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In the hospital, a man lay in a bed, and beside the bed were a lady and two children.
For children… anytime, anywhere was carefree. Their values hadn’t yet formed, and they lacked sufficient understanding of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.
Any place, any time, was not a reason to hinder their play, even in the hospital room at this very moment.
Their father lay in bed enduring pain, but the two children were laughing and saying something at the foot of the bed.
Seven or eight-year-old children were at their most innocent and pure.
The woman by the bed wore a tender green dress with a lotus collar. She handed the peeled fruit in her hand to her husband, who opened his mouth and took small bites.
The fruit juice was sweet, but he was in great pain.
The woman’s eyes welled up again, seeing how difficult it was for her husband to even eat a piece of fruit.
From her and the children’s attire, and the fruit basket placed under the bedside table, it was evident that their family was quite well-off.
“How could this horrible person be so cruel, to injure you so badly…” The thought of rushing to the hospital after receiving the call, seeing her husband completely covered in blood, made her legs weak.
Fortunately, the doctor said that although the injuries were severe, they were not life-threatening, which relieved her.
But just thinking of that scene, she felt a surge of hatred.
The man’s expression was complex.
Having been beaten and now lying in bed unable to move, he too began to regret what happened that day.
Most people are like this; they never know regret until they feel pain themselves.
Only when it truly hurts will they begin to reflect.
That day, he encountered a bit of trouble at work.
Previously, a sociologist had published a very interesting comment. He believed that the current Federal society was dangerous, and its economic growth rate was constantly accelerating.
And the key factor was not, unlike in past periods of rapid economic growth, the real economy playing a role.
The leader of economic growth now was the financial sector.
Some fabricated things were constantly reaching new highs, breaking people’s perception of value, creating a false illusion of prosperity, and he believed all of this was very dangerous.
Because once the Federation needed to face something with hard power, all illusions would be shattered.
After this comment, he also pointed out the most dangerous group in the Federation—the middle class.
The middle class had more bank bills and loans than the lower class but lacked the resilience of the truly wealthy to face economic storms.
Once they lost their jobs, it would only take three months for a chain reaction to occur, making them unable to pay so many bills, and then they would go bankrupt.
Every time they used to enrich themselves, like “watching an opera,” it would ultimately add extra weight to the straw that broke their back.
They didn’t just “watch an opera”; they also played golf, played tennis, socialized…
The man encountered a similar problem. His company recently ran into some trouble, with large capital wanting to acquire them, causing the company’s market value to continuously drop.
In this savage financial era, it was too easy for large capital to swallow small capital.
They would just publicly release a series of “distrustful” opinions, and the small company’s stock would immediately plummet.
Then they could acquire the company, whose stock price was clearly manipulated by market sentiment, at a price far below market value.
Considering the chain reaction that would result from losing his job or a downgrade in income, he became very irritable due to the troubles at work.
He was in danger of being fired, and everyone in the company was in a state of unease.
Even when driving on the road, when someone made things difficult for him, he exploded.
He pushed open the door, got out of the car, walked to the unmoving car in front, forcefully pounded on the car window and roof, and, with a fierce expression, threatened the other party.
“Either you f**ing step on the gas, or I’ll f**ing step on your face!”
And then… he was hospitalized.
He regretted it a bit now. When he calmed down, people who suffered heavy losses often felt this way, but he wouldn’t say it.
He just looked at his wife, trying to comfort her, “The doctor said I’m fine, everything will be alright.”
While the couple was conversing, the door to the hospital room suddenly opened. A young man wearing a dark trench coat over a suit of the same color, a red tie, and a red pocket square, held the doorknob and smiled.
He looked very handsome when he smiled, and both the husband and wife had a good impression of him. The wife wiped away the tears gathering in her eyes and forced an appropriate smile to maintain the demeanor of a middle-class woman. “Sir?”
Lance stood at the doorway, taking off his hat. “Is this Mr. Vidal’s room?”
He knew it was without asking, because the idiot lying in the bed was injured pretty much as Ennio described.
Mrs. Vidal immediately stood up, realizing he was looking for them. “Yes, please come in. And you are?”
Lance walked closer. The two children weren’t very scared when they saw him; people generally weren’t too afraid of handsome individuals. Instead, they looked at him with curious expressions.
Their good family upbringing ensured they didn’t touch Lance’s hat or try to feel him, which was good.
“I apologize for what my brother Ennio did to you all…”
At first, they didn’t react, but soon the man became agitated, and Mrs. Vidal also became agitated.
But her good education since childhood and her “sense of decorum” made it difficult for her to say anything harsh. She could only ask Lance to leave. “You are not welcome here, please leave, sir!”
The two children seemed a bit at a loss due to their parents’ sudden change in mood. Lance didn’t leave; he continued, “I know he did something stupid. The thing has happened, and I want to try my best to make amends.”
“And I hope to, on his behalf, seek your forgiveness!”
The man’s voice was low. “I will not forgive him. I know what you want to do. I will absolutely not forgive him, and it’s even more impossible for us to reconcile.”
Lance took a kraft paper envelope from his overcoat. “Here is…”
He hadn’t finished speaking when Mr. Vidal coughed and said, “Take your money and leave my room, immediately!”
His wife, while soothing him, looked at Lance. “I’m going to call security.”
Lance slightly raised his hands. “Alright, don’t get agitated. I’ll leave first…”
After Lance left, Mrs. Vidal even went to the hallway to take a look. She only returned to the room after seeing his back almost out of the corridor.
Mr. Vidal was no longer coughing, but his breathing was slightly heavy.
“He wants me to forgive that killer. I will absolutely not forgive him!”
“And, dear, don’t worry, they will not only cover our medical expenses but also compensate us a large sum of money!”
“I was beaten like this by them; they must pay the price for this!”
Understanding and rationality were one thing, but if he were to give up pursuing accountability for being beaten so badly just for a bit of money, he couldn’t do it.
His wife just watched him silently, supporting his decision.
In the evening, Mr. Vidal, tormented by fractures, injuries, and continuous pain, soon drifted into a hazy sleep. His wife, meanwhile, tidied up and prepared to leave with the children.
The children still had school tomorrow, and she also needed to go home to prepare food and other things.
She could drive, but not skillfully. Her car moved very slowly on the road, and she was fully focused on driving when suddenly one of her children in the back seat said to her, “Mom, a car has been following us ever since we left Dad.”
Mrs. Vidal suddenly slammed on the brakes, and the car behind blared its horn, nearly hitting them!
The driver stuck his head out the window and cursed loudly, as if Golden Port drivers generally had bad tempers?
However, when the other driver realized that the driver here was a lady, his temper apparently improved somewhat, but he still hoped that she would try not to drive on the road if she wasn’t skilled enough.
She looked around nervously. “Where’s that car?”
The two children looked around. “It’s gone.”
Although it was possible that the children had misseen, she was still a bit scared after what happened that afternoon.
She didn’t go straight home; instead, she went to her parents’ house. Having her parents there made her feel a little more at ease.
In the evening, at seven o’clock, as the family was having dinner, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Mrs. Vidal became a little nervous, but her parents thought it might be neighbors visiting and told her not to be so nervous.
But before long, he heard a familiar voice.
“I’ve come to chat with you all…”
Lance stood at the door, smiling. “Just to sit down and have a good chat. No one will get hurt, and no accidents will happen. You can even call the police and have them protect you here.”
“I promise, I just want to chat with you.”
Mrs. Vidal’s father had more experience. He asked, “Did you bring a gun?”
Lance pulled open his trench coat, then his jacket. “No weapons.”
The old man thought for a while, then motioned for him to come in.
When Mrs. Vidal stood at the junction of the dining room and living room and saw Lance, she clearly felt afraid. “Were you following us this afternoon?”
Lance shook his head, and her father told her not to speak yet. “Go get us two cups of coffee.”
He and Lance went to the living room, sat on the sofa. “You can tell me what you have to say now.”
Lance repeated what he had said at the hospital. “I just hope to apologize and at the same time, seek your forgiveness.”
The old man looked at Lance and quietly asked, “Are you a gang member?”
Lance didn’t answer immediately. “That depends on your definition of a gang.”
The old man took a deep breath. “What do you want to get?”
“A letter of understanding.”
Mrs. Vidal wanted to say something, but the old man stopped her, not giving her a chance to speak, and told his wife to take their daughter out of the living room.
After seeing the two women leave, the old man looked a bit helpless. “So, in reality, we don’t have any other choice, after all, you’re already sitting across from me.”
He was implying that Lance already knew their family situation and might harm them and their family.
It looked like a request, but it was more of a threat.
Lance neither denied nor admitted it, but used a more indirect way: “I just hope that we can both get closure on this matter as soon as possible.”
“Perhaps I was a bit impatient. If I caused you any trouble because of it, I apologize.”
The old man thought for a while. “I will try to persuade them, but I don’t guarantee that I can do it.”
Lance took out the kraft paper envelope and placed it on the table. “Here’s a thousand dollars. You’re facing significant medical expenses, so this can alleviate some of it first…”
The old man refused. “The reason I’m persuading them isn’t for the money. I just don’t want more people to get hurt.”
“As for medical expenses, I believe the judge will make you pay us.”
He paused. “If that’s your purpose, then you’ve accomplished it. Can I and my family continue with our dinner now?”
Lance thanked the old man for his choice, then left.
After the old man left, Mrs. Vidal came downstairs. She said with some resentment, “You shouldn’t have agreed to him.”
The old man waved to the two children, who, like their mother, had not yet realized the seriousness of the situation.
He held his two lovely children and looked at his daughter. “So you want to oppose a gang for his sake?”
“You can disregard your safety and his; that’s your business. But the children are innocent.”
“They could find us here today and talk to us nicely.”
“Tomorrow they could find your home and talk to you less friendly.”
“My decades of experience have taught me one thing: don’t verify anything at the cost of your life. You can’t afford to fail…”
Mrs. Vidal, in silence, accepted her father’s choice.
The next day, Attorney Robben and his assistant went to the hospital to discuss the matter of understanding with Mr. and Mrs. Vidal. This case was reported by a passerby. At the time, Mr. Vidal had already lost the ability to resist, even losing consciousness.
Therefore, it was categorized as a serious injury criminal case, and criminal cases are prosecuted by the Federal prosecutor’s system. In other words, this case did not qualify for out-of-court settlement; ultimately, it had to be resolved through a court trial.
Attorney Robben quickly obtained Mr. Vidal’s letter of understanding. When his wife told him she had been followed, and that the other party had even directly shown up at their door.
He first felt anger, but it quickly turned to fear. Finally, persuaded by his wife, he agreed to the understanding.
And this understanding could reduce Ennio’s sentence by at least a year or more!
The remaining procedures would be relatively simple. With both parties having no objections to the sequence of events and Mr. Vidal admitting that his attitude had not been very friendly, the court scheduled the trial for November 30th, leaving one week.
These days, Lance’s name began to spread among more Imperial people. Mr. Bolton sometimes had his issues, but he wasn’t entirely useless; at least in spreading news, he did quite well.
Through his vigorous promotion, more Imperial people learned that there was such a gentleman who was willing to provide financial assistance to Imperial students who could get into college but lacked the funds.
This was certainly good news. According to incomplete official statistics, there were approximately 1.2 million Imperial immigrants with legal status in the Federation, and that number was continuously increasing.
As for immigrants without legal status, it was impossible to count them, and their numbers were also growing.
Whether they came to seek wealth or to escape civil strife in their home country, this was a very suitable place.
These people, more or less, had connections. Just like the neighbor who washed dishes, he influenced his neighbors in the Empire to immigrate to the Federation, and they would maintain contact.
And these later immigrants would also form social circles with other immigrants, exchanging information.
Coupled with Lance essentially “giving money away,” the news spread quickly, and everyone was discussing the truthfulness of the matter.
After all, going to college was a significant expense; one needed to prepare at least five hundred dollars a year to cover a college student’s expenses.
They didn’t quite believe someone could be so kind-hearted, but they also hoped it was all true.
The news naturally reached the ears of the Camille gang. Heller sat in his office. Before him were two low-level gang members, telling him about the topics they had heard.
One of them said: “Lance said that as long as you can go to college, he not only covers the tuition but also gives the student a house near the university…”
The other added: “I also heard that, and I also heard that if you get good grades in college, you’ll even get a car worth over a thousand dollars.”
The first speaker nodded repeatedly. “Yes, and there’s a cash reward, totaling three thousand dollars!”
Heller watched them for a while, seeing how “going to college” was being described as a double leap in class and wealth, and couldn’t help but start pondering.
He told the two to leave first, then made a phone call. “Have you heard about this Lance recently… How much money do you think he has… No, I’m just asking, I’m curious.”
“After all, it’s not easy for a friendly rich person like him to appear among us Imperial people… Don’t worry, it won’t happen… Do you know the situation with his group of people?”
“…Oh, I see, I thought they all had some special background, turns out they’re just illegal immigrants and ordinary people. Thanks, I understand!”
He chuckled as he hung up the phone. He had already decided to recover the money he lost from Lance and his group, but now he was a bit impatient.
The greater Lance’s reputation, the more negative impact his actions might cause. At the same time, if Lance truly became wealthier, his chances of success would only decrease.
Furthermore, he also realized that Lance’s method of spending money for reputation was worth learning from!
Everyone said the Camille gang had a bad reputation. If he could also sponsor some people to go to college, wouldn’t his reputation improve then!