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
“They also have reinforcements. It’s not just the two factions who have armed forces. There are even more factions we don’t know about! They’re just the tip of the iceberg! We need reinforcements!”What they were facing was not as simple as two factions. It involved armed groups. A stronger team was needed to handle this problem.The call ended, but Simon was still frozen with his phone in his hand. Although the call was not long, the information it provided was overwhelming.The two factions were not small fries and had foreign support.Furthermore, there were not just two factions in Breeze City.Simon slowly lowered his phone. He had not rested for a full day and night, but now, all his drowsiness was gone. His appetite that had come with his good mood was also completely gone.The breakfast was exquisite and nutritious, but neither did he touch it nor did he want to anymore.Trouble had arrived, and it was far bigger and more unexpected than he had imagined!He quickly call
At 10 a.m., Simon called the South Regent again.The call connected quickly, and the South Regent asked, “Who is this?”Simon’s expression darkened. The South Regent must have known that it was him but was feigning ignorance. Did he think that Simon was easy to mess with?Simon took a deep breath. “It’s me, Simon Quinn.”“Oh, it’s you, boss.” The South Regent emphasized the word ‘boss’, but there was no hint of respect in his tone. “Do you need something from me?”Simon asked in a low voice, “There are armed individuals in Breeze City. Does this have anything to do with you?”The South Regent said, “You can’t make such accusations without evidence. Do you have any proof?”The matter was indeed related to him. After all, he was the first to open Breeze City’s market. The other factions only got involved later.After repeated failures against Ethan, the South Regent became extremely cautious, making sure that Simon could not find any evidence against him.He had even prepared ex
“Everything we’ve worked hard on would go to waste, and the Quinn family would be plunged into endless doom. The federal government would cull us. Nobody would let us off.”The issue now was not as simple as stealing Ethan’s achievements and locking him up. They were unafraid to do it in the past because they thought Ethan was an incapable orphan without any backing. They figured he just got lucky. However, they were wrong. Ethan turned out to be the Grand Marshal’s only mentee and the head of the Ledger family’s chosen one. He was also the one who intimidated the South Regent into retreating and achieving peace for Riveria. Everyone in the province owed him their lives.Just the revelation of his identity and achievements would be more than they could handle, and there was a new problem. Under their management, Riveria had nothing but problems. The province was once the nation’s largest, boasting a 15 trillion GDP, but how much of it was left now? It had long since fallen to
It happened all too suddenly. He had done everything he could to prevent this. He had made countless preparations, ensuring no criminals or illegal weapons could get in, and even arranged his own men to be the “lucky audience” chosen for the interactive session. Yet, he had not expected a celebrity of that level to speak out for Ethan. Simon racked his brains, trying to figure out how it all happened. However, how would he know that the celebrity had become famous thanks to Ethan? His mind buzzed, completely blank. He could only say, “We will investigate this matter. Everyone, please wait for our notice. For now, please continue to enjoy tonight’s show!”He handed the mic to the host and rushed off stage. The show had to go on. He had put too much effort into inviting celebrities and pouring money into security to have it go to waste like that.Unfortunately, people’s attention was not on the show anymore. Stephen, Simon, Riveria, and Ethan immediately started trending. The e
However, the truth was that everything she went through had nothing to do with Ethan, while the hardships he had encountered were even more unbearable than hers. However, he always remained calm and was even willing to lend a hand. “I’m sorry.” Snow trembled, tears streaking across her face. There was so much she wanted to say, but she did not know where to start. She could only apologize repeatedly and wipe her tears away. Her heart was filled with resentment toward Stephen, who was no human at all! Lily also spoke, her voice shaking, “I can’t believe you were the author. And you’ve done so much!”She thought back to the first time they met and when she called Ethan petty. Now, she finally understood how generous Ethan was. He had sacrificed himself to protect everyone in Riveria, saved her life when she should have been dead, and helped her find a new meaning in life. Yet what about him? He was imprisoned in that desolate mountain alone. Lily thought about herself. As the
Leo continued, "The song I just performed, my breakthrough hit, was written by him, and not just this song, but many other well-known songs and TV shows… He was behind them all."He listed several works that were famous nationwide and even worldwide, like "The Cosmic Conundrum," "Nick's Maritime Tales," "An Aquatic Adventure," "Billy and the Magical Realm," and "The Divine Ring.”The audience was stunned. The list Leo provided included many of their beloved works. They never imagined that the creator of these treasured pieces had done so much good for society.Even more shocking was the author's fate. He was falsely accused and had his achievements stolen. Worst of all, he was wrongfully imprisoned!The audience's anger ignited as they shouted from below the stage."Who was treated so unjustly?""Tell us who it is! We can't allow a hero to be treated this way!""Those who sacrifice for others shouldn't be left to freeze in the storm!""Was it Ethan Rivers who did this? He's cor
"I regret not being there in person. Hearing this live would've made my life complete.""Tell me about it. I had tickets but gave them away. Now I'm kicking myself.""Who wrote this song? It reminds me of graduation day."Three years after its release, the TV show was trending again because of the song."Even after three years, I wish the writer would change the ending.""Forget changing it completely, just give us a glimmer of hope!""Please just kill me. Why write such a heartbreaking ending?"Back at the mansion, a group of people discussed the drama over dinner.Cora sighed. "The female lead died of cancer, and the male lead ended up going to their dream university alone. That ending destroyed me.""I know." Lily wiped away tears. "Everyone in my class talked about it. We all thought it was too tragic."Avery nodded. "It was seeing separations like this that drove me to study medicine."After witnessing the Grand Marshal's death and the drama's ending, she threw herself
A celebrity slowly walked onto the stage.The crowd erupted in excitement when they saw him, shouting his name. It was Leo Cross, the hottest singer of recent years.Though in his forties, he was good-looking. Combined with his naturally husky voice, his song "One Person Remembering Another" went viral three years ago."Hello, everyone." Leo smiled as he walked to center stage. "I'm Leo Cross. Today, I'll be performing my breakthrough hit, 'One Person Remembering Another.'"The audience burst into thunderous applause.The song was universally known not just for its beautiful lyrics but also for being the theme song of a wildly popular TV drama. The show, which centered around school life, young romance, and heartbreak, moved millions to tears with its finale where the leads parted ways.Viewers, devastated by the ending, took to social media demanding the writer change it. Even those who had not watched a single episode felt the weight of that ending. The show was hailed as that
That step was called "forging the heart." The logic was simple: if they could kill someone they loved, what else would they hesitate to do?Yet, even with such brutal training, those assassins failed, and their organizations were eventually destroyed root and branch."If it were me," the South Regent said, "I would ask him: 'Everyone around you, in every city you've been to, has met with misfortune. You had solutions to all these problems, so why did you just stand by and watch it happen?'"He turned to Ethan with a grin. "What do you think of my question, Lord Rivers?""Don't ask such foolish questions during dinner," Ethan replied coolly. "If you want to break him, just have Hugo ask him when he plans to die."The South Regent froze, stunned by the vast difference between his approach and Ethan's. Ethan's question was not just more concise; it was lethal.Hugo was Stephen's greatest weakness. If Hugo were to ask Stephen about his death, the results would be devastating. A blow
Perhaps he would end up coughing up blood and being hospitalized again. Then, all their previous efforts to comfort him would be instantly ruined. On top of it all, those questions would reveal many truths they had desperately tried to conceal.Simon quickly had someone escort the lucky audience member away while ordering others to forge Stephen's spending records. After that, he hurried up on stage himself."I’m sorry. There was a small interruption just now. I know all of you have many questions, so let me explain everything. Stephen is indeed the Grand Marshal's only successor. As for what that person said about the spending records, those were baseless lies. I've gotten someone to retrieve the spending records, which will be published online later.”Simon spoke with conviction. "That person earlier was deliberately trying to sabotage the event."Due to our excellent security measures, they found no way to disrupt the event. And so, they got desperate and started making up lies
The number of viewers in the livestream skyrocketed.Everyone wanted to know if Stephen’s skills really came from the Grand Marshal. Would the Grand Marshal really have trained a student like him?All eyes were on Stephen.Now, it was Stephen’s turn to be silent. He had not expected this question, and he instinctively wanted to lie.However, just as he was about to speak, Ethan’s words from today flashed through his mind.“You don’t even dare to tell the truth. What right do you have to apologize?”Maintaining a lie often meant weaving an even bigger one, over and over, until the truth was inevitably exposed.Should he admit the truth?Stephen hesitated. If he revealed the truth here, everything would end. He would not have to be so exhausted anymore.“What are you waiting for?” Suddenly, Simon’s voice rang in his earpiece, “Hurry up and answer. You are the Grand Marshal’s student. The gala is our only hope. Nothing can go wrong!”Stephen’s heart instantly sank. He wanted to