novelnext Chapter 140 The Tiger's Eyes
Chapter 140 The Tiger's Eyes
Chapter 140 The Tiger's Eyes (Bonus Chapter for 28000 Monthly Tickets)
The heavy courtroom doors slowly closed behind us with a muffled "bang".
Guards stopped reporters from the media who tried to rush in, and flashes went off wildly outside the cordon, like a restless silver sea.
Leo walked alone down the corridor. Ethan was inside processing legal documents, and there was no one with him at the moment.
But he couldn't get out.
At the end of the corridor, a group of bodyguards in black suits stood like a wall, blocking the only way to the exit.
Morganfield stood in front of that wall.
The Pittsburgh oligarch, who had been chatting and gesticulating in the cigar room, now looked like an enraged beast.
His facial muscles twitched slightly uncontrollably, and his usually half-closed eyes were now wide open, filled with bloodshot veins.
He not only lost a priceless port concession.
More importantly, he was made a fool of like a monkey by a young upstart in front of the city’s media and a federal judge.
Leo stopped and stood three meters away from Morganfield.
"A brilliant performance, Mr. Wallace."
Morganfield's voice was low and chilling.
"I've been in the business world for forty years and have seen all sorts of swindlers and robbers, but I must admit, you're the one that disgusts me the most."
He took a step forward, raising his cane so the tip almost pierced Leo's chest.
"You won the lawsuit, but in that suicidal way, you tore up our agreement and revoked the franchise."
"But young mayor, have you lost your mind?"
A cold smile crept across Morganfield's lips.
"Have you forgotten who backed your $500 million in bonds? And who owns Pittsburgh's only railroad transshipment network and construction capabilities?"
"You just burned your only lifeboat with your own hands."
Morganfield looked around as if to demonstrate his absolute dominance in the field.
"In Pittsburgh, besides me, who else can help you build that damn port? Who has the technology? Who has the capital? Who has the heavy machinery?"
"Without me, your port will forever be nothing but a piece of waste paper, your bonds will default, and your revitalization plan will fail."
"You're going to die a horrible death, Leo."
"I will use all my resources to make every bank reject you and every contractor stay away from you. I will watch you rot away in your position as mayor and watch the citizens you have deceived tear you apart."
Morganfield is not bluffing.
He controlled the means of production, the supply chain, and the industrial lifeline of the city.
In traditional business logic, offending him is tantamount to a death sentence.
Leo looked at the cane pointing at him.
He simply raised his hand, slowly and deliberately straightened his slightly disheveled collar, and then straightened his back.
"Mr. Morganfield."
Leo spoke.
"I think you've misunderstood something."
He reached out and gently pushed the cane aside.
"I did not burn the lifeboats."
"I just threw the captain overboard, the one who was trying to drill a hole in the bottom of the ship to drown everyone and then take all the cargo for himself."
Leo took a step forward, and the resulting sense of pressure caused Morganfield's bodyguards to instinctively tense their muscles.
"You think you've monopolized the technology? Monopolized the construction capabilities? Monopolized the right to build this city?"
"That's because for the past few decades, every mayor of Pittsburgh has knelt before you, begging for scraps. They've made you think that the city can't function without you."
"But I am not them."
Leo's voice rose a few decibels.
"Your nonsense about 'no development without capital' doesn't work on me."
"Look outside."
Leo pointed to the citizens and reporters outside the police line who, although stopped, were still looking in this direction.
"From today onwards, the rules have changed."
"Pittsburgh doesn't belong to Morganfield."
"It belongs to the people."
"I will fix that port, but not the way you do it. I will prove that even without vampires like you, the citizens of this city can still build our own future with their own hands."
After saying that, Leo didn't look at Morganfield again.
He turned sideways and walked past the oligarch who stood frozen in place.
His shoulder bumped into Morganfield's shoulder, but he didn't stop and strode toward the exit.
Morganfield stood there, his hands trembling.
He turned to look at Leo's back, a back that was resolute and lonely, yet filled with a power that terrified him.
That was a wild power he couldn't comprehend.
He wanted to call out to Leo, to say a few more threats, but he found himself speechless.
Because he realized that his chips were meaningless to someone who had already overturned the table.
The courthouse doors slowly opened.
The afternoon sun shone directly into Leo's eyes without any obstruction, causing him to squint slightly.
He walked down the steps and stood in the square.
His current situation is actually very dangerous.
He offended the Democratic establishment and lost support in Washington; he humiliated Morganfield and cut off the country's largest financial and technical support.
Although there are 500 million yuan in the account, the port expansion project still cannot be implemented without a construction company and a supporting railway.
He has driven himself into a desperate situation both politically and economically.
But he felt an unprecedented sense of relief.
It's like shedding the shackles that have been borne for so long.
"Alright, Leo."
Roosevelt's voice echoed in his mind.
"You spoke very well just now, with great momentum, and you really angered that old man."
"But let's get back to reality."
"Money alone cannot accomplish anything."
"Five hundred million dollars lying in an account is just a meaningless string of numbers. Only when that money circulates, turns into steel bars, cement, and diesel, does it become capital."
"Without Morganfield, how do you plan to get this money circulating?"
"The port construction project is a resource-devouring behemoth. You need tons of steel, lines of concrete mixer trucks, and the heavy excavators and cranes that only Morganfield has."
"Do you think you can buy these things just because you have money?"
"If you can't buy materials or hire engineers, your port project will be stalled indefinitely."
"Murphy's campaign was built on the promise that the port would be built. If the port could not be built, Murphy would be seen as a liar by voters."
"So breaking with Morganfield is simple; it only takes a minute of courage."
"But finding a replacement for him in Pittsburgh is harder than climbing to heaven."
Leo stood in the sunlight and took a deep breath.
He gazed at the shimmering waters of the Allegheny River in the distance.
"I know, Mr. President."
"In Pittsburgh, a city shrouded in layers of capital and the old order, I really couldn't find any help."
Leo's lips curled up slightly.
"But who says I have to look in Pittsburgh?"
"We're going somewhere else."
"Where to?" Roosevelt asked.
Leo started walking down the courthouse steps.
The cordon was finally breached, and the media and anxious citizens surged forward like a tide.
"Mayor Wallace!"
A reporter shoved a recording pen almost into Leo's face, speaking in an aggressive tone.
"You just announced in court that the port will be re-tendered, which means Morganfield Industries will completely withdraw. Does this mean the inland port expansion project is essentially dead?"
Nearby, a man in overalls squeezed through the crowd, shouting anxiously, "Leo! What will happen to our jobs? If the port isn't repaired, we'll have nothing to eat again!"
More problems came crashing down on us.
"Without Morganfield's technical support, who will be responsible for the automation upgrade?"
"Will you resign?"
"Is this just a political stunt?"
Leo stopped in his tracks.
He stood in the middle of the steps, not avoiding these sharp questions.
His gaze swept over the flickering cameras, finally settling on the anxious worker's face.
"The project will not be shelved."
"The monopoly agreement is over, the dirty deals are dead, but the port project, it's still alive."
"Not only will it live, it will be cleaner and stronger than before."
The reporter pressed further, "But Mr. Mayor, let's be realistic! In Pittsburgh, besides Morganfield, who else has the capacity to take on such a large project? Who has the railroad network? Who has the heavy machinery?"
Leo looked at the reporter with an indifferent expression. He simply pushed aside the microphone blocking his way and continued walking downstairs.
"Where are you going?" the reporter shouted from behind him. "Where are you going to find a replacement?"
Leo did not answer questions from the media.
He got into the mayor's car and closed the door.
"Go to those places that everyone has forgotten."
Leo spoke to the Roosevelt in his mind.
"Go to those places that once fueled America's industrial glory, but are now seen as garbage dumps by Wall Street and Silicon Valley."
The car started, the engine humming softly, and headed towards the city hall.
Leo looked out the window at the gray buildings rushing past, his eyes becoming deep and expansive.
"Go deep into the rust belt."
"Everything we need is there. Idle machines, undervalued technology, and souls like ours, yearning for revenge and rebirth."
"Morganfield thought that if he sealed off Pittsburgh, I was doomed."
Leo's fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the car window.
"But he forgot that Pittsburgh is just one link in the Rust Belt."
"Now, I'm going to awaken those sleeping allies."
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