โI surrender! Stop it! I surrender!โ The South Regent was afraid. He quickly surrendered so that the humiliation would stop. As a matter of fact, when Ethan kicked him the first time in the chest, he already knew he could not win, but he was too proud to admit defeat. Now, after three humiliating slaps, he was forced to face the truth. If he did not, he would not be able to show his face in public anymore. Ethan put his hand down. When dealing with stubborn people, sometimes the best way was to settle it with fists. The South Regent covered his face as he looked at Ethan in fear. He never thought he would lose to Ethan not only on tactics but also physically. He was no match for Ethan. His men, standing around him, were all left speechless. The South Regent was slapped three times, consecutively, in front of them! The most surprising thing was that the South Regent dared not fight back. He could only cover his face and admit defeat. The man ruled as the strongest leader bey
What followed were screams of pain as Andy was thrown to the ground over and over again. Yet, throughout it all, the South Regent stood perfectly still. โIt has been more than ten moves. To be honest, if you werenโt a White, you wouldnโt be here,โ the South Regent said. Andy lay flat on the floor, his eyes staring into the blank space above him in disbelief. He had lost. He was no match for the South Regent. After twelve moves, he could not even lay a finger on the South Regentโs shirt and was knocked down repeatedly. Andy felt despair. He felt like there was no way he could beat the South Regent, so how could Ethan have beaten the South Regent? It did not make sense.โDid Ethan really defeat you in ten moves?โ he asked, clinging to a thread of hope. โThose are just rumors,โ the South Regent explained. Andyโs eyes lit up with hope. โI knew it! I knew he could not have beaten you, let alone in ten moves!โ If even Ethan could not defeat the South Regent, then it made sense
In Hill City, Marcus tracked Andyโs phone location to determine where he went and then got someone to bring up the surveillance footage, eventually tracing Andy to a company under the South Regent. About ten minutes later, Andy left and went to a hotel. The surveillance footage, however, did not show Andy leaving. Marcus and his men went to the hotel to look for Andy, but Dylan was nowhere to be found. He requested the hotelโs security footage, only to discover that several cameras had malfunctioned.Alerted to the situation, the hotel manager called technicians over to fix them and was told that the security cameras had only recently gone down. Marcus had a bad feeling about it. When the cameras were fixed and the security footage was restored, it only showed Andy entering a room, but there was no record of what happened after that. Andyโs phone was also in the room. Marcus had someone hack into the phone, but after a thorough search, he did not find anything useful. โWher
Stone Village plunged into chaos after Nicoโs death, and there were few villagers left in the village. โNo. Why are you asking?โ Stephen asked. โAndy is missing.โ โWhat? How?โ Stephen was shocked. โI donโt know. Weโre still investigating it. I suspect some organization or faction has taken him. Thatโs why I am calling you,โ Marcus explained. Stephen frowned. Two days ago, Andy had come to him, asking if he knew anyone related to the South Regent, and at his wedding, the South Regent had presented him with a bullet, the bullet that shot his man to death. Now, Andy was missing, and Stephen started to feel nervous. Could the South Regent be targeting the people around him? If the bullet he received was the one that was used to shoot the South Regentโs man to death, would the South Regent use it to take out his friends? He could not wait any longer. He had to get to Hill City. When Stephen arrived, he rendezvoused with Marcus and headed to the company owned by the South
Marcusโ breathing grew heavy. At that same moment, Stephen also pieced it together that the homeless man was Andy. On the third day of Andyโs disappearance, Stephen and Marcus finally found a lead, but Andy had become homeless!The two of their minds buzzed with disbelief. To think the son of the Whites had been reduced to a beggar!Stephen looked at the owner angrily, grabbed him by the collar, and growled, โWhere is he? What did you do to him?โThe owner shook Stephenโs hand off and said, โThis video was taken by someone beyond the borders. Weโre not sure where he is. If youโre accusing us of doing something to him, thatโs unfair. We donโt have a clue how he ended up there.โStephen and Marcus felt a little dumbfounded. Andy was beyond the border, and it was not the South Regent who took him?โSend him back immediately!โ Stephen ordered the owner. However, the owner said, โOnly if you pay up, and itโll take time. After all, finding someone beyond the border is no small tas
A man stepped out and immediately saw Andy slumped against the corner. Startled, Andy quickly said in an incoherent foreign language, โSorry. Iโll leave now.โHe did not actually speak the language, but after being beaten up so much, he had picked up a few common apologetic phrases. Andy pushed his hand against the ground, trying to push himself up. However, he was too exhausted. He attempted twice and still could not make it to his feet. The man turned and went back inside. Andy panicked even more. He was afraid the man would come out with a gun or a stick the next second. He had encountered such situations a few times, and every time, he had run for his life, scrambling away in fright. He wanted to flee now, but his body had no strength left. A moment later, the man walked out. However, instead of holding a gun or a stick, he was holding a bowl of hot soup, which he offered to Andy. Andyโs eyes widened. He looked up at the man in disbelief. Instead of chasing him away, t
Although he had fulfilled his wish of challenging the South Regent, he was crushed in a one-sided battle and defeated in a single move. Although he was released afterward, many people treated him like a stray dog, beating and looking down on him along his journey. Seeing that Andy did not reply, the man smiled. โItโs okay if you donโt want to talk about it. Are you returning to Riveria now?โAndy nodded. โItโs still far from Riveria, around 143 miles.โThe distance made Andy feel a wave of despair. Was it still so far away?โYou seem afraid.โ The man was surprised. โYeah,โ Andy said honestly. โI feel like I wonโt make it back.โโHow could that be?โ The man chuckled. โArenโt you from Riveria? All it would take is a single call, and someone would come and get you, right? Riveria has Ethan. Here, anyone would show nothing but respect when they hear Ethanโs name.โAndy was stunned. Was Ethan really that powerful? Did his name hold influence even beyond the borders?โDo all of y
โIโฆโ Andy mumbled softly, โIโll try my best.โNow, he was not sure how to face Ethan anymore. He had treated a real hero, a savior awaited by countless people, as a country bumpkin and cursed at him disrespectfully.Andy realized one thing. All this time, he had looked down on Ethan and tried every way to prove that he had surpassed Ethan. However, look at him nowโcaptured in a foreign land, beaten, and ridiculed. He looked no better than a homeless man and was not sure if he could make it through the day, but a family extended a helping hand to him at this moment. The family wished for Ethan to save everyone outside of the borders. They admired Ethan and mistook Andy for someone from Riveria, which was why they helped him. He was saved not because he was a son of the Whites or because of his remarkable combat skills from years of training. No, he was saved simply because he was from Riveria, the province Ethan managed. It was Ethan who saved him!Andy lowered his head shamefull
After everything was settled, the people from HQ went to Ethan again. They apologized to him and begged for his forgiveness.โWeโve dealt with everyone involved in this matter. Are you satisfied with the outcome, Mr. Rivers?โWith that, they lowered their heads to the ground nervously. Their only hope now hinged on Ethanโs 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, โSend someone to help move my stuff down the mountain.โHearing that, everyone was first stunned, and then ecstatic.โOf course!โ 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, โWe respectfully
The day of Rachel and Georgeโs 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 judgeโs 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 Georgeโs faces paled to the point that they looked like corpses.The viewers in the livestream finally saw the full picture.โSo thatโs it! The Quinns and the Lowes conspired!โโThey deserve to die! How could they frame Ethan like that? Are they even human?โโThe death penalty! They deserve the death penalty!โThey 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 wivesโ panicked expressions.โWhat did you do out there?โโSo many people came today, asking for you by name.โHow 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.โItโs nothing,โ 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.โWhat have you done?โ Their parentsโ 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.โHow could this be?โNo one expected this outcome. They thought, โSo what if I insulted him? Are they going to punish me for it? Besides, so many people are insulting him. They canโt possibly punish every single person who did it. At most, Iโll post a public apology and promise that Iโll never do it again.โHowever, 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.โWhy are they going this far? Arenโt they afraid of causing unrest?โOf 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!โWhere else would she be?โ 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.โYou really have some nerve." The people from HQ sneered. โYou fooled us all completely.โโYouโve been hiding Ethanโs contributions all this time, havenโt you?โโYou two are nothing but disasters to this country! You deserve to die a thousand times over.โGeorge kept his head down while Rachel sobbed. โI was wrongfully accused!โโShut 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. โAh!โSimon could not take it anymore. He suddenly ran towards the window, trying to end his life. Fortunately, the officials quickly stopped him. โDonโt be reckless! Think about Stephen. Youโre all he has now!โThat sentence made Simon stop. Now, Stephen and Simon were each otherโs 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, โIโd like to file a report on someone.โTo 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. โShit!โ Someone exclaimed. โI heard Rachel bought a flight ticket overseas. Could she have fled?โThe 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. Stephenโs sudden awakening was nothing short of a miracle. However, after examining him, the doctorโs expression darkened. Stephen had regained consciousness, but the prognosis was far from hopeful.โHe canโt move,โ the doctor said. โAs of now, heโs paralyzed.โStephen 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. โHe might never be able to leave the bed again.โUpon 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 Simonโs 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 Harrisonโs previous incident, the officials reacted quickly by sending Stephen straight to the hospital.After an emergency rescue, Stephenโs life was saved. However, he paid a heavy price. When the doctor walked out of the emergency room, the officials asked, โHow is he?โโThe situation isnโt looking good,โ the doctor said grimly. โHis body is in a bad state, and due to long-term emotional distress, he suffered a brain hemorrhage from the emotional shock.โHeโs still in a coma, and we canโt say for sure when heโll wake up again. It depends on his will to live.โThe officials drew a sharp breath. โDo you mean he might end up in a coma forever?โThe 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 Harrisonโs desperate pleas to Ethan back in his villa. โIโm willing to trade my life fo