Chapter 400: This isn't compromise, this is responsibility.

"How's the natural gas supply going? No problems, right?"
Inside the office, the Prime Minister's voice carried a barely perceptible tension.
"Reporting to the Prime Minister, everything is going smoothly!"
His aide's tone was filled with a relieved joy.
"That major power's attitude is extremely positive!
As soon as the negotiations concluded, they tightened the pipeline valves faster than anyone else, and natural gas started flowing in steadily.
Judging by this, restoring the previous supply level shouldn't be a problem!"
Hearing this, the Prime Minister let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if the huge weight of the "energy crisis" that had been pressing on his heart had finally been lifted.
Damn it, at least it didn't go wrong!
It seems he wasn't the only one anxiously waiting for supplies; the major power opposite was in the same boat.
"What about those brother countries in the east who used to get gas from us? Have you notified them all?"
"The news was already out. They were negotiating cooperation with Fang Huan, but as soon as they heard we'd reconnected with the Great Power,
they immediately tore up all the contracts they were negotiating and begged to come back and work with us."
Hearing this, the Prime Minister of Deguo couldn't help but smile, a long-lost sense of control welling up within him.
That's more like it!
Deguo has always been the natural gas hub of this continent, the "gas boss" for those little brothers in the east.
This position isn't something you can just lose so easily.
With this move, he finally managed to pull that teetering, almost collapsing economy back from the brink!
"The Great Power didn't mention that war thing at the negotiating table, did they?" the Prime Minister of Deguo asked casually.
“Absolutely not. Everyone here is a decent person; they know this topic is sensitive,” the aide replied knowingly.
“Both they and we tacitly avoided it.
The subtext is probably: war is war, business is business; we know what's going on, it's two separate things!”
The Prime Minister nodded, the last lingering gloom in his heart dissipating.
He knew some well-meaning but self-righteous hypocrites would jump out and accuse him:
Doesn't your conscience hurt? How could you make a deal with a country that started a war?
But the Prime Minister could put his hand to his heart and swear to God:
His conscience didn't hurt at all!
He didn't do this for himself!
He did all this not for personal enrichment.
It was for the country, for the people who would soon tremble in fear because of the energy crisis!
If the natural gas supply is cut off, the economy will collapse, factories will close, and people will lose their jobs. When the sky falls, who will hold it up?
Will they rely on the spittle of those self-righteous hypocrites?
He, the Prime Minister of this country, was only forced to shake hands with the great power again to prevent that catastrophic disaster.
This isn't compromise; this is responsibility! What's shameful about it?
"Um… about aiding smaller countries, how… should we handle this?" the aide cautiously probed.
"They… should know we've colluded with the great power again, right?"
"Yes, Prime Minister. At this critical juncture, the whole world probably knows."
Although his conscience wasn't bothering him, he was still somewhat embarrassed.
"What else can we do? Increase the aid again. We've already done it, we have to make up for it."
The Prime Minister waved his hand helplessly. "We have no other choice."
"Yes, I'll arrange to discuss the specific increase immediately."
Problems that can be solved with money aren't really problems.
However, one shouldn't be too happy too soon.
Just when he thought everything was under control and was about to open a bottle of champagne to celebrate, an urgent report shattered his good mood with a "smack."
"...What the hell does this mean?!"
The report's contents were so outrageous that the Prime Minister's voice became hoarse and distorted.
"The pipeline...exploded?! What the hell are you playing at?!"
"Prime Minister, this is live video footage from the scene."
The tablet handed to him by the Chief of Staff showed a lively scene in the Baltic Sea.
On the surface of a vast blue sea, strings of enormous, ceaseless bubbles were bubbling and bubbling, like a pot of boiling blue witch's soup.
"This...this could be..." The Prime Minister's fingers trembled.
"Yes, Mr. Prime Minister, this is the Baltic Sea. The bubbles rising from the sea are all from the natural gas we just bought."
The Prime Minister felt a sudden darkness engulf him, the world spinning.
The life-giving gas that was supposed to be delivered to Germany, warming countless homes, was now happily taking a bubble bath in the sea!
"How is this possible! How could the pipeline have exploded?! Didn't the inspection report from a few days ago say everything was normal?!"
He roared, spitting all over his chief of staff.
“The report is absolutely correct, Mr. Prime Minister.
We recently hired our top team to conduct a thorough inspection of the entire pipeline, confirming it's impregnable!”
“Then what the hell?!”
“No… Mr. Prime Minister…” The chief of staff’s face was ashen. “The pipeline itself is indeed perfectly fine.”
“What? Then how could…” The Prime Minister’s words trailed off abruptly.
The pipeline was fine, yet it exploded. So, only one possibility remained.
“A conspiracy… a deliberate act of sabotage?!”
The chief of staff nodded slowly and with difficulty.
“Yes, Mr. Prime Minister. Someone deliberately attacked and destroyed the pipeline from the outside with explosives.”
“Bang!” The Prime Minister slammed his fist on the table, making the water glass vibrate loudly.
"Which son of a bitch did this?! They've got some nerve!"
The chief of staff swallowed hard, his voice low and ghostly:
"Prime Minister…think about it, who in this world benefits the most from blowing up the pipeline connecting the Great Power to the East?"
The answer was almost blurted out.
A name flashed through the Prime Minister's mind like lightning.
"Could it be…a small country?!"
"Besides them, I can't think of anyone else who could benefit from this."
"Are they insane?! For this, they're willing to drag our country into this, turning us into their enemy?!"
This is no small feint; it's a blatant attack! And it's aimed directly at Deguo!
"The small country's government has issued an emergency statement, completely denying any involvement.
They claim their innocence, that it's a complete frame-up and a self-directed scheme by the big country."
"Bullshit!" the Deguo prime minister cursed angrily.
"Is the big country crazy? They're desperate to sell gas and make money; they'd have to be out of their minds to blow their own pipes!"