[Chapter 673: Serious Warning]
The two bigshots of the Donkeys felt somewhat conflicted. To them, William White's methods seemed quite unreasonable. "Damn it, if we accidentally stepped on your tail, and you went after us the same way, cough, that would really end badly."
"Gore, you come from a political family. I want to know, is William White's approach a normal thing?"
"No, haha, White isn't from a political family. They're nouveau riche. What is the essence of politics? It's truly an art of compromise."
Watching people carry burdens had never been hard. These two had no clue just how deep the waters ran. While these chatted, serious conflicts erupted simultaneously in Los Angeles, New York, and Phoenix.
...
"Chief, we have 15 minutes left."
"Forget it, push those recoil-less rifles up. I'll give you five minutes to flatten that building complex."
"Yes, sir."
The booming explosions rattled people to their core. Many were dialing 911, only to find that their calls suddenly seemed to lose all function. Whether landline or wireless, everything became useless.
Fortunately, all of this happened quite suddenly, and it ended just as abruptly. In a short span of barely ten minutes, the outside world fell silent.
Standing amid the rubble, Sheriff Hunter appeared quite troubled. A Vietnam veteran, he didn't need to see any traces; he knew the scent of this artillery -- it was definitely a recoil-less rifle. But who could be so insane as to pull this off in the city?
"Sheriff, we didn't find anyone at the scene, neither alive nor dead."
"No way? What about those bloody stains?"
"Well, Sheriff, it seems they were from something used in hospitals. We found several bags."
Click. Hunter immediately understood -- the area had been scrubbed of evidence. Damn it, this wasn't the work of amateurs; they had to be professionals. Forget it, he thought; this case should be handed over to the FBI. I can't handle it.
...
"Master, it's done. There are no loose ends."
"Okay, I understand. What other clues are there regarding this company?"
"We have quite a bit on hand; once we sort through it, we should have some leads."
"Alright, have our people left yet?"
"They've already left."
William White decided not to hold back any longer. Since they wanted to probe his limits, then they would have to pay the price. Otherwise, they'd grown way too comfortable, and it was time to shake things up.
"What? You think someone might come looking for payback?"
Haha, wait until you have evidence. If having the ability made you suspicious, then wouldn't that throw the world into chaos? In fact, if things got really big, hardly anyone would bother asking questions. The logic was clear; you simply couldn't get involved.
...
"A gas explosion? Simultaneously in three places? You must be kidding, Andy. That's not even funny."
"Sir, the FBI's preliminary conclusion supports that."
"Ha! That's rich." The big boss at Morgan Stanley laughed, thinking, what is this?
"Andy, are there any rumors?"
"Sir, this situation is strange. The media, including NBC, are all adopting the FBI's statements. There's not even been a whisper of gossip."
"Tsk, could it really be gas? This gas is something else."
William White wasn't obligated to explain the old man's confusion. In America, anything could happen, and simultaneous explosions weren't so shocking. A single bullet could cause seven wounds, and didn't they accept that?
In truth, the old-timers behind the scenes had their suspicions. Their conjectures were getting disturbingly close to reality.
Things were just weird like that; if you threw caution to the wind, you wouldn't have to worry about anything. Because no one wanted to argue with a man who had lost his sanity.
What was happening in Los Angeles was never that simple -- this group of bigshots all knew it too well. It was evident that someone had paid a price. As for who had laid down the gauntlet, that mattered little.
But neither side was easy to deal with. If possible, they should just learn from it. Damn, this guy's efficiency was downright terrifying.
...
Compared to the chaos in Los Angeles, things in Houston felt like paradise. The troublemaker was now surprisingly obedient.
The police were highly tense; if someone started trouble now, they'd likely be beaten badly.
Texas was not California, where the cops were mostly cowboys. They were more likely to take action than just talk. Rodney King had been in California; if that guy had tried something like that in Houston, he would have been done for.
Someone commented that this approach could easily lead to accidental injuries.
That was a fact; when police asked you to pull over, always put both hands outside the window. Don't even think about reaching into the glove compartment. By the time they realized you were just pulling out your driver's license, you'd already become a hornet's nest.
"Damn, Houston really is better. It's like nothing ever happened here."
William White didn't care about Jason's complaints. The population mix in Texas wasn't as crazy as in California. Here, the other ethnic groups were mostly Mexican. Laziness might exist, drinking could be common, but they weren't skilled at robbery.
In fact, these folks were the true natives. Their history here far exceeded that of most Americans.
Many might not know that Texas was established even before America itself. If the Mexicans hadn't disagreed, haha, the current world situation could have turned out quite differently.
But alas, the Mexicans lost. The Americans already had a vast territory, and now they had added such a large chunk. Oh, how unjust that was.
If you knew that was the ending, it would have been better to accept Texas. With two big bullies joining forces, what chance did you have for a happy conclusion?
"Jason, Texas is different. Honestly, California also wouldn't have had any issues if it weren't for that idiot Tom causing trouble."
"Ha, boss, is anyone named Tom bound to be dumb?"
"Hmph, he's not truly stupid; he just desperately wanted to climb the ranks."
"True that. He's got no skills, yet so many thoughts."
"Jason, that's politics for you. If you don't strive to climb, you'll fall. It's a job where you either advance or regress -- there's no other way."
Claiming to inspect the Rockets was really just a cover to wander around. The current Houston Rockets were practically unbeatable.
Well, whatever the team achieved, he wasn't that concerned any longer. Winning a championship was great, but not obtaining one didn't really matter.
The key was that the team needed to show some guts -- that was the crux of the matter.
The split nature of Americans showed vividly at this moment. In business, no one cared about the process; winning was all that mattered. If you lost, you were the failure.
In competitive sports, it wasn't like that. As long as the process was exciting, it was all good. Even if you ultimately lost, the audience would still applaud and cheer.
But if you played like crap, even if you won, the audience wouldn't support you. They would give their applause to your opponent.
*****
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