Chapter 151 Streaking

Thanks to Keigo’s fast-tracking, the Emperor was immediately inducted into the Globalist Party. The faction had an old-school tradition of hosting grassroots town halls and political rallies in local pubs, giving upcoming candidates a soapbox to pitch their platforms to the base.

It was the perfect stage, and the Emperor wasn’t about to waste it.

The moment the previous speaker stepped away from the mic, the Emperor took the stage.

“My fellow humans. Our species is on the fast track to absolute extinction.”

It was a hell of an opening line. The noisy pub instantly went dead silent, every single eye locking onto the towering man at the podium.

“Kaiju. Extraterrestrials. Abominations from beyond our dimension. The illusion of our peaceful existence is crumbling around us, and one wrong step will plunge humanity into an abyss from which we will never return! Yet, our so-called leaders sit comfortably in their offices, peddling a fragile, fake peace. They turn a blind eye to the cosmic horrors at our doorstep, acting smug and complacent while outsourcing our planetary defense to giant aliens and monsters!”

“Mankind needs a real leader! We need a visionary—someone with the iron will to drag our species out of the mud and fight back against the darkness! I have looked across every nation on this Earth, and I have found no one with the spine to do what must be done.

“Therefore, I will do it myself.

“I am officially announcing my candidacy for the first President of the Earth Federation! My only goal is to pave a golden path to an endlessly glorious future for humanity! And even if it demands my very life, I will not stop!”

The man had charisma dialed up to an eleven. Every word struck like a hammer, his aggressive body language perfectly manipulating the rising tension in the room. By the time he slammed his fist on the podium to close the speech, the pub absolutely erupted.

“For humanity!” someone in the back screamed.

The chant caught fire instantly. The entire pub was on their feet, screaming at the top of their lungs until the walls shook.

It only took that one speech. A clip of the rally hit the internet, and the Emperor’s political influence exploded overnight, instantly rocketing him to the top of the polls as the dark-horse frontrunner. Riding the momentum, he immediately pitched a rebranding for the Earth Federation, boldly suggesting they adopt a brand new global crest: the double-headed eagle.

It was a symbol declaring that humanity was no longer weak prey, but a proud, free eagle.

Seeing the double-headed eagle flag, Vane’s mouth twitched.

This old bastard is still obsessing over his Imperium of Man!

The Emperor had serious momentum. Backed by a seemingly bottomless war chest, his poll numbers were skyrocketing. But even in a highly advanced technological era, political parties were still heavily plagued by the old boys’ club mentality.

“Neoth, you’re sitting this one out. Run next term. We’re letting Trundle take the seat this time.”

“You’re going to fall in line, whether you like it or not.”

“The man who sits in the Oval Office is the man we choose.”

“If you try to go rogue on this, we’ll strip your party credentials and throw you out on the street.”

During a closed-door committee meeting, a few of the party’s senior senators put the screws to the Emperor. They demanded he drop out of the race to let a more senior establishment candidate take the presidency, threatening complete excommunication if he refused.

Naturally, the Emperor wasn’t having it. “This is about serving humanity, not kissing the ring. The people decide who gets elected, not a room full of relics.”

But despite his massive public influence, the Emperor’s political roots were too shallow to shake down deeply entrenched special interest groups. No matter how hard he pushed back, the establishment refused to blink.

“Just let me use my psychic powers and vaporize these fools,” the Emperor grumbled to Vane later. “If they keep rigging the game, I won’t even make it on the ballot.”

“No Warp magic. I told you, I’ll handle it,” Vane replied, deciding to personally intervene to keep his quest on track.

That very day, Vane slapped on Cegorach’s Mask of Deceit. Using its flawless shapeshifting illusions, he infiltrated the mansion of one of the loudest opposing senators, knocked the guy out cold, stripped him naked, and tossed him aside.

Next, Vane cracked the senator’s safe and raided his stash of political blackmail. Disguised perfectly as the old politician, Vane bolted out the front door completely butt-naked and went streaking down the middle of the street, loudly leaking every piece of dirty laundry the man had stashed away to the public.

To top it off, Vane bought out a massive bot farm, flooding social media and news boards to completely control the narrative.

In less than twenty-four hours, the senator was socially annihilated. Unable to defend himself, he suffered a total public meltdown and immediately announced his early retirement.

Naturally, the other dissenting senators met the exact same horrific fate.

—

Inside the CEO’s office at Cytech Corporation, a massive flat-screen TV broadcasted breaking news footage of yet another senator sprinting down the avenue in his birthday suit, screaming his own state secrets.

“That is remarkably effective,” the Emperor muttered, staring at the screen in utter disbelief.

“Isn’t this just politics 101? Dig up dirt, deploy the troll farms, and bury the opposition.” Vane shrugged, completely unfazed.

“I understand the blackmail and the bots,” Keigo Masaki said, looking deeply disturbed. “What I don’t understand is… did you have to do the streaking?”

Vane took a calm, measured sip of his tea before answering smoothly. “Nope. I was just curious what it felt like. Besides, I was wearing someone else’s face, so I figured I might as well try it out.”

The Emperor was speechless.

Keigo was speechless.

How do you say something that completely unhinged with a straight face?!