Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2652 From Failure to Failure (Second Update, Please Subscribe)
In July, the air in Tehran felt rather hot and dry.

Bright sunlight filtered through the tree canopy, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

The once bustling representative office is now deserted, devoid of its former hustle and bustle. Only the occasional gust of wind adds to the desolation.

Several months ago, as the situation in Iran became increasingly volatile, everyone except those who had to stay behind had been evacuated in batches. Now, only a dozen or so people remain in the compound.

Among them were diplomats, marines, and of course, several local employees.

However, they were all prepared to evacuate at any time, since no one knew how the situation would develop.

Six months ago, there were over 100,000 SEA expatriates in Iran, but what about now?

Only thirteen SEA people remained.

Evacuation is only a matter of time.

Because the representative office was essentially closed—guarded by militia—no outsiders were allowed to enter.

In the empty office, several staff members from the representative office were either smoking or drinking beverages or coffee, discussing in hushed tones about the increasingly chaotic situation in Tehran.

It's not chaos, but a situation that becomes increasingly perplexing the more you look at it.

What exactly do they want?

"They want neither the West nor the East; they want to retreat to the past..."

"The past? When was the past? Hundreds of years ago?"

"No, it was thirteen hundred years ago!"

"They're absolutely insane!"

Wearing camouflage, Wang Yunhao did not join the discussion. He stood alone by the window, his gaze passing over the iron railings of the representative office and landing on the women on the street wearing headscarves.

Sunlight shone on their headscarves, and a gentle breeze stirred their veils. Looking at these women, a smile curved his lips, breaking the previous silence.

"Crazy? Isn't he just reaping what he sowed?"

During the king's reign, they cried out for freedom and for the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty.

Wang Yunhao's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling mockery:
"And what happened? They got the Imam—the one who had previously claimed to have no interest in politics. But what happened next? As soon as he returned to Tehran, the first thing he did was address the issue of women's clothing."

He paused, then mimicked the minister's tone, speaking each word carefully:

“Women must wear scarves and veils, otherwise it is equivalent to being naked.”

"The result was the most dramatic one: the next day, 15000 women took to the streets of Tehran."

Zhang Ruixin's voice came from the tableside. A cigarette was between his fingers, and as the smoke rose, he said in a sarcastic tone:

"They probably still think this is the Pahlavi era."

"Yes, do they think the Patriarch is the king?"

Wang Yunhao turned his head to the side, his tone even more sarcastic.

"you do not say?"

Zhang Ruixin scoffed, took a drag of her cigarette, and said sarcastically:

"The guards fired shots to disperse them. From then on, women who did not wear veils became targets of beatings, intimidation, and humiliation in Tehran and throughout Iran. They were dumbfounded."

He paused and added:
"Later, the Minister of Education turned his attention to music, saying, 'Music is the culprit that poisons the youth. Music is like opium. Playing music is a betrayal of the country and the youth.' As you know, this was followed by a complete ban on music."

"More than just music."

Another official interjected, saying:

"Film, theater, painting, sculpture, photography... everything that can be called art was classified as 'heretical' by him and was stopped and banned."

Overnight, Iran, once a city like Chang'an, New York, and Paris, completely regressed to a thousand years ago, with no music, no movies, no theater, only headscarves.

"No, there should also be militia sticks."

"So what we are seeing now is this kind of Iran."

Wang Yunhao turned back to look out the window, his voice filled with barely concealed disappointment:
"Is this the Iran they want?"

His gaze swept over the pedestrians hurrying by on the street. Would those who had once cheered for the "Master" now regret their decision?

The words had barely left his mouth when the office door creaked open. A young staff member walked in, his gaze sweeping around the room before finally settling on Wang Yunhao:

"Captain, the representative requests that you come to his office."

Wang Yunhao nodded, stood up, straightened his uniform, and followed the other person out. At the corner of the corridor, the staff member slowed his pace, lowered his voice, and said:
"Captain, it seems the representative came to see you this time about... completely closing the representative office and evacuating everyone."

Wang Yunhao paused, his fist clenched slightly, and then he said:

"And... what about our employees?"

He turned to look at the local staff members in the representative office and said:
"What do they do?"

“They have temporary visas, but Iran has now banned its citizens from leaving the country. So, if they want to leave, they can only do so by land, heading west to Iraq, Captain.” Wang Yunhao nodded and said:

"Okay, I know……"

Then, looking at his local employees, he could only sigh. Now... they had to rely on themselves.

Two days later, a SEA C130 transport plane landed at Tehran Airport. Following the SEA's decision to close its representative office, many Southeast Asian countries, including Siam, Malaysia, and South Korea, also decided to close their embassies and evacuate Tehran on transport planes dispatched by the SEA.

In response, Tehran television declared, "This is a victory, a defeat for the imperialists!"

As the transport plane roared to take off, many Iranians at the airport watched it disappear into the distance with complex expressions, their faces solemn and tinged with worry for the future.

What will the future look like?
……

The news of the closure of the SEA representative office and the evacuation of all staff was touted on television news as a victory, a hasty retreat of imperialists.

However, it also made many people feel an unprecedented sense of despair, which was amplified infinitely in the officers' residential area of ​​the air force base.

After all, they had placed all their hopes on the SEA—given that the United States had made it clear that it had no intention of interfering in Iran.

SEA was their last hope, but now that hope has been shattered!
The heavy curtains blocked out the indoor lights and prevented outside prying eyes. Several uniformed air force officers sat around the dining table, their solemn expressions revealing despair.

"The SEAs are leaving; they've completely abandoned us."

Hamid broke the silence first, his voice filled with helplessness as he uttered those words.

"Give up? Perhaps they never intended to help us in the first place."

Said let out a long, helpless sigh, his tone full of bitterness.

"From the moment the King chose to side with the United States, he has been steadily distancing himself from the SEA. And what about the Americans? They abandoned the King, and they abandoned Iran. But what about us? What should we do?"

His gaze swept over the group of people present. Their faces were etched with deep anxiety. They were mid-level officers at the base, and they not only had to worry about their subordinates, but also about their own and their families' fate.

“The Patriarch’s men have never forgotten those of us who are loyal to the King; sooner or later they will turn against us.”

Ashid looked at his friends and said:

“The purges have never stopped since the day they seized power. As you all know, hundreds of high-ranking officers have fallen in pools of blood, including 38 generals.”

His brow furrowed, and he said:

"What were their crimes? None. No crimes whatsoever. No trial, no defense, only bullets. They were merely loyal to the king. And us,"

Aishid paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and said:

“We are all air force officers who have been trained in Western countries. In their eyes, we are ‘Western lackeys’ and ‘heretics’ who must be eliminated. Our names will definitely be on this purge list; it’s only a matter of time.”

Ashid's words weighed heavily on everyone's hearts, making it hard to breathe. This was their current situation, a precarious existence. Did they have any other choice now?
No, we can only wait to die here!

"The reason they haven't taken action against us yet is simply because SEA Air Force planes have repeatedly approached the border."

Ashid spoke slowly, his tone devoid of any sense of complacency.

"But it's only because they need us to fly fighter jets to guard Iranian skies. Once they've selected enough pilots who are loyal to them, we'll be of no use to them."

"Guard the skies?"

Karim, who had been silent all along, suddenly slammed his fist on the table and stood up, saying:
"Are we protecting them so that they can kill ordinary people with impunity?"

Whether it was the women who refused to wear veils or those who opposed him, which one didn't die under their clubs and guns?

What did they do? Don't you know?

Karim's words brought a complex expression to everyone's faces, a mixture of anger and, more than anything, helplessness.

They were powerless to stop it all.

At this moment, Ashid looked at them and said:

"Now, we can't rely on anyone else; we can only rely on ourselves."

Then, he said, word by word:

“They will definitely target us, either now or later. Once they have trained reliable pilots, we will be of no use and will be at their mercy. If we don’t escape now, we may never have another chance.”

"Escape? How do we escape?"

Said shook his head with a wry smile and said:
"The airport has long been under their tight control. All civilian flights have been suspended. The base is full of guards, and they are watching over everything."

Currently, only foreigners are allowed to leave Tehran; passports of native-born citizens have been temporarily suspended from leaving the country. As for how long this suspension will last, only heaven knows.

Under these circumstances, they had no way to leave the country.

"Yes, we're guarded like prisoners. Even if we manage to fly away in fighter jets and escape abroad, what about our wives and children? What will happen to them?"

Hamid's voice was filled with deep despair, and he finally let out a long, helpless sigh:

“We can’t abandon them. If we leave them here, they’ll surely die.”

(End of this chapter)