They had already arranged accommodations through the mayor, similar to what had been prepared for them with several young, beautiful women waiting in hopes of making the investor reluctant to leave.On the way to the lodgings, Stephen sat next to the investor and smiled, "Celestial City has beautiful scenery, and it's very safe too. How long are you planning to stay in Celestial City during your visit?"The investor smiled and said, "The original plan was to stay for three days. If the environment in Celestial City is really good, I might stay a few more days.”"You won't be disappointed." Stephen smiled. Although Celestial City's scenery was not as good as Aqua City's, because the two cities were not far apart, there were still some calming green mountains dotted throughout its landscape.They quickly escorted the investor to his lodgings where the mayor was already waiting.Seeing the investor get out of the car, the mayor immediately went up to greet him, "Hello, hello, I'm the
Kenny narrowed his eyes. “His Highness? And who might that be?” “South Regent.” Shaken, Kenny’s eyes widened in disbelief. The South Regent's man had become the mayor of Celestial City?! They had infiltrated so deeply?! Kenny gasped heavily. “I thought the South Regent promised Mr. Rivers never to cross the border. Is he going back on his promise?!” “He did not,” said James with a shake of his head. “His Highness is keen to keep his promise. As long as Ethan Rivers is alive, he will not cross the border. However, Ethan Rivers is no longer here.” Kenny went silent. Ethan had gone missing for a long time, and the search party that Kenny sent out came back empty-handed.“This morning, His Highness met Lord Rivers.” Kenny was shocked. “Where is Mr. Rivers?!” “The capital. He is being imprisoned in the mountains by the Quinns and the Lowes.” “I see!” Kenny clenched his fists tightly. Despite Ethan’s significant contributions to Riveria, instead of being recognized and
“What? What happened? Why are they leaving all of a sudden? Celestial City is the financial hub of Riveria. They can’t leave!” George and Stephen panicked. George said, “Go talk to Richard right away and make the deal happen! I’ll contact the companies and tell them to stay!” “Got it!” Stephen moved out right away. Without further ado, George contacted the companies, starting with Kenny’s, and gathered them for a meeting. George looked at the CEOs of the various companies. “Is there any problem that you are facing? Why are all of you leaving the city all of a sudden?” Someone said, “That’s because Celestial City is over. Or more precisely, Riveria is over.” George frowned. “Where did you hear that? That’s groundless rumors! Celestial City is fine! Riveria will prosper!” Someone chuckled. “Is that so? Then why is Riveria’s GDP down to 11.4 trillion dollars?” George was silenced by the question. “Don’t even try to keep us. It won’t work unless Ethan Rivers comes back.
They left because of Ethan. In order to make them stay, George must release Ethan, but was that even possible? Ethan knew too much. George would never let him go, let alone the Quinns. “Hmph. Their leaving might affect Celestial City’s economy a little, but as long as we can get Richard’s investment, we can fill the hole. “Once they leave, many spots in the city will open up, and other companies will compete fiercely to fill their positions!” George did a quick calculation. The departure of those companies might not cause significant losses to Celestial City. He could also address the underlying issues in one sweep, which could ultimately benefit the city more than the losses from the companies leaving. “Once Celestial City’s GDP crosses the three-trillion mark, they will regret it! They will then realize that following Ethan is the worst mistake they’ve made in their lives! Without Ethan, Riveria will continue to thrive and prosper!” George glanced at his watch. “Steph
As the truck drove off, the bodyguard’s car drove past Stephen’s car. He widened his eyes in shock as he watched the car drive past his own and the truck before disappearing beyond the road. He sweated profusely. It was then he realized that the kidnappers came prepared! They used trucks and a spare car to fool the bodyguards! “Who are you?!” Stephen asked. His body was trembling as he sensed danger looming. He had a feeling that his life was under threat. “Who we are is not important. The important thing is…” The man in the rear seat chuckled. “Why don’t we play a game?” “Game? Is my life a game to you?!” Stephen was agitated. He was the son of Simon Quinn of Metropolis, not some random John Doe! “Don’t worry. I know who you are and we won’t hurt you. Don’t you want us arrested?” A sudden realization struck Stephen. He was behind the wheel with the kidnapper behind him. If the kidnapper did not dare hurt him, he could easily drive the car to the police station and th
Stephen clenched his teeth and unwillingly stepped on the brake. The car was less than a hundred meters away from the police station. The man in the rear seat chuckled. “It seems like you’ve lost.” He pulled out a smoke grenade and detonated it in the car. Bang! Smoke billowed inside the car, forcing Stephen to leap out, coughing and gasping for air. The pedestrians were shocked, thinking that the car had caught on fire. Stephen made his way to the back of the car to open the door, but the kidnapper was long gone. “Fuck!” he cursed. He felt defeated and aggrieved. He was less than a hundred meters away from sending the kidnapper to jail, yet he was forced to let the man go. On top of that, he was held up for a full five minutes at the truck, which was more than enough time for the kidnappers to transfer Richard somewhere else. He pulled his phone out to call for help. He ordered his men to seal all the possible routes out of the city and set up roadblocks to inspect t
Stephen pulled out his phone to call the mayor, James. The call got through immediately. “Do you know what happened?” James knew exactly what had happened because he had ordered his assistant, Tommy, to abduct Richard. As a matter of fact, Tommy simply carried out his task without understanding its essence. It was the mayor who had told him to meet the factory owner. Then, the South Regent’s men shoved Richard into the trunk without Tommy’s knowledge. The mayor had simply told the assistant to drive out of the city. With that, Richard was whisked out of the city without any hassle. James feigned ignorance and asked, “What?” “Your assistant, Tommy… He kidnapped Richard!” “What?! How? Why would he do something like that? We must go after him right away!” James said in a shocked tone. When Tommy came back in another car, he had driven straight into the surveillance zone and roadblocks, hence his immediate apprehension. He was still confused when the police took him.
The South Regent did not plan to explain himself either. He said, “In three days, I want to see a hundred billion. If there’s no money, you can take his body back.” The phone call ended. George fell on the couch, feeling drained and exhausted. The South Regent had joined the fray and was demanding a hundred billion, which was an astronomical figure. On top of that, Celestial City was facing another crisis as well—the departure of the major companies. The city’s GDP would decline with their absence, and following the abduction of Richard, fewer people would want to expand their businesses locally. George originally planned for foreign companies to fill in the positions of those who departed, but the South Regent had taken Richard. If the news got out, no other companies would come and the remaining local companies would be terrified. No one wanted to be abducted by the South Regent! George did not see this coming at all. “What should we do now?” His forehead was glisteni