You're a US police officer, what are you thinking about going back to the East for?

Chapter 391 What Will We Eat Now That You're Gone?

In the White House emergency security room in Washington, D.C., an hour and a half has passed since the shooting at the Hilton Hotel.

Vance was forcibly shoved into an armored car by a group of Secret Service agents who were on high alert, and driven back to the Situation Room in the White House basement with sirens blaring.

The situation room was in complete chaos.

Several senior Republican officials, Department of Defense officials, and Vance's staff crowded around the conference table, while several large screens on the wall were displaying breaking news reports from major news channels.

At the bottom of the screen, footage of Te Lipu being carried away on a stretcher is playing on a loop.

Despite being a Yale Law School graduate and a successful figure in Silicon Valley's venture capital world, Vance has always harbored deep contempt for the inefficiency of Washington's bureaucratic system.

But he never dreamed that federal security could be this bad.

The police officer at the first security checkpoint fired five shots as the assassin charged in with a shotgun.

Five shots—at this distance, you could hit something even with your eyes closed—but that idiot missed four shots completely, and the last shot pierced the leg of a Secret Service agent standing next to him.

But you can't really blame him, because he was hit head-on by a shotgun blast from the assassin. The other police officers at the scene who didn't even have time to fire a shot are the most ridiculous ones.

As for the presidential security personnel, they were still looking around for cover when the assassins opened fire.

On the contrary, the Secret Service agents responsible for protecting him, the vice president, reacted with lightning speed, practically dragging and shoving him into an armored car and speeding back to the White House.

Trump is now lying in the ICU, his life hanging in the balance, while the vice president is sitting here unharmed.

Given the slow pace of his evacuation, in today's public discourse, he knows without a doubt that conspiracy theorists will perceive it as an attempt to usurp power.

But he really didn't do anything; he was just an unlucky guy.

He was just eating at the dinner party; in fact, when the assassination attempt occurred, only a salad was served, and he didn't get to eat any of the other dishes.

Vance even paid a $500 entrance fee, but not only did he not get to eat, he also got caught up in the assassination attempt.

"Sir." Chief of Staff David tossed a briefing onto the conference table and braced his hands on the surface.

"The Hong Kong Police Force and the National Guard have taken over four blocks surrounding the hotel."

"The assassin was captured alive; he's a madman from Seattle."

"Seattle?" Vance frowned.

"Which bunch of idiots selected this invitation list?"

"The Secret Service thought the Seattle Police Department had screened it, and the Seattle Police Department thought the White House had verified it."

"Both sides were going through the proper procedures, and in the end, they let in a mobile arsenal with over five hundred rounds of ammunition." David pulled out a chair and sat down, his face grim.

"Now is not the time to assign blame, sir. We need to immediately declare a state of emergency in Washington, or even martial law nationwide."

Vance frowned, forcing himself to calm down.

He knew he was sitting on a powder keg.

He has the identity of "Rust Belt Spokesperson", but this is essentially just a carefully packaged facade.

Compared to his own interests, he actually had little interest in revitalizing American industry.

He rose to this position by pandering to lower-class white people, but now those same lower-class white people could turn on him at any moment.

"What's the Democratic Party up to?" Vance asked.

"We currently have no evidence as to whether the Democratic Party was behind this or not."

"As for now, they're still playing dead, but regardless of whether the Democrats were involved or not, they'll definitely try to frame this as a backlash against right-wing political violence." David quickly flipped through a page of his memo.

"But our biggest problem right now isn't with the Democratic Party; it's within the party itself."

David paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the other political advisors in the conference room, who also had ashen faces.

"Trump's politics rely too much on his words and personal charisma."

"He's lying in the ICU with tubes in his body now, and the party will immediately split into three pieces." David held up three fingers, speaking rapidly.

"That DeSantis from Florida," he's governed a state himself, fought tough battles, and he and his group of pragmatists always felt you were too inexperienced, too weak-rooted, and a parachuted-in general promoted through some absurd Trump move.

"Right now, they're mostly watching you make a fool of yourself, ready to take over at any moment."

"While they won't openly oppose you, they'll likely spread rumors privately that you're a transitional figure."

David withdrew one finger.

"The second group consists of evangelicals, radical right-wingers, and the redneck base."

"They must have already taken Trump's assassination as a sign of some kind of doomsday holy war. Now they are outraged and think it was an assassination by the Democrats, demanding blood for blood."

"They need a tough Avenger to take over."

"If you show even the slightest sign of weakness in pursuing legal action, they will tear you apart."

"The third piece is yourself, sir." David stared at Vance.

"You must immediately issue a strong statement, even implying that the Democrats are behind it all, to appease those rednecks and prove that you deserve this position."

"I can say tough things," Vance said.

"But if I go too far, the Democrats will immediately accuse me of 'inciting civil war and undermining the Constitution,' and then all the centrist voters will leave."

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds.

A young assistant sitting in the corner pushed up his glasses and cautiously began, "Sir—actually, your choice of words might not be the biggest problem right now."

Vance turned his head, his gaze piercing like a knife.

The assistant swallowed hard and forced a smile, continuing, "CNN and MSNBC are already bringing up your old issues on social media."

"They dug up recordings of interviews you gave a few years ago —"

The assistant's voice grew softer and softer.

"Go on," Vance said through gritted teeth.

"They made a short video of what you said back then." The assistant looked down at his tablet.

"It's those paragraphs where you compare Trump to cultural heroin," and "call him America's Hitler."

The moment those words were spoken, it was as if all the air in the underground safe room had been sucked out instantly.

Upon hearing this, David immediately looked down at the briefing, and several senior advisors began to examine the vents in the ceiling. The Secret Service director even turned around to check the screen on the wall.

Vance's face flushed red. He opened his mouth, coughed twice, and tried to maintain his vice president's authority in front of his subordinates.

"That—that's completely taken out of context!" Vance slammed his hand on the table, his voice echoing in the enclosed space.

"It's all malicious editing by fake news media!"

"Back then—I didn't have a deep enough understanding of politics."

"As you know, when a person is young, they are often misled by some erroneous liberal academic theories. I now absolutely support and unconditionally endorse every decision the president makes!"

He was panting heavily as he looked around the conference room.

No one responded. Even David, who was usually the best at smoothing things over, just pursed his lips, looking like he couldn't hold back any longer, and gently tapped the table with the end of his pen.

A senior senator on the left picked up his coffee cup, pretending to drink it, but the cup was already empty. On the right, a Department of Defense official was picking at his fingernails.

We're all in politics, so we all know each other's backgrounds.

Vance's transformation from a radical anti-Trump figure to a loyal successor to MAGA was purely a career-driven decision.

What talk of a change in thinking or a deeper understanding? Everyone here knows that's all bullshit.

If staying with the Democratic Party offered a better future than staying with the Republican Party, very few people present wouldn't switch sides immediately.

A moment of suffocating awkwardness.

Looking at the group of staff members who were pretending to be dead with their heads down, Vance felt a mixture of nameless anger and frustration.

He tried to add something to ease the tension, but when he opened his mouth, he found that anything he said would only make things worse.

If it really was him who planned the assassination, that would be one thing, but the problem is that he really didn't do anything!

He waited a few more seconds, hoping someone would jump out and agree, saying, "That's right, it's the media taking things out of context," or at least laugh it off.

However, it does not.

That's enough.

Vance ripped off his tie, threw it on the table, and stood up.

"Notify the White House press briefing room that a national televised address will be held in half an hour, and the matter of the assassination must be officially announced to the nation immediately." He placed his hands on the edge of the table and stared at David.

"This can't be delayed any longer. If it continues, those rednecks on the street with AR-15s will have to come looking for trouble with the Democrats."

o

With just over ten minutes to go before "half an hour later," the lights in the White House press briefing room were already on.

Several rows of reporters crowded together below the stage, the red dots of the cameras bobbing back and forth.

Chief of Staff David gave Vance a final few words of advice through the side door: "Remember, be harsh in your criticism, but avoid using overly specific, provocative language—"

"Uh—I mean—you can't be too radical, nor too moderate, nor too centrist—uh—never mind, you figure it out yourself." Then he pushed Vance out.

Vance walked behind the podium, loosened his suit collar, and placed his hands on either side of the podium.

This speech was hastily cobbled together by him and his team, revised several times, and finally reduced to a standard public statement:

They condemned the violence, called for unity, pledged an investigation, and expressed their condolences.

Regarding matters related to Trump, Vance used a very cautious approach, such as "Our movement will not be halted by bullets" and "America's enemies will eventually pay the price."

The wording was within the normal range of a speech; it neither explicitly stated that anyone would be arrested, nor did it imply that anyone would be pardoned.

In other words, if this were held in a normal country, it would be a very ordinary press conference.

But in today's America, nothing Vance says really matters.

Because his legitimacy is questionable, and he was once an extremely vehement opponent before switching sides, this history allows everyone to interpret him in their own preferred version.

If the composition of the lower classes in the United States were not so diverse, there wouldn't be so many interpretations of Vance.

But then again, the diversity in the United States is just too great.

For many years, the United States has vertically divided the lower classes into countless groups, and with everyone's interests not being shared, they do have the opportunity to misinterpret Vance's speech as representing countless needs.

"Tonight, our nation has been subjected to an outrageous and cowardly act." Vance stared at the camera, speaking at a moderate pace in a low voice.

"The President is receiving the best medical care, and I urge all citizens to exercise restraint and allow the judicial process to uncover the full truth behind this incident."

"We will not bow to any dark forces that attempt to undermine America."

In a pub on the outskirts of Saginaw County, Michigan, a burly redneck man in a T-shirt sat cross-legged on the floor with a loaded AR-15 across his lap.

He was sitting across from several equally tense people, and the White House news was playing on the television.

They were chewing something, but their eyes were glued to the screen.

As soon as Vance opened his mouth, the redneck clicked his tongue.

"Too slow." He slammed his hand on the wooden table next to him, causing an open beer can to fall over.

"Did you notice? This bastard talks like a law school professor."

"Only after the bullet had already entered the president's body did he slowly and methodically talk about the constitution and order. A normal person would have flipped the table at that point."

A man wearing an arm guard leaned over, smacked his lips, and said, "I think he's just hoping the president won't wake up."

"Think about it, what did he say to the president before? Now he wants to inherit this wave of benefits, and he can't be more happy if the hospital doesn't send any good news."

"Yes, I think so too! I think he deliberately tampered with things at the banquet." The redneck got angrier and angrier as he spoke, pointing his finger at the screen.

"A reporter will be asking him right away, and I bet he'll say 'I respect the procedure' again."

"He's been waiting for this for ages," the bartender scoffed as he wiped the glasses.

"He's probably secretly celebrating right now, hoping Trump dies so he can rightfully take over the White House!"

A burly man with a thick beard suddenly stood up and kicked over a high stool: "Brothers, I'll go get the rifle and bullets from the car! We can't expect this fake redneck from Silicon Valley to uphold justice for Trump!"

Meanwhile, in a studio in New York.

The host was wearing a dark blue suit dress, and the screen in front of her was showing Vance's video feed. Her guest was a media commentator.

The two men kept talking the whole time they were giving their speech.

"Listen," the host said.

He just said "our" movement.

The commentator immediately chimed in, "He also uses words like 'enemy' and 'cost'."

"It's very clear that he's trying to mobilize those outrageous people to participate in the riots."

"The country's president is still in the ICU, and this guy is using the White House platform to send violent coded messages to his supporters."

"That's terrifying." The host rubbed his forehead.

At this point, Vance paused in his speech; in fact, he had only looked up at the words on the teleprompter.

During the live broadcast, he paused for a few seconds, his lips slightly parted but no sound came out, before continuing: "The federal government will maintain a high degree of transparency in the investigation of this incident to ensure that the American people receive the truth."

Someone on the redneck side immediately took a screenshot and sent it to their Telegram group, with the caption: "Did you see that? He hesitated when he mentioned the president being in the ICU. He's definitely making up a lie!"

Then this statement was circulated by other people seeking entertainment, with the headline changing to: "Vice President hesitates when asked about Trump's life or death, seemingly disheartened?"

On the other hand, some humorous self-media outlets also noticed this, with headlines such as: "Vice President pauses abruptly during incitement to violence; experts analyze his expression suggests he is waiting for a signal."

The culture of "amusing oneself to death" can be effectively used to maintain stability in the United States during normal times.

The general public fills their spare time with inexpensive, readily available streaming dramas, online games, and short videos.

While passively accepting stimuli, they lose the will to move upward and participate in profound social change.

But at times like these, digital entertainment has backfired on the stability of the United States.

After all, the United States has long been so obsessed with entertainment that even the events of 9/11 can be used to entertain the public and to comment on the postures of those who jumped from buildings.

Now that Trump has been assassinated, there are indeed many people who are outraged, but there are also a large number of people who are not at peace at all.

They're just people looking for fun, trying to stir up trouble and create even more chaos. Right now, they're fanning the flames online and exaggerating the situation.

Countless keyboard warriors hiding in basements are analyzing this few-minute live stream video frame by frame.

In a post titled "Truth Awakening 2025," the poster wrote: "This is definitely not an ordinary speech; he is issuing a rallying order to those heavily armed militia groups."

"They talk about restraint, but in reality they are inciting a nationwide purge against ethnic minorities and progressives."

"He can't wait to use this crisis to establish a fascist military government!"

Thousands of floors were instantly erected below.

"He swallowed hard! He's guilty! According to inside information, the Secret Service could have retaliated immediately when the gunshots rang out at the banquet; his people deliberately delayed the rescue!"

"His blinking frequency is off! He's using Morse code to report to his Wall Street patrons that his mission is complete!"

"A disgrace to Silicon Valley's venture capital world! Drag him out of the White House!"

Outside the press briefing room, the White House communications director pulled David aside and said in a low voice, "It should be alright. I didn't find any problems with his remarks. We'll talk to the media again later to put some pressure on them. That should be enough to keep the centrists calm."

David didn't say anything, opened his phone and scrolled for a few seconds. His face slowly turned pale, and then he put the phone back in his pocket.

He doesn't dare look at the comments section anymore, because it's no longer a place for normal people.

On Twitter, Democrats said Vance wanted to be a dictator, while Republicans said he wanted to be a traitor.

A photojournalist sitting in the back row whispered to the person next to him, "So, what was the final result?"

Another reporter shrugged: "Mediocre, nothing special. If I were on stage, I would have done the same."

Then he pointed to the headset.

"But what he actually said is no longer important. The internet is full of people venting their emotions, and nobody cares what he was really thinking."

As Vance concluded with "God bless the United States of America," the press section immediately surged forward.

The photographer, carrying his equipment, pushed through the crowd, while the host rushed to give his opening remarks to the camera.

They each quickly sifted through the speech, selecting the useful footage according to their own television station's needs, and edited out countless different versions of the "Vice President."

Surrounded by Secret Service agents, Vance walked back to the west side of the White House through a side door.

An assistant jogged up to him, but before he could speak, Vance waved him off.

"Don't tell me what they said."

The assistant obediently shut his mouth.

But after walking a few steps down the corridor, Vance turned back, snatched the tablet from his assistant's arms, and, knowing full well he would be in trouble, couldn't help but click on the trending topics.

Several entries were neatly hung at the top.

Vance hesitated.

"The Vice President declares war on his own people"

"Yale elites are putting on an act again."

"He's not MAGA at all."

"We want an explanation from the Democrats."

"Inciting internal strife"

"Wait until the special is outrageously dead"

"traitor"

"The enemy of the anointed one"

He glanced at it only once before slapping the tablet back into his assistant's arms.

"Are there even humans around here?"

The assistant hesitated for a moment while holding the tablet before finally speaking.

"Sir, at a time like this, even if you just say 'The weather is nice today,' two groups will interpret it: one side will say you're mocking global warming, and the other side will say you're covering up the truth about natural disasters."

After the official live broadcast from the White House press briefing room in Washington, D.C., was cut off, the real battleground for public opinion has shifted to X.

The top eleven trending topics were completely filled with the keywords "Trump's bizarre assassination attempt," "Vance's speech," "conspiracy theories," "White House mole," and "Seattle assassin."

That evening, less than five minutes after Vance finished speaking, Musk also joined the delegation.

His account is blue-label verified, and he has the most followers in X. Why is he number one? Because he bought X.

This guy has a genuine hatred for the Democratic Party; his support for the Republican Party isn't solely for financial gain.

He used to have a son named Xavier, but he has changed his name and gender and cut off all ties with him. In his view, all of this is the result of the campus gender theory promoted by the California Democratic Party and the decadent culture of "diversity and inclusion".

He bought X intending to use it to launch rockets and make money, but now he's decided to use it as a political weapon at this sensitive time.

A post popped up on Musk's account, instantly pushing the crisis from a minor skirmish into an irreversible abyss.

Musk's original post read: "Everything that happened tonight was done by the Democrats. They can assassinate the president, but they can't control the people's anger."

"They orchestrated everything, trying to halt this unstoppable victory with an assassination. Wake up!"

Less than thirty seconds later, he added another message: "The president is still in the ICU, and the Democrats are already preparing to celebrate."

"MAGAs, you need an explanation."

"I'm telling you, opinions aren't chosen by votes."

"Go to the streets, Washington, and in front of your state legislature."

"If the mayor won't come out, go to the governor. If the governor plays dead, go to the White House."

"The more they play dead, the more you need to make them hear you."

The number of interactions on the platform surged to seven figures within two minutes.

An account called "All-America Truth Alliance" posted a screenshot: "Holy crap, this is practically inciting civil war!"

Another account, "Red State Never Surrenders," replied: "Fuck it, retweet!"

The rednecks seemed to hear the call to arms, and the comments section was full of shouts of encouragement and echoes. But the Democrats hadn't had time to react yet, because Musk hadn't given them any time to prepare.

Immediately afterwards, on X, the video of Hudson's previous scandal and information about the Seattle riots were pushed to the top again.

When countless users scrolled to the top, they were bombarded with seven or eight identical posts before they even realized what was happening.

"What the hell is going on?" a Democratic supporter commented in the comments section.

"Wasn't Hudson already dealt with? How did this video get pushed back up again? Musk, are you crazy?"

These comments were immediately drowned out by the laughter of the rednecks and eventually buried at the bottom.

In DC, several Democratic aides issued a statement on X: "Musk's actions are blatant incitement to riots and civil war! How dare you pin this violent video to the top of every user's homepage? You must immediately remove it and face congressional questioning!"

Musk retweeted the statement as soon as it was posted, so it seems the old guy is still doing a lot of self-searching.

His accompanying image was anything but serious; it included a meme of a frog wearing sunglasses and smoking marijuana, along with the simple caption: "Long live freedom of speech!"

The Democratic Party account continued its rebuttal: "Just because you own this platform doesn't mean you can abuse algorithms to interfere in politics!"

"What you're doing is undermining democracy!"

"The former president is still in danger, and you're already engaging in political maneuvering? You traitor!"

Musk added a follow-up reply: "I bought X, and the freedom of speech here refers to my freedom of speech."

"Get the hell out of here, you fucking idiots."

Then, in front of everyone, he banned all the Democratic Party accounts and commenting accounts that had just issued the statement, one by one.

The.

The banned accounts disappeared all within seconds, leaving only a warning message: "This account has been permanently banned for violating platform rules."

One veteran Democratic commentator, before being banned, rushed to leave one last post: "This is a tyrant! This is a coup!"

Then his account icon froze, and after refreshing, it showed "This account does not exist".

Instead of showing sympathy, people took screenshots of the incident and shared them everywhere.

A group of MAGA enthusiasts started photoshopping Musk, dressing him in the robes of a Roman emperor, with the caption: "Emperor of Free Speech, Musk I".

Several major media outlets' BlueFocus accounts also started posting lengthy condemnations. Before Musk could even ban them, the comment section was flooded with tens of thousands of frog emojis and outrageous waving pictures.

Musk himself seems to have had enough fun yet.

He suddenly posted a new pinned thread: "I guess the Democrats are coming after me next."

"Don't even think about it."

"I'm already in heaven now."

"If the Democrats continue to push the situation out of control, I will fly directly to the East."

This post left millions of netizens who were spamming "X" momentarily stunned, and then the comment section exploded like a powder keg: "He ran away?"

"No way! I was just about to go out, and you ran away, bro?"

"That's because they're afraid the Democrats will assassinate him too! You guys don't know anything!"

"Are you even a man?! You've stirred up the waters and now you want to fly east?"

"How the hell are we supposed to find you if you post something on a plane?"

Some Democrats started tagging the Federal Aviation Administration and the Air Force, clamoring for the Air Force to send fighter jets to intercept Musk's private plane.

Others started hashtags such as "Don't let Musk escape", "Remember Kobe", and "Choose a drink for Musk too".

Meanwhile, employees of several of Musk's tech companies, after seeing these posts, began frantically asking each other in their internal group chat: "Is he joking, or is he really going to run away?"

"I guess he really is on the plane."

"Holy crap! What are we going to eat now that he's gone?"

"Yes, what do you want to eat?"

"Old Ma, take us with you—"

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