NOVPUB75: Chapter 75: Drive Away Wolves and Tigers (Please Favorite, Follow, and Vote for the Monthly Ticket)
75: Chapter 75: Drive Away Wolves and Tigers (Please Favorite, Follow, and Vote for the Monthly Ticket)
Hearing the name, Roger’s hand paused while applying the medicine and he asked with some curiosity,
“Old Geezer, you’re about to be six feet under and now you’re taking an interest in politicians?”
“I just want to know about the candidates for the next Mayor, to see if any beneficial policies for us elders will emerge,” He Ao answered slowly, “I heard that Christos is a popular candidate for the next Mayor?”
“Your information is obviously inaccurate,” Roger said, shaking his head while continuing to apply the medicine to He Ao,
He nudged his chin, signaling He Ao to look towards the window beside them.
He Ao followed his gaze to the narrow single-pane window, and his eyes landed on the billboard outside featuring the giant portrait of Mayor Wente.
“These politicians, giving speeches, dispensing welfare, organizing teams, releasing advertisements, it all takes money.
Where does it come from?
How much is their salary worth?
Isn’t it all provided by the conglomerates?” Roger spoke leisurely as he treated He Ao,
“The conglomerates obviously favor our Mayor Wente more; that guy called Christos has gotten far too little resources.
You see, Old Geezer, you only know the name of Christos, but you know nothing about what he’s done or his policies.
During our Mayor’s eight years in office, although there hasn’t been any grand achievement, there haven’t been any faults either.
Between one whose governance is stable, who incessantly bombards you with advertising and publicity, and another with hardly any fame, whose policies you don’t even know, who will you cast your vote for when they stand before you?”
If it were Regit, he’d cast his vote for the current Mayor Wente.
This was what most people thought and was why He Ao had always believed Wente would be re-elected, but he was not there to learn about the election right now.
Indeed, there wasn’t much about Christos in Regit’s memories, but he knew that Christos seemed to be Wente’s main opponent.
That’s why he had asked Roger, someone well-informed, about Christos.
Of course, he could search the internet for information, but the news about Christos there boiled down to two kinds.
The first kind was the persona crafted by Christos’s campaign team – a bright and just man with some humor, devoted to serving Dawn City for life.
The second kind, the various true or false pieces of negative news about his private life, scandals, and salacious stories, were dug up by his political adversaries.
The news on the internet was clearly curated, showing what they wanted others to see, which is why He Ao chose to inquire directly with someone like Roger, an underground doctor well-informed through the grapevine.
Roger had a good relationship with him, so there was no need to deceive him, and since the guy was a skilled doctor who knew many people, he likely had some inside information.
He Ao needed a clear profile of Christos.
He looked at Roger and smiled, “So, what are his governing principles?
Do they have anything to do with us Old Geezers?”
Roger was momentarily taken aback, then he stood up and walked towards a glass jar to scrape out some new black paste, chuckling, “Old Geezer, haven’t you retired from the game?
Did you take on some kind of death-defying task?”
Without giving He Ao a chance to answer, he continued, “Christos, huh?
If he really does become Mayor, it would indeed be a good thing for you Old Geezers who are knocking on Heaven’s door.”
Then, under He Ao’s puzzled gaze, he asked, “Have you heard about the medical care reform from ten years ago?”
“I have.”
He Ao nodded.
In Regit’s mind, there were memories of that reform.
Ten years ago, Regit still hoped to fully recover from his leg injury, but by then, he did not have enough money to pay for medical expenses, nor was there an insurance company willing to sell coverage for his leg injury to a cripple like him. 𝚗ovp𝚞b.𝚌om
Therefore, he had been working various jobs, trying to save up enough for the medical fees.
Back then, the Mayor of the time had proposed a health care reform plan, which included reducing medical insurance costs, extending universal health care, government control over medical pricing, and lowering medical expenditures among other things.
At the time, Regit had been hopeful that if the plan were implemented, he could finally treat his injured leg, but that proposal eventually fizzled out without any further development.
Actually, with Regit’s combat ability, his income wasn’t low.
At the peak of his career, his weekly salary even reached 3,000.
But even so, he couldn’t gather enough money for the medical expenses to treat his injured leg in a short time, and after missing the optimal treatment period, he was left with a limp.
Later, as his body grew older, he gave up on the thought and found a stable job as a library administrator, focusing solely on practicing martial arts.
“Does this have something to do with Christos?”
He Ao organized the memories that came flooding back into his mind and asked in a calmed voice.
“The plan was his idea back then,” Roger, holding the medicine, stepped up to He Ao again,
“He was a member of the Mayor’s campaign team at that time.
After the Mayor was elected, he became the Minister of Health and Public Service of Dawn City.
As you know, the Federation’s healthcare is completely controlled by the medical consortia and the medical insurance consortia, this department basically had no real power.
But he forcefully initiated a medical reform plan and even obtained the Mayor’s support.”
“He sounds like a capable person,” He Ao observed, “It seems he wasn’t successful?”
“What good end could there be for someone who had made enemies of both the medical consortia and the medical insurance consortia?” Roger chuckled,
“Soon after he proposed the plan, a vast amount of scandals about the Mayor at the time exploded on the internet, Parliament also started to prepare for the Mayor’s impeachment, finally scaring the Mayor into shelving his plan and relegating him to a sinecure, not long after that he resigned.”
Roger narrated calmly while applying ointment to He Ao,
“Since then, he started to participate in political activities as an individual.
Because of his earlier medical reform efforts, although he had provoked the medical and medical insurance consortia, he gained the support of some consortia that wanted to enter the healthcare industry.
Of course, these consortia did not truly support him, they were just keeping him as a bargaining chip to threaten the medical and medical insurance consortia.”
Roger found a new piece of gauze and began to re-bandage He Ao,
“This is his third time running for Mayor.
He didn’t get elected in the previous two attempts, so although he has a significant presence, second only to the current Mayor Wente, his chances of being elected Mayor are very low, and the consortia wouldn’t fully back him.”
“But he desperately wants to be Mayor and will seize any and every opportunity.”
Gradually, He Ao formed a mental image of Christos in his mind.
Christos, seemingly flourishing on the surface, was actually in the midst of a blazing crusade, and so would grasp at any opportunity, even likely gambling on the low probability events.
After the young man had mentioned the words ‘Mayor,’ He Ao started to think, when the situation involves a ferocious tiger that might temporarily be too powerful to resist, what should one do?
Who would risk their life to challenge a fierce tiger?
Now it seemed that a wolf on the edge of a precipice, starved, might do just that.
Christos, who had made it this far in such narrow straits, was probably not as meek and gentle as a lamb.
He was that starving wolf walking on the edge of a cliff.
Expel the wolf, drive away the tiger.
As things had reached this point, He Ao already knew he couldn’t extricate himself.
Because based on what he knew about Najia, Najia would surely kill him.
And he intended to take revenge for the Mech Cultist Najia had sent to kill him.
He must quickly resolve this trouble if he was to have time to investigate the exotic beast matter, and he also had a premonition that Najia might be involved with the exotic beast incident.
Roger, who was dressing the wound, looked at the elder in front of him with a head full of silver hair and saw colors he had never seen before in the Elderly.
Indifference, wisdom, and, madness.
