Life Dungeon Game

“If I become mayor, I will raise the minimum wage, close or even take over some illegal factories, reduce working hours, and reduce taxes for ordinary people—and the tax gap will be filled by the rich and conglomerates, who will pay even more.”

"These taxes will be used to establish public healthcare and public education."

“In the future, everyone will receive compensation commensurate with their labor. Your debts will decrease, your work and life will improve, you will be able to afford medical care, and your children will receive a better education.”

"No one will die because they can't afford an ambulance, no orphans will be homeless on the streets, and every child will receive books and milk."

"This is my promise to you, and I will live up to it with my life. Dawn will eventually become Dawn again for the people of Dawn!"

“So,” Christos raised his right hand high.

"Let's turn Dawn City into exactly how her designers originally envisioned it!!"

Let us reclaim the dawn that belongs to all of us!

Let us reclaim the compensation that is rightfully ours!!!

"Long live the dawn! Long live the people!"

"Long live the dawn! Long live the people!"

A thunderous response erupted throughout the avenue, with everyone raising their right hands and shouting along with the man on the stage.

He glanced at the massive, chaotic scene, dragged his suitcase, and walked past the edge of the crowd.

At that moment, a security guard pushed through the dense, noisy crowd and handed Christos a walkie-talkie stained with blood.

This is the real chapter 162; the titles of yesterday's two chapters were misspelled (lol).

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Chapter 164 K (Long chapter, please subscribe, favorite, and vote!)

half an hour later

He Ao sat in a corner of the coffee shop, calmly opening the tablet on the table.

Through the corner window, he could see the bustling crowd outside, many of them with smiles on their faces and carrying large bags of bread flour on their shoulders.

He Ao knew that what made them happy was not that someone had stood up for them to fight for their rights, but that they had received enough bread flour to last their family for most of the month.

Christos's speech was initially very inflammatory, but in the long history of Dawn City, more than one politician has come to power with slogans like "raise wages," "reform healthcare," and "increase taxes on conglomerates."

When the current mayor, Vent, was running for office, he also promised to raise wages for everyone. During his eight years in office, the minimum wage per hour increased in federal dollars.

It went up, but not completely.

Even so, many conglomerates and companies do not comply with this minimum wage.

Taking the service industry where tips are expected as an example, if a waiter's tips for the month are less than the minimum wage, according to the laws of Chenxi City, the boss should make up the difference to the minimum wage, but very few bosses actually do so.

The mayoral election in Dawn City has become a game of choosing a relatively less bad person from a group of terrible people.

Hello, is anyone here?

A gentle voice came.

Heo looked up and saw Christos's smiling face.

He put down the tablet and said softly, "No, you can sit down."

"Aren't you afraid I'll send men to surround this place?"

As he spoke, Christos picked up the tablet on the table, ordered a black coffee, and then looked at Heo, "Would you like something to drink?"

Heo shook his head, indicating that he didn't need coffee, then looked at Christos through his thick mask and smiled, "You won't send anyone to arrest me."

This was his basic assessment of Christos after several interactions with him.

Whether or not Christos delivers on his campaign promises, he is, at the very least, a smart and decisive person.

He won't be intimidated by a simple message.

“You seem to know me quite well?” Christos glanced at the short sword sheathed on the table, then looked up at Heo’s somewhat eerie mask. “What’s your name?”

He had seen the short sword before; in fact, he had provided some of the mechanical materials used to forge the scabbard.

"Let's talk about something else first."

He Ao raised his hand, and the image on the bracelet was projected onto the table; it was a photo he had taken in his hotel room.

The photo clearly shows the body of a security guard who had been dead for some time, leaning against the window, a sniper rifle scattered nearby, and an assassin nailed to the wall.

Christos, with his extensive experience of assassination attempts, immediately understood. "So, this time, the corporation targeting me is..."

Anvis Electric Power Group.

He looked out the window at the back door of the Anvis Machinery Factory.

"That's exactly what they're capable of doing."

Christos smiled; he knew Heo wouldn't just casually mention it to him, 'I helped you take out a spy.'

Regarding the 'killer', he asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

"I need you to do me a favor."

He Ao shrugged. "Maybe I don't need to help with this. I'll contact you when the time comes."

"it is good,"

Christos readily agreed, glanced at the short sword Heo had placed on the table, and suddenly asked, "You must have heard some of my speech just now? What did you think?"

“If we can do that, that would be the best,” He Ao leaned back on the sofa.

"But how will you do that? From what you're saying, it seems you're targeting conglomerates? How do you plan to counter their organized security forces and the upper echelons who are held hostage by their intricate web of interests?"

“To be honest, I have no choice.” Christos leaned back on the sofa, watching the workers coming and going in the factory outside the window.

"Six years ago, when I first became a city councilor, I strongly advocated for legislation called the 'Hazardous Job Accident Insurance Act'."

This bill requires all factories to purchase accident insurance for workers in hazardous positions. Previously, these workers had no protection and could only receive a small amount of compensation even if an accident occurred. They were powerless and could not fight against a team of highly paid lawyers even if they sued.

I went to great lengths to get this bill passed, negotiated with financial and insurance consortia to lower insurance prices to the minimum, and mandated that factories comply. And the result?

Christos looked at Heo and smiled self-deprecatingly, "These factories banded together and laid off the employees in dangerous positions in batches, and hired new employees at lower wages."

"Is the reduction in salary for the cost of accident insurance?"

Heo looked at Christos.

“No, not only,” Christos smiled.

"After deducting the cost of accident insurance, they also reduced the salary a little."

During that period, workers would block my car every day, verbally abusing me, claiming that I had caused them to lose their jobs or reduced their income. Later, through my mediation, the conglomerates that controlled the factories agreed to raise wages back a bit. In exchange, I was not allowed to push through any legislation involving the factories afterward.

Even after the wage increase, these workers did not receive their original wages.

"How did you retaliate?"

Heo looked at Christos and asked with a smile.

If Christos had really suffered so many losses in silence, he wouldn't have the fighting spirit and power he has now.

“I happened to know someone in the FBI around that time,” Christos said with a soft chuckle, surprised that Heo had grasped the crux of the matter so quickly.

"Then, by chance, we obtained some materials about these conglomerates smuggling resources into the wilderness, and by chance, that friend saw these materials. Later, a group of people were arrested and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 to 36 months, and each family was fined tens of millions of dollars."

After that, they agreed to restore the workers' wages to their original level, and even gave them a slight increase.

"I think I know why they want to kill you so much."

He Ao smiled.

He suddenly remembered the intelligence file about Viktor at Slanka's house.

The report said that Victor may have personal connections with Christos and Bald Smith.

Working backwards, Christos might also know Smith, and the 'FBI friend' he mentioned is most likely Selena's boss, the bald Smith.

"But after that, I was almost unable to push any bills through,"

Christos gave a wry smile. "In fact, for a long time, I've been thinking about whether what I'm doing is right, whether it makes sense, and whether I should continue."

After all, as you can see, these things are actually very difficult to succeed at. The obstacles I might face far exceed my capabilities. And if I give up trying to achieve them, given my current position, I can live a more comfortable life than most people.

Then he paused, turning his gaze to He Ao.

"But not long ago, I realized that some things in this world always need to be done by someone. Even if it is full of thorns, someone has to clear away the first thorn and take the first step."

“You could die.”

He looked at him calmly.

“Everyone will die.” Christos smiled. “I only hope that when I die, the world will be changed in some way, even if I only ignite a flame in a few people’s hearts.”

He gave He Ao a meaningful look. "Some people die and that's it, while others die and leave behind a blazing torch."

Of course, Heo knew what he wanted to test. From the very beginning of the conversation, Christos had been probing the relationship between Heo and Roy. These topics were not just casual remarks, but were carefully planned.

"What is the compensation amount for death under the accidental injury insurance that you had the factory purchase?"

He Ao didn't pick up on his topic, but instead asked a different question.

“The accidental death compensation is between $30 and $50,” Christos explained patiently. “However, these factories usually only buy the $30 standard insurance.”

"I understand, thank you."

He Ao picked up the short sword on the table, slowly stood up, and pulled the handle of the suitcase next to him.

"So, how should I address you?"

Christos pressed for an answer.

“You can call me…” Heo took a playing card from his sleeve and placed it in front of Christos.

"K"

"Is this your name, or your organization's name?"

Christos picked up the playing card on the table and finally asked the question he had always wanted to ask.

His question was essentially asking whether Heo and Roy, and even Rigit, who originally possessed the short sword, were members of the same organization.