HLM – Chapter 91 Master of Tactics

After leaving the police station, Charlie, who was leaning against the car smoking, asked, “Boss, what’s the situation?”

Wang Bo waved his hand. “To the Juvenile Court.”

The Toyota made a U-turn and headed slowly toward the courthouse. This time, the driver was Juan. Ever since the drifting incident last time, the group had unanimously decided Charlie was banned from driving.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Wang Bo asked, “Charlie, how’s Kobe doing emotionally?”

Charlie replied, “Pretty good. I think he’s finally out of the shadows. Thanks for your concern.”

Wang Bo said, “No need to thank me. Since he’s out of it now, have him whip up some good food—we’re expecting a guest for lunch. Oh right, the guest is a kid, around fifteen or sixteen. Make sure he tailors the flavors accordingly.”

“Sh*t, you’re really something else, you know that?”

On the way, Wang Bo called up Lawyer Mueller. They arranged to meet at the courthouse. Wang Bo asked him to prepare a bail bond—he was going to bail out Hani’s son, Clarson Hani.

New Zealand follows a bail system, which originates from English common law. The original model allowed a person arrested for a suspected crime to be released if someone from their community vouched for them, guaranteeing they’d show up to court.

Eventually, the system evolved from using personal liberty as collateral to property-based sureties. Today, money has become the primary form of bail.

In New Zealand’s current system, once someone is arrested and charged, the court can require a set bail amount to release them while they await trial at home.

However, bail amounts are typically quite steep.

Because of this, the system has long been criticized by the public, who believe the government is simply profiting off them—first the criminals take their wealth, then their families have to pay high bail fees to get them out, effectively transferring wealth from the people to the state.

Of course, the New Zealand government has never admitted this. Every Prime Minister insists the bail system exists to uphold human rights.

Wang Bo intended to use this very system to bail out young Hani. His plan was to go the indirect route—get the son over to his town first. If that worked, getting the father to follow wouldn’t be a problem.

As long as Sheriff Smith’s intel was correct, Wang was confident this move would work.

There were no issues getting bail for young Hani. At just sixteen and a half, he wasn’t yet a legal adult, and his offense wasn’t too serious. So Mueller was able to complete the process easily.

Still, the bail amount was sky-high—eighty thousand NZD.

Looking at the bond, Wang Bo scowled. “Sh*t, bail is definitely a major obstacle to human progress. I believe what the people say—this is just a government money grab!”

“So are we bailing him out or not?”

“Of course we are!”

Since Clarson wasn’t an adult, he hadn’t been sent to jail but was held at the local police station in Town.

Driving over in the Toyota, Wang Bo showed the bail bond to the chief. After a quick check, the officer shrugged. “OK, finally getting this little pain in the ass off our hands.”

A blond teenager was brought out, his hair just as messy as Hani’s and his face just as stiff. He stood slightly over 1.8 meters tall, with a stocky frame unlike his father’s.

Seeing him, Wang Bo paused for a moment—turns out they’d met before. This was the kid he’d once drop-kicked with a flying Shadowless Kick.

The kid recognized him too and flinched instinctively, clearly remembering that violent encounter. As soon as he got a good look, he shrank back a little.

Wang Bo gave him a warm smile and stepped forward to pat his shoulder affectionately. “Come on, kid. You’re free for now. Come with me.”

The boy had the same rebellious streak as his father. He jerked his shoulder away and snapped, “Why the fck should I go with you? Fck you—it was you who got me locked up in the first place! Get lost, asshole… ow! That hurts! Let go of me!”

Oh? Trying to act tough, huh?

Wang Bo grabbed the boy by the neck like a fox dragging a chicken and hauled him out of the station and into the SUV.

Then Bowen and Charlie sat on either side of the teen. As he struggled, Wang Bo turned from the front seat and growled, “Try anything and I’ll break your legs.”

The SUV headed toward Sunset Town. Wang Bo flipped the dashcam around and tossed a phone into the kid’s lap.

The teenager stared at the brand-new iPhone in surprise. “Who are you? Why are you giving me a phone?”

Wang Bo rolled his eyes. “You want a pile of dog crap instead? Dream on. Come on, little prince, call your daddy. Let him know you’re safe—currently in the hands of the Chinese King of Sunset Town…”

Hearing that, the boy suddenly stiffened like he remembered something terrifying. He started wriggling frantically to escape, but Charlie and Bowen quickly restrained him again.

Unable to flee, the kid began shouting, “What the hell do you want?! You sons of bitches! Cowards! If you’ve got a problem, come at me! Don’t you dare go after my dad! I’m not scared of you! Come on—hit me if you dare!”

The car kept driving. Unaware that the land of Dominion of the Sun had already been developed into a town, Clarson panicked upon seeing the desolate mountain roads. “Are you guys kidnapping me?”

Wang Bo shook the phone. “Right now, the only one who can take you away is your daddy. So are you calling him or not?”

Clarson spat at him, eyes full of rage. “Dream on! You’ve got dirt on my dad, don’t you? This is all about threatening him, huh? F*ck you, bastard—you’re wrong! He wouldn’t bend the rules for anyone! That asshole’s a real man!”

Wang Bo slowly drew his pistol and aimed the dark muzzle at the boy’s head, smiling coldly. “Phone call. Yes or no?”

The kid was visibly terrified, lips trembling, but he still stammered, “N-No… I won’t call! Carlisle—that bastard—he’ll throw your ass in jail! He’s a real man! Mom says he’s the strongest man alive! And I’m the same! Mom said I have to be a man like him!”

Wang Bo shrugged and dialed the number. Soon, Hani’s weary voice came through: “Goddammit, what do you want now, you sissy? We don’t need to talk, okay?”

“Your son’s with me. You should know where I am. If I don’t see you within the hour, you’ll regret it.”

Wang pointed the phone toward the teen. “Here, baby boy. Say hi to dear old dad.”

“F*ck you! I’m not scared—”

“Sh*t, Clarson! Why are you—”

“That’s enough. You’ve got one hour. The clock’s ticking.” Wang Bo hung up, then pointed toward the castle. “Back we go!”