With the crowd congesting the hall, it took over an hour for everyone to pay their respects at the funeral.Helen Lane, Vicky Turnbull, Winter Lawrence, and Mona Fairfax were present too.Even Elder Fango was there, seated at the main chair and watching everyone present impassively."And now, we shall hear from the mayor, Stanley Durban."Silence ensued in the hall at the emcee's announcement."Geon Kramer… Commissioner of Zamri."On the stage, Stanley started reading from a script with a pained voice as the guests looked on. "Zamri has seen peace and stability under his leadership. Even if he has not achieved anything amazing, he was always a grounded man and one who would live on in our hearts…"Vicky pursed her lips even as she listened. "Bullshit. A hedonistic commissioner who couldn't accomplish anything, and now, another brazen monkey is embellishing him for being a leader and a grounded man…""Shush."Helen promptly put a finger to her lips, as everyone around Vicky hea
"Hehe…"Stanley shrugged at Winter's stubbornness, looking pointedly at the guest around the memorial hall. "I won't elaborate on Commissioner Kramer's death after I've already done it a thousand times. Frank Lawrence has failed to prove his innocence, and he isn't here on top of that."What could that mean, you ask? That poison has most definitely killed him already!""You're lying! Frank is perfectly fine!" Winter snarled through her teeth."Hmm?"On the stage, Elder Fango opened his eyes, narrowing them at Winter. "What was that, child? You're saying that Frank Lawrence isn't dead?""I…"Elder Fango's question left Winter a little uncertain.Frank was merely unconscious, and after she had checked countless times over the last two days, she knew that Frank's vitals were stable.However, she was not absolutely positive that Frank was fine either.And seeing that Winter could not answer, Elder Fango closed his eyes in disappointment. "I guess I should be clear, girl—the death
Seeing that Mona was glaring and ready to fight back, Stanley glowered and growled, "Anyone resisting arrest will receive equal punishment as Frank Lawrence! No mercy!"On the other hand, Vicky snorted. "Hmph. Go for it, Mona! Take down Stanley Durban—let me handle the rest! If we don't fight, we'd all end up in Blackwater!""Oh, no, no, no!"Gina, seeing that Stanley was ready to arrest Helen, promptly rushed to kowtow at Stanley's feet. "Please, Mr. Mayor! My daughter divorced Frank a long time ago—she's an ex-wife, like you said! It was Frank who was a scheming bastard and dragged my daughter into this… She has already cut all ties with him!""Is that so?"Stanley was smirking smugly as he watched Gina beg, and he turned toward Helen. "In that case, let me ask you—have you cut ties with the man who murdered Commissioner Kramer as this woman has said, Ms. Lane?"Hearing Stanley's question, Gina turned to level a pleading stare at Helen too, worried that she would misspeak just
"Two treasures?"Vicky did a double take, but she soon remembered. There were indeed two things that Frank had managed to snatch out of Titus Lioheart's possession—the first being the Turnbull family's spiritron vein, and the second being the Celestial Dew, which Titus had intended to use as bait.Both were worth a king's ransom and ultimately fell into Frank's possession.While the guests present had no idea what Stanley was talking about, they more or less understood that Stanley was a close friend of the Lionhearts.And after a moment's silence, Vicky looked up with a twinkle in her eye. "I only have one, and I'm able to return it… But I don't know about the other, because Frank has it.""Really? Just one?"Stanley raised a brow. "How insincere of you, Ms. Turnbull. Forgive me, but I won't be able to stay my hand…""Wait!"Vicky quickly added, "Frank would've been carrying it with him. Can't we come to an agreement if I recover it now?"Stanley remained silent for a momen
"That's right. I don't die that easily!"A voice boomed, and a towering figure opened the thirty-foot tall doors of the memorial hall as he strode in.Naturally, it was none other than Frank, who had rushed to the memorial hall from the slums of South Zamri."Huh?!""What?!"Everyone watched in astonishment as Frank strode down the center of the hall toward the crystal casket at the center.His cheeks were flushed, his expression nonchalant. He definitely looked sharp in his suit on top of that—a far cry from his miserable self just a few days ago.Smirking, he strode atop the crystal coffin with a faint smile as he looked around at the guests gaping at him."H-He's not dead?!""Is he starting an uprising here?!""The insolence!"His pompousness certainly left the hall in an uproar.Not only was he alive, but he strode into the memorial hall while everyone looked, even standing on top of the crystal casket containing the commissioner's corpse!And of all of them, Elder Fan
After all, kidnapping a commissioner and commandeering his forces were all capital crimes punishable by death!But Stanley had the guts to do it anyway?!"Wait…"Still, Elder Fango soon came to his senses and turned back toward Frank, asking suspiciously, "Frank Lawrence, you're accusing Stanley Durban of kidnapping a commissioner and commandeering his forces? But he's dead and lying right inside the crystal coffin under your feet! How is Mr. Durban supposed to do that?""Wait, that's true…!"The sharper people in the memorial hall soon found the fallacy in Frank's accusation."Heh… That's because Geon Kramer is still alive! The body in the coffin is not Geon but another corpse that Stanley has put in his place…"However, Frank did not lose composure and explained everything while tapping his foot on the crystal coffin even as Stanley scowled, laughing coolly. "Or am I wrong, Yannick Jorst, former head coroner of Zamri Hospital?"The memorial hall was left in an uproar. They
Frank's rage clearly showed on his face. "Heh. I came prepared to tear you down into pieces, mongrel!"Stanley shall pay for causing him so much trouble!Nonetheless, Stanley retorted, "That's some big talk from a fugitive! It seems that you really don't care if you live!"However, as the mastermind, he could not afford to allow his plot to be exposed through that USB stick either.He glanced behind at his two bodyguards, who caught their kill.Neither hesitated and leapt toward Frank in a pincer move.Whoosh!The crowd was stunned even as they watched the bodyguards suddenly charge straight at Frank.While everyone knew about Frank's strength, neither bodyguards were pushovers either. Even if they stood no chance against Frank, would they really go down in just one hit?Instead, as everyone looked on in confusion, one of them suddenly leapt into the air, streaking toward the LED screen at an awkward angle!At the same time, Stanley smirked—Frank was still caught in his web,
"Bleurgh! You're scum!"Blackie glowered ferociously, his resolve still strong.Stanley then removed another stack of dollar bills. "Money or death?""Death!""Loyalty or death?"Nonetheless, Stanley continued his pressuring tactic, now removing most of the dollar bills. "With this much money, you could live the rest of your life comfortably on just the bank interest. Even if you're not worried about yourself, you should be worried about your blind mother, don't you think?"Blackie hesitated at the mention of his mother—she had worked blood and sweat to raise him. If he did not repay her, what was he if not an animal?And with that, Blackie hung his head and yielded…Frank frowned as he watched the video again, deciding to himself that he must protect Blackie's mother despite what Blackie did."I see!"Even Vicky was stunned—while Blackie was out of line, his intentions were pure.At the same time, Elder Fango turned toward Stanley. "What more do you have to say, Mr. Durban?