HLM – Chapter 974 Revenge

This time, things had really blown up!

Since the beginning of the 21st century, nothing like this had ever happened in New Zealand. The media were ecstatic, rushing toward Sunset Town like moths drawn to a flame, working overtime to get there as fast as possible.

The Auckland police had arrived, the AOS special forces had arrived, and Queenstown—the nearest major city to Sunset Town—had also sent in reinforcements. There were even reports that Christchurch was dispatching people as well.

Wang Bo estimated that once the military reacted, even the New Zealand Army might march into Sunset Town.

Earlier, under Eva’s command, the area at the foot of the mountain had already been cleared out. Sunset Town’s police, working with Sheriff Smith, had set up a long stretch of barricades along the base of the hill.

At the foot of the gold mine, more than a dozen police vehicles were parked. AOS members with masks and guns crouched behind them, ready to launch an armed assault on the mountain.

Although the New Zealand government usually preferred to compromise with the Māori in ethnic conflicts, there was no room for compromise this time.

First, the mountain Māori had trespassed onto Wang Bo’s private property—an invasion of private land.

Second, they entered while armed, which constituted armed intrusion.

Third, they had even brazenly kidnapped tourists and Wang Bo’s group—this was a major kidnapping case!

But this wasn’t just a simple criminal case; it involved ethnic conflict. In any country, ethnic conflict is a serious matter, and for a small country like New Zealand, it was even more significant.

From the Green Party side, Alexander called Wang Bo, checked if he was safe, and said that the Prime Minister might personally come to handle the matter, asking him to maintain public order.

But maintaining order was easier said than done.

Hundreds of Sunset Town residents had arrived, all armed. New Zealand didn’t ban guns, and these people came carrying weapons. When Wang Bo turned his head, he even saw someone holding what looked like an M82A1 sniper rifle!

A cold sweat ran down his back. “Shit! Go maintain order, now!”

Anderson came over with a hunting rifle and said, “Boss, we have to get revenge. Those damn bastards—how dare they kidnap you! They kidnapped our mayor!”

“And me. I was kidnapped too…” Atulu said weakly.

No one paid attention to him.

A pickup truck jolted toward them, and shockingly, a machine-gun mount was attached to its bed—with an M60 general‑purpose machine gun proudly resting on it!

Old man Mackson popped his head out of the pickup and shouted, “I heard those bastards have AK‑47s? What do they think this is, Iraq? AKs don’t mean shit here—I’m gonna use an M60 to deal with them!”

“Teach those sons of bitches a lesson!”

“Kill them! Fuck, the gold mine is ours!”

“Drive out those mountain Māori mongrels! Protect our gold mine!”

“Fuck! And protect our mayor’s prestige! Protect the dignity of Sunset Town!”

No one knew who shouted the last part, but when Wang Bo heard it, he felt deeply moved. For once, he felt like being mayor was worth it.

“Yeah! Drive them out!”

“Revenge for our mayor! Guns in hand—follow me! Let’s kill those bastards!” Anderson shouted from atop the pickup.

Seeing all the reporters taking photos, Wang Bo quickly pulled a tarp over the M60. He had no idea where the old man got such a weapon—this was a machine gun!

Then he grabbed Anderson and yelled, “Everyone listen to me! Listen! We need to resolve this legally—”

“They invaded your private land! The most legal and justified way is to teach them with the barrel of a gun and make them apologize with blood!”

Seeing the townspeople burning with fury, Sheriff Smith sighed, “Shit… the people of Sunset Town sure are united.”

Soon another convoy of pickups arrived, filled with burly men. Leading them was Māori Guanghui Hero. Obviously, these were people from Wanderers Town.

Guanghui Hero came up to Wang Bo, tapped his forehead, and said, “May the Great Spirit bless you—you finally made it back safely. I heard those mountain animals kidnapped you, so we rushed over to help!”

His concern was sincere. Sunset Town kept drawing tourists, and as its sister town, Wanderers Town enjoyed the overflow of visitors. Their tax revenue had been rising year after year.

Only shared interests make the strongest allies. Guanghui Hero absolutely did not want anything to happen to Sunset Town.

The smoke on the mountain gradually thinned. As the mountain wind swept through, the highland Māori camp became visible again.

Seeing that the hostages they had finally captured were all rescued, the Māori were furious. A group of them—hot-tempered as ever—came charging downhill with bows and arrows in hand.

The moment they appeared, the enraged townspeople found a target to vent at. They surged toward the barricades like a flood with guns raised:

“Catch those bastards!”

“Don’t you dare run—I’ll kill you!”

“You tried to steal my gold mine!? Die!”

Seeing hundreds of armed people in front of them, the Māori were stunned and instinctively turned to run.

Police formed a defensive line to block the townspeople, while the AOS moved forward to arrest the intruders.

Someone fired two grenades—this time not smoke grenades but flashbangs.

Two miniature suns exploded into existence. Even from a few hundred meters away at the foot of the mountain, Wang Bo and the others felt their eyes sting, unable to see for a moment.

Those Māori hit directly were even worse—screaming, stumbling blindly, clutching their heads, some slipping and falling down the slope.

The SWAT officers swiftly moved in, subduing and cuffing them before loading them into police vehicles.

Someone tried to rush over and kicked one of the captured Māori a few times. Wang Bo hurried over to pull him back as the SWAT officer turned his weapon toward the young man.

The Māori on the mountain clearly understood how dire their situation was. Before coming to Sunset Town, they had only seen the gold mine—they hadn’t seen how prosperous, how united this town was.

Or maybe even if they had seen it, they weren’t afraid. Sometimes, when migrating along the Southern Alps, they clashed with towns—and they always came out on top.

That kind of experience had numbed their judgment.

The dreadlocked chief of the mountain Māori came out with several strong men, holding a megaphone. “Mayor of Sunset Town! I think we need to negotiate!”

Wang Bo glanced at his sides, then took a megaphone and said, “Alright. Let’s negotiate.”

Soon, both parties stood facing each other. Wang Bo held an AOS riot shield, surrounded by officers in bulletproof gear.

The dreadlocked chief approached and said, “I’m sorry, Mayor. Clearly, there’s been some misunderstanding between us. How about this—you let my people go, and we’ll leave this place.”

“In your dreams. None of you are leaving. Take them!” Wang Bo waved his hand.

AOS officers swarmed forward.

The dreadlocked chief struggled violently, roaring, “You dishonorable liar! Coward! You will regret this!”

Wang Bo walked up, patted his face, and smiled. “How am I dishonorable? I’m simply doing to you what you once did to me.”