Rise of the Argentine Empire

Saint Hetherton, driving Little Nicks' car and following Elena's directions, arrived at a restaurant not far from the city, named Orange Peel Restaurant. It was a niche restaurant with a slightly refreshing decorating style and a decent ambiance. After looking at the menu, the prices weren't too expensive.

Elena was really considerate of him. Although he wasn't short on money, he couldn't help but feel a little pleased.

Inside the Orange Peel Restaurant, after the two had ordered their meals,

Elena, propping her chin up with her hand, looked at the handsome and mature young man in front of her and said gently, "Cohen, compared to last time, you've gotten tanned again. Are you still running around the construction site every day?"

Not really, he looked about the same as the other men around. Saint Hetherton glanced at the fashionable couples at the next table.

He had previously mentioned that he was running a factory in Maria Town, saying that he was in charge of the new factory's construction at the time. Of course, he didn't reveal too much, only mentioning some unimportant things.

"Yes, I have to handle all the big and small matters of the factory. For the past month or two, I've been running around the construction site every day. I'm too busy, and sometimes I even have to help move things, under the scorching sun every day," Saint Hetherton said, drinking a glass of lemonade without batting an eye. He felt that his skin was getting thicker and thicker.

Actually, it was just during the recent training of the Maria Town militia that he was in the sun for about seven or eight days before handing it over to the newly formed Viper Second Team, which had returned from the Potassium Triangle under the command of Thunder Cross. Most of the time, he was driving around in a pickup truck every day, not getting too much sun. Sometimes, he would just stay in the big villa to handle finances and factory development matters.

Elena bit her lip, "Cohen, when I came back from Maria Town, this is where my grandfather lives. My cousin's family also comes over occasionally. After taking the exam and being admitted, today happens to be my freshman registration day. We'll be classmates from now on, and I'll be your senior."

The restaurant's dishes gradually came up. They ordered Buey's signature ginger beer and some simple Italian dishes. Saint Hetherton had always been relatively casual about eating.

He habitually adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, which were a gift from Lucifer, who said they could occasionally make him look like a gentleman, which was very useful for attracting girls. Thinking it made sense today, he put them on.

"Hehe, hello, Senior Elena. Oh, right, are Joseph and Louis accompanying you to register today?" Saint Hetherton said nonchalantly.

"Yes, I grew up with my cousin, but that Louis insisted on coming, which is really annoying. Cohen, where are you living now? Do you have a rented house in Buey or...?" Elena said with a pout, which relaxed Saint Hetherton a lot.

"Should we find someone to beat Louis up? I'm good at that."

"I'm currently living in the academy district of Buey, in a small rented house," Saint Hetherton said with a smile.

"It's not good to hit people, right? That Louis is still a military officer. It's not worth educating him."

"Really? I live in the Flores district, next to the Colon Theater. It's a bit far from where you live, which is a pity," Elena said with some regret.

"Alright, I still wanted to try out my power." When the Falcon Intelligence Group people come, recruit some retired veterans to form the Viper Third Team, and practice a bit. You definitely can't be soft on rivals in love.

"Actually, it's not very far..." Saint Hetherton suddenly had a map of the inner city in his mind. It was only about five or six kilometers.

"Cohen, how about we go see a movie after we finish eating?"

"Seeing a movie sounds good. Let's go later."

Saint Hetherton looked at his watch. There was still plenty of time. He was originally going to Little Nicks' office this afternoon to handle some matters, so he would just go later.

In 1896, film technology was introduced to Argentina. In the 1930s and 40s, Argentina's film production gradually increased, with more styles, and even entered the international market.

Now is the period of the Perón government. Although some measures have been formulated to protect the film industry, strict control and scrutiny are exercised over the social and public opinion of films, so the quality is relatively average. There are not many good films, and most of them are re-screenings of old black and white films made before World War II.

After the two finished eating, Saint Hetherton went to pay the bill, which totaled 928 pesos, not very expensive.

He was also very interested in watching movies and wanted to see what movies Argentina had now. The two arrived at the movie theater, parked the car,

and found a ticket collector to prepare to buy two movie tickets. Saint Hetherton was very fond of choosing a movie called "Pelota de Trapo" (Rag Ball). This tells the story of Argentina's football movement.

This was also Saint Hetherton's request. Elena originally wanted to choose the movie "A Star Is Born," but Saint Hetherton thought the Rag Ball movie should be quite interesting, so he took the liberty of choosing it.

Entering the movie theater, with its old-fashioned film projector, screen, and the sound of the film reel playing, there were no advertisements.

Sitting in a somewhat uncomfortable chair, Saint Hetherton happily watched the football movie made more than a decade ago, feeling very novel, completely unaware of the resentful look in the eyes of the girl next to him.

Satisfied with watching the football movie, he took the car and drove Elena back. In the car, Saint Hetherton exaggeratedly discussed the wonderful football movie just now, while Elena next to him looked a little cold. Saint Hetherton thought she was a little uncomfortable and told her to drink more hot water when she got back.

Watching Elena leave,

Depressed, Saint Hetherton drove to the trading company and scolded Little Nicks, who was a little confused.

"The boss must have failed his date," Little Nicks comforted himself.

.......

The next morning was the opening ceremony of the University of Buey. Saint Hetherton, who had overslept in depression,

took a taxi and hurried to the University of Buey.

Fortunately, the ceremony hadn't started yet. Thinking about whether to buy a car to make things more convenient, Elena was a student at the Institute, studying physics. Saint Hetherton, who wasn't very familiar with the campus layout, had to give up the idea of finding Elena for now and go to the opening ceremony first.

He had to buy a car then, but it wasn't easy to buy a British car that he liked. There were very few new British cars being exported now, and many were old used cars.

As an outstanding undergraduate freshman with excellent grades, Saint Hetherton sat in the second row. The guys in front and to his left were all wearing big glasses, seemingly from the medical department. However, Saint Hetherton didn't see the famous figure of the medical department, Guevara.

Saint Hetherton had indeed heard many famous figures on the road these past two days: Guevara of the medical department, Edward Dollman of the religious department, Arnold of the philosophy department, Clotilde of the sociology department, Grenville of the literature department, etc.

Even some powerful freshmen, like most of the people on the Entrance Exam Honor Roll, were being sought after, and Saint Hetherton himself had been approached a few times.

This opening ceremony lasted a full three hours, with not only outstanding alumni but also government officials, the president of the university, and a large group of people boasting, almost putting Saint Hetherton to sleep.

"It seems that formalism exists everywhere. These people's speaking and lecturing skills are really bad," Saint Hetherton judged.

"Buddy, you're right. I'm Cicero from the engineering department, Cicero Rodriguez, from San Martin High School in the upper district of Buey," a classmate sitting to his right greeted him, almost startling him.

"Hello, I'm Saint Hetherton, from the law department, Saint Hetherton Cohen, from Lombardton High School in Cordoba," the two shook hands.

"Hey, yo, buddy, you have a strong grip, awesome."

"You're not bad either," the two started rubbing their hands together, and in the end, Saint Hetherton won.

For some reason, Saint Hetherton suddenly thought of the hip-hop black singers of later generations.

"Do you want to grab a bite to eat together later? My treat. I'll introduce you to some of my buddies," Cicero said boldly, completely different from the mechanical giant he had imagined. Cicero was burly, not handsome, but looked very strong.

"Sure, no problem."

"By the way, buddy, have you trained before?" Cicero had a knowing expression.

"No, I was just born with this physical quality," Saint Hetherton said in a Versailles tone.

This was indeed the case. The original owner of the body did have very strong physical qualities, with great explosive power and good endurance, unlike Cicero, who was a big guy. This was probably the reason why Saint Hetherton's predecessor was able to become the captain. At least so far, even among the thousands of soldiers he had trained, none had such good physical qualities. Normally, if a person wants to have very strong strength, weight is very important.

Like the heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson of later generations, it's possible to unleash very powerful strength. Maybe this is indeed Saint Hetherton's talent. Normally, a skinny person with abs isn't very strong, after all, the weight is there.

"Damn, that's awesome, you're really amazing, buddy," Cicero said, giving a thumbs up. He was a real trained fighter. During army testing, his punch could reach 370 kilograms. This guy named Saint Hérse seems to weigh less than 80 kilograms, yet his strength is greater than Cicero's, who weighs 100 kilograms.

After chatting for a while, they learned that Cicero's father was a special forces captain who trained Cicero from a young age, which is why he has such strong physical qualities. Moreover, this guy is also a mechanical engineering genius who has won many competition awards since middle school.

"Damn, if he didn't say anything, I would have thought he was an athlete. You can't judge a book by its cover, or measure the sea with a bushel," Saint Hérse thought to himself.

He carefully examined Cicero again. Standing up, he looked even more robust than before, about 5 centimeters taller than Saint Hérse, around 1.85 meters, and weighing an estimated 100 kilograms. You couldn't tell at all that he was an engineering student at the top of his class.

He really met an interesting guy. The group of seven or eight people went to a barbecue restaurant for lunch. Looking at the gluttonous feast, each person had a plate of giant charcoal-grilled meat in front of them.

Estimating at least two or three pounds each, Saint Hérse couldn't help but hold his forehead. Looking at the plate of over a pound of grilled beef, he was speechless. He ordered two more plates of vegetables to barely finish it.

Some of Cicero's friends were students from the National Military Academy, some were fitness enthusiasts from other universities, and some were sports students.

They all looked like little boxing champions. Imagine a group of Schwarzenegger-like strongmen standing in front of Tom Cruise; it's definitely intimidating.

Standing in front of them, Saint Hérse's figure seemed a bit thin in comparison. None of these guys were shorter than 1.8 meters, and each was a bit taller than Saint Hérse.

Finally, there were entertainment programs such as arm wrestling amidst cheers. The other guys were all defeated by Saint Hérse. They thought they would break Saint Hérse's arm.

This gave Saint Hérse a new understanding of his physical fitness.

Cicero's friends were also impressed by Saint Hérse. Normally, with their physiques, one of them could easily take on three of Saint Hérse.

"Hey, brother, your strength is really amazing. Let's train together sometime."

"My God, you should eat more; it would be very interesting, and your strength would definitely be even greater."

"We can try it sometime."

"Cohen, you really show no signs of training! I feel like you could go to the underground arena to fight."

"Even with my perfection, I still insist on exercising," Saint Hérse joked, causing a burst of hissing. It had indeed been some time.

After saying goodbye to the enthusiastic Cicerones, who were planning to sweat it out,

Saint Hérse hurried back to the law school classroom to prepare for lectures.

"What an interesting bunch of guys," Saint Hérse shook his head.

The Cicerones were not traditional Argentine soldiers. Cicero's father was from the special forces, but his ideas seemed a bit off.

These guys look strong, but their military combat literacy is definitely not as good as the upgraded Viper Squad. They can't be considered special forces; they are just a group of old-fashioned fitness enthusiasts. Cicero said that after finishing his studies, he wanted to release sweat while pumping iron, which is no wonder.

After eating and resting, Saint Hérse sat on a bench at the school and looked at the time. It wasn't time yet; the law school's large class welcome party started at two o'clock, so Saint Hérse could only space out.

… …

Two o'clock in the afternoon, the law school's large lecture hall,

The head of the law department, the vice president of Buchen University,

Also, the well-known professor and teacher of the law department, Pukins Esposito, concurrently served on the Grand Judge Tribunal, was a member of the Perón government's think tank, and had a series of titles. He had a double bachelor's degree in economic law and criminal law from the University of Buenos Aires and a master's and doctoral degree from Yale Law School, a top university in the United States. He was a true top-level figure.

"Many of our country's laws are imperfect, such as the abortion law, which is opposed by many religious figures. In my opinion, this is very abnormal…"

… …

Pukins talked about law from domestic to foreign, ancient and modern history, from ancient Greece and ancient Rome to the Frankish Kingdom, the Soviet Union, Tsarist Russia, the United States, France, and a large number of popes. He was even quite dissatisfied with some of the Perón government's compromises

as well as the formulation of some trade laws and other strange things. Saint Hérse listened with great interest. He didn't expect that studying law could be so talkative. He only felt that a law degree would be of great help for serving as an official and was not particularly passionate about law.

For Saint Hérse, law was just a tool. He himself was an outlaw, engaging in border smuggling, arms trade, and even the Viper Squad operating under the guise of the Lightning Cross, preparing peripheral mercenary groups in the Potassium Triangle region, intelligence organizations, and illegally possessing firearms—all of which were skirting the edge of the law.

"Studying at Buda itself doesn't cost much money because there is no tuition fee. Many of my former students have received high scholarships."

Of course, your former students were either from wealthy families or children of dignitaries. They don't care about this little bit of food and accommodation expenses, Saint Hérse couldn't help but complain in his heart.

Professor Pukins said, "There are very high and many scholarships at Buda. It has very high requirements for students. The first is to pass the entrance exam, and the second is to be able to publish academic papers."

Speaking of this, he turned to Saint Hérse and said, "Cohen, what subjects are you good at?"

Saint Hérse had already become familiar with Pukins, ranked high in his grades, and loved to study.

Saint Hérse truthfully replied, "I can read and write Latin, Spanish, English, and French. Also, I really like books on tax law, economics, and military science." He also knew a little Chinese, he silently added in his heart.

"Good, everyone should learn from Cohen, not only to study and delve into legal knowledge but also to dabble in a wider range of professional knowledge to use it flexibly."

"In my opinion, mathematics is the language God used to create the world, and natural philosophy is another way for us to get close to God. At the same time, everyone should learn some philosophical knowledge."

Professor Pukins didn't know how he got to this topic. The transition was too fast; this was not the road to the law department at all.

"Especially you, Cohen, you must pay attention to learning; I have high hopes for you,"

Speaking of which, it was a short story. It was just helping an old man wipe the blackboard once; how did he get targeted? This old man is quite vengeful.

The matter was like this: yesterday, Saint Hérse completed his registration with Little Nix and passed by a classroom. He saw an old man wiping chalk marks after class. After the class, the wall was full of chalk marks, and no one helped to wipe it clean.

Saint Hérse, feeling very caring, volunteered to help. As a result, just as he wiped the blackboard clean, the third-year seniors were about to come in for class, and Saint Hérse quickly ran away. Today, he learned that this old man was actually the vice president.

"Okay, teacher, I will pay attention to learning; thank you, Professor Pukins," Saint Hérse obediently nodded.

"Why talk about mathematics? Everyone knows which countries are best at mathematics."

"Teacher, I know, it's Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States," Saint Hérse quickly raised his hand to answer.

"Cohen is right, but one is missing, and that is France."

"The French are also very strong in mathematics. A strong country not only needs law but also mathematics; this is the foundation of all science. A strong country not only needs law but also mathematics."

Big shot, you're a law big shot; how did you get involved with mathematics and philosophy? But it's quite interesting.

The bell rang for the end of class. Pukins didn't panic, and the freshmen were about to leave in an orderly manner,

"Finally, let me say a few more words. Graduating from our school is still very simple; you just need to study hard, and you will generally graduate. If you need to study for a master's or doctoral degree at our school, you can directly enroll in master's and doctoral degrees, with one premise: your grades are in the top fifty of your class." A 50% graduate school recommendation rate is really good. There are not many undergraduates now. In a few years, it will be very rare for someone like Castro to be a leader with a doctorate.

"If some people want to study for a master's or doctoral degree abroad after graduation, I can write letters of recommendation to the law schools of some universities in the UK, such as University College London."

"Okay, thank you everyone for listening to my old man's nonsense today. I have my economic law class tomorrow; I won't call roll, so everyone can rest assured."

Won't call roll, so can you skip class? Believe you, my ass. This Pukins old man is very bad.

The news Saint Hérse heard about skipping class was not like this. The head of the law department's class is very strict and calls roll every time. In severe cases, students are directly expelled, making the people in the law department tremble.