The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 29: When Fear Becomes Resolve
Resolve was not something most people could summon out of thin air unless they had been pushed to the brink.
The shot the news boss had fired last night had already made these children from all over realize that the situation had gone out of control.
In the past, no matter what they did, the news boss would at most hang them up and beat them, or starve them for a day or two. After all, they were children sent here to “work” by orphanages or poor families. The news boss did not really dare go too far.
But yesterday, the news boss had fired at one of them. The bullet had gone into the boy’s thigh. The news boss had not sent him to the hospital. He had simply found a length of wire and dug the bullet out.
The bleeding had stopped, but starting in the second half of the night, the boy began running a fever. He had burned all day, and even now he had not recovered. Instead, he was getting worse.
The children in the dormitory all believed he had to be sent to a hospital. But they had no money. Everyone pooled together the money they had “saved” in ordinary times, and it came to less than five hundred dollars. That amount was definitely not enough for medical treatment.
Facing this situation, several of the oldest children in the dormitory finally developed a trace of murderous intent.
“Looks like he got into trouble...” one of the children trailing behind the news boss lowered his voice and spoke to his companion. These children were not necessarily more naive than adults who had just entered society. On the contrary, they were more mature, or rather, more slippery.
Judging from the news boss’s panicked expression, and from the fact that he had not gone into the dormitory with a whip to seek the pleasure of control, he must have gotten into trouble. And from the look of it, he was carrying his savings and preparing to flee.
Originally, these children had planned to have a proper talk with him when he entered the dormitory. If he was willing to pay for their companion’s treatment, then everything could still remain as it had been before.
But if he refused, then tonight would be the night he went to see Jesus.
They simply had not expected an accident like this to happen.
Another child answered softly, “This works out. Once we’re farther away, we’ll do it.”
After that, the group stopped talking and followed the news boss closely. The news boss did not notice, and he never would have imagined that these children, whom he had beaten, cursed, and humiliated at will, were now following behind him with murder in their hearts.
The surroundings were growing emptier. There were fewer and fewer buildings. They had already left the metropolitan area of Sabine City. Beyond lay open wilderness, intercity highways, and interstate roads.
Every day, long-distance buses traveling to other cities passed along these roads. There would always be some kindhearted person. The news boss was not worried that running alone into the countryside would leave him helpless.
At that moment, the killing intent in the children’s eyes could no longer be suppressed. They quickly lowered their bodies and rushed toward the news boss.
The footsteps behind him immediately startled the news boss, whose nerves were already extremely sensitive. When he turned back, he saw nothing but darkness and a few vague, blurry shadows. His whole body jolted with fright.
He shouted threats at the owners of those footsteps while running as fast as he could. But he was carrying too many things, and he was older now. He had lived too much of “a life of comfort and privilege.” His stamina could not compare with that of children who spent every day scraping out a living on the streets.
Seeing those silent black shadows drawing closer and closer, the news boss panicked, pulled out the handgun, aimed at one of the shadows, and pulled the trigger.
A sudden crack rang through the pitch-black night, and a flash of light appeared for an instant before vanishing. The terror on the news boss’s face formed a sharp contrast with the coldness on the children’s faces.
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