Chapter 422 - 394 I Can’t Breathe Anymore

When times were good, Kingpin could make grand statements about expanding and strengthening the company, laundering 50 million US dollars a year.

In bad times, he could focus on property management fees amounting to a mere hundred thousand dollars each month, ruthlessly embezzling funds.

Even as restrained as he was, he still dared to inquire how the property management fees were handled!

Asking about the management fees today means demanding better service and quality tomorrow. This was no ordinary resident, a heavy-handed approach was necessary.

Sean O’Malley was the capable lieutenant he had chosen, the boss of the Irish mob—

The manager of United Construction Company’s property division.

It’s tough when the situation is stronger than oneself, he didn’t even need to show up at the office before.

In the past, members of the gang could easily find dissatisfied and hungry homeless people and unemployed workers on the streets.

Why is the boss of a gang the boss? Not only because they are ruthless, but because they could immediately see through the desperation and helplessness of these people, see through their hesitation and struggle on the verge of breaking the law.

Just set up an unscrupulous secondhand dealer, and they would break into shops to steal things to earn their living for the next day.

Once they did this kind of thing, the balance between following the law and committing crimes would tip due to the assurance of survival.

Offer them another bundle of crumpled Franklins, and these people would stand on platforms for their benefactors, rally and storm City Hall, sell out their neighbors...

Even kill an uninvolved person.

But now? If he gives someone a bundle of crumpled money on the street, his phone will instantly ring, and the patrol cops in the area will set down their coffee cups and give him a questioning look.

It’s terrifying.

Power is there, but it can’t be used, it’s frustrating— surely he wouldn’t really work honestly or study like others?

Fortunately, today he had a chance to vent.

O’Malley, along with three strong henchmen, walked towards the high-rise residential building erected by United Construction Company, cigarette dangling from his mouth, not snuffing it out even on the elevator.

Suits couldn’t hide the henchmen’s violent nature, just as O’Malley could tell at a glance who might fall into depravity. In this place, even ordinary people could tell who was trouble.

United Construction Company’s building capability was not weak, the houses they built were worthy of an international metropolis like New York.

But there are many things in the world that are glittering on the outside and rotten on the inside.

Ding—

The elevator stopped on the upper floor, four burly men arrived at the designated spot and knocked on the door, thump, thump, thump.

"Who is it?"

"We’re from the property management company, are you... Mr. Stone? We’re here to explain to you about this... the whereabouts of the management fees and the residents’ repair funds."

Howard Stone peered through the peephole, warily looking outside: "I asked you to make it public, I didn’t ask for a home visit."

The leading O’Malley understood: they hadn’t gotten the wrong guy.

He signaled to his underling, who then placed a box on the ground—

It was an Interferer.

Lille had upgraded public security measures, so of course, the mob had to learn more advanced crime techniques.

Regrettably, they couldn’t keep pace with Bloom Company’s updates to software and hardware or the laying of infrastructure.

It had been proven that the ctOS system would even automatically call the police; if police forces were insufficient, it would mobilize neighbors, using nearby people’s information to gauge public safety.

The gangs were utterly confused by this, but the situation where one could kill a whole family on the other side of a wall while the entire building remained in deep sleep was completely gone.

However, delaying for a few minutes was still possible, and they only needed a few minutes to do what they had to do.

Another henchman directly took an unlocking device from the briefcase and immediately jammed it into the lock!

Inside the house, Howard’s face went pale:

Any law-abiding citizen would be terrified to suddenly see four burly men poking at their lock from outside.

He immediately took out his phone to call the police, but there was no signal!

"Howard?" his mother called out from the kitchen, "Who is it?"

"Mom! It’s those people!"

The middle-aged woman’s complexion changed drastically, too rushed to even wipe her hands as she stepped out.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have much of an option either, the most lethal thing in the house was a kitchen knife, but a knife alone was not enough.

Moreover, they were people who abided by the law.

Mother and son were anxiously looking around in the living room, clueless about what to do—

There was no signal on the phones, and the only exit was blocked!

Bang!

The door was kicked open all at once, and four burly men stood in the doorway, revealing bright smiles:

"Do you want us to give you a lesson about property fees?"

O’Malley stood at the back and quietly said to his companion after seeing the two people inside the house: "Her weak spot is her child...

No, his weak spot is his mom... Anyway, just block the door and get a grip on him."

The burly men in front nodded, laughing as they spoke: "Don’t worry, the cops won’t come back, and even if they do, they won’t find anything wrong."

There are many ways to insult someone, to apply pressure, to destroy one’s self-respect.

A light injury assessment isn’t so easy to qualify for, licking shoes, eating excrement, even if the police find out it’s hard to determine the injury—

At most, apologize and pay a small fine.

Seeing the burly men blocking the door, the Stone family could understand why castle doctrine was so extreme:

When your home is blocked by others, all channels of communication cut off, the cozy little house can turn into a terrifying hell...

And in such a private pigeonhole, even a masked hero like Spiderman in New York City can’t take care of it.

Superheroes can’t look after such places either.

Bang...

Just as the lead burly man stepped over the threshold, the ground suddenly trembled slightly.

The companion behind him said in surprise: "Have you gained weight recently?"

"No." The burly man turned back, not understanding why his companion would ask that, "What’s up?"

"Then why..."

Bang.

The ground shook again, feeling like some heavy object had hit the floor.

If you listened carefully, you could also hear the ding of the elevator.

O’Malley delivered a slap to one of them: "Hurry up and get to work! Are you brain-dead?!"

"We..."

While a few men were talking, the tremors became more and more obvious and persistent—

This time the shaking felt like an earthquake... as if something very heavy was walking on the ground!

O’Malley outside the door clearly felt the tremor coming from the elevator door, he turned his head to look...

The dazzling searchlight suddenly made O’Malley’s eyes unable to open!

But in the corner of his eye, he saw an Iron Knight—

A genuinely gigantic man, nearly two meters tall, was charging towards them!

The extra 50kg weight of the exoskeleton turned the wearer into a real heavyweight contender, and the slight tremor was emitted by this Iron Knight!

"NYPD! Raise your hands! Put them where we can see them!"

The searchlights made it impossible to open one’s eyes, and O’Malley instinctively wanted to draw his gun, but hearing NYPD, he still came to his senses, and his hands immediately stiffened.

First of all, he didn’t carry a gun.

Secondly, according to the plan, although they hadn’t started messing with people in earnest, just unlocking the door had already scared the mother and son badly enough.

Now, even if they were caught, it would be at most a reprimand— as long as they cooperated with the attitude.

But he was composed; his minions behind him, not so much.

The minion had been caught several times, and although he was sturdy, his instinctual reaction wasn’t lost!

And the healthier the physique, the bigger the temper—

A gigantic cop with a searchlight nearly blinded him and was coming at him with a gun raised, how could he stand it!

The black skin gave him the best camouflage in the night, and his robust physique was the foundation of his freedom to live a good life—

"Fuck you, cop, I..."

Bang!

After confirming there were no weapons, Chief Stacy acted extremely fast.

The combined 170kg weight of man and exoskeleton charged and smashed into the chest of the foul-mouthed black man, instantly making him unable to breathe.

"I can’t breathe..."