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Chapter 606
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The Guardian's Return Chapter 607
That night, Desmond went home to find Victor already there, chatting with his wife.“Mr. Hughes!” Desmond was very shocked. He never thought that Victor would show up in his house.When Desmond came back, his wife excused herself, knowing she was not privy to their conversation later.“Sit, Desmond.” Victor smiled.Desmond sat down, confused. It was his home, yet someone else was offering him a seat.“What brings you here, Mr. Hughes?” Desmond asked.He could not think of any reason why Victor would approach him.Victor asked, “What are your thoughts on the future of Breeze City?”Desmond frowned. “What kind of question is that?”“Just tell me honestly,” said Victor. “After Stephen’s arrival and all that’s happened in Breeze City, do you have any confidence in the city’s future?”Desmond hesitated. He wanted to say he was confident, but everyone knew what Stephen had done.No city had escaped Stephen’s clutches, and Riveria’s GDP had plummeted from 15 trillion to less than
The Guardian's Return Chapter 608
Stephen had no idea that his authority was being undermined. As he looked over the reports handed to him by Desmond and Rachel, everything seemed perfect. It eased the tension that had been gnawing at him for a while.As he read the fabricated reports, he felt optimistic about Breeze City’s future. He had failed too many times, but Breeze City would be the critical point to turn everything around. He would bring it to new heights, and not just here—every city he had touched before would feel the ripple effects of his success.“Riveria will collapse without Ethan? I don’t think so!”Two weeks later, Stephen noticed something off. Although the reports looked good, the construction in the development zone had not started yet. Furthermore, occasional complaints online stated that they had only received a hundred thousand as compensation for five acres of land.He called Desmond in for questioning.“Work in the development zone is already starting. We just finalized the negotiations wi
The Guardian's Return Chapter 609
It was early evening when he got the call.“There are indeed many discrepancies in the accounts. The news about farmers receiving only several hundred thousand dollars for a few acres of land is also true…”The report continued, but at that moment, Stephen could not hear any of it. From the moment he heard the first statement, it felt like he had been struck by lightning.There were discrepancies in the accounts, and the data he read was falsified?Stephen quickly rushed home and ordered Desmond’s arrest.When he arrived home, he saw Rachel sitting on the sofa on the phone with someone. He immediately grabbed the phone to see who she was talking to. However, it was just an ordinary friend of Rachel’s.“What are you doing?” Rachel asked furiously, startled by him suddenly snatching her phone.Stephen held back the urge to slap her.“Why did you falsify the data?”Rachel was confused. “What data? What did I falsify?”“There are serious discrepancies in the data of all the repor
The Guardian's Return Chapter 610
“According to the dashcam, it’s highly likely that the accident was caused by brake failure.”“Brake failure?” Stephen said, “So it was just an accident?”“From what we observe, it’s just an accident,” the subordinate replied.Stephen stepped away from the scene, took a deep breath, and ordered, “Detain his family members.”The subordinate said awkwardly, “His wife is also dead.”“What?” Stephen hurriedly asked, “How?”“Car accident,” said the subordinate. “The same one.”Stephen fell silent for a moment. The phrase "what goes around comes around" crossed his mind, but the important thing was that the missing money still had not been recovered. As such, he instructed someone to trace Desmond’s money.When he returned home, Rachel rushed up to him and asked, “How was it?”“Desmond is really dead. He got into a car accident with his wife. They died on the spot. We’re still investigating where the money went.”Upon hearing that both Desmond and his wife were dead, Rachel felt ev
The Guardian's Return Chapter 611
Edward was penniless, left with nothing but his title as CEO. However, his company was now empty, reduced to ruins, and his accounts were completely drained.In other words, Stephen Quinn could not recover any money or get anything from Edward.Stephen grabbed Edward's collar and shouted, "How could you do something so extreme? Are you even human?"Edward gave a bitter laugh. "I had no choice."In Breeze City, the Spencers were a powerful family, but compared to the Hugheses in Metropolis, it was like comparing a firefly’s radiance to the moon’s.He could not resist Victor Hughes. Splitting up the assets to preserve some of the Spencer family’s fortune was already the best he could do with everything at his disposal."Who is it?" Stephen gritted his teeth. "There's clearly someone behind you. Who?"Edward's accounts had been emptied from abroad, and neither Nolan nor Tyler Spencer's accounts showed any sudden influx of money. The money had not gone to any of them. This meant tha
The Guardian's Return Chapter 612
Stephen wanted to resolve everything quickly before things got out of hand. However, Victor would not give him that chance. He immediately called the reporters and started a live broadcast."I regret to inform you all of some terrible news," he began. "I just received notice that after Stephen Quinn approved Edward Spencer's grain company to operate independently, the company heartlessly drove down purchase prices for grain, then repackaged ordinary grain as premium and health-conscious products for sale and pre-order, causing massive losses for everyone."As soon as I learned of this, I immediately investigated the embezzled funds. However, due to Stephen's negligence, all the money has been transferred abroad and cannot be recovered."The worst has yet to come, however, as the development zone project that Stephen proposed has been severely misappropriated and sabotaged by the mayor he selected. I sent people to arrest the mayor and track the money, but the latter died in a car ac
The Guardian's Return Chapter 613
They had already been played for fools, and now they were being mocked by everyone online. Humiliated as they trembled and felt their blood run cold, they frantically deleted their posts and dared not look at their phones again.Meanwhile, the news kept spreading.Some people went to check the office building and found it truly empty; even the security guards were gone.Everyone finally realized the situation was actually happening as Victor conveyed. They had all been scammed. Their money had been sent abroad, never to be recovered.They felt like they had been played. First with the contaminated grain incident that had fooled them and harmed their health, and now this again.The people of Breeze City could no longer contain their anger."Where's Stephen Quinn? Where are you hiding? Come out and explain yourself!""Stephen Quinn, you're an animal!""If you wanted to kill us, you should have stabbed us directly! What kind of coward are you?"Seeing the public outrage, Victor d
The Guardian's Return Chapter 614
After the news of Edward Spencer's execution was announced, the agitated people of Breeze City calmed down slightly."At least, Stephen Quinn did one decent thing.""Good riddance! After scamming us like that, even dying ten thousand times over wouldn't be enough.""He got off too easy. They should have dragged his corpse through the streets."They had previously attacked and mocked those who were unable to afford the safe grain. After the tables turned and they were mocked mercilessly, they transformed their humiliation into rage, venting it all on Edward Spencer.It was as if viciously cursing the deceased Edward could make their past foolishness disappear and stop people from laughing at them.Stephen watched these people cursing Edward, his heart heavy with emotion. These people knew nothing. Only he knew that Edward was not the mastermind behind everything. He was just a pawn pushed out to take the bullet."These poor people think it's over, that their humiliation can be wa
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The Guardian's Return Chapter 876
Hearing Stephen’s positive response, the people in Riveria calmed down slightly.“I hope they can recover the money soon.”“I took out a loan on my house to invest. If we don’t get it back, my family is done for.”“Let’s believe in Stephen. No matter what, he was the Grand Marshal’s mentee.”“He did a good job running Riveria before. I’m sure he can do it again.”“Yeah. This is just a minor issue compared to before.”Most people expressed their trust in Stephen. They could tell that he was far more worn out than before. His hair, which had shown signs of turning black again, had faded back to white again. Some people even felt sorry for him.However, there were others who doubted his abilities. The scammers had fled abroad. Would Stephen be able to catch them, and even if they were caught, could the money be recovered? What if the scammers had laundered the money by auctioning off artwork?They voiced their concerns online. Some people agreed, understanding why they were worrie
The Guardian's Return Chapter 875
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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 874
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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 873
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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 872
In the past, George also thought that Riveria would not collapse even without Ethan. With himself and the Quinn family, Stephen could still bring Riveria to new heights.Now, he understood.What the former governor, Liam, and the others said was true: Riveria would fall without Ethan.Neither the Lowes, the Quinns, nor even all the families in Metropolis combined, could manage Riveria.Without Ethan, Riveria was doomed.Stephen lowered his head. If it were in the past, he would have laughed if he had heard such words, thinking it was a joke.How was he inferior to Ethan? Whatever Ethan could do, he could do too, and better at that!Now, he could not laugh.He realized the truth too.The first city’s downfall was a coincidence, the second was due to negligence, and the third was an accident, but what about the fourth? The fifth?He could come up with a thousand excuses, but it would not change the truth.The reality was that he was far inferior to Ethan. Only Ethan could save
The Guardian's Return Chapter 871
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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 870
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
The Guardian's Return Chapter 869
The two walked over to Stephen and glanced at him. His limbs were intact, and he was unharmed. Rachel looked at him with disdain. “You’re a man. Why are you suddenly crying?”George was dissatisfied too. “How embarrassing. You don’t have any dignity.”Stephen heard it all. He did not want to cry either, but he could not hold it in. The moment the fridge door would not close, he thought of everything he experienced in the past six months and broke down instantly. Although the Quinns always taught him how to act as a young master, they never told him that he was also just an ordinary man. “What a disgrace.” Rachel turned around and went up the stairs. George could not be bothered either and returned to his room. A few minutes later, Stephen calmed down. He wiped his tears, adjusted his mindset, stood up from the ground, and ordered takeout from his phone. He thought he could finally eat something, but half an hour later, the delivery guy called him, asking him to get the fo
The Guardian's Return Chapter 868
Stephen felt as if the sky had collapsed when he heard this. He still held onto a sliver of hope the previous day, thinking that since he was found by the roadside, Ethan must have at least brought him down the mountain. However, the truth was that the South Regent had carried him down. If not for the South Regent, Ethan would not spare him a glance even if he knelt to his death!The South Regent looked at the table beside him. “Your table is too clean. There’s no fruit basket or flowers. Did you really have no visitors the whole of yesterday?”Stephen did not speak. He knew the South Regent was mocking him, but he was unable to retort. He had been an absolute failure over the past six months and had nothing to boast of. In fact, Stephen was starting to think he somehow deserved it. “Tsk tsk,” the South Regent looked at Stephen and said, “You’re a completely different person compared to when you just got here.”When Stephen first arrived in Riveria, he was full of himself, a
