Chapter 656 - 306: Cutting Off the Supply

Five corporate giants, all at the same time and under different pretexts, took the exact same action.

They cut off all supplies.

Ethan stood nearby, his face pale as he looked at the letters.

"They’re declaring war on us."

"Pittsburgh’s medical reserves were already low. At the current rate of consumption, the emergency room’s trauma medications will only last three days. We’re already out of medication for chronic illnesses."

"Leo, this is a siege."

"They want to starve Pittsburgh into submission, to force the citizens to revolt out of fear."

’Mr. President,’ Leo thought.

’They’ve made their move. It’s even more vicious than I imagined.’

Roosevelt’s voice echoed in his mind.

’This is perfectly normal, Leo.’

’Because you’re trying to shake their very foundations. When you try to snatch food from their plate, they’re going to bare their fangs.’

’Laws, morals, social responsibility... in the face of profit, it’s all bullshit.’

’Right now, they’re using people’s lives as bargaining chips.’

Roosevelt’s voice turned cold.

’They’re gambling. Gambling that you’ll crumble at the sight of dead bodies, and that you’ll get on your knees and beg them just to quell the panic.’

’This, too, is politics.’

Leo stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

The city outside was still running, its streets bustling with traffic.

But Leo knew that beneath those seemingly calm streets, panic was spreading like a virus.

Without insulin, diabetics would die.

Without antibiotics, those with infections would die.

Without dialysis solution, kidney failure patients would die.

These deaths wouldn’t happen all at once. They would be scattered across every corner of the city, taking place in bedrooms late at night and in the hallways of emergency rooms.

But in the end, the bill for all of this would fall on his head—on Leo Wallace’s head.

"Turn on the TV."

Leo said to Ethan.

Ethan picked up the remote and pressed the power button.

The screen lit up.

It was the largest local news channel, the same outlet that was usually Leo’s harshest critic.

On the screen was a crying mother.

It was Linda, the woman who had just broken down at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

A reporter shoved a microphone in her face, asking a leading question.

"Ma’am, who do you think caused all of this? Before, your medicine was expensive, but at least you could buy it. Why is it that now, you can’t get it even if you have the money?"

Linda was crying, her words coming out incoherently.

"I don’t know... They said there was a problem with logistics... My child..."

The feed cut back to the studio.

The anchor wore a grim expression.

"A problem with logistics? That’s a pathetic excuse."

The anchor held up a chart.

"Our investigation has found that just sixty miles away in Ohio, all the pharmacies are fully stocked. Why are supplies only cut off in Pittsburgh?"

"There is only one answer."

A photo of Leo appeared on the screen.

"Because our mayor, Mr. Leo Wallace, has launched an irresponsible war on our healthcare system."

"To push his so-called Mutual Aid Alliance, to display his tough stance against capital, he has provoked every single pharmaceutical company."

"This is arrogance."

The anchor’s voice rose in pitch.

"Mayor Wallace’s arrogance has severed our lifeline!"

"He’s sacrificing your children’s access to medicine for the sake of his own laughable political achievements!"

"He has turned Pittsburgh into an isolated island!"

"People of Pittsburgh, as you watch your families suffer from this medicine shortage, I want you to remember who caused all of this!"

"It’s not the pharmaceutical companies—they’re just mitigating risk. It’s Leo Wallace!"

CLICK.

Leo turned off the TV.

This pathetic attempt at manipulating public opinion was an insult to the voters.

He knew in his heart that the people waiting in line understood the situation perfectly well.

They knew whose hand was choking them.

But Pfizer’s headquarters were in New York, and Eli Lilly’s offices were in Indianapolis. Those places were too far away.

They couldn’t reach them; they couldn’t even get past the front desk of these companies.

The only person they could get to was Leo, and the only place they could besiege was City Hall.

Leo let out a self-mocking laugh.

’So... good guys deserve to have a gun pointed at them?’

But such self-mockery couldn’t change the fact that the insulin in the warehouse was running desperately low.

Ethan’s phone began to buzz frantically.

"Boss, the PR department is about to fold." Ethan glanced at his screen. "The complaint lines are blowing up. A few hundred people have already gathered outside City Hall, and they’re demanding the supply be restored."

"Also, that ’Logistics Fairness Alliance’ has popped up again. They’re spreading rumors online that the pharmaceutical companies will resume shipments immediately if we just repeal the ’Drug Benefit Transparency Act.’"

"They’re trying to force our hand."

Leo said nothing.

He was thinking.

If he were to compromise now and repeal the act, the medicine would indeed return.

But that would mean he had lost.

It would mean that Pittsburgh’s reforms had failed completely, allowing the insurance and pharmaceutical companies to continue bleeding the people dry without restraint.

And the moment he showed any weakness, his political career would be over.

Leo leaned back in his chair, his fingers drumming lightly on the desk.

"These disgusting capitalists." Leo stared at the stack of cutoff notices, his eyes filled with a cold fury. "To protect their fat profit margins, they won’t even spare a second for the dying."

"In their eyes, the people of Pittsburgh are no different from lab rats."

Leo’s fingers stopped their drumming, and he shot to his feet.

"Ethan, contact every city in the Industrial Revival Alliance. Immediately."

Leo strode over to Ethan, his words coming out in a rapid-fire burst.

"Tell the mayors of Erie, Scranton, and every other member city to do an immediate inventory of their local pharmacies. As of right now, all life-saving medications within the Alliance are being put under a unified distribution protocol."