"I hate everything about this place, and I can’t wait to leave!"
In the hotel room, Mrs. Simon was complaining.
She wanted to watch TV to pass the time, but to her surprise, the TV in the hotel was showing programs she had already seen two days ago.
After inquiring at the hotel front desk, she learned that Nagariel didn’t have its own TV station, so there couldn’t be any real-time shows, and the hotel TV content actually came from videotapes.
These videotapes are replaced once a week, but considering cost concerns, the content is not much, and one can finish the new shows in a day or two, leaving the rest of the time to repeatedly watch the already seen programs.
It’s said that some Nagariel residents, the slightly affluent ones without foreign connections, would routinely stay in hotels for two days a week just to watch these TV shows, which is becoming a trendy new business in Nagariel.
But for this mother and son from a developed country, it was a bit unsatisfactory.
She turned off the TV and took out a bottle of wine; she needed to relax. Just after a few sips, the young man who had been standing by the window suddenly headed towards the room’s door.
"What are you going to do?" she asked.
"I need to go out and relax a bit. You’re not going to stop me, are you?" he looked at his mother, who swallowed the words she was about to say under his gaze.
She shook her head, "Of course not. What I mean is... you could bring me some strong liquor when you return."
This was a good statement, avoiding her previous action of stopping her child.
The young man walked out of the room; he wouldn’t be foolish enough to stay in the room all night. He’s the type who can’t stay put. He’d had enough bad luck today and needed some excitement to halt all the unhappiness of the day.
Meanwhile, an impulsive official in the lobby downstairs was also encountering trouble. He was stopped by the hotel’s staff,
"If you don’t have a valid reason, we can’t let you in, sir!"
The hotel employees promptly stopped the impulsive official from taking the elevator, firstly because they hadn’t seen this local person before in the lobby area.
In high-end hotels in Nagariel, there is an unwritten and undisclosed rule: they do not serve the local underclass, only foreigners and local wealthy individuals.
The impulsive official’s cheap clothes and unkempt hair, sideburns, and beard made him appear not to be from high society, thus the hotel naturally wouldn’t allow a lower-class person to disturb the guests resting.
Moreover, it was a sensitive time; while tensions between locals and foreigners had calmed, they remained somewhat strained.
The hotel accommodated many foreigners, necessitating the prevention of any potential threats.
Two staff members stopped the impulsive official, while a few security guards armed with rubber batons stared him down from nearby.
This was the first problem the impulsive official encountered; the second was that he only knew where the people he was looking for came from and their names but had no idea what they looked like.
This sounded somewhat ridiculous... yet it was his actual situation, intoxication causing trouble.
In silence, the hotel’s staff and security guards moved closer to him. If he couldn’t provide any valuable answers, they would very politely "escort" him out and likely prevent his return to create disturbances at the hotel.
Just then, the ding of an elevator slightly caught everyone’s attention. People glanced towards the elevator to see a well-dressed gentleman walk out.
He noticed the scene at the door but wasn’t very concerned. His primary concern was how much it would cost to find short-lived happiness in this city; perhaps the hotel manager could provide some assistance?
Thinking this, he changed his initial plan and headed towards the bar. Possibly his actions caused the impulsive official to slightly adjust to the current situation, as he stated his purpose, "I’m here to find two ladies and gentlemen from... this place. I have something important to discuss with them, something I can’t discuss with you." Updates are released by novel_fіre.net
The young man who had obtained the "secret of happiness" from the lobby manager was stunned for a moment, thinking this person might be looking for him, so he curiously looked at this seemingly troubled fellow.
He didn’t know the person, and he didn’t have many friends locally. The only one he might have interacted with was an annoying half-brother.
The lobby manager, noticing the change in his expression, immediately spoke up, "Get irrelevant people out; this is not the street where anyone can come!"
However, the young man immediately raised his hand, stopping the hotel staff from driving the impulsive official out. He moved a little closer and said, "I don’t know you!"
He genuinely didn’t know the person; he said this purely out of curiosity. He didn’t believe a local could harm him under the protection of these employees and strong security guards, thus wanted to resolve his curiosity.
These words led the impulsive official to realize that the guy before him was likely the one he was searching for, yet he couldn’t be completely sure. Killing an unrelated person would alert the actual party involved, so to verify the person as his target, he replied, "I’m here for the inheritance."
Although alcohol made him excited and unfocused, at this moment, he entered a state he couldn’t describe himself.
His attention was unprecedentedly focused, as if the whole world only consisted of the young man’s facial expressions, each tiny change magnified innumerably.
Seeing surprise, confusion, and anger on the other’s face, he knew this was the right person.
He initially thought the other would speak to him, but he didn’t expect the lawyer he nearly collided with earlier to play a role now.
To be precise, the lawyer’s words bought time, causing the young man to step back immediately, prompting the impulsive official to draw his gun.
He drew the gun without hesitation, aimed, and fired in one swift movement. Blood splattered from the young man, and the hotel staff were shocked, rushing towards the impulsive official while two others rushed to the young man.
The recoil of the handgun allowed the impulsive official to see the ejected shell casing and the bullet chambered again. Realizing the urgency of his second shot, he turned, aimed at those rushing towards him, glanced at the fallen young man, and left quickly.
He could only hope now that the first shot hit the vital spot, causing injuries serious enough to prove fatal. He was also upset with himself for firing too quickly, causing the second shot to miss and not achieve his intended outcome.
Details of the shooting incident at the hotel were quickly organized into materials and reported to both Drag the Provincial Governor and Lynch.
Compared to Drag the Provincial Governor’s indifferent "noted," Lynch seemed more serious.
Since the old King’s patriotic spirit was shown at the meeting, Drag the Provincial Governor’s attitude had subtly and slightly changed.
Lynch noticed this, but didn’t say anything, as Drag the Provincial Governor needed to overcome this himself.
Lynch labeled such fleeting and contradictory emotions as "the sentimentality of a traitor," which would resolve naturally over time.
"Was anyone killed?" He flipped the thin sheets of paper in his hand, looked them over, and tossed them aside.
A small salon was taking place in the room, with some recent arrivals gathering to discuss investment plans with Lynch.
Lynch needed to point them in the right direction. Though it appeared he was helping others to profit, it inherently benefited Lynch as well.
First, he could buy into businesses. As long as his partners weren’t fools, these shares would eventually form a vast network, controlling the entire society’s commercial structure, perpetually under his control even for many years or forever.
Furthermore, as more people make money in Nagariel, it attracts more investment, resulting in a rapidly flourishing market, accelerating the profitability phases of Lynch’s infrastructure projects.
Thus, by helping others find pathways to wealth, he was effectively aiding himself in establishing channels for faster revenue generation.
The Police Director shook his head, "No, only one person was injured, shot in the shoulder. We believe the weapon used by the assailant might be from the batch of firearms lost by the police during the recent unrest."
Lynch nodded noncommittally, "So what was the purpose of the shooting? Why would someone take such a huge risk to shoot a foreigner in a hotel?"
He naturally used the term "foreigner," creating a perception of himself as one of "us." Interestingly, Lynch, like the foreigner Mr. Simon before him, was finding ways to gain local acceptance.
Rather than marrying local women and having mixed-race children, like Mr. Simon’s approach of bloodline recognition, Lynch aimed for psychological recognition.
"We investigated and it might be related to an inheritance dispute, and the owner of the inheritance happens to be your friend, named Simon. Perhaps you remember?"
Lynch was slightly taken aback, "Of course, he was an excellent friend of mine!"