Chapter 53: The Truth is Only One

"The Burning Artillery Fire" became the front-page photograph in newspapers across the entire United States the very next day.

Logan’s casual remark over the radio about "fireworks as lonely as snow" managed to stir the hearts of countless lonely young housewives.

However, very few media outlets actually mistook them for mere fireworks.

Instead, what followed were incredulous questioning, furious denunciations, and a complete shattering of worldview-driven chaos.

Across the nation, the gamblers who had suffered devastating losses felt their states of mind experience a squared explosion.

At least the people of Chicago got to watch a lively "fireworks show," and even received free drinks afterward—following the artillery bombardment, the North Side arena similarly offered complimentary alcoholic beverages to the audience, as if declaring a grand victory!

As for those outside, they could only guard their radios, listening as their wagers were blasted into oblivion by Chicago gangsters using cannons!

When they also heard the gangsters giving away free drinks over the radio, quite a few people were so furious they smashed their radios right then and there!

Was that free? That was the money they had bet!

That is simply how the world works; the joy of one side serves to accentuate the sorrow of the other. The extreme emotions of humanity were fully embodied and released at this very moment.

The world outside Chicago had been suffused since yesterday with an almost manic atmosphere, a mixture of supreme shock, towering fury, and absurd incomprehension.

Gangsters plus cannons? How on earth could these two concepts be linked together?

Having submachine guns in everyone's hands was already outrageous enough, sniper rifles challenged the imagination, and now... mortars?!

It completely transcended everyone's cognition and understanding of the word "gangster"!

If this keeps escalating, will the next step be gangsters calling in airstrikes?

Will we soon see destroyer warships belonging to the Chicago mafia patrolling Lake Michigan?

What the hell kind of street gang was this? These were entrenched warlords!

The conservative faction, which had long been suppressed by the wave of "winner-take-all" philosophy, constrained by certain forces from voicing their opinions, and boiling with suppressed anger over the absurd "arena battles," finally found their vent. Like a breached floodgate, they poured out their long-pent-up indignation—

From the federal level down to local jurisdictions, exactly how many links in the chain had rotted away? How immense must the dereliction of duty be to nurture such a lawless monster?!!

Whose responsibility was it precisely that this country had fallen into a state where demons and ghosts ran rampant, and the nation was on the brink of collapse?

Naturally, the primary target of the vitriol was *The Sun*, the newspaper that had provoked "this absurd, depraved so-called arena battle" and "constantly filmed movies to mislead the public"!

Yet *The Sun* felt deeply aggrieved!

We merely suggested the arena battle, but it actually happened because the people of Chicago voted for it ballot by ballot!

Filming movies was only to record this unprecedented event; how could we possibly have known about the hidden strength of the gangsters if they didn't voluntarily reveal it?

Surely you aren't going to accuse *The Sun* of delivering cannons to the mafia, are you? We are just a small, helpless, and vulnerable newspaper.

When all is said and done, wasn't it the dereliction of duty by government officials at all levels?

We are wronged!

*The Sun*'s self-defense was written in words dripping with blood; even its punctuation marks exuded the sorrow of having its trusting emotions betrayed!

What could the American people do? Naturally, they chose to forgive it!

Didn't you hear Logan publicly blasting the "government's dark hand" on the radio? Big Brother is just such an honest and upright guy; Big Brother was deceived as well, what fault could he possibly have?

Even the most extreme right-wing factions expressed agreement with Logan's "theory of the dark hand"!

Major newspapers fired on all cylinders, directing soul-searching interrogations at every potentially derelict target—

Interrogating the White House in Washington: Is there a massive dark hand within Congress blocking federal law enforcement agencies from doing their jobs?

Interrogating the state government and the municipal authorities of Chicago: Are you condoning the expansion of gang factions? Why did you allow or even tacitly encourage this farce?

Interrogating the War Department: Where on earth did that heavy firepower come from? Was there severe internal corruption and weapons leakage? Have airplanes, tanks, and even poison gas leaked into the hands of gangsters?

Even President Harding was directly named and interrogated: Do you truly know nothing about this dark hand?

"Someone must be held responsible!"—this ultimately became the sole consensus synthesized from all voices.

Meanwhile, the most extreme right-wing conservatives clamored even louder, insisting that "someone's head must roll for this!"

Under overwhelming pressure, President Harding had no choice but to step forward and make a statement, dismissing Logan's "dark hand theory" as the unintelligent rambling of a media man and an unprovoked slander against loyal federal employees.

He announced that the government would specifically dispatch an investigation commission to thoroughly probe any potential dereliction of duty.

The only problem was that the members of the investigation commission seemed to have deeply internalized Logan's "dark hand theory" as well.

White House investigators eyed the state government investigators, thinking that with so much heavy weaponry transported right under their noses, telling us you knew nothing about it is trying to fool ghosts!

Furthermore, anyone with eyes could see that the Illinois state legislature clearly had a majority opposed to prohibition and had constantly fanned the flames of this farce; goodness knows how deep the waters ran here!

Meanwhile, state government investigators eyed the War Department investigators, thinking that while we might have fanned the flames, we certainly never expected cannons to show up!

In this land of America, who else besides the military could transport such a massive quantity of heavy weaponry under their noses without anyone noticing?

Besides, despite the military staging such a lively exchange of blows with the gangsters in the arena, were there actually any significant losses? Well, rumor has it that the Pentagon is extremely dissatisfied with the drastic post-war defense budget cuts. Could it be...

The waters here are exceptionally deep!

As for the War Department investigators, they eyed the White House investigators, thinking we traced the weapons in the hands of the Chicago gangs and found they were supposed to be exports to South America, yet somehow they mysteriously appeared in Chicago without a trace?

From customs to the Department of the Interior, goodness knows how many departments are entangled in this; this pool of murky water is simply bottomless!

Most crucially, these investigators more or less knew that quite a few of the President's close confidants and friends had operated underground betting rings during this farce, making an absolute fortune. Coupled with the President's flat denials regarding the "dark hand theory"...

Tsk, that denial from the White House... one simply dare not dwell on it too deeply!

As for the glaringly obvious primary culprit, the Chicago mafia—heh, let's not joke around.

When they only had machetes in their hands, they were merely street punks;

When they had pistols in their hands, they became thugs;

When they possessed submachine guns, they turned into vicious outlaws;

And when they had cannons in their hands... well, well, well, my friend, we are all civilized people here. Anything can be discussed civilly by sitting down. Fighting easily damages flowers and grass, how terribly uncivilized!

If anyone were actually to shout like some lunatic that "we must declare martial law, dispatch more regular troops, and blast the Chicago mafia off the face of the earth with even more powerful cannons," they would likely be removed from the commission the moment the words left their mouth.

They couldn't *not* investigate, because the entire nation was demanding an explanation.

Yet they couldn't investigate *everything* either, just in case they actually dug something up!

In the end, the White House investigator blinked: "It seems there is only one truth!"

The state government investigator nodded: "Whatever that truth is, there is no doubt about it!"

The War Department investigator concurred: "We in the Army have no objections to this!"