Chapter 338: The Situation

"Cladd? Wow, that's a ruthless move."

Li Mochen knew that the Cladd family's Akid Catering Company was a large catering group with operations spanning five southeastern states and a market value of 25 billion gold shields. The family had a very ancient history and deep roots in Atlanta.

"And extremely cruel. The four were tortured beyond recognition before death."

Jeremy Burt lamented, "These robbers indeed have nothing to do with the Fenrir Wolf. They come from a mutant organization, aiming to blackmail the government into releasing their leader, 'Skywalker Kingsman.'"

"Mutants?"

Li Mochen now understood. Mutants originated from the Dark World. They were humans mutated by certain radiation encountered by magical professionals in the Dark World, causing changes in their bodies and genes.

Strictly speaking, they were still human. Those slight physical mutations were not fundamentally different from the bloodlines of dragon-blooded sorcerers, Titan holy warriors, berserkers, or abyssal blood mages, who had integrated the blood of other powerful beings.

Yet for some reason, decades ago, the American federal government and the United Nations had decided to isolate all mutants, even driving them back into the Dark World. This led to decades of resistance from the latter.

"Skywalker Kingsman? That demigod detained by the government twelve years ago? Wasn't he executed?"

Li Mochen had extensively read past American newspapers and various materials since arriving in this world, so he knew about Skywalker Kingsman—an exceptionally powerful demigod who had committed numerous bloody crimes in the fight for mutant rights.

His most notorious act was opening an abyssal passage on the West Coast of America, sending three small towns with a total of 320,000 people into the infinite abyss, using a near-blood-sacrifice method to secure a pact with an Abyssal Lord.

"No. It seems some government agencies coveted certain planar secrets Kingsman possessed, so they secretly imprisoned and interrogated him. But this leaked out not long ago. Kingsman's prestige among mutants is unparalleled—he is not only their leader but also their god. So now trouble has come. They've launched attacks not just in Atlanta but in all major American cities—"

Jeremy sighed, "Those guys also claim they possess a deadly poison gas that can blanket the entire city in an instant. If they don't get a satisfactory response within 48 hours, they'll release the gas over all of Atlanta."

"But hasn't it been over 48 hours?"

"So they killed two more hostages."

Jeremy smiled bitterly, "The government agreed to their demands, but breaking the seal on Skywalker Kingsman takes time. I doubt they'll actually release him; they're just stalling. The robbers know the government's intentions, so they're being ruthless."

Li Mochen fell into thought, "Will this affect our daily operations at Rising Sun Electrical Retail Company?"

"There will be some impact. Customer traffic has dropped a bit these days. But the company has secured financing and has sufficient funds, so this loss is negligible. Also, although the city is under lockdown, it mainly targets magical professionals, and the stores we've acquired around Atlanta haven't opened yet."

Jeremy Burt added with a meaningful tone, "I feel that both the Fenrir Wolf and these mutants are very beneficial for the expansion of our Rising Sun Company at this stage."

Li Mochen thought, of course it's beneficial. First, these aristocratic families will be tied up with many concerns and won't have the energy to focus on Rising Sun's expansion. Second, with all this chaos, housing prices in major American cities will be slow to rise, which helps his layout.

But all this depends on the poison gas not being released—if there are no people in the city, who will buy appliances from his stores?

"So you don't think the mutants' actions will succeed?"

"Of course not. The magic tower arrays in major cities were designed with biochemical defense capabilities. If the mutants had released the gas immediately, they might have caused some casualties in densely populated areas. But now, the longer they delay, the more prepared the government becomes. What truly threatens the government is the hostages they hold. However, nothing is absolute; it's hard to say if they're using a diversion—the so-called poison gas bombs might just be a bluff."

"You're right. We can't be careless. We need to monitor this closely. I don't want our stores to be affected."

After hanging up with Jeremy Burt, Li Mochen dialed another number.

"Ms. Drew, regarding the recent hostage incident and the mutants, why haven't I seen any reports in today's newspapers?"

"Not just newspapers, but all TV and radio stations. This time, the government and various forces have joined hands to put heavy pressure on the media. Of course, our newspaper also benefited—a 16 million gold shield public service ad investment from the government. That's the best I could negotiate. It will give us a nice financial report."

Nanette Drew's voice carried a hint of helplessness, "So now, although everyone knows something might be happening in this city, they see no news in the media, including our own newspaper. We can only wait for disagreements to arise among them. I doubt the aristocratic families involved are monolithic. Exposing this incident would actually be more conducive to pressuring the government. Boss, if such a situation occurs, our Rising Sun Publishing will take a more aggressive stance. Do you have any objections?"

Li Mochen had expected this. The so-called 'freedom of the press' in this country was just a slogan, not to be taken seriously.

Then he hesitated. If the hostage incident were exposed, the American federal government would be in an extremely unfavorable passive position, which might allow the mutants' plot to succeed. But the root cause was the illegal overreach by certain government departments, and they must bear responsibility.

Yet he only hesitated for a moment before making a decision: "You can decide how to handle it yourself. As I told you before, at Rising Sun Publishing, I can give you full authority."

After saying this, Li Mochen changed his tone: "Ms. Drew, regarding this incident, I want to know if you have any inside information."

This was the real reason he called her. Her sources of information were clearly more extensive and reliable than Jeremy's.

"There is some inside information, but none of it concerns us. Boss, I've been monitoring these matters. If any variable arises that could threaten you, I'll notify you immediately."

Nanette Drew let out a light laugh over the phone, "I think what you should be more concerned about now is Major General Michael Wood. According to my intelligence, he arrived in this city before the lockdown. That guy has been observing you and seems quite satisfied. Given Michael Wood's personality, I'd guess he'll visit within a day or two."