Shane Freak
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Chapter 663: The Victim in Good Condition (2)
🕑 Added 2023-10-18 12:09:39 +0000 UTCIn DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List
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The aftermath of this event proved to be far more intense than anyone had anticipated.
First, even before the inheritor who won the election could take over, they were abruptly removed. So, who would lead the Soviet Union next?
On this matter, the United States had something to say, but just as they were about to voice their opinion, they found their own house collapsing.
Perhaps most people hadn't forgotten that the workers' and peasants' movements in Mexico were still in full swing, and with Superman filling the void in terms of force, it wasn't as simple as one plus one equals two. It was a complete transformation caused by quantitative change.
The Red Tide erupted from Sinoloa State and quickly swept across the entire west coast of the Pacific Ocean, even affecting certain areas of California. After all, the treatment of farmers there wasn't exactly ideal.
Just as the Bald Eagle was about to squawk, it found its beautiful feathers ignited. Some things needed to be said, but if the fire wasn't extinguished soon, its tail would burn away.
Humans always enjoyed creating all sorts of unsolvable problems for themselves, ones with many solutions. Like, if your mother and your wife fell into the water, whom would you save first? Would you let a trolley kill one person or five? Protect your head first or your behind?
Logically speaking, the head was more important. Once the head was gone, the person was utterly lost. As long as they could cut off the head of the Red Giant, then no matter how small the remaining embers were, there was no need to fear. At least that's what Congress believed.
But then again, the current Soviet Union was on its last legs, with Moscow teeming with double-dealers and fence-sitters. Even without a push from the U.S., it was bound to collapse sooner or later.
However, Mexico's Red Tide was formidable, and this revolution was still very young and passionate. If it couldn't be extinguished now, once it matured, it might become another young Soviet Union.
"I stand before you, and you see some resemblance to the past," or so the gentlemen of Capitol Hill thought. When they thought about the past, their legs wouldn't move, they wouldn't even breathe, and they would need an emergency room.
The group of U.S. citizens who had come through the Cold War knew very well how fierce the fire had been when it was ignited in the far east. Countless people were grateful that the land was far from U.S. soil.
Otherwise, no one knew if the Cold War would have turned into a hot war of destruction. Distance not only created beauty but also peace.
Judging by the impact of this Red Tide, once the time was ripe, the Bear would die, but that wouldn't be the end. The blazing red heart would travel from Moscow to Mexico City and beat anew.
The aging Bear would be reborn as a soaring Eagle, and there could only be one sky dominator in the entire Americas.
How did South America's geographical advantage compare to the far east? At least Congress knew that those thousand-mile plains would nurture a stronger beast than the Soviet Union once they belonged to the people again.
With this in mind, the gentlemen of Congress tearfully decided it was best to protect their behinds.
If, by any chance, the Soviet Union were allowed to reincarnate, not to mention their tail feathers, even their drumsticks would be torn off and gnawed on while still alive.
They were destined not to be able to devote all their energy to suppressing the Mexico movement while interfering with Moscow at the same time. They could only choose the lesser of two evils: Moscow would decay on its own, so first, they needed to deal with Mexico.
Once the decision was made, almost no one dissented. Compared to the distant political maneuvering, dealing with a fire in your own backyard was more crucial.
However, the U.S. withdrawal did not improve Moscow's situation. The inheritor who had already won suddenly met death, and they didn't lose just one candidate; they lost many.
If the assassination of the highest leader of the Soviet Union was ranked as the top suspicion on the U.S.'s part, then the other candidates came second.
This had also been the focus of U.S. public relations before. They claimed that it was the other candidates who wanted to seize power and took action. Domestic citizens weren't entirely without doubt about this.
Given this situation, the existing candidates had to avoid suspicion. Whoever took over would have to bear the stigma of assassinating the former leader.
What was more important was that this assassination had made all the candidates jittery. If a U.S. citizen dared to assassinate one, they dared to kill another. Being a puppet was acceptable, and making money was possible, but keeping one's life was crucial.
In essence, this incident had created an atmosphere of distrust. The CIA no longer trusted the democratic factions they had cultivated, and these individuals no longer trusted the U.S. Everyone was on edge, afraid that the other side would stab them in the back.
Since the current candidates weren't up to the task, they had no choice but to start the selection process anew. Who had the right to choose? This brought us to one individual: Gromyko, a Soviet Union elder with a diplomatic background.
He had spent almost his entire life in the midst of the Cold War, which had given him a unique Cold War mindset. He believed that the standoff with the U.S. was dangerous and exhausting, a sentiment shared by the top echelons of the Soviet Union at the time.
They hoped the inheritor could ease the relationship with the U.S. and also be conciliatory internally, smoothing out the radical sentiments of regional hardliners. This was why the previous successors had proposed reformist routes that leaned toward conservatism.
If things don't change, the new batch of candidates will still be conservatives. However, the problem now is that the U.S. has made its move.
The U.S. has put a knife to everyone's throat, and that shot is like telling all the top-level figures in the Soviet Union, "I have no intention of easing our relationship because I can kill any one of you at any time."
The inertia of the Cold War is powerful. Once one side becomes tough, the other cannot back down. Moreover, no one knows who the next gunshot victim will be.
In this situation, they had to rely on the candidates to take a tough stance. At the very least, they had to be able to deter the U.S., preventing it from acting recklessly. The successor must be able to ensure their safety.
Once the course started to shift slightly, the impact was significant. Firstly, the requirements for candidates changed. Softening, being people-friendly, and being willing to delegate authority were no longer the top priorities. Instead, the ability to seize power, exhibit strength, show determination, and have charisma became paramount.
As everyone knows, the easiest way to shift contradictions is to create an external enemy, a tactic the U.S. had used countless times. This time, though not intentional, the Soviet Union had unintentionally played into their hands with great success.
The public was no longer concerned about some of the radical proposals put forth by local hardliners. They wanted to see a leader who could stand up to the U.S., someone who could make them pay for their arrogance.
At this point, a candidate who had already been excluded from the selection process entered the high-level discussions: Vasiliyevich, who had just returned to Moscow from a vacation.
In fact, he was originally the strongest contender for the successor position. However, due to his past behavior of suppressing dissent and being partisan, he was less amiable than Gorbachev. Therefore, before he returned, the assembly had already convened and elected a winner.
Now, because the successor had been assassinated, every candidate who had participated in the meeting was under suspicion and had to avoid being seen as a suspect. In this scenario, Vasiliyevich, who had not participated in the meeting, had gone on vacation early and had remained detached from worldly affairs, emerged as the best choice.
So, as soon as Vasiliyevich landed in Moscow, he was struck dumbfounded by an unexpected opportunity. In simple terms, the originally designated candidate was gone, and now everyone had great hopes for him. "Why not become the highest leader?" they suggested.
Originally, in the current situation, this candidate would have to gain U.S. approval, but now, the U.S. had its own problems to deal with and couldn't be bothered with Moscow.
Some individuals wanted to interfere, but Vasiliyevich's timing was impeccable. He was a heaven-sent choice, and they didn't get a chance to promote their candidate.
In this way, a week after the aftermath had simmered down, the position of the Soviet Union's highest leader changed hands once again. Within five years, there had been four leaders, and everyone was exhausted. Their only requirement for the new leader was to stay alive.
After the situation had mostly stabilized, Moscow began to investigate one question: who had ignited the fervent Mexico movement?
Their current conclusion was that the current Mexico didn't possess the potential for a spontaneous revolution. Therefore, this movement had definitely received external guidance. The question was, who had led this movement?
The investigation followed a simple logic. Even if it was initiated by someone high up, they would need to utilize foreign agents for remote guidance. So, they began their investigation with the KGB, which was a reasonable starting point.
According to internal KGB personnel records, there were quite a few agents dispatched to Mexico. However, based on the information they reported, each agent's intelligence work was proceeding methodically, and there were no anomalies.
To get a movement to develop to this degree, it couldn't be part-time work. During this time, they wouldn't have been able to conduct normal intelligence work. Therefore, they needed to look into agents who had suddenly gone off the grid.
However, after conducting a thorough search, they found that no one had gone missing. The KGB then expanded their investigation to cover the entire Americas. This brought in more potential candidates, but most of the missing agents could be linked to corresponding leaked information from the CIA, which meant they had already betrayed their cause.
There were very few who had gone missing without corresponding leaked information. Even fewer met the criteria of having experience, capability, and a clear motive.
Finally, the KGB's attention settled on one name.
"Alfred, I have great news for you today from Moscow via this telephone. We have a new successor, and his first order of business upon taking office is to connect with you," Kayla stood in the hospital office, speaking into the telephone.
"What?" Alfred asked, deeply puzzled. Then he heard Kayla say in a tone of triumph:
"The Supreme Chairman has expressed great praise for you. He referred to you as the greatest revolutionary mentor in nearly a decade, a true friend of the Mexican people."
"He apologizes as he cannot confer honors in person due to the current situation in Moscow..."
"But the Soviet Union's people, the Mexican people, and all comrades around the world with noble ideals will never forget your great deeds!"
Kayla's tone suddenly softened, becoming more tender as she spoke in Russian, "Workers of the world, unite!"
A week later, Alfred received a box from Kayla. After opening it, he found a handwritten letter inside.
At the top of the letter was a badge with a sickle, hammer, and red flag, sparkling brightly.
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Next Chapter>>Chapter 664: The Well-being of the Victim (Part 2)
