Simon was elated after being praised by the federal government. It was midnight, and he stood on the balcony of his high-rise building while holding a cup of tea, looking down at the brightly-lit Breeze City. “Every light represents the future and hope of Breeze City. In no time, Breeze City will shine even brighter.”Simon thought that under his wise leadership, Breeze City might become Riveria or even the brightest and most dazzling city in the entire country. Meanwhile, under the dim streetlights in Breeze City, many gangs had gathered and engaged in violent brawls. It felt like three years ago, before Riveria managed to achieve peace. The scene was just like three years ago when Riveria had not yet achieved peace. Everyone was fighting for territory and lucrative business channels. It was harder to make money in Breeze City. The stock in their hands grew, but their competitors had multiplied. To earn a living, they had no choice but to fight, to knock down their rivals. Only
“But according to our investigation, they would return after the situation in Breeze City improves. They’re also willing to recruit others from outside the city.”Simon was relatively satisfied with the results. He got his employees to summarize the data before sending it to the federal government himself. The federal government was reassured after reading the report. Although the economy in Breeze City was on the rise, it would be a problem if the population kept declining. Fortunately, the population decline was merely cyclical and not a real issue. The numbers were expected to recover after the holidays. The federal government even held a meeting. “Breeze City was originally on the verge of collapse, but Simon has managed to turn things around. He’s impressive. Did everyone learn something from this experience?”“I think this crisis management is a valuable opportunity for education. I suggest organizing a field study visit!”“Great idea! Based on Stephen’s performance, our
Everyone was looking forward to it. Not only could they have a chance to meet someone as high up as Simon on the trip, but they could also gain some precious learning experiences. It was a rare, invaluable opportunity!“It’s so quiet outside. The people must be working hard,” someone exclaimed genuinely while staring outside the window.“Yeah, who could’ve thought this city was on the brink of collapse just a few weeks ago?”“It’s too orderly and peaceful. Even a major city might not be as steady as this place.”“This place is amazing. Perhaps I could consider retiring here.”“Haha, great idea!”It was at that moment, they heard a deafening sound from the roadside. The noise was abrupt, like a lightning strike, frightening the few people in the car.“What was that?” They quickly looked in the direction of the noise. When they saw what was happening over there, they were stunned. Two groups of people were in a brawl. Each was armed, mostly with machetes, but some held guns!
Simon refused to believe a gunfight would happen in Breeze City under his wise leadership. Even a brawl was unlikely to happen, let alone a gunfight. What a ridiculous joke.Besides, Breeze City’s economy had been steadily improving in the past month, edging back toward the golden days when everyone had money in their pockets, living peacefully and prospering. How could a gunfight possibly break out?He got in a car and instructed the driver to head to that intersection. “Boom!”Before they even got close, Simon heard an explosion. The noise was like a clap of thunder, and in the surrounding houses, many people looked nervously in the direction of the intersection. Seeing the scene, Simon’s initial anger began to fade, and he started feeling uncertain. Was Breeze City truly as problem-free as he thought? Could the federal government be telling the truth?They were getting closer to the intersection when the car came to a stop. It turned out the road was blocked by other vehicle
The team noted the license plate numbers and sent people to track the cars closely.Simon strode over and said, “We must save the hostages! They cannot be harmed in any way!”The team leader nodded gravely. “Yes, sir!”Simon returned to his car. Even until now, what was happening had not fully set in yet. There was a sense of surrealism.A gunfight broke out in the city he was overseeing, and important individuals were taken hostage. How was he supposed to explain this to headquarters?Just as he was mulling it over, there was news from the interrogation of a suspect who had surrendered.It was not their first operation. They had joined a faction with over a thousand members more than half a month ago and worked for it for more than half a month. During that time, they engaged in fights and shootings and traded a large quantity of contraband.Simon was dumbfounded when he heard this.Half a month! Furthermore, each faction had over a thousand members. Two such factions would am
Thump!Simon slumped on the chair, muttering, “How could this be?”How could he be the root of this problem?Back then, when everyone came to demand their wages, if he had not taken such a hard stance and taken money from the Quinns, would things not have escalated to this point today?Simon felt horrible. He had done it to save the Quinn family’s dignity and money but caused greater humiliation instead. Furthermore, the family was likely to suffer even greater financial losses.Instead of gaining anything, he had created a disaster!Simon took a deep breath and asked, “Have the hostages been rescued?”“We’re still in the midst of negotiation.”Although several criminals were surrounded, since they had hostages, the team did not dare to act rashly. They were negotiating to see if they could persuade the criminals to release the hostages first.The gunfight and hostage incident caused a huge uproar. Everyone in Breeze City knew about it, including the leaders of several faction
Simon immediately rushed to the hospital and saw the people hospitalized with serious injuries.After falling from a speeding car and rolling on the ground for a distance before stopping, the hostages suffered multiple fractures all over their bodies, and some even had concussions.The doctor said that it would take at least a month for them to be discharged.Simon’s expression darkened as he glared at Justin. “Is that how you do your job? I told you to protect them. How could you let them get hurt?”The director felt wronged. He had already complied with all the demands of the criminals. He just did not expect them to throw the hostages from the car. However, he could not defend himself. Trying to explain it now would only cause Simon to get angrier.Simon took a deep breath to calm himself. He could not change what had already happened, so scolding Justin was completely meaningless.The most important thing now was to resolve this situation.He ordered the hospital to bring in
Simon was stunned. It was his first time working so late. Just as he wanted to go back and rest, he saw the many messages on his phone.They were all from the headquarters, asking him about the situation.Simon instantly realized that he could not rest yet. He still had to write reports and a self-reflection paper, and by the time he was done, it was already 7 in the morning.He felt dizzy. This was his first time pulling an all-nighter. He felt like his body was not his own. His heart rate was abnormally fast, and he seemed to be able to hear his pounding heartbeat.“Does pulling an all-nighter always feel so awful?” He was slightly shocked.Simon had someone prepare breakfast for him while he reported the situation to headquarters.“According to the information we have now, the gunfight did happen and erupted from client disputes between two factions. I’m investigating their backing forces now. We’ll soon have the results. As for the young men who came to visit and learn...”S
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 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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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