BEFORE THE WORLD FROZE, I BUILT MY OWN KINGDOM

Chapter 19: Building Roads to Give Back to His Hometown

Ethan's apocalyptic speech left the room in silence.

After a long while, a reporter laughed and said, "Mr. Cole is quite the storyteller. May I ask if you're a novelist? Now that you've won such a huge prize, will you keep writing? Honestly, your story was fascinating. It would be a shame if you gave up writing just because you won a fortune."

Everyone suddenly understood. They had been genuinely rattled by Ethan's confident gaze and serious tone. Now that the reporter had spoken, they all breathed a sigh of relief and took it as a joke.

One after another, they began eagerly firing questions at him. Of course, having learned from earlier mistakes, and under the director's deadly glare, none of them questioned his million-dollar bet this time. They only asked about his future plans, and tried to persuade him to donate.

Seeing everyone talking at once, Ethan felt a little helpless. He raised his hands for quiet.

"As you all know, I grew up in an orphanage, raised by the kindness of society. Now that I've won this prize, how could I not give something back?" he told the reporters. "But I'll pass on simple donations. It's not that I don't want to give. I just feel that handing out money isn't always the best solution. I want to use this money to do something more meaningful."

"Mr. Cole, what is this 'meaningful thing'?" a reporter pressed.

"Hehe. I plan to use this money to give back to my hometown. I'm from Oakridge, where vast mountains stand to the west and it's extremely inconvenient for the people there to travel. As the saying goes, 'If you want to get rich, build roads first.' I plan to set up an engineering company and invest everything I have into building a highway that connects my hometown's mountain region to the outside world!" Ethan said righteously.

Clap, clap, clap!

His words were met with enthusiastic applause.

A young woman reporter said, "Mr. Cole, your courage is truly admirable. I'm sure that from today, people across the whole country will be moved by your good deed! I'd like to follow up on this story. Would you welcome that?"

Ethan gave her a meaningful look. He understood her hidden message perfectly. The whole nation has heard your promise. I'll keep following this story and let the entire country watch you. If you break your word, you can expect the whole nation's scorn.

Facing his gaze, the young reporter didn't flinch. She stared straight back at him. From the logo on her microphone, she worked for a well-known national TV network. At her age, no wonder she was so fearless.

"Wonderful! Mr. Cole is so generous, and this reporter is so thoughtful, then it's settled!" Director Grant said with a smile. "I'll leave the follow-up reporting to her. Our own network will run a special segment on it too. It's a great topic for promoting the values our nation stands for!"

At that moment, the director wanted nothing more than to see Ethan's offer carried out. If Ethan truly spent his prize money building free roads, the rumors that the jackpot was fishy would die away, and the director could clear his name.

"Hehe, since Director Grant has said so, may I ask your name, miss?" Ethan asked.

"Sophie Lang, Valoria National Television," the reporter replied.

Ethan smiled and nodded. "Sophie Lang. I'll remember you. You're welcome to report on me anytime."

Then he turned and left. The reporters wanted to keep asking questions, but Ethan's bodyguards stopped them.

…………

Now that he had his prize, Ethan saw no reason to stay in Highmere any longer. Accompanied by his eight bodyguards, he set off for Ravenmoor.

He had to go back and register an engineering company.

That was right. Ethan really did intend to register an engineering company. He had long planned to "build a tunnel" to achieve his own goals. Since it was going to be a deception, he couldn't let anyone else interfere. He wanted his own company, so he could handle it personally.

In fact, everything he had said back there was carefully thought out.

First, he had claimed to be a time traveler and revealed the truth about the frozen apocalypse. He knew perfectly well that no one would believe him. Most would take it as a joke. But what if someone took it seriously? Some people might prepare and stockpile before the end of the world. Even if just one person acted on his words, he would have saved an entire family. He had told everyone the apocalypse was coming. Whether they believed it or not was their choice. At the very least, his conscience would stop tormenting him.

Second, he had talked about building roads in public. The reason was simple. He wanted his tunnel through Slabrock Mountain in Oakridge District to be approved smoothly.

The Oakridge government had meant to dig a tunnel, but had given up for lack of funds. If private capital stepped in, logically they would be delighted. But it couldn't be ruled out that some officials would have ulterior motives and use their power to squeeze him for benefits. Being asked for favors was a minor annoyance. Having his bunker delayed would be a far greater loss.

But now he had announced it in front of so many reporters. As Sophie Lang had said, the whole nation had heard it, and she, a reporter for the national network, would keep following the story. So who would dare to obstruct him? Who would dare make trouble? He was building a road for free, and you were blocking it? Weren't you afraid of being drowned in the whole nation's spit?

With that halo of public goodwill, Ethan believed his plans would go smoothly.

Still, $220 million was far too little to build a tunnel. The reporters didn't know what kind of road Ethan planned to build, which was why they hadn't questioned him. If they'd known he wanted to build a huge, ultra-long tunnel, they would probably have rolled their eyes at him on the spot.

But he couldn't ignore that problem. If he had only $220 million and claimed he wanted to build a tunnel, the Oakridge and Ravenmoor governments would have no reason to approve it.

Ethan wasn't worried. He already had a solution.

He would invest in the stock market again. With his memories from his past life, he planned to profit from it. Earlier he had made only a little over five million because his starting capital was small. Now that he had $220 million, how could he fail to make a fortune? He still remembered plenty of hot stocks. With $220 million in capital, making tens of billions wouldn't take long.