NOVEL NEXT Chapter 435: Natural Disasters and Man-made Calamities Coexisting
Enjoy new adventures from empire
In the luxurious hotel room, Ritchie was organizing his gear. "What on earth has Jeremy been up to? Who else does he know in Valley City?" Ritchie muttered to himself as he arranged his equipment. He truly had no idea what Jeremy was doing.
At that moment, the door to the room suddenly swung open from the outside. Jeremy walked in directly. Ritchie hurried over to Jeremy's side.
"Your face looks a bit too grim. Did you receive some bad news? Are we facing another crisis?" Ritchie asked, concern evident in his voice.
Without hesitation, Jeremy nodded in response to Ritchie's inquiry. He recounted his entire conversation with the mayor of Valley City. After hearing the details, Ritchie's expression became even more troubled than Jeremy's.
"I think you might be acting a bit rashly. How can we easily collaborate with the mayor of Valley City? How do you know he isn't setting a trap for you?" Ritchie asked bluntly.
Jeremy calmly replied, "I do have my concerns about that. But you should understand that we need to stay in Valley City for a while. If we don't cooperate with the mayor, we could face an even greater crisis. Plus, only by working with him do we have the chance to gather more intelligence."
Jeremy's reasoning was sound, and Ritchie agreed. "You're right. So what should we do next? We can't just sit here waiting for the crisis to hit. We need to prepare in advance."
Jeremy nodded. "You're right. So let's take a good rest today. Tomorrow morning, we can take a walk around Valley City. Perhaps we can gather some information from the local residents."
Jeremy didn't have any better ideas; he could only hope to obtain some intelligence in the coming days. Ritchie, in truth, also had no other good plans, so he decided to follow Jeremy's lead.
Thus, Jeremy and Ritchie went to bed early.
At the same time, Kean's subordinate met with the mayor of Valley City in the mayor's office. The expression on Kean's subordinate's face was quite grim as he scrutinized the mayor.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Have I become your enemy now? Or do you think my actions are inappropriate?" the mayor of Valley City asked bluntly, clearly irritated by Kean's subordinate.
"Why are you cooperating with Jeremy? Don't you know he is our enemy? Are you planning to betray Young Master Kean?" Kean's subordinate replied directly. He believed that the mayor of Valley City was plotting betrayal, and he would not allow anyone to betray Kean.
Upon hearing this, the mayor of Valley City let out a cold laugh. "With your level of intelligence, that's about the only possibility you could come up with. Young Master Kean instructed us to keep Jeremy in Valley City. If I don't cooperate with him, how can we keep him here? Do you think Jeremy would believe any other excuses we come up with to keep him?"
The mayor's rebuttal was quite convincing, leaving Kean's subordinate momentarily speechless.
"If you don't have the intelligence to help me, then stop causing trouble here. My plan will definitely succeed. Once it does, both I and Young Master Kean will benefit. So don't interfere with my actions. If there's nothing else, you can leave," the mayor of Valley City declared, effectively dismissing him.
Kean's subordinate was incredulous. He didn't expect to be kicked out so bluntly. "How can you treat me this way? I represent Young Master Kean's will!" he exclaimed in disbelief.
"Even if Young Master Kean were here, he wouldn't care about these matters! I have more important things to handle. If you really have nothing to do, you can observe Jeremy and Ritchie," the mayor of Valley City taunted without any regard for the subordinate's feelings.
Fuming with anger, Kean's subordinate was at a loss for how to respond. Ultimately, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
Once the subordinate left, the mayor of Valley City slowly muttered to himself, "I don't know where Kean found such an idiot! His presence will only complicate my plans further! I need to find a way to get rid of him!"
The mayor believed he was merely cooperating with Kean. He did not view Kean as his master; referring to Kean as "Young Master" in front of his subordinate was just a tactic to lower their guard. The crisis facing the mayor of Valley City was indeed significant.
He told Jeremy that the information was indeed not false. Valley City would face a significant crisis within the next ten days, but this crisis was not solely due to the threat of monsters. The crisis was composed of both natural disasters and man-made calamities.
The natural disaster, of course, referred to the threat posed by monsters. Although there were no high-level instances within or immediately surrounding Valley City, there were some challenging instances located about 100 kilometers away in several towns. The monsters from these instances were gradually emerging.
These monsters would eventually pose a threat to Valley City. However, if the threat were only from these monsters, the mayor of Valley City would not need to be overly concerned. This was because the monsters, in their aimless advance, would take a considerable amount of time to reach Valley City.
The primary reason Valley City would face a crisis in the next ten days was man-made calamity. While Valley City did not face an immediate threat from monsters, humanity as a whole was under a significant threat from them. The federal leadership and military headquarters were eager to acquire more powerful weapons and items. Consequently, they continually issued orders for individuals to take risks and enter instances.
Some people in Valley City complied with the directives from the federal leadership and military headquarters. These individuals did not obtain any valuable weapons or items from the instances; instead, they attracted the attention of the monsters. This led to monsters in the vicinity of Valley City locking onto it as a target.
The gathering of a large number of monsters would result in a catastrophic disaster for Valley City. The mayor of Valley City would absolutely not allow it to be destroyed in this manner. His rise to power, his ability to cooperate with Kean, and his standing before the federal leadership and military headquarters were all due to Valley City.
If Valley City were destroyed, he would lose everything. Therefore, protecting Valley City was the mayor's utmost priority. He was willing to cooperate with anyone who could help safeguard the city. In the absence of more powerful forces from Kean being dispatched to Valley City, he would naturally choose to collaborate with Jeremy.
Although the mayor had certain prejudices against Jeremy, he believed that if he could win Jeremy over, he could also betray Kean.
After all, Kean and Jeremy had comparable levels of strength, and the mayor of Valley City had heard various rumors circulating in the community. Among these rumors, it was said that Kean had never managed to defeat Jeremy in their clashes; Jeremy emerged victorious in every single encounter. Therefore, forming an alliance with Jeremy seemed like the more rational choice.
The strategy the mayor of Valley City decided to adopt was akin to walking a tightrope. He sought to secure Jeremy's assistance while simultaneously maintaining his collaboration with Kean. He understood that such a precarious balancing act could not endure for long, but for him, it was the only viable means to maximize his own interests.
"While the situation is still within my grasp, I must ensure that I can extract the most benefits possible. If the time comes when I must sever ties with Jeremy, I need to make the first move," the mayor of Valley City resolved in his mind, steeling himself for what lay ahead.
If Jeremy could assist him in navigating the crisis and ended up severely injured in the ensuing battle against the monsters, he could easily conspire with one of Kean's subordinates to eliminate Jeremy. This would allow him to effortlessly fulfill his objectives and maximize his gains.
In the mayor's strategy, both Kean's subordinate and Jeremy were perceived as targets that needed to be addressed. Thus, he planned to make Kean's subordinate pay the price first. This approach would not only prevent them from interfering with his plans but would also serve to demonstrate his sincerity to Jeremy. After all, Jeremy's primary adversary was Kean. If the mayor of Valley City had already positioned himself as an enemy to Kean's subordinate, then he would naturally be viewed as an ally by Jeremy.
The mayor's blueprint for action was meticulously crafted. If this plan were to succeed, he could indeed secure the greatest benefits for himself. However, the significant challenge lay in the fact that the entire scheme was somewhat overly intricate. If any single component of the plan failed, it could lead to a swift and catastrophic collapse.
Should the plan unravel, the mayor of Valley City would face dire and terrifying consequences. Once his plot was fully exposed, both Jeremy and Kean would likely regard him as an enemy. In such a precarious position, no one could guarantee their safety while simultaneously being adversaries of both Jeremy and Kean. The thought of such a fate sent shivers down his spine, forcing him to tread carefully as he navigated this perilous situation.