With her conspicuous position, it was impossible for Amos to not notice Emilia from the stage, and he couldn’t help but frown.
The crimson-haired girl looked as delicate and impeccable as ever, but whenever he saw her, he couldn’t help but feel disgusted from the bottom of his heart.
Especially with Crystal clinging to her right hand like a baby that was afraid of being lost in the crowd, even though her mother was right next to her.
The silver-haired boy almost shattered his teeth in hate, but recalling how much scrutiny he was under today, he still held back, if only barely.
Of course, his disgusted expression was still caught on camera, and many people couldn’t help but speculate on the thoughts of this mysterious rich boy.
Before long, however, the debate finally started, and the topic immediately caused heated discussions.
’The Role of Radical Commercialization in Oriana’s Successful Transformation’ was often covered by international media, but seldom discussed openly by Oriana’s own citizens.
This was no coincidence, as many believed doing so would be challenging their government’s bottom line, and everyone knew just how ruthless this ‘pushover’ government could be when that happened.
Like any other debate, the students were divided into two teams, one for and one against.
Amos Black led his team to speak in favor of the government’s radical policies, while his competitors argued that the same results could be achieved with more gentle means.
It may not be clear to the citizens of Oriana, but the international audience couldn’t help but feel that the whole thing was scripted.
Even though they were opponents, both sides seemed to be praising their government to the high heavens, though one did it more subtly than the other.
Oriana’s success wasn’t a secret to anyone in the world, but their actions simply couldn’t be replicated.
Not to mention being able to nurture local snakes to grow big enough to compare to behemoths like the Black Tiger and White Deer, most governments knew they wouldn’t be able to bear the backlash of taking the same steps.
For the sake of economic growth, Oriana had ignored its own laws, any semblance of order, and even basic human rights.
Moreover, which government would be comfortable handing over so much power to private organizations?
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that if the two top organizations of the country joined hands, the government itself might change hands. How could such a thing be acceptable?
To top it off, the happiness and satisfaction of the population wasn’t that much higher than some of the more impoverished nations, except for a few major cities such as the Green Leaf.
What was more hilarious was that ‘Green Leaf’ was exactly the city with the least government control. And Red Plum, the capital, was the city with the highest crime and civil dissatisfaction, making the situation seem even worse for the government.
Even if they could replicate Oriana’s success, no one was foolish enough to do so.
Amos Black praising such a ‘revolutionary government’ that most considered stupid and incompetent, if not outright deplorable, was the equivalent of making himself look like a clown on the international stage.
Moreover, his overly eloquent and snappy responses, when combined with his ‘I didn’t even have to think about it’ expression, immediately pissed many people off.
Whenever the camera panned to the audience, people couldn’t help but pay attention to Emilia’s expression.
After all, not only was she freshly famous, but also the favored princess of the White Deer Corporation. People couldn’t help but wonder how much she agreed with the silver-haired boy.
”She doesn’t look too happy?”
”No, but I can’t tell.”
”Compared to her cheerful look yesterday, this is quite a contrast, right? She clearly doesn’t agree!”
Of course, while many genuinely looked at her for her ‘response’, many more just wanted to brush the gorgeous girl’s face with their eyes.
”I thought she was like a beautifully blooming flower when she smiled, so enchanting and beautiful, but I like this noble and elegant look too!”
”Right? I also think a beauty of her level should be more aloof. Otherwise, she’ll break just too many hearts.”
”I don’t mind at all if she breaks mine and steps on it over and over.”
”Mom, I can, too!”
”Hey, isn’t your focus all wrong???”
Meanwhile, the debate had now entered a ‘heated’ stage.
Amos snorted coldly. “The policies you criticized not only didn’t harm the people, but also managed to improve their living conditions from being utterly impoverished to what they are now.”
The opponent team defended. “Even if the living conditions of our citizens now are comparable to most developed countries, people can still be happy when they are poor, and sad when they’re rich. Is there a point in prosperity if it doesn’t come with happiness?”
The silver-haired hero grinned. “People can only be dissatisfied with things when they aren’t trying to desperately survive. Does that not speak for itself?”
And then he proceeded to cite multiple ‘public studies’ that showed off how impeccable his argument was, with the general standard of living rising by leaps and bounds over the past half century.
It seemed like no matter what argument the opponent threw his way, Amos didn’t need even half a second to process an impeccable response.
Not only that, he was also able to back all his arguments with supporting data, leading many to be both impressed and skeptical.
Was the Black Tiger’s heir really so smart and capable that he could remember hundreds of studies by heart, and counter his opponent’s arguments almost before they were finished saying it out loud?
The debate ended without much suspense, with the opponent being so ruthlessly suppressed by Amos Black that it was impossible for the results to go any other way.
”Sheesh, I think this debate competition probably had a hundred times more rehearsals than the first day’s theater performance.”
Such statements were echoed by many, both locally and abroad, though the people actually attending in person still remained civil. After all, few could afford offending Amos Black, and fewer still wanted to make a negative impression on Emilia at the same time.
Of course, there was nothing stopping them from saying whatever they want once they were in a less public setting, without all the cameras around.
”I was a little stupid to have any expectations of a high-school debate competition, and even more stupid to think Amos Black would have anything good to say.”
”Hey, you can’t be blamed. The theater play was good, even if it was a little unreasonable, so it’s not wrong to have high expectations.”
”Well, hopefully, the next few days don’t keep getting consecutively worse.”
The sentiments abroad were much, much worse, and Amos became the target of public criticism overnight.
Under normal circumstances, there would still be more people admiring his ‘intelligence’ and ‘eloquence’, but the key to their judgment remained in the nature of the topic itself.
Most people valued their freedom and safety above everything else, and no one wanted their own government to follow in Oriana’s footsteps.
With their law and order collapsed and only the richest of the rich seeing any tangible ‘benefits’, what exactly was the point if their economy grew by leaps and bounds?
Moreover, the introduction of these reforms guaranteed all the drawbacks, while the benefits still depended on chance.
Was there a worse deal in the world?
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