One week passed, and a second medical camp was set up in Valentino Harbor, but this time they came prepared with elite commandos and disinfection units.The infected roaming the streets were shot down, and the commandos swept through the whole district, looking for survivors.A few trembling figures emerged from the barricaded houses and from inside tightly locked shopping malls and fire stations.They were immediately tested for signs of the infection, and once verified as healthy, all of them were sent to a temporary quarantine camp where they received supportive care.A day later, Kronos Tech’s latest vaccine was launched to the public, and instead of trying to downplay or cover the tragedy in Valentino Harbor, Samantha Atkins, together with Tracy Torres, revealed all the grim details.The only little detail they skipped was the fact that it was a bioweapon attack.The source of the sudden viral infection was left in the dark, partly to prevent more panic in the public, and partly

The offer was clear: either stand with Governor Morton and his friends and accept their dictates, or risk their future hostility in a state which they controlled from the ground up.If it were any other aspiring businessman, he would have gladly shaken their hands and accepted their controlling friendship.But Alex wasn’t the type of person to let someone else control his decisions.“You have done your homework on me. I’ll give you that. But I think you still do not know enough about me,” he replied, crossing his left leg over his right. “I am not some jumped-up billionaire looking to print money by any means necessary.”“Then who are you really?” Raymond sneered. “Do enlighten us.”“My name is Alexander Verlaine, and I am the one who makes the rules. I have never bowed to another man before, and I won’t under any circumstances.”“It isn’t wise to turn friends into foes,” Governor Morton muttered. “We are giving you a chance to join hands with us and move forward in the right directio

As soon as Alex heard those words, he realized she was hinting at the deal that he had refused earlier in the morning.“The Governor wished you good luck!” The attendant pulled out a suppressed pistol and fired, straight at Alex.The point-blank shot grazed Alex’s left shoulder as he kicked the trolley cart, throwing the assassin off balance, and making her gun wobble off target.“I should have known!”Reacting in a split second, Alex vaulted over the trolley cart and sent the pistol flying off with another kick.Disarmed, the assassin frowned.But instead of running away, she pulled out a knife from her waist and slashed hard.Alex jumped back as the knife grazed his shirt, splitting the white fibers open with the edge of the blade.“You made a huge mistake by coming here!” he warned, pushing the table away and engaging her from up close.The knife slashed and stabbed, but Alex countered every move by ducking and swaying out of the way with perfect precision.Then, with one sudden lu

In the afternoon, as Governor Morton switched on the TV, he saw the news of the brutal massacre in Elara.The room was still stained with blood, and the bullet holes were impossible to miss.However, the only ones who were reported as dead were the three assassins the Governor had hired to take Alex out.“What a waste of time and money,” he muttered, cursing it all. “Why the hell did I even pay you? I shouldn’t have hired such morons in the first place.”From what was shown on the news, Governor Morton concluded that the three assassins had gotten into a shooting without knowing each other, and in the mix-up, ended up killing each other.“I guess you are one lucky little mouse,” he scoffed. “But your luck will run out soon enough. You are not going to survive, Ivera, Alex Verlaine.”Just then, he received a call from Raymond Smith.“What kind of idiots did you hire for this job?” he thundered.“I didn’t know they were so useless. I paid each of them half a million for this hit. But al

Alex’s plan was immediately put into action.All the medical equipment and pharmaceutical supplies were shipped into the city on separate cargo planes and delivered to the cartel.Having smuggled psychoactive substances and illegal firearms all his life, Xavier had no trouble arranging for the dispersal of these non-contrabands.Soon, the cartel’s deep network kicked into overdrive, connecting to every hospital, clinic, and medical store in Nuevo Durango.But they didn’t stop there.Once Nuevo Durango had been stocked full of supplies from Kronos Tech and Salasar, the cartel stepped up its efforts and started ferrying the goods out to Hannington and even Clover Dale.Governor Morton was already too pleased to hear that Alex’s licenses and permits had been rejected. And he was relishing the victory too much to bother with anything else.However, Raymond Smith still called him up, asking him to keep an eye on Alex.Alex was happy with the progress the cartel had made so far.Even though