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
Simon originally thought Riveria's GDP would soon reach 20 trillion. However, it seemed it was only getting closer to 10 trillion. It was going the other way around! "The fact is, Stephen isn't capable of managing Riveria. "He just doesn't have what it takes!" Simon gritted his teeth. He wanted to argue, but the facts spoke for themselves. "We've decided to revoke Stephen's authority to manage Riveria. Simon, do you have any opinions?"Simon's face was pale as he shook his head and said, "No."This time, Stephen had no way out. "Now, who should manage Riveria?"Everyone stayed silent. Riveria was once rich and thriving with a leading GDP of 15 trillion and seemed on track to hit 20 trillion soon. Everyone wanted a piece of it back then, seeing it as a golden opportunity. However, the current Riveria had North Hill City and Seaside City destroyed and Aqua City in chaos. With their remaining GDP of 11.4 trillion dollars, they could barely be considered the top five in th
After hanging up the phone, George sank onto the couch and sighed.Although he knew Stephen was not up to the task, he was also aware of his own limitations. Putting him in charge of Riveria with Stephen assisting him was like appointing two clowns to run Riveria. George was ready to be honest with everyone, but after reconsidering, he knew he could not tell the truth. If people found out that Riveria was previously run by Ethan, the public outcry would be unimaginable, and once their schemes were exposed, would they even survive it? "Since I can't reveal the truth, all I can do is push through." After thinking about it day and night, George finally had an idea. "Although I've never actually run Riveria before, I've seen how Ethan did it!"Even if he did not know how to handle things, he could try mimicking what Ethan did. "Back when Seaside City was also in a mess and various entities were fighting non-stop, how did Ethan solve this issue?"He picked one of the entities a
That arrangement was incredibly beneficial to Oliver. "I can also offer you strategies to manage Riveria better."George and Stephen were thrilled. Oliver smiled faintly. He was not going anywhere now that he knew he would be the leading business soon. However, that did not mean that Oliver lacked ambition. He planned to take control of half the power in Aqua City!George had the contract ready, and once Oliver reviewed it to confirm there were no issues, he signed it. "I look forward to working with you," Oliver said as he shook hands with George. Seeing that Oliver was willing to help them, Stephen breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed like the chaos in Aqua City would soon come to an end.Oliver noticed the look of relief on Stephen's face, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Stephen, I have some news for you. It's about Snow."Stephen's body stiffened. "Wait, do you know where Snow is?" Stephen asked.Now that he had lost direct control over Riveria,
With Oliver's intervention, Aqua City's situation finally stabilized. The economic losses had finally been calculated. What was once a GDP of 2.3 trillion was now down to just 500 billion, meaning it was a 1.8 trillion loss! Stephen and George's faces went pale. Aqua City was done for. Even if they had decided to back Oliver, Aqua City would need several years to fully recover, and it was years they simply did not have. Even then, it would only be a recovery. Aqua City would not be able to surpass its previous state. George sighed as he looked at Stephen. "Look at what you've done." Stephen was helpless. "I didn't know things would turn out like this either. I didn't expect everyone to oppose my decision this much." Stephen thought that everyone would be happy to go into more industrial development. George replied, "You didn’t give people time to prepare. You were cutting off their income streams. Of course, they had a problem with it. " Seven days later, Oliver's plan
Stephen pondered for a moment. The situation was different now. It was no longer the Lowes relying on him and the Quinns to join the cabinet but him relying on the Lowes. That was why he had to apologize! If he did not, and the Lowes succeeded in developing Riveria, they might call off the engagement with the Quinns. By then, the Quinns would be left with nothing! After taking a deep breath, Stephen decided to apologize to Rachel. He could not gamble with his future!Soon, the Lowes’ residence appeared before Stephen. When he entered, he saw Rachel sitting on the living room couch, scrolling through her phone.Stephen walked over and said softly, "Rachel."Rachel raised her head to look at Stephen briefly but immediately ignored him. Her heart had been shattered. She had done so much for Stephen, but he ended up hitting and yelling at her. If it were for a woman more impressive than her, she would have accepted it, but it had to be Snow. Whether it was her looks or figure, h
After everything was settled, the people from HQ went to Ethan again. They apologized to him and begged for his forgiveness.“We’ve dealt with everyone involved in this matter. Are you satisfied with the outcome, Mr. Rivers?”With that, they lowered their heads to the ground nervously. Their only hope now hinged on Ethan’s response.They did not dare to ask for much. All they hoped for was that Ethan would not leave the country.Ethan glanced at them calmly and said, “Send someone to help move my stuff down the mountain.”Hearing that, everyone was first stunned, and then ecstatic.“Of course!” they replied in unison.They understood what Ethan meant. He was staying! Although it was not his complete forgiveness, he was willing to give them another chance.They were all overjoyed. As long as Ethan did not leave, there was plenty of time to slowly make amends.They took out their phones and made arrangements to help Ethan move.After the call ended, they said, “We respectfully
The day of Rachel and George’s trial came.The livestream began at 10 a.m., and hundreds of thousands of viewers joined instantly.Rachel and George slowly walked into the courtroom in handcuffs.Bang! The judge’s gavel fell, and the room went silent.It was not a lawsuit. It was a trial to expose the sins of Rachel and George.The judge read out their crimes one by one, until Rachel and George’s faces paled to the point that they looked like corpses.The viewers in the livestream finally saw the full picture.“So that’s it! The Quinns and the Lowes conspired!”“They deserve to die! How could they frame Ethan like that? Are they even human?”“The death penalty! They deserve the death penalty!”They were all furious.Many people had lost their families as a result of supporting Stephen and scolding Ethan. After watching the livestream, they realized just how deeply they had been wrong.They were accomplices to the Quinns and the Lowes' crimes in framing Ethan!Their current
They suppressed their disgust and returned home, only to see their parents and wives’ panicked expressions.“What did you do out there?”“So many people came today, asking for you by name.”How were they supposed to answer those questions? They could not just say that they had insulted Ethan online.If they did, their parents would beat them to death before anyone else could.“It’s nothing,” they replied stiffly. They had no choice but to hide the truth. After all, they could not say that they had insulted Ethan, or that they had lost their jobs.However, the next second, their parents received text messages. After their parents glanced at their phones, their expressions instantly changed.It was a message from the bank, stating that their child had been listed as a defaulter and urging them to repay the loan immediately.“What have you done?” Their parents’ voices trembled.Seeing that there was no way to hide it anymore, they had no choice but to confess the truth.They los
Seeing that message, they immediately felt as if their world had ended.Because they had insulted Ethan, they lost their jobs, were blacklisted, and could not find work again.“How could this be?”No one expected this outcome. They thought, ‘So what if I insulted him? Are they going to punish me for it? Besides, so many people are insulting him. They can’t possibly punish every single person who did it. At most, I’ll post a public apology and promise that I’ll never do it again.’However, now they were all fired. Everyone who had insulted Ethan had been dismissed from their jobs.It seemed like there were several tens of thousands of people involved! It was hard to imagine just how many people had lost their jobs in real life.“Why are they going this far? Aren’t they afraid of causing unrest?”Of course, HQ had considered that. However, they knew what was more serious.If Ethan went abroad and cooperated with foreign countries, the consequences would not be limited to a few pe
George thought that Rachel had already escaped abroad, so he was not afraid when he arrived.Now, when he saw Rachel there as well, he completely panicked.This was not what he had expected!“Where else would she be?” someone from HQ asked.George looked nervous and stammered, unable to say a word.With Rachel caught and him being brought here, it was clear that HQ already knew the truth. Coupled with his fear of Ethan and his helplessness in the face of reality, he no longer had the strength to make up any excuses.He had resigned himself to fate.“You really have some nerve." The people from HQ sneered. “You fooled us all completely.”“You’ve been hiding Ethan’s contributions all this time, haven’t you?”“You two are nothing but disasters to this country! You deserve to die a thousand times over.”George kept his head down while Rachel sobbed. “I was wrongfully accused!”“Shut up! Are you still trying to fool us at a time like this? You were wrongfully accused? By who? Sim
They brought this on themselves, forcing themselves into a corner with no way out. “Ah!”Simon could not take it anymore. He suddenly ran towards the window, trying to end his life. Fortunately, the officials quickly stopped him. “Don’t be reckless! Think about Stephen. You’re all he has now!”That sentence made Simon stop. Now, Stephen and Simon were each other’s support and burden. Simon slumped on the ground weakly. Right now, they both wanted to die, but neither of them had the courage to follow through. All they could do was live on in pain. After a long silence, Simon said, “I’d like to file a report on someone.”To obtain some kind of reward and survive a little longer, Simon decided to turn in George and Rachel. When the officials heard him, they were stunned. They did not expect Rachel to be involved in framing Ethan. “Shit!” Someone exclaimed. “I heard Rachel bought a flight ticket overseas. Could she have fled?”The room was filled with dread. If Rachel ra
Seeing that Stephen was awake, the others rushed to get the doctor. The doctor was astonished as well. Stephen’s sudden awakening was nothing short of a miracle. However, after examining him, the doctor’s expression darkened. Stephen had regained consciousness, but the prognosis was far from hopeful.“He can’t move,” the doctor said. “As of now, he’s paralyzed.”Stephen could open his eyes, but the rest of his body was unresponsive. He could not move his limbs or his neck and mouth. The only part he could move freely was his eye. Even his breathing was dependent entirely on medical equipment. “He might never be able to leave the bed again.”Upon hearing that, Stephen closed his eyes in despair, tears continuously rolling down his cheeks. He had fought so hard to wake up, only to realize he had missed his final chance to meet Snow and Lily. Worse yet, he also lost the ability to move. From now on, he would be confined to the bed and hooked up to machines just to stay alive.
His father died a miserable death, his son was in a coma, and the Quinn family was shattered, leaving only Simon behind to finally realize all his mistakes. However, it was too late. Harrison could not come back to life, the Quinn family could not be whole again, and Stephen could not recover. Simon would forever be haunted by pain, despair, and regret for the rest of his life. At that moment, in complete darkness, Stephen heard Simon’s voice. He was conscious but failed to open his eyes or speak; he could not move a muscle. He wanted so badly to sit up and tell Simon that it was not solely his fault. They were all wrong, and this was their retribution!Just then, two women walked into the ward. When the officials saw them, their eyes widened in shock. For a second, no one even breathed. They were Snow and Lily!The officials thought they were seeing ghosts. Those women were supposed to be dead. Why were they there? Snow and Lily noticed their shocked gazes and offered them
Due to Harrison’s previous incident, the officials reacted quickly by sending Stephen straight to the hospital.After an emergency rescue, Stephen’s life was saved. However, he paid a heavy price. When the doctor walked out of the emergency room, the officials asked, “How is he?”“The situation isn’t looking good,” the doctor said grimly. “His body is in a bad state, and due to long-term emotional distress, he suffered a brain hemorrhage from the emotional shock.“He’s still in a coma, and we can’t say for sure when he’ll wake up again. It depends on his will to live.”The officials drew a sharp breath. “Do you mean he might end up in a coma forever?”The doctor nodded. No one saw coming that Stephen would fall into a coma, with little chance of ever waking up again. However, it also meant he did not have to die anymore. He would be alive but confined to a bed. Suddenly, they thought of Harrison’s desperate pleas to Ethan back in his villa. “I’m willing to trade my life fo