’s rule over the stability of the Ninth Special Zone must not go wrong; Chen Che is the only variable. Regardless of what resources Chen Che has, we must have Chen Che under our control to maintain the stability of the entire Ninth Special Zone!"

What Vazmir said was very clear, everyone present understood what he meant, and after exchanging glances, a vote was held, with half of them agreeing.

The opposing Deputy Director of the Finance Bureau, Guan Ning, sighed, already sensing something wrong. Looking back at Chen Che and other adversaries, in so many confrontations:

When has Chen Che ever surrendered so easily?

This lunatic must be planning something big.

What the council is doing will indeed push Chen Che to set off this huge explosive.

Guan Ning’s hunch was correct.

At this moment, Chen Che had already arrived at the Apocalypse Society.

Arabic looked up at Chen Che, eyes flickering with a hint of frenzy, and said, "What do you mean?!"

"What do I mean? Isn’t it obvious? If they keep playing like this, do we still need to follow the rules?

I’m preparing to gather all forces... to overthrow the council."

A hint of crimson flashed in Chen Che’s eyes.