It was the holiday season and I was on my way home when the traffic on the highway came to a standstill. Suddenly, a Maybach came speeding down the emergency lane and slammed right into my car.

The driver jumped out and started yelling, jabbing his finger in my face.

“Are you blind?! Don’t you know cars turning should yield to those going straight?”

I frowned. “My car broke down and this is where I’m supposed to be. You’re the one who broke the traffic laws, yet you’re blaming me for this?”

“Traffic laws?” he scoffed, full of arrogance. “I’m the law in Jacksboro City. That Volkswagen piece of junk you’re driving is not even worth one of my Maybach’s tires!”

Then he pulled out a baseball bat and smashed it down on my car.

He even threatened to break my legs and demanded compensation.

I sneered.

“Sure, this may be a Volkswagen… but why don’t you take a closer look at the special clearance permit on the windshield?”

When they heard that, they glanced toward my car.

My car was fully reinforced with bulletproof and explosion-resistant features. After the crash, there was only a dent in the outer shell. Nothing inside was damaged. His car, on the other hand, was half-wrecked with all four airbags deployed.

Frustrated that his luxurious Maybach couldn’t withstand a crash with a Volkswagen, the owner was fuming.

“You’re only driving a Volkswagen, yet you’re trying to act smug here? Do you even know how much my car costs? It’s worth more than your life!”

“My life?” I frowned, catching a strong whiff of alcohol from his breath. It all made sense. “Well, I don’t know about that.”

Hearing that, the Maybach owner seized me and sneered.

“Why the hell am I wasting my breath on some broke loser like you? You’d better start calling your family and friends for money now.”

However, the truth was that he had been the one breaking the law by racing down the emergency lane at over 200 km/h.

Even though he saw that I had already merged into the emergency lane, he didn’t even bother slowing down before slamming into me.

Now, he even had the nerve to turn the story around, blaming me.

I scoffed upon hearing his words. “Borrow money to compensate you? You’re the one who should be paying me.”

“You’re not even supposed to drive in the emergency lane unless it’s an emergency, but you were doing at least 200 km/h, didn’t slow down one bit when you saw me and just rammed right into my car. It’s going to be all on you when the traffic police arrive.”

Instead of getting angry, the Maybach owner laughed.

“My fault? Do you even know where I just came from? I was at the Jacksboro City’s Traffic Bureau chief’s house! So, when the police show up, who do you think they’re going to side with? Me or you?

“So what if I hit you? My car drives in and out of the Jacksboro municipal compound without a hitch! You’re the first idiot who’s ever dared to block my way!”

Spitting as he shouted, I took a few steps back in disgust, but he mistook it for fear and burst out laughing.

A woman stepped out of the passenger seat, fixing her disheveled clothes. Her expression was dripping with disdain.

“Honey, don’t waste your time on some lowlife like him. Guys like this get nervous even around normal police officers, let alone the chief of the Traffic Bureau.”

I sniffed the acrid stench of alcohol and sneered.

“Well then, let’s see who will be the ones scared when the traffic police show up.”

With that, I lit a cigarette and took out my phone, about to make a call. However, the Maybach owner, who was visibly flustered, snatched it from me.

“People like me don’t have time to waste with people like you. Just call your family and beg them for money already!”

I had just returned from military service and honestly didn’t know who the so-called big shots in Jacksboro City were.

However, no matter how powerful someone thought they were in this province, I doubted any of them outranked my father.

Frowning, I shoved him aside and snatched my phone back.

“I’ll repeat myself. If anyone’s paying, it’s you. You’re fully at fault. Got that?”

As I pushed him, I saw the Maybach owner’s face turn a furious shade of red.

“Do you even know who I am? I’m Gabriel, the second boss of Jenkins Construction! How dare you push me?!”

Hearing that, some of the other drivers who were implicated in the crash gasped.

“Gabriel? That individual is notorious for using his family connections to exert influence. That poor dude is screwed now!”

“Yeah. I heard some guy once accidentally bumped into him and, the next day, Gabriel beat him half to death and dumped him in front of the police station.”

I heard all the muttering around me, but I kept my tone ice-cold. “You snatched my phone first. If you keep acting like a nuisance and refuse to pay, I will call the police.”

“Who’s paying for what, you asshole?!” Gabriel snapped, rage boiling over. He grabbed a baseball bat from his car and charged at me.

Instead of backing away, I stepped forward.

With one hand, I clamped down on his wrist like a steel claw. With the other, I grabbed his upper arm. One swift twist and… Clang! The bat hit the ground and Gabriel was pinned beneath me face-down.

“Let go! So what if you can fight? Out here, it’s not about fists! It’s about connections and power! Do you think I can’t make a single call and have hundreds of people come over here to beat you up?”

He kept squirming and shouting arrogantly.

I let him go. Not because I was afraid, but because arguing with him any longer was only going to delay my trip home for my family dinner.

Besides, it was the holiday season and I did not want to waste my time arguing with him.

“Guess it’s just my bad luck today. Let’s fix our own car and move on,” I said, swallowing my anger.

However, Gabriel’s woman thought I was backing down. She pointed at my face and scolded, “You little bastard! The last guy who crossed my man ended up dead! Are you still thinking about going home for the holidays? You are so dead!”

She rushed to help Gabriel up to his feet, her face filled with concern.

Once he was steady, he gave me a sinister smirk and made a call.

“Get everyone to come over to Jacksboro City’s expressway now!”

The people around them were stunned.

A few truck drivers quickly came over to warn me.

“Kid, you don’t know how powerful Mr. Jenkins is. You’d better apologize or you really might not leave this place alive.”

“Yeah. Don’t ruin your future just because you care about your reputation. You won’t be able to run away once you’re surrounded!”

It was Gabriel’s fault, so why should I be the one apologizing?

Just because that person had money and power, they could bend the law, blame others, and trample over their dignity?

If that was the case…

I shot Gabriel a cold stare. “I would love to see how you plan to destroy me.”

His face turned pale with rage, then flushed red. Grinding his teeth, he shouted, “So you’re going to keep acting tough, huh? Just you wait!”

With that, he stormed back to his car in fury.

I ignored his threats. I got back in my car and texted my dad, letting him know I would be late getting home.

However, not even a minute later, my whole car jolted violently. I turned around and saw Gabriel’s Maybach pressed up against the side of my car. He was stomping on the gas, teeth clenched, eyes filled with hatred.

The power of his engine shoved my car forward several meters, grinding it against the highway guardrail. On the other side of that rail was a cliff, and one of my wheels was already hanging in midair.

He rolled down his window. “You piece of shit! You like getting in my way, huh? Let’s see how much you like dying!”

My face darkened. I immediately started the car engine, trying to accelerate and escape.

Seeing that, Gabriel slammed even harder on the gas. The force of his car pushed into my car with a screeching sound, so hard that the guardrail began to bend, groaning with strain.

“Gabriel, are you insane?! This is attempted murder!”

“Murder?” Gabriel sneered, his voice dripping with mockery.

“You’d better watch your mouth. That’s slander and I could sue you for that. That happened just because my brakes failed, and you were the one who blocked my way.

“But hey, don’t worry. Once you’re dead, to thank you for sacrificing your life to save me, I’ll send your family ten grand as a token of appreciation. Oh wait! Ten grand’s a bit too much for a worthless life like yours. I think three thousand dollars should cover it.”

Clang!

The railing shook violently. It was bending and on the verge of breaking.

Just as disaster loomed, my engine finally roared to life. I slammed the gas pedal, and the car dashed forward, breaking free from the crushing pressure.

Upon seeing this, Gabriel’s face twisted with panic. He stomped the brake repeatedly before finally managing to stop his car.

However, as his wheels screeched to a halt, he ran over a shard of broken glass that flew up and embedded itself deep in my thigh. I gritted my teeth as pain shot through me.

Gabriel stormed over, cursing loudly, “I was trying to crash into your car and you dodged? You almost got me killed!”

I nearly scoffed.

He rammed into me but didn’t want me to avoid him?

“Did you think I was going to sit there and get pushed off the cliff?”

“This is how it works in Jacksboro City. If I want someone to live, they live. If I want someone to die, they die.”

Hearing him talk like some thug, I pressed my hand over the bleeding wound on my thigh. My expression was icy cold.

He glanced down and mocked, “Tsk tsk tsk… that must hurt. Unfortunately, I prefer things to be even. Maybe I should stab the other leg.”

I lifted my head. My eyes were calm but sharp. “Gabriel, people are watching. There are surveillance cameras above us. Everything you’re doing is being recorded. Are you sure you want to keep going?”

He laughed as if I had told him a joke.

“Heh! Do you think any of these people would dare to report me? Go ahead and ask them!”

I turned and looked around.

Immediately, the onlookers averted their eyes. Some even crushed their phones, grinning nervously like they had seen nothing.

Gabriel was pleased and laughed.

“And those cameras you mentioned? Please. Half of Jacksboro City, including this entire stretch of highway, was built by my company. If I want those cameras on, they will be on. If I want them off, they will be off.

“In Jacksboro City, the Jenkins family is the law.”

With that, he pulled his woman into his arms, gave me a mocking glance and took out his phone.

“This is Gabriel from Jenkins Construction. In three seconds, I want every traffic surveillance camera and traffic light in Jacksboro City to be shut down.”

Snap!

In less than two seconds, the entire highway’s surveillance system shut down.

Someone nearby, still clutching their phone, gasped.

“Oh my god… I was watching a live stream. All of Jacksboro City’s traffic lights just went black!”

Gabriel puffed out his chest smugly as he wrapped his arm around his woman.

“You hear that, you little bastard? You can’t afford to offend upper-class people like us!”

“Upper-class people?” I sneered. “You think driving a Maybach makes you a member of the upper class? If that’s the case, my Passat must make me royalty.”

Gabriel and his woman both burst into laughter.

“You mean that piece of crap? That garbage costs what? Twenty, thirty grand? Royalty my ass! My dog wouldn’t even sit in it, let alone drive it!”

I just shook my head.

A Passat would not cost much, but what about the license plate and the special clearance pass on this car?

That would make it priceless.

It’s because this car was one of my dad’s official transportation vehicles.

And my dad?

He was the governor of the Hagen Province.

Gabriel could turn off highway surveillance cameras and shut down Jacksboro City’s traffic lights with a single call.

However, with one word from my father, the entire province would light up like fireworks.

This time, they were messing with the wrong person.