Chapter 44: If You Are a Real Man, Step Into the Arena (Seeking Follow-up Reads, Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

Logan and his team, of course, had also seen the latest reports from their Washington counterparts.

There was no helping that; proximity gave them the home-field advantage.

However, the *Sun* had its own unique advantages—

For instance, being closer to Chicago... Bah! What kind of advantage was that?

The real advantage was causing chaos!

"I have an idea!"

Just as Richard was worrying about whether the Irish Mob would also get dragged into Washington's insane crackdown, an idea suddenly popped into his head. He hurriedly roped the entire editorial department into a discussion.

Upon hearing his idea, everyone in the editorial room was petrified, their jaws dropping to the floor.

Even Logan was left dumbfounded. This old man Richard was simply too unhinged and imaginative!

Ever since he had been messed with by local lunatics like Al Capone and O'Donnell, Logan had vowed never to underestimate American madmen again.

To his surprise, he still hadn't overestimated them enough!

Damn it, the craziest person of all turned out to be you, Richard, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes!

After the others recovered from the shock, they began to shiver with excitement!

God!

Although it sounded insane, if it were actually pulled off, it would be enough to go down in the annals of journalism and psychiatric hospital history (strike that)!

And so, energized as if high on adrenaline, Logan and the rest began to flesh out and refine Richard's idea.

The next day, just as Chicagoans were worrying about the war escalating, the *Sun* pulled off an epic, mind-boggling stunt.

The *Sun* first vividly described the brutality of the "Chicago War," claiming that "the blood of federal heroes has stained the streets in pursuit of freedom..."

Huh? "Streets of freedom?"

Yes, this led to their bizarrely imaginative core argument—

The *Sun* argued that one side of the warring parties supported the freedom to drink, while the other supported prohibition; this was clearly a war of conviction!

Then, executing a sharp turn, the article began to weigh the pros and cons solemnly: "We Chicagoans respect the inviolable war of conviction, but we do not wish to see the war escalate, as it is prone to harming the innocent, ruining the city's appearance, and preventing everyone from enjoying a peaceful drink in peace (strike that)."

Finally, they dropped a proposal that would break everyone's backs: "Why don't you step into the ring and, like true knights, hold a public, fair, and transparent arena battle?"

The *Sun* also stated that they would send representatives to contact the Chicago gangs, and should there be a response, they hoped Chicagoans would consider whether they wanted to witness such an arena showdown.

When this edition of the newspaper hit the streets, even though Chicagoans felt they had seen it all that year, they still almost sprained their backs in collective shock!

***

Had everyone at the *Sun* been drinking heavily?

No, even if they were dead drunk, they couldn't have come up with such an utterly absurd proposal!

Yet, immediately following the initial shock, Chicagoans began to extremely seriously discuss its... feasibility!

God forgive our absurdity, but this sounded way too thrilling!

This was going to be a live-streamed, live-action war with unlimited firepower!

What excited Chicagoans even more was that the gangs actually responded.

The Mafia stated in the newspapers that this was a fantastic proposal!

They designated a large liquor warehouse in the South Side as the "Freedom Arena," filled it to the brim with booze, and declared they would defend it while the Prohibition Bureau was welcome to attack!

And if "those bureaucrats and cowards from Washington, who dare not face a man-to-man duel, don't have the guts to come," then all the fine liquor and whiskey in the warehouse would be given away for free to every Chicagoan thirsting for the freedom to drink!

Following suit, the Irish Mob set up an identical "Freedom Arena" in the North Side, issuing an even more righteous and stirring manifesto:

"Citizens of Chicago! Perhaps in the eyes of some, we are criminals. But today, we step into the arena for a greater goal: our freedom in Chicago! The basic freedom to drink a beer or sip a whiskey! Does the federal government want to point a gun at our heads and tell us what we can and cannot drink? Not a chance!"

"For Freedom!"

Anyone could tell at a glance that this was ghostwritten by some anonymous internet troll.

Meanwhile, the *Sun* immediately released a free special supplement with a simple and brutal poll on the front page: "Do you support resolving the conflict between the Prohibition Bureau and Chicago's drinking faction through an 'Arena Battle of Convictions'? [Support] / [Oppose]."

A huge blank space was left at the bottom for citizens to clip out the ballot, fill it out, and drop it into designated ballot boxes set up at street corners—newsstands and kiosks were more than happy to take on such a task.

——Al Capone and O'Donnell would naturally agree.

Even if they didn't grasp the brilliance of it at first, "Han Solo" had tracked them down almost immediately after the *Sun*'s proposal was published, declaring, "This will be the making of the Chosen One!"

"Han Solo" further promised that "the Dark Side of the Force will voluntarily help provide the liquor"—damn it, just to watch the spectacle, Logan was pulling out all the stops this time!

It was a busy night!

"Jason Statham" subsequently appeared, delivering a stash of heavier weaponry, including heavy machine guns and artillery, with the message: Go ahead and boldly wreak havoc, the Dark Side protects you!

What? No manpower to operate these heavy weapons?

Just recruit war veterans! How long has the Great War been over? Veterans were a dime a dozen!

Al Capone and O'Donnell caught on instantly!

This move directly pushed the carnival to its climax.

The streets of Chicago were boiling over!

***

That's right, at first hearing, it sounded absurd!

Upon second hearing, it was still damn well absurd!

Yet gradually, that sense of absurdity began to ferment, transforming into a distorted, uncontrollable excitement.

In the blood of Chicagoans, someone seemed to have inoculated a gene for finding amusement amidst chaos!

Didn't the Prohibition Bureau claim they would defend prohibition with their lives?

Very well, we in Chicago respect your beliefs!

However, Chicago is sick of stealthy alley warfare; we demand a fair and square "War of Convictions"!

If you're men, step out and settle it in the ring!

As the sense of absurdity fermented, Chicagoans discussed the details of the "arena battle" with a strange, excited flush on their faces—

"If we want to watch the battle, where should we stand?"

"We definitely can't get too close, right? After all, it's real bullets and live ammunition!"

"Do the gangsters stand a chance of winning? The Prohibition Bureau is bringing in actual regular troops..."

"Hahaha, I'm more worried that the bigwigs at the Prohibition Bureau don't have the balls to show up!"

"Should we start a betting pool..."

Regardless of whether the Prohibition Bureau dared to accept the challenge, Chicagoans made their own choice first.

Clipping coupons, filling out ballots, casting votes... The entire process turned into a grand carnival of mass participation.

The *Sun* left a three-day voting window, which was plenty of time for all of Chicago to cast a vote that was "full of (extreme fear of missing out on) responsibility"!

At this moment, the entire Prohibition Bureau, upon learning that Chicagoans were pulling off such a surreal stunt, fell silent: ...

Holy shit!

Where the hell are we? What are we doing? Are we losing our minds, or has the whole world gone insane?