death of hope

Chapter 1007 "Psionic Storm" (81) Farce

"Look over there, Koizumi's PR team is starting to stir things up."

Following the direction Nikolai pointed, Paul saw hundreds of hooded men with masks covering their faces, spraying cartoons and graffiti insulting the Green Party onto the walls.

These vandals were too conspicuous and quickly attracted the attention of the bodyguard team, but there were too many of them to stop them.

These street thugs had a clear objective: after spraying graffiti, they climbed over the railing into the speaking area, threw rotten vegetable leaves and eggs at the stage, and gave the speaker the middle finger while shouting insults.

"Hey! Black pig! Your underwear is big enough to be a sail!"

"Illegal immigrants get out of Shin-Sapporo! Taxes paid by employers and employees aren't for supporting lazy people!"

This disturbance made it impossible to continue the speech; the opposing team was too numerous for the bodyguard team to handle.

·
"This is exactly how the Red Party behaves, so true to its style!" Nikolai laughed. "Let's see how the Green Party responds."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Paul heard the heavy sound of horses' hooves and glanced sideways.
It turned out to be a team of mounted police wearing fluorescent vests.
Having been hiding in the alleyways, they suddenly launched an attack, charging directly into the flank of the street thugs.
Meanwhile, another ambush force appeared in the parking lot;
Riot police officers jumped out of the camouflage truck, their uniforms draped with plastic armor and carrying shields and batons. Their leader shouted orders:

"Disrupting the election! This is no ordinary citizen! We must take strong action!"

·
The riot police formed a shield wall formation and, together with the mounted police, surrounded the rioters.
Everyone was highly trained; the sound of shields clashing was deafening, and the batons were swung so fast they seemed to leave afterimages, beating the group of street thugs until they cried for their fathers and mothers.

"Ouch! Damn it... Stop hitting me! I surrender! Stop hitting me!"

Only about ten of the more agile individuals managed to escape; the rest of the troublemakers were all pinned to the ground and brutally beaten.

"Running fast gets no reward, running slow gets punished!" Nikolai complained. "That's what they call 'mingling with the citizens'."

Within minutes, the troublemakers were arrested, order was quickly restored, and the "big-eater" woman was able to continue her speech and campaign.

·
Meanwhile, Koizumi, a rival not far away, wasn't so lucky. He was still being clung to by his 'illegitimate child' who called him 'Dad,' and being verbally abused by that shrew.
The other party consisted of a child and a pregnant woman, and the camera was shoved right in their faces; the PR team was completely helpless.
Neither hitting nor scolding was an option; Koizumi Donjiro's old face was contorted in embarrassment, having made a fool of himself in front of the media.

Taking advantage of the chaos, a group of homeless people launched a "zero-dollar purchase" campaign. They rushed into the campaign tent, grabbed baseball caps and T-shirts with Koizumi Donjiro's image on them, and ran away.

"Hahaha, this is way better than variety shows..." Sergei was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe.
"I declare that in this round of the red-green battle, the bald uncle has lost, and the big-bellied lady has won."

"This is what they call an election... using underhanded tactics to trip each other up... what a bunch of vermin..." Paul examined the farce with utter contempt, feeling extremely disappointed, and then turned and left.

"This is disgusting, let's go..."
"No way! It's so lively and fun! I haven't had enough yet!"

“It’s lunchtime, it’s my treat today,” Paul said thoughtfully without turning his head.

"I've seen enough... I'm not watching anymore! Let's go eat!" Sergei immediately changed his mind and followed.

Paul said to Nikolai in a deep voice, "Brother, are there any quiet restaurants nearby, the kind with private rooms? I want to talk about some serious business, about this mission."

Seeing his serious expression, Nikolai nodded:
"Come over here, I know a place here."

·
After walking through two streets, Nikolai led the group to a chain izakaya, considered quite upscale for the downtown area. They chose a private room away from the lobby without windows.
As a veteran underground worker, Nikolai, without Paul's instruction, took the initiative to order his subordinates:

"Takiya, Ando, ​​could you two please check for hidden cameras or listening devices? Also, take apart all the sockets and check them."

"Yes!"

Seeing the branch manager's expression, Takiya Rimi and Ando Shuichi immediately stopped joking and took out their equipment to begin the investigation.

"Report: No spy devices found."

Without being told, Drizzt closed his eyes, activated his psionic detection ability, and opened them to speak to Paul.

"We're not being followed, don't worry. I'll report if anyone comes."

"Thank you, everyone, for your hard work."

·
Soon, all the dishes were served, and the meal was quite plentiful. Nikolai gave the waiter a tip and told him not to bother him.

"No way, we haven't ordered any drinks yet," Sergei protested. "Don't you order sake when you come to an izakaya?"

"Shh!" Dmitry nudged his back with his finger and whispered, "Korchagin and Z are going to talk about serious business, stop fooling around."

"Hmph~ Stingy~" Sergei rolled his eyes at Paul, took out a flask from his pocket, and gulped down a large mouthful.

Paul ignored him and broke apart a pair of disposable chopsticks, saying;
"Let's eat and talk."