Empire of Shadows

"Who's there?"

Lance didn't speak. He observed the alloy door. It looked formidable. In the upper middle part of the door was a small piece of glass, about ten centimeters high and twenty centimeters wide.

A bulletproof door. He knocked on the door with his knuckles, and it didn't even make a sound!

Lance handed the gun to the person beside him, walked to the desk, and picked up a flowerpot stand, the kind that was about twenty centimeters square, a square wooden frame.

This book is first published on the entire network by 𝕥 𝕨 𝕜 𝕒 𝕟 . 𝕔 𝕠 𝕞

It couldn't be said to be very sturdy, but it was definitely not loose.

He held it with both hands, one in front and one behind, and then forcefully slammed one of its legs against the glass installed on the Heller steel door.

The wooden frame immediately emitted a wooden creaking sound. Lance's hands were also a little numb, but there didn't seem to be any result he wanted.

Not to mention breaking the glass, it didn't even leave a mark.

Bulletproof glass at this time was not based on advanced technology, but mainly on multi-layer laminates and special raw materials.

It was impact-resistant and had better ductility.

Heller heard the movement outside, and seeing that the door hadn't changed at all, a smile appeared on his face. "Is that Lance?"

"Even if you don't speak, I know you're outside."

He stood up, walked to the door, and stroked the heavy steel door…

The metal, treated with anti-corrosion and coated with a special paint on the surface, gave him a very smooth feeling, like the feeling of touching a young girl's thigh.

A little soft, very cottony. These words that shouldn't appear in the touch of metal happened to appear, and they were very fitting.

There was an observation hole in the door, with thickened bulletproof glass. When building this safe room, Heller had considered these things.

It could not only be used as a vault, but also, if necessary, he could hide inside to avoid his enemies.

There was even enough food and water to last a week!

A week. Even if his confidants walked, they could walk back from Empire Night.

After hesitating for a moment, he opened the observation hole. A light suddenly appeared behind the originally dark glass, along with Heller's face.

He had a smug smile on his face and continued to provoke Lance, "I'm standing by the door. There's less than a meter between us, but you can't do anything to me."

"Lance, you should continue to hide like a little mouse in the sewers, instead of sticking your head out."

"As long as you come out, there's a risk of being caught."

"And even if you come out, what can you do?"

"I'm here. Can you kill me?"

Being able to "talk so eloquently" in front of his enemy gave Heller an indescribable sense of pleasure.

He had been feeling uncomfortable lately. Every time he thought of Lance, it gave him a headache, but now, those unpleasant feelings had disappeared.

He liked the feeling of "I'm standing in front of you, what can you do to me". He looked at Lance calmly, and even wanted to laugh.

In addition to venting the negative emotions that had been building up in his heart during this time, he also wanted to stall for time. He needed Lance to wait here until his people returned from the city.

It was about twenty-five minutes from here to the Empire District, and back and forth, it would take at most about an hour.

He knew it was difficult, but he still wanted to try.

If he could stall, with his men's familiarity with this house, even if Lance and the others tried to fight some kind of "positional warfare", they wouldn't be as lucky as last time.

Looking at Lance and the young, calm faces around him, Heller felt some fear in his heart, but soon this fear was extinguished by the safety of the safe room.

Hiram, who was on the side, directly took out his gun and fired at the bulletproof glass, creating a slight crack, but only a slight one.

Heller in the safe room laughed even louder. Although there were already cracks in the glass, they could still see each other clearly.

He took a few steps back, "I'm standing here, come on, shoot me!"

"You probably don't know, do you?"

"I've already arranged for people to go to the Empire to find your families. You killed so many of my people, causing me to lose a lot of money, and even lose so much face."

"Lance, and your friends, you really deserve to die!"

"Not only should you die, but your families should also die. I want to use your deaths and the deaths of your families to prove to them that until the very last moment, don't always think that I am the loser!"

The people around Lance began to get agitated. They even planned to use bullets to open the door, but they were all stopped by Lance.

If bullets hit this kind of alloy steel door, there was a possibility of ricocheting. Then the unlucky one wouldn't be Heller, but themselves.

"Find the butler."

Heller had a butler. The butler wasn't a close family member, just a professional butler team.

Their family had only been in the Federation for a few decades.

In a few decades, they didn't have enough solid foundation, and it was impossible for them to be like those dignitaries, whose butlers grew up in the manor from childhood and served the family for generations.

He just spent some money and hired a professional team. He had considered training this butler to become the family's butler, but it seemed a little too late.

The butler was in his forties. When he was brought over, he was obviously a little scared. He kept saying in a low voice, "Don't hurt me…"

"Where is the safe room's vent?"

Lance looked at him, "If you tell me, then I guarantee that no one can hurt you."

"But if you don't tell me, then unfortunately, God didn't hear your prayer!"

The butler swallowed, "It's on the outer wall…"

At this time, Heller in the room saw that Lance and the others had gone out. He couldn't help but be a little curious, and also hid a trace of fear of the unknown. He couldn't help but pat the steel door and asked loudly, "Where are you going?"

"Have you given up?"

"Come back, come to daddy's side!" He said and couldn't help but laugh, "Daddy loves you. If your fathers are all dead, I can replace that role, haha!"

But no one paid attention to him, which made him feel a little uneasy, a little scared.

But the safe room was so safe. He had seen it before it was installed. It couldn't be blown open even with explosives. He should be safe, right?

At this time, a strange voice suddenly came from behind him, "I found it, it's here!"

This voice startled him. He thought these people had really come in, but when he turned around, he found that there was nothing here.

The safe room only had one door. How could they possibly come in?

He just breathed a sigh of relief, but his face changed slightly, because that voice sounded again, coming from the ventilation duct.

Maurice was hanging on the outer wall with a rope tied around his waist. The overall building of the manor had four floors. The study was on the second floor, and the safe room occupied two floors and invaded half of the third floor.

Under the guidance of the butler, they quickly found the two vents on the outer wall, one above the safe room and one below the safe room.

Because carbon dioxide is heavier, there was a vent at the "floor" position of the safe room.

This way, if there was someone in the safe room, the carbon dioxide produced by breathing would flow out from the lower vent, and at the same time, due to the negative pressure, the upper vent would draw in fresh air from the outside, forming a cycle.

Heller's expression was a little unsightly. He didn't know what these people were going to do, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I swear, I won't let any of you go, I swear!"

But no one paid attention to him. Two minutes later, the upper vent began to quickly pour water.

His scalp went numb, goosebumps appeared all over his body. While cursing nasty words, he tried to find a way to block the vent.

But this vent was too big, and the position was very high. Even if he stood on a table and his hand could touch it, there was nothing to stop it from pouring water into the safe room.

Seeing that he couldn't stop the water from pouring in, he quickly looked at the vent below. What made him feel scared was that the water couldn't flow out.

They blocked the vent below!

"You cheap skins from hell, covered in sores, quickly stop what you're doing!"

No matter how he cursed, no matter what he said, the water kept coming in, and it couldn't flow out.

The safe room wasn't big, about seven to eight square meters in total. There were also small safes, platforms for putting things, and a table.

The water was flowing too fast, and it seemed to be increasing constantly.

What he didn't know was that the butler and the servants, in order to "avoid trouble", very cooperatively brought all the rubber hoses in the garden, connected all the faucets that could be connected, and poured water into this vent!

Seeing that the water had reached his ankles, Heller knew he couldn't stay here any longer.

Not an hour, at most half an hour, this room would be filled with water. He had to find a way to save himself.

He tried many methods, but in the end, none of them were feasible. He looked at the water that was gradually reaching his calves and finally decided to take a gamble.

He glanced at the study. There was no one in the study at this time. It seemed like there were two people at the door.

These people were too careless!

He sneered at Lance in his heart, then made sure the pistol was loaded and could be fired immediately. He pulled open the bolt, unlocked the door, took a deep breath, and then pulled hard… pulled… pulled!

He looked at the door he couldn't pull open. A sudden palpitation made his chest ache again. His features contorted, he leaned against the steel door, pressing his chest, and stood there for a while, feeling somewhat better.

"What's going on?"

"Why can't the door be opened?"

He couldn't even bother with the gun in his hand, casually placing it on the nearby table. This time, he used both hands to yank the door.

The door opened inward.

(Image One)

But even with all his strength, the steel door didn't budge!

He even used his feet!

His feet stomped on the edge of the doorframe, his arms pulled with force, his whole body seemed to be suspended in the air, but the door still didn't move!

He re-unlocked it, and he heard the sound of unlocking, but the door still wouldn't open.

Helpless, he began to pound on the steel door, as panicked as a lost brother, "Save me!"

Led by the butler, Lance and his men dismantled the small safe in Heller's bedroom.

Although they didn't have the password, taking the whole thing away and slowly dismantling it back home was the same.

At this moment, someone suddenly ran over, "Heller is shouting for help."

Lance had people send the safe to the car first, while he led some people to the study.

It must be said that the merchant he chose was indeed good. After being filled with water for so long, there was no leakage from the door frame at all.

"Save me, Lance!" Heller's face was filled with genuine panic. He was truly afraid!

He remembered the relatives who had died in gang feuds: his grandfather, his father, his aunt, his brothers and sisters, and his uncle.

Others might not have had the greatest impact on him, but his uncle had a great influence on him.

He couldn't quite remember what had happened. That day, he received a call saying that his uncle had been murdered.

He drove to the roadside. The police had already cordoned off the street. His uncle was tied up in the manner of Christ's crucifixion, hanging under a street lamp.

Watching the blood constantly dripping from the cross became a nightmare for him for a long time, until he recovered a few years later.

At this moment, the image of his uncle's death flashed before his eyes, and he trembled all over.

His emotions suddenly became somewhat out of control. He pounded on the steel door with force, frantically, "Let me out!"

"Help me, get me out of this damned place, I have money, all clean money, and a large amount of unregistered bonds, and... I also have villas, houses, all for you, all for you!"

"Give me a way out, I promise I won't seek revenge on you..."

His face was completely distorted. The pressure of death was driving him crazy!

"What are we doing this for?"

"Isn't it all for money?"

"Lance, Lance!"

He pounded on the observation hole, "Your men can be found again if you lose them. There are countless people like this at the pier. Don't argue with money!"

"I can compensate for all the wrong things I've done!"

At this time, more and more people came to the room, watching him through the cracked glass window.

Everyone remained silent, in stark contrast to Heller, who was emotionally out of control in the safe house.

So many calm, indifferent, even cold eyes were watching him, making Heller's pressure even greater.

The water level continued to rise, already reaching his waist. He suddenly began to cry sadly and painfully, "Lance, please, I don't want to die, please, let me out of here, or turn off the water!"

"I know I've done many unforgivable things, I want to... apologize to all of you, please..."

"You can make me do anything, I'm willing to endure it, but please, don't let me die!"

But Lance, and the people outside the door, still watched him without moving, not even changing their expressions much, just like the alloy steel door that once protected him, but now blocked his path to survival.

The city's water pressure is very low at night, but the water pressure in the pipes is very high. During the day it might just be a "drizzling" flow, but now it was already "crashing" out!

The speed at which the water level rose was very fast, which can be described as "visible to the naked eye."

After a while, he began to feel suffocated, not because the water had already submerged him, but because of the carbon dioxide concentration and the psychological feeling of suffocation.

It's like some people with claustrophobia or nyctophobia, in a specific environment, even though they are not drowning, they will have a feeling of drowning and cannot breathe!

He began to gasp for breath, and the emotional breakdown intensified. After many fruitless pleas, he became manic again!

"You will all regret it, you will all go to hell!"

"Don't think you are so bright and just, we are all the same, Lance!"

"One day, you will also encounter everything I have encountered, you will also be tortured and killed, no one is an exception!"

"I curse you, curse you!"

He was completely out of control.

But the rise in water level would not stop because of how dirty he cursed, or what he was doing. Soon the water had submerged the observation hole, and he had to tilt his head back, trying to keep his head above the water.

Two minutes later, the observation hole was completely submerged. People could see Heller standing against the wall on the grid.

But there was not much space left for him.

He didn't seem to have the strength to continue cursing. The entire room was filled with the sound of rushing water.

Approximately in the last minute, he began to curse again, just as people always have to leave something behind in this world.

Some people leave behind works, becoming pioneers, lighting the way through the wilderness for later generations.

Some people leave behind thoughts, admonishing people on how to face life and themselves, allowing them to find direction in confusion.

And he, left behind swear words.

Two minutes later, the last bit of cursing and pleading disappeared. In the small observation hole, it could be seen that he struggled to breathe a little air and had gone to the upper vent, but the rising water level rejected his reasonable request.

The rushing water blocked his breathing, and the vent also began to accumulate water.

He dived back, and through the observation hole, he seemed to be making a final plea, slapping the doors and windows while silently saying something.

But no one responded to him.

After spitting out a few big bubbles, and his whole body convulsing violently a few times, he stopped moving.

Only then did Lance turn around and look at them, "There are two more."

The group of people quietly left the room, but their hearts were definitely not as quiet as they appeared on the surface.

A dozen minutes later, a line of cars quickly returned to the manor, but the number of them returning was much less than when they left.

On the way back, Lance and his men spread a layer of caltrops. These nails were too easy to deal with tires, one puncture, one blowout!

Several cars had their tires blown out and stopped halfway. They cleared the nails from the ground and returned with a portion first. Some people had already abandoned their cars and were walking.

When Heller's trusted subordinate in the first car saw the gate being rammed into the fountain by a truck, he knew something was wrong!

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