Chapter 753: Chapter 755: Capitalist Countries, The Foundation of the Nation
Facing Mona’s puzzled pretty face, Luo An poured himself a glass of water and explained in a deep voice:
"I looked into the disappearance of Jemor Miller a long time ago, but I was unable to dig deeper at the time."
Jemor Miller, one of Charles’s friends, whose name Luo An heard from an old acquaintance of his mother Beverly.
Beverly’s acquaintance didn’t know much about Jemor Miller, only having heard the name. Once aware of this, Luo An, acting on the possibility however slim, promptly began investigating Jemor Miller.
Later, Luo An did indeed find information about Jemor Miller’s disappearance, but like his father’s shooting, the incident happened too long ago. There were no witnesses, no traces at the scene, and limited leads in the dossier, making it impossible for Luo An to continue the investigation.
On the land of the Federation, the saying "live freely, die randomly" is not without merit.
Over the span of twenty or so years, not only had Charles and Beverly’s other friends lost contact or disappeared, but some had also died in car accidents, while others were straightforwardly shot dead.
Unable to continue investigating Jemor Miller, Luo An had to temporarily shift his focus onto others.
Just now, from Mona’s introduction, when he heard that Leiden Perelman was a senior executive at a nuclear energy company, Luo An immediately remembered the name Jemor Miller.
Because twenty-some years ago, Jemor Miller was precisely working as a manager at a nuclear power plant.
After listening to Luo An’s account, Mona fell into silence for a few seconds, then quickly started typing on the computer keyboard. Moments later, looking at the information she found, she began to analyze with a frown:
"Twenty-some years ago, the scale of the Illinois Nuclear Energy Company was not as large as it is now.
In the fourth month following the ** leak incident, Leiden Perelman ascended to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer.
It was also after this incident, under Leiden Perelman’s leadership, that the Illinois Nuclear Energy Company began to develop rapidly.
In the four months before his promotion, Jemor Miller disappeared, Charles Greenwood died, and the law enforcement officers who went to investigate were shot in the back and ruled as suicides... Luo An, these coincidences are just too coincidental."
Luo An drank the water in his glass in one go and sneered:
"Indeed, it’s more coincidental than buying a lottery ticket and hitting five million dollars on the first try."
Looking at the information on the computer, Mona rubbed her temples and asked in confusion:
"Luo An, I remember your father Charles was a professor specializing in accounting.
The place where Jemor Miller worked is a nuclear power plant, which might relate to the ** leakage incident, considering professional associations, but how could it be related to your father?"
"It’s possible that Jemor Miller told my father about something."
Luo An’s eyes narrowed slightly; the Illinois Nuclear Energy Company is a private enterprise, and its business and development are up to the board of directors.
The character of various companies within the Federation is well known; social and safety benefits are never within their considerations. Making money and distributing dividends are their fundamental goals.
Therefore, when disasters strike, companies in the Federation never take the initiative in aiding with relief efforts, as the prices for essential goods under their control will certainly soar, with a 50% increase being seen as "conscientious" and a 200% increase being the norm.
The Federation Government has no power to intervene since the Federation is a capitalist country. If the government doesn’t allow price increases, can that still be capitalism? That would shake the foundation of the nation!
After a few seconds of silence, Mona looked up at Luo An and asked in a focused tone:
"Luo An, what are you planning to do?"
Leiden Perelman held a social status that was anything but ordinary. Using physical means might be simple, but it could also bring some unpleasant troubles to oneself.
Luo An patted Mona on the shoulder, smiling:
"Don’t worry, you’ve worked hard. Leave the rest to me."
Mona slightly furrowed her brows, nodded without saying a word, and after briefly discussing, she stood up and left the study.
Sitting down in his chair, Luo An narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the information on his computer. After pondering for a moment, he typed a few keys and turned the page to Wall Street’s stock trading platform.
In the following week, the states on the Federation East Coast were very peaceful. During the day, city councilors and state legislators took turns delivering speeches, while at night gangs, bandits, and robbers alternately fought or robbed banks. Every day was a scene full of vitality and freedom with everything in full bloom.
Time quickly moved to the end of November. When preparing to get off work at night, journalists from Jewish and non-Jewish media in New York, Washington D.C, Philadelphia, and other places all found an envelope in their cars.
The content inside was not much, but aside from reports of the Illinois Nuclear Energy Company’s radioactive water leak incidents over the past thirty years and the negative impact on the local area, there was also a list including the names of other media outlets, all marked with a check.
Journalists from various media immediately understood that all media had received this envelope.
In the rush to be the first to publish the news, they quickly got out of their cars, hurried back to their companies, discussed the matter with their editors at the fastest pace, and then reported it out.
On the first day of December, people in more than a dozen states including New York State, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and others were in an uproar. Radioactive leaks had been occurring for over two decades, and they had been kept in the dark?!
That morning, a multitude of protest groups and demonstrators appeared in the major cities of various states.
Behind banners reading "Oppose Racial Discrimination" and "President Eats Shit," they added phrases like "Oppose Reckless Emission" and "The Public Deserves the Right to Know," starting large street marches that drew even more media attention and reporting.
In just one morning, the name of Illinois Nuclear Energy Company resonated throughout the Federation East Coast. Many residents living in the contaminated areas, upon learning of the news, cursed loudly and joined the ranks of the demonstrators.
Some middle-class families, after finding out, could no longer hold back either, as they had also been living in the contaminated areas, equally unaware of the situation.
That afternoon, a group of middle-class lawyers stood out and publicly expressed their willingness to sue for the deceived residents in the contaminated areas for free, seeking benefits and compensation for them.
As time went on, the incident grew bigger and bigger. On the fifth day, several electoral candidates’ opponents stated in their speeches that should they take office, they would definitely fight for the rights of the people in the contaminated areas!
Whether these words were true or not, nobody knew, but what could be seen was an immediate spike in their approval ratings!
Without waiting for more electoral competitors to enter the fray, numerous media started the second wave of exposés, revealing details about the deaths of investigators related to the case from twenty years ago—car accidents, fires, gunshots to the back, suicide... all kinds of shocking ways to die!
Several proactive journalists even found relatives of the victims from back then. As these relatives tearfully recounted the stories in front of the television, the public became even more astonished and enraged, leading to an even larger scale of demonstrations the next day.
When the public learned that Leiden Perelman had been the key figure of Illinois Nuclear Energy Company back then, many started chanting slogans against Leiden Perelman during the marches, vehemently cursing "Leiden Perelman eats shit."
Seeing this opportunity, some businesses with unbelievable speed produced dolls and toys somewhat resembling the image of Leiden Perelman, selling them to the angry public to vent their frustration.
This act, after all, was suspected of infringing the image of Leiden Perelman, and while these companies sold their products, they had already prepared their lawyers for potential lawsuits.
But Leiden Perelman had no mood to deal with them at this time; what was driving him to distraction was another group of people: his fellow Jews.