Chapter 59: Recruitment

Chiba raised a single eyebrow slightly, calmly withdrew her hand, and sat back in her seat.

Robert promptly put on his glasses.

Taking up the topic of the press conference, Robert began to speak at length. Chiba listened while flipping through the draft speech handed to her from across the table.

Chiba understood the exact significance of this press conference: if the base refused to hand over the personnel, the conference would be used to fan the flames; if the base handed them over, it would serve to polish the halo of the United Government's humanitarian actions.

Suddenly, her gaze paused.

"Wait," Chiba laid the speech across the table in front of several officials, "could you please explain what this means—'We believe that the same good fortune can be bestowed upon more children'?"

The man opposite her rubbed his nose lightly.

"How should I put it? This is also a public aspiration," Robert said in a calm tone. "I mean no offense, but most of AHgAs's codes of conduct are far too cruel."

"For example?"

"For instance, forcing the Mercury Needles to leave the habitable zones and go fight chelates in the wasteland."

Chiba shrank her neck slightly, squeezing out a double chin. "Do you know where the Mercury Needle recruits are usually found?"

"That is not important," Robert replied flatly. "What is important is that the Mercury Needles are also human beings and deserve to be protected and cherished. The dangers in the wasteland far surpass those in the habitable zones; the difficulty of protection and the price paid are extremely high. Yet, every salvage operation yields fewer than fifty reservists. The Third District is vast, and up to the present, there are a mere two hundred or so active Mercury Needles. Is this reasonable?"

"It is entirely reasonable," Chiba replied. "The distribution of Mercury Needles across districts is closely tied to the local outbreaks of chelate disease; the places where chelate disease erupts most frequently have the greatest number of Mercury Needles. Aside from the two chelate surges in Askia and Hekla over the past few years, where else has there been a large-scale outbreak of chelate disease in the Third District?"

"Indeed, I am speaking precisely of Askia and Hekla," Robert retorted. "They have sounded the alarm that chelate disease is on the rise. Although this evil wind has not yet blown into the habitable zones, it is not far off—and the St. Anne Monastery is a bloody example. This matter concerns the security of the entire Third District, but... can AHgAs truly be trusted?"

"Why not?"

"To this day, you refuse to share your core technology," Robert said deliberately. "The United Government cannot entrust matters of security as vital as this entirely to a foreign organization. It is only a matter of time before we establish our own Mercury Needle contingent, and your side need not make such a fuss about it."

"Well, that gives us something to talk about, Mr. Secretary-General. AHgAs maintains deep cooperation with the First, Fifth, Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Districts—which includes, as you mentioned, the sharing of core technology. However, the mother city of the Third District has not opened its doors to us to this day. Sincerity in cooperation, Mr. Secretary-General—don't you think this is something that needs to be demonstrated mutually by both parties rather than unilaterally?"

Robert remained unmoved. "You booked a surgical procedure after returning from the Fifth District, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"The doctor and the equipment for the surgery were both requisitioned from within the mother city of the Third District—would you not call that sincerity?"

The opposing parties fell silent once more.

The sudden silence at the table made Robert feel as though he had struck Chiba's soft spot. However, Chiba interlaced her fingers behind her head, the corners of her mouth dipping slightly as she gazed at Robert, seeming to ponder something.

This scene brought a slight sense of triumph to Robert.

"If I may ask a bold question..." Chiba suddenly said, "do you happen to have no idea what technology that surgery actually involved?"

"I do not need to know such details." Robert's expression darkened slightly. "Regrettably, Ms. Chiba, it seems we cannot convince each other."

Chiba realized then that Robert clearly did not know that the very technology he had just mentioned—bionic technology—was first shared by AHgAs with the Fourth District, and only after the Third and Fourth Districts signed the 'Catra Mutual Assistance Agreement' was it conditionally shared by the Fourth District with the Third District's core city.

It was stipulated that it could only be used to treat Mercury Needles wounded in chelate confrontation incidents, and required approval from the local AHgAs headquarters.

"Indeed," Chiba propped her chin with one hand. "Pardon me for asking one more question, but I am genuinely curious..."

"Hm?"

"You are merely the municipal officer of Tanyi City, yet when speaking of chelate disease, you seem to be standing on the perspective of the entire Third District. Is this driven by your personal sense of responsibility, or...?"

"I have no comment," Robert replied indifferently.

"Then looking at it from another angle, suppose everything is as you say," Chiba pressed on. "In the future, following the humanitarian spirit of the Third District, we abandon all the wastelands outside the habitable zones and focus solely on security within them—how, then, are we to resolve the recruitment of new Mercury Needles?

"After all, most of our new recruits are discovered in the wasteland. Even if you poached every single recruit from the reserve base, the total number of Mercury Needles in the entire Third District still wouldn't reach three hundred."

"There are many ways," a bureaucratic smile surfaced on Robert's face. "For instance, recruiting Mercury Needles aged twenty-five and above from the other thirteen districts—provided we offer sufficiently high terms."

"Ha... That is indeed a fine method." Chiba nodded in broad agreement. "In five years, I will差不多 (almost) be considering retirement myself. When that time comes, might I also come chat with the Secretary-General?"

Robert was slightly surprised for a moment, but quickly returned to normal. "Of course. We would very, very much welcome senior professionals like you."

"Then what kind of terms did you offer to Avinash? Perhaps I could use his standards as a reference."

For a moment, except for Robert, the expressions of the other individuals showed a hint of confusion.

Avinash...

It sounded like a name from the Eleventh District.

Robert's face resumed its habitual coldness. "Let's discuss that after Your Excellency turns twenty-five; it is still too early to speak of such things now."

"Very well," Chiba stood up, pulling back the chair behind her. "Then I wish for your political career to last until the day I retire. Do any of you have anything else you would like me to take back?"

The others looked at Robert without speaking.

Robert raised his eyes to look at Chiba.

"Nothing else, Ms. Chiba," a smile of absolute certainty rested on the old man's face. "And I also wish that you survive safely until that day."

Chiba pressed her lips together and let out a sigh-like laugh.

"Please be sure to remember the words you just spoke," she looked at Robert. "That is the 'reason'."