I was acting crazy in North America, and all the crazy people there took it seriously.

Chapter 53 There is only one truth

"Burning gunfire" became the front-page photo of newspapers across the United States the following day.

Logan's line on the radio, "Loneliness like fireworks in the snow," stirred the hearts of countless lonely young women.

However, not many media outlets truly viewed it as fireworks.

More often, there were incredulous questions, furious denunciations, and utter chaos after one's worldview was shattered.

The mentality of gamblers across the country who have lost everything is simply explosive.

At least Chicagoans had a lively "fireworks show" to watch, and after the "fireworks" were over, they got free drinks—the North Side ring also gave out free drinks to the audience after the bombardment, as if to announce a great victory!
And all they could do was sit in front of the radio and hear their bets being blasted to smithereens by the Chicago mob with cannons!
When they heard gangsters giving away free alcohol on the radio, many of them were so angry that they smashed the radios!

Was it free? No, it was their betting money!
Such is the world: the joy of one side highlights the sorrow of another. Humanity's extreme emotions are fully expressed and released in this moment.

Since yesterday, the world outside Chicago has been filled with a near-maniacal mood, a mixture of extreme shock, overwhelming anger, and absurd incomprehension.

Gangs + cannons? How exactly are these two things linked together?

Having a submachine gun on everyone is already outrageous, sniper rifles are beyond imagination, but now... mortars?!
This completely exceeded everyone's understanding and knowledge of the word "gangster"!

If the fighting continues, will the next step be for the gang to call in airstrikes?
Will we soon be able to see Chicago gang destroyers on Lake Michigan?
This isn't a street gang, it's a warlord regime!
Previously suppressed by the "Winning Theory" wave, restricted from speaking out by some force, and seething with anger over the absurd "arena battles," the conservatives finally found their outlet, unleashing their pent-up resentment like a floodgate being opened.

From the federal government to the local level, how many links in the chain have rotted away? How much negligence must have occurred to breed such a lawless monster?!

Whose responsibility is it that this situation, where demons and monsters run rampant and the country is on the verge of collapse, is so dire?

The first to be criticized was The Sun, which had instigated "this absurd and degenerate so-called ring fight" and "has been making movies to mislead the public"!
But The Sun felt wronged!

We only suggested the ring fight; whether it actually happens is all thanks to the votes of the people of Chicago!

The film was made simply to document this unprecedented event; how could we possibly know about the gang's hidden strength if they didn't reveal it themselves?

We can't exactly say that our newspaper, The Sun, handed the cannon to the gangsters, can we? We're just a small, weak, and helpless newspaper.

Ultimately, isn't this a dereliction of duty by our governments at all levels?
We've been wronged!

The Sun's self-defense was heartbreaking, every word dripping with anguish, even the punctuation conveying the pain of being deceived!

What can the American people do? Forgive it, of course!
—Didn't you hear Logan publicly blasting the "government black hand" on the radio? Geigei is just a straightforward guy. Geigei was also deceived. What did he do wrong?
Yes, even the most extreme right-wingers agree with Logan's "black hand" theory!
Major newspapers launched a full-scale attack, posing probing questions to every potential target of negligence—

We question the White House in Washington: Is there a powerful force within Congress obstructing federal law enforcement? We question the state government and the Chicago municipal authorities: Are you condoning the expansion of gang power? Why are you allowing, or even indirectly encouraging, this farce?
The War Department was interrogated: Where did all that heavy firepower come from? Was there severe internal corruption and weapons leakage? Did even aircraft, tanks, and poison gas end up in the hands of gangsters?
Even President Harding was directly questioned by name. Do you really know nothing about the mastermind behind this?

"Someone must be held accountable!"—This became the only consensus that all voices eventually converged on.

The most extreme right-wing conservatives are even shouting, "Someone has to lose their head for this!"

Under overwhelming pressure, President Harding was forced to speak out, calling Logan's "black hand" theory the ramblings of the media and a baseless slander against loyal federal employees.

He announced that the government would appoint a special investigation committee to conduct a thorough investigation into any potential dereliction of duty.

The only problem is that the investigation committee also seems to be deeply convinced of Logan's "black hand" theory.

—The White House investigators looked at the state government investigators and thought to themselves, "So many heavy weapons have been transported right under your noses, you'd be lying if you said you knew nothing about it!"

Moreover, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that the Illinois legislature is clearly dominated by those opposed to Prohibition, and they have been fueling this farce. Who knows how deep the water is in here!
The state government investigators glanced at the war department investigators, thinking to themselves, "We may have been fueling the fire, but we never expected that cannons would be used!"
Who else but the military could bring so many heavy weapons into the United States without them noticing?
Besides, despite the fierce fighting between the military and gangs, how much damage have they actually suffered? Hmm, it's said the Pentagon is very dissatisfied with the significant post-war military spending cuts. Could it be...?

There's a lot more to this than meets the eye!

—The War Department investigators glanced at the White House investigators and thought to themselves, “We found out that the weapons in the hands of the Chicago gangs were exported to South America, and now they have appeared in Chicago without anyone noticing.”

This involves countless departments, from customs to the Ministry of the Interior; the murky waters here are truly bottomless!
Most importantly, these investigators knew, to varying degrees, that many of the president's close friends had run underground gambling dens during this farce, making a fortune. This, coupled with the president's vehement denial of the "black hand" theory...

Tsk, the White House's denial... I can't think too much about it!
As for the Chicago mob, who are clearly the primary responsible party, well, don't be ridiculous.

When all they had were machetes, they were just petty gangsters.
When they have a pistol, they become bandits;

When they got their hands on submachine guns, they became ruthless bandits;
But when they have cannons... Hey, buddy, we're all civilized people. If there's something to discuss, we can sit down and talk it out. Fighting will only damage the flowers and plants, which is so uncivilized!
If someone were to shout like some lunatics, "We must declare martial law, send in more regular troops, bombard them with more powerful cannons, and wipe the Chicago gangs off the face of the earth," they would probably be removed from the committee as soon as they uttered those words.

We must investigate; the whole country is demanding an explanation.

We can't investigate everything; what if we find something suspicious?
Finally, the White House investigator blinked: "There seems to be only one truth!"

The state government investigator nodded: "There's no doubt what it is!"

The War Department investigator nodded: "Our Army has no objection to this!"

……

(End of this chapter)