Shadow Empire

Chapter 1106 Strange Tales and Unease at the Motel

At the Intercontinental Highway Bureau, the operator looked at the ringing phone in front of him and answered it somewhat impatiently.

Intercontinental highways are very long and have many branches, so the area they govern may seem small on a map.

But in reality, within this small area, in addition to the main roads, there are many branch roads, managing roads of all sizes that may have a total length of thousands of kilometers, as well as some remote and inconvenient places.

It's not just frontline highway police who feel annoyed by emergency calls. On one hand, they may have to spend the whole day on the road, and on the other hand, most cases on intercontinental highways are homicides, which are very dangerous.

This has led to a general dislike of emergency calls.

"This is Highway 22 Division. How can I help you?" Although the operator didn't like the call, she still tried her best to complete her work.

"Uh... I'm the owner of the Big Hot Dog Motel. Do you know the Big Hot Dog Motel?"

When the operator heard about this motel, their specialty immediately came to mind: a giant hot dog with an even bigger, thicker, and longer sausage, plus extra toppings and a giant hot dog bun. They were quite famous in the area.

Even in surrounding cities, some people come specifically to buy hot dogs, drawn by their reputation.

"Yes, I know, your hot dogs are delicious!"

Upon discovering that the operator was one of his customers, the boss's mood softened considerably. "Thank you for your support," he said.

"So... you're in trouble now?" the operator asked.

The shop owner hesitated, unsure how to answer. The operator patiently asked, "Was someone robbed at your place?"

"Or did you find a corpse inside when you took possession of the house today?"

"Whatever happened on your end, if you need our help, it would be best if you could tell me what happened so I can arrange for officers to come and assist you."

Perhaps it was because the operator's tone was very gentle, or perhaps for some other reason, but the boss asked, "I heard before that we've been checking vehicles from other areas?"

The operator was momentarily confused, "Why are you checking vehicles from out of town?"

But soon her gaze fell on a work notebook next to the phone. As if she had thought of something, she opened a page that she had written in the last few days and found the relevant content.

"I mean... yes, we're looking for vehicles from out of town. Have you found anything?"

The motel owner stood by the window, looking at the cars parked in the parking lot below. "A group of people came in just now, from out of town. They were driving cars with license plates from Jinzhou, and they seemed very panicked."

"They're still in my hotel, and it seems they've booked a room, but I'm not entirely sure."

The operator immediately pressed a button and picked up a pen to record this important information: "How many of them are there?"

"I'm not sure, maybe thirty or so?"

"I didn't count carefully, but it should be this many."

"I heard... there's a reward for reporting them. Can I ask how much the reward is?"

That was his real reason for reporting it. He had overheard a patrolling police officer mention that there was a large reward for catching a wanted criminal.

Normally, only bounty hunters can earn these kinds of rewards. They would go to the wanted posters at the branch office to look for various statistics and try to monetize them.

He didn't take it to heart until he saw these outsiders appearing in his hotel in a panic. He then realized that he might have a chance to get the bounty.

The operator glanced at the contents of the notebook and said softly, "Five thousand yuan."

"A generous gift... You'd better come quickly. Should I prepare something?"

"No, no need, someone will contact you soon..."

In the evening, after enjoying the local specialties, the group returned to their rooms and lay down.

Everything that happened today left them physically and mentally exhausted, frightened, and terrified. They didn't even have the thought of resting a little later, and after filling their stomachs, they went to sleep early.

Around 10 p.m., more than a dozen vehicles drove into the area, along with several police cars and some pickup trucks.

After they parked quietly, everyone got out of the car without making a sound.

The leader and a police officer went to the boss's office, which had a bedroom where he usually slept.

When the knocking sounded, the boss instinctively reached for the pistol under his pillow.

The guys who run hotels and restaurants on intercontinental highways aren't exactly innocent people.

"Who is it?" He got up and walked to the door, but did not open it.

"it's me."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, the shop owner breathed a sigh of relief. He opened the door a crack, and the man outside stood under the doorway lamp. He could make out his appearance; he was a police officer who frequently came here.

"I thought you weren't coming."

There were two other people with the officer. He smiled and said, "This bounty isn't handled by us, it's by these two men beside me. If you want to get the reward, you'll have to cooperate."

The boss peeked through the crack in the door at the two people beside him, stared for a while, and then said, "I don't know you."

The officer proactively explained, "These two people from the Lance family, who are staying at your hotel, are enemies of the Lance family. Do I need to make myself clearer?"

The hotel itself also had a small bar, which everyone at the precinct knew, but this had nothing to do with them.

Although the police have the power to investigate smuggling and selling of alcohol, this is not their main job, and they generally won't bother the bars here unless someone reports them.

They don't get a bonus for shutting down pubs and such; it's just considered ordinary work and a contribution. Plus, it offends the locals, so it's actually not worth it.

Besides, sometimes after work they would change into casual clothes and come over for a drink or two.

Who can resist having a couple of sips when they're tired from work?

Where do motels get their alcohol from?
Of course, he bought it. It's not far from Lawrence Farm, so it's convenient to buy drinks here, and the prices aren't high. That's why he's very familiar with the Lance family and Lawrence Farm.

Upon hearing that the other party was from the Lance family, the boss immediately closed the door, then canceled the safety lock and opened it completely.

He knew very well that if the other party was indeed a member of the Lance family, then there was no difference between locking the door and leaving it open if they intended to do something bad.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" He became much more tactful, the officer's smile carrying a hint of mockery, but he didn't care.

One of them said, "I need the room numbers of these people, and the spare keys."

The hotel owner did not resist at all. You should know that at this time, many hotels claimed that they did not have spare room keys, the social stability was very poor, and theft cases were frequent.

To project a safer and more reliable image to their hotels, they claim that each room has only one key, which is given to the guest once the room is rented out.

But in reality, they couldn't possibly have only one key.

A few minutes later, when a door that should have been closed was slowly pushed open, the dim light from the doorway lamp could not shine into the room, and the whole room was dimly shrouded.

The group tiptoed into the room. Perhaps it was the slight change in light and darkness caused by their movement that made the light and darkness change. One of the men lying on the outer bed suddenly opened his eyes in a daze.

He stared wide-eyed at the two people standing at the head of the bed, but his mind seemed not to have woken up from its slumber; only his body was awake.

The next second, his expression suddenly turned alert. Just as he was about to shout, the guy standing at the head of the bed pressed his hand over his mouth and slammed his entire weight onto his head. Then he felt something pierce his chest, and the strength that had just risen within him was slowly drained away with each stab.

Before he died, he struggled to turn his head to look at the bed next to his, where his companion had also had his throat slit in his sleep.

In an inconspicuous little black hole in the corner of the room, a mouse witnessed everything that happened. When someone's gaze turned to it, the timid mouse instantly disappeared behind the hole.

"What's wrong?" someone asked.

The guy looking at the corner shook his head. "It's nothing, probably just a rat."

After a brief conversation, they began to wrap the corpses in sheets, rolling them into a shape like rice dumplings, and then wrapped them in a waterproof cloth to prevent blood from flowing everywhere.

During this period, the hotel did make some loud noises, but there were also some unexpected and anticipated noises.

For example, the sound of leather shoes stepping on the floor.

There will always be some people who are sensitive to such sounds, waking them from their sleep.

They stood behind the curtains watching as these people, whom they didn't know, tossed things that looked like rolled-up carpets onto pickup trucks, which then drove off one truckload after another.

No one screamed or yelled during the process, and there was no sound of fighting. Although many passengers found it strange, they did not take any more extreme actions.

They also saw some police officers standing under the streetlights, which may be why they chose to remain silent.

But after this incident, the Big Hot Dog Motel developed some "ghost stories." These stories were heard, embellished, and spread by passing travelers, gradually becoming a unique local culture that attracted curious adventurers from the Federation.

In the future, motel owners may even arrange for some employees to regularly impersonate these people to increase the fun of the motel.

But at that moment, the motel owner was unaware of this; he was busy counting his money.

The Lance family gave him ten thousand dollars directly. This amount of money was a lot, but not too much. For the motel owner, it was definitely a large sum of money.

He reluctantly counted out five hundred dollars and handed it to the police officer who was about to leave.

The police officer looked at the roll of banknotes in his hand, and a smile gradually appeared on his face. He patted the shopkeeper on the shoulder without saying a word.

But both of them knew that their relationship had deepened.

Looking at the highway where those people were no longer in sight, and then back at the hotel that had returned to tranquility, the owner was excited and his heart was pounding. With such a large sum of money, this might be an opportunity to change his life!
Not only because of money, he also maintained a better relationship with the police officer and got involved with the Lance family and Lawrence Farm.

If we can seize this opportunity, perhaps...

In an old city thousands of kilometers away, Bob lay in bed unable to sleep, the positive effects of his decisions from a few days earlier steadily fading.

A few days ago, because he was the first to suggest consolidating manpower and strengthening defenses, the Lance family's attack was much less effective. People felt that his decision was effective, and many people's feelings towards him improved.

However, his counterattack plan has not been effective in the past two days. Although he did manage to reclaim some small businesses, those were businesses that the Lance family never intended to keep.

Large nightclubs like these are still in the hands of the Lance family. Their defenses are also very strong, and most importantly, the police are on their side.

Now that the plan to launch a surprise attack on Lance's headquarters in Likale State, forcing them to divert their attention, had failed, Bob had a hard-to-describe feeling.

He wasn't as smart as he thought, or rather, he wasn't as capable as he thought!
He sat up, a movement that startled his wife who was lying on the bed.

His wife was seven or eight years younger than him, but she was his first wife. He turned on the bedside lamp, took a cigarette from the bedside table, lit it, and started smoking.

His wife then turned on her bedside lamp and sat up, looking at Bob. "What's wrong?"

"Something's bothering you?"

Bob smoked a cigarette, gazing at the wall directly opposite him, covered in beautiful, intricately patterned wallpaper.

He didn't answer the question, but after about ten seconds he said, "Taking the two youngest children on a trip for a while."

His wife was still young and at an age where she liked to have fun. She was initially very happy, but then her expression changed from a smile to tension.

She clung to Bob's arm. "Is this a serious problem?"

She had never encountered anything like this since she married into the Perez family. The Perez family had never been so severely provoked and attacked!

The situation was so dire that she actually decided to take her child on a trip to avoid potential dangers!

Bob didn't explain, he just glanced at her, put his arm around her shoulder, and stroked her collarbone, "Just to put my mind at ease."

“We are the Perez family. Over the years, we have had many challengers, but in the end, it is never us who disappear.”

He patted his wife on the shoulder, "I just don't want you to feel bad about family matters, and with so many people coming and going in the family, all carrying weapons, it has a big impact on the children."

He explained a lot, but he couldn't make his wife's worried face disappear. Fortunately, his wife wasn't a completely clueless pretty face, and she agreed.

She put her arm around Bob's waist and whispered, "Whenever you make a decision, please remember that you have your family, and I."

Silent all night.

Bob arrived at the office early the next morning, rubbing his temples, his head throbbing.

Family members gradually arrived, and the setbacks they had suffered in the past few days had made them feel noticeably impatient and discouraged. No one spoke, and the atmosphere in the room was exceptionally oppressive.

After a long while, someone said, "Actually, we are much stronger than the Lance family, but the problem now is that the police are on the Lance family's side for some reason."

“Once our people are arrested, they will be detained for a long time, but people from the Lance family will be released quickly.”

“The police respond very quickly now. As soon as the gunshots are fired, the police arrive. We don’t even have time to take back those properties.”

The speaker stepped out from the crowd, drawing most people's attention. He walked to the desk, rested one hand on the edge, and tapped the surface with the other. "What we need to do now is deal with the police first."

Bob nodded. "Of course I know I need to handle the police, but that old dog Hull is completely disobedient right now, and the mayor isn't willing to communicate with me much either."

“We need a more advanced power now…” He paused for a moment, “Don’t do anything for the next few days. I’m going to visit Fran and ask him what to do.”

Over the years, Bob has gotten to know many high-society people through Fran, but he doesn't have their contact information. Of course, most importantly, he hasn't established any real friendships with these people, nor does he have any favors from them.

This is also the biggest hurdle for him in his desire to succeed Fran.

If Fran doesn't hand over these relationships to him, even if he does become the head of the family, it will be difficult to maintain the current scale.

The social network in the Federation is far more complex than people imagine. Without these relationships and connections, the Perez family would quickly be relegated to ordinary, or even insignificant, status.

The fact that the police station was siding with the Lance family and targeting them made him realize this.

When the police were on their side, they could do whatever they wanted without restraint. But now that they were on the opposite side, he realized how awful it was to feel stifled and restricted.

After giving a few simple instructions, he immediately took a car to the hospital to see Fran.

Fran remained lying in bed, his mouth slightly open with each breath, as if he were exerting great effort.

He was watching TV, which was reporting on the recent unrest in the old city. The city hall spokesperson said they would do everything possible to protect the city and the lives and property of its people, and to combat crime...

(End of this chapter)