Master of Kaidan
Chapter 329: Every Identity Has Its Place

Chapter 329: Chapter 329: Every Identity Has Its Place

Another day’s morning found itself in a room where the sun, stripped of its warmth by the upper-level solar equipment, failed to heat adequately. A row of formally dressed individuals sat in front of the seats by the door.

These people were both male and female, of varying ages and skin colors. Although they predominantly wore formal attire, the details revealed much diversity.

Some wore pure gold tie clips or pins to signify their worth, while others chose fabrics free of synthetic fibers. There were also those who deliberately wore attire meant for the opposite gender. At a glance, they all seemed like social elites, but upon closer inspection, they were all sorts of demons and ghosts.

As time ticked by, names were called from the room ahead. Those whose names were announced promptly stood up, while the ones who had entered earlier slowly made their exit.

Though the rotation occurred every few seconds, the number of waiters in front of the bench showed no sign of diminishing; in fact, their numbers seemed to increase as time went on.

"George, is Mr. George Augustus here?"

"I am here." A middle-aged man with light brown, medium short hair, appearing in his early forties with a small mustache and no apparent artificial body modifications, stood up from his seat.

He was dressed in a fitting suit. Everything about him seemed quite ordinary except for his tie, which was boldly printed with Libra and a skull.

He tightened his tie and entered the room with a warm smile, led by the clerk who had just called his name to a desk.

As the man sitting there stood up to leave, without waiting for George to sit down, the clerk reached out and said,

"Application report."

"Here." George Augustus handed over a USB drive, which the clerk proficiently inserted into an adjacent port. As the scanning program activated, a red light emitted from the device in front of her, scanning back and forth over George’s body until a green light indicated his qualifications were correct. Only then did he turn his attention to the content displayed on the screen.

However, the instant his gaze met the text, his pupils noticeably trembled. He then frowned and looked up at George, saying,

"Mr. Augustus, are you sure you want to use this as your campaign slogan?"

"Of course." George Augustus calmly nodded, and the clerk did not say more. She just saved and stamped the file, entered it into the review procedure, and then continued,

"All set. This is your unlimited flow account. You can now use this account to post election-related content on any public platform. Of course, this is only effective during the election period. If you engage in misconduct and do not get elected, you will be held accountable after the election ends."

"I understand." George Augustus took the USB drive, turned, and left the office. Despite his internal critique of using such an office model in 2077, thinking of the institutions on Earth that still operated with decades-old equipment made it somewhat understandable.

After all, being ancient signifies having endured the test of time.

...

The mayor of Isgray City is determined through a universal election, but this position itself does not hold much power. Just like how Victoria, even if as Prime Minister, was mostly manipulated by the entire bureaucracy most of the time, this cyberpunk-style city’s so-called mayoral elections were also more of a business venture.

As long as one possesses an "identity" in this city, anyone is eligible to apply to run. Moreover, one can still register up to one day before the election ends.

Candidates first need to register their campaign slogan, after which it gets entered into a public notary system for documentation and certification. They can then use their real-name account to post their campaign speeches on various media platforms, and of course, other things as well.

It is worth mentioning that as long as one participates in the election, prior to the voting period, the account possesses the highest level of free speech. No matter what is posted, it will not be throttled, blocked, controlled, or shutdown.

Even a female mayor who was elected sixteen years ago managed to win the election by posting videos of selling tea.

In a sense, rather than saying it’s an election for mayor, it’s more like a national idol selection program with election attributes, with the videos and speeches released by these candidates, as well as the private retaliation and assassinations due to their speeches, being the highlights of this show.

Capital doesn’t mind having the poor or even gangs participate, as they are already providing entertainment as the "fools."

As for blasting the major corporations... Come on, which corporation isn’t blasted? As long as it makes money, you can blast it every day—it doesn’t matter!

And Mr. George Augustus, as a candidate, his campaign slogan was—

"Reject false propaganda, fight feudal superstition, boycott entertainment to death, and return to the pastoral age!"

...

"Ladies and gentlemen, don’t you think our world has already gone astray? For the sake of selling cling wrap and visual aids, even demons are concocted, so if bullet sales decline in the future, should we start wars? Wake up! This world doesn’t need so much falsehood..."

"Boss, this guy really isn’t afraid of dying, huh? He dares to say things like that!" A Mobike Gang member, while watching the election speech video, could not help wiping off the machine oil that seeped out, and the boss rolled his eyes and said:

"What can’t be said? Did he name names? Just think about it, who are the people he’s insulting?"

"He insulted Constantin, Ziguang, Dor..."

"Idiot!" The boss quickly threw a punch to forcibly interrupt the underling’s potentially suicidal speech, then glared and said:

"When did he ever insult those companies? He’s insulting feudal superstition and false propaganda! Right, and the streamers who promote entertainment to death and the spectators who enjoy the spectacle."

"Is there a difference?" The underling got up, rubbing his dented armor plate while muttering quietly, but the boss sighed, and although he was too lazy to explain, to ensure this fool wouldn’t implicate himself with his loose talk, he still spoke out:

"Think about it again, actually everyone he’s insulting, is himself!"

"Right! The streamer addicted to entertainment, the Ghost Catcher spreading false propaganda, the seller of counterfeit goods..." the underling counted on his fingers, somewhat speechless, and then said:

"Did this gentleman buy an identity just to argue with himself for fun?"

"That’s right! But with this argument, he’s making money!" The boss calculated silently the revenue recently earned from follow-up investments, and couldn’t help but remark. However, he then shook his head and said:

"The current problem is, this gentleman will surely face assassination; go prepare some manpower, he might hire bodyguards later."

"Eh? But you said he’s only insulting himself, why would he still be assassinated? It can’t be that he will kill himself, right?" The underling couldn’t grasp the concept, and the boss could only sigh and say:

"Even if he doesn’t kill himself, those counterparts who follow the trend don’t know that! Plus, even if there aren’t any conflicts of interest, to boost ratings, a candidate could still be assassinated, understand?!"