Chapter 546: The Glittering Holy Garment

(To express my gratitude to the authors of Skull Offering Seat, Loyalty!, Brother Mu Who Likes Pushing Waves, Coming and Going in a Hurry, Time Traveler, Lan Zhiyu, Leve~With the Wind, and Doflamingo Mingo for their support and love, I'm adding an extra chapter today!)
***
"However, I've always been curious, why 'game'?" Aiden suddenly asked.
"What?"
"I'm talking about this guild. It doesn't seem like a mere facade, right?
Everyone here really logs on regularly, really plays games together, doesn't they?"
"I think it's probably for a 'formal status,' Mr. President."
"A formal status?"
"A formal status that allows everyone to gather together regularly and legitimately," John explained.
"Think about it, in reality, these politicians belong to different parties, fighting tooth and nail.
But here, because they have a common goal—to take down the BOSS—they can temporarily put aside their differences and become a united group.
What could be a more perfect excuse to make these busy political bigwigs willingly sit together regularly and become 'teammates' fighting side by side?"
Aiden suddenly understood.
Yes, that's the most crucial point!
A perfect, impeccable "formal status" that allows even arch-enemies to sit together and chat!
But Fang Huan accomplished this effortlessly with a single game.
“Moreover, Mr. President, discussing left-wing or right-wing, or color-based conflicts, is meaningless now.”
“What do you mean?”
“With Fang Huan effectively controlling our entire political arena, what difference does it make who is president?”
“In any case, all will ultimately be carried out through Fang Huan?” Aiden’s voice was somewhat hoarse.
“Yes.” John’s voice was low and helpless.
“As you have seen, Fang Huan, through their mysterious ‘Strategy Department,’ has corrupted and won over almost all of our political elites with money and benefits.
The entire upper class is already filled with Fang Huan’s followers.
Even more terrifying is that all of our government’s powerful departments, from the CAI to the FIB, are already under their control.”
This was precisely what had nearly driven Aiden to a mental breakdown.
The entire state apparatus turned against him overnight, completely sidelining and isolating him as the democratically elected president, leaving him a true loner.
"Fang Huan's methods are clean, efficient, and leave no trace.
And in the eyes of the people, they always play the role of savior, doing the most 'correct' thing, reaping a tidal wave of praise."
Controlling everything behind the scenes while playing the angel in the public eye.
Disgusting, but this is Fang Huan's way of conquering the world.
"I think this should also be part of their 'project'." John handed over a new document.
"What is this?"
"Information just sent from Fang Huan's side.
They're preparing to establish an organization called GEAR (Global Environmental Response and Recovery Action Organization), claiming... to solve the problem of global warming."
Solve global warming?
Aidan almost laughed out loud.
A behemoth that's frantically logging forests in Guyana and the Amazon rainforest to build small nuclear power plants—how dare it utter such words?
"Of course, it's just a smokescreen, right?"
"Yes. But the banner of 'solving global warming' is too appealing, isn't it? The public buys into it.
Especially with this super typhoon in Libya, which triggered massive panic globally, climate change is now the hottest topic worldwide."
In other words, Fang Huan wants to use this pretext to create a brand-new, super-powerful institution that transcends national boundaries.
"And the key issue is that this organization's operating model not only requires corporate cooperation but also mandates…full cooperation at the national level."
"They want to…use this organization to shackle the entire world?" Aiden instantly understood.
“That’s right.” John’s eyes were incredibly grave.
“Their script goes like this:
If a company or country doesn’t comply, first, they’ll use that so-called ESG association to launch a media campaign to discredit you;
If that’s not enough, the next step is to use the governments of various countries cooperating with GEAR to deliver a fatal blow directly from a legal standpoint.”
“…”
Aiden fell silent.
This series of combined attacks was an impenetrable, all-encompassing trap.
Fang Huan, this behemoth from the East—just how big is its appetite?
They’ve even stopped bothering with any pretense and are now openly displaying their chilling ambition to the world.
“Can this proposal…pass?”
“The EU has already passed it unanimously.”
“The EU too…?”
“Yes, they’re finished.” John sighed.
“Strangled by food shortages, they finally had to yield, even abandoning their long-held ban on wildfire access.”
The alliance that had always stood firm against Fang Huan had finally knelt.
Aidan understood them, because he knew that such despair was irresistible.
When the other side uses the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people to blackmail you, you have no right to say “no.”
“Moreover, Fang Huan is frantically manipulating public opinion through the media.
I believe there will definitely be dissenting voices in Congress, but faced with the overwhelming public opinion, they will ultimately have no choice but to grit their teeth and vote in favor.
After all, on the surface, this is a great act of charity to save our ravaged blue planet.”
Hearing this, Aiden let out a cold laugh.
Saving the Earth?
Fang Huan and his group are utter destroyers of the Earth, not saviors at all!
They just want to cloak themselves in a glittering cloak of sainthood.
“We can’t object, and we have no reason to object,” John added helplessly.
“Don’t forget, our own country, the US, was recently devastated by a super typhoon, and public resentment is boiling over.
And the devastation in Libya was the final blow that broke everyone’s morale… The timing was perfect.”
“Yes,” Aiden murmured to himself, “Perfect ‘legitimacy,’ perfect ‘timing’…”
It turns out, Fang Huan had foreseen this from the very beginning.
The reason they had allowed the disobedient eastern Libyan regime to run rampant for so long was precisely to use today...
this most opportune moment, as a sacrifice!
To offer it the perfect "legitimacy" for this grander plan!
"Tomorrow, I will sign this document."
Aiden's voice was calm and utterly emotionless.
He no longer intended to, nor was he capable of, stopping it.
Because he knew that from this moment on, he, and everything he represented,
They will all be within that magnificent empire called "Fang Huan".
A cog in a machine, willingly placed in its place!