Chapter 4 Collapsed Aristocracy, Desperate Regret
1841 Words
The news of Thomas Carter’s criminal detention spread rapidly across Hudson City’s judicial system like wildfire.
No one had expected the outcome of the controversial property dispute. The arrogant relatives who had sued confidently were now facing felony charges of fraud and illegal possession of private property, while the powerless orphan everyone pitied had staged a shocking full reversal overnight.
The entire old neighborhood was stunned by the result. All the neighbors who had whispered and mocked Carter the day before fell into complete silence, their previous sneers turning into undisguised shock and awe.
Word of the miracle reversal quickly reached Leo Howard’s ears.
Inside the luxurious top-floor office of the Howard Group headquarters, Leo paced back and forth restlessly, his face dark and terrifying, all the calm and arrogance he pretended to have completely shattered.
His phone kept ringing nonstop. It was the company’s financial supervisor, legal counsel, and even senior officials of the municipal investment bureau, all calling to verify the sudden exposure of the group’s financial fraud scandal.
The confidential loophole that only the core family members knew had been completely laid bare overnight, just as Carter had predicted.
Official investigation teams had already entered the Howard Group’s core finance department, freezing all capital accounts and project files. The once-glorious business empire of Hudson’s top wealthy family was on the verge of collapse in just one night.
“It’s him… It’s definitely Lin Carter!”
Leo slammed his luxury mobile phone heavily on the marble desk, his eyes bloodshot with rage and panic, his body trembling violently.
He had stubbornly believed that Carter was just bluffing, that a penniless orphan could never shake the foundation of the Howard family. But reality slapped him brutally in the face.
That young man standing in the rain yesterday was not bluffing at all. He held the absolute power to destroy the entire Howard family with a single word.
Sophia stood timidly at the side of the office, her delicate face pale and devoid of any trace of color. She had followed Leo here, hoping to enjoy the glory of the upper class, but what she awaited was the sudden collapse of her reliance.
Endless regret flooded her heart like a raging tide, almost drowning her completely.
She had abandoned a peerless genius who could rise against the sky for a vain and crumbling wealthy glory. She had trampled on her true love to cling to a false prosperity that would vanish in an instant.
Now, she had nothing left.
“Leo… what should we do? The company’s capital chain is completely broken, all projects are suspended, and the bank is urging repayment… our family is finished!” Sophia’s voice trembled and choked, tears rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably.
Leo took a deep breath, his eyes flickering with ruthless desperation. He had been arrogant and domineering in Hudson for many years, never suffering such a crushing defeat. He refused to believe that he would fall completely at the hands of a nobody graduate.
“It’s not over yet!” Leo gritted his teeth fiercely, his eyes fierce and twisted. “He has money and evidence now, but he has no background! I still have connections in Hudson’s underground circle and the local aristocratic circle! I’ll find someone to suppress him, force him to withdraw the report, and make him hand over all the evidence!”
In his eyes, all problems in the world could be solved by power and connections. He was accustomed to bullying the weak and suppressing opponents by virtue of his family’s power, and he firmly believed that he could turn the tide once again.
Without the slightest hesitation, Leo took out his phone and dialed the number of the most famous underground boss in Hudson, a ruthless man who controlled the city’s private security and underground forces and had always been the Howard family’s most powerful helper.
“Tony, help me deal with a person. As long as you force him to compromise, I’ll give you three million dollars in cash and a prime storefront in the city center!” Leo’s voice was cold and fierce.
The other end of the phone responded quickly with a brutal promise.
A sense of cruel confidence returned to Leo’s face. He stared out the window at the bustling city, a cold sneer curling on his lips. “Lin Carter, you forced me into a dead end. Don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
At this moment, Lin Carter had just returned to his recovered luxury mansion located in the city’s core school district.
The mansion was elegant and luxurious, with a panoramic view of the city’s scenery, completely different from the shabby rental house he had lived in for years.
Standing on the spacious balcony, Carter overlooked the entire Hudson City, his expression calm and indifferent.
The system’s Absolute Luck Aura was operating silently all over his body, automatically suppressing all the luck of his enemies and infinitely amplifying his own fortune.
The moment Leo made the call to ask for help, Carter’s mind instantly received a system prompt.
【Ding! Detected villain Leo Howard intends to use underground forces to suppress and threaten the host!】
【Trigger passive luck counterattack! Automatically lock all enemy forces and conspiracy plans!】
【Reward activation: Temporary War God Aura full activation, full combat proficiency unlocked, all hostile forces will automatically collapse when facing the host!】
A surging and powerful aura suddenly burst out from Carter’s body, invisible and intangible, yet containing supreme suppressing power, sweeping across the entire city in an instant.
Carter’s eyes flashed with a faint cold light. With his Mind Reading ability, he clearly saw all of Leo’s calculations and the arrogant killing intent of the underground boss Tony.
“Still refusing to repent and insisting on seeking death?”
Carter whispered softly, his tone devoid of any emotion.
He had intended to let the law punish the Howard family’s crimes and end the feud simply and neatly. But since Leo insisted on jumping into the abyss by himself, he would completely eradicate this hidden danger once and for all.
Carter picked up his phone and made a simple call.
He had used his billion-dollar funds overnight to establish a top personal security team, composed of retired special forces elites and international bodyguards. The person on the other end of the phone was the captain of the elite team.
“Within half an hour, completely clear all underground forces related to Tony and the Howard family, and hand over all criminal evidence to the police.” Carter’s voice was plain but carried unshakable supreme authority.
“Yes, sir! Guaranteed to complete the mission perfectly!” The captain’s respectful and solemn response came from the other end of the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Carter stood quietly on the balcony, waiting for the final result of the farce.
On the other side, Leo was still waiting triumphantly for Tony to bring people to suppress Carter, imagining the scene of Carter kneeling down to beg for mercy.
But less than twenty minutes later, his phone suddenly exploded with frantic calls.
“Young Master Leo! It’s over! Tony’s entire team has been arrested! All our underground connections have been uprooted! A large amount of criminal evidence has been handed over to the police!”
“The bank has officially frozen all the family’s personal assets! The group’s stock has plummeted to the limit! The Howard family is completely finished!”
One piece of bad news after another hit Leo’s mind like heavy thunderbolts, completely crushing his last line of defense.
His legs went weak, and he slumped heavily into the boss chair, his face ashen and lifeless, his eyes filled with boundless despair.
All his connections, all his backers, all his family’s glory… collapsed and vanished in an instant.
Sophia watched Leo’s completely broken appearance, and her last trace of fantasy was completely shattered. She staggered forward, tears streaming down her face, and grabbed Leo’s arm in panic.
“Leo, what do we do now? We have nothing left…”
Leo suddenly roared hysterically, venting all his despair and anger on her: “Shut up! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have offended Carter for no reason! You’re the one who brought all this disaster!”
Sophia was stunned on the spot, her whole body cold. She never thought that the man she had abandoned her true love to follow would treat her like this in the end.
At this moment, the office door was gently pushed open.
Lin Carter walked in slowly, dressed in simple casual clothes, his bearing elegant and supreme, like a king who came to inspect his defeated enemies.
His footsteps were light, but every step stepped on the hearts of Leo and Sophia, making them breathless with terror.
“Carter…” Sophia’s body trembled violently. She looked at the young man who had achieved earth-shaking transformation, and endless regret swept through her heart again. She bit her lip tightly and walked forward with a humble attitude. “I’m sorry… I was wrong before. Can you forgive me? We can start over…”
Leo raised his head with difficulty, staring at Carter in front of him, his eyes full of fear and disbelief. He finally understood thoroughly that the gap between him and Carter was no longer a gap between the rich and the poor, but a gap between mortals and gods.
Carter glanced at Sophia indifferently, his eyes cold without the slightest ripple.
“Start over?”
“When I was trapped in the abyss, humiliated and helpless, you chose to trample on me without hesitation. Now that I’m soaring to the top, you want to look back? You don’t deserve it.”
His plain words completely crushed Sophia’s last hope.
Sophia collapsed on the ground, crying bitterly, filled with endless regret that could never be remedied.
Carter’s gaze finally fell on the completely desperate Leo.
“You rely on your family’s power to bully the weak and do evil wantonly. Today’s ending is all your own doing.”
“From today on, there is no Howard family in Hudson City anymore.”
After saying this, Carter turned around and left without the slightest nostalgia.
Behind him, Leo let out a hoarse wail of despair, completely falling into the abyss of eternal ruin.
After solving all the mortal grudges, the system’s prompt sounded again in Carter’s mind.
【Ding! All early mortal enemies eliminated!】
【Massive reward unlocked: Full physical quality transformation, initial spiritual energy awakening!】
【Preliminary activation of cultivation system cheats! The world’s spiritual energy is beginning to gather towards the host!】
A faint pure spiritual energy suddenly lingered around Carter’s body, warm and gentle, constantly washing his physical body.
Carter raised his head and looked at the distant sky, a faint domineering smile blooming on his lips.
The mortal counterattack was over.
His journey to transcend mortals, step into cultivation, and sweep across all realms has officially begun!
- Writer
