"Furthermore." For some reason, Xu Le felt a little uneasy when he saw the tanned and tired middle-aged man sitting across the table. He thought about the things that had happened in the past few years and the wishes he had for the president. He raised his head and said stiffly, "The one who really wants to influence the judicial process is someone else. It has nothing to do with me."
President Pabre threw the cold, wet towel on the table and tried to suppress his anger. He criticized loudly, "What is this? A voice of injustice? Do you think that I, or someone in the official residence, have exerted any pressure on the court? "
"You didn't, but it doesn't mean that your subordinates didn't." Xu Le thought of Director Breen's gloomy face in the shadows and the family representatives who listened in on the court. He continued to say unyieldingly, "It doesn't mean that those families didn't. Otherwise, why would that curly-haired female judge make such a retarded judgment?"
He raised his head and looked at the slightly thin face of the president without flinching. He said in a deep voice, "As for you and this official residence, silence … is itself a kind of attitude."
Silence was tacit agreement, indifference was bystander. President Pabre and his official residence had remained silent on the affairs of the West Woods for more than a year. They had not expressed any opinions on the trial. This was the best opinion for the sharks who were eating up the Zhong family's property in the West Woods. However, this was the problem that Xu Le found the most difficult to accept.
The porcelain plates and silver forks on the table had long been cleaned up by the waiter. The lonely flame on the candlestick in the middle of the room danced in the dim room. There were some traces of soup on the gold-wrapped tablecloth. After hearing Xu Le's courageous question, President Pabre kept staring at the stains and looking at them seriously. It was as if he was looking at his truest heart.
Accompanied by the sound of the heavy wooden chair dragging on the bright brick floor, Mr. President stood up. He walked to the window and placed his hands behind his back. His tired and sore body leaned up slightly, leading his gaze to look through the glass at the falling snow under the illumination of the street lamps. He was silent for a long time.
"There is a very vulgar question." The President did not turn around and continued to stare at the scenery outside the window in a daze. He said, "Ever since I became the President of the Federation, all the scenery I've seen has been approved by the Special Task Force. Isn't this scenery, which has lost its taste of freedom, a nice scenery?"
Vaguely, Xu Le caught a trace of his true thoughts from the slightly hoarse voice. He slowly stood up with his right hand holding the cold wet towel and looked at the thin middle-aged man by the window who still had extremely hard shoulders.
"There's a more vulgar way of asking." President Pabre's blurry face was reflected in the mirror. His lips twitched slightly as he said with a self-deprecating smile, "Are you … one of my people?"
This question was indeed very vulgar. Whether it was the content of the question or the way it was asked, there was a sense of vulgarity. Probably only the worst gangsters in Donglin would use such a tone to recruit underlings. Who would have thought that the most powerful President of the Federation would not have the eloquent demeanor he had when he was a lawyer and would just throw out such a vulgar sentence so harshly.
So Xu Le was stunned for a moment. After a while, he subconsciously narrowed his eyes and stood straight. He raised his right hand to the tip of his eyebrows and said in a deep voice, "As a soldier of the Federation, of course I will obey your orders."
This should not be the answer that President Pabre wanted, but it was not the worst answer either. So, the President in the window smiled slightly and said slowly with deep emotions, "I'll say some words as one of my people … Regarding the lawsuit in West Woods, I can understand your anger, because many times, I'm also very angry."
President Pabre looked at himself in the window quietly, in the snow, in the light, and said in a low voice, "I'm angry because of my own shamelessness and despicableness … This shamelessness and despicableness is because I clearly realize that Commander Zhong's death is a very good thing for the Federation. I have to admit that whenever I think of this, I even feel very lucky."
He slowly turned around. His deep eyes hid fatigue as he looked at Xu Le and said slowly, "Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I even think of something even crazier … If Commander Zhong, the tiger, was still alive and still had dozens of powerful mechanics in his hands, insisting on not being the vanguard and only staying in the West Woods, coldly watching the Federal forces invade the galaxy … would I have pushed the government and the military to use illegal means to kill him?"
Xu Le was silent. He knew very well what the West Woods meant to the Federation's expedition. He also knew very well that what the President said was true. Commander Zhong's life was not good for the Federation, but his death could bring endless benefits to the Federation. In fact, the radical faction of the military and the important person in the government who created this conspiracy must have considered this as well.
However, he had never imagined that Mr. President would actually admit that he had such thoughts. He raised his head in astonishment and looked at President Pabl's silhouette by the window. He thought about the sincere care and protection that President Pabl had given him all these years. He thought about how he had lamented earlier. Perhaps it was because Mr. President's silhouette by the window was too thin …
He decided to say something.
…
…
"I need a safe place." Xu Le checked the password lock on the black workbench and suggested to President Pabre, "Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to say those things."
President Pabre could not help but laugh. He waved his arm and said mockingly, "This is the official residence. Where can you find a safer place?"
"I'm talking about information security," Xu Le replied calmly.
President Pabre frowned. His voice was deep and powerful. "Do you think someone dares to eavesdrop on me?"
"It's not like this has never happened before in history." Xu Le looked at him stubbornly. Holding the black workbench, he said, "Mr. President, you will find later that there is no one around you that you can trust."
The President's dark cheeks appeared more and more solemn. He pressed the call button and ordered the relevant staff to prepare.
While waiting, the first daughter, who had woken up in the middle of the night, rubbed her eyes and walked down the stairs. The girl, who had been fighting against the illness, was thin and weak and lovable. She gently hugged President Pabre. Then she noticed Xu Le standing to the side. The girl's pair of indifferent eyes that made one's heart palpitate suddenly lit up, but in the end, she did not dare to go up and hug Xu Le. She just lowered her head shyly and squatted a little. Then she covered her face and ran back to her bedroom.
This somewhat cute scene would have been something that the President would tease or warn Xu Le under normal circumstances. However, the atmosphere in the middle of the night was a little strange. There was only silence.
The staff of the Special Task Force in black formal suits were like diligent worker ants that did not need to sleep. They cleared the path as quickly as possible. Then they protected the President and Xu Le as they walked into the emergency tunnel under the official residence. After walking for about ten minutes, the stairs gradually extended upward. They should have entered a building.
"What is this place?" Xu Le looked at the big iron door in confusion and asked, "Are you sure it is safer than the official residence?"
"This is the Ministry of Finance's fully blocked bond database." President Pabre turned to look at him with a smile and said, "Young man, welcome to visit the Federation government's treasure vault."
At this time, the senior director of the Special Task Force said with a serious expression, "Mr. President, I strongly object to you and Colonel Xu Le entering the vault alone. This is a serious violation of the relevant regulations."
The senior director looked at Xu Le indifferently. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's. "Colonel Xu Le, I think you should understand the importance of discipline."
Xu Le did not answer.
"Don't worry about anything. Colonel Xu Le is the person I trust the most." The President patted the shoulder of the senior director with a smile and said, "If even he wants to kill me, maybe it means that I really should be dead. Haha …"
This became a famous saying in the future.
…
…
"That is my report. There must be something wrong with the attack on the Ancient Bell. But the most urgent problem now is that you can't trust the people around you, Mr. President. It will be easy for big problems to happen. "
The fully blocked database deep underground was in accordance with the usual extravagant style of the Ministry of Finance. There were as many as seven security clearance scans outside the vault. Xu Le followed President Pabre into the vault, but found that it was empty. There were only a few cold computers running silently for a long time. So Xu Le's last sentence reverberated several times before it gradually subsided.
President Pabre had been quietly staring at the light screen on the workbench, as if he wanted to burn through the list and inference on the light screen. After hearing Xu Le's words, he got up and walked to the wall full of Diyin Vines. He stretched out two fingers with his right hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Please give me a cigarette."
Xu Le took out a 37 brand cigarette, put it between Mr. President's fingers, and then lit it.
President Pabre took a deep breath of the cigarette and choked on it. Suddenly, he roared angrily at the wall full of Diyin Vines, like an enraged lion, using the most vicious words and the most dangerous posture to announce his uncontrollable anger.
He turned around abruptly, stared into Xu Le's eyes, and shouted hoarsely, "You want me to believe that my vice president and so many pillars of the federation are a bunch of murderers who have committed all kinds of crimes? Evidence, you must show me evidence! "
"Evidence can be found through investigation." Xu Le replied in a low voice, "I know that it is very inappropriate to investigate the attack on the Ancient Bell, but … I can investigate in secret. I need the authorization of the Ministry of Justice."
President Pabre threw the cigarette to the ground. The expression on his face was very complicated. There was sadness and anger mixed with some indescribable emotions. He said slowly, "If you don't have the authorization, you won't investigate?"
"With or without authorization, I will investigate." Xu Le replied.
President Pabre slowly raised his head and looked at the face of the young officer in front of him. After a long silence, he said firmly, "Then investigate."
…
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