Stephanie leaned nervously against her father's chest.
In her hand, she still held a lollipop.
It had been given to her by the plump police officer named Casare when they boarded the boat.
"We're here! We've arrived at Guadalupe Island!" she didn't know who suddenly shouted with excitement. Stephanie also mustered up her spirits, looking off into the distance, only to see a blurry silhouette.
She widened her eyes.
As the boat slowly drew closer, the view became clearer.
There were quite a few people on the dock, waving and cheering. Stephanie hadn't seen such a lively and festive scene in a long time, and a smile of excitement slowly spread across her young face.
Clang~
The ship docked.
Casare walked down the gangway and handed the name list to a city hall staffer, "There are a total of 301 people. You take care of their accommodations, a few directors up there have said to keep a special eye on them."
He flipped through the list, pointing to one name, "Vicks Eric Burnt." There was also his photo, a middle-aged man with a mature look, already balding.
Graduated from the University of Sydney, School of Civil Engineering!
A senior designer at the Mexican Department of Transportation.
He was indeed a high-level talent who, after listening to Victor's speech, decisively resigned and brought his family north to join Victor.
In Mexico, there was no future in road repair...
Damn drug traffickers didn't care about roads at all, just one blast and down it went, whether it was concrete or asphalt, it was scrapped.
What?
You say Mr. Victor also fires cannons?
That's different, there must be a problem with the road, otherwise, how could an ordinary road be shattered with just one shot?
The city hall staff were previously rescued university students, young and inexperienced at work, but enthusiastic, and most importantly, they weren't yet adept at deception.
"I understand, leave it to me."
Casare nodded, waved toward the ferry, signaling the officers to let people through. The crowd instantly rushed down and the local residents serving as "volunteers" warmly met them.
To provide housing for newcomers, Guadalupe Island implemented a "hosting" model, which meant having these newcomers live with local residents. This was popular in the Latin American region, and many students spent their initial time in a new environment this way.
It could narrow the distance between both parties, endear the newcomers to the locale, and also for... oversight.
Who knew if there was any bad seed among them?
Low sobs and mournful music filled the air.
Victor had personally come to mourn a student named Jose Sanchez Chavez!
Standing beside the coffin, Victor looked at the dense array of cameras and the friends and classmates who had come. He stuffed the speech he held in his pocket, "I wrote a speech all last night, but I realized, some greatness cannot be described with words."
"Jose Sanchez Chavez, a 19-year-old college student, gave his life for his ideals. He was a great Mexican warrior who fell on the frontlines of the drug war. He died under the enemy's gunfire, but his spirit deserves to be forever remembered and mourned."
"Death is never the end; it is oblivion that truly finishes us!"
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"I've decided to award him the Guadalupe Island Anti-Drug Hero Medal and will hang his photo in the police station's hall of honor, so that all officers can learn from his selfless spirit."
"God bless him, and may he rest in peace."
Victor bowed deeply to the coffin.
The police officers behind him also bowed.
Chavez was dressed in the clothes his mother made for him last, riddled with bullet holes, adorned with a medal.
The clothes were beautiful!
Finally, as the mournful music played, four officers carried his coffin to burial. Since his family had all been killed by drug traffickers, his teacher, the closest person to him, with tearful eyes, covered the first mound of soil.
Everyone quietly watched as the coffin was buried.
On his gravestone was written a phrase: ¡Aquí yacen los verdaderos héroes, el amor puro! (Here lie the true heroes, pure love!)
After the funeral,
the teacher called out to Victor.
Grabbing his hand, with a look that still carried sadness, "Sir, Mexico will win the war on drugs, won't it?"
"Everyone will have the opportunity to study, all children won't have to hide in their homes in fear, and all teachers will be able to stand in the classroom to impart knowledge, right?"
The teacher was quite old, like an elder making his last "request" to Mexico.
Such a modest request, for which Mexicans had struggled for over a hundred years!
Victor took a deep breath, gripping the teacher's hand tightly, "Yes, please believe, the fruits of victory will soon blossom across the whole of Mexico, and we will win the war on drugs! Mexico will prevail! Justice will prevail!"
Some countries are truly rotten.
But some people will give their lives for their ideals.
The cause of justice is never short of comrades.
...