What do the police mean to a city?
Broadly, they are supposed to protect the lives and property of citizens, maintain social order, crack down on illegal activities, and enforce traffic laws.
But essentially, they maintain the rules.
The fate of the police is intertwined with the rules. When the dark side of those rules is exposed to the light, the police lose their reason for existence, becoming as foul as the decaying and corrupt framework they uphold.
Just look at Gotham now—there are no police left.
Previously, citizens felt nervous seeing someone in uniform. Now, they want to throw hot garbage at them.
As cases of police corruption were continuously disclosed, the Gotham police became universally despised. Forget maintaining order, they didn't even dare wear their uniforms.
The high-ranking police officials who made the corruption lists were especially unfortunate, hunted down and tormented by the citizens.
Gillian B. Loeb was the most prominent example. As the Gotham City Police Commissioner, he had the distinct honor of topping the corruption list.
His name was now ringing across America, making him a figure of intense public pursuit, his popularity rivaling that of a top Hollywood actress.
Despite weighing over 230 pounds, Loeb was not mentally slow. After the riots broke out, he immediately bought a ticket to Italy. However, before his car even reached the airport, he was recognized.
Who was the scoundrel who posted his license plate number on ShowMe?
Loeb was furious when he heard this.
Seeing the growing number of surrounding citizens, he had no choice but to order his driver to turn around.
Driving down familiar streets, all he saw was chaos.
Angry citizens were gathering, fiercely attacking government buildings. A security guard trying to maintain order was hit in the head by a flying brick, blood pouring down his face, and he collapsed to the ground.
Seeing this, all the fat on Loeb's body trembled.
No, I must hide.
He was only fifty; he had plenty of years left to enjoy. He couldn't die at the hands of the rabble.
The Cadillac drove out of the city and stopped outside a lake-view villa in the western suburbs. This villa was his private cache, known to very few outsiders.
Still feeling unsafe, Loeb called Falcone and asked him to send protection.
As they were "in the same boat," Falcone couldn't refuse Loeb's request. Soon, seven "security personnel" carrying submachine guns appeared at the villa gate.
Protected by these men, his terrified mood finally eased.
Unfortunately, the ideal was beautiful, but reality was harsh.
He underestimated the level of hatred he generated among the citizens. The moment his Cadillac appeared at the airport, he was followed all the way to the lake-view villa.
The tracker took photos and uploaded them to the ShowMe column. By the time Loeb reacted, the villa was surrounded by furious citizens.
People gathered outside the villa, shouting for Loeb to come out. If the "security personnel" hadn't displayed their submachine guns, the citizens would have stormed the building already.
Even so, the situation was critical.
The news of Commissioner Loeb's location spread rapidly online. More and more people joined the crowd. As the numbers grew, so did their courage. They threw bricks, bottles, and homemade firebombs at the villa, smashing all the glass, doors, and windows.
Seeing the situation becoming increasingly volatile, Marion, the leader of the "security personnel," was forced to fire three shots into the air with his submachine gun, hoping to scare the citizens away. The result was the opposite: the citizens did not retreat. Instead, they charged forward as one.
The dark mass of people swept over the entire villa like a flood.
The Commissioner's Treasures
An hour later, a short video titled "Commissioner Loeb's Integrity?" appeared in the ShowMe column.
In the video, the obese Gillian B. Loeb was seen hanging from a treetop, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. Beneath him was a pile of jewelry, antiques, and precious cultural relics recovered from the villa's basement. In addition to these, there was a crate of gold bars and two large boxes of hundred-dollar bills.
An appraiser of cultural relics estimated that the artifacts alone were worth $120 million USD, not counting the jewelry, gold bars, and two boxes of cash.
It was shocking.
The video's release caused a sensation across America.
The commentators and news media who had been condemning the citizens' illegal actions all fell silent. The evidence was undeniable. Even if they had been paid, they couldn't ruin their own reputation.
The capture of the Police Commissioner did not bring the riots to a halt; instead, it pushed them into a more terrifying phase.
With multiple government departments smashed and looted, Gotham City had descended into a state of anarchy.
Many opportunistic citizens began taking advantage of the "search for criminals" to pursue personal gain.
On Gotham's largest commercial street, eight violent robbery cases occurred in just three hours.
One group of masked bandits rushed into a jewelry store. After subduing the security guards, they joined the surrounding citizens in looting the store completely. A few citizens, feeling guilty as they left, actually gave some gold chains to the security guards and staff, leaving the latter confused about whether to accept them or not.
This wasn't the only store robbed. Every shop on the commercial street, except for beauty salons and restaurants, was "visited" by the citizens.
When the videos were posted on ShowMe, Luke watched them for a long time, feeling a strange familiarity, as if he had seen this before.
Then it clicked. This was the "zero-dollar shopping" phenomenon of the past.
Unnoticed, the day passed.
A physically and mentally exhausted Luke lay on the sofa, not wanting to move. He wasn't the only one; everyone at the company, even Phillip Arthur, who wasn't involved in technical work, felt the same.
The traffic was immense. Even after replacing the servers, they struggled. Everyone needed eight hands to prevent the system from crashing.
The work was hard, but the rewards were rich.
Thanks to the intense heat surrounding Gotham, ShowMe gained 900,000 new users in just one day. Unlike previous growth, the proportion of users under 25 was small, with the majority being between the ages of 30 and 40.
This signaled that ShowMe was entering a new demographic.
Charlie walked over and whispered in his ear,
"Boss, Emily is waiting for you in the coffee shop downstairs."
Luke nodded, quickly washed his face, and went with Charlie to the coffee shop.
It was dinner time, and the coffee shop was crowded—not the best place to talk.
Luke decided to take her to a Chinese restaurant two blocks away.
The restaurant owner, a Mr. Li from Fujian, immediately recognized Luke and ushered them upstairs without a word.
Emily asked curiously, "Are you very close with the owner?"
"I eat here about once every three days."
"No wonder!"
Once they were in the private room, Emily's expression immediately became serious.
"I called my friends at the Department of Extranormal Operations."
Luke sipped his floral tea and smiled faintly. "They agreed!"
"You guessed right. They're all willing to help, but the problem is manpower." The girl bit her lip, looking helpless. "We only have seven people, but Falcone has hundreds of thugs. We can't just storm his house and put handcuffs on him, can we?"
🗒️Note:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 20 chapters in advance!