Shadow Empire

Chapter 1082 The ban has been lifted.

Allen lowered his arm and looked at the young man who had fallen to the ground with his head on the ground. He took another step forward and fired several more shots into the young man's head.

Recently, the media has frequently reported on heroic deeds in war to alleviate people's dissatisfaction and fear of war.

What started as heroic deeds quickly turned into... sensational news, for example, they found more than one unfortunate man with a gunshot wound to appear in the news and showed his wounds to readers and viewers around the world.

They were shot in the head; one guy was shot right through the head, but he survived.

The price was a dent in his head. To save his life and to verify some medical findings, a portion of his brain tissue was removed.

Although this man is now confined to a wheelchair and has lost some of his mobility, he is at least alive and has been awarded a purple and gold medal for his heroic performance on the battlefield.

In reality, he didn't perform any real heroic deeds. He was just shot and returned to the Federation when he woke up.

Two other unfortunate men still have bullets lodged in their heads, and doctors believe that the unpredictable consequences of removing these bullets are far more dangerous than leaving them there. Therefore, these two men will live with bullets in their heads for the rest of their lives.

Furthermore, as the warheads rust, a series of problems will arise, but it seems that no one cares much about them now, or rather, people deliberately ignore these problems, and simply praise them as "miracles shown by the Federation favored by God".

After all, if they can't die from a gunshot to the head, who else but God can make them do that?
The Federation people are stupid and easily fooled; they actually believe this claim, that God protects the Federation and them, the Federation people.

This also leads to some issues that people may realize, such as the fact that sometimes being shot in the head may not necessarily kill someone.

To avoid alerting others, Allen and his team used small-caliber bullets. These slender bullets only made a "poof" sound when fired and had limited destructive power.

He worried that the two small bullets wouldn't kill the combat captain after hitting his head, so he fired a few more shots.

Each shot to the head would send his body shuddering before returning to calm.

When all the bullets were fired, Allen glanced at the weapon in his hand, put the slide back in place, and then put it into the holster.

"Take care of it," he said, taking a few quick steps to catch up with Lance.

"This person has been used. How should we deal with the Perez family's counterattack?"

Lance walked to the car, held onto the open door, and glanced back at the house. "Get the brothers ready for battle. If we're needed to fight, then we'll fight."

“We have never obtained everything we have now through political means. Whatever they want to take away from us or make us bow down will ultimately become stepping stones for us to reach higher levels.”

"They are not the storm, we are!"

After saying this, he got into the car, and Allen jogged to the car in front.

The convoy slowly left, and the rat extermination truck arrived just in time. Although this was a house that Lance had bought under someone else's name, it still needed to be cleaned up.

Not only this combat captain, but everyone who attacked Ethan was retaliated against in a bloody and terrible manner.

Just these past two days, someone reported to the police that they saw someone dumping garbage into the sea in the early morning. The person who reported it is a guy who always exercises in the morning and runs along the beach. One day, he saw someone continuously dumping oil drums into the sea, so he called the police.

However, after the police inspected the area for a while, they did not find the swimming activity he described. The power of ocean currents is very strong. It may seem that the water is calm on the surface, but in reality, there are even more turbulent forces stirring everything up beneath the calm surface.

Those oil drums were quickly moved to other places, where they would settle on the seabed, covered by layers of sand, perhaps growing aquatic plants, and eventually becoming part of the marine ecological cycle—a cornerstone.

Meanwhile, the disappearance of a combat captain and his men within the family was discovered, and the matter was reported to the officer above the combat captain.

Their first thought was that the combat captain might have absconded with the family's money. They led their men to the man's house but found no trace of his escape.

Some of his personal belongings remained untouched in the house, and the layout of the entire home suggested they had left in a hurry. The rotting food and moldy, unfinished food on the table indicated that they were preparing breakfast or lunch for the next day, even before they disappeared.

Other missing persons have similar stories; some disappeared as a family, while others disappeared alone, and no one knows where they went.

There were no problems with the company's accounts. They didn't take any money that didn't belong to them; they just disappeared!
"They may have already been murdered by someone, and these people disposed of the body very cleanly, so we only realized something was wrong now!"

The speaker was a member of the Perez family, a direct descendant, who was mainly responsible for "discipline" issues within the family.

Any family or organization that grows large will inevitably have members who use their status or power to do things that violate the organization's rules and regulations.

At this point, someone needs to be specifically responsible for punishing these people to make them understand the importance of following the rules.

This person usually holds a high position within the family, as this is the only way to gain the respect of others.

If you ask a combat captain to punish a cadre, or a branch member to punish a direct member, it is obviously impossible; there will be conflicts and disagreements.

So the person in charge of this person was Fran's brother, Diamond Perez.

He had been in charge of this kind of work in the family and had quite a bit of experience, so when he gave his judgment, the expressions of the people in the room changed slightly.

Their gazes turned suspicious and dangerous. Facing these thugs, Diamond showed no tension, but rather felt relaxed, because of his high status, and these people, whether direct or indirect, were required to obey him.

Many people have a misconception about gangs. They think that gangs are undisciplined, free, and violent criminal organizations with little restraint.

But that's not actually the case. Gangs are organizations with a more rigid hierarchy and greater discipline than corporations.

What it presents to people is merely its seemingly loose structure; inside, it has a very strict hierarchical system, somewhat like an army.

The upper levels have almost absolute control over the lower levels.

When Diamond gives his conclusion, that is the final conclusion.

"Investigate and see if they've caused any trouble recently. I heard that one of them used the family's legal resources some time ago?"

“Follow this line of inquiry and see who they had a conflict with. Whoever it was, they will have to pay the price.”

This was a very unreasonable statement. Regardless of who that person was, what they did, or whether they did anything afterward, Diamond believed that they were the ones who did it and demanded an explanation and that they pay the price.

This is the domineering and unreasonable nature of the five major federal families. But then again, how could a gang that started with violence, armed forces, and crime possibly talk to you about law and reason?
What they need is not "reason," but "my opinion."

He jabbed his finger hard on the table, making a dull thud. "This concerns the reputation of the Perez family. I need honor kills, I need to execute them, to let people know that we are not insignificant figures, that no one can provoke us!"

"Go investigate now!"

After he finished speaking, he stood up, gave one of his men a look, and then left the room.

Seven or eight minutes later, he appeared in Fran's office. They all lived in a large estate, which was not in New Gold City, but in Gold State.

It is about 300 kilometers away from Shinkin City.

Fortunately, there are now telephones for easy communication, and soon the people in Xinjin City will take action because of his decision. He himself will need to have his brother report on the handling of this matter.

"Please come in..." Fran, when not angry, looked like a gentle gentleman. When he saw Diamond walk in, he immediately stood up, went over and hugged him. "So, what's the result?"

Diamond walked over to the chair opposite Fran's desk and sat down. "They've probably been taken care of. I'll have someone investigate now, and we should have results soon."

Fran frowned. "I'd rather they ran away with the money!"

Diamond's expression was serious; he knew what Fran meant.

If they ran away with the money, that's an internal problem, attributable to lax management or some other issue—basically, an internal problem that's easy to solve. Just find them and make them pay for their stupid actions.

However, if it is caused by external forces, then it gives people the feeling that the Perez family is constantly weakening. Their previous conflicts with the Lance family ended with them taking the initiative to back down, which has already shaken the Perez family's authority in the federal underworld, and their influence is shrinking.

The other families always laughed at them for being beaten down, but Fran swore that if it weren't for the pressure from Congress, he would have killed the Lance family and Lance himself long ago, and they wouldn't have survived until now!

If new challengers emerge, it will be difficult to avoid the emergence of a second, a third, and so on.

Having a large family has its advantages: numerous members and formidable strength. Those smaller gangs are no match for them.

However, there are also downsides. The scale is too large. If the opponent throws punches here and there, it will be difficult for them to defend themselves. It is obviously impossible for such a large family to go into a completely defensive state.

There are too many challengers, especially the flea-like challengers, and they don't really have any good ways to deal with them.

Like lions on the savanna, when faced with fleas and flies, they can only helplessly ignore these provocations.

"It will be found out soon. They used the family's lawyers, and the lawyers will definitely know something."

"Moreover, my idea is that regardless of whether it was this group who did it, we should take action immediately and take them down. We need to let everyone know that it is easy to provoke us, but the price they pay may be something they cannot afford."

"Also, there's something else I'd like to talk to you about."

Fran took out a cigarette. "What is it?"

With a "ding," a flame appeared in the lighter. Loudsound lighters are becoming increasingly popular, as they better suit the aesthetics and psychology of wealthy people than ordinary windproof lighters.

The mirror-like gemstone body gives it a low-key luxury feel. Holding it in your hand, it is not just a lighter, but also a symbol of status and prestige.

He took a breath, then slowly exhaled, looking at his brother.

Diamond organized his thoughts, "Regarding the Lance family issue, shouldn't we... take some action?"

"Twice, Fran, we've been humiliated twice. If we don't fight back, people's laughter will only grow louder. They'll think we're a bunch of cowards who can't even put up a good fight against provocation!"

Fran listened and nodded. "I've been thinking about this too. I'll ask what they think. If they're not going to restrict us from fighting each other anymore, then we should prepare to make our move."

"We must deal with this group of people once and for all!"

Looking at Fran's confident expression, Diamond's attitude subtly changed again. "You should also ask if the people behind Lance can put some pressure on us."

Fran took another deep drag of his cigarette. "I will."

As they were talking, the phone in front of Fran rang. He glanced at Diamond, then answered, "This is Fran..."

"……Yeah?"

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for the information. I will have someone transfer the money to the account."

"See you!"

He put down the phone and looked at Diamond. "The lawyer called and told me that before these people disappeared, they attacked a boxer named Ethan because he made them lose money in an off-the-books gambling game."

"Then they found out that Ethan was a friend of Lance White, and they even met Lance himself at the police station."

Upon hearing this, Diamond immediately realized, "Was it done by the Lance family?"

Fran's face turned somewhat "bitter," a change in expression that he only showed when he encountered some rather troublesome matters.

"He probably felt that we were testing him, or that it was a form of revenge, so he retaliated fiercely."

"So what do we do now?"

"Soon the whole family will know this news, and if we do nothing..."

Fran let out a long breath. "Tell them to get ready. Lance is in New Gold City recently. Let's see if we can find an opportunity."

"As for the higher-ups, I'll go and inquire about it."

Diamond immediately stood up. "I'll make the arrangements first. If there are any instructions for action, call me or someone else, it doesn't matter."

Fran nodded. "I won't see you off."

After watching Diamond leave, he took a drag of his cigarette, and after a while, he picked up the phone. "It's me, Fran."

"Senator, as I mentioned to you before, the Lance family has disrupted the order of the entire underworld, threatening social stability and public order."

“Since they appeared, shootouts have been frequent, something that has never happened before.”

"Just in the last two days, they wiped out another team of mine. The emotions within the family are extremely agitated, and I'm finding it hard to control them."

"So... I want to ask, if I were to fight them now, would Congress intervene?"

At the federal level, the five major families, the overlords of the underworld, must have representatives in Congress and high-ranking positions in politics; otherwise, they would never have reached this point.

Even the leaders of these five families, or rather, these gangs that are named after surnames, are not ordinary people themselves.

Their ancestors were probably already very famous when the Federation was first established, and that fame has continued to this day.

For example, the Perez family, whose ancestor was said to be one of the first officers to arrive on the continental United States.

Later, for reasons unknown, he left the military and formed a gang centered around his family members, which continues to this day.

It would be impossible to reach such a high position solely based on one's own abilities.

The underworld, like the political arena or the battlefield of capital, is essentially the same in its competitive nature.

When it comes to competing on resources, connections, and capital, you need to have something substantial to offer.

The senator who supported the Perez family was somewhat surprised to hear this request. He did not expect the friction between the two gangs to be so frequent, with such sordid incidents occurring so soon after the ceasefire.

He was about to say that infighting was not allowed, but he quickly recalled what his group had previously discussed: to strengthen their power in Congress, it would be difficult to compete directly with Senator Cleveland and his group, so they could only act from the sidelines.

They planned to use unusual means to gain more power, including supporting the FBI in gaining greater power.

If there's a copy for the FBI, there's also a copy for them; this way, they can get more opportunities more quickly.

The FBI also seems to be pushing for degangsterization. They have discussed this before, and if gangs can fight each other, they can collect more evidence of their crimes.

This might be an opportunity.

After a suffocating wait of twenty or thirty seconds, Fran finally received the answer he wanted from the receiver: "The ban has been lifted, but don't hurt innocent people."

(End of this chapter)