Chapter 339
3,40%
Ophelia nodded. “There’s something I need to handle, but… it would be great if you could come with me. We’ll be back
soon.”
She knew he liked feeling needed by her. It was his weakness.
Kenneth didn’t say anything and placed the bowl of noodles on the coffee table. His face showed no emotions, but the tension in the air had vanished,
The delicious aroma of the noodles drifted from the bowl. Ophelia was already hungry, and sitting on the bed with such a delightful smell around made her stomach rumble.
After all that morning exercise, she was already worn out.
She thought about getting out of bed but decided to stay.
“Honey, give me a hug,” she said, reaching out her arms and playfully coaxing Kenneth
Kenneth glanced up, and his eyes had a deep crease that added an even more enigmatic charm to them.
He gave Ophelia a casual look, walked over to the bed, picked her up like a child, and carried her to the couch.
Ophelia was secretly pleased, wrapping her arms around the man’s neck like a sly little for
This trick never failed to work.
The noodles on the table were golden and tempting, with pan–fried beef and a soft–boiled egg that made it hard not to salivate.
She first satisfied her sense of smell, taking an exaggerated deep breath.
“Smells so good.” Her voice was sweet, though slightly husky.
Instant noodles with the Kenneth touch were just extraordinary.
Kenneth sat on the single–seater sofa opposite her, with his legs crossed and fingers fiddling with the ring on his ring finger ás he gazed at Ophelia in front of him.
It depended on who cooked it.
Ophelia picked up her chopsticks and started feasting, asking between bites, “Will you come with me later? The people in the slum don’t trust politicians much, so it’s been tough getting things settled.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Kenneth asked.
“Of course.” Ophelia nodded while slurping her noodles.
She could have gone by herself, but she didn’t want to leave Kenneth behind, in case he overthought things. Going together
was nice.
Kenneth raised an eyebrow. “Alright.”
His tone had a hint of reluctance.
Ophelia lowered her head and chuckled. She knew Kenneth always fell for this charm. She was familiar with his proud ways and played along.
10:33 Mon, 16 Dec MO Kis
Chapter 339
“You’re the best, honey,” she said.
It was good as long as she knew it.
“Here you go,” he said.
40
After dinner, the two of them went out, and Aaron drove towards the outskirts of the Gloomhaven.
There weren’t many cars heading out of the city, especially in the afternoon.
the traffic light, their black Maybach passed a Bentley.
In the passenger seat of the Bentley was a middle–aged man in his forties, looking like an assistant.
“Hey, isn’t that Mr. Sinclair’s car?” he blurted out.
That was true.
The driver slowed down, and both the assistant and the man in the back seat turned to look.
Kenneth usually drove a low–profile car. The license plate wasn’t flashy, but many people still recognized it.
“It’s strange. What business could the Sinclair Group have in the Gloomhaven that requires Kenneth himself?” the assistant wondered aloud.
In the back seat, the man in a dark blue tailored suit looked back once more, with a flicker of hard–to–read emotion in his
eyes.
“Have someone follow them and check the situation,” he said.
“Yes, sir,” the assistant responded promptly.
*****
In the Gloomhaven slum, two groups were facing off.
Kaden Clark, the government official who was responsible for the relocation, stood on one side with law enforcement, looking intimidating.
The people here were mostly elderly, and there were some young children who didn’t understand what was happening. The rest were middle–aged people in their forties and fifties.
don’t care what you say. You just want to trick us into leaving. This is ancestral land, handed down from our forebears, and
it can’t be touched.”
“Yeah, we can’t mess with our ancestor’s things.”
“How do we know if you’re telling the truth? What if it’s a lie, and where will we live?”
“Exactly! People like you don’t care about our well–being.”
If that happened, they would truly have no place left to take refuge.
Felix gathered a few young men, each holding some kind of tool.
2/4-
O
Ophelia said they needed to protect the elders and children here.
Apart from Felix and a few young people, everyone else cowered together in fear when they saw those officials.
In the summer, the ocean breeze in the slum brought a foul smell of decay.
40%2
Kaden held back his nausea and spat. “This rotten place breeds nothing but troublemakers. It doesn’t matter how nicely you talk, does it? A bunch of ungrateful lower–class people, tch…”
“Lower–class people,” uttered Kaden.
This label seemed deeply ingrained in the identity of everyone in the slurn.
Even when labeled as “lowlifes,” no one dared to stand up and refute it, as if they had long been used to it and had accepted
- it.
“You think we want to settle you here? Ungrateful, this dump is worthless to us whether it’s developed or not,” said Kaden.
If it weren’t for being coerced by Kenneth, who would even bother with this place?
The smell alone was enough to make one vomit; it was the kind of stench that could upset one’s stomach.
Seeing the situation, Cody stepped forward a few steps, his tone was much more polite.
“Here’s the agreement. You can take a look. Once the slum is redeveloped, houses will be allocated to you all. Besides, you’ll get free healthcare and retirement benefits. If you agree, sign and move out to find a place, which is better than living here.
Cody, following Ophelia’s instructions, patiently explained to them.
But the smell here was just too awful; he felt like he was going to throw up.
“We can’t read. How do we know you’re not trying to trick us?” Felix stood at the front, his voice loud and rough.
Kaden pinched his nose and snorted, thinking these people must be crazy.
“Trick you? Do you even have any worth for us to trick you? A bunch of people useless to society shouldn’t even exist,” added Kaden.
He was completely speechless.
He didn’t know why they were hesitant.
Kaden didn’t want to waste time anymore; he just wanted to get things done quickly and have Kenneth‘ bodyguards leave as soon as possible.
He couldn’t live a normal life anymore.
He gave a signal to the officers he had brought along.
A few bulldozers and excavators rolled in one after another.
By demolishing their homes, they would have nowhere to stay and would comply with the resettlement.
Kaden signaled to those people again.
Those officers immediately started the enforcement.
The bulldozers and excavators drove in, directly crushing the scattered, rundown old houses.
‘Boom The wall collapsed
*Grandma, our home, our home is gone. A lide girl wearing a baconda bold bark bertars and cried loudly Curious intervene, her grandma held her back and embraced her
The others were huddling together, looking fearful
“Mr. Clark, isn’t that going a bit too far? Cody immediately stepped forward to argue
