Bedah was bewildered, having no idea what was going on.
It was one thing for soldiers from various factions to show up, but why were there Asians in construction worker uniforms and hard hats?
’Judging by the writing on the construction equipment and the look of these people, they must be... from Hua Country?’
As a once-famous journalist, Bedah had some familiarity with Chinese characters. The clothes of one man seemed to bear the words "Third Bureau of China Construction."
Just as Bedah was wondering what on earth was about to happen in the Oasis Hotel, the group strode inside.
Judging by the respectful deference of the government soldiers, the people in construction uniforms were clearly much more welcome.
This was to be expected.
After all, builders are always more popular than destroyers.
It was said that many construction projects in Iraq were undertaken by these people from the East. Iraq was now rapidly shedding the flames and smoke of war, with one reborn city after another rising from the ashes...
Much like the bewildered Bedah, Chen Dongsheng, acting as a representative for Hua Country, was also completely baffled.
Originally, as a representative of China Construction, he had been working perfectly fine in Iraq. He never expected to suddenly receive an order to cross the border directly to Abu Kamaal, where he was to be met by several of his country’s diplomats.
His responsibility was to oversee the construction of related projects within Iraq; he really couldn’t figure out what he was supposed to do at a diplomatic event like this.
Besides them, there were only four armed police officers from the embassy.
"Director Zhao, what on earth are we doing here? I know these people wouldn’t dare try anything against Hua Country, but what if some lunatic decides to rush us? Are we supposed to fight him off with an excavator?" Chen Dongsheng asked the person in charge of the operation.
"Don’t worry, Manager Chen. I also received this urgent order from above at the last minute and am still communicating with them. Rest assured, although we don’t have troops stationed here, we do have... *cough*... you know our security companies over here... *cough*... quite a few of them... *cough, cough*... and the Aden Bay escort fleet... *cough*... isn’t far." Director Zhao, as if clearing his throat, laughed it off.
In the blink of an eye, the group had entered the lobby of the Oasis Hotel and, led by a few local government soldiers, arrived at the hotel’s enormous conference room.
Pushing open the gilded, Arabian-style doors, a massive conference room covered with a Persian carpet appeared before them.
In the center was an oval conference table, already surrounded by people. Various small flags, representing the different factions, were placed on the table.
At the same time, numerous armed personnel and soldiers, loaded with live ammunition, stood glaring menacingly around the room, eyeing each other with hostility.
After all, getting Persians, Israelis, Saudis, Kurds, Turkmen, Eagle Country People, Russians, the local government forces, and local rebels all in the same room was basically the equivalent of placing a barrel of gunpowder next to a stove.
It was in danger of exploding at any moment.
As everyone was glaring at each other, they heard the sound of the door opening and immediately turned to look. Seeing a few sharply dressed Asians accompanied by a few armed guards and some men who looked like construction workers, they were all momentarily stunned.
Then they realized the newcomers were from Hua Country, and it all made sense.
The oval conference table was almost full; only the seat opposite the Eagle Country representative was still empty.
Zhao Lizhang strode over and naturally took the seat opposite the delegate from Eagle Country. None of the other factions present felt there was anything wrong with this. In fact, the Persians seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, as if they could finally escape the heavy pressure exerted by Eagle Country.
The conference room door was quickly closed. The Eagle Country general with salt-and-pepper hair scanned everyone present, gestured to the two men in suits beside him, and began speaking directly:
"Gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself. I am Rogers, Deputy Commander of Eagle Country’s Central Theater. Due to the extreme urgency and lack of time, the militaries of Britain and France were unable to send representatives. However, their two ambassadors have come directly from Iraq. This is Mr. Stephen Hickey, the British Ambassador to Iraq, and this is Mr. David Levitt, the French Ambassador to Iraq."
The two men, who had prominent noses, nodded to the other representatives and said a few words of thanks.
Zhao Lizhang nodded and introduced himself, "Zhao Lizhang, representative of Hua Country."
The Russian representative beside him followed suit, "Vasily, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Kremlin on Middle East Issues."
Zhao Lizhang and Vasily exchanged a glance and a slight nod.
After hearing these introductions, the Israeli representative and the others exchanged glances, about to introduce themselves as well.
But before they could speak, the Eagle Country representative, Rogers, had already scanned the room and continued:
"Gentlemen, I trust you’ve all received the news. For the foreseeable future, we must maintain absolute peace within a one-hundred-kilometer radius of Abu Kamaal. I repeat, absolute... peace!"
Zhao Lizhang nodded slightly and said:
"The people of Syria have yearned for peace for far too long. It is something they have long deserved. My country agrees to this proposal."
A corner of Russian representative Vasily’s mouth quirked up. He leaned back in his chair and said with a smile:
"As long as the White Palace refrains from any uninvited activities, the Kremlin will certainly have no objections. After all, our boys prefer the vodka from their motherland."
The British representative, Stephen, also nodded with a serious expression and said:
"We have always been extremely concerned about the human rights situation in the Middle East Region and have urged local autocratic governments to respect human rights. This pioneering experiment with a permanent peace zone is absolutely necessary. I second the motion. Mr. David?"
The French representative, David Levitt, gave a slight nod, his expression stern as he spoke with domineering confidence:
"If anyone dares to break this peace agreement and engage in combat within one hundred kilometers of Abu Kamaal, my country’s Foreign Legion will immediately treat them as an enemy and launch the fiercest of attacks!"
"Excellent," said the Eagle Country representative, Rogers, looking around at the dozen or so national representatives. "Since no one has any objections, we will sign a joint declaration later to make our due contribution to the stability of the Middle East Region and the progress of human society. God bless, and may the flames of war never again descend upon this land."
Zhao Lizhang added, "Indeed. Not only that, but my country will provide long-term, interest-free loans and corresponding engineering and construction services to help the local people rebuild their homes. Of course, we will only require a few airports as collateral."
The seated representatives from Israel, Persia, Iraq, and Turkey, among others, glanced at one another with wry smiles, each seeing the bitterness in the others’ eyes.
’What kind of meeting is this?’
’Did we just come here to be handed a notice?’
’Is this a mini-United Nations Security Council meeting?’
’Did you ask for my opinion before I agreed?’
’Can I please get a word in?’
At that moment, they suddenly felt that their generational enemies sitting right in front of them weren’t so detestable after all...
But despite their dissatisfaction, no one dared to say a word.
After all, it wasn’t as if no one had ever offended all five powers at once. The last one who did got royally screwed.
Just then, the representative of the rebel forces could no longer hold back. His eyes flew open as he shouted:
"I object! This is our land! We will crush that puppet government and eliminate anyone who dares to stand in our way! On our land, we call the shots!"