Darkstone Code
Chapter 214 - 0212 The day has broken

Chapter 214: 0212 The day has broken

On November 21st, the negotiations between the mayor of Sabin City and the strike worker representatives failed to make any valuable progress. The workers’ demands exceeded the bottom line of both the mayor and the capitalists’ representatives involved in the negotiation.

They demanded higher wages, fewer working hours, and better welfare benefits.

If only one of these aspects were discussed, or if the demands for each project were minor, it wouldn’t be a big problem. Just like the workers from the water supply company, their demands were not excessive, thus forming a basis for an agreement.

However, the demands of these strike worker representatives were too much. The most ridiculous one was a worker representative asking to reduce the weekly working hours from the original sixty hours to fifty hours, along with a 5% increase in wages, and the need for meat and fresh fruits at lunch daily.

Such demands would never be agreed upon by the capitalists even if it cost them their lives. Naturally, the fifteen worker representatives maintained a common front and line, even if some workers felt negotiations were possible, they refused to talk to preserve the so-called situation.

The persistent disagreements turned the negotiation into a farce, ending with accusations and curses between the worker representatives and the capitalists’ representatives.

This made the workers believe that the mayor was insincere, thinking he sided with the capitalists, compounded by the excitement of a handful of people and the escalation of the Bupen shooting incident, unrest in Sabin City and the entire state escalated again.

People had begun blatantly rioting, looting, stealing, and setting fires, openly shouting slogans like "Who will shoot me dead?" to vent their dissatisfaction with the current situation.

There were also some who understood internally that this was a wrong approach, yet they remained silent, knowing that speaking up wasn’t the smartest choice at this moment.

On November 23rd, seeing that everything was about to spiral out of control, the Governor delivered a public speech calling on all citizens to quickly return to their rooms from the streets, lock their doors and windows, and protect their personal safety and property.

At the same time, he urged those rioting to voluntarily surrender, and ordered the demonstrations and marches, which had spiraled out of control, to immediately cease.

These words, which seemed like something only a dictator would say, had no effect whatsoever. People’s free will is incredibly precious, even though they were hungry, even though each step felt like torment to their bodies, they still held their flags high, feebly chanting slogans.

On the evening of November 24th, at 7:30 PM, the Governor personally signed the Governor’s Decree No.1 of the year, notifying the Ministry of Defense and other relevant agencies that statewide military control would commence at 5:30 AM on November 25th.

The Governor’s decree is an administrative order that can only be issued in special circumstances; simply put, when situations have become so severe that waiting for the approval from the President’s Cabinet and Congress is no longer an option, the Governor can temporarily gain supreme authoritarian control over military and political matters within the state.

Of course, once the situation concludes, the Governor must undergo a joint investigation by the National Security Committee, the Federation’s Interior Committee, and other federal security departments, as well as complete a hearing held by Congress.

If it’s determined that the Governor’s decision at the time was justified, the matter ends there. If, however, there are considered to be problems in the Governor’s conduct and handling, an inquiry may be initiated.

This time, the Governor demanded that outside of the designated hours, no one is allowed on the streets, nor allowed to approach or clash with soldiers on duty, and there can be no more rioting, looting, or arson, otherwise, they would face the harshest treatment.

At 8 PM, this message was quickly broadcasted through television to every household in the state, causing not just fear but also filling people with anger.

This is an insult and a trampling on human rights and freedom!

This is a desecration of the precious spirit of the Free Federation!

On the same evening, the mayor announced that a second round of labor negotiations would start on November 27th, still presided over by the mayor.

That evening as well, the Workers’ Union held an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures.

This wave of worker strikes sweeping through the entire Federation so rapidly is undeniably attributed to the critical role played by the Workers’ Union.

It’s a simple principle: workers in one city would definitely not be aware of a strike taking place in a city thousands of kilometers away, and they couldn’t possibly pay attention to places so far from them, but the Workers’ Union can.

Driven by interests and demands, the Workers’ Union began disseminating information and connecting worker organizations from various places, turning an initially insignificant, frequently occurring small-scale worker strike event into a sweeping nationwide strike with much fanfare.

Now that the issue has become so significant and some demands have not yet been met, they are uncertain whether to continue holding out.

After a night’s meeting, they need to understand the official stance to decide the next step in response to the current situation.

As for how to understand this, let people go and test the waters!

On the morning of November 25th, already late autumn and early winter, at 5:30 AM, Sabin City was still shrouded in darkness, with the winter sun rising much slower than in summer, as if it was enjoying the warmth of its bed and reluctant to get up.

At this moment, soldiers from the military, fully armed, started moving into the city along the main routes.

And at this moment, a group of workers with various expressions blocked the soldiers’ path. They linked arms, connecting themselves tightly with each other, holding their heads high, singing the famous song "Long Live the Free Federation," fearlessly facing those soldiers, blocking them from progressing any further.

The leading vehicle of the military convoy stopped slowly, and a soldier in his thirties with full blonde hair and blue-gray eyes stepped out. Judging by his epaulette, he was an army Major.

A meticulously neat personal appearance and the military uniform gave him a heavy demeanor.

He leaned on the car door, watching the ordinary people blocking their way. Because he stood behind the car headlights, people only saw two very bright headlights and a somewhat blurred shadow, unable to make out his appearance.

The Major walked to the front of the car, glanced at those people, then raised his wrist to check his watch. "There are five more minutes until half-past five. As per the Governor’s order, everyone must be home by half-past five and subjected to military control."

He lowered his wrist, coldly looking at the people before him. "You have only four minutes left. If you are still within my sight in four minutes, you won’t be going back."

Among the striking workers blocking the soldiers’ path, some people’s legs were already starting to tremble. Those who dared to test after the Union’s demands were agreed upon (led by worker representatives, not directly contacting the Union), were inherently bold.

But in the face of these indifferent soldiers, their courage to smash, rob, and burn seemed to be quickly disappearing.

The loss of morale also made the song they sang loudly lose a touch of grandeur, adding some weariness and cowardice. This should not be the singing style of "Long Live the Free Federation."

Facing these people, the Major calmly stood in front of the car, his hands behind his back, his blue-gray eyes indifferently gazing at them.

Soon, he spoke, "Three more minutes..."

The people’s singing weakened even more. If they weren’t all holding arms together, someone might already have been unable to resist leaving.

Although both soldiers and police have guns, their nature is entirely different. Soldiers make people feel more fearful.

"Two minutes..."

"One minute!"

When he said one minute, the Major raised his wrist again, staring at the watch dial. "You have forty-seven seconds left. Now it’s forty-three seconds, forty-two seconds..."

He was counting down, and his not-so-loud voice suppressed everyone’s voices, making the atmosphere heavy as the singing disappeared.

Some people broke free from others’ arms, turning around to run towards the direction of the city where they lived. But some believed it was only military intimidation; they merely stood there, thinking the army had no right to attack them.

Seeing fewer and fewer people, the Major’s mouth curved into a sarcastic smile, "Ten..."

"Nine..."

"Forget it, you don’t seem to leave anyway. I won’t count down..." He retracted his wrist, turned to look at another soldier standing behind him. "Is my joke not funny?"

In the crisp morning of mid-autumn, beads of sweat emerged on the soldier’s forehead. He nervously laughed a few "ha ha" laughs, "Very funny, Major."

The Major looked at him, speaking only when he saw him uneasy, "Too exaggerating. When we return, double the basic training." After speaking, he leaned on the car door and returned inside, issuing orders to the soldiers behind him. "Arrest these troublemakers, shoot if necessary."

In an instant, all the soldiers charged forward like a pack of released wolves. They applied their most professional military skills on the ordinary people who had little resistance.

Sitting in the car, watching those ordinary people beaten bloody, pressed hard onto the ground with at least two gun barrels pointed at their heads, the Major contentedly put on his lambskin gloves again.

He knew what he did now would be reported to the military base’s main officer and even to the Ministry of Defense, but he didn’t care.

He understood clearly that this country was about to shed its harmless facade under pressure. The next decade, at least a decade, would become a paradise for hawks and radicals, also the most beloved era for all soldiers.

The tougher, the more radical he acted now, the greater opportunities he would have in the future.

A Major with such rank already had enough qualification to know some high-level trends. He hoped his performance would be noticed by the leaders and wanted to lead the army on missions abroad to let the world see the strength of Federation soldiers!

Show them Federation’s isolation is not due to fear but not wanting to harm others!

In less than a minute, this group of striking workers, helpless for the police, was beaten black and blue and their wrists bound with a string of ropes as thick as forearms, strung together and connected to the back of an armored vehicle.

If they didn’t want to be dragged, they’d better jog along. At this moment, these people hurting all over had no complaints, no curses, only quietly following.

At half-past five, the eastern sky began to pale slightly.