Empire of Shadows

Before even entering the room, Lance could hear the extremely tragic screams coming from inside the wooden house.

The person at the door proactively opened the wooden door for Lance, and Lance bent slightly as he entered the wooden house.

The wooden house had already been renovated once, and it had become a place for executions.

The walls and floors were easy to clean, so even if a whole basin of fresh blood was splashed on them, they could eventually be cleaned spotless without leaving a trace.

One of the gunmen was sitting on a chair, completely naked, and in this weather of only a few degrees, his body was frozen and somewhat bluish.

He had many wounds on his body, all of which were the result of torture.

Beside him was a small cart with a white plate on it, containing several bloody teeth and two or three fingernail clippings.

Most of the torture instruments were covered in blood, and Lance looked at the person being tortured with some surprise, then turned his head to look at the guy responsible for the torture, who was breathing slightly heavily.

A young captain named Devon, one of the newly promoted captains.

"Hasn't he confessed yet?"

Devon was a little embarrassed, "He actually already confessed."

Lance looked at him, Devon scratched his head, and Laun, standing in the corner, helped him explain, "The young man who died was his good friend."

Understood.

Lance walked over and patted him on the arm, "Just clean it up when you leave."

Devon showed a grateful expression, "I know what to do, Boss."

He turned to look at the guy, whose body was already somewhat numb.

After being sent here, he was first given a beating, then stripped naked and tied to this special chair, on the icy cold chair.

Then the madman in front of him started torturing him, and now he no longer hoped to leave alive, only hoping to die a quick and painless death!

"Kill me…," he said vaguely, his entire cheek swollen.

Devon used pliers to directly remove several of his teeth, and the intense, piercing pain was driving him crazy!

There was also incontinence under the chair he was sitting on and at his feet, and Lance took a few steps back.

"They are from a gang called Black Blood Gang in Gold State, their Boss sent them, and they are currently under the command of a person named Steven Jansen. They don't know who this person is, but their Boss told them to listen to this person's orders."

Laun couldn't help but laugh, "They said their purpose is to kill you!"

Lance raised his eyebrows, "It seems they really hate me very much!"

"After all, four million."

He walked over to stand next to Laun and looked at Devon, "Do you have any other tricks?"

"If not, I'm leaving."

Devon nodded and took out a very interesting instrument with two claws, like clamps, and a plug.

The guy, who could barely open his eyes, couldn't help but start cursing when he saw these things, but his hands and feet were tied to the chair with wire, and he couldn't break free!

Devon clamped one of them on his dick, and then the other on his arm…

Lance cursed and took the initiative to leave, he really couldn't stand this.

Laun followed him and handed him a piece of paper recording some clues, with some names, times, locations, and a phone number.

"What are you going to do?"

Lance looked at the information in his hand and was silent for a while, then looked at Laun, "Since they want to kill me, don't blame me for fighting back."

"Are you going to Gold State?"

Lance took the paper and walked towards the car, "They can come, so naturally I can go too."

"These people don't need to be handed over to Chief Bureau Bolton for the time being, except for the one who was killed by him, lock up the others first, and hand them over after we solve the matter."

Lance expected the Ligee Group to take action, but he didn't expect them to set their sights on William.

But this wasn't too surprising, because he was always surrounded by many people, and it would be too difficult for the members of this foreign gang to attack him and succeed.

Kidnapping William was a good idea instead!

Especially after he saw these people said they planned to use bombs to blow him and William to the sky together, if William was really kidnapped, there might really be this possibility.

If he ignored the fact that William was kidnapped, then he wouldn't be him.

Fortunately, his strategy of managing the family has always been correct, allowing more of his people on the streets to complement Bolton's "cameras", providing rapid support to any place on the territory at any time.

But similarly, this also means that he must occupy more territory, only in this way can he ensure that the entire city is under his control.

After getting in the car, he quickly returned to the company. Elvin and the others also knew what had happened. Lance showed them the paper, and everyone was furious!

"What are you going to do?" Elvin asked.

The voices of the people around suddenly quieted down. Lance rested his chin on his hands, looked at them, "I plan to visit these people in Gold State."

He rolled his eyes downward, looking at the paper recording the materials, looking at the name on it, "Let's visit this… Mr. Steven Jansen first."

Elvin asked again, "Kill him?"

"What about the others?"

Lance curled his lips, "The others?"

"These are all minor characters, kill Steven, and then use his death to deter those who are remotely controlling him behind the scenes."

"Just let these people understand that he can indeed cause us trouble, but we also have the ability to fight back."

"Although I don't want to admit it, I have to say that we can't solve everyone, at least not yet."

Mero said from the side, "That's right, the Ligee Group is too big, they have deep connections with high-level politicians and celebrities in the Federation. If we go too far, it may trigger dissatisfaction against us."

Congress can control the army, and no matter how strong the gang is, it is no match for the army.

So killing a key but not so important character may be the end of the matter.

As for the future?

If he can continue to grow stronger, maybe one day, he can ignore these people and the relationships hidden behind them.

"So, who wants to go to Gold State with me to have some fun?"

Except for Mero, everyone raised their hands.

Sometimes too many people are not very convenient, such as at this time, choosing who and not choosing who is a trouble!

Gold State is located in the central and northern part of the Federation, also on the long coastline of the eastern part of the entire continent. If Goldport City is a new city that gradually began to exert its economic strength due to geographical and environmental factors after international trade began to flourish.

Then Gold State and New Gold City are the engine core of the Federation all along!

This is the center of the Federation, economy, politics, culture, it is the heart of this country!

All the best things are concentrated here and continue to spread around with New Gold City as the center. The entire Gold State has gained huge opportunities because of New Gold City. It looks indeed more developed and much more than Licale State!

After all, one is an old strong city, and the other is an emerging city, it is definitely different.

Even in terms of population, there is a huge difference. According to the Federation government's own statistics, New Gold City at this time already has more than six million permanent residents, making it one of the largest cities in the world!

Many experts and scholars believe that it will also be the center of the world in the future, if it continues to develop at its current rate!

This time, Lance and the others came directly by train. The long road would take longer if they drove, and the train was much more convenient, and people would not be so tired.

As the train began to enter Gold State, New Gold City appeared on the horizon, a completely different, more spectacular, magnificent, and prosperous city appeared in front of them!

Many times, Lance and the others felt that Goldport City should be the most prosperous city in the Federation. Until before entering here, they all thought so.

But after entering here, they didn't think so.

There are skyscrapers everywhere. The tallest building in Goldport City is only over 100 meters, and most of them are 40 to 50 meters, or 60 to 70 meters.

But here, buildings over 100 meters are everywhere, and some may even be 200 meters high!

This is like an industrial miracle, concentrated in a city. Anyone who comes here from other places will be shocked by these miracles and lose the ability to think, as if they have suddenly entered a "giant's world."

After getting off the train, Allen looked at the surrounding skyscrapers, his eyes almost popping out.

Some people passed by them and would pay attention to them for a moment, then show obvious avoidance expressions and actions, and leave around them.

Lance spread his hands with a smile, "It seems we are being disliked."

In fact, their clothes are not bad, but their appearance of country bumpkins entering the city makes the New Gold City people, who are accustomed to high-end clothes, not so sensitive to them.

"Let's go, let's find a place to live first."

Lance carried his suitcase and walked out of the station, and a group of people followed closely behind him, quickly merging into the crowd and becoming a part of the masses.

They found a hotel close to the city center to stay in. The long journey was very tiring, physically and mentally, and they all needed rest.

The next morning, everyone gathered together again. Lance enjoyed the breakfast provided by the hotel while reading the "Federal Daily".

Although he was a gang leader, he was also very concerned about national affairs.

《Negotiations Break Down, Where is the National Situation Heading?》

Today's headline, with a subtitle below—

The Federal Government and the Republic of Danterra failed to reach an agreement on international trade issues.

The hotel breakfast was delicious, but Lance's attention was now focused on the newspaper.

The newspaper stated that the Ambassador of the Republic of Danterra demanded that the Federal Government immediately stop transporting supplies to Slader (a country), but this was rejected by the Federal Government.

The Secretary of State stated that the Federation did not show a clear bias towards either side in the war on the Tanfit Continent. If Slader could purchase supplies from the Federation, then Danterra could also purchase supplies from the Federation.

There was no reason for the Federation, a country unrelated to the war, to stop normal international trade activities just because Danterra and Slader were at war.

The two sides argued fiercely about this. The Ambassador of Danterra believed that the Federation was already biased and used some threatening means to try to coerce the Federation into obeying them, but to no avail.

The political columnist who wrote this article felt uneasy about some of the things that might happen next. In the middle and later parts of the article, he analyzed some possible events.

At the same time, it was suggested that Federal merchants doing business in the Republic of Danterra and Federal citizens residing there should leave Danterra and return to the Federation as soon as possible.

The intensification of the war might lead the Prime Minister of the Republic of Danterra to use some extreme and radical measures to safeguard their perceived legitimate rights and interests.

Seeing this, Lance already felt that the war was not far from the Federation.

Perhaps just an angry "retaliation" could trigger a larger-scale war!

After breakfast, they gathered briefly in Lance's room and then went to do their own things.

Transportation, they had to have it.

They brought their own weapons, but they definitely needed some replenishment.

In addition, they had to find out who this "Steven Johnson" was, what role he played in the Leger Group, where he lived, and understand some of the terrain and environment, and finally formulate an action plan!

This might take two or three days, or even three to five days. Launching the plan in a hurry was not a good decision.

In addition to doing these things, Lance also wanted to use his own eyes to personally feel and experience this huge city!

Countless shops on the street, and exquisite goods behind the bright windows.

The rich aroma from the bakery on the roadside, and the sausages and various meat products hanging from the ceiling in the deli.

The girls on the street wearing fur coats but with brightly colored skirts inside have become an undeniable microcosm of the city!

It was like a huge, living thing, and everyone was just a cell in its body. A clearer and more detailed rhythm of life than in King's Port was flowing in this city!

Lance stood on the street, looking at everything here, with a smile on his face.

It was just so inexplicable, or rather, knowingly wanting to laugh. He liked this city, liked its pulse, and liked its atmosphere!

For several days in a row, they were busy investigating various information, and finally gradually figured out the results that Lance wanted.

The Leger Group has its own building in New King City, which is ninety-nine meters high and has thirty-two floors. Many years ago, it was considered a landmark building.

However, with the booming of federal infrastructure and the progress in the industrial sector in recent years, high-rise buildings have been built one after another, and the Leger Group's building is no longer considered a high-rise building.

It is said that a building with a total designed height of 249 meters has already started construction and will become the new tallest building in New King City.

And its goal is to break the record of the tallest building in New King City more than ten years ago!

Measuring wealth with height has become a new way for the rich to play the game here.

If you think you are rich, then do you have a "tallest" building that can reflect your wealth?

The smell of money permeates every corner of this city, making people intoxicated and fascinated.

Steven pinched his tie knot and tore it hard, keeping it slightly loose.

This made him feel a little more comfortable.

After maintaining his appearance for a day, he could finally relax a little when he got off work, which was much more comfortable.

In the past few days, he had tried to contact King's Port, but to no avail. He realized that something might have happened there.

The "accident" of the commissioner and the team had been confirmed by the King's Port Police Department as an "accident."

At the same time, all the workers who caused the wheat to sprout were also brought to justice, and the prosecutor directly filed a lawsuit against them.

Although the Court of Appeal had not yet rejected the Leger Group's appeal request, they had learned the news through some insiders.

Once the King's Port City Court hears the property damage case, the Court of Appeal will reject the Leger Group's appeal, unless they appeal to the Federal Supreme Court.

Lawyers told them that even if they appealed to the Federal Supreme Court, the result would most likely not change.

Because the judiciary is an independent, vertical department, in order to ensure the solemnity and accuracy of the judiciary, the Supreme Court will definitely respect the results and explanations of the local court's trial first.

As long as there is no problem with the local court's trial process, the judgment will be based on the results of the local court.

If this case is broken up, the Supreme Court will only reject it.

If they want to drag this case on in the Supreme Court, then what they have to lobby are those truly meaningful "Justices", which is not a simple public relations project!

The company is discussing how to deal with the follow-up, and there is still no accurate answer. Once they decide to abandon the appeal, they will face a compensation of four million.

But if they do not abandon the appeal, they have to persuade the Justices to adopt their views, and then continue to make meaningless efforts in a lawsuit that is very likely to be lost.

Not only is the cost of public relations not cheap, but the final result is very likely not to change.

And Lance has not appeared in the news until now, which caused Steven to be reprimanded by the president.

He could understand that the president's mood was not right. After all, so much money was involved, which was related to the vital interests of the shareholders and directors. He could understand.

Now, he needed to go back, take a hot bath, and then have a drink to relax.

He casually threw his clothes on the passenger seat and drove out of the company's parking lot.

The gatekeeper of the parking lot even took the initiative to nod and bow to greet him, but he was too lazy to even look at him.

The car merged into the traffic flow. The super city with millions of people was not a joke during peak hours. The traffic was very congested.

He patted the horn impatiently, but it didn't bring any acceleration.

Just as he was getting closer and closer to the expressway and his mood was gradually improving, the car in front suddenly had a car accident.

This made his head hurt!

He beat the steering wheel hard, honked the horn, and stuck his head out of the car window and cursed!

Just when he didn't notice, someone opened the back door and sat in.

He turned his head sharply, frowned and looked at the person in the back seat, "Who the hell are you?"

"Get out of my car!"