Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

The chief referee replied without reservation, turning away angrily, indicating that there was no need to discuss it further.

Colombia can still make money, and their politicians still need to make money; they won't drag the country down with the military along with you!

The military representatives seemed to have suffered a great humiliation.

They did act rashly. The brigadier general involved has been arrested and is prepared to submit an apology to the federal parliament. The Colombian army, fully equipped, is also ready to resist Victoria.

But they were betrayed. The politicians were single-mindedly focused on protecting their own coffers, showing no concern for Colombia, a nation born from colony history and a beacon of freedom and democracy. For them, Colombia's fate was irrelevant; all they wanted was money. As long as they could make money, the country could be called Colombia, or even the Vicente XIII Colony—it didn't matter!

They disregarded the belief of all Colombians in defending their homeland, ignored the military's determination to resist to the end and defend their dignity, and groveled in their desire to keep Colombia under Victoria's tyranny, living in constant fear.

The military really misjudged them. How can they govern Colombia by cooperating with such a bunch of scoundrels?

These people are no ordinary traitors; we must strike them hard!

The military representative, his face as cold as ice, stared at the judge's retreating figure and delivered his final ultimatum in a low, hoarse voice:

"Have you thought this through? The military may not be able to defeat Victoria, but they can always defeat you!"

The chief referee turned around, furious. Even now, the military still hadn't realized the mistake they'd made?! And they dared to so brazenly threaten the political establishment?!

This is utterly outrageous! You are the ones who caused this mess, the political world has borne the pressure for you, Colombia has suffered humiliation because of you, and because of Victoria's ultimatum, Colombia's economic development has visibly slowed down in the past few days. All industries have fallen into panic and depression, the stock market has crashed, the exchange has closed, and the wallets of the gentlemen have shrunk by almost half overnight. We have paid such a high price to get this opportunity to negotiate with Victoria.

As a result, their sacrifices were not understood by the military, but the military even threatened them with an attitude of "the world is the best".

What, does the military dare to rebel?!

He slammed his hand on the table and roared:

"roll!"

He never imagined that such a simple word as "get lost" would later have such consequences.

Soon after, a nation built on betrayal faced the greatest and most severe betrayal in its short history! The army defected from its government, and the government betrayed its army!

Chapter Fifty-Six: The Riddle Cat, Unparalleled in Wisdom

Columbia, New York, Wall Street, July 9th night.

The financial exchange remained brightly lit, even though it was past closing time. Armed soldiers patrolled outside, their crossbows and replica guns always cocked. Not far from the exchange's entrance, a corpse hanging from a streetlamp served its ultimate purpose in death, deterring anyone inside from making any rash moves or attempting to break through the military's encirclement.

Otherwise, kill without mercy! Those who are not afraid of death can try to imitate the man on the telephone pole and see if their pectoral muscles are as hard as an alloy arrow.

The atmosphere in the financial exchange was extremely tense. This place was originally a gathering place for Colombia's social elite, a veritable upper-class venue and a capital paradise. But now these elites were surrounded by a group of soldiers in the exchange, helpless and in danger of losing their lives at any moment.

Capitalists began bribing the military, trying to buy their lives. Social elites approached their powerful backers, hoping to find out what had happened. A few gamblers, hoping to make a fortune overnight through stock trading, fully exploited their gambling instincts, attempting to sneak away through toilet windows, second-floor balconies, and other such places, only to end up as yet another decorative item on a lamppost after a scream.

就这样，精英们度过了“血色的7月8日”，“黑色的7月9日”，迎来了如今7月9日惨淡的黄昏。

"What exactly happened?"

The capitalist, whose money had been stolen but whose life was also taken, touched the burning handprint on his face and shouted, his missing tooth exposed. He needed someone to take charge, a leader, someone who understood what had happened, to explain things to him.

“I just asked my superior, and he said this matter is related to Victoria, and they are still coordinating it, so there is no way to resolve it for the time being.”

The well-dressed social elite adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, trying his best to maintain his composure, but his rumbling stomach made his words sound weak and listless.

"Ah! It's related to Victoria?"

The glamorous socialite, who had been screaming, lost her elegance. Her face, which hadn't been touched up for two days, was covered in foundation smudged by tears. Unfortunately, her striking beauty failed to win the sympathy of the soldiers, and she was even nearly preyed upon by them.

She exclaimed, uttering the most unbelievable, yet also the most plausible, guess at that moment:

"Could it be... that the Victorians have invaded? Those soldiers, could they be Victorians?"

A moment of silence fell over the hall upon hearing this, followed by a growing chorus of panicked discussions and shouts. The flustered Columbians tried everything to deny the possibility, arguing that New York State was located deep within Columbia, a vital economic center, and bordered Washington State—how could it possibly be invaded by Victoria? But deep down, however, they increasingly believed the possibility—perhaps those soldiers outside really were Victoria soldiers?

Otherwise, they simply couldn't understand why the Colombian soldiers, who were supposed to protect their people and the pillars of their nation, were now pointing their guns at them, besieging them here, depriving them of food and water, and trying to starve them to death.

I just can't figure it out!

Wayne, standing in the crowd, looked rather grim. Normally, after his phone call with Vina the night before last, Colombia should have received a diplomatic warning from Victoria by today at the latest.

If Colombian politicians aren't completely brain-dead, they should realize the trouble they've gotten themselves into by now. Unless they really want to fight Victoria, they should at least make their presence felt.

But to this day, the Colombian military has shown no sign of wanting to withdraw.

Are all Colombians this brave?

Wayne trusted Vina and Theresa implicitly; they were certain they had already taken action to rescue him. But Columbia's continued indifference made Wayne somewhat uneasy.

No, it seems we can't just wait like this; he has to save himself.

"Kal'tsit, Kal'tsit?"

Wayne turned his head, scanning the crowd, trying to find where the green lynx had gone, but after a while, he couldn't find Kal'tsit anywhere. Just as he was wondering, he saw Kal'tsit helping a sobbing woman out of the restroom. Upon closer inspection, wasn't that the socialite who had been the subject of the "rumors"?

Good grief, so that's where I was wondering. Turns out he went to be a wrench.

With a twitch at the corner of his mouth, Wayne looked speechlessly at the girl who was sobbing uncontrollably on Kal'tsit's shoulder. He figured Kal'tsit had probably succeeded.

It's a pity that Colombia has lost another sexually normal girl. Terra Wrench is terrifying!

"Your Highness Wayne, you wanted to see me?"

Having finally calmed the girl down, Kal'tsit walked towards Wayne and asked,

"I think I heard you calling me in the bathroom just now?"

"I need to talk to you. Seriously, you really have no sense of crisis at a time like this, and you're still in the mood to comfort a young girl?"

Wayne pursed his lips and complained.

Kal'tsit shook her head and explained:

“It is not gentlemanly to let a woman cry without offering comfort, and my purpose is not just that. I know what you are thinking, so I took action in advance.”

She blinked, gave Wayne a knowing look, and subtly gestured to the socialite chatting with others nearby, her large, watery eyes sparkling, and said:

"I comforted her from a Victorian perspective and offered some guidance. The girl is intelligent, just rather emotional. She now realizes that the gentlemanly Victorians couldn't be the culprits behind such inhumane acts. As the one who spread this rumor, it's obviously much more effective for her to clarify things to these people than for us to do it ourselves."

Wayne was slightly startled:

"She actually believes you?"

Kal'tsit's lips curled into a smile, seemingly pleased that she had finally caught Wayne's blind spot, and she explained with a rather satisfied expression:

"She is a very emotional person. A helpless young girl is most likely to trust those who help her. The social elites of Colombia ignored her and only cared about their own survival, while the gentlemen of Victoria were very considerate and warmly comforting to her. It is self-evident who she would trust. And the tendency to generalize from a single point is a unique human weakness. An individual's mistakes will always be transmitted to the entire group that holds the same characteristics. As long as we learn to think in reverse, this theorem can also be applied in reverse."

Just like a mother seeing a news report on TV about her child neglecting their studies and becoming lazy because of playing video games, she might think that all games are electronic entertainment, or that a corrupt official is a homebody, and therefore think that all homebodies are bad.

Wien silently translated in his mind, "This is much simpler and clearer. Kal'tsit's words always contain philosophical meaning, leaving people only half-understanding them."

But what is the purpose of doing this? Even if it changes the young girl's impression of the Victorians and clarifies the rumor, what is the point?

Seemingly noticing Wayne's confusion, Kal'tsit crossed her arms and smiled, saying:

"Your Highness Wayne, self-preservation is a complex art. Even in the same wilderness, some can only establish order and thrive in extremely dangerous environments, while others are left without any direction, merely eking out a living. Right now, the financial exchange is an isolated island. The people here need a leader, and someone with a bad reputation cannot be a leader. Rather than waiting for one of them to awaken, why not have you take that position and lead them to unite? What do you think?"

Wayne was somewhat taken aback, but then felt genuine admiration for him.

While he was still pondering his plan, Kal'tsit had already meticulously planned and arranged everything perfectly. That's probably what reliability is all about.

Having a reliable person by your side, and all you have to do is relax and win – is that really such a comfortable thing?

Kal'tsit continued:

"What's needed to unite a group isn't a brilliant leader, but a common enemy, Your Highness Wayne. I've only completed the first step for you, qualifying you as a leader as a Victorian. Now it's up to you. Creating a common enemy for them is what you excel at, isn't it?"

Unite the fiercely opposed Royalists of the North and Vina, and make the Duke of Normandy their common enemy. Unite the constantly bickering Theresa and Theresis, and make Lateran their common enemy. And now...

Unite these social elites, and the Colombian capital and political circles they represent. The enemy is the military.

Wayne suddenly felt that he might actually have some talent in this area.

He nodded:

"Leave it to me."

Chapter 57 Rhine Life Never Fails

Columbia, Silicon Valley, Rhine Life.

The once bustling building is now deserted, with documents and reports carelessly scattered everywhere from the disbanded group. A desolate atmosphere hangs over the darkened building, so much so that when Henry stepped into it again, he was momentarily disoriented, wondering if he had come to the wrong place.

The words "Pay What You Owe" were painted in large red ink on the wall; the dried, dark red paint resembled bloodstains, a chilling sight. If Wayne were here, he would surely be astonished—did Colombia use this method to collect debts?

Do they know those three things? banging a gong, blocking the door, and shouting through a loudspeaker?

Henry sighed helplessly, pointed to the paint on the wall, and asked:

Who painted this?

Saria shook her head: "I don't know."

"Didn't the security department stop them?"

"The security department has been disbanded."

Saria answered truthfully:

"It's not just the security department; most departments at Rhine Labs have been disbanded. Miss Menes used her own savings to barely keep the technology department afloat, which is why Rhine Labs' research data and core information from the past few years haven't been deleted."

Henry fell silent. He surveyed the lobby of the administration building for a long time before finally speaking and asking:

Why did she do that?

Seria paused. She had asked the Lady-in-Chief this same question when she received Menes's call and went to rescue Henry. The Lady-in-Chief's reply at the time was as follows:

"Does a mother need a reason to protect her child?"

Perhaps for President Menes, witnessing firsthand how Rhine Life Sciences grew from a small group of scientists into the life sciences giant it is today holds a very special significance for her.

Although the entire Silicon Valley, and even the whole of Columbia, was laughing at Rhine Life's folly and cheering for its collapse, there were still some things that Ms. Menes, who had built the building brick by brick, could not let go of.

Colombia is a nation born of betrayal, raised on betrayal, and destined to be reduced to dust in history by betrayal. But as Kelsey said, the inherent flaw in human nature lies in the tendency to inflict personal malice upon a group, and in turn, spread the group's malice to individuals. How vast is a nation, and how many diverse people reside within it? Some are loyal to betrayal, while others remain steadfastly loyal.

"Like a mother protecting her child?"

Henry murmured to himself, his beard trembling slightly, and his eyes unconsciously welling up with tears. Even as a grown man, seeing the current state of Rhine Life's decline, he felt a pang of desolation and despair. A company can be rebuilt after bankruptcy, but how can the chill in people's hearts be rekindled?

But now he knew that there were others besides him who were holding on. Although their strength was insignificant, in the cold winter, even a tiny flame was enough to warm a whole heart.

While Henry was deep in thought, Seria had already informed the Chief Executive that Henry had returned to the company. The Chief Executive, who was doing her best to clean up the mess in her office, quickly ran downstairs after receiving the news. When she saw Seria and Henry, she finally showed a relieved expression.