Hicks had barely slept all night. The key was that he could not fall asleep, and he only managed to doze off shortly before dawn.
He got out of bed a little after eight. There were plenty of rumors going around outside, and they said all sorts of things.
Some said he had already been placed under restrictions and could be thrown into prison at any time.
Others said he was involved in money laundering on a scale of tens of millions, using his identity as cover to clean vast amounts of dirty money, and that he had very close ties with several gangs.
Some even said he intended to make the state independent!
Of course, there were also people saying that he actually had no problems at all, and that his silence was meant to lure more clowns into showing themselves.
The reason there had been no further news was not that Hicks was unwilling to defend himself. It was simply that they needed to find the backstage mastermind and reach some kind of deal with him.
If he blindly tried to clear his name and the backstage mastermind quickly produced more solid evidence, people would only see him as a liar and a fraud, completely ending his political career.
But if he could reach an agreement with Lin Qi, then he could clear his name. As long as no further black materials were exposed, he would be cleared.
Even if he ultimately lost the election, at least he would preserve his dignity and his political career!
Clearing his name and arguing his case were not always so simple.
After waking up, he stayed by the phone. A little after nine, he called Lin Qi. This time, Lin Qi neither hung up nor asked him to call back later.