Chapter 424 - 396: The Chain Reaction Triggered by Property Disputes (Part 2)

Home is a private sanctuary.

Upon returning home, one generally feels a heartfelt relaxation, enveloped by a sense of security.

But if you’ve experienced a home invasion, that feeling would be shattered, and thereafter, it might be difficult to find that sense of tranquil relaxation at home again.

You might even never find that feeling again and end up with some mental health issues.

If you were cornered and attacked or insulted in your home for over half an hour, the probability of contracting PTSD rises exponentially; it might also trigger some chain reactions, causing personality and psychological damage to the victim.

Violence is never the only means by which gangs intimidate ordinary people; mental attacks and control are also innate abilities that come naturally to the born bad seeds.

Ways of insulting one’s personhood include, but are not limited to, licking shoes, eating indescribable substances, and other methods that don’t leave direct physical evidence, often making it difficult to obtain proof due to the lack of video or other evidence within enclosed spaces.

Even if such things were to be brought to light, it would be hard to pin a serious charge on the criminals, who at worst might end up spending just a few days in a cell.

But the mental harm continues indefinitely; a gang is an organization, and while one person can be sent to prison and then released, mental control can persist for a very long time.

Breaking someone’s spine would escalate the case to a criminal one, but driving someone insane mentally would at most result in a few years in jail, or perhaps just a verbal warning.

In the worst-case scenario, if the victim accidentally pulled out a gun or a knife and killed a henchman, it would just be the death of a henchman.

A lawyer could easily entangle the victim for months, creating enormous psychological pressure, and driving them away could also achieve the goal:

What the gang needed was to control the underworld order, and forcing troublemakers out was a fine option.

However, all gangs share a habit that, in Lille’s view, is nothing but naive fantasy:

What makes you so confident that I won’t turn your whole family upside down for these two ordinary people?

All the high-level maneuvering and interest exchanges are non-existent to Lille; society’s structure and operational logic would gradually change with the groundwork laid, eventually becoming something beyond Kingpin’s understanding—

In the era when Kingpin was like a fish in water, politicians and entrepreneurs all needed his existence to exert control over the lower echelons of society.

But now, getting rid of Kingpin is not just personal vengeance, it is also about the final expansion of public power into the lower private rights.

The United Construction Company building has a total of 32 floors, each packed with employees—

These employees, who are on the company’s books, serve as the corporate facade, dressing up this business, half of whose revenue comes from money laundering, as a wealthy real estate tycoon.

The work of these legal citizens is provided by illegal criminals; their years of hard study and struggle embellish the facade of these former gang bosses who pay them salaries to maintain their own still difficult lives.

With police cars leading the way, Anthony’s car followed behind Chief Stacy, and curious citizens on the streets cast glances at the police cars speeding past.

All of these cars used electric motors, which made no sound at all if they didn’t blare the sirens.

Thanks to ctOS coordination, the road traffic and pedestrians were cleared out even before the raid began, allowing the police cars to proceed unhindered and not even giving the gang’s lookouts on the streets time to tip off their comrades.

By the time they realized something was wrong and began to prepare, the first police officer had already stormed into the building.

Employees were dumbfounded—while everyone hoped that the company which owed last month’s salary would go bankrupt sooner, why had so many police officers arrived?

As soon as the police entered, they secured the stairs and elevators, then a few officers wearing Exoskeletons led the charge into the executive offices—

"NYPD! Hands on your head and get down!"

"What are you doing!"

"This is United Construction Company, I want to call the police!"

"I... damn!"

The sound of breaking doors went off like firecrackers, roars echoed through the building, and the scene suddenly...

Did not descend into chaos because the regular employees realized that these police officers didn’t care what they were doing, as long as they continued to stand dumbfounded in place.

In the midst of the confusion, a bald man suddenly dashed out of a room, an Electric Shock Gun struck his back in an instant, and the burly man was dragged back in.

Someone murmured softly, "That’s the marketing department manager."

Bang!

Another loud noise erupted, and just when a certain leader was still boasting in the conference room, he was kicked out again, still shouting about illegal entry as he smashed to the ground.

Unfortunately for him, the arrest was indeed quite rough, but procedurally, it was all legal.

The arrest was audacious for a reason; if O’Malley’s testimony about the crime lord "Kingpin" being real, then Wilson Fisk would have to bear enormous responsibility for the increasingly rampant criminal activities in New York over the past decade.

Secondly, the crimes confessed by these thugs were truly horrendous, and their recent acts of illegal entry and detention were exactly what ordinary people feared most, making it easy for others to empathize.

Police officers are ordinary people too when they take off their uniforms; no one can stay by their family’s side forever to protect them.

Kingpin and his crew enjoyed exploiting people’s weaknesses. Once he got a hold of enough people’s vulnerabilities, things would get troublesome, with everyone fearing to live in constant dread.

Instilling fear is a tactic commonly used by gangs. However, when others find out you like to employ such methods, you better have indeed made them fear you.

Workers are motivated when their bosses aren’t close with Kingpin, and everyone can conveniently rack up performance bonuses, resulting in sky-high efficiency.

...

"What on earth is going on!"

Kingpin crushed the phone in his hand with fury.

The surprise operation had just begun, and using the technical solution provided by Peter, all surveillance circuits within the building were cut off.

Moreover, police officers wearing exoskeletons had already attached themselves to the walls, reaching the server room before the door-kicking began, securing the data.

Now, all he could hear from the phone was a monotone buzzing.

All computers and surveillance in the office stopped working; his much-prided United Construction Company building suddenly turned into an unknown pigeonhole.

While the NYPD was making a coordinated push upwards to arrest the senior management, Kingpin only knew that he had lost control.

Losing control meant that everything familiar had turned into the unknown, just like for those ordinary people he had terrorized—

Only, ordinary people cherished their families, a warm safe haven, while he cherished power.

He had coerced others with fear to maintain his empire, only to discover that once the opponents made their move, and all those convenient technologies were gone, he was just a slightly bulkier ordinary man.

Now he was trapped in a paralyzing confusion:

What exactly did the NYPD want to do? Who did they arrest? How much trouble could this cause him? How could he order his men to act?

And the biggest question: exactly what slip-up had he made that caused the NYPD to suddenly strike with full force?

Kingpin couldn’t afford to think too deeply, as the urgency of the moment was to hurriedly contact his strategist Wesley, reach the escape plan he had prepared, and flee ahead of time.

However, after taking a few steps, he suddenly realized the elevator was in operation.

Kingpin stripped off his clothes, his eyes fierce:

Police? Or some superhero?

Whoever it was, he would not be taken without a fight.

As long as he left the building, he could quickly find his safe house prepared in the city, find a way to leave New York, and start over somewhere else.

If he could rise from nothing to owning this building, it was not impossible to do it again.

Ding—

The elevator doors opened.

Two elevators, four police officers clad in exoskeletons.

Even Chief Stacy, who had seen plenty of strong men, had to marvel at Kingpin’s formidable frame. Before this, subduing such a hefty man weighing over 200 kilograms with just him and a few regular people seemed unrealistic, but...

Times had changed.