HLM -Chapter 1093 A Golden Horse Charges Onto the Field

Ben McGee would, of course, represent the National Party in the mayoral election of Sunset Town—especially after the National Party lost the general election. His mission had suddenly become much heavier.

After the defeat, the National Party conducted a postmortem. The very first lesson they drew was this: they had underestimated the power of voters nationwide. Having held power at the center for too long, they had developed a sense of distance from regional voters.

This time, the Labor–Green Alliance adopted a strategy of “encircling the cities from the countryside.” Rural populations in New Zealand aren’t large—only about 25% of the total—but the Labor–Green Alliance successfully captured votes in those areas.

Urban votes made up the majority, yet the National Party failed to establish an absolute advantage there. As a result, rural votes became powerful enough to influence the overall situation.

Once this lesson was clear, the National Party began to redeploy its strategy and started taking townships seriously. Sunset Town, in particular, received special attention.

That was also the real reason the National Party ultimately invested in building a plaza in Sunset Town. By then, the general election was already in its late stage, and the party had realized it was losing rural votes. They were trying to patch things up after the damage was done.

So, rather than saying the central plaza was funded by Ben McGee, it would be more accurate to say it was funded by the National Party. Without the approval of the party bigwigs, McGee wouldn’t have dared to put up the money himself.

That was a massive sum—measured in millions!

The National Party didn’t genuinely believe that Ben McGee could win Sunset Town. That would’ve been wishful thinking. What they really wanted was to get closer to Wang Bo and persuade him to switch parties.

Something like this, which would be viewed with extreme suspicion in China, was nothing unusual in New Zealand. Changing party allegiance was fairly normal—especially for capitalists.

Whoever pays more, whoever offers better prospects—that’s who I’ll work with.

Wang Bo might be a mayor, but he was also a capitalist.

Ben McGee, however, didn’t see it that way. Everyone in the party knew how interested the National Party was in Sunset Town, and McGee took this as a signal that the party would fully back him in taking the town.

In the following days, McGee became extremely active. He tore off his disguise as a low-profile presence lurking around the post office and officially stepped into the spotlight, announcing his candidacy for mayor of Sunset Town.

The townspeople’s response was immediate:

“Are you fucking stupid?”

“Who would vote for some idiot nobody’s ever heard of to be mayor? Just go home.”

“Fucking moron. What the hell does Sunset Town have to do with you or your National Party? I’ll bet you won’t even get a three-digit vote count—and if you do, I’ll livestream soaking my dick in sulfuric acid!”

McGee froze on the stage.

He had participated in elections before, but he had never encountered a scene this awkward. Not many people came to listen to his speech—and every single one of them was there to oppose him. It broke his heart.

“I’ve bought you guys so much beer, and I even invested in the town’s central plaza. How can you treat me like this?” McGee shouted anxiously.

The crowd below immediately burst into laughter.

“You bought us drinks to get votes? Oh, then that’s bribery! Arrest him!”

“Invested in the central plaza? Wang Bo invested in the entire town—what do you have that can compare to him?”

“Fuck me, this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone give a campaign speech in the tone of a bitter housewife. Buddy, put on a skirt—it’d suit you better.”

When Wang Bo heard these reports, he wanted to laugh. What a fucking idiot.
But as he laughed, he suddenly couldn’t anymore.

Someone had said, ‘Just because Wang Bo invested in the whole town, does that mean we have to elect him?’

That line was meant to dunk on Ben McGee—

—but somehow, it tasted off to Wang Bo.

His instincts were right. The tone was definitely off.

Soon enough, the list of representatives nominated by Sunset Town landed on his desk.

“According to current statistics, these are the top three,” Elizabeth said cautiously.

First place: Tuhao Jin (Golden Rich Horse)…

Second place: Zhuang Ding…

Third place: Dale…

Wang Bo rubbed his eyes. “I must be seeing things.”

“No, you’re not, boss. This is real. Nearly a thousand people chose Tuhao Jin as their candidate. Five hundred chose Zhuang Ding, and over one hundred fifty chose Dale,” Elizabeth said.

Wang Bo’s mouth twisted in rage. “These fucking ingrates! Why the hell would they pick Tuhao Jin? No—aren’t they just messing around?!”

Hani said, “Boss, even though this does look like they’re messing around, it doesn’t violate the law or procedure. It’s allowed.”

Wang Bo stared. “There are two animals and a kid in there!”

“Animals and children can be mayors too. You know Kushiri Town on the North Island? Kushiri is the name of a rhinoceros. That town has New Zealand’s only wild rhino—and it’s the mayor. It’s already been re-elected three terms!”

Elizabeth added, “There’s also one on the South Island—Star Child Town. That town’s mayor is always a child. They never elect anyone over fifteen.”

Wang Bo slammed the table. “This is fucking nonsense!”

That was all he could say.

The townspeople seemed to anticipate his resistance. Soon, protests and marches began. People held signs reading:

“Tuhao Jin will lead Sunset Town charging forward!”

More and more demonstrators joined in. Some signs read:

“Strong, loyal, and hardworking—like Zhuang Ding!”

Zhuang Ding sat at the entrance of the government building, facing south, looking utterly confused.

Why are so many people holding up my handsome mug?

When Wang Bo came out and saw Zhuang Ding sitting there with solemn dignity, Hani said beside him, “Wow, this kid looks pretty good. He’s got real gang-leader vibes.”

Wang Bo walked up and smacked Zhuang Ding on the back of the head—lightly, of course. “The fuck are you doing, receiving your ministers’ audience? Get lost and go chew on a bone!”

Elizabeth waved a beef bone at it. Zhuang Ding immediately fled in a panic.

Wang Bo couldn’t understand it. “Are the townspeople deliberately screwing with us?”

“Not necessarily,” Hani said. “Their choices actually make sense.”

“For example?”

“For example, they chose Tuhao Jin as mayor because Tuhao Jin just helped most of the townspeople make money. They hope that if Tuhao Jin becomes mayor, it’ll be managed properly so they can make even more money through it.”

Wang Bo narrowed his eyes. “You know a lot about this.”

“Inspector Hani is actually one of Tuhao Jin’s nominators,” Elizabeth said, glancing at the records.

Hani gave an awkward laugh. “My voting rights are free. I’m a free man…”

Wang Bo nearly pissed himself in anger. Motherfucker, I pay your salary and you pull this shit?
“There’s a traitor among us!”

“More than one,” Conley added helpfully. “Atulu also voted for Tuhao Jin.”

Wang Bo was completely speechless. Then he asked, “Then why did anyone vote for Dale as mayor? What kind of logic is that?”

“Apparently Dale threatened everyone at the school. She said she wants to be mayor, and whoever doesn’t vote for her—she’ll beat them up later.”

When Wang Bo heard that, he immediately laughed. “Very good. I’ll go teach that little brat a lesson first.”

Naturally, his goal was to eliminate one competitor.

After all, Dale was expected to have over two hundred votes.