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Chapter 259
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The Guardian's Return Chapter 260
"You should get Michael to ask the other villagers about it, and I'll call James over," Stephen said to George.Stephen could not help but feel relieved. Having a partner to work with made things a whole lot easier. If it had just been him, he would have not thought of such a clever solution. While Ethan might have been able to outsmart him before, he had George working with him now. Even if Ethan were to step in, he would have to leave in defeat! Soon, James arrived.Stephen asked sternly, "I just received complaints from the villagers saying that the compensation you gave them was too low, only 6,000 dollars per square meter of housing and 30 thousand dollars per 666 square meters of land. Is that true? James immediately refuted, "Who said that? Such accusations! I gave them 10 thousand dollars per square meter of property and 50 thousand dollars per 666 square meters of land." Stephen narrowed his eyes as he asked, "Is that so?""I swear it’s true!" James answered.Steph
The Guardian's Return Chapter 261
"You're lying! The mayor clearly gave us 6 grand, and we were never a criminal organization," one of the villagers protested."Our children sacrificed their lives to protect Riveria!" another added. "Those weapons were meant to fight our enemies."Having already given his warning, Michael did not want to deal with these people anymore. He spat dismissively, "Just leave. Everyone's busy. Don't act entitled after getting what you were given."Lucas was thunderstruck, unable to believe the outcome. The mayor had taken their village away, and now Stephen Quinn refused to meet them. With this, it meant that they no longer had a place to live.Warm tears rolled down old Lucas’s cheeks. He never imagined that after all the sacrifices their entire village, including his own family, had made for Riveria and Celestial City, this would be their fate."Children, everyone, I've failed you!" Lucas cried out. Then, in full view of everyone, he slammed his head against the wall.Bang!Blood i
The Guardian's Return Chapter 262
Michael panicked. As someone close to George Lowe, he knew very well whether these stories were true or false.If the lies were exposed, it would be a massive blow to the tourism industry around Azure Cloud Mountain and Crystal Lake! It might even affect the food court.He hurriedly called for security to disperse the crowd, then rushed off to find Stephen Quinn and George Lowe."We have a problem!" Michael burst into the office.Stephen and George frowned. For over a month, they had been receiving streams of good news. Celestial City's GDP had recovered to 2 trillion dollars, which was not far from its peak of 2.5 trillion.Hearing "we have a problem" now seemed like bad luck."What's all the fuss about?" Stephen said coldly. "Calm down and explain."Michael was nearly out of breath. "The village chief of those villagers who came seeking justice... He just slammed his head against the wall outside!"Stephen's heart skipped a beat, but then he thought about how these villages u
The Guardian's Return Chapter 263
Taking advantage of the crowd, someone shouted, "Did you make up the legend of Crystal Lake?""Did you really take away their village and leave them homeless?""Aren't you the Grand Marshal's mentee? Aren’t you aware of those who shed blood and sweat for Riveria?"Stephen felt his face burning with shame.Each question was like a sword piercing his heart, or a slap across his face.He could not bear to look at anyone. He could only hurry back to the office with George, seeking refuge.Stephen sat restlessly, taking out his phone to browse the web. Online, he saw that Celestial City's affairs were already trending.[Shocking: Village chief who has shed blood and tears for Celestial City, whose wife and children all sacrificed themselves, is driven to suicide by Stephen Quinn!][Breaking News! The legend of Crystal Lake is fake!][Riveria's biggest scam: The Crystal Lake legend!]Clicking on these posts, he could see many on-site videos of villagers kneeling and revealing the t
The Guardian's Return Chapter 264
Many who had eaten at the risotto restaurant immediately went to the hospital for check-ups, fearing they might have fallen ill."Compensation!""Refund!""Execute them!"The entire internet was enraged. Everyone had been deceived, moved to tears by a recently fabricated story, and even swindled out of a significant amount of money.Tourist numbers in Celestial City dropped by 30% in just one day. The decline did not continue only because all plane and high-speed rail tickets for that day were sold out. Many people could not leave immediately.Numerous food businesses approached Stephen, saying, "What a massive scam. You've played us all for fools.""A Celestial City like this isn't worth staying in!"They all wanted to pull out of Celestial City!Companies that had reserved office space in the business district demanded refunds. However, since the mayor had transferred all the money out, where would they find the funds to issue refunds?The food court's customer traffic also
The Guardian's Return Chapter 265
Celestial City's population began to decrease, and its reputation started to deteriorate.However, Stephen and George did not notice any of this yet. They were still overwhelmed by Lucas's suicide attempt. They sent people to investigate the truth.The results showed that everything the villagers said was true. Not only were they not criminals, but they were also heroes who had made great sacrifices for Celestial City years ago.However, they had slandered these very heroes, calling them criminals and leaving them homeless!This was an extremely grave issue!"Where's the mayor?" Stephen demanded. "How did he conduct his investigation to cause such a mess? We can't let him escape!"The assistant replied, "We've been watching him. So far, he's been staying at home with no signs of leaving. He can't run away."Stephen breathed a sigh of relief. If the mayor had not fled, it meant he was not trying to deceive them. He must be thinking of ways to resolve this too."Let me report thi
The Guardian's Return Chapter 266
If this got online, Stephen would become the public enemy every netizen despised. “The village chief, Lucas, is still in the ICU, unconscious.” Simon prayed hard for Lucas’s well-being. If Lucas survived, he could help speak up. If he died, then there would be no way to explain himself. “It’s not just that.” Someone else said, “The legend of Crystal Lake was identified as a hoax. This impacted the tourism in the city. The food that was labeled a cultural heritage was also revoked.” Celestial City’s tourism was not fully developed in the first place. Not many people knew about Azure Cloud Mountain, let alone Crystal Lake. Most of the people only noticed Azure Cloud Mountain and Crystal Lake because of the beautiful story. Unfortunately, it was not some ancient tale but a made-up story forged recently. The people felt cheated. On top of the pricey food and underwhelming taste, people stopped going to Celestial City. “Celestial City’s deceptive move leaves a bitter taste
The Guardian's Return Chapter 267
“Huh!?” A bad feeling rose in Stephen’s heart. He shouted at his men, “Open the damn door!” “We don’t have the keys.” “Then, ram it down!” he shouted. Unfortunately, ramming down a heavy-duty door with an electronic lock with mere muscles was nearly impossible. They had to contact a locksmith and spend twenty minutes to break in. Stephen rushed in and saw the mayor sitting on the couch in the living room with a smirk.“You bastard!” The mayor was at home from the start, and the call was merely a prank. Stephen was infuriated. He strode forward and raised his hand for a slap. Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out, “We meet again.” Stephen froze. He widened his eyes to have a better look at the mayor and to his surprise, this ‘mayor’ looked strange. The ‘mayor’ seemed thinner and his facial features looked more defined. More importantly, he recognized the voice. “You’re not the mayor! You’re the one who abducted Richard!” It was the man who had pointed the gun at
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The Guardian's Return Chapter 920
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 Guardian's Return Chapter 919
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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 918
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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 917
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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 916
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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 915
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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 914
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.
The Guardian's Return Chapter 913
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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 912
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
