Extreme germ phobia

Chapter 357 Resounding
In the Hua Tuo conference room, a special video conference is being held.

Pan Rui occupied half of the screen, while the other half featured other participating organizations, whose locations spanned both the east and west coasts of the American continent.

All participating organizations were present. Pan Rui patted the microphone and said, "The meeting is now in session. Xu Yi."

"To!"

"Please introduce the basic information!"

"Yes!" Xu Yi stood up. "This morning, three ships carrying armed personnel entered our warning area, and the emergency response team immediately organized an interception... That's the situation!"

He recounted the events in detail, in a straightforward and unembellished manner.

Pan Rui adjusted the microphone height: "That's the situation. What are everyone's thoughts on the other party's request?"

With everyone on screen, no one was willing to be the first to speak.

Pan Rui frowned: "No one has any ideas? Fine, Wang Rui, you go first!"

The officer whose name was called was a colonel. He immediately stood up and said, "Reporting, I don't think this is a good idea. If it's for the construction of the new city or the people's livelihood, then there's nothing to say. But trading with local forces, especially underground forces, is just too beneath us."

His remarks immediately resonated with some people.

However, someone immediately stepped forward to refute: "Old Wang's words are not wrong, but it's not the theft itself that's worrisome, it's the thief's eyeing that's worrisome. As far as I know, the local situation is very complicated, and the construction of the new city is at a critical moment. We are not afraid of local forces, but it wouldn't be good to make the relationship too strained, would it?"

"I agree, this is a problem that must be analyzed using dialectical thinking!" The officer who spoke was Liang Yi, a political officer. "Refusing the other party is very simple and easy, but what happens after the refusal? If the other party doesn't get what they want, will they just give up? Obviously not!"

"They have no legitimate way to do things, so they can only resort to underhanded methods. We are a powerful dragon crossing the river, while they are local snakes. It's not easy for us to build this new city. If they try to sabotage us in secret, it will be impossible to guard against them."

He slammed his fist on the table: "As the old saying goes, we must make as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible. We are in a foreign land, and we must not treat the locals as potential enemies, but rather as people we can win over."

"I believe that as long as it is beneficial to the construction of the new city and to establishing a firm foothold, we can be flexible and adaptable while adhering to principles... All people are born equal, and no one should ever have the idea of ​​being superior to others. Winning over the majority and cracking down on a small minority is the right approach!"

His words were succinct, eloquent, and resounding.

Pan Rui was the first to clap, and the others, as if waking from a dream, immediately followed suit.

Liang Yi's speech was unusually long, but every sentence hit the nail on the head, elevating the matter to a completely different level.

Those who know him well know that this was just a small test. If he were to go all out, any one of his points could be divided into ten major points and numerous minor points, and he could talk about it for hours without repeating himself.

The danger of ideological work lies not in how much is said, but in its in-depth analysis, explanation of principles, and clarification of the essence, rather than making decisions based on personal preferences or subjective assumptions.

Pan Rui then asked, "Are there any other objections?"

Everyone fell silent, each thinking to themselves: "It's already reached the level of principle, so what's there to object to?"
“Alright, if you won’t speak, I will!” Pan Rui opened a document. “I have a document here, which is a survey we conducted before the meeting. According to what we know, the situation in the Cannon Islands is far more complicated than we imagined. There are countless forces, large and small, on the main island and the sub-islands. The so-called Mr. Gusta is just an ordinary gang leader with only about a hundred men under his command.”

Pan Rui laughed, "There are at least eighty or a hundred gangs like this on the main island. While they're not at the very bottom of the food chain, they're still in the lower middle, surviving only in the cracks between the major powers. But don't underestimate this Gustav. He's quite ambitious. According to our investigation, shortly after arriving on the island, Gustav joined the provisional government and made contact with us, also at the government's behest." The crowd immediately became agitated. An officer stepped forward, "Since it's the provisional government, why doesn't it directly engage in trade with us?"

"As I've already said, the power dynamics on the main island are extremely complex. The real authorities are the various factions that manage the main island. The temporary government is just a figurehead; it's a figurehead with no real power!"

"So, Gustave is planning to start from scratch?"

“That’s one way to put it,” Pan Rui nodded. “To be more precise, Gustav and the provisional government are mutually benefiting from each other and sticking together for mutual support.”

Everyone looked at each other, a strange feeling rising in their hearts.

"It's obvious that the provisional government never intended to step forward from the beginning," Liang Yi said. "If it weren't for the various factions on the island checking and balancing each other, this provisional government would have been swallowed up by some force long ago."

Pan Rui nodded: "The interim government is very ambitious, so it has pushed Gustav to the forefront. Hmm... this Gustav is not simple either."

Liang Yi suddenly realized something was wrong: "Hey, wait, in such a short time, where did you find out? How do you know so much?"

Pan Rui chuckled but did not answer immediately: "Just like Lao Liang said, maintaining good relations with local forces is in our fundamental interests, so my suggestion is to agree to trade, but we need to be careful about what we can and cannot give."

Upon hearing this, everyone started thinking about it again.

Xu Yi said, "Then let's make contact first, see what they want, and then make a decision!"

Pan Rui nodded: "Alright..."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Lu Wei suddenly burst into the conference room of the Hua Tuo ship, hurriedly came to Xu Yi's side, and whispered a few words.

Pan Rui frowned slightly: "Xu Yi, what's going on your end?"

“Something’s happened.” Xu Yi stood up. “Just now, a group of thugs broke into the New City Trading Company’s office on East Island, stole a batch of supplies, and killed more than a dozen local employees.”

The group of people looked at each other, all finding it unbelievable.

Looking across the entire Americas, our fleet is among the best, while the Uganda has only a few small islands left, and its military strength is practically nonexistent.

To put it bluntly, although our side doesn't have much strength on Saint Václav Island, it would only take half a day at most to flatten the main island. How dare we show our faces at a time like this? Are we out of our mind?
"How are our people doing?" Pan Rui asked.

"One person is missing, and three others have been kidnapped by local forces. The kidnappers' motives are unclear, but they demand to speak directly with us... Everyone, I must leave now."

"Go ahead," Pan Rui said. "Remember, prioritize the safety of our personnel. Whatever demands the other side makes, agree to them first!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)