Chapter 1492: Chapter 1492: The Situation

“War.”

Ines calmly and slowly uttered the word.

“Huh?” Vigina was momentarily puzzled, looking at Ines somewhat blankly, not immediately understanding her meaning, “War?”

If we were to compare the events related to K over the past few years, this one would be the most devoid of ‘gunpowder.’

Although the Nolanka Group’s Mercenary Corps and the Kewort Group’s Mercenary Corps faced off, they ultimately did not go to war.

It was entirely incomparable to the offensive and defensive battles that occurred during the corporate siege of Yilan City, Minte City, and Dawn City.

“The most intense wars often hide in silence,” Ines seemed to understand her confusion, speaking softly, “The previous battles, though extremely fierce locally, were not truly wars for the corporations as a whole.”

She continued to explain, “In those events, only one or a few corporations were involved, which can only be considered local skirmishes.”

“Wait,” Vigina was slightly stunned, speaking in a daze, “Those can only be considered local skirmishes? Then what is a real war…”

She vaguely guessed something but dared not speak it out loud for the time being.

“The recent failures of the corporations have made them aware of the threat posed by the faction led by Dawn City,” Ines did not forcefully continue along Vigina’s words but instead changed the topic.

“The faction led by Dawn City?” Vigina was taken aback.

“More precisely, it’s the faction led by Dawn City, with the Nolanka Group’s commercial trade network as a bond, uniting a group of forces that have undergone radical reforms,” Ines looked at Vigina, further explaining,

“Including Wint City in the northwest, Rock City in the north, Yilan City in the central region, and Saint Joen City in the south, among others,”

She continued in a soft voice, “These cities have now formed a considerable force within the Federation that cannot be ignored,”

“Perhaps they themselves have no inclination towards an alliance, but at the higher levels of the Federation, they have already been tacitly classified as a unified force, and,”

She paused, continuing, “They all share a common strong characteristic, which is opposing the current corporate system of the Federation.”

“Anti-corporate?” Vigina was a bit confused, “But didn’t you just say they are connected through the Nolanka Group?”

“The Nolanka Group, strictly speaking, does not count as a traditional corporate entity within the Federation,” Ines slightly shook her head, “The exact structural form of this group is not clearly defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the moment, but it is certainly different from the mainstream corporations of the Federation.”

She looked at Vigina’s bewildered expression, pondered for a moment, and continued, “Simply put, the purpose of the Nolanka Group is different from that of ordinary corporations. As it stands, the Nolanka Group does not have a strong tendency to earn excessive profits,

“Based on the information obtained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the ultimate profits of the Nolanka Group do not flow to the shareholders but are converted into new factories and employee benefits in various forms.”

“Is that possible?” Vigina’s eyes widened, “This company doesn’t make money? Then their employees must be living happily?”

“Yes,” Ines nodded slightly, “So we generally consider the Nolanka Group to be different from ordinary corporations in the Federation and categorize it along with cities like Dawn City that limit corporate power.”

“Is the chairman of Nolanka Group’s board a saint?” Vigina clearly had not recovered from the previous words.

“In a sense, yes.” Ines rarely sighed along and nodded slightly.

“So the corporations think that the united strength of these cities has become a significant force,” Vigina drew back her thoughts, “So they want to launch a war, to strike first while the enemy hasn’t fully matured?”

“Generally speaking, yes,” Ines looked at Vigina, speaking softly, “Currently, the corporation’s overall strength in the Federation still holds a significant advantage. And the Dawn City faction itself is not a monolith; for instance, within Dawn City, there is a clear opposition faction against Christos, and they have not formed a stable alliance.”

“Then why don’t they take action directly?” Vigina asked, confused, but quickly realized, “Because of the old President?”

“Yes,” Ines nodded slightly, “If the President unites his forces with those of Dawn City, he would have the ability to counter the corporations, and then he could use the internal contradictions among different corporations to divide and dissolve the corporate forces, rebalancing the Federation’s power structure.”

“So the old President must die,” Vigina finally realized the core issue, “If the President is really assassinated, then the forces organized by the President would disintegrate, and most of them would turn to the corporations, giving the corporations a substantial boost.”

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, and all the events that had happened so far connected at that moment, “The reason the corporations chose Paxiu, and the reason the President chose Paxiu, are the same because of his connection with Dawn City.

“If the President dies at the hands of ‘Paxiu,’ the corporations can incite hatred across the entire Federation against Dawn City and the Wilderness Wanderers. When that hatred reaches its peak…”

She looked up at Ines, “That’s when the war begins.”

“Once they accumulate enough ‘momentum,’ they can compel the neutrals and waverers to attack Dawn City,” Ines nodded lightly, “Once Dawn City is settled, they can smoothly deal with the Nolanka Group and the remaining cities.”

“Then now, do they still have the possibility to start a war?” Vigina pondered, “Without ‘Paxiu assassinating the President,’ they just lack a reason, their obstacle, the old President, has still passed away.”

“It’s not that simple as ‘lacking a reason,’ in the short term, they probably don’t have the chance to wage war,” Ines shook her head, “Like the Dawn City faction, the corporations are not united either. Some corporations want to wage war, while others don’t want to waste money on this matter,

“Though Dawn City does target corporations somewhat, it hasn’t reached the point of forcing them to the brink, not enough to stop them from making money either.

“So they need a reasonable excuse to accumulate momentum, to suppress the internal dissenting voices, and unite externally,

“And this reason had better be a legitimate excuse relating to Federal Central so they can curb the Federation Central Army, getting the federal forces to assist them, or at least not get involved in the war, reducing their obstacles.

“And now, the mastermind behind the assassination of the President has been determined to be related to the Kewort Group, and because of a series of operations by the Kewort Group,”

Ines looked at Vigina, continuing, “The momentum they wanted to gather was lost from the start, instead, it turned against themselves,

“In the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the assassination, their loose alliance is bound to fracture and disintegrate,

“Some corporations may even suffer heavy losses as a result, at which point, their former ‘allies’ will instead become the most bloodthirsty predators, voraciously devouring the ‘corpses’ of their ‘comrades.’

Ultimately, Ines shook her head, “According to the Director’s judgment, at least in the short term, they should not be able to reorganize.”

“I see.” Vigina nodded slightly, finally grasping the whole process.

But soon, she realized something and looked at Ines, “What about the new President? The old President has already passed away, won’t the corporations manipulate the new President to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s probe?”

Hearing this question, Ines was slightly taken aback, then she quietly chuckled, “The new President will not obstruct the investigation, instead, he will intensify the probe.”

Seeing Vigina’s perplexed gaze, she continued, “No President would want to be a puppet on strings, even if this President only has a few months left in office.

“Though before taking office, when he was vice-president, he had no personal power base and was supported by Noder Finance, it doesn’t mean he has no thoughts about power, and,

Ines smiled at Vigina, “Although the consortium has the ability to send someone to the position of vice president, ultimately the decision of who becomes vice president lies with the old President.”

Ultimately, she let out a gentle sigh, “Perhaps all of this has long been part of Paxiu and the old President’s plans.”

“Perhaps.” Upon hearing her words, Vigina nodded slightly, remaining silent.

The two walked forward slowly, once again falling into silence.

Soon, their figures reached the end of the corridor.

Looking at the opened cabin door of the Federation Bureau of Investigation’s exclusive plane ahead, Ines turned around, “I can only accompany you this far.”

She glanced down at the suitcase Vigina was dragging, pausing slightly, “The funeral…”

“Once the exact time is set, I’ll contact you,” Vigina nodded softly.

Ines quietly watched her, and after a brief silence, softly spoke, “Thank you.”

“At that time,” Vigina looked at her, “what kind of position should I give you?”

The question made Ines slightly stunned.

She knew Vigina was asking her about her relationship with Paxiu, so she raised her head slightly and looked towards the southwest.

Vigina knew that’s the direction of Denno City.

Finally, after a brief pause, Ines withdrew her gaze, looked at Vigina, and said softly, “In a way, he and I are considered companions, or friends.”

Ines glanced once more at the distance, “Perhaps he guessed it too.”

Vigina looked into the girl’s snow-white eyes before her, nodding gently, “I understand.”

Ines withdrew her gaze, looking at Vigina in front of her, “Farewell.”

“Farewell.” Vigina nodded softly and walked towards the airplane cabin door.

——

June 28

The Federal Bureau of Investigation held a press conference stating that the investigation team dispatched by the Bureau was attacked; the attackers misjudged the strength of the investigation team and were caught on the spot.

After identity checks and interrogation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered that the attackers were soldiers from the Kewort Group’s mercenary corps, executing tasks under false identities, attempting to hinder the investigation by the Bureau.

The Bureau stated that the actions of the Kewort Group severely interfered with the investigation, affecting justice and fairness, and announced a more in-depth investigation into the incident.

Later that evening, the Vitland headquarters of the Kewort Group was sealed off by the Vitland branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The corporation’s branches in Ains, Dawn City, Yilan City, and other large cities were also shut down by local branches of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

A large amount of data was sealed and transferred to various Bureau locations for investigation.

Kewort Group’s stock price plummeted over 30% on the same day.

Gray Stone Palace issued an administrative order, temporarily assigning command of Kewort Group’s two mercenary corps to the Federation Central Army 153rd division, conducting identity checks on all mercenaries.

Ains Telegraph reported that Gray Stone Palace’s actions might indicate a tendency to abolish Kewort Group’s mercenary corps structure.

The report claimed that the mercenary corps of the Federation’s consortium conceal a large number of fugitives and criminals, unable to withstand close scrutiny.

Any investigation would lead to the most severe consequences.

Simultaneously, the report also stated that the Nolanka Group dispatching mercenary corps to help resist the Kewort Group’s mercenary corps was a political gamble.

If Kewort Group truly goes berserk, the Nolanka Group’s mercenary corps would likely not survive.

But the fact is, Nolanka Group bet correctly; its controllers demonstrated strategic capability.

The report predicted that Nolanka Group might have the opportunity to rank among the super consortiums within the next ten years.

——

June 30

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released the second phase of the investigation results regarding the President assassination.

Through an in-depth investigation of the Kewort Group, the Bureau discovered that several major shareholders of the group, including Note Intelligence, Jiefeier Industry, West Steel, and Westek Family investment company, were deeply involved in the assassination.

These companies, through various cross-shareholding arrangements, controlled over 60% of Kewort Group’s shares.

Among them, Note Intelligence and Westek Family investment company played a crucial role in the final process of Di Man’s Evil God Sacrifice, attempting to overthrow the Federation, endangering the safety of Ains people.

The Bureau has lawfully sealed off some office locations of Note Intelligence and the headquarters building of Westek Family investment company, storing critical data for further investigation.

Later that evening, Gray Stone Palace issued an administrative order, due to Kewort Group’s mercenary corps harboring numerous criminals and multiple recent transgressive behaviors.

Announced the abolishment of Kewort Group’s two mercenary corps structure, dismissing all employed mercenaries on-site, with all criminals to be uniformly pursued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Simultaneously, Gray Stone Palace announced the increase of the Nolanka Group’s mercenary corps personnel limit, allowing the Nolanka Group to expand all three of its mercenary corps to the level of major mercenary corps.

Dawn Daily published comments stating that if Nolanka Group can successfully reach full capacity, it will possess military strength exceeding most city-defense armies, becoming one of the top ten military entities within the Federation.

Later that evening, materials indicated that Nolanka Group has been selected for the Federation Central’s list of supported enterprises under high-tech tax incentives.

Simultaneously, the group has also entered the Federation Central Army’s equipment supplier list, obtaining a large number of procurement orders from the Central Bureau.