novelnext Chapter 97 Brothers
Chapter 97 Brothers
Chapter 97 Brothers (Bonus chapter for Alliance Leader "Qingguagua Kara Xingren")
The main gate of the city hall.
"Frank," Leo called out.
Frank, who had been standing guard at the door, looked at Leo, the old union leader, who was also covered in sweat and clutching a walkie-talkie tightly in his hand.
"Leo, the guys outside are getting really agitated, I'm starting to lose control," Frank said anxiously. "Should we retreat?"
"No, Frank," Leo said, looking at his old comrade, "open the door."
"What?"
"I said, open the doors of the city hall."
Leo straightened his cuffs.
"Give me a megaphone."
"I'm going out to talk to them."
Two minutes later.
The tightly closed door slowly slid open to both sides.
The noise outside suddenly amplified tenfold, crashing into the hall like a tangible giant wave.
The square outside the gate was packed with a sea of people.
Hundreds of dockworkers, dressed in oil-stained work clothes and wearing hard hats, surrounded the city hall.
They deal with heavy shipping containers and huge gantry cranes year-round, and their personalities are inherently fierce.
Huge banners fluttered above the crowd, with glaring words painted in bright red.
"Get out of City Hall, you liar!"
"We want bread, not robots!"
Several radical young workers stood at the front, waving iron bars and striking the police riot shields with rhythmic clanging sounds.
The air was filled with a pungent smell of gasoline.
Someone set something on fire.
That was a large poster from Leo's campaign.
Flames licked at Leo's confident, smiling face on the poster, and black smoke billowed into the air.
This is blatant humiliation.
The moment the door opened, all eyes turned to it.
They saw that young figure.
Leo Wallace.
He wasn't wearing a bulletproof vest, nor was he hiding behind bodyguards.
He emerged alone from the shadows of the hall, dressed in a suit.
He walked down the steps, one by one.
Until he stood at the very top of the steps, in front of everyone, on the edge of the raging sea that could swallow him up at any moment.
The crowd paused briefly.
Then, an even more ferocious roar erupted.
"It's him! The traitor!"
"Grab him!"
"Give him a lesson!"
This anger was contagious among the crowd, reaching its peak in an instant.
Suddenly, a red object flew out from the crowd.
It was a completely rotten tomato.
It drew an arc in the air, crossed the warning line, and headed straight for Leo.
Leo did not dodge.
He didn't even blink.
"Smack."
The tomato hit the step at his feet, and the red juice splashed onto his leather shoes and his trouser legs.
This is a test.
If Leo retreats, if Leo shows a look of panic, what follows won't be tomatoes, but stones and Molotov cocktails.
But Leo didn't move.
He glanced down at the red stain, then looked up.
His face was expressionless.
He raised the megaphone in his hand and spoke directly.
"Morganfield wants you to cut my head off."
The words had just left his mouth.
Jack Reynolds tightened his grip on the iron rod; he wasn't completely stunned by Leo's nonsensical words.
He took a step forward, his oil-stained work boots landing heavily on the concrete.
"Enough talk, Wallace!"
Reynolds' roar was like thunder.
"Stop giving us that nonsense, we just want to ask you one thing!"
He raised his other hand and pointed it directly at Leo's nose.
"Is that fully automated port they're talking about in the news really true? Are you planning to ruin our jobs for that damn project? Are you going to throw all the money in the city government's account into that bottomless pit?"
The crowd stirred again.
"Answer him!"
"Yes! Give us a straight answer!"
The smell of the Molotov cocktail seemed stronger.
This is an extremely dangerous signal.
The anger would erupt even more fiercely if Leo hesitated even slightly in his reply, or showed any sign of trying to evade the issue.
Leo did not retreat.
Instead, he did something that surprised everyone.
He walked down two steps.
This action instantly closed the distance between him and Reynolds, with only a thin warning line separating them, and they could even see the bloodshot in each other's eyes.
This shortening of physical distance brings a strong sense of psychological pressure.
Leo raised the megaphone.
He could have explained.
He could tell these people that the so-called "full automation" was just a smokescreen put out by Morganfield, and that the real plan included a well-planned staffing arrangement.
He could also explain that the bulk of the expansion funding would come from federal grants from Washington and would not crowd out the city’s budget.
But he didn't.
At this moment, explanations are futile, and reason is useless.
Angry crowds don't need the truth; they need an outlet.
They need an outlet to unleash all their current fear, helplessness, and uncertainty about the future.
What Leo needs to do is not to block this exit with logic, but to take over this torrent and guide it toward the dam he wants to breach.
Since you want to hear it, I'll tell you.
"Fully automated?"
Leo looked at Reynolds without flinching.
"Of course it's true."
The crowd erupted in uproar.
No one expected him to admit it so readily.
Leo's voice suddenly rose, silencing the commotion in the crowd.
"But brothers, have you even taken a single second to calm down and ask yourselves this question?"
Why are you afraid of robots?
This is a question that sounds silly.
Reynolds was stunned for a moment, then burst into a furious laugh.
"Why? Because those iron lumps don't need to eat! They don't need to sleep! They don't need to support a family! They work faster and cheaper than us! Is there even a question?"
"No."
Leo shook his head, his tone becoming unusually sharp.
You're wrong.
"You are afraid not because robots can work faster than you."
"You're afraid because in this city, once robots take your jobs, you'll immediately lose everything."
Leo stretched out his finger and pointed it in the air.
"You won't have money to pay next month's rent, and the landlord will kick you out."
"You won't have money to buy medicine for your sick wife, and the hospital will turn you away."
"Your children will be unable to pay their tuition and will end up wandering the streets."
"You will lose your dignity as human beings, and even your right to live, because you will lose your salary."
"This is the root of your fear!"
Leo's voice was like a heavy hammer, striking the hearts of everyone present.
Let's be honest, brothers.
"Do you really enjoy moving those heavy containers? Do you really enjoy that back-ache, limb-breaking manual labor that leaves you with aches and pains?"
"No, you don't love it."
"If someone told you right now that you could get the same salary even if you didn't work, would you care whether the work was done by a person or a machine? You wouldn't care at all."
So, don't fool yourself.
"What you're afraid of isn't that metal lump that can move shipping containers."
"What you're afraid of is that when that iron behemoth arrives, you won't even have a net to catch you!"
"What you're afraid of is the precipitous drop in your standard of living after losing that weekly wage."
"What you're afraid of is losing your job in this city and not being able to afford rent, food, or medical care."
The square became quieter.
The workers looked at each other in bewilderment.
Leo spoke of their deepest fears, the fears that haunted them in nightmares every night.
In this rust belt city without any social security system, unemployment means death.
Looking at these silent faces, Leo knew the time had come.
He was about to begin the most crucial logical substitution.
This is a debate about the logic of survival, and also a war about priorities.
"Now, let's go back to that newspaper."
Leo's expression turned heartbroken.
"Everyone knows that's a Morganfield newspaper. Why would a shrewd businessman so aggressively promote laying off workers before the project has even been launched? Why would he deliberately provoke you?"
"Why did he suddenly force the city government to pour all its money into that bottomless pit of the port just when I was preparing to launch the community revitalization plan, to build houses, schools, and workers' cooperatives for you?"
"Because he's smart."
"Because he understands better than you what it means to have the first move and what it means to have the second move."
Leo paced back and forth on the steps, his every move drawing the attention of the people below.
"He knew that once the port project started now, it would be a black hole that devoured funds."
"A budget of several hundred million dollars will instantly lock up Pittsburgh's fiscal budget for the next five years."
"What does this mean?"
Leo stopped and stared intently at Reynolds.
"This means we don't have a single penny to build affordable housing for you!"
"This means we don't have a single penny to build community health centers!"
"This means we don't have a single penny to build those public childcare centers that can help you take care of your children!"
"This means that the cooperative I promised you, where the workers are their own bosses, will forever remain just a piece of waste paper!"
Leo's voice was filled with anger, an anger that seemed even stronger than that of the workers in the audience.
"What does he want? He wants me to throw you into that automated arena without any social security or any way out!"
"He wants you to have no safety net when you're rendered obsolete by machines and lose your jobs!"
"He wants you to run naked in the cold wind, then watch you kill each other over a loaf of bread, so he can hire you for minimum wage!"
"Once I sign, his goal will be achieved. Funds will be locked up, the revival plan will fail, and your protective umbrella will be completely destroyed."
"When the wave of automation really hits, you'll have nothing to your name and will be completely at their mercy!"
"That's exactly what he's planning!"
The clamor in the square seemed to have been suddenly silenced by an invisible hand.
But this change did not happen because hundreds of workers suddenly became philosophers at the same time.
The herd is blind; they only look at the actions of the alpha wolf.
Because Reloz, who was standing at the very front, was stunned at that moment.
His fist froze in mid-air, and cracks appeared on his flushed face where anger had been.
He was thinking.
As the chairman of the union, he understood the logical loop in Leo's words: without a revival plan, there would be no guarantee of people's livelihood;
Without basic living standards, they will become useless once the ports are automated.
Morganfield wanted to save on the toll.
Relloz's Adam's apple bobbed, and he slowly lowered his arm, glancing back at his brothers.
The leader stopped moving and stopped shouting.
This hesitation instantly infected everyone behind him.
The crowd that had been pushing and shoving to get up the steps stopped, and the waving placards fell to the ground.
The fanatical hatred directed at Leo lost its direction due to the leader's silence, turning into a helpless, lifeless stillness.
Leo keenly seized this fleeting opportunity.
He walked to the very edge of the steps.
Pointing at Reynolds, pointing at the workers holding up signs.
"I told him no."
"I said, people's livelihood must be guaranteed first, then industrial upgrading can follow! That's my logic!"
"My 'Pittsburgh Revitalization Plan Phase Two' is about weaving this lifeline for you!"
"I want to first repair your houses, build your schools, open your hospitals, and set up that cooperative that will ensure you have food even if you lose your jobs!"
"Once this network is in place, once you have a way out and confidence, then we can talk about those damn ports and automation!"
"Back then, even if robots came, you could just sit at home and watch those metal lumps do the work for you!"
"I want to protect you!"
Leo's throat was a little hoarse, but he was still yelling.
"And now, someone wants me to stop knitting and is forcing me to buy those machines that will replace you in the future!"
"And you!"
Leo's fingers were trembling.
"You bunch of idiots, you're actually helping that capitalist to curse me?"
"The sign you're holding up says I'm his lackey?"
"You yourselves handed him that butcher's knife, and then stretched out your necks waiting for him to chop you down!"
"Is this what you wanted?"
Leo removed the megaphone from his mouth and, in his original voice, uttered one last question to the crowd.
"Tell me! Is this what you want?!"
silence.
A profound silence enveloped the City Hall Square.
The young worker holding the Molotov cocktail slowly lowered his hand.
Reynolds opened his mouth wide. He wanted to retort, to say something, but he found that his throat felt like it was stuffed with cotton.
Yes.
If all the money is spent, who will care about their lives?
The mayor was helping them build a shelter, while Morganfield wanted to tear down the shelter's bricks to repair this damn harbor.
What were they doing just now?
Are they forcing the only person who wants to save them to commit suicide?
A commotion began to break out in the crowd.
"He's right—" someone whispered.
"If the port really opens, we're finished."
"We need that revitalization plan."
This voice grew louder and louder, gradually coalescing into a new wave.
"pretty!"
Roosevelt's voice echoed in Leo's mind, filled with undisguised admiration.
"It's textbook sophistry, no, it's political art."
You've shifted the attack point from "obstructing port development" to the moral high ground of "establishing a protective umbrella for workers."
""
"You've elevated a question of the order of economic development to a matter of life and death for class survival."
"You not only resolved the immediate crisis, but you also paved the way for the future."
"You just admitted that full automation is real, you didn't lie, you just changed the preconditions for its existence."
"When these workers, under your guidance, accept the logic that automation isn't a devil as long as there are guarantees," they have already subconsciously accepted the fact that the port will eventually be transformed and machines will eventually be introduced.
"Once your revitalization plan is truly implemented, once that network is truly in place, when you propose to launch the expansion of the inland port, they will no longer have such strong resistance."
"Because in their minds, that's a natural consequence of you fulfilling your promise."
"Kill two birds with one stone, Leo."
"You have not only turned these beasts that were originally going to tear you apart into the sharpest sword in your hand."
"You've also tamed their fear of the future ahead of time."
"Now, it's time to close the net."
Leo looked at the workers below the stage, their expressions complex.
He knew that the fear had subsided and reason had regained its footing.
He raised the megaphone again, his voice becoming calm and firm.
"Brothers, let's go home."
"Throw the Molotov cocktails in the trash can, don't let them burn down our own city."
Give me time.
"Let me finish weaving that net."
"I assure you, as long as I sit in that office, as long as the revitalization plan continues."
"No robot can take your jobs away unless you decide you don't want to work anymore."
"Believe me."
Reynolds took a deep breath, his eyes still holding a final struggle.
He looked at the young mayor in front of him, at that tired but still spirited face.
Then, his gaze went past Leo's shoulder and landed on Frank, who was standing behind Leo.
Frank Kowalski, a tough old man with calloused hands who had spent half his life toiling away in the steel mill.
Frank didn't speak, but simply nodded heavily to Reynolds.
Reynolds withdrew his gaze and stared intently at Leo again.
"mayor."
Reynolds' voice was deep, as if squeezed from the depths of his chest, carrying a suffocating sense of oppression.
"This is a huge gamble."
"We've staked everything on that so-called revival plan, on a single word from you."
He took a step forward, getting to within half a meter of Leo.
"Can we trust you?"
This is an extremely simple question.
But this is also the heaviest problem in the world.
It's not asking about policy or budget, but about one person's commitment to another.
Leo did not avoid that scorching gaze.
He didn't even blink.
"You don't have to trust the mayor, you don't have to trust politicians."
Leo's voice was exceptionally clear in the cold wind.
"But you can trust Leo Wallace."
"Because I'm standing on the edge of a cliff, standing with you."
Leo stretched out his hand and pointed to his chest.
"If I lied to you, if I backed down."
"We don't need to wait for Morganfield to take action, nor do we need to wait for the next election."
"You can come back anytime, rush through that door, and drag me off that chair."
"When the time comes, I will not fight back."
Reynolds stared into Leo's eyes for a full five seconds.
In those young eyes, he saw something harder than steel.
at last.
The muscles on Reynolds' taut face relaxed.
He took a deep breath.
"it is good."
Reynolds said only one word.
Then he turned around and looked at the hundreds of brothers behind him who were still in a state of excitement and confusion.
"Did you all hear that?!"
Reynolds' roar echoed throughout the entire City Hall Square.
"The mayor said it was to give us armor! To leave us a way to survive!"
"He's staked everything, what do we have to be afraid of?!"
Reynolds suddenly waved his hand.
"Put everything away!"
"If anyone dares to throw anything onto the steps again, if anyone dares to embarrass me again!"
"I'll personally throw him into the Mononga Hill River to feed the fish!"
The crowd began to loosen up.
The tense, almost breaking atmosphere of confrontation receded like the tide in that instant.
The workers who were holding rotten tomatoes hurriedly stuffed them back into their pockets and wiped their hands on their trousers.
Those who had been holding up signs that read "Liar" quietly put them down, and some even turned their signs upside down out of embarrassment.
Leo stood on the steps, watching the crowd slowly disperse like the receding tide, driven away by Reynolds.
A cold wind blew by, and he felt a chill on his back.
Roosevelt's voice slowly echoed in the depths of his mind.
"Look, Leo."
"This is the working class."
"They are the fiercest beasts in the world, and also the most innocent children."
"They would want to burn down a house because of a rumor, and they would lay down their knives because a man looked them in the eye and said, 'Trust me.'"
"They are the most likely to open their hearts to others."
"That's why they are the most easily deceived, the most easily exploited by politicians who are full of lies, and in the end, they are thrown into the roadside ditch like garbage."
"You saved yourself with your words today, and you also won their trust."
"If you betray this trust, if you treat this as a clever political performance—"
"Then you will no longer be their hero; you will become a sinner in history."
Roosevelt's sigh echoed in Leo's soul.
"So, child."
"Remember the oath you just made."
"Never, ever let them down."
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