Back in the meeting room of the federal government’s office, Simon was having a meeting with his men to discuss a solution for the matter, hoping to stabilize Celestial City’s economy. They could not afford to lose whatever progress they had made so far. “There are two issues now. The first one is Lucas hurting himself after the slander, and the other one is deceiving the tourists.” Someone said, “For the first issue, apology and compensation are a must. We also have to reward them. We will take care of Lucas’s medical fees. Then, that will put a stop to the outrage in the village.” Simon nodded and added, “I think that’s not enough. We have to relocate them to a better place. They don’t have a place to settle down, so they need somewhere to call home.” One more issue remained. “As for the tourists being cheated, it’s not exactly a big deal, but it’s a problem that we must take care of as well. If we can just apologize, things will calm down a lot faster.” Another person
Others were unaware, but Simon knew the entire truth. Stephen was not the mentee of the Grand Marshal. He was just an impersonator! Ethan was the one who brought peace to Riveria three years ago and was currently locked up in Drakthorn Ridge! Riveria had no one who could rival or suppress the South Regent, hence his recent movements. If the South Regent was not dealt with, he would continue to harm the entire province. As the King Beyond the Border, he had the power to run over Riveria easily. Simon feigned a calm look and said, “Stephen will deal with the South Regent. Meanwhile, we have to find out what the mayor has done to Celestial City.” Soon, Stephen came back with results. As the restrictions on housing purchases were lifted, the mayor raised prices and sold them at a peak, raking in a fortune. The development areas were left idle without any real construction going on and were all sold out in the pre-sales. He fled with all the money, leaving behind empty,
The South Regent remained calm as ice. He had been rivaling Ethan for a long time, and albeit never winning once, he had learned many experiences from the exchanges. “If you don’t want to play anymore, send your men here. If any man crosses the border, I will fire a missile at the surrounding areas. If we are done for, you people will suffer as well.” Simon bellowed fiercely, “Don’t drag the innocent into this!” The South Regent calmly said, “It’s just a self-protection measure.” “It’s despicable!” “I don’t care if it’s despicable or not as long as it’s effective.” The South Regent remained unfazed. Having lost too much, his patience and endurance had reached exceptional levels. “Actually, it’s your son’s incompetence that caused all of this. If it’s Ethan, we wouldn’t dare to even make a move.” Speaking of Ethan, the South Regent reminisced and thought of what Ethan used to do. He said, “Let me tell you a story. Two years ago, we had another faction here who could ri
Simon never anticipated the South Regent to return the money. He simply called the man to pour out his grievance. To his surprise, he was shaken by the story he heard. After the call, he called Stephen right away. “Don’t go to Ethan anymore. He’s a despicable and deceptive man.” Stephen had no idea what happened, but since his father had spoken, he simply nodded. “I understand. He will spend the rest of his life in the mountains with no visitors.” Simon felt relieved. “I need you to prepare some money and find a good location for the villagers. Throw in something extra as compensation. You must let them know you did not intentionally target the villagers, and that it’s all the mayor’s fault.” Stephen nodded. “And, keep an eye on Lucas. Don’t let anything happen to him. Get the best doctor to treat him and take care of the bills.” Stephen nodded again. He understood the stakes. If Lucas died, then he would be the culprit, and even if he shifted the blame to the mayor,
Devastated, Stephen widened his eyes in shock and staggered backward. George asked anxiously, “Is there nothing else you can do?” The doctor shook his head in silence. “Nothing? We can pay you more!” George refused to give up just yet. “We will take care of the medical bills!” The doctor continued to shake his head. “It’s not about money. We have already done our best. But if you insist, there is actually hope. “There’s a famous neurosurgeon in Riveria. People call him Dr. Federick Rodman. He has performed more than a thousand brain surgeries on various scales, and his patients are as old as 90 years old. If he’s here, he might be able to save this man.” George and Stephen’s eyes lit up. Hope! “Where is he?!” The doctor said helplessly, “Metropolis, but it has been years since he’s performed any surgery.” George and Stephen noted down every detail. “We got it. We’ll get him here to treat Lucas,” Stephen said. “Please take care of him while we are away!” He then
“Can’t you see we are talking?! Get out!” Stephen chased the patient out and then stopped Dr. Rodman from typing on his phone. “Dr. Rodman, we don’t have much time left. Please come with me.” Dr. Rodman realized things were much more complicated. He moved Stephen’s hand away and then continued to search for the name online. As he went through the search results and the related articles, Dr. Rodman’s expression darkened. Stephen and George had forcibly taken the villagers' homes, robbing them of their properties. When the village chief, Lucas, demanded an explanation, he was slandered and labeled a gangster. In the end, Lucas rammed himself into the wall to prove his innocence. “You!” Dr. Rodman stared at Stephen. The culprit himself was asking for help and even lied instead of telling the truth, hoping that the doctor would not find out. Stephen looked down in silence. He did not know what to say. George was also present. He stepped up and said, “Dr. Rodman, please calm
Stephen was slightly stunned. “He only listens to two people in his whole life. The first one is the Grand Marshal and the other is Mr. Ethan Rivers.” “What?!” Stephen was baffled. Why would Dr. Rodman listen to Ethan? “I don’t know about the details, but he used to serve under Mr. Rivers.” Stephen went back and started looking into Dr. Rodman’s background. “He used to treat the Grand Marshal. When the Grand Marshal passed away, he followed Ethan and continued his practice. He was once abducted by the South Regent, but Ethan saved him. Ethan is his savior?!” Stephen was speechless. It seemed like Ethan was the only one who could persuade Dr. Rodman to help. He was the doctor’s savior after all. Only Ethan could request the doctor to save Lucas and Celestial City. Stephen wanted to make a move to Ethan’s place but quickly thought of something else. Just a few hours ago, he promised his father to never meet Ethan again. He also said that Ethan would spend the rest o
Ethan chuckled. “You come to me for help, but you aren’t telling me the truth. Is this how you ask for help? You may leave now.” George grew anxious. He had just arrived, but Ethan was already asking him to leave. “Okay. I admit that it was us who made him do it. He rammed himself into the wall to prove his innocence. He’s a hero and he can’t die. You wouldn’t want a veteran to die in vain, would you?” Ethan nodded. “That’s what I don’t want to see, but too bad. I am now locked up here as a prisoner. If you people can’t save him, what can I do?” George explained, “No, there is something you can do. Dr. Rodman can save him, and you are the doctor’s savior. If only you’d talk to the doctor, he could be on his way to Celestial City.” Ethan said, “It’s Dr. Rodman’s freedom whether he wants to save the man or not. I respect his decision.” George clenched his fists and teeth nervously. “Hmph. You are just giving excuses. You don’t want the veteran to be saved!” “I see you are get