The Imprisoned Is Not Freedom

"I hate everything here, and I can't wait to get out of here!"

In the hotel room, Simon's wife was grumbling.

She had intended to watch TV to pass the time, but to her surprise, the TVs in the hotel were all ones she had watched just a couple of days ago.

After asking the hotel receptionist, she learned that Nagaril does not have its own Television Station, and naturally there are no real-time updated television programs. The content on the hotel's televisions actually comes from videotapes.

These videotapes are changed weekly, but considering the cost, there isn't much content. You can watch all the new content in a day or two at most, and then spend the rest of the time watching the programs you've already seen.

It is said that some Nagaril People, the kind who are slightly wealthy and have no connection with foreigners, regularly come to the hotel to stay for two days a week just to watch these TV programs, and this is becoming a new business popular in Nagaril.

However, these things seem somewhat unsatisfactory to the mother and child from developed countries.

She turned off the TV, grabbed a bottle of wine—she needed to relax—and just after she'd taken a few sips, the young man who'd been standing by the window suddenly walked toward the door.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I need to go out and relax. You won't stop me, will 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, I mean... you can bring me some strong liquor when you come back."

This is a good way of putting it, avoiding the issue of her earlier action of calling out to her child.

"Of course, I will."

The young man left the room. He wasn't foolish enough to stay there all night; he was the kind of person who couldn't sit still. He'd already had enough bad luck today, and he needed a little excitement to put an end to all his unhappiness.

Meanwhile, the Impulsive Cadre in the lobby on the first floor also ran into trouble. He was stopped by hotel staff, who said, "We can't let you in unless you have a valid reason, sir!"

Hotel staff promptly stopped the Impulsive Cadre from taking the elevator, firstly because the lobby staff had never seen this local before.

There's an unwritten, unspoken Unspoken Rules among high-end hotels in Nagaril: they don't cater to the local underclass; they only serve foreigners and wealthy locals.

The Impulsive Cadre's cheap clothes and unkempt hair, sideburns, and beard made him look nothing like someone from Upper Class, and the hotel naturally wouldn't allow a lower-class person to disturb the VIPs who were resting.

Secondly, this is a very sensitive time. Although the conflict between locals and foreigners has subsided, it is still in a relatively tense stage.

The hotel has been hosting many foreigners, and the hotel management must ensure that the problem does not originate in this hotel, so any possible threats must be prevented.

Two staff members stopped the Impulsive Cadre, while several security guards holding rubber batons stood nearby, watching him menacingly.

This is the first problem the Impulsive Cadre encountered. The second problem is that he only knows where the people he is looking for come from and what their names are, but he doesn't know what they look like.

This sounds a bit ridiculous... but it's his true situation at the moment: drinking has led to trouble.

In the silence, hotel staff and security guards drew closer and closer to him. If he couldn't give any valuable answers, they would very politely "invite" him out, potentially preventing him from causing trouble in the hotel for a short period of time.

Just then, the elevator bell slightly attracted people's attention. People looked towards the elevator and saw a well-dressed gentleman walking out of it.

He noticed what was happening at the entrance, but wasn't particularly concerned. He was only worried about how much money he'd have to spend to find fleeting pleasure in the city. Perhaps the hotel manager could offer some assistance? With that thought, he changed his mind and walked towards the bar. Perhaps his actions brought the Impulsive Cadre back to the flow of the situation, and he stated his purpose. "I'm here to see two ladies and gentlemen from... this place. I have something very important to discuss with them, and there are some things I can't say to you directly."

The young man, who had just received the secret to happiness from the lobby manager, paused for a moment. He felt that the manager was looking for him, so he looked at the guy who seemed a little off.

He didn't know this person, and he didn't have any friends in the area. The only person he might have had contact with was that damned half-brother.

Noticing the change in his expression, the lobby manager immediately spoke up, "Get those irrelevant people out of here. This isn't a street where anyone can come and go as they please!"

However, the young man quickly raised his hand, stopping the hotel staff from kicking the Impulsive Cadre out. Instead, he walked a little closer and said, "I don't know you!"

He genuinely didn't know the man; he was just curious. He didn't believe a local native could harm him while under the protection of these staff members and strong security guards, so he wanted to clear up his doubts.

It was this sentence that made the Impulsive Cadre realize that the guy in front of him was the one who was looking for him, but he couldn't be completely sure. Killing an unrelated person would alert the real person involved. In order to verify that the person in front of him was the one he wanted to find, he also replied, "I came for those inheritances."

Although the alcohol made him excited and distracted him, at this moment, he was in a state that he himself did not know how to describe.

His attention was focused like never before; the whole world seemed to consist only of the young man's facial expressions, and every subtle change in expression was magnified countless times.

When he saw the surprise, confusion, and anger on the other person's face, he knew that this was the person he was looking for.

He thought the other party would speak to him, but he didn't expect that the lawyer who had almost collided with him not long ago would play a role at this time.

To be precise, it was the lawyer's words that had an effect at this moment. The young man immediately took a step back, and it was this step that prompted the Impulsive Cadre to draw his gun.

Without hesitation, he drew his gun, aimed, and fired in one swift motion. A spray of blood appeared on the young man's body. The hotel staff were shocked and rushed towards the Impulsive Cadre, while two others rushed towards the young man.

The recoil of the pistol made the Impulsive Cadre see the spent Shell Casings that had been ejected and the bullet that had been reloaded. The moment he fired the second shot, he realized that he had been too hasty. He turned the gun around and aimed it at the people rushing towards him. After glancing at the young man lying on the ground, he quickly left.

Now he could only hope that the first shot would hit the young man's vitals, inflicting a fatal wound. He also regretted that he had fired too quickly, causing the second shot to miss and fail to achieve his desired result.

The shooting incident at the hotel was compiled into a report as quickly as possible and presented to the Provincial Governor Drag and Lin Qi.

Compared to the Provincial Governor Drag's nonchalant "I know," Lin Qi took a serious look at it.

Since the Old King displayed noble "patriotism" at the meeting, the Provincial Governor Drag's attitude has undergone some subtle changes.

Lin Qi actually saw it, but he didn't say anything; it was something the Provincial Governor Drag had to overcome himself.

Lin Qi called this kind of anxiety and fear of loss "the affectation of a traitor," saying it would get better on its own after a while.

"Is someone dead?" He flipped through the two thin pages in his hand, looked them over, and then tossed them onto the table.

A small salon was being held in the room, where some people who had arrived in the last few days had gathered to chat with Lin Qi about investing in the area.

Lin Qi needs to point them in the right direction. Doing so may seem like he's helping others get rich, but it's actually beneficial for Lin Qi as well.

One advantage is that he can take a stake in some businesses. As long as his partners aren't fools, these shares will eventually form a huge network that controls the entire commercial structure of society, and remain under his control for many, many years, or even forever.

Secondly, only when people make money in Nagaril will more people invest here. More investment means the market will prosper faster, and Lin Qi's infrastructure projects will be able to enter a long period of profitability more quickly.

Therefore, by helping others find ways to make money, he is actually helping himself to establish profitable channels more quickly.

The Police Chief shook his head. "No, only one person was injured, shot in the shoulder. We believe the weapon used by the killer may be one of the weapons that the police lost during this unrest."

Lin Qi nodded noncommittally. "So what was the purpose of the shooting? Why would someone risk so much to shoot a foreigner in a hotel?"

He used the term "foreigner" very naturally, which would make people assume that he was one of them. In fact, whether it was Lin Qi or other foreigners like Simon before him, they were all trying to get the locals to accept them.

However, compared to Simon ilk's method of recognition through blood ties—marrying one or more local women and having several mixed-race children— Lin Qi's approach was a bit smarter; he sought psychological validation from people.

"We investigated and it may be related to an inheritance dispute, and the owner of the estate is your friend, whose name is Simon, you may remember him."

"Simon?"

Lin Qi suddenly realized, "Of course, he's a very good friend of mine!"