Chapter 231: Babylon
At the Prime Minister's residence in Dakar, the current Prime Minister, Ronan Marcenas, paced back and forth in his office with irritation. The rhythmic, crisp tap of his expensive leather shoes on the solid wood flooring snapped into his heart, making him feel even more irritable.
"Senator Ronah, Senator Ronah, are you trying to get me killed?" Marcenas's brow was deeply locked, the wrinkles on his face stacked ugly, "Once Lingus finds out his daughter is imprisoned in my place, don't you know what will be the consequence?"
"What could be the consequence?" Korozo Ronah, who was standing aside, asked calmly, "Can he execute the Prime Minister of the Earth Federation in public?"
"Why not? Do you really think he wouldn't dare? These NewTypes are mad men, they can do anything if they are provoked!" Marcenas stopped and glared at him, "You're the only survivor of the Fourteenth Angel Zerel's incident, have you forgotten that the souls of the Senators are still floating on the top of Kilimanjaro?!"
"Didn't you always insist that the Kilimanjaro tragedy was an accident before?" Ronah teasingly raised the corner of his mouth, "If Lingus heard what you said just now, he would have misunderstood that you had some bad thoughts."
Marcenas subconsciously covered his mouth, stumbled for a long time before waving his arm hatefully, "And Noa's son, he is still lying in the hospital. Do you want the Council and A-Laws to go to war? How can we fight him? Can you tear Gundams apart with your hands?"
"So, you are going to be a puppet for the rest of your life, watching the Earth gradually become the moon government's colony?" Ronah snorted disdainfully, "Then I have nothing more to say, Prime Minister, hurry up and contact Lingus. If you hand me over to him voluntarily, maybe you can even get a lighter sentence."
"You wouldn't understand if you hadn't dealt with Lingus when he was really pissed off." Marcenas slapped the desk at his side in depression, "That is clearly out of the realm of humanity, even I, an ordinary person, can feel the fear. Facing him was like facing a higher being on the food chain, a warning from a biological instinct that hasn't faded in 65 million years of human evolution."
"I don't mean to doubt the truthfulness of your words, but what you say is too … ahem, too appalling." Ronah coughed awkwardly in order to hide the urge to laugh, "Even if he did evolve into some unknown creature, he would have to raise funds for the Wheel of Angels through peaceful means, find a crowning excuse for the Kilimanjaro tragedy, and maintain the alliance with Commander Noa carefully. In other words, he still has to play by the rules we set in the vast majority of cases."
Marcenas twitched his eyebrows slightly, "You mean …?"
"I don't have as much experience in politics as you do, and I may be young and impulsive, so please laugh it off after hearing it, Your Excellency." Ronah changed into a smile full of confidence, "I am just an ordinary Federation Senator, not yet great enough to have a mind to consider for the sake of the Moon people or Coordinators. Since Lingus acts according to our ordinary human rules, he must take care of the interests of our ordinary humans."
"Why should the Moon people and the Coordinators be able to look down on all the living beings while billions of people must be forced to squeeze on the depleting Earth and scrimp on food and clothing for the Wheel of Angels? Why should the Federation Council, the spokesman for the will of all mankind, give away the universe to them?"
"Adrien Lingus, Haman Karn, and the traitor Bright Noa, they are the enemies that hinder the progress and happiness of all mankind!"
Hearing this, Marcenas had fully understood what Ronah wanted. In his long political career, creatures like him would appear from time to time. They are ambitious people, who usually have extraordinary abilities, a strong and extraordinary will, attractive ideas, and ambitious goals.
Marcenas is not an ambitious man, but he has been able to sit in the prime minister's chair for many years because he is able to use all resources wisely.
At this thought, Marcenas naturally made a look of interest, "Senator Ronah, no, Korozo Ronah, is it your ideal to get all mankind to the universe?"
"It is enough that only humans who accept our advanced ideas go to the universe; let the wrecks emerge of themselves and perish of themselves on Earth." Ronah's eyes let out a proud light, "Your Excellency, I want to build a new air garden for humanity in the starry sky in my lifetime, and recreate the Babylonian wonder of the cosmic century!"
Babylon is an empire! Marcenas thought to himself. The look in Ronah's eyes reminded him of Char back in the day, who might have chosen to throw Junius 7 toward Earth with such fervent beliefs. If Char were still alive, he and Ronah would have had something in common.
But whether it's Char or Ronah, they all face the same question, and that's the point that concerns Marcenas the most, "What are you going to do about Lingus?"
"First of all, cut off his arms on Earth." Rona's eyes turned cold, "Since Mufti, the leader of the evil society who kidnapped Lingus' daughter and tried to blow up the Wheel of Angels, has already been caught, His Excellency, let's shoot him on the spot without delay."
"When did we catch him? How didn't I—" Marcenas suddenly came to his senses, "You mean … "
"Hathaway Noa is Mufti, and he himself has already confirmed it by putting his handprint on the statement." Ronah's gaze was sharp and incomparable, and his speech was getting faster and faster, "But Hathaway is after all Commander Noa's son, it is better to let him personally sign to confirm. Considering Commander Noa's emotions, we will not tell him Mufti's true identity, right?"
"Afterwards, even if Commander Noa knew the truth, with his character, he& wouldn't turn hostile to the Council. Then we will announce Lingus' daughter as the victim. Even with Bright Noa's good temper, I don't believe that he will still stand on Lingus' side. And that's the time we can take over A-Laws."
"At that time, Lingus' daughter and A-Laws will be both on our hands. Lingus' private life is so rotten but until now have no heir, it is certain that he doesn't have the ability to reproduce, and his daughter must be very important in his mind. With A-Laws, plus Lingus' daughter, we will have enough power to fight him."
Marcenas was silent from the beginning to the end, obviously, he was in a fierce mental struggle. Ronah's machinations were vicious and radical, but there was no denying that the plan was really feasible. He, Ronan Marcenas, is not willing to be a mascot, but he simply has no chance to take power!
Using Ronah's ambition to let him and Lingus fight to the death, and then I get the final profit … is it possible?
"You know better than I do how terrible Lingus is." Ronah issued an ultimatum, "There is no possibility of a step-by-step fight with him. We can only do it, and there will never be a second chance."
"I …" Beads of sweat slid down the side of Marcenas' face, "We … we wait until Hathaway can stand up on his own before executing him. Otherwise, it's out of the process."
"That's natural." Ronah smiled gratefully, "You have made a wise choice."
Outside the office, Liddy Marcenas took two steps back with a shocked look on his face, then darted towards the room where Mineva was under house arrest. As the only son of Prime Minister Marcenas, no one in the Prime Minister's residence would dare to stop him and ask him questions.
"Audrey!" He pushed the door open, entered the room, and then hurriedly closed the door behind him, "Something bad is going to happen!"
"Liddy-senpai?" Mineva, who was reading a book, looked up at him gracefully, "As I have said many times, please call me by my real name. My name is Mineva Lao Zabi, not Audrey Lingus."
"No, you are Audrey to me, you are Audrey in my heart forever!" Liddy shook his head hard, "No, no, no, this is not the time to talk about it. I just went to ask my father why he had you under house arrest, and I overheard that he was planning to use you against Dr. Lingus! You will be in danger at any moment!"
"Isn't that the normal thing to do?" Mineva closed the book and stood up, "There's no better chance than now to deal with Uncle Ade, those lurking ambitious people will jump out one by one on their owns."
"Ahhhhhhh, why, why are you Lingus and I am Marcenas, why can't we be born in a normal family, otherwise, we wouldn't suffer like this!" Liddy excitedly strode over to Mineva and shook her hand, "Audrey, let's run away together!"
Mineva took a half step back to avoid Liddy's outstretched hand, "Even if you can use your identity to get me out of the mansion, how are we going to escape with the airport and the station under strict control?"
"With MS! I have an RGZ-95C ReZEL of my own, it can turn into a plane!" Liddy immediately replied without thinking, "We can drive it to escape away, and I will protect you! Major Aker has been stripped of his military authority, no one can stop us now! And I know the gap in the light defense wall! We can definitely leave Dakar safely!"
"The north-south direction is densely populated, so are we heading east or west?" Mineva patiently followed his train of thought, "Does Senior Liddy intend to take me across the Atlantic or across the Great Desert? How will we get rid of the pursuers after that? How do we erase the trail? How can we determine the coordinates? How can we correct the course? How do we replenish the water supply? How can we repair the MS if it has malfunctioned? Where exactly is the destination? How to fake a legal identity after arriving at the destination? Any other plans after obtaining a legal identity?"
"I …" Liddy was speechless, "Anyway, we must escape away from this place first. People must take the first step in order to step into the future, it is better than waiting to be killed here!"
"Not necessarily." Mineva shook her head firmly, "I think staying in this room will have a better chance of survival than running away aimlessly. Senior Liddy, thank you, I appreciate your kindness."
"Why don't you just get it!" Liddy stomped his foot in hatred, "Just wait for me a little longer, Audrey, and I'll find a way to get you out! For sure!"
After saying that, he ran out again. Mineva looked at the door of the room that was closed from the outside and sighed softly.
"A passionate and simple-minded young man with quite a crush on you." Char eased out from behind the floor-to-ceiling curtains, "Mineva, how do you feel about him?"
"No, I don't want to talk about it now.& Thanks." Mineva turned around to look at him with a complicated expression, "Continue what you were saying earlier, you said you were going to take me to escape?"
"Yes, it's all been arranged." Char subconsciously touched his still handsome face, "Thanks to Ronah's input regardless of the cost, I can finally remove that damn mask, and Nanai was successfully rescued. Next, just let Ronah go to his own death, he is no match for Lingus."
"Nanai Miguel?" Mineva couldn't help but let out a sneer when she heard the familiar name, "It's really quite rare that there hasn't been a replacement yet."
"At my age, it's time to settle down, and you need a full home." Char was oblivious to the young girl's sneer and continued with an air of self-effacement, "There's no time to explain, it's not too late for us to catch up on the road as father and daughter."
"What about Ple if I leave? She's being held in a different part of the mansion." Mineva's brow furrowed slightly, "Without me to vouch for her, she could easily become a victim of political struggle, and I can't just leave her behind."
"Lingus will naturally save her life." Char tossed the hooded cloak in his hand to Mineva, "There's no reason that Lingus hasn't mastered your whereabouts by now. Theoretically, he will be arriving in person at any moment, and we must leave before he shows up."
Mineva casually asked while putting on the cloak, "Where are we going next?"
"To the desert." A nostalgic smile appeared on Char's face, "And I wonder if that tavern is still there."
