Meanwhile, Victor was also making his move.Daniel, Caleb, and the South Regent had already taken action. Next, it was his turn. However, his role was not to confront Stephen but to destroy Stephen’s evidence.He knew that Stephen had forged several years’ worth of transaction records to make it look like he had been living in Riveria the entire time, and Victor’s job was to expose that. On top of that, he had told George to record Simon and Stephen’s conversations in secret. Ethan also gave him a few tasks yesterday.First, he was to take control of all security personnel, and no one was to make a move without his command. Second, he was to control all journalists and make sure the live broadcast was not cut off. Third, he would bring Hugo to the stage.Victor did not understand what Ethan’s plan was, but since he was ordered to do so, he made all the preparations. Now, all that was left was to wait for the commendation ceremony.At night, Simon, Stephen, George, and Rachel gat
The next day, Simon and Stephen were busy as the commendation ceremony was tomorrow. It was a major event not only for Stephen but for the whole of Riveria.Many business owners saw an opportunity. Since Breeze City was at its lowest economic point, entering at that moment meant enjoying various incentives and gaining Stephen’s favor.Once the commendation ceremony took place, Breeze City, under Stephen’s leadership, would become the center of attention. By then, getting a foothold in Breeze City would no longer be easy since everyone would want a piece of it.Early in the morning, Simon and Stephen started receiving messages from major companies wanting to invest in Breeze City.Simon and Simon were thrilled. They realized they had underestimated the benefits that the commendation ceremony would bring. Businesses were proactively reaching out for collaboration without them having to do it. “Our fates have turned,” said Stephen. “After so many failures, our good days are finally
Stephen would surely lead Riveria to new heights, and the Quinns would become Metropolis’s most powerful and influential family. Building a good relationship with Stephen would only bring benefits.When Simon heard that Stephen’s friends were calling for him, he went home alone.Stephen met with his friends from the various families of Metropolis and smiled. “Why are you all here?”The group surrounded him, showering him with praise.“Steph, you’re amazing. I didn’t know how incredible you are.”“Yeah, no wonder you could answer those riddles so easily.”“You’re my idol now. I admire you so much!”“Steph, did the Grand Marshal give you any advice? Tell us, too!”Stephen felt incredibly pleased with himself, being the center of attention and receiving endless praise.“It’s all in the past. It’s nothing worth mentioning. Since you’re all here today, let me treat you guys to a meal.”Victor was included in the group. He wanted to laugh when he saw how arrogant Stephen was, but h
‘Jason probably doesn’t know that Lily is still alive. That’s why he hates me.’ Stephen thought, ‘If I bring Lily back, Jason would surely thank me.’He imagined the scene of himself holding Lily’s hand and returning her to her family.He was undoubtedly a hero, having contributed significantly to Riveria. Furthermore, he was the heir of the Quinn family and the Grand Marshal’s only successor. With those titles and achievements, bringing the supposedly dead Lily back would make her entire family kneel before him.Even Jason, who had dared to insult him before, would have to lower his head and show him respect.After saying goodbye to everyone, Stephen left.The group sighed as they watched him leave.“Stephen is on a whole different level than us.”“Yeah. We need to learn from him.”“Stephen is amazing. He’s undoubtedly the best among the younger generation.”On his way home, some passersby recognized Stephen’s car and waved at him. “Stephen, thanks for everything you’ve done
“Even after Riveria achieved peace, he never allowed himself to relax. He worked hard to improve the economy and finally made Riveria the top province in the country. Today, let us all thank him for his contributions. Without Stephen, Riveria would not be where it is today!”The applause was deafening. “Let’s welcome Stephen to the stage!”Under everyone’s expectant gazes, Stephen slowly walked to the stage and took the microphone to give a speech he had prepared beforehand. “Thank you for all your support and admiration. Everything I did was nothing extraordinary. It is my responsibility and duty, not something to boast about. Besides, I still have much room for improvement. I hope you will all keep me accountable so that I can continue to improve.”The audience clapped excitedly. The viewers on the livestream nodded in admiration as they listened to his speech, sending out countless supportive comments.Meanwhile, the federal government in the capital watched Stephen’s speech
“This is Hugo, and he’s a good friend of mine. To save me, he almost got killed.”Everyone immediately understood who Hugo was—Hugo was another hero!Stephen glanced at Hugo. “You showing up today feels like a gift. Now that you’re fine, the weight on my chest has finally lifted. From now on, I won’t let any harm come to you!”Hugo merely smiled coldly. He would have been moved if that had been in the past, but now, he knew what type of person Stephen was. Did any of those achievements have anything to do with Stephen?Hugo held the microphone and spoke slowly, “Before that, can you answer two of my questions?”Stephen was stunned, his brain unable to process why Hugo would suddenly ask that. “My first question,” Hugo said as he recalled what Ethan had said to him. “When did Riveria’s GDP hit the 15 trillion dollars mark?”The moment Stephen heard the question, he understood that Hugo was not on his side. Like Daniel, Caleb, and the South Regent, Hugo was there to expose his
Cold sweat dripped down Stephen’s face. His eyes scanned the surroundings nervously, but he could not bring himself to look at Hugo. He and Simon made many preparations for the commendation ceremony. Any posts questioning him online were swiftly dealt with without any reasoning just to prevent momentum from building. At the venue, Daniel, Caleb, and the South Regent would be arrested on sight, giving them no room to cause trouble. Yet, even the most careful plans could fail, and Hugo was the one who showed up.That man, who had once done Stephen a great favor by saving him, did not need to post his questions online. He could come straight to Stephen without anyone stopping him because everyone assumed he was on Stephen’s side. Yet, Hugo was the one who asked the last two questions! Everything was going according to Ethan’s plan. “Answer me!” Hugo questioned loudly. “You’re Riveria’s leader and the Grand Marshal’s mentee. Don’t you know when Riveria’s GDP hit 15 trillion dollar
At that moment, it was not just Stephen panicking. Simon was also losing his composure. He did not know much about Riveria or the Grand Marshal, and now he was learning that the Grand Marshal had a granddaughter. Simon’s mind was buzzing loudly and completely blank. What should he do now? He turned his head around and saw the audience looking at them. The dark camera lenses not far away were also focused on them. “Turn them off!” He shouted in fear, “Stop filming! Cut the livestream! Cut the livestream now!”Seeing how panicked he looked, everyone’s hearts sank. The more panicked Simon was, the clearer it became that there was something wrong with Stephen’s identity. Stephen could not even answer such basic questions, and now, with both their reactions, the crowd fell silent. Those in the federal government also frowned. “Let’s go!” Simon did not dare to stay any longer. He quickly grabbed Stephen and ran down the stage. It was not just about answering the questions anymo
Stephen spun around anxiously, glancing and trying to find the figure of the two women in the crowd. The South Regent and Victor could not help but laugh at the side. “Stop teasing him,” Victor said. Stephen looked at them. “What do you mean?”The South Regent tried to hold back his laughter. “I tricked you. You didn’t run in the wrong direction. We took the boat here.”Stephen glanced at the river and, true enough, saw a small boat. He was in such a rush that he did not notice it. “Where are they?” Stephen could no longer care whether he was tricked. Right now, nothing was more important than finding Snow and Lily. “They left. Duh.” The South Regent said, “The festival is almost over, so they left. Although you didn’t run the wrong way, you were too late.”Stephen yelled, “Impossible!”“It’s true. They left,” Victor added. “Nonsense!” Stephen stood on his tiptoes and scanned his surroundings. “Snow! Lily! Where are you?”Victor shook his head. “Did you really think
The two people he thought about day and night and felt the most guilt for were on the opposite side of the river. The day he lost Snow, he searched desperately through the abandoned village, overwhelmed with agony. The day he lost Lily, his hair turned grey overnight, and he stood on top of the cliff on Drakthorn Ridge, the thought of jumping down crossing his mind several times. Later, when he stole Ethan’s achievements and gained the hope of joining the cabinet, he thought he had another chance to find them. That was until Riviera plunged into chaos again, and his chance disappeared. He thought he would never be able to find them for the rest of his life, yet now, there they were across the river. They were so close to him—only twenty meters away!Stephen trembled as he watched them gently raise their sparklers with bright smiles lighting up their faces. When he returned to his senses, he dashed past Ethan and rushed to the riverbank, waving his hands frantically. “I’m here!
Thanks to Stephen’s shout out, many tourists came to the town to join the festival. Stephen watched the bustling crowd, lost in thought, when two familiar figures suddenly appeared.Stephen trembled as his eyes widened in disbelief. They were Snow and Lily!He snapped out of his daze and rushed into the crowd. However, when he was standing right where he had seen them, they were gone. He looked around him, but with so many people moving around, he could not look far.“Was it just my imagination?”Stephen calmed himself down. He had been through so much lately that he was starting to hallucinate. How could Snow and Lily be there anyway?Believing he needed some rest, he booked a room and took a nap. When he lay down on the bed, he quickly fell asleep from all the exhaustion.He dreamed about Snow and Lily, as well as Rhys. However, Rhys was surrounded by thick fog that obscured his face.Stephen looked at him and asked, “Did you ever think of giving up?”Rhys said, “There are so
“He’s amazing.” Stephen asked excitedly, “Where is he now? I’d like to meet him.”The mayor took a deep drag of his cigarette and blew it out. “You can’t.”“Huh?” Stephen did not understand.The mayor replied, “He’s dead.”Stephen froze. Rhys, the person hailed as the second Ethan Rivers, was dead? “How could that be?”The mayor gazed at the sky outside the door. “It’s been like this since ancient times. Heroes never live long enough to grow old in this world. He got cancer and passed away not long after Riveria achieved peace. We started this festival to honor him and other heroes.”The mayor’s voice was filled with regret.“He was a good kid. It’s such a shame.”Stephen was lost in a daze. Just moments ago, he was thrilled to hear of Rhys’ past, thinking he was saved. If he could find Rhys, the problems in Riveria would be solved easily. However, Rhys was dead. In fact, he had been gone for several years.Stephen’s so-called hope never existed.“How could this be…” He cou
The mayor looked out at the blue sky, lost in thought.“Since she chose you, I’ll step aside,” Rhys said as he handed his friend the keepsake his childhood sweetheart had once given him when they swore their love.“Besides, given these chaotic times, love isn’t something I can afford to dwell on. I have to live up to the expectations people have of me. I can’t let them down.” He looked at the girl one last time and took a deep breath before saying, “Goodbye.”His family was destroyed at a young age, so Rhys longed for peace more than anyone. He always wanted to be part of the effort to protect Riveria.The year he graduated from university, the Grand Marshal passed away. All of Riveria was in despair, believing that Riveria was doomed. However, Rhys was determined to join Ethan’s forces.In multiple operations, he displayed excellent skills, strategic thinking, and intelligence, allowing Ethan to take notice of him and guide him. In turn, Rhys learned a lot from Ethan.“Study the
The mayor nodded and explained the origin of the festival and its name.“Riveria used to be a chaos-filled land, but many unsung heroes stepped up to make it better. The peace we enjoy today is all thanks to their selfless dedication.“The name Rhys Festival comes from a man named Rhys Estrela. He was once a subordinate of Mr. Rivers, who made great sacrifices for Riveria. There’s a local saying that goes, ‘A single spark can start a prairie fire.’ We always believe that as long as we don’t give up, Riveria will surely thrive.”Those words sent a chill down Stephen’s spine. The mayor mentioned Mr. Rivers, and while others might not know who that was, Stephen knew—it was Ethan! It meant that the festival was related to Ethan. To top it off, the festival was named after Ethan’s subordinate, Rhys Estrela, a name Stephen was unfamiliar with. He had been in Riveria for half a year but had never heard of that name before. He had no idea what Rhys did to leave his name behind like that.
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
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
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