HLM -Chapter 812 Heart of the Garden

When Wang Bo arrived at the car accident scene in his police car, Abrito was still shouting hysterically.

The crash barriers proved useful this time. Two of them were positioned side by side, blocking the unfortunate Camaro behind.

Wang Bo got out, showed his badge, and frowned. “What happened here?”

The Camaro’s driver, a middle-aged white man, said with grievance, “Officer, that car braked all of a sudden! Way too fast and too hard…”

“Did you maintain a safe following distance?” Wang Bo asked, fixing his eyes on him.

The man fell silent immediately. No matter how he tried to explain, it was clear he was entirely at fault.

Conely and Uncle Bing went to inspect the tire marks. Conely came back with a printed report and said, “Boss, during braking, the speed exceeded 140 km/h.”

The driver’s face went pale. The worst part wasn’t just getting into an accident—it was that it happened while violating the traffic laws. In New Zealand, that meant going to court.

He waved his hands in panic, “Officer, it’s a misunderstanding! My car’s heavy, so the skid marks look worse. It’s not a big deal, I’m willing to settle privately with the Mustang guy—”

Conely cut him off. “Sorry, sir, this can’t be settled privately. The Mustang was also speeding. He was even faster than you—around 150 km/h.”

Abrito rushed over, grabbed Wang Bo, and yelled, “I saw it! The ghost car! It’s real! Check the surveillance! There was a car—it’s a ghost car! It came straight from hell!”

Wang Bo spread his hands helplessly. “What are you even talking about? Conely, check where the ambulance is. I think this gentleman might need a sedative…”

“Boom!”

A dull crash suddenly echoed behind them. The two crash barriers trembled violently, followed by a shrill alarm— “Wooo–wooo–wooo–!”

Everyone jumped in shock. Abrito pointed at the Toyota Prado that had just slammed into the barrier and screamed, “See! He saw it too! He’s cursed by the ghost car as well!”

Wang Bo lost all pretense of “civilized law enforcement” and swore, “Cursed your damned neighbor! F***ing hell, can’t anyone drive properly?! Why the hell are you speeding so fast—eager to die, are you?!”

He had reason to be furious—he’d just been a single step from death. If not for the crash barriers, the Prado would have plowed into the Camaro.

Wang Bo and the others had been standing between the Mustang and the Camaro. With that Prado’s impact force, none of them would’ve survived.

He never imagined that his closest brush with death would come like this. He had to thank his own tireless, self-improving spirit—the very one that kept him working to build up the town.

Back when he returned from Dunedin, he’d requested the two crash barriers mainly because he thought he deserved a reward for solving a major case—not because he thought they were necessary.

Who knew that small bit of greed would end up saving his life.

Everyone else was rattled too. Conely roared, “F***! He must’ve been speeding! Are you blind?! Can’t you see the warning lights on the barrier?!”

Wang Bo shouted, “Full highway crackdown! Every last one of these bastards is going to court!”

Earlier, he’d felt a bit guilty about the ghost car prank that had caused the first crash. But now, he was glad it happened.

The crash barriers were surrounded by flashing warning lights, yet the Prado still smashed into them. That just showed how careless and reckless these drivers were—and how fast they were going.

Even if it hadn’t happened today, they’d have crashed sooner or later anyway.

The barriers were designed to absorb impact and protect the colliding vehicles, so the Prado wasn’t as badly damaged as the Mustang or Camaro. The driver could still move. He stumbled out, but as soon as he saw the police, he turned and tried to run into the nearby fields.

Uncle Bing dashed forward, caught him, and frowned. “Boss, drunk driving.”

No wonder. Wang Bo suddenly understood. No wonder the guy had hit such a visible obstacle.

Once he realized it, fury surged in him. He’d almost died because of a drunk!

Think about it—if he had actually died, what use would his Lord’s Heart be? Someone else would inherit it. Sunset Town would have a new lord, Eva would have a new man, Zhuang Ding and the others would have new masters—all his hard work would’ve gone to waste!

Shaken but furious, Wang Bo marched up, cuffed the driver, and snarled, “Charge him! Drunk driving! Hit and run! Attempted murder!”

The driver did smell of alcohol, but he wasn’t actually drunk. He cried out, “No! I’m not drunk driving! I just had a few drinks!”

The cars behind had learned from what they saw. After spotting the barrier signs, they all slowed down carefully as they passed the crash site—though it was obvious that every one of them had been speeding too.

Once all three drivers were brought back to the station, Abrito calmed down—no tranquilizer needed.

The Camaro driver glared at him furiously. Among the three, Abrito’s offense was the lightest—just speeding—but he’d been the one who started the whole mess.

The drunk driver was locked up directly. The other two got fines and demerit points before being allowed to leave.

The highway’s speed limit was 100 km/h. Exceeding it by 46–50 km/h meant a fine of 630 NZD and 50 demerit points.

Conely checked their licenses and said, “Mr. Bell-Sarana, your license already has 60 demerit points this year. According to New Zealand traffic law, your license is now suspended for three months. You’ll need to retake the test afterward.”

Bell-Sarana—the Camaro driver—looked devastated. He glared at Abrito murderously, as if he wanted to strangle him.

Abrito didn’t dare meet his gaze. He turned to Wang Bo and pleaded, “Officer, really, I saw two terrifying ghosts walking on a pickup truck…”

Wang Bo waved impatiently. “Pay your fine and get out of here. Ghosts aren’t under police jurisdiction—we only deal with the living. Go talk to God about that.”

After wrapping up the incident, he drove back to the castle. The feeling of having brushed past death was terrifying.

But as the saying goes, misfortune and blessing come hand in hand. Before going to bed, he casually opened the territory’s sandbox panel—and saw that the draw system was available again. He gave it a spin.

Last time, when his classmates were around, he’d drawn a Level 2 Heart of the Tavern, which he placed in the Flame Mountain Bar. This time, he figured it would be a Level 1 heart.

Sure enough, the wheel stopped on a Territory Heart slot. Wang Bo was a little disappointed—he preferred the Mystery or Wealth types, which were more useful.

Still, the result wasn’t bad. This one was a new kind called the Heart of the Garden, something he’d never drawn before.

The name was self-explanatory—it was for building gardens. After thinking for a moment, Wang Bo decided to place it in front of the villa district.

He wanted to raise the value of the villas. Once they were built, they’d have the clear waters of Lake Hawea behind them and a vast, beautiful garden in front.

That would be perfect.