Chapter 391: Aggressive Negotiations Part I
The train from Berlin to Vienna was not as arduous a journey as Bruno had anticipated. However, the moment he crossed the border, it felt as though he had stepped into an entirely different world.
Once fertile and productive, the land now lay barren—not by design, but as a symptom of societal collapse. Farmers, too addicted to substances, neglected their fields, lost in stupors of intoxication.
The young men returning from war, having seen too much violence and indulged in too many government-issued narcotics, were in no state to rebuild their lives, let alone their homeland. Of all the crises plaguing the Austro-Hungarian Empire—long-standing issues left to fester for decades—addiction had been the least expected yet the most insidious.
What should have taken years to unravel had instead spiraled into full-scale disintegration within a single year. By the end of august, violence, hyperinflation, corruption, and unrest had reached such extremes that the once-mighty Habsburg realm was teetering on the edge of oblivion.
Bruno struggled to comprehend how swiftly this pestilence had consumed the land. The once-beautiful countryside had become a wasteland, its aura akin to a post-apocalyptic landscape ravaged by war.
Vienna, once a beacon of art and culture, now resembled a vast homeless encampment. In just six months, the city had devolved into desperation, with people resorting to whatever means necessary to survive.
Theft, racketeering, drug smuggling, counterfeiting, and every imaginable vice flourished, transactions made in silver and gold bullion rather than the virtually worthless Austro-Hungarian banknotes.
Bruno was repulsed by the Weimar-esque degeneration that had overtaken what had once been a thriving metropolis. Shielded by his bodyguards, he surveyed the streets with disdain, voicing his grim assessment aloud.
"Crime, despair, hedonism... This is not how man was meant to live. I almost wonder if it would be better to burn this city to the ground and start anew rather than try to reverse the tide of sin that has consumed it."
His men remained silent, offering no response to his impassioned words. Instead, they reminded him of his impending appointment.