“Huh?” Chris Shelby was momentarily taken aback upon hearing the news. He had not expected that Harold Jefferson’s father had become the village chief of Jefferson Village. Chris Shelby chuckled and said, “Alright, when I’m free, I’ll go with you to Jefferson Village to see your father.” After chatting with Harold Jefferson for a while, Esther approached.
Chris Shelby looked at Esther curiously and asked, “Darling, what is it?” Esther bit her lip and said, “Dear, I need you to come with me to Middleton.”
“To Middleton?” Chris Shelby frowned and asked curiously, “Why go to Middleton for no reason?”
“Ah!” Esther sighed softly and explained, “Dear, it’s like this…”
According to Esther’s account, Chris Shelby finally understood why she wanted to go to Middleton. Since Chris Shelby’s last visit to Middleton, when he had incorporated the Nance Group, the Chester Group had become the commercial overlord of the north.
However, since Chris Shelby’s departure, the Chester Group had encountered numerous difficulties in Middleton. Particularly, many families in Middleton were eyeing the Chester Group greedily. For these families, the Chester Group was a big piece of cake, and everyone wanted a bite.
To stabilize Chester Group’s commercial position in Middleton, Esther decided to make the trip herself. “Dear, Jake called and said that in a few days, Middleton will host a national economic summit! This summit is a great opportunity for our Chester Group, so I want to go and see it. Also, Lindsay will accompany me to help promote our products!”
Since Esther’s departure from Middleton, Jake had become the head of Chester Group in Middleton. As for Lindsay, who was already the spokesperson for Chester Group, her presence in Middleton was naturally for promotional purposes. Speaking of Lindsay, she had now replaced Mimi as Amerosia’s top female star. As for the former top star, Mimi had retired from the entertainment industry to gradually take over the White family.
Meanwhile, Pam White, the young master of the White family, who had been disgraced by Chris Shelby during the last visit to Middleton, had lost his inheritance rights to the family’s leadership. Chris Shelby smiled and said, “Alright, then I’ll accompany you to Middleton in a few days.”
Truth be told, Chris Shelby was not at ease with Esther going to Middleton alone. Given the number of enemies he had made there last time, who knew what dangers Esther might encounter.
“Thank you!” Esther was visibly delighted to hear that Chris Shelby would accompany her. Before leaving for Middleton, Esther needed to arrange the affairs of Chester Group. After her departure from the East Coast, the Chester Group was temporarily managed by Juliette.
Now, Juliette had grown quickly and was no longer the capricious princess of the past. Today’s Juliette had become a formidable businesswoman, capable of handling major and minor matters within the company. Moreover, with Chris Shelby’s father-in-law John, a stabilizing force on the East Coast, the company was unlikely to face any significant turmoil.
This time, Esther planned to travel to Middleton without bringing anyone else. Apart from Chris Shelby, she did not take any company staff with her. Three days later, Chris Shelby and Esther arrived early in the morning at East Coast Airport. Soon, they boarded the earliest flight to Middleton. Meanwhile, as Chris Shelby and Esther headed to Middleton, a fierce battle was unfolding in distant Atas. “Kill!”
“Kill!”
“Kill!” Boom! Boom! Boom! The battle continued for an hour before the battlefield gradually quieted down.
“Sir, the entire vanguard army of 30, 000 has been annihilated!” a member of the East Coast Guards reported to Tiger, his expression resolute. At this moment, around 50, 000 East Coast Guards stood before Tiger.
Having endured countless battles of blood and fire, originally numbering 100, 000, about 50, 000 had fallen in foreign lands. Yet, the remaining East Coast Guards exuded a dense aura of slaughter. Their strength had increased manifold compared to when they were on the East Coast.
Tiger looked at the 50, 000 East Coast Guards before him, feeling deeply moved. He had previously told Chris Shelby that he would bring all the East Coast Guards home. Sadly, he hadn’t succeeded. Foreign battlefields were more brutal than Tiger had imagined. In a previous ambush by Quartz Ridge, the East Coast Guards had suffered over 20, 000 casualties.
Later, Tiger led the East Coast Guards to Atas, coinciding with their invasion of Atas which borders Amerosia, to prevent further incursions. Amerosia’s top military command had ordered Tiger to lead the East Coast Guards in conjunction with Atas’s military to resist the invasion.
As the leading military power globally, the East Coast Guards had faced numerous deadly battles, suffering heavy losses. To have these 50, 000 East Coast Guards remaining was already fortunate.
Now that the battle had ended, Tiger also received orders from Amerosia’s forces to return home with the East Coast Guards. Tiger glanced over everyone and said softly, “Tomorrow, we go home!”
None of the East Coast Guards spoke, but a longing to return home could be seen in their eyes. Months of combat had transformed them drastically. Yet, their hearts always remembered one place: the East Coast, because they were the East Coast Guards, the guardians of the East Coast.
…
A few hours later, Chris Shelby and Esther arrived in Middleton. This was the second time Chris Shelby accompanied Esther to Middleton. They reached at eight in the evening. Since Esther hadn’t notified Jake, he was unaware of their arrival and hadn’t sent anyone to receive them. Chris Shelby, with a cigarette in his mouth, said in exasperation, “Dear, no one’s here to pick us up; what should we do?”
“Dear, let’s find a hotel to stay for the night and figure it out tomorrow,” Esther suggested.
“Alright then,” Chris Shelby nodded, his mood somber. He had thought Esther had everything arranged. He hadn’t expected that there would be no one to receive them. Frustrated, Chris Shelby took a deep drag of his cigarette and threw the butt on the ground.
“Stop right there!” Just as Chris Shelby was about to leave, a voice stopped him. He turned to see a woman wearing a red armband approaching.
“Littering fines are $500!” she said sternly.
“What? That much!” Chris Shelby was stunned. A $500 fine for a cigarette butt seemed excessively high.
“$500 and you think it’s too much? I don’t know where you come from, but here in Middleton, the capital of Amerosia, throwing a cigarette butt represents the quality of countless Amerosians…” the woman scolded.