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Chapter 218

Author: Old Pumpkin
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
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    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

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    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

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    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.

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    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

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    “I am not familiar with Riveria from three years ago. I should ask someone who knows better.” Stephen thought of George who had been living in Riveria and should know the truth about the South Regent’s defeat. He went looking for George immediately. “Three years ago, who defeated the South Regent?” The question made George ponder for a moment. “To be honest, I don’t really know. I just know that the South Regent left overnight. I also know that it is related to Ethan.” With the Grand Marshal in power, George never really cared about Riveria back then. After the Grand Marshal passed away, Ethan took over, so he continued his carefree life. He lived happily and peacefully for three years. As for why the South Regent retreated overnight, he only heard rumors about it. Stephen frowned. “Is this also related to Ethan?” Three years ago, Ethan was the one who had brought peace to Riveria. “Could Ethan be the Grand Marshal’s student?” However, Stephen quickly shook his head t

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    Stephen looked around but did not spot a third person. He ultimately pulled his attention back to Ethan. “Don’t tell me you are the one who brought peace to Riveria three years ago. Hahaha, your tricks won’t work on me anymore. Go find someone else. I’ve already figured out the truth.” Stephen sat down on the opposite couch. “After the Grand Marshal passed away, his student took over his duties and brought peace to Riveria. But he got tired of everything and decided to step down. Then he saw you, an orphan with nothing. He took pity on you and gave you all the credit, allowing you to join the Quinns and have a new identity. Am I right?” He looked at Ethan, hoping to spot shock or other expression, but all he saw was a smile. No shock, no surprise, only a smile meant for idiots. “Your story is much more interesting than life. Too bad it’s fictional. The student that you are looking for and the orphan is the same person—me,” Ethan said. “Impossible!” Stephen refused to be

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    Stephen could not help but laugh. Meanwhile, Ethan picked up a pen and paper and wrote a letter. The content was simple. He did not ask the South Regent to release the hostage. Instead, it said, “I will no longer intervene with the affairs of Riveria.”He said he would not care about Riveria anymore, and he meant it. He had managed Riveria for three years, turning it from a poor province to one of the richest in the country. He had done more than enough. Whether Riveria prospered or declined in the future had nothing to do with him. It was all in fate’s hands now. Before long, Stephen arrived.“Where is it?” He walked in and slammed his hands on Ethan’s table, saying, “Where’s the letter my senior gave you?”Ethan tossed the letter in front of Stephen. “Hmph.” Stephen held the letter smugly. “You didn’t expect it, huh? Even without your help, we managed to contact that senior. Now that I have the letter from him agreeing to help us, what are your thoughts?“Are you regret

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    Stephen looked at the contract. Other than the high price, there were no other problems.However, the high price was a humiliation for both Stephen and the whole of Riveria.He wanted to refuse and even curse them, but he had no leverage against the other party and was completely passive in this situation. If he did not agree, the crops and livestock in Riveria would be finished.Stephen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Even though he knew that many people would hate him, he still signed the contract.“Pleasure doing business with you.” The foreigners took the contract and chuckled. With that, they left.The meeting room was silent, Stephen being the only one left. He slumped into his chair, uncertain if he had made the right decision.Half an hour later, his phone rang, snapping him back to reality. He had more work to do.Many people in Riveria had been scammed into buying virtual currency, losing over ten billion. Stephen had to give the people an answer.“How did the

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    Stephen had no choice but to use a translation device, continuing the discussion while they mocked him.Despite his utmost sincerity and effort, they refused to lower their price at all, confident that they had Stephen cornered.His only option was to take money from the Quinns and pour it into developing the medicine. However, he knew the Quinns well. There was no way they would take out billions at once for something like this, especially when there were other diseases to deal with as well.They were no match for Ethan, but the Quinns were nothing to them, let alone Stephen.“We’ll get to the point.”They spoke in Stephen’s language to make sure that he understood. “You’re not good enough. Only Mr. Rivers can manage Riveria. You can’t even protect the people around you. How do you plan to protect Riveria?”Stephen’s expression soured. He knew that they were telling the truth. He had no way to refute, and being stubborn would only make him look more ridiculous.“I’m not as good

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    Stephen felt that he could come up with a solution that could save both Riveria and protect the Quinns.However, did such a solution really exist? He was not confident.“I’ll go back to my room first.” Stephen walked away.Back in his room, he sat at his desk, deep in thought.“A perfect solution...”Stephen could not think of one. The more he tried, the more his mind uncontrollably drifted back to the past.“No.” He shook his head. “I need to focus.”However, his mind and body had deteriorated from the multiple tragedies. His hair had turned grey, and he struggled to maintain focus.Stephen sighed and planned to think of a solution later. Now, he needed to address Riveria’s current problems.Crops and livestock were falling ill. He sent people to investigate the cause, but research required massive funding. Replacing the crops and animals with new ones would not be easy either.At that moment, foreign corporations suddenly announced that they had the right medicine to cure t

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    A large number of people from Riveria poured into their cities. It was already difficult to find a job, but now that a bunch of outsiders were coming to compete for positions, employment was even harder.Furthermore, after arriving in a foreign place, many of those outsiders strayed and turned to robbery and theft. Some even slept on the streets, occupying public facilities and disrupting everyone’s daily lives.People from the surrounding cities of Riveria found it unbearable. They began cursing Riverians on the internet.Meanwhile, in Riveria, people had endured enough grievances in their daily lives. Their living conditions were far from satisfactory, and they held in a lot of frustration.Now, people were scolding them online, calling them beggars and telling them to go back to Riveria and wait for their death.How could they tolerate that?They immediately retaliated online. The arguments escalated, growing more intense by the day.Eventually, people from Riveria even trave

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    Many crops had fallen sick in Riveria. The corrupted grains in Breeze City and destroyed fertile land had already dealt a huge blow to Riveria. Now, with more crops falling ill on a large scale, grain production had decreased, and fruit yields had dropped drastically. There was a problem with the livestock as well. An unknown disease spread and the affected livestock would basically end up dead, with no way to treat them and unfit for consumption. To everyone in Riveria, it was a huge blow. Prices of all food items began to rise, especially fresh vegetables and fruits. Their prices were comparable to meat. Even a single raw egg was 5 dollars, and boiled eggs for breakfast cost 7 dollars each. After hearing about it, Stephen tried to control the price, but it would cost money. Several cities in Riveria had been ruined under his management. He did not have any money left. He would not have needed to outsource infrastructure projects to other companies and corporates if he had mon

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