Chapter 1493: Chapter 1493: The Funeral

July 2nd

A dreary drizzle falls from the sky as a young girl, like a princess, holds a transparent umbrella. Her gray, light dress flutters in the breeze.

She stands before the ancient palace, stepping into a puddle with her exquisite, crystal shoes.

“Ines, let’s go.”

An elderly man selling hot dogs nearby packs up his stall and covers it with a rain cloth.

He slowly moves forward, straightening his posture with each step. By the time he reaches Ines, his image transforms into a dignified figure, starkly different from the bent old man he was moments ago.

Despite the bustling street, it seems no one notices the change in the elderly man.

Yet, people frequently turn to glance at the young girl, as exquisite and beautiful as a princess.

“Director, are you giving up this identity?” Ines gazes at the casually packed stall, opens a black automatic umbrella and hands it to the elderly man, asking softly.

“An old man at this age ‘should die’,” the elderly man takes the umbrella, shaking his head slightly, “If postponed too long, it won’t have much impact.”

Even though he hasn’t been holding an umbrella, his clothes remain dry as if exposed to bright sunlight, untouched by any raindrops.

He raises his head to look toward the street corner ahead, “Has it begun?”

“Yes,” Ines nods gently, “Just a couple of blocks ahead.”

“Alright.” The elderly man nods lightly and steps forward with Ines.

The lights along the street outline long streaks, while shadows of people weaving back and forth resemble illusory reflections.

In an instant, they’ve traversed several blocks, arriving at a completely sealed-off street.

At this moment, an elderly man holding a black curved handle umbrella stands quietly here, seemingly awaiting something.

“Mr. Boris.” Ines looks at the elderly man, nodding slightly in greeting.

“You’re here?” Boris turns back to glance at Ines and the elderly man beside her before looking at the police and Federal Bureau of Investigation barricaded street, “It’s about to start.”

The three of them slowly move forward to the back of a crowd at the edge of the street, gazing at the gray palace at the beginning of the street.

“When does the funeral start?”

The surrounding crowd seems oblivious to the suddenly appearing trio, quietly whispering amongst themselves,

“It’s about to start.”

“The President’s body will soon come out of Gray Stone Palace.”

“And then? Are they going to bury it directly at the cemetery?”

“Which cemetery will the President be buried in? National Cemetery?”

“What are you thinking? The President’s remains will be sent to the Parliament Building for public mourning, from this morning all the way until the day after tomorrow afternoon, and then the burial.”

“Can we still pay respects? Can we go?”

“It seems like anyone can pay respects, but you need to book on the Parliament’s website.”

“How do you know so much?”

“Just looked it up online, don’t talk now, the door’s opening, they’re coming.”

The dense whispers abruptly halt, people lift their heads to watch the grand gate of Gray Stone Palace open.

Rows of Guards on motorcycles lead the way, followed by cavalry on towering horses.

Lastly, four majestic steeds tethered to a gilded, opulent coffin, slowly drive out of the palace.

The crowd rises on tiptoes, watching the coffin gradually emerge from the palace.

“It’s truly beautiful, that coffin must be worth quite a lot.”

“Is this the first President to be assassinated while in office?”

“Did your sports teacher teach you history? Since records began in the Federation, this is the seventh time, but the first one in the last two hundred years.”

“Alright, alright, quiet down, the procession is passing.”

Amidst the crowd’s whispers, the procession escorting the remains slowly passes through the misty raindrops, moving forward along the empty street under the gaze of many.

Ines holds an umbrella, and with the two elderly men beside her, follows the funeral procession, slowly walking through the crowd.

In front of them, the crowded throng naturally parts, giving them a path, then closes back up once they pass.

The street is deserted and quiet, yet whispers from the crowd continue to sound intermittently.

“Honestly, this one did do quite a number of things, the sky rail truly made our commutes much more convenient.”

“Indeed, the sky rail is a great thing. My friends from Dawn City were incredulous, saying they’d never seen anything so convenient.”

“But my rent went up because the sky rail was built nearby. Even though I don’t use it for my commute, the apartment company still raised my rent.”

“Mine went up too. I ended up moving to somewhere far from the sky rail, but my commute time increased.”

“Overall, the sky rail is a good thing; crossing the entire Ains used to take hours even by car, now it’s under an hour by sky rail.”

“Indeed.”

“But building the sky rail is too costly. My child’s scholarship was cut by two-thirds, and many welfare facilities have been shut down, apparently to fund the sky rail.”

“Our school’s refurbishment application has been pending for two or three years without approval, they say there’s no budget, yet the children study in dangerous buildings with broken digital paper books.”

“Public school?”

“Yes.”

“Money is finite. Spending more in one place means less elsewhere, that’s normal.”

“Can’t we keep increasing the total money?”

“Perhaps there’s a way, but it’s not for us to worry about.”

Ines moves slowly through the crowd, continuing along the street’s edge.

“Overall, the President did a good job.”

“Yes, you can see he was trying to do something.”

“That’s just how the world is; he at least made attempts.”

“If he had continued to live, could he have changed anything?”

“He’s been in office for eight years; achieving this much is quite commendable, and he couldn’t have been re-elected. Even if he were alive, the last few months might not have achieved much.”

“The President has passed away, so let’s not…”

“The old President was in office for eight years, did anything change? The Consortium keeps getting richer, and we still struggle to afford food; rents keep rising as the Consortium continues to lay off workers, leaving some homeless, others starving.”

“We can’t only mention what he did well just because he was assassinated, ignoring his shortcomings.”

“I voted for him eight years ago, voted for him again four years later, but in eight years, life has gotten worse for me and my family.”

“He lowered taxes for the Consortium, claiming it would allow them to employ more people and avoid layoffs, but now, layoffs happen regardless, does anyone pity those unable to pay rent, wandering the streets?”

“Does anyone pity those sick and unable to afford treatment?”

“Those attending are all his supporters; the majority of this city doesn’t even care about his funeral.”

“In my opinion, he doesn’t even compare to Paxiu; at least Paxiu genuinely tried to help, truly wanted change, but he never considered us humans, only concerned with seemingly grandiose, world-changing things, focused solely on stabilizing his power.”

“Calm down, calm down, brother, you’re getting emotional.”

The crowd falls silent.

“Sorry, sorry, my mother passed away.”

“I’m useless, I couldn’t save her, couldn’t afford her medical bills.”

The gloomy drizzle dampens the silence as the solemn and luxurious guard of honor traverses the quietly vast street.

“There’s a Qiming Hospital over in South City, it’s pretty cheap, but there’s only one of them, so you have to wait a long time in line.”

“I know, I know, thank you, brother, but it’s too late.”

Ines stopped in her tracks, holding her umbrella, looking at the street sectioned off by the police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Loose raindrops fell on the clear umbrella, then trickled down the edges.

In this rain, some people had umbrellas, and others didn’t, just using their clothes as a makeshift cover on their heads.

People leaned on each other, using their own ways to keep dry, watching the coffin gradually move away.

The two elderly people beside her continued forward, and Ines lowered her head, holding onto her umbrella, and kept moving forward.

Loose raindrops trickled onto the road, trodden underfoot by hooves.

——

July 3

The Ains Post published an article:

The President’s coffin was delivered to the Parliament Building early yesterday morning, with tens of thousands of people bidding farewell to the President.

Recently, appointments for offering condolences at the Parliament Building have been fully booked. We ask those wishing to pay their respects to try to book in advance. By order of the Gray Stone Palace, the period for mourning the President has been extended until July 8.

——

July 10

The Federal Bureau of Investigation released the third phase of its investigation report on the President’s assassination, detailing in hundreds of pages of evidence the criminal facts related to Kewort Group and its associated shareholder consortiums.

This includes a large number of organ trade, human trafficking, and illegal mining activities.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested hundreds of executives, including board members at Kewort Group.

Subsequently, various cities revoked Kewort Group’s mining licenses and initiated trade restriction investigations into the Group.

Kewort Group’s market value shrank by more than 90%.

——

July 25

Kewort Group announced bankruptcy and liquidation, with the century-old consortium stepping into history.

Several shareholder consortiums of Kewort Group were also investigated, with many senior management personnel arrested, and the stock prices of related companies plummeting.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to arrest related personnel.

——

July 26

Nolanka Group attempted to purchase all of Kewort Group’s assets in Denor City and the surrounding wilderness. Under the promotion of Denor City’s city government, the two parties reached a basic agreement.

Vitland Weekly stated that Nolanka Group, which has recently been expanding rapidly, lacks sufficient funds and cannot afford the acquisition of Kewort Group’s core assets without public listing for financing.

——

July 27

With the intervention of Ains, the merger and acquisition case between Kewort Group and Nolanka Group was urgently halted.

——

July 31

Under the leadership of the Federation Government, a resolution was achieved regarding the acquisition of Kewort Group’s Denor City mineral assets.

A spokesperson for the Gray Stone Palace stated, ‘Based on ‘anti-monopoly’ factors, it was ultimately decided to set up a dedicated subsidiary funded jointly by large financial consortiums such as Noel’s and Nolanka Group to manage and develop the rare earth mines near Denor City.’

As compensation, Kewort Group’s city assets were sold at a low price to Nolanka Group.

This included a large amount of land, factories, and apartment housing.

Nolanka Group suddenly became the largest employer in Denor City.

——

August 3

Under the intervention of the Federation Government, the acquisition case involving Kewort Group concluded completely, with a large consortium alliance led by Noel’s financial consortium completing the splitting and acquisition of Kewort Group assets.

Kewort Group’s emblem was taken down from the Vitland headquarters building, marking the end of the life of this ancient consortium.

——

August 5

Nolanka Group, in conjunction with the Denor City branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Denor City’s city government, formed a joint cleanup team to conduct a large-scale cleanup of gangs and illegal drug traffickers throughout Denor City.

With a wealth of intelligence already in hand, Nolanka Group even deployed some mercenaries to assist in the operation, leading to a highly successful cleanup.

In a very short time, they eradicated the vast majority of gangs in the entire Denor City.

The real estate previously occupied by these gangs was part of the assets sold by Kewort Group to Nolanka Group.

——

August 6

Nolanka Group proposed massive redevelopment plans and industrial expansion plans in Denor City.

The plan includes chaotic neighborhoods once occupied by gang members as well as many dilapidated buildings in Denor City’s old town area.

On the same day, Qiming Hospital announced it will open a branch in Denor City.

——

August 9 Denor City

A little boy traversed the empty streets, looking up at the surrounding quiet buildings.

Fences were set up around these buildings, seemingly preparing for redevelopment.

However, at the moment, the fences were empty, with no workers or residents in sight.

A rich silence stretched from the end of the street to the beginning.

The boy lifted his head, looking at the sky. The sky was overcast, gloomy and devoid of light.

He lifted his foot and kicked an empty can on the ground.

The can hit the edge of the street, making a thumping noise.

The sound echoed on the empty street, like some kind of mournful song.

The little boy stopped in his tracks, gazing at the can that had hit the edge of the street.

After a brief pause, he slowly walked over, picked up the can, and walked to a newly installed trash bin imprinted with the Stars City emblem, tossing the can inside.

Crack——

With the soft sound of the can landing in the trash bin, rapid footsteps approached from the end of the street.

Soon after, a slightly rough hand grasped the little boy’s hand, “Son, why are you here? Everyone has left, hurry up, it’s about to start.”

The little boy looked up, only seeing the side face of a woman with unevenly applied foundation on not-so-good skin.

Then, holding his hand, he quickly crossed the street and passed around a corner.

The clouds in the sky parted here, revealing a glimmering light, laying a bright path on the ground.

And beneath this path of light was a dense crowd, heads buzzing together, gazing towards the source of the light.

A simple coffin was carried on a small cart, gradually approaching from the light’s origin.

There weren’t enough police to maintain order, yet everyone stood neatly, gazes solemnly fixed on the vehicle.

Sunlight bathed the earth, yet the world remained unusually silent.