The Guardian's Return by Old Pumpkin

Chapter 344

George looked at Nico's body and confirmed that he was really dead.

At that moment, George felt a mix of tension and relief. He felt tense because Nico had committed suicide to

avoid getting trialed, making the situation complicated to handle. However, he also felt relieved that Nico, who

had pushed them to the edge, had ultimately chosen to take his own life.

News of Nico's suicide spread quickly. The first to hear were the villagers of Stone Village.

Nico was dead, and so was Tommy. The Wyatt family was gone. With no one left to lead them, many villagers felt

a sense of urgency, fearing that others might disregard the rules and take all the money for themselves.

As a result, many becreckless, openly inciting others and leading people from other villages to raid the

orchards and livestock farms. It did not matter if the targets were local or non-local. Everything was up for grabs.

Speople also privately produced and sold firearms to local forces. They started mining excessively and

began to neglect preparation for safety measures.

The next day, a new village chief was elected. That village chief had made quite a fortune working under Nico.

Now that he was the chief, he promised to help everyone earn even more money. The shady deals Nico used to

hide in the shadows, he planned to carry out openly.

He even set up roadblocks on the freeways, only allowing passage for a fee. It severely impacted traffic, and

many people started avoiding the route entirely.

The people whose orchards were destroyed and livestock stolen from them filed complaints. George was quickly

overwhelmed by the sheer number of cases. He had one team investigate the orchard and livestock thefts while

another arrested those charging fees on the highway.

When the residents of Stone Village heard that people were coming to arrest them, they triggered a landslide

beside the freeway and destroyed part of it. Then, they raised the firearms made in Stone Village and opened

fire.

Only then did George realize what Nico had done in Stone Village. Nico had the villagers manufacture firearms-a

crdeserving of death!

George ordered the squad to take drastic measures and suppress Stone Village by forc

When the village chief realized they were outmatched, he had svillages set fires in the mountains to split

their forces. There were many mountainous forests in Hill City, and forestry was one of its economic pillars.

As the fires spread, many businesses and villages saw their mature and newly planted

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Chapter 344

eucalyptus trees destroyed.

Scrambling to handle the escalating disaster, George anxiously called for firefighting aid and called neighboring

cities for additional support.

The flames ravaged the area, and because the forests were so extensive, the fire threatened to burn for weeks, if

not longer. Without immediate intervention, the fire could rage on for over a month!

The villagers of Stone Village took advantage of that opportunity to flee and scatter, making George's capture

efforts even more challenging.

The fire raged for eight days before it was finally extinguished. By then, several mountain tops had been reduced

to ashes and would take years to recover.

Once the economic losses were calculated, George almost fainted.

The direct loss alone amounted to 500 billion dollars, and that was not all. Many companies had started to pack

up, especially those whose orchards and farms were destroyed earlier. They all left without hesitation.

Previously, when their orchards were robbed, they only received the most basic compensation, which was not

nearly enough to make up for the years of hard work they had put in. Now, their trees were burned as well

They no longer wanted to stay in Hill City. They were afraid that their companies would go bankrupt if they

stayed.

As more companies pulled out, the South Regent's company entered. He took advantage of Hill City's desperate

need for companies, making it so that George had no choice but to accept them and provide strong support for

them. With so many other businesses fleeing, George didn't have any alternatives.

Running around trying to keep the city from falling apart, Stephen was completely overwhelmed. Despite his

best efforts, more than half of the villagers in Stone Village managed to escape from Hill City. Many fled abroad,

while those remaining headed for other cities. However, it would be nearly impossible for George to track them

all down.

The stress was taking a visible toll on George as his hair had turned noticeably gray in just a few days.

During those few days, reports flooded in constantly. Forest fires, destroyed orchards, stolen livestock, lost

businesses, damaged highways, and gunfights between Stone .illage and the enforcement squads...

In just half a month, Hill City's economy plummeted by 800 billion dollars!

"Hill City's original GDP was 2.8 trillion, but now it has dropped by 800 billion. That's nearly a third of the loss!"

2/3

Chapter 344

Chapter 344

George looked at Nico's body and confirmed that he was really dead.

At that moment, George felt a mix of tension and relief. He felt tense because Nico had committed suicide to

avoid getting trialed, making the situation complicated to handle. However, he also felt relieved that Nico, who

had pushed them to the edge, had ultimately chosen to take his own life.

News of Nico's suicide spread quickly. The first to hear were the villagers of Stone Village.

Nico was dead, and so was Tommy. The Wyatt family was gone. With no one left to lead them, many villagers felt

a sense of urgency, fearing that others might disregard the rules and take all the money for themselves.

As a result, many becreckless, openly inciting others and leading people from other villages to raid the

orchards and livestock farms. It did not matter if the targets were local or non-local. Everything was up for grabs.

Speople also privately produced and sold firearms to local forces. They started mining excessively and

began to neglect preparation for safety measures.

The next day, a new village chief was elected. That village chief had made quite a fortune working under Nico.

Now that he was the chief, he promised to help everyone earn even more money. The shady deals Nico used to

hide in the shadows, he planned to carry out openly.

He even set up roadblocks on the freeways, only allowing passage for a fee. It severely impacted traffic, and

many people started avoiding the route entirely.

The people whose orchards were destroyed and livestock stolen from them filed complaints. George was quickly

overwhelmed by the sheer number of cases. He had one team investigate the orchard and livestock thefts while

another arrested those charging fees on the highway.

When the residents of Stone Village heard that people were coming to arrest them, they triggered a landslide

beside the freeway and destroyed part of it. Then, they raised the firearms made in Stone Village and opened

fire

Only then did George realize what Nico had done in Stone Village. Nico had the villagers manufacture firearms-a

crdeserving of death!

George ordered the squad to take drastic measures and suppress Stone Village by force.

When the village chief realized they were outmatched, he had svillages set fires in the mountains to split

their forces. There were many mountainous forests

in Hill City, and forestry was one of its economic pillars.

As the fires spread, many businesses and villages saw their mature and newly planted

1/3

Chapter 344

eucalyptus trees destroyed.

Scrambling to handle the escalating disaster, George anxiously called for firefighting aid and called neighboring

cities for additional support.

The flames ravaged the area, and because the forests were so extensive, the fire threatened to burn for weeks, if

not longer. Without immediate intervention, the fire could rage on for over a month!

The villagers of Stone Village took advantage of that opportunity to flee and scatter, making George's capture

efforts even more challenging.

The fire raged for eight days before it was finally extinguished. By then, several mountain tops had been reduced

to ashes and would take years to recover. Once the economic losses were calculated, George almost fainted.

The direct loss alone amounted to 500 billion dollars, and that was not all. Many companies had started to pack

up, especially those whose orchards and farms were destroyed earlier. They all left without hesitation.

Previously, when their orchards were robbed, they only received the most basic compensation, which was not

nearly enough to make up for the years of hard work they had put in. Now, their trees were burned as well

They no longer wanted to stay in Hill City. They were afraid that their companies would go bankrupt if they

stayed.

As more companies pulled out, the South Regent's company entered. He took advantage of Hill City's desperate

need for companies, making it so that George had no choice but to accept them and provide strong support for

them. With so many other businesses fleeing, George didn't have any alternatives. Running around trying to

keep the city from falling apart, Stephen was completely overwhelmed. Despite his best efforts, more than half

of the villagers in Stone Village managed to escape from Hill City. Many fled abroad, while those remaining

headed for other cities. However, it would be nearly impossible for George to track them all down.

The stress was taking a visible toll on George as his hair had turned noticeably gray in just a few days.

During those few days, reports flooded in constantly. Forest fires, destroyed orchards, stolen livestock, lost

businesses, damaged highways, and gunfights between Stone Village and the enforcement squads...

In just half a month, Hill City's economy plummeted by 800 billion dollars!

"Hill City's original GDP was 2.8 trillion, but now it has dropped by 800 billion. That's nearly a third of the loss!"

2/3

Chapter 344

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