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"Ah!? I—I'm in big trouble now! Oh god! How did I mess things up this badly? What am I supposed to do now?" William Wu's face turned pale as he listened to Gordon Gao's words.
"Everyone, put your guns down and step aside. Wait for further instructions." With no other options, William Wu quickly ordered his detectives to retreat.
Although the detectives didn't really understand what was happening, seeing William Wu's tense, pale face told them this was serious. They put away their guns and moved to the side.
"Hey—William Wu, why are you leaving? Aren't you going to help me?" Howie caught sight of William Wu leading his officers away and panicked, shouting loudly.
"Howard Jr.—I'll be honest with you! I can't afford to offend either side here. When the gods fight, mortals step aside! Whatever's going on between you two, let's wait until Mayor Kay and Mr. Luo arrive. I'm out of this!" William Wu said with a bitter smile, standing not far from Howie.
'William Wu, you, you—" Howie was so angry he couldn't speak. At that moment, Shawn Young stepped forward with a cold sneer—"Thud!" He landed a right hook to Howie's stomach. Howie screamed, nearly puked up his dinner, and rolled onto the ground clutching his belly, looking like a boiled lobster.
Helen watched nearby, her beautiful eyes sparkling with excitement. Seeing Howie howling on the ground after Shawn Young's punch, she giggled, "Hehe—your dad's the mayor, huh? Well, even if your dad shows up, he won't be able to save you!"
"You're talking nonsense! When—when my dad brings the armed police over, he'll arrest all of you!" Howie retorted, still clutching his stomach, clueless as ever.
"Hmph, bringing the armed police? Heh—then you'll need all the luck you can get!" Shawn Young said coldly.
Soon, several Mercedes sedans sped into the construction site, followed closely by a few army-green trucks. On the doors of the trucks, "Westwood City Armed Police" was painted in bold letters.
As soon as the Mercedes cars stopped, a group of middle-aged men in suits got out. Two of them walked in front while the others followed behind, striding toward the site.
The armed police trucks parked behind. The canvas flaps lifted, and over a hundred fully armed officers jumped out, led by an officer. They formed neat rows and quickly ran into the site, taking up strategic positions as if preparing for a major battle.
With the armed police now involved, the whole atmosphere at the site suddenly became tense. The residents of Eastwind Old Street grew anxious, whispering nervously among themselves.
Howie had already scrambled up from the ground. Seeing the two middle-aged men walking quickly toward him, his spirits lifted and his eyes sparkled. He called out excitedly, "Dad! Mr. Lowell, you finally made it!"
One of the men, stocky with a square face and sharp eyes, walked up to Howie. Seeing his son's messy, miserable appearance, he frowned and asked, "Howie! What happened? How did you end up like this?"
"Dad! It's not my fault—it's that guy! He hit me!" Howie immediately pointed at Shawn Young, gritting his teeth as his saviors arrived.
"Oh!? Why did you hit him? Don't you know that assaulting someone is a crime? You could face serious legal consequences!" The middle-aged man was none other than David Kay, mayor of Westwood City and Howie's father. After hearing Howie's side of the story, he turned to Shawn Young, his face cold, and stressed the words "serious legal consequences."
Standing behind David Kay was a middle-aged man from the city government. Hearing Howie's complaint, he jumped in and said to Shawn Young, "What's your name? Why did you hurt Howie!? Do you realize you've seriously broken the law and caused major harm to a citizen? You need to explain yourself—"
"Hmph! That guy doesn't deserve to be called a citizen!" Shawn Young ignored the official's bureaucratic tone and suddenly slapped Howie across the face—"Smack!" The slap echoed, and Howie screamed, spitting out a bloody tooth.
David Kay was stunned. Everyone around, except for Helen who still wore a faint smile, was frozen in shock. No one expected Shawn Young to slap Howie so viciously right in front of David Kay!
Howie was dumbfounded. He never imagined Shawn Young would dare to slap him so loudly in front of his own father—the mayor of Westwood City. The force of the slap made his ears ring and his vision spin.
"Ah! You—you actually hit me again!! You've got some nerve..." It took Howie a moment to recover before he started yelling.
"Smack...!" Before Howie could finish his rant, Shawn Young swung his other hand and slapped him again, sending him flying and crashing to the ground. He spat out a mouthful of bloody teeth, his eyes rolling back, looking like a fish thrown onto the shore. The crowd was once again stunned.
Even with all his composure, David Kay couldn't stand seeing Shawn Young beat up his precious son right in front of him. His face turned livid, his whole body shook, and his mind went blank.
"You! You—you actually... actually... dared to do this in front of me! Hit him—hit him! You..." David Kay pointed at Shawn Young, almost unable to get a full sentence out.
But Shawn Young just snorted, squinting at him and said, "Heh, Mayor Kay, right? Don't get so worked up. I'm helping you discipline your son! The kid seriously lacks manners and home training. Sooner or later, he's going to get you into big trouble—"