Old Gods, Rapid-Fire Guns, and Prohibition

Chapter 373 [My Kingdom]

It's difficult to quantify exactly who was affected by Ethan's return.

But without a doubt, he was the savior of Winster Newspapers.

Because he's only been back for two days, there's already so much news to write about, and it's all explosive content.

The incident at 2:30 pm will inevitably be the first to be affected.

That's right. The media is now referring to the large-scale conflict that occurred that evening as the 2:30 p.m. incident.

The reason is that it happened at 2:30 pm.

The entire city of Winster suddenly descended into a fierce gunfight and riot.

The entire city was in chaos for more than two hours, almost like a replay of the Winston River floods.

Fortunately, there were no civilian casualties in this incident; the dead were mostly gang members.

By this point in time, people no longer care as much about Ethan being a Mafia boss; in fact, they are all aware of it.

This did not cause any resentment among the people. The reason for this was that Ethan had done a great deal of work to save the city during the Winster rainstorm.

He has been regarded as a hero of the city.

So what if they're the Mafia?
Moreover, this was clearly a surprise attack on the Poletta family by outsiders.

Those who died were all outsiders.

This point has been widely reported by major newspapers.

In short, the Poletta family was basically portrayed as victims in the reports.

Interspersed among these were conspiracy theories, speculations, and deductions—the pirate theory, the Old World spy theory, the neighboring city gang revenge theory, and so on. All sorts of claims were rampant, captivating the general public.

As for what the truth is, nobody cares anymore.

Ethan was also looking at the latest newspaper.

He read the pirate's version, which is actually quite close to the truth.

At the end of this statement, the newspaper concluded with a very meaningful sentence.

"...In any case, the governor should explain this incident and what exactly caused the large-scale rioters to launch a cold-blooded attack in the downtown area. If it weren't for the enthusiastic citizens who fought back, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

That's right, it's the campaign against Governor Naruf.

It wasn't just one newspaper; almost every newspaper, regardless of any speculation, unanimously condemned Naruf.

This was certainly no coincidence; Ethan had obviously paid for it, and Ned had also given his word.

Anyway, after this incident, Naruf can no longer hope to gain a foothold in Winston.

It's a foregone conclusion that he'll be sent back to the capital.

"The dinner party tonight is ready. The new cane has just been delivered from Saint-Quentin. However, Huo Yan refuses to come, saying that he has reached a critical moment in his research."

As Anya changed Ethan's tea, she explained the day's arrangements.

"Forget it, let it be. Anyway, I still have to go to St. Quentin."

Ethan said something and then paused.

Anya immediately understood what he meant and said, "Sophia is still in Saint Quantico."

Ethan sighed.

There was nothing he could do; his feelings towards Sofia were very complicated.

"How is Velen?"

When Velen returned that day, he was still very weak. Although he appeared to be fine on the surface, he had actually suffered severe internal injuries from resisting.

"It's alright, you've recovered and can get out of bed today."

Ethan nodded.

He does have a real name, and his physical abilities are far superior to those of the average person.

After breakfast, Ethan drank some tea and then prepared to go to Winster University. He had returned earlier because the Velen affair had happened so suddenly that he had been forced to deal with things quickly, and hadn't had time to visit many people or maintain good relationships.

Now that we can finally take a break, we need to get these things done.

Relationships need to be maintained, regardless of the type of relationship.

Even though someone like El was brought up by him, he can't really be ignored.

Moreover, Ethan is back this time not only to make a movie, but also to run for local councilor.

All of this is inseparable from the support of many people.

So that morning, Ethan went to Winster University and also gave a public lecture.

After all, he still held the title of lecturer at Winston University.

The class was naturally packed with listeners.

In addition to recounting his amusing experiences in the capital, Ethan also took the opportunity to talk about his latest creation, a film.

Speaking of movies, it naturally aroused the interest of a large number of young people, and Ethan even showed them some clips from the filming on the spot.

This can be considered one of the earliest preview films and fan screenings of this era.

The result, needless to say, caused a huge sensation.

Everyone was amazed by this new art form, and some even wanted to drop out of their studies and make a movie with Ethan.

Ethan was very satisfied with all the reactions.

This essentially planted the seed for the film here.

Later on, he could then naturally invest funds to establish a film department at Winston University.

This will be the cradle of his film empire.

In comparison, it was much more difficult at the Wang Guo Academy of Fine Arts. Even though Hughes had considerable influence at the academy, he was not the principal.

Moreover, there are many vested interests involved behind this.

It's different in Winston; Ethan is so convenient.

After the open class, Ethan immediately started talking to El about the film department.

Although El didn't seem very interested in movies, what could he say when he heard that Ethan was going to make one, and that Ethan was even funding it?

He had no choice but to comply.

Afterwards, Ethan revisited Gustav's research lab, as a way of paying tribute to this true genius.

No one knows where he is now, or how far his research on the real name has progressed.

In the afternoon, Ethan visited some key figures in Winster City and then had afternoon tea with his personal lawyer, Bob.

He hadn't met with Bob in a long time either.

These days, Bob is doing very well at Winston.

Without Duval, he would essentially be the most famous person in the Winston legal profession.

The fact that he was Ethan's lawyer made him even more invincible.

In three months, he almost traversed the entire legal empire that Duval had spent over a decade building.

So as soon as they met, Bob immediately said, "Young master, if you want to run for district councilor, the legal community has no problem with it and fully supports you."

Ethan nodded. Bob was indeed a very intelligent man, and he really felt that keeping him at Winston was a waste of his talents.

So after taking a sip of his coffee, he asked, "Bob, would you like to come with me to the capital?"

"The royal capital?"

Bob was clearly taken aback.

(End of this chapter)