Mu Lin started speaking in a distorted voice over the phone: “Hello! Is this the police station? I’ve found something unusual near a villa close to Chinatown. There’s a strong, pungent smell coming from the villa, and people have collapsed around it. I suspect someone inside is using gas bombs! I have to stop people from approaching, so I’ll hang up now. Bye!” Without waiting for the other side to ask for his name or address, Mu Lin hung up. He then called several well-known media outlets, including The New York Times, confident they would be eager to cover such a major breaking news event.
After hanging up the phone, Mu Lin didn’t wait for the police to arrive. He hurried back to his clinic. He had to return before the police or those monitoring him could find him, leaving no clues behind. Otherwise, his long-maintained low profile would be compromised.
He had left two recorded video tapes in the villa’s living room—one showing himself being hypnotized, and the other capturing a discussion among several criminal gangs about how to deal with him. Additionally, he had extracted from the minds of several gang leaders the names of high-ranking officials who had aided them. He typed this information into a table using the typewriter in the villa and left it in the living room as well. He needed this incident to test the reaction of the U-country elites, which would help him decide his next move.
When he returned to the clinic, Finney and the others were still waiting for him. Seeing him come back, all three rushed to embrace him. Mu Lin knew they had never seen his abilities before and had been worried about him during every mission. He didn’t explain anything but directly led the three of them to bed, where he began cultivating with them, slowly recounting all the events of the day. There would be a lot of acting required from them the next day.
Before dawn, the wailing of police sirens echoed around the clinic, followed by a burst of gunfire that quickly subsided. The gunfire startled everyone in the clinic, and the guards quickly took their positions. Soon after, the phone in Mu Lin’s bedroom rang. He picked it up. “Hello, this is Daniel. Who is this? How can I help you?” he asked.
“Oh, thank goodness, Dr. Daniel! This is Hoffman, the police chief of New York! Are you okay?” Mu Lin replied that he was fine.
Before Mu Lin could say more, Hoffman continued, “Alright, Dr. Daniel, stay inside the clinic and don’t go anywhere. Some people are threatening your life. Our SWAT team will protect you outside the villa. I know you have many questions, but let’s talk about everything tomorrow, okay?” Without waiting for Mu Lin’s response, Hoffman hung up.
Shortly after, his two secretaries, both armed, rushed into his room to protect him. These two were actually active-duty police officers. To appease Mu Lin, Hoffman had assigned them to stay by his side under the guise of protection. Now, their presence proved useful.
Mu Lin told Finney about the call from Hoffman and asked her to inform everyone in the villa not to panic or go outside, as the police were now protecting them.
After Finney left, Mu Lin sat on the sofa, pondering the implications of Hoffman’s call. He hadn’t expected the police to find what he left so quickly or to appear around his clinic so soon. The gunfire earlier was likely the police taking down those who had been monitoring him. Based on the usual pace of police operations, he had expected them to arrive at his villa the next morning.
The police’s current actions must have been Hoffman’s own initiative. Therefore, by tomorrow morning, he would know the true intentions of the elites.
After breakfast, the servants brought the morning newspapers to Mu Lin. The headline on the front page of The New York Times read: “Biochemical Weapons Found in Chinatown Gangs, Dozens of Police Hospitalized.” Mu Lin skimmed the article, which vaguely stated that a large number of highly destructive biochemical weapons had been discovered in a gang estate near Chinatown. Dozens of police officers had been injured while investigating the estate and were now hospitalized. The article warned citizens to avoid Chinatown to prevent accidental harm. Other newspapers carried similar headlines and content.
After reading, Mu Lin’s anger flared, and his calm demeanor turned to fury. “Damn it!” he muttered under his breath. It seemed the U-country people were truly protecting their puppets. The gang was clearly the Japanese Black Dragon Society, yet the media casually labeled it a Chinatown gang, effectively shifting blame onto the Chinese. This conveniently redirected public attention and suspicion toward the Chinese community, something the U-country had done many times before. Once the storm passed, they would offer minor compensation and a few apologies to the Chinese in Chinatown, effectively sweeping the whole matter under the rug. “Hmph, with me around, do you really think things will go your way?”
Thinking about it, Mu Lin couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the despicable nature of these elites. They wanted to appease him while shifting the blame onto the Chinese. Did they really think the world worked that way?
After a while, Mu Lin instructed his two young female officers to call the media and announce that his clinic would be holding a press conference that afternoon.
Sure enough, it wasn’t long before his secretary reported that the mayor of New York and a group of high-ranking officials were about to arrive at the clinic. According to etiquette, Mu Lin stepped out of the clinic’s main entrance to greet them.
From a distance, the mayor extended his hand and hurried forward to shake Mu Lin’s, saying as he did, “Dr. Daniel, I heard from Hoffman that someone was after you, so I came to check on you immediately! Are you okay?”
Mu Lin thought to himself that these people must already know what had happened, yet they still tried to extract information from him with veiled questions.
Mu Lin replied deliberately, “I’m fine, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for your concern!”
The expressions of the group visibly relaxed, and they began chatting casually with Mu Lin. He, too, pretended to be at ease and responded lightly.
After a while, the group finally couldn’t contain themselves anymore. The mayor signaled to his assistant, who quickly took over the conversation. “Dr. Daniel, we heard your clinic is holding a press conference this afternoon. Is there anything we can do to help?”
Mu Lin thought to himself that they had finally lost their composure. Still pretending to be naive, he replied casually, “Oh, nothing major. I’ve grown somewhat tired of this country, so I’ve decided to end everything here. I’ll hold a press conference to announce that I will donate all my clinics and foundations in this country to charity. I plan to immigrate to another country with all the Chinese staff I’ve recruited for the clinic.”
At this, the expressions of all the visitors changed completely. The mayor finally lost his composed demeanor, and his face turned grim. If Mu Lin publicly announced his disillusionment with the country and shut down all his clinics, he would face condemnation from the upper echelons of society nationwide. His political career and future would end prematurely because of Mu Lin’s departure.
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