Shadow Empire

Chapter 1093 Attacked
In the middle of the night, the convoy stopped in the wilderness.

The driver of the lead car was about to open the door and get out to check the situation when he was stopped by a family member in the passenger seat. "Don't get out."

He stared into the driver's eyes, his expression even carrying a hint of... tension. The driver took a deep breath and then removed his hand from the door cable.

"What happened?" he asked softly, glancing around at the pitch-black night.

You can't see anything; visibility is less than ten meters, or even less.

Visibility is only possible within three to five meters of the headlights; beyond that range, you can't see anything at all.

Behind the pitch-black night, something immense fear and monster seemed to lurk, waiting for its chance to strike.

"There might be an ambush." ​​The escort in the co-pilot's seat had already taken out his weapon and turned off the safety.

Just as they were talking, all the headlights of the cars in the convoy behind them were turned off, and the passenger in the front seat also told him to turn off his headlights.

Although he didn't quite understand why the car lights had to be turned off at this time, he had no choice but to do so.

This is experience accumulated by the Lance family in many battles. In the darkness of the night, the enemy is hidden in the shadows, and any light means they are a target.

Turning off the lights will make the rest easier to do.

"We'll get off the bus in a bit. Lie down and don't go anywhere, understand?"

In the darkness, the passenger's hand gripped his arm tightly. They had worked together many times before and were considered friends.

The Lance family has never lacked enthusiasm and kindness towards their friends.

The driver nodded, his breathing becoming rapid and heavy with nervousness. The young man in the passenger seat said as if to reassure him, "Don't worry, everything will be alright. When we get back, I'll have my superiors give you more money."

"And didn't you always ask us what it felt like during a shootout?"

"Now, you've got your chance."

After saying that, he opened the car door, and the other three people in the car got out from the passenger seat with weapons.

In the darkness, the light source is limited, and you can only see some shadowy things moving around in the dark, and you can't tell whether they are people or something else.

“There’s a car blocking the way. Let’s see if we can push it aside.”

The person walking up from behind frowned when he heard these words. "Why didn't you let the driver ram the car?"

"A truck, and it looks like it's loaded with something, blocking the middle of the road."

The Federation's ecological environment is quite good, especially in the wilderness. The ecological environment of the whole world is actually quite good. Moreover, this place is by the sea, so the air is very humid, and there are heavy rains every year.

Heavy rain can cause significant damage to roads. If not properly managed, roads that are soaked in rainwater for extended periods and then subjected to the constant pressure of heavy trucks can collapse.

Although the Federation is still the world's number one super construction team, once an intercontinental highway is damaged, it will take a long time to repair, as well as a lot of money, manpower and resources.

Therefore, when designing these interstate highways, the designers took this into consideration, and all interstate highways are much higher than the ground on both sides of the road.

They first laid the foundation, raised the ground level, and then built the intercontinental highway on this platform.

This way, no matter how heavy the rain, the water will flow down the road surface along the grooves instead of soaking the interstate highway.

The ground on both sides of the intercontinental highway becomes very soft during the rainy season, from spring to autumn, as it is frequently washed by rain and is very damp.

Once a car gets stuck during this period, it's usually very difficult to get it out.

Therefore, they will not drive off the road unless necessary, and the height difference between the road and the ground on the interstate highway would also make this behavior dangerous.

It might overturn, especially for vehicles with a high center of gravity when going off the road.

After hearing the explanation from the person in the car in front, the people behind groped their way to the car blocking the road in the dark. They opened the car door, and someone took out a lighter to look inside, but there was nothing there.

There was no driver, nothing else, just an empty cab.

The people behind also checked the truck bed and said, "It's full of stones."

Upon hearing this, everyone's thoughts became somewhat heavy; it was clearly directed at them.

"Move the car, and everyone else push it together."

This was a good idea. Some young men slung their guns over their shoulders, and one of them got into the driver's seat. The moment he sat down, the front of the car suddenly blared a loud horn!
"Damn it, they put a horn button on the seat!"

In an instant, flames erupted all around, and the gunfire was as dense as firecrackers.

"Get down and fight back!"

Some were injured and fell to the ground in an instant, while others lay down the moment the gunfire rang out and pulled the trigger toward the spot where the gunfire had started.

Around 1 a.m., what was possibly the largest and most intense gunfight in the history of the intercontinental highway broke out.

Bullets clashed with the car body everywhere; some screamed, some wailed, and some remained silent.

The driver, who was hiding in the cab, remained huddled on the floor, terrified from the moment the gunshot rang out.

He didn't know how long the gunfire lasted, only that the sounds of the exchange of fire grew weaker and weaker.

By the end, almost no gunfire had been heard.

Suddenly, headlights illuminated the entire interstate highway, his breathing became heavier, and fear made his body tremble.

He heard footsteps and shouts around him. As the footsteps drew closer, he heard someone start pulling on the car door.

The next moment, the car door was pulled open, and the outside light shone in through the open door, illuminating his panicked face.

Several guns were pointed at him at the same time. He swallowed hard and forced a weak smile. "I'm just a driver."

The young man at the front raised his hand, stopping them from killing the driver. He asked a question, "So you know where this shipment started and where it ends, right?"

The Perez family found a way to transport the goods, actually by working backwards.

They arranged for people to keep watch outside the embassy 24 hours a day. Such a large quantity of alcohol needs to be transported in; it certainly can't be done by moving two or three cases today and three or five cases tomorrow. There must be large trucks to transport it.

By keeping an eye on these large trucks, you can find out where they come from.

Then, based on their connections in Xinjin City, they tried every means to investigate and eventually found out that these trains might have come from the smuggling village in the south, so they set up an ambush on that road.

But there were many other things they didn't know, and the driver probably knew more details than they did.

The driver swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, sir."

Peggy nodded. "Your honesty saved your life."

As he spoke, he went to check on the convoy behind, but unfortunately, the drivers of the trucks behind were all gang members, and only the lead truck had a hired driver.

In this era, there was no satellite navigation or voice broadcasting. Without an experienced driver to guide you, in an environment where you could hardly see the road conditions ten meters ahead, it was easy for people to get lost.

When the driver was pulled from the cab, he saw corpses all over the floor.

I also saw those people dismantling some kind of... scaffolding on both sides of the road.

They installed many things that looked like searchlights on both sides of the road. These were mounted on metal frames that could be assembled and equipped with batteries.

The moment their switches are turned on, they can immediately illuminate the entire ground.

The driver was a man in his fifties, considered a high-income earner. He had seen many movies and read many novels, and he knew very well that if these people stood behind a light source and fired, not only would they still not be able to see them, but the light source would also make it impossible for the retaliators to open their eyes.

He shook his head slightly and saw the young man in the passenger seat who had told him not to move.

He was lying on the ground, riddled with bullets, his clothes completely stained with blood.

Suddenly, the driver felt a sense of emptiness. He felt no fear or panic; his only feeling now was that life was really boring.

One moment he was chatting and bragging with this young man, the next he was lying on the ground, lifeless. He didn't understand how loyal these people were to their so-called family, nor did he understand what this family had given them that made them want to risk their lives to protect it. He didn't understand these things, and he felt the fragility of life. Then he was pushed into another vehicle.

He saw these people dispose of the bodies very roughly; they dumped the bodies on the roadside, piled them up, then put wood on top, poured gasoline on them, and finally set them on fire.

There was enough wood to keep the bodies burning all night, and by daybreak, people would only see some traces of the burning.

If they are "lucky," perhaps a passing driver will see the interstate highway police and report the incident to them.

If they're unlucky, they might stay here forever, washed away by the rain, and eventually become one with the land.

The convoy, which had stopped for less than half an hour, was started up again, but this time their destination was different.

Around 4 a.m., Lance was woken up by the phone. He rubbed his forehead and sat up. The call was from the warehouse.

"The convoy should have arrived by 3:15 at the latest, but it still hasn't arrived, and there's been no other news. Something might have happened."

Throughout his life experiences, Lance has been a strong supporter of "quantification," not just of materials, but also of time and everything else.

This is very helpful for management, especially for large-scale organizational management, and allows for better control of the entire team.

If it's said to arrive at 3 o'clock, it will definitely arrive at 3 o'clock. There have been no mistakes in so many deliveries, it's impossible for it to be wrong this time.

"Mobilize manpower to search along the road; something must have happened."

He then put on a coat and went to his study. He asked the butler to bring him a cup of coffee, and then dialed the number of Hailam, who was still vacationing in Lapa.

Helam seemed to be awake on the other end of the line, and there were sounds of women laughing around, which piqued Lance's curiosity.

"What are you doing?"

Helam's voice on the other end of the line was a little... he couldn't quite put his finger on it, "I was just about to go to sleep."

The ambient sounds in the receiver disappeared considerably at once. Lance didn't pursue the matter. "Take your men and the best gunmen to New Gold City. We're about to make a big move."

After waiting for about ten seconds, Hyram's demeanor immediately changed, and this change made Lance realize what was different about his usual manner of speaking.

He was a little "drunk," but he's sober now.

"What happened?" His tone became serious.

"Our goods were stolen; there might have been a firefight."

The receiver picked up the voice of Helam, who was apparently smoking and lighting a cigarette. "The Perez family?"

"Ah."

"Okay, I'll be back today."

It's around 3:30 now. If they set off now, they should be able to reach New Gold City in about two days.

Lance didn't say much to him, then hung up the phone and called Melo again, "Get some more people over here."

Without asking why, Messi and Ronaldo immediately made arrangements.

Lance then turned his attention to the farm, ordering, "Have people keep an eye on the surrounding area. If anything seems amiss, attack them immediately."

He also arranged for a lot of people to protect the brewery at the farm. Actually, he was the least worried about the farm. He made this call just to remind them that something was wrong.

There's also the Lawrence family's cowboy team over at the farm. Although they're called cowboys, they can instantly transform into a mobile militia on horseback whenever they need to.

This is also the fundamental reason for the survival of federal farms in the past, present, and uncertain future.

After ending those calls, Lance sat there, waiting for news.

He has increased the number of guards for the convoy, but this is clearly not an option unless he sends hundreds or thousands of men to escort it, and even then, it might not be effective.

Once the convoy's transport route and escort situation are known, the Perez family can formulate targeted plans.

Explosions and landmines are not difficult to deal with nowadays.

After the war ended, much of the military equipment that should have been sold to the military had nowhere to go and ended up in civilian hands.

Especially those flowing in from Thanfeld, where the war has completely ended, and the war has caused various economic problems in many countries.

In order to earn money, some soldiers would sell their bullets, grenades, and even other items to ordinary people in exchange for resources and money.

Some of these items will return to the Federation through smugglers, so the issue isn't whether to increase or decrease the number of guards, but rather the issue of information.

This transport route is actually quite secretive; there's only one possibility that it could be found.

Someone betrayed their information to the Perez family.

New Goldshire is a very large city, after all, it is the political and economic center of the federal government, and more than a dozen interstate highways eventually lead to it.

In other words, without information from someone, they might not have been able to find out which way they came in.

Lance pursed his lips. He would find this person, but the most important thing right now was to figure out the specifics.

As we waited, the sky gradually began to change color, and by almost five o'clock, it was almost completely bright.

Daylight saving time brings exceptionally early days; Lance received the news a little after five.

They were ambushed a little over an hour from New Gold City. There were signs of washing on the ground, but large amounts of blood could still be seen on both sides of the road.

They discovered this place because there were not only traces of burning nearby, but also a large number of scavenging birds gathered there.

The birds were startled and flew away when the convoy passed by, which drew people's attention.

“We found some badges left at the scene, which were left by the Perez family.”

Upon learning of this result, which he had already suspected, Lance was not surprised and told his men to come back first.

Meanwhile, Fran also got up very early today.

On the one hand, as people get older, they need to sleep much less.

On the other hand, he had something on his mind and was eager to know the results of last night, so he got up at around 5:30.

After washing up, it was almost six o'clock.

When he came out of his bedroom and into the lobby on the first floor, everyone who had gathered there stood up, including Bob and Peggy.

Seeing the almost uncontrollable smiles on their faces, Fran naturally smiled as well; he was in a good mood.

He slowly descended the stairs, holding onto the handrail. "It seems, gentlemen, I've been waiting for good news!"

Bob came over to greet him and even helped him up. "We successfully intercepted their convoy yesterday, took out their men, and now the liquor is in our warehouse."

After hearing this, Fran couldn't help but laugh out loud twice. "This is the best news I've heard in a while!"

He paused, then suddenly said, "Do you remember leaving any 'evidence' at the scene to let Lance know that we did it?"

Peggy confirmed from the side, "Yes, we kept two coats of arms."

The Lance family has its own characteristics, and the Perez family also has its own unique feature, which is something like a brooch.

They considered themselves upper class, and all members of the Perez family were given a brooch-like emblem to wear on their collar or somewhere else to indicate their status.

Hearing Peggy's answer, Fran smiled and walked to the sofa to sit down. "Actually, I don't care much about these incomes. What I care about is that we finally won a victory in our competition with them!"

"We need to make people only know that the Lance family suffered a great loss, and that we were the ones who achieved this result!"

(End of this chapter)