Chapter 160: The Mayor Who Fantasizes About Buying Time

At this moment, Sol's rowdy friends were busy decorating his house in the town. Their original plan was simple: Sol would meet with Irene in the evening, then bring her over for dinner with his friends, and later, they'd handle the rest at Sol's place. Women, they thought, were easily swayed with a few sweet words and some jewelry. Besides, since Mag had introduced them and the families got along well, marriage was practically guaranteed. These men bought several large bouquets of roses, spreading the petals on the bed. They also decorated the bedroom with balloons, creating a romantic atmosphere. They opened several bottles of champagne, laughing loudly as they chatted in Sol's house. What they didn’t realize was that their actions were already all over the internet. These guys were the sons of the mayor’s trusted business partners, and their connection to Sol had already been uncovered by internet users. Quickly, netizens began to suspect that these friends' families might also be involved in illegal human trafficking. You have to hand it to the sharp eyes of netizens. The town's old leaders couldn’t pretend not to see it anymore. Online, countless users were leaving comments on the town’s official account. Some were even outright cursing. The mayor, who hadn’t yet retired, sat behind his desk, sweating bullets. He blamed himself for not resisting the lure of money! If only the village chief hadn’t offered so much back then, he wouldn’t have given in! Every year since, the village chief had sent tens of thousands just to ensure the mayor turned a blind eye to certain activities. The mayor's secretary rushed in, saying, "Mayor, it's bad! The city FBI is here!" Sitting beside the mayor was the old leader who had recommended him for the mayor’s position years ago. This leader, after retiring from the mayor’s post, had been transferred to work at the city’s government office. Now, with trouble brewing in the town, he had rushed back in haste. One look at the mayor’s expression, and the old leader knew exactly what was going on. With a loud bang, the old leader slammed his hand on the table, angrily pointing at the mayor’s nose as he scolded, "Well done! The economy has been growing steadily for years! I had no idea it was due to human trafficking!" The mayor, who had been the top authority in the town for so many years, wasn’t about to take such an accusation lying down. "Sir, it’s not what you think. You’ve seen how much better the residents’ lives have become. It’s not all because of trafficking!" Seeing the old leader's stern face, the mayor quickly added, "Shouldn’t we at least hear from the people involved? We shouldn’t jump to conclusions." The old leader sneered, "Do you think I don’t know what’s going on?" "The Sol you promoted is the same one who’s been making headlines on the livestreams, right? You hid the truth from your superiors and deceived the townspeople!" "If Sol goes down, you won’t escape either!" Only now did the mayor realize the gravity of the situation. He had initially thought it was just a simple domestic dispute. After all, Sol had mentioned the situation to him, making it seem like it was just a young girl resisting marriage. Everything could have been explained, as long as there wasn’t that livestream! So many villagers were involved, and the crowd was so large—could they even sentence a young girl? The lenses of the mayor's glasses reflected light, concealing the coldness in his eyes. But he still didn’t understand how the girl managed to stream it all. He couldn’t believe that someone as shrewd, cunning, and sly as Sol wouldn’t have known she was streaming. This could only mean that the girl was even more cunning and capable than Sol. But how could that woman, who had known Sol for years, not know anything about this? Now they were all in deep trouble because of it! "I’ll give the netizens and the townspeople an explanation," the mayor said. Despite his years in power, the townspeople still respected him. Since he became mayor, the town’s economy had improved daily. Tourism had taken off. Besides farm income, the town now regularly hosted city folks on holidays, which provided a nice supplement. And these city folks were known for their generosity. The old leader had to reassess his trust in his younger colleague, realizing that things had escalated beyond control. He sternly said, "You need to resolve this quickly! The situation online is causing severe damage! It's not just you—if this continues, I might lose my position too!" The mayor nodded frantically. He was shrewd enough to know that if this didn’t somehow benefit the old leader, the man wouldn’t be so anxious. Wiping the sweat from his brow, the mayor hurriedly considered his next move. The old leader knew that in small towns, personal connections were everything. Even if outsiders were just there for tourism, they’d be scrutinized by the residents. Having not been the mayor for over forty years, most of the townspeople, except the older ones, didn’t know him. The old leader could only confront the mayor head-on, using his position to intimidate him. After all, anyone who allowed human trafficking to thrive for over thirty years couldn’t be a decent person. He could use his position to scold and intimidate for now, but what about later? What if he pushed the mayor too far? He might end up losing everything. As soon as the situation blew up online, the mayor had called his old subordinates in the town. Through these old subordinates, the old leader learned that the mayor had been allowing Sol to keep thugs and hooligans in the town. Even the town’s biggest gambling den was operated under one of Sol's minions’ names. These thugs hung out at the gambling den when they had nothing better to do. Anyone who couldn’t pay or was caught cheating would get a severe beating. The den’s low daytime activity also made it the perfect place for human traffickers to hide people. The mayor's old subordinate used to be a police officer. But age had dulled his sense of justice, and he turned a blind eye to many things. What could he do alone? He had a newlywed child at home, and the police station was full of the mayor’s men. What could he possibly do? Observing the situation was all he could manage. But even that didn’t go unnoticed. Before the old subordinate retired from the police force, the station captain had called him into the office. The captain eyed him coldly, then pushed a cash-stuffed envelope toward him. "You know what you can talk about and what you can’t. Take the money, and we’re comrades." The old subordinate had no choice. He took the money, and the captain was pleased. But the money burned his hands.