Chapter 580: A Bloody Feast

"Mr. Candidate, are you...are you still holding on?"
Adrenaline surged through his body like a burst dam. Surrounded by a group of terrified agents, CP barely managed to escape that hellish scene.
Only now did his mind, still ringing from the gunfire, regain a sliver of clarity.
Damn it, what just happened?
What had gotten into him? To extend his arm amidst the hail of bullets, screaming hysterically like a madman?
His memories were fragmented and chaotic; he only remembered a few gunshots tearing through the air...
He watched helplessly as several burly bodyguards collapsed to the ground like punctured water bags, their blood blooming like deathly poppies.
Even in that hellish scene, his raised arm, the roar squeezed from his throat, never ceased for a moment.
"My left ear... it's been ringing since just now, what's going on?"
The security captain's face was ashen, his voice trembling:
"Um... Mr. Candidate, it's probably a bullet... it just grazed your ear."
"Grazed your ear?" CP's pupils contracted sharply.
"Yes! If the angle had been even slightly off... even just a millimeter...!"
A millimeter is the chasm between life and death.
CP imagined what the security captain hadn't finished saying—
If it had been just a tiny bit off, that bullet wouldn't have been just a scratch.
It would have been like a scorching meteorite, precisely piercing his skull, turning his brain into a boiling cauldron!
"..."
A chilling fear, like a venomous snake, snaked up his spine, instantly seizing his heart.
Every pore on his body stood on end at that moment, singing a mournful song.
The suffocating feeling of brushing past death left him drenched in cold sweat, soaking his expensive custom-made shirt.
"Where's the gunman? That son of a bitch, have they caught him?" he asked through gritted teeth.
"For now... no news."
"..."
His taut nerves suddenly relaxed, and an overwhelming sense of exhaustion instantly overwhelmed him. CP slumped like a rag doll in the back seat of the armored car.
“Mr. Candidate, forgive my bluntness, but it’s a bit… well, perhaps a little inappropriate,”
an aide leaned closer, his face flushed with the euphoria of someone who had just escaped death.
“But your reaction after being shot was absolutely brilliant!
That composure under pressure, that political instinct to turn crisis into opportunity, was simply a gift from God!”
“Today’s headlines will dominate the globe!
You, Mr. Candidate, standing tall despite your gunshot wound, raising your arms in triumph, your heroic figure defending your beliefs with your blood, will surely become a legend!
For a long time to come, the world’s media will be going crazy for you, singing your praises!”
Another aide, equally excited and flushed, showered you with compliments:
“Exactly! The fearlessness and courage you displayed in the face of gunfire puts all heroic epics to shame!
The Communist Party will immediately publish an article praising you as the chosen one, truly deserving of world leadership!”
"This...this might be, no, this is absolutely a golden opportunity for us to overtake Hillis in the polls...a godsend!"
"..." However, CP, who was receiving emergency treatment, was deaf to these fervent praises.
His body was trembling uncontrollably, like a leaf trembling violently.
"H-Candidate, sir?"
"Matthew." He called to his most trusted aide.
"Ah, here, sir."
"You saw it too, didn't you?" CP's teeth chattered,
"Those...those damned bastards, they really shot at me."
"Huh?" Matthew, his trusted confidant of many years, instantly sensed the palpable fear behind that voice.
Where was the CP before them? Not a trace of heroism.
He was clearly… terrified!
The tough guy who raised his arm amidst gunfire, roaring "Make America Great Again!" seemed like a clumsy phantom.
Sitting in the car now was a pathetic figure, his face ashen, his very soul trembling.
"They…they tried to assassinate me."
"Sir, who do you mean by 'they'?"
"Fang Huan! It was those lunatics from Fang Huan Investment who shot at me!"
Fang Huan?!
This name exploded like a thunderclap in the cramped car. All the staff were stunned, exchanging bewildered glances, their faces filled with disbelief.
"But…but Fang Huan Investment has no reason to do this! Why would they…"
"Weren't you bunch of idiots just praising me?" CP suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot and filled with madness.
"You said this shooting would put the whole world's attention on me, that my approval rating would surpass Hillis'!
That's... exactly what those gamblers from Fang Huan Investment wanted most!"
"...!"
In an instant, the car fell into dead silence; even breathing could be heard clearly.
The staff felt as if their brains had been struck by a heavy hammer, buzzing.
This is madness. The world has truly gone mad.
Could it be... could it be that Fang Huan Investment would be so ruthless as to boost CP's approval rating?
“That old fox Aiden warned me long ago that Fang Huan doesn’t like empty words; they only let their actions speak for themselves.
He also said that when the time comes, I will receive that ‘signal’ myself.”
CP’s voice was filled with grief and indignation.
“This…this is their signal! This is it!”
“But…but this is too insane! What if the gunman misses, even if the crosshair falters for a second,”
an aide stammered, “How can they afford such consequences?”
“That only means they’re gambling! Gambling on the gunman’s skill, or rather…” CP roared,
“They have absolute confidence in their plan!”
Don’t forget, their opponent is Fang Huan!
Those financial devils who manipulate the capital markets and disregard the rules, when have they ever failed?
This time, it will definitely be as precise, deadly, and leave no trace, just like every time before.
“And the result? Didn’t they still succeed?” CP’s voice grew even more agitated.
"Just wait and see! The moment today's news breaks, every concept stock even remotely related to me will skyrocket like it's on steroids!
Those bastards, Fang Huan and his gang, were probably still frantically buying up stocks while they were making their move today!
They're treating my 'concept stocks' like a bloody feast!"
And indeed, he predicted it.
While the whole world considers "CP concept stocks" garbage, avoiding them like the plague,
only Fang Huan Investment, like a persistent scavenger, braved everyone's ridicule, frantically devouring those cheap shares.
Then, today, a "perfectly timed" shooting precisely ignited the market.
You call this a coincidence?
This script is more brilliant than any top Hollywood screenwriter's!

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"So, those sons of bitches Fang Huan, they really dared to…!"
"Mr. Candidate! This absolutely cannot be left like this!"
"Yes! This isn't just business competition, it's murder!
It's a blatant provocation against the future president!
Even if it's a ruse to boost your approval ratings, you can't risk your life!
What if… what if the gunman doesn't perform well, then your life…!"
The candidate slowly shook his head, his eyes filled with despair and helplessness:
"It's no use. Do you think those ruthless bastards would leave even the slightest trace of evidence?"
"The special forces have been deployed and are hunting down the gunman! Once we catch him, we can find out who's behind it all!"
"Have you forgotten how that former prime minister of a certain country died?" the candidate said sullenly.
"They caught the gunman back then too, but what happened? In the end, did they have anything to do with Fang Huan's investment?
Not a single clue!"
"Sir, please leave it to us, we will definitely..."
CP sneered inwardly. This was nothing but wishful thinking.
They were a group of ultimate psychopaths who dared to plot against a former president in broad daylight to manipulate the election.
Would such beings leave clues everywhere for you to solve, like villains in a third-rate TV drama?
Don't be naive.
The result this time will inevitably be the same as that time in that country—nothing will be found except for a mentally unstable "lone wolf" gunman.
"..."
The candidate gently touched his bandaged ear, the burning pain echoing in his ears like Aiden's warning.
"Don't try anything clever in front of Fang Huan."
Now it seemed that this wound, this searing pain, was Fang Huan Investment's most direct and bloody warning to him!
***
"Holy crap, has the world gone mad?"
In the office, Su Hao watched the breaking news on the screen and blurted out a national treasure.
"Shooting a candidate with a sniper rifle in broad daylight? What kind of Wild West plot is this?"
"After all, it's a free country where everyone is born equal, especially in the face of a gun." Liu Bo beside him clicked his tongue in amazement.
"But to be honest, this time they really went too far.
There are many people who hate CP, but I never thought someone would resort to such a 'physical extermination' method to solve a problem."
Su Hao and his team weren't the only ones shocked.
At this moment, the entire Earth was shaking wildly because of this news.
For a country that had experienced an epic event like a presidential assassination, this shooting was undoubtedly a fatal blow to their most sensitive nerve.
The entire society was instantly engulfed in rage.
"How's the gunman?" Su Hao asked.
"He was reportedly killed on the spot during the exchange of fire.
His first shot missed, grazing CP's ear.
That guy went berserk, firing several shots in succession, injuring several bodyguards and also affecting some supporters at the scene, causing casualties."
This was truly a human tragedy.
A madman, for some inexplicable, absurd reason, caused a group of innocent people to pay the ultimate price.
"Logically, wasn't Hillis a sure winner in this election? What was this guy after?"
"Initially, everyone guessed that the gunman was afraid of repeating the mistakes of the last election—
that is, the CP, despite trailing in the general vote, still managed to turn the tide with the electoral votes.
So he wanted to 'physically eliminate' this biggest variable beforehand.
But after the investigation results came out, the plot took a complete 180-degree turn."
The twenty-year-old gunman named Thomas was riddled with bullets in the shootout with police.
The FIB quickly intervened in the investigation, and the results shocked everyone.
Analysts assumed this kid was a fanatical Democratic Party supporter, a politically brainwashed extremist.
But after digging deeper, wow, it was completely the opposite!
He wasn't just a registered member of the Communist Party; according to preliminary investigations, the reason he orchestrated such a shocking case was even more outrageous—
Besides having some mental health issues, he simply wanted fame, hoping to achieve overnight notoriety through a big heist!
“Not acting under orders?” Su Hao raised an eyebrow.
“The investigation is still in its early stages; no leads have been found yet.
All the evidence points to this being a lone wolf attack.”
To grab attention, to get on the front page, he targeted a presidential candidate.
This world is sometimes more surreal than a novel.
Su Hao couldn't help but feel grateful that he was born in the safe country of Xia.
“However, Chairman Su,” Liang Haiyuan suddenly leaned closer, his face brimming with barely suppressed excitement,
“Those CP concept stocks we bought up before…”
“Hmm? How’s it going?”
“Now…the prices aren’t just taking off, they’re on a rocket!
These stocks were almost delisted before, the price of cabbages in the field.
Now, the stock prices are like a volcanic eruption, a pillar shooting straight into the sky, unstoppable!”
From the initial tens of billions to the later hundreds of billions, massive amounts of capital were poured into the global capital market like a raging river.
Fang Huan Investment’s reach had long since extended beyond the US.
All industries that could benefit from a candidate taking office had been thoroughly exploited by them with hundreds of billions of dollars.
And now, these seeds, catalyzed by the gunfire, were sprouting and growing wildly with an almost frenzied pace!
“…”
But Su Hao’s mood wasn’t as excited as one might expect.
He knew all too well that these stock price surges had come at the cost of innocent lives.
It felt like dancing on someone's grave—somewhat unsettling.
"Can this... really turn the tide of the election?"
"The Communist Party is already going all out, portraying the CP as a tragic hero fighting a bloody battle.
But the most crucial element is the candidate's reaction after being shot.
Look, covered in blood, half his face splattered, yet still raising his arm and shouting 'Make the country great again!'
That image is incredibly powerful!"
On television, the image of that blood-stained man still raising his arm was being played on a loop by major television stations around the world.
Slow motion, close-ups, accompanied by rousing music—it was more thrilling than a Hollywood blockbuster.
This scene left an indelible impression on the world.
"So, is the candidate really going to pull off a comeback and become president?"
"It's too early to draw conclusions. However, this event has certainly given him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
The employees in the office were already engaged in a heated debate about whether the candidate could stage a triumphant return.
But no matter what they said, Su Hao simply listened quietly, his face remaining calm.
Because he already knew exactly how the script would unfold.