Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2714 My Great Britain Has Been Possessed (Third Update, Please Subscribe)
"...With Syria's application to join the Warsaw Pact, NATO has to face an extremely harsh reality—some countries that were originally neutral have no choice but to join the treaty in order to protect themselves in the face of external pressure."

This inevitably raises the question: are the SEA's military operations in the Middle East helping Russia expand its sphere of influence?

The news anchor's questioning voice echoed in the room as the man sat on the sofa watching the news, his brows furrowed.

Holding his coffee cup, he muttered to himself:
"Does this mean that without SEA, Syria wouldn't have had Soviet military bases?"

Then he glanced contemptuously at the news anchor on TV, his eyes filled with undisguised sarcasm. He lit a cigarette and continued watching TV while smoking.

Sunlight streamed through the window, piercing the dimness of the room with its yellow rays. Smoke drifted in the sunlight as he watched the news on television.

Although he was criticizing the analysis of news anchors on TV, it didn't stop him from using this method to interpret the news.

In fact, even for intelligence officers, open channels are the most important way to obtain intelligence, and sometimes they are even more important than other channels.

He calmly stood up from the large, low sofa, seemingly relaxed, yet he was helplessly enjoying the silence.

"It seems that their military operations in the Middle East have come to an end."

After standing up, he walked out of the apartment and found himself in the heart of London.

Hamk walked along the streets of the city center.

Autumn in London is rainy, and a light drizzle is falling right now. Pedestrians are sheltering under their umbrellas, splashing as they walk across puddles. The colorful umbrellas on the sidewalk create a unique and charming scene.

Hamk strolled through the city under his umbrella. His mind was filled with many thoughts, not just the end of the war in the Middle East.

Moreover, it involves many other aspects.

For example, with Syria signing a peace treaty, does that mean the end of the coalition's military operation in Lebanon?
Will they withdraw their troops from Lebanon?
To be precise, will the SEA withdraw its troops from Lebanon?
As an intelligence officer at the U.S. Embassy, ​​although Hamke was based in London, his focus was not only on Britain, but also on the SEA.

After all, the SEA is a member of the Commonwealth, and this time it was thanks to the successful mediation of Margaret Thatcher, the leader of the British Conservative Party.

While this may appear to reflect British influence on the surface, the ties between the SEA and other countries seem to be growing increasingly closer.

He walked and pondered these questions. When Hamke came to his senses, he was startled to find himself in the financial district of downtown.

It's almost noon now, and people are constantly going in and out of the buildings on both sides of the financial district.

Standing by the roadside, Hamke glanced at the newsstand next to him out of the corner of his eye, then couldn't help but glance at the front page of the newspaper.

"Alert! Warsaw Pact expansion to the south!"

Clearly, the "Southern Expansion of the Warsaw Pact" is now on the front page of almost every newspaper, except for third-rate tabloids like The Sun that specialize in publishing salacious stories.

When the thought popped into his head, Hamke didn't just look at the people going in and out of the nearby buildings.

Many of them have East Asian features; these people are generally tall, strong, and robust.

You can tell at a glance that they are from SEA.

This is because they possess a special quality. They walked along, chatting happily with each other.

What are they talking about?
Judging from their expressions, they were probably talking about the rise and fall of stocks.

This is the financial district.

The City of London is home to many British securities firms, banks, and more...

Many of these banks and companies have employees from SEA.

London is the world's second largest international financial center. Most of the people coming and going here are British. Later, some Americans came—American securities companies and banks opened offices and branches here.

But at some point, people from SEA began to appear here. SEA's securities companies and banks also flocked to this ancient financial city.

Then they began to play an increasingly important role.

Now, almost every securities firm and bank in the City of London has SEA employees. This isn't just limited to the City; it's the same in other industries as well, with more and more SEA employees coming to this country to work and live.

Just like the Townhamlets borough right next to the City of London—which has been the first stop for immigrants entering London for centuries. Historically, Huguenots, Irish, and Jews have all settled there, leaving behind a deep cultural imprint, such as the old synagogue and bagel shops near Brick Lane.

It features Victorian-era workers' housing and some of London's oldest slums.

This is also the most distinctive feature of that area – the western part, which borders the City of London, is very wealthy, while some communities in the east are among the poorest areas in Britain.

However, at some point, the eastern part of the Tallhamletz borough also became an affluent area of ​​London—houses in those poorer neighborhoods were acquired en masse by real estate companies. Then redevelopment followed, and at the same time, SEA residents began moving into those new communities.

Unlike the workers who once lived there, these SEA people are mostly highly educated and work in the financial district or other multinational corporations, earning substantial incomes.

Their arrival completely transformed those formerly impoverished areas. Now, those areas are known for their high housing prices, excellent educational resources, comprehensive amenities, and low crime rates.

"They change a place wherever they go..."

This conclusion was not drawn by Hamke, but rather by the British media's own investigation.

When the number of residents in a region reaches a certain level, the local crime rate drops rapidly, and the academic performance of public school students also improves. Of course, this all leads to another consequence—housing prices also rise accordingly. To some extent, this is also a reason for the decline in local crime rates—many low-income people cannot afford property taxes and have no choice but to buy a house and leave.

Standing by the roadside, with his gaze fixed on the distant Taurhamletz district, Hamke had this thought pop into his mind.

How many SEAs are there in London now?
Is it 50?
Still 80?
Hamke was unaware of this, but according to official data, South Asians had long since become the largest immigrant group in London. They were not only working in the City of London or multinational corporations, but also in various other fields.

This London community welcomes these immigrants because they are highly skilled, a stark contrast to the South Asians.

Unlike South Asians who often take away many low-end jobs from Londoners, SEA natives tend to work in mid- to high-end jobs, and their businesses are mostly startups—creating jobs for London and bringing greater vitality to the city's economy.

Under these circumstances, Londoners naturally had no reason to reject them.

Looking at the diverse-looking SEA people on the road, Hamk silently took a drag of his cigarette and muttered to himself:
"The changes in London are actually happening to them; they are changing London."

After reaching this conclusion in his mind, Hamk frowned slightly, then said softly:
"Will London in the future become like London in the SEEA?"

What Hamke was really worried about wasn't London being turned yellow, but rather that Britain, as a staunch ally of the United States, might one day become a staunch supporter of the SEA.

"The southward expansion of the Warsaw Pact..."

Hamk shook his head slightly:
"Actually, this issue is not important at all."

Hamke shook his head and then strolled slowly through the streets of London. As he continued to ponder the question, his steps were suddenly stopped by a poster on a street corner—a somewhat worn-out campaign poster for a city council member. Normally, after the city council elections, such posters would be torn down, and only a few die-hard supporters would continue to post the candidates' posters.

The poster featured a gentle Eastern face in the center, with the candidate's name, Lin Mingze, printed below.

"They must be of SEA descent!"

As the thought crossed his mind, Hamke realized that similar posters could be seen in other shops as well. In the window of a bakery not far away, a poster was neatly pasted in the center of the glass.

"There's more than one..."

Hamke raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise in his eyes. He then began to take notice.

He originally thought that a SEA candidate, even if he put up posters, would mostly rely on the support of his own ethnic group.

But the scene before me was quite different—from bakeries and bookstores to cafes and grocery stores, many shops here had his posters on them, and the shop owners were mostly British, many of them typical old British men.

In Hamke's mind, those people were usually conservative, but they posted posters of this SEA candidate outside their shops, which naturally revealed their approval.

Looking at the posters plastered in the shop windows, Hamke could feel the community's support for the candidate. What was this recognition and support?
It is acceptance and integration.

He averted his gaze and continued walking forward, the posters still lingering in his mind. The information conveyed by those posters made his brow furrow even more.

(End of this chapter)