Shadow Empire

Chapter 1099 Quite an appetite
News of gunshots rang out at the Perez family estate quickly spread within the family.

Although Bob kept ordering people not to spread these messages, it had little effect.

A large family, a gang family, from the direct line, branches, cadres, captains, to the lowest-ranking gang members, different classes also divide different people into many parts.

Some followed Bob, and some followed Peggy. The moment the gunshot rang out, these people were already thinking about how to get the message out.

So despite Bob's repeated requests not to spread the word, it was to no avail.

The only thing that makes him feel a little relaxed right now is that the news of Fran's shooting hasn't spread yet.

It wasn't that they had a high moral standard in this matter, but rather that they knew what unpredictable and terrifying consequences would result if word got out that Fran had been shot.

They don't spread the information indiscriminately, simply because they also have interests involved.

Peggy learned about the incident immediately from her family friends; gunshots had been heard at the manor, but there was no further news.

Bob promptly punished the guy who supposedly caused the accident in front of many people.

Some people think the matter is over, while others think it was all an act.

"I need to go to the manor."

After receiving the call, Peggy was already getting restless. "There were gunshots coming from the manor. It gave me a feeling... I don't know how to describe it!"

"From the time I can remember until now, I have never heard of anyone going astray in the manor. I don't know why I always associate it with bad things."

"I have to go check it out!"

"Keep an eye on the business here. If there are no problems, I'll be back before dinner."

Peggy, who could no longer sit still, stood up from behind the desk. The others in the office could only acquiesce to his choice, after all, he was the "Boss" here.

Peggy casually picked two people to follow her, and the three of them, along with several men, got into two cars and headed towards the manor.

He sat in the back seat of the second car, frowning ever since he got in.

Humans are strange creatures. Perhaps because of their intelligence, people often have inexplicable feelings at certain times.

A fragment of the future enters a person's mind in a very strange way and influences their judgment.

At this moment, Peggy's mind was filled with thoughts of whether the manor had been attacked. He was actually quite worried about Fran, not because he and Fran were particularly close, but because he knew that Fran couldn't be allowed to get into trouble.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

He was already very agitated, and the car slowed down and then came to a complete stop, which made his emotions even more unstable.

"What happened?" he asked from inside the car. The driver opened the door, stood on the running board, and looked ahead for a while. "It looks like there's been a traffic accident."

Traffic accidents happen every day. Current federal traffic regulations are not perfect. For example, many places do not have clear requirements on whether you can drive after drinking. Of course, most people can't drive after drinking now because alcohol is too expensive.

However, there are no requirements regarding whether one can drive a vehicle after taking or being injected with certain special drugs.

Some special drugs have strong sedative, anesthetic, and hypnotic effects. If you take these drugs and then drive, it is very easy to cause a car accident, but federal law has almost no explicit prohibition against these behaviors.

This leads to some people causing car accidents.

Peggy couldn't help but tilt his head and look ahead. Although he couldn't see anything, he quickly made a decision: "Go check it out, make them move the car, and tell them I'm in a hurry!"

This statement might sound a bit pretentious, but in the old city, direct descendants of the Perez family have the qualifications and the means to do so.

This is a city firmly controlled by the Perez family, but their methods of controlling the city are quite different from those of the Lance family in Golden Harbor City.

They used fear, not authority.

As they were talking, cars kept surging in from behind, blocking their way. This was a main road, and once it got blocked, it would quickly become a traffic jam, making it impossible to move.

The subordinate sitting in the passenger seat nodded, then left the passenger seat and went to the car in front. He bent down and said something to the person in the car, and soon the three people in that car got out.

The four people walked forward, weaving through the stopped traffic, intending to resolve the massive traffic jam caused by the accident.

Peggy lit a cigarette and rolled down the car window. The hot wind blowing in made him feel even worse.

The weather is getting warmer, and the sun is becoming quite powerful. A car left to bake in the sun for a long time will get increasingly hot inside, and it's not just because he needs to smoke.

Just then, two young men carrying shoulder bags were rapidly approaching the vehicle Peggy was in. He didn't notice them, nor did the driver.

Their attention was focused on the faint sounds of arguing that could be heard ahead.

Or perhaps the driver did see the two young men approaching, but he didn't pay them any attention.

Both young people were carrying shoulder bags and looked more like students than ordinary people who had already entered society.

The profession and identity of "student" always inexplicably lowers people's guard.

The driver only glanced at them twice in the rearview mirror before looking away.

Meanwhile, further ahead, Peggy's four men had arrived at the scene of the traffic accident. Through their brief observation and listening to the accounts of passersby, they roughly understood what had happened.

It's actually quite simple: someone crossed the center line, and then their cars collided head-on. However, because the cause of the collision is unknown and there aren't enough witnesses, it's difficult to determine who hit whom.

If liability cannot be determined, it means that the insurance company may not pay out, and the police will have to determine their responsibilities and obligations when they arrive.

So neither of them admitted to crossing the line and hitting the other, and kept saying that the other had hit them.

After listening to their argument for a while, Peggy's subordinate roughly understood the cause of the incident. He then stepped out from the crowd and stood between the two men.

"You're already obstructing traffic. This is the damn rush hour, can't you move your cars to the side before we talk about your ideas?"

They both glanced at him, not taking him seriously. Sometimes that's how it is when you're arguing in the heat of the moment; whoever makes you give in is the damn bad guy!
This resulted in him pleasing neither side, as neither of them paid much attention to him.

He also revealed his identity: "I am a member of the Perez family. If you know what's good for you, you'd better pack up your junk now and get this damn traffic back to normal!"

One of them looked at him and said, "Just because you're from the Perez family doesn't mean you can make me do things I shouldn't!"

These words immediately filled the man who came to resolve the matter with rage. He clenched his fist, preparing to go over and give the driver a "loving lesson," but was quickly pressed down on the shoulder by the person behind him.

There were people all around. If they beat up someone they had no connection with in front of so many people, even if they didn't have a good reputation in the city, it would be a problem.

Peggy's captain stepped forward, examined the damage from the collision between the two cars, and one of them, still sticking his neck out, said, "You want to hit me again?"

The captain smiled and pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. "How much do you think it will cost to repair your car?"

Although cars at that time were relatively backward overall, they were also very durable because they were purely mechanical structures.

The two car owners looked at each other, and one of them touched his car, saying, "It will cost at least fifty yuan."

Another person, seemingly unwilling to be outdone, said, "I need sixty here."

Meanwhile, the arguing in front had completely subsided, and Peggy seemed much more relaxed. His gaze shifted from the center of the accident to both sides of the road.

He also saw the two young men carrying shoulder bags, but his gaze lingered on their faces for only a moment before he looked away.

To his surprise, the two young men suddenly stopped when they reached his car.

When he turned to look at the two young men, he saw them pull out submachine guns from their backpacks. At that moment, Peggy shuddered, the cigarette in his mouth fell to the ground, and without even caring that the cigarette butt might burn his expensive clothes, he rolled down the car window with a tearful expression, as if that thin pane of glass could save him from his impending fate.

A series of gunshots shattered the growing agitation caused by traffic problems in the morning, and people remained absolutely silent amidst the gunfire.

The captain, who was at the forefront handling the matter, paused for a moment. He casually threw the money he had already counted on the ground, and led his men to draw their weapons and run back.

When they reached the car, Peggy was already lying on the back seat, clutching his neck, blood gushing from all over his body, and convulsing intermittently as he lost blood.

The driver was also hit by machine gun fire and collapsed in his driver's seat.

Not only Peggy, but at least a dozen other direct members of the Perez family were attacked on their way back to the family estate this morning.

These attacks are not complicated; traffic jams, collisions, arguments—there's always a way to stop them while simultaneously grabbing their attention.

Then someone quickly walked over, pulled out a weapon, and opened fire on them wildly before quickly leaving.

All morning, all the police cars were frantically driving around, making loud whirring noises. They didn't know who they were looking for, what the person looked like, or what their characteristics were. Anyway, the chief had told them to just drive around aimlessly.

Helam adjusted his slightly loose belt and, still in his police uniform, led his men into Peggy's nightclub.

The nightclub didn't completely close until 5 a.m., at which point it was completely quiet.

Without the dancers flirting with customers on stage, and without the leaping sprites by the poles, everything seemed somewhat lifeless. The silence after the excitement made the place even more desolate.

When the door was pushed open with a thud, the sunlight outside blew in with a hot breeze, carrying away the dust that had settled in the air, and the deathly stillness finally dissipated considerably.

A security guard on duty walked over and blocked their way, saying, "You are not welcome here!"

A lowly security guard spoke to the officers, including Hailam, in an arrogant and haughty tone, as if he had become accustomed to placing himself above the city's police.

Hailam looked at him and beckoned to him with her finger. The security guard hesitated for a moment, but still approached Hailam.

"You better not try anything funny..." Before he could finish his sentence, Dandan was kicked hard.

The soul-piercing pain he felt in an instant forced him to squat down, lie down, and clutch his testicles, so agonizing that he couldn't even scream.

It seems that the pain intensifies whenever I open my mouth or make a sound.

"Shit!"

He waved his hand, and the officers behind him quickly closed the gate and began to act according to plan.

The deputy manager was still working, sorting out last night's earnings.

He only sleeps around noon and wakes up for dinner; that's his routine.

Peggy liked the neatly organized files that included reports showing how much money he had made during that period.

In order to secure his job long-term and gain Peggy's appreciation, the assistant manager taught himself some accounting skills.

When the door was pushed open without being knocked, he immediately glared angrily at the person who entered.

Because his skills are self-taught, he needs to be more focused when handling them, otherwise he might make mistakes.

But when he realized that it was police officers who pushed open the door, he was a little confused. "This is not a place for you!"

He said something similar to what the security guard at the door said, and at the same time opened a drawer, inside which was a handgun.

“You’d better get out before I lose my temper,” he said, pausing as he saw the lead officer, the same guy who had said “my friend has a big appetite” a few days ago.

He seemed to realize something, looking at Hailam, "You..."

Helam ignored his warning, and the other officers who accompanied him quickly took their positions in the corner of the house. At the same time, faint gunshots were heard outside, and people screamed and their men opened fire, but these sounds of resistance were quickly silenced.

The deputy manager's body began to tremble. Helam gestured for him to sit back down, while he himself walked to the chair opposite the deputy manager's desk and sat down.

The assistant manager tried his best to control his body, but his lips were still trembling uncontrollably. If he still didn't know what was happening at this point, then he didn't deserve to be the assistant manager of a nightclub.

He has to greet and see off many people, and he is quite capable in terms of interpersonal relationships and thinking.

"You're from the Lance family?" His eyes held incomprehension and pain. "That bastard Hel has sided with you!"

The hurried footsteps outside the door temporarily interrupted the conversation. Two "police officers" with bloodstains on their bodies walked in and said, "It's been taken care of."

Hailam nodded. "Check again, every room, don't miss a single one."

After the two nodded and left, Hailam looked at the deputy manager and smiled. "My friend told you that I have a big appetite, but you don't seem to have taken it to heart."

"Open the safe."

Behind the deputy manager was a large safe, taller than a person, which was usually used to store the nightclub's operating funds.

Although Peggy also has a safe, it mainly contains his personal belongings, which Hisham's men are already dealing with.

If it can't be opened, just move it; getting a truck over isn't difficult.

The deputy manager swallowed hard. "This is the Perez family's wealth," he said, seemingly still wanting to make a move.

Hailam pulled out a pistol and fired a shot into his arm. The sound was very faint; it was a silenced pistol, the small-caliber kind.

At such close range, the size of the bullet caliber does not make a significant difference in the damage caused.

He clutched his arm, his face contorted in pain. He seemed to realize that this group was different from the people they had encountered before. He could only stand up, walk to the safe, and open it.

Looking at the piles of cash and gold bars inside, Hailam whistled, "What are we waiting for?"

The people around him immediately took out the bags they had prepared and began to fill them with these things.

Actually, although it looks like a lot, its overall value is only a few tens of thousands of yuan.

But for the deputy manager, that was all he had.

Once the money was almost all packed, Hailam stood up, walked up to the deputy manager, looked him in the eye, and said, "I didn't like the expression, tone, or attitude you had when you spoke to me that day."

The deputy manager was at a loss for words, so he could only purse his lips, lower his head, and adopt a submissive demeanor.

But the next second, Hailam suddenly pulled out a dagger and stabbed it into the deputy manager's jaw, while simultaneously grabbing his hair and pulling his head back.

With the sound of a sharp blade slicing through a trachea, Hailam released his grip, took two deep breaths, looked at the sticky blood on his palm, and cursed, "Fuck."

"You son of a bitch, your blood is filthy!"

He looked at the deputy manager, who was clutching his neck and slowly collapsing to the ground, his eyes filled with despair, and shook his head.

He took out a handkerchief, wiped the blood off his hands briefly, and then threw the handkerchief at his face.

In the moment when the deputy manager was on the verge of death, he heard Hailam's voice—

"You all better watch out, this place will be our property in the future!"

(End of this chapter)