Life Dungeon Game

Chapter 696 Clash (Long Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Flashing lights, dazzling dance music, people shouting and letting loose, and sexy women dancing wildly on the stage in the very center of the bar, wearing short skirts that looked like they were made of elm leaves.

Desire, indulgence, and roaring constitute everything here.

This is the Elm Tree Bar, the most famous and also the most chaotic bar in the south of St. John's City.

This place is a melting pot of all sorts of people: gangsters, strippers, ordinary corporate employees, mercenaries, homeless people, and even senators' children.

People from all walks of life gather together. On the two-meter-long bar, the woman sitting next to the white-collar worker who marvels at the softness of the cake might just be a ruthless gangster.

Chaos and disorder are the main themes here.

However, this chaos and disorder also allows people to indulge themselves without restraint, throwing the invisible mountain that weighs on their shoulders during the day into the chaotic dance floor and screaming loudly.

Amidst the unrestrained crowd, two figures wearing bowler hats and simple, ordinary clothing were quickly slipping through the gaps in the crowd.

The scattered, colorful lights swept across the brim of their hats. In the dimly lit bar, few people noticed the two hurrying by, and even if they did, no one cared.

No one even bothered to delve into the true faces beneath their hat brims.

So the two of them went deeper and deeper until they reached a small private room at the very back.

The one with a more balanced height nodded to the taller, more robust man beside him, then reached out and grasped the doorknob, slowly pushing open the door to the private room.

The private room wasn't large; it only had a small booth sofa, a wooden coffee table, and a thin-film TV embedded in the wall.

The dim light from the ceiling of the private room spilled onto the leather surface of the sofa and onto the shoulder of the rather refined-looking middle-aged man sitting at the innermost part of the sofa.

Upon seeing the middle-aged man, the figure wearing a top hat standing at the door finally pushed the door open completely and went inside.

Behind him, the burly figure casually pulled the door shut and stood guard at the entrance.

"haven't seen you for a long time,"

The newcomer lowered his top hat and looked at the man sitting at the far end of the private room with a calm expression. "You look much older. I thought you had left St. John City a long time ago."

He reached into his pocket and took out an elegant glasses case, placed it on the table, and handed it over. “I actually don’t recommend that you wear glasses. I said a long time ago that you look better without glasses than with them. If you want to be liked by voters, a good image is essential.”

The man who had been waiting in the private room for so long was none other than Si Enji.

The guest who entered this private room was none other than Mayor Krot, the theoretical ruler and most powerful figure in Saint John City.

Faced with Krot's words, Sinzi looked up at his 'old friend' and said calmly, "I know your advice is correct, but no matter how gorgeous the exterior, it can't hide the straw stuffed inside the scarecrow."

"So you called me here today, to sit here, where we used to come often."

"Were they in the private room just preparing to give me a piece of their mind?"

Hearing Sinzi's words, Krott was not angry. Instead, he took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it, and looked at Sinzi. "You don't mind if I smoke here, do you? To maintain a good image in front of the voters, I rarely get to touch a cigarette more than a few times a day. This job is too tiring."

"Aren't you enjoying it?"

Looking at this "old friend" who had been directly involved in the events of that year, who had driven Snawa to his death, and who had spent eight years gradually overturning everything they had done, Sinzi took a deep breath.

“When Snawar made you the speaker, you never smoked in public. You would only sneak out of the small door to smoke when all the events were over and we returned to the mayor’s mansion together.”

"yes,"

Krot smiled and looked at Sinzi. "Back then, you were the youngest one who was willing to go out with me. Although you didn't smoke, you were very willing to listen to me share my experiences of campaigning and giving speeches."

His gaze was calm, and a wisp of smoke drifted across his face. “In a sense, Snavaro, who’s always so busy, sees you as the hope of the next generation, but he hasn’t taught you as much as I have.”

He reached out and stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the coffee table, staring at Sienji. "So after all these years, you've finally given up hiding and come to find me. Is there something you need?"

He paused, then smiled. "If you mean you want to run for mayor, then congratulations. I hope what I taught you before will be effective."

Sinji stared at the man in front of him.

In just a few words, the other party had gradually gained control of the conversation.

However, Sinzi was no longer the inexperienced, honest university professor he once was. He looked at Krot and calmly replied,

“Under normal circumstances, I don’t think these little tricks will be of any use,”

He shrugged. "Look at you, you know so much. Have you ever successfully run for mayor before? If Snava hadn't driven the Kegete Group to the brink of collapse, forcing them to invest in you, would you still be sitting here today, talking like this?"

Krot was taken aback by these words, and the smile on his face gradually faded. "It's been a few years, and you're no longer the naive scholar you once were."

He took out another cigarette, lit it, and asked through the hazy smoke, "So what do you want from me today?"

"Are you afraid?"

Sienji's expression remained calm as he suddenly asked a question.

"Ok?"

Krot paused, his movements slowing to a halt as thick smoke obscured his vision. Then, he smiled. "I suppose I should still be the mayor of St. John. Would a mayor feel fear in his own city?"

"Then why did you allow the mercenaries outside the city to enter the city in three separate batches?"

Sienzi asked directly.

“The reason is that,” Krott took a drag of his cigarette, “to prevent too many people from suddenly coming in and disrupting people’s lives.”

Hearing this, Sienzi sneered, "Then tell me, what aspects of people's lives in St. John's City can be disrupted right now? These mercenaries..."

Will too many people coming in at once lead to more gang fights between the West and South districts, or will it result in more homeless people on the streets?

Krot's expression darkened.

“You’re scared,” Sinzi continued. “You’re afraid that letting the mercenary group in will cause trouble, but you don’t dare to stop the Kejette Group from bringing in the mercenary group. You even have to shamelessly use the name of the municipal government to make people think that you ‘won’ these mercenaries.”

“Look at the records of various cities, and flip through the history of the Federation for more than 700 years. How many mayors have dared to allow mercenary groups from outside to enter the city in large numbers?”

Sinji looked calmly at Krot, "Aren't you afraid?"

Krot stared at Sinji, then suddenly chuckled softly and leaned back on the sofa. "I don't know who influenced you, but it seems you've really turned things around and I'm starting to look at you in a different light."

Then he took a deep breath and continued, "I'm scared, of course I'm scared. If these mercenaries get out of control, I have no way to control them."

Then he looked at Sinji, shook his head and chuckled, "But am I not afraid when these mercenaries don't come in? The city police department has long been under the control of the Kejette Group, and most of the city defense forces have also accepted bribes from the Kejette Group. They were able to drive Snavaro to his death back then, so why can't they drive me to my death now?"

"But do you seem like the kind of person who would just sit and wait to die?"

Sienji looked up at him and asked calmly.

This question caused Krot to fall into a brief silence.

Kroth's talent may not be much less than Snava's, but he is a completely different person from Snava.

Snavaro committed suicide because the Kejette Group drove him to the brink, all in an effort to preserve his policies for as long as possible.

If Krotter were in the mayor's seat, he would most likely not even wait for impeachment by parliament; he would directly negotiate a peace with the Kejette Group and eliminate anyone who might threaten his position.

Senezi knew himself well as a 'half-master'.

If Snavaro is pursuing ideals, then Krot is pursuing power.

In exchange for power, he would cooperate with Snawa in implementing policies when Snawa was in a position of influence, in exchange for the position of city council speaker.

Similarly, also for the sake of power, when Snava ran into trouble, he didn't hesitate to turn against him to win the support of the Kejette Group and the mayor's seat for himself.

“We’ve known for a long time that the leader of the city defense forces, the B-level expert Dan, is greedy and lustful. Back then, Snava didn’t give him enough bribes, which ultimately led him to side with the Kegete Group,”

Sinzi looked at Krot's face and continued, "Now that you're the mayor, you've made so much money in these eight years. With your personality, do you think you'll forget the lesson of Snavaro back then?"

"Although Dan is greedy and lustful, he still has a clear sense of self. He knows that his job comes from the city government and federal subsidies. Unless he wants to stage a coup and become mayor himself, he will, in principle, prioritize obeying the mayor's orders."

"Even when Snava reached that point, it was ultimately your city council that delivered the decisive blow. He essentially only issued a statement expressing his opinion."

His attitude was like pushing hard against the collapsing wall.

"If you offer enough bribes now, even if you break ties with the Kegete Group, under the auspices of the municipal government, at least he will remain neutral in your dispute with the Kegete Group and will, in principle, obey the municipal government's orders."

"Even when a major problem arises, he will side with you."

"You mean,"

At this point, Krott finally broke his silence, smiling as he looked at Sinzi. "Could there be 'problems' with the Kejette Group?"

"Are all these mercenaries from the Kegete Group in the city returnees from Saint John?"

Sinji asked meaningfully.

These mercenaries are a major destabilizing factor. Apart from the city's garrison, there is no organized force in the city that can fight against them, and the city's garrison is tasked with defense.

With a sharp weapon in the body, the murderous heart starts from the beginning.

This is different from the situation in Snawa back then. No matter what was done in Snawa, it was always a power struggle within the municipal government, and the city council and the city defense forces were the ones who got involved.

In principle, the Kejette Group does not have the power to directly influence the situation.

However, the situation completely changed once the mercenary group entered the city.

Although the city government allowed the mercenary group to enter the city, and Krot even received a lot of benefits from the Kegete Group for this, it did not mean that he agreed with the decision.

Of course, with the city's defense forces and municipal government completely infiltrated by the Kegete Group, he had no power to oppose the Kegete Group.

The lesson of Snava's experience is still fresh in everyone's mind.

Moreover, the reason given by Kaijet Group for "returning home for vacation" is completely reasonable and legal, and the time limit is set at only three days.

But these three days were tantamount to the Kejette Group holding a sharp dagger and slicing it along Krot's neck.

Krot fell silent again for a short while.

Knowing he had hit a nerve, Sienzi continued, "Your deputy mayor is from the Kegete Group, isn't he?"

This means that once Kroth is forced to resign, the Kejette Group can immediately install a mayor who is entirely of its own.

Krot looked up at Sinzi, and after a brief pause, he asked with a smile, "So what do you want?"

"Access to the West Gate,"

Sinzi also looked at Krot and said, word by word, "I know the mayor has the authority to grant special permission to open the city gates when there are problems with the city defense forces."

"Open the door? What do you want to do?"

Krott paused for a moment, then chuckled, "You want to take advantage of the chaos to leave here?"

"What do you think I want to do?"

"Senezi asked in return," Sienzi countered.