Everyone surrounded the building where Stephen and Adam were located. “Give us an explanation!” Their voices boomed in unison, so loud that the staff inside the building trembled with fear. They had never seen anything like that. Stephen sneaked a glance through the window and felt a chill run down his spine. “What are they trying to do?”Adam held the latest report he just received and said, “They’re fishermen, hotel owners, staff, and townspeople who built the agritourism farm stays. You cut off their source of income, so they have come for an explanation.”Stephen’s eyes widened. “Just because of that? Isn’t it just a change in career?”Adam, still looking at the report, continued, “Many of them took up massive loans. Once we focus on industrial development, they will not be able to repay their debts.”Their debts were in the millions! Even if they worked a nine-to-five, earning three to five thousand a month, they could not repay their debt their whole life. Besides,
Hearing that, the people finally felt relieved. “Alright, let’s disperse.”“Go grab some food. When there’s progress, I’ll inform all of you.”The crowd gradually dispersed. Adam returned to Stephen, smiling. “It’s settled. I plan to drag this out. When they don’t get paid for too long, they’ll stop thinking about it.”Stephen nodded in satisfaction. “You did well this time. Good job!”Adam chuckled. “Not at all. It’s thanks to your guidance.”“Hahaha!” Stephen laughed smugly. Although Adam promised to compensate the people, the reality was that fishing was no longer feasible and the hotels and farm stays had lost their customers.The people, especially those with debts, were becoming increasingly anxious. Debts amounting to millions weighed down on them like a mountain, crushing them. The next day, someone could not wait any longer and rushed in to ask about the progress. A staff member replied, “The investigation is ongoing. Please wait a little longer.”By noon, ano
Inside the building, Stephen was trembling with fear. The crowd today was even larger than before, and this time, it was not just a protest—eight people had died!Everyone in Aqua City wanted an explanation. They wanted justice. “Get the hell out!”“We did nothing to you. Why did you come here to hurt us?”“You murderer! You killed an entire family. May your family suffer just like ours!”The staff had closed the door. They huddled in the corners, pale and shaking, unsure of what to do. Soon, the security guards arrived, trying to stop the crowd from being reckless and doing something foolish. However, this time was different. Previously, the people might have shown some courtesy, but today, people had died, and who knew who might be next tomorrow? From the crowd, someone shouted the security guard’s name, “If you don’t get out of here now, you’re no longer my son!”Most security guards were locals, so they were caught in a difficult position. “Why do we even care abou
“Kill us if you dare!”“We owe a few hundred thousand in debt. Do you think we’re afraid of dying?”“If you protect that asshole today, he might destroy your entire family tomorrow! Believe it or not!”With a loud crash, the front door splintered under the impact.Stephen panicked, but he knew he could not hide anymore. If he were caught, those people might really beat him to death. At that moment, Stephen realized his mistake! Dragging things out and avoiding confrontation would only make matters worse. The real enemy wasn’t from outside; it was the locals of Aqua City!“I’ll pay!” he stammered as he stepped out. “I’m willing to pay.”As soon as Stephen emerged, the crowd grew more agitated, especially those related to the ones who had committed suicide. Their eyes reddened, and they wanted nothing more than to kill Stephen on the spot. “Everyone, please calm down!” shouted a middle-aged man. He was one of the towns’ mayors and had led the group to confront Stephen. His vo
Adam was terrified. Why was Stephen still hesitating at a time like that? Was it so difficult to admit his mistake?He quickly grabbed the loudspeaker, determined not to let Stephen continue speaking. “We will! We will compensate you! We’ll buy all dead fish at half the market price and live fish at full price! For those who took out loans to lease fish farms in the past year, we will pay half the amount…”Adam was pulling out all the stops he had learned in his career, thinking on his feet. He was prepared to compensate half the losses of the villagers, fishermen, and hotel owners. Faced with that explanation, the people were relatively satisfied. Adam continued, “As for the eight individuals we lost, we deeply regret this tragedy. We will all attend their funeral today.”After finishing his statement, Adam was drenched in sweat. The town’s mayor looked at him for a while before taking the loudspeaker and asking, “Everyone, what do you think of this solution?”“Sounds good
On the Internet, most people criticized Stephen, and a few cursed at Ethan. A small group of people wanted to know the person previously managing Riveria, hoping for them to return to take charge of Riveria. Three cities in Riveria had since had issues. The richest and most developed province, which once boasted a 15 trillion-dollar GDP, could not even maintain 13 trillion!In the government headquarters, a group of people stared furiously at Simon, who kept his head low, saying nothing. “Didn’t you go to Aqua City? How did things turn out like this?”Faced with the questions, Simon wanted to say he had no idea either. He had left Aqua City thinking everything was fine, but in just one day, eight lives were lost! All of them were forced to the point of suicide!He wished he could give Stephen a few more slaps on the face now. Given the current situation in Aqua City, it was understandable to shift the focus from fishing and tourism to industrial development. However, he had t
It was not easy to make money locally, so they decided to take on “part-time jobs,” helping with smuggling, scamming, and even human trafficking. Among the towns, some even formed partnerships with foreign forces! Treacherous and dangerous towns started emerging in Aqua City. Stephen had ruined the fishing and tourism industry in Aqua City, and now, all anyone cared about was money. They would work for whoever paid them. Suddenly, dark currents began to stir in Aqua City. Stephen thought things had finally settled down. That was until the fifth day, when he received a troubling message. “All the trees on a mountain have been cut down, including Three ancient trees, each over a thousand years old. They are high in tourism value!”Stephen’s heart skipped a beat. Illegal logging?“Find out who did it! They must be punished severely!”“It’s a few towns. Almost a thousand people were involved! Those three trees were sold beyond the border!”Stephen was shocked. Anything that i
The fishery and tourism industries of Aqua City were ruined, and the factories were too damaged to continue operation. Nothing was left to support the economy. With Aqua City's dwindling GDP of 1.3 trillion left, every cent was important!Amid the chaos, Stephen chose to instigate conflict between the two sides. The resulting clashes would drain resources—equipment, medical supplies, and repairs to the city. Each conflict would consume the dwindling wealth of Aqua City even faster."Stephen destroyed Aqua City, our home! Even if it costs us our lives, we’ll fight back!" "He's taken away our livelihoods and left us no other options! Since he wants us to die, we can't let him live either!""Let's do this! At worst, we'll just leave. Aqua City is already in ruins, thanks Stephen."Almost everyone in Aqua City was joining the fight. The level of chaos was far beyond Seaside City's!Meanwhile, Oliver and the others confronted Stephen. "Our factories are destroyed. Are you going to