470 Devastation

Ryan held his works back. He left the meeting table to take the call, his mind completely occupied.

He hung up after a while, looking defeated. Looking at all his subordinates, he said, "Get to work. Tomorrow, we’ll have a press conference and I will resign."

Silence prevailed in the room. How could a tiny mistake result in something so terrible? Ryan's career was finished because of that mistake. Everyone was cursing Blair through their teeth. He was the one who had implicated their superior.

Where is he? Did he escape this horror?

Wrong! Blair had no idea what was happening. He had been arrested and was being held at the Queens Police Station, waiting for bail.

This was the joint achievement of Rongzhi and Xu Xiaoxiao. Rongzhi had sent Blair’s schedule to Xu, so he could tail him.

Han Zhujiu’s men were very good at blackmail. They had provoked Blair and gotten him to beat them up. Then one of them had fallen down and started rolling around and crying. He had looked like he was dying and hurting all over his body.

His partner had caught Blair and called the police. The charismatic actor had been sent to the hospital, while poor Blair was being held at a temporary detention facility.

Drunk men, thieves, gangsters and drug addicts were being held there. There was no decent person around.

Han Zhujiu was standing outside the cellar door, filled with anger.

"Zhong Yueshen? It’s me, Han Zhujiu."

A man at the innermost corner stood up slowly. He had an overwhelmingly strong body.

"Your job. Five hundred dollars. No wounds." Han waved a few bills at Zhong.

"Come bail me out afterwards," the man said with a poker face, trying to bargain with Han.

"No problem! How long?"

"Thirty minutes. Fifty percent in advance."

"Deal!" Han stuffed three bills into Zhong’s pocket, sealing the deal. They talked in low voices in Chinese.

Blair had no idea about the important discussion taking place. He only felt disgust for the Asian men who had tried to blackmail him. He is not a good guy. He’s familiar with those criminals. When I get out, those monkeys will never get a penny from me. I’ll hire the best lawyer there is. I’d rather spend my money on a lawyer!

He was daydreaming. Meanwhile, Zhong was looking at him as if he was made of gold.

It was another busy night at the police station. The policemen were busy with multiple cases, so they ignored the screams coming from the detention facility.

Han walked out of the station leisurely. He lit a Liqun [1] cigarette and enjoyed it. They cost 13 yuan a packet and were much better than Camels.

An Asian guy with short hair entered the external relations office of the police station and knocked on the glass.

"I want to bail out my friend, Zhong Yuesheng."

"Okay, sign here."

The poor man was used to being his subordinate. Han had decided to bail him out.

Under the dim light of the lamps, two strong men were walking along the street. The taller one maintained a distance from the other one.

"What about Blair?"

"Hurting, but no internal injuries..."

Their Chinese accent lingered around the corner.

The next day, nearly all the newspapers published the news about The New York Times in their headlines. The countless articles seemed to question the credibility and authenticity of the media. Even the newsboys were more serious about their work.

As the source of the news, The New York Times was sold out as soon as the copies were placed on the newsstand shelves. Its rising sales volume crushed all the other newspapers.

The press was depressed about the situation, as it reflected a crisis in their honesty, as well as the real attitude of their readers. The newspaper’s competitors were wild with joy. The New York Times would need another chief editor to turn the situation around.

As he walked on campus, Qin Guan was greeted by his schoolmates, both familiar and unfamiliar ones. Everyone was curious about the gossip circulating, but as well-educated citizens, they didn't ask any rude questions. Besides, the girls only admired him more after that incident.