Chapter 97: Summer Road Trip
The Swanson family's backyard.
A lively cookout was underway, with all guests being Joe's close friends and family.
"Congratulations, Joe!" Pete raised his beer, excitedly offering his congratulations to Joe.
"I really didn't expect your legs to recover so well. This is truly incredible news." Cleveland held his beer bottle, looking thoughtfully at Joe, who was now standing and walking normally. It seemed his schemes could be even bolder now.
"Hey, hey, hey, you should be focusing on my new position, not acting shocked that my legs are fully recovered."
Joe complained good-naturedly while distributing bottles of dragon's blood supplement to Chris and the other underage guests.
After all, they weren't old enough to drink alcohol yet.
Chris took the bottle Joe handed him, feeling somewhat amused by the situation.
These supplements were one of Joe's employee perks, and it was ironic that they were now being used to serve him—the beverage's actual supplier.
"Thanks, Chris. I didn't expect those bastards to be so shameless, actually denying my past accomplishments. If it weren't for your help, I really wouldn't have been able to become police chief so quickly."
"Don't mention it. You earned it." Chris raised his bottle in acknowledgment, speaking casually.
After Joe recovered the use of his legs, he'd gone to the police chief to request a promotion.
This should have been straightforward, as Joe had been on track for promotion before his legs were crippled.
However, due to the sudden accident that had left Joe wheelchair-bound, he'd been stuck as a basic patrol officer for years, not even making sergeant.
So after his legs recovered, Joe naturally thought he could cash in on his years of experience and accomplishments to be promoted to at least sergeant.
But what Joe didn't expect was that the chief—that son of a bitch—actually refused to promote him, claiming that he'd been coasting all these years and hadn't made any real achievements.
This instantly enraged Joe, who then caused a massive scene at the police station, beating the chief badly enough to send him to the hospital.
If Joe hadn't calmed down afterward and asked Chris for help resolving the situation, he might have been arrested for assault by now.
After Chris understood what happened, he asked West for assistance and pulled some strings.
Not only did Joe avoid jail time, but he was actually maneuvered into the vacant position of police chief himself, which led to today's celebration.
"Haha, you're too modest! Anyway, just let me know if you ever need anything."
Joe noticed Chris's casual attitude and responded with a hearty laugh.
After all, he now relied on Chris for his livelihood. Without the fitness version of the dragon's blood supplement to replenish what he burned through training, ordinary food wouldn't be nearly enough to sustain him.
Hearing Joe say that, Chris thought for a moment, then looked at Bonnie, who was working hard to attend to the guests, and said quietly, "I think you're being too hard on Mrs. Swanson. She's pregnant, after all. You shouldn't make her do so much work."
Hearing Chris's words, Joe froze. He looked back at the attractive Bonnie, then at the serious-faced Chris.
Chris, noticing Joe's suddenly suspicious emotions, instantly guessed what he was thinking and quickly clarified before Joe could jump to the wrong conclusion: "I just think that as a man, you shouldn't take your frustrations out on a woman, especially when she's pregnant."
Hearing no hidden meaning in Chris's words, Joe said sincerely, "You're absolutely right. I have been taking out my past frustrations on Bonnie without considering her condition. I'll make it up to her."
"Good. You should go take care of your other guests. I'm all set here."
Seeing Joe abandon those paranoid thoughts, Chris hastily urged him away, worried he might say something inappropriate.
When Joe rejoined his group of friends, Stewie subtly approached Chris.
"Hmph! It seems you've managed to hold onto your basic human decency!"
Chris looked at the posturing toddler, lowering his gaze to meet Stewie's eyes. "You heard all that?"
Stewie nodded, then turned his oversized head to look at Chris sideways. "Honestly, Bonnie is quite well-maintained for her age. Are you really not interested?"
Hearing Stewie make another inappropriate joke, Chris's expression turned cold as he uttered a single word: "Pathetic."
If he were truly the original Chris, or if the original Chris's consciousness held the dominant position in his mind, then he might indeed do some depraved things.
But clearly, the transmigrator's consciousness was dominant, so he could still adhere to some of his moral boundaries and not be corrupted by this twisted world.
Seeing Chris turn to leave, Stewie followed with a smirk, continuing to needle him. "Wait, what exactly do you mean by 'pathetic'? Is it what I said, or are you saying Bonnie is pathetic?"
The brothers' conversation went nowhere, as Chris knew Stewie just wanted to amuse himself at his expense.
Fortunately, Brian's intervention finally freed Chris from Stewie's harassment.
This was because Brian's car had broken down, so he'd come to Stewie hoping to borrow some money to get it fixed.
"Come on, you're Pewterschmidt Industries' only employee now. Can't you be a bit more ambitious and get a different vehicle?"
After hearing Brian's request, Stewie immediately began complaining. His low opinion of Brian's Prius was nothing new.
However, just as Stewie had strong opinions about Brian's car, Brian had equally strong opinions about Stewie: "Oh! Is that so? Then, as the only employee of Pewterschmidt Industries, I wonder what my weekly salary is? Without even two thousand dollars, how am I supposed to afford a new car?"
Stewie raised an eyebrow at Brian, his eyes revealing clear dissatisfaction.
He hadn't disciplined this mouthy dog for too long, and now Brian dared to be so insolent. Didn't he realize that his job was a favor Stewie had graciously arranged for him?
Chris sensed Stewie's emotions surging like a volcano about to erupt.
And Brian's emotions were also volatile, with a lot of suppressed resentment in his heart.
Feeling that things were heading south quickly, Chris intervened: "Alright, guys. How about this—since I'm on summer vacation, let's take a road trip across America!"
"What?" The tense atmosphere instantly dissipated as both the man and the dog looked at Chris, wanting to confirm they'd heard him correctly.
"I said the three of us should take a road trip across America. I'll pay for Brian to buy a new car, and he can drive us around to different places, just like Meg did."
Brian's eyes lit up, and he quickly agreed, "Okay, I'm totally down. But this car can't be too basic—it needs to be reliable enough to support a cross-country trip."
Stewie sneered at Brian. He knew exactly what this opportunistic dog was thinking.
However, seeing that Chris didn't object, Stewie kept quiet as well. After all, it wasn't his money being spent.
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