Shadow Empire

Chapter 1112 Strategic Weapons and Warehouses
Recalling what happened during that time was definitely not an easy task for young Potter, and the key point is that he simply couldn't remember!

"I...I don't know!" He clutched his head and closed his eyes tightly, seemingly trying hard to recall what had happened last night.

After a long while, he still shook his head, having come up empty-handed. "I don't know."

"I don't remember. I think I had a dream in which I tore something apart like a wild beast. I can't remember anything else."

Porter's father glanced at him, then looked at the people around him, "Are any of his friends being watched?"

His assistant nodded. "The arrangements have been made."

As a member of a top political family, he couldn't possibly be unaware that Porter Jr.'s friends were highly suspicious, but keeping them around would be pointless.

If it was indeed done by one of them, then that person, or even several of them, must have been prepared to fight back.

Interrogation is highly unlikely to uncover anything, and the most important thing to do right now is to cover up this scandal rather than allow it to attract more public attention.

So he sent away all of Porter Jr.'s unreliable cronies and had them watched over, recording who they met, what they said, and their whereabouts after they left.

Only after confirming their innocence will he lower his guard against them.

Now, the people keeping watch have a new job: "They need to keep an eye out and see if they have any knives or daggers on them. If they do, bring those things back."

As for how to get those things from them, his assistant had plenty of ways, or rather, the people behind him who did the dirty work had plenty of ways.

The inability to find the murder weapon is always a problem, and could even be a big one. He glanced at Little Potter again, pointed at him, and his eyes held a rare hint of ferocity.

"You are not allowed to go anywhere until your grandfather is elected."

Little Potter knew he had gotten himself into big trouble, so he didn't dare to do anything reckless and could only nod in agreement.

The scene was quickly cleaned up. They also hired professionals to clean up the scene. It took three or four hours for Porter's father to erase everything related to the murder.

He stood in the courtyard and sighed heavily. After looking around, he lit a cigarette. "Is there anything else we haven't noticed?"

His assistant shook his head. "I've already dealt with everything I can think of. I can't guarantee that I haven't missed anything, but even if I have, it won't be of any use."

This assistant used to be a criminal investigator in the police department, and even served as the chief investigator, having handled many criminal cases.

Later, due to some personal matters—after all, police officers are human too, and they also have human anger and desires—he eventually left the police force and joined the Potter family, becoming one of their employees.

Based on his professional experience and skills, he believed he had handled the matter very cleanly.

Over the years, the Potter family has relied on him to handle many incidents, and so far there have been no mishaps, which is why young Potter's father trusts him.

Everything seemed perfect, which relieved Potter's father. "Let's go."

The group got into the car, and the convoy slowly drove away from the villa, as if they had never been there.

They didn't know that all of this had been filmed.

But these things won't be released yet. It's like a truth; if it's just a truth, it won't have a big impact on people.

But if someone lies about this truth, then the shock will be enormous.

After returning home, Potter's father contacted Mr. Potter and recounted what had happened at the villa.

"I think I should let you know about this. I've already taken care of things on my end, but whether or not to do it this way is up to you."

Porter Jr.'s father was also called Porter Jr. until his son was born.

Even Mr. Potter himself was once "Little Potter," but that was just a title, a label centered on his surname, and it didn't really mean anything.

Mr. Porter listened quietly as his son told him what had happened, and then he felt a headache coming on. “We’ve reached a critical point. The results will be out next week. If what he did is exposed now, it will definitely have a huge impact on the voting results.”

The family factor holds a very special place in the federal social environment. If you can't even manage your own family well, people won't believe you can manage thousands of families, or families that have nothing to do with you.

And if something were to happen to Porter Jr. at this time, people would quickly focus on him. Mr. Porter knew very well that the more this was the case, the more extreme the tactics of the media, public opinion, and his opponents would become.

They would put little Porter under the spotlight and observe him with a microscope.

Even an ordinary person has many problems, let alone someone like Porter who was born into a privileged family. Soon, his small problems will be magnified and eventually become evidence pointing to Mr. Porter's lax management of his household, resulting in a huge negative evaluation of him.

So after thinking for a moment, he and his son had the same idea: "Let's put this matter aside for now, keep an eye on his friends, and you handle the victim's side."

"It's almost August, and the election results will be out in a little over three months. We'll deal with this after I'm sworn in as president."

"If it was just an accident, and the young man got carried away and made a mistake that many people would make, then we should try to make up for their losses and then teach that bastard a lesson."

“He should take responsibility as a member of the Potter family and stop living like those good-for-nothings, not knowing why he lives each day.”

"But if it's not an accident, you have to be prepared that we might lose him."

Potter's father didn't show any emotional reaction when he heard this. Although he only had one son, he also had a daughter, a nephew, and brothers and sisters.

He wasn't Mr. Potter's only son, so losing a third-generation heir wouldn't have much of an impact on the family as a whole. Besides, he could easily have another one, or even several more.

As long as they don't lose their power, status, or wealth, having one or two children is irrelevant to these kinds of people.

“Should we put him in the electric chair?” he asked.

Mr. Potter said "no" several times. "How could you think that?"

“We are his elders after all. He won’t die, but he will go to jail for twenty or thirty years. I don’t know. It depends on how the judge decides. And I said ‘it’s possible.’”

"Things may not turn out that badly."

"Contact me immediately if you have any further information. Also, keep an eye on your son and don't let him cause me any more trouble, understand?"

Potter's father nodded. "I understand."

After hanging up the phone, he sat there smoking for a while, then took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, unbuttoned his collar, took a whip from the drawer, and walked toward the room where Little Potter was being held in solitary confinement.

Mr. Potter's election is the most important thing right now. At such a crucial moment, this bastard has caused such a big problem. He may appear calm on the surface, but his anger is erupting like a volcano!
On the other side, Lance carefully placed a sharp, one-piece dagger in a glass box, which was then suspended by two very thin ropes and sealed to ensure that the grease on its surface would not oxidize rapidly over time.

Besides these items, there were also photos from the room at the time, photos of the deceased, and a photo of little Potter holding a weapon, his eyes red, riding on the girl.

Although he may not have made all the cuts, photos cannot be faked.

At the federal level, there are three important criteria for filing a criminal case, the first of which is a corpse.

If there is a body, the police and prosecutors will begin the procedures to open a case and investigate. If there is no body, it is a missing persons case. Behind the two to three hundred thousand missing persons cases in the federal government each year are often some chilling speculations. However, because there is no body, coupled with the "spirit of freedom" that federal society has always advocated, many people believe that their children are still alive, but have gone to pursue their own spirit of freedom.

In fact, during this period, many literary and film works in the Federation expressed such ideas. In these literary works, young people who resisted rigidity, conservatism, and feudalism became idols for their peers in society.

In many cities, especially in economically developed areas where arts and culture are popular, underground "exchange meetings" have begun to emerge.

Young people here share their grievances about the world and society, and some small groups have even formed.

They are not a gang, but a group of young people with a free spirit and rebellious mentality who resist the mainstream and society.

Their existence seems to solve some social problems from another angle. At least the parents of those who have lost their children can comfort themselves. They can tell themselves that their children are not dead, but have just left their embrace to embrace a new life.

But if there is a body, then it's definitely not a case of running away from home, but a murder.

The second element is motivation.

In the federal justice system, motive is a very important element; if a person has no reason to kill another person, the case will generally not stand.

For example, the deaths of a certain tycoon and several beggars were once linked. Some people claimed that they had seen the tycoon in contact with these beggars, and later the beggars were found dead in the suburbs, shot in the back.

The wealthy man hired a very good lawyer, who simply asked a few questions and brought the case to a standstill.

He asked the jury and the judge, what reason would a wealthy man with social standing, influence, fame, and a history of philanthropy have to kill a group of beggars?
What reason did he have to do that?

Sometimes a person kills another person for money, because of a conflict, or because of feelings; there must always be a motive.

However, a kind-hearted wealthy man had no reason to kill a group of beggars. The judge and jury found the lawyer's arguments valid, and the wealthy man was ultimately not held responsible.

As for whether he did it, some people may have their own opinions, but the law does not support them.

The third element is the murder weapon.

In court, the most crucial information is what the suspect did to kill the victim and what they used.

Although it is not as important as the first two elements, the presence of a murder weapon with the suspect's fingerprints on it can undoubtedly be a crucial, even decisive, piece of evidence.

The one-piece dagger in Lance's hand has the girl's blood and Little Potter's fingerprints on it, which can be completely extracted with current technology.

Now that we have a body, a motive will soon emerge. Coupled with the murder weapon, given Senator Cleveland's capabilities, they can certainly ensure the impartiality of the judiciary, if not affect its fairness.

As long as the judicial process doesn't interfere, then Porter Jr. will definitely be locked up, and at that point, Mr. Porter will be in a very passive position.

These things are not very difficult to do, but we will have to wait a little longer.

Even though Senator Cleveland didn't tell Lance, Lance knew that they had to wait until the list of Liberal Party nominees came out and Mr. Porter became the Liberal Party's presidential nominee.

Once the election process begins, political propaganda, political investment and speculation start, and the entire federal political arena revolves around these presidential candidates, like three high-speed cars without brakes, only able to move forward and unable to stop.

These cars haven't started yet, so they can stop if there's a problem, and there are plans to replace parts, but that's not what Senator Cleveland wants.

Only when the car can no longer stop will these problems surface, and only then will they do everything in their power to suppress the matter.

Otherwise, not only will important parts of the car malfunction, but worse, it could lead to a fatal accident!
The car will be destroyed, and the people sitting in it will be destroyed too!

For the safety of the vehicle and the passengers, they will work together to keep this matter under control!

The fact that they suppressed this matter, allowing their vehicle to continue speeding along the election route, means that when this case is exposed, it will cause an even bigger reaction!
Everyone sitting in this car will be subjected to condemnation and interrogation from the lower rungs of society because they are all insiders who not only failed to solve the case but also helped the president cover it up.

This would be a powerful "bomb," and if used properly, even if Mr. Potter really became "President Potter," he could easily overturn it.

It is a strategic weapon.

Now, the switch to this strategic weapon is in the hands of Lance and Senator Cleveland.

Meanwhile, in a completely abandoned factory in the old city's old town, several bodyguards dressed in dark clothes, almost blending into their surroundings, stood in a messy corner of the factory, watching the roads leading to it.

The old city was very large, and if it weren't for geographical factors and the relocation of industries, its development would have been even better than it is now.

Of course, things are fine now too, actually.

As people have higher and higher requirements for the environment, some heavily polluting industrial and chemical plants have long been moved out of the old city, leaving behind many such factory sites.

The value and cost of continuing to use these sites have exceeded the price of the land itself, so basically no one is willing to take over these old sites.

Especially for factories with a history of serious pollution, who knows if they will unearth buried pollution sources when they demolish these factories and re-excavate the foundations? That would only make things more complicated and cost more money.

So no one accepted them, and these places were gradually abandoned, with no one coming or going.

This is one of the Perez family's warehouses.

The warehouse was built in such a remote location mainly because there was a small factory underneath it where they extracted substances from the maple grass to produce their most important product.

The cultivation, transportation, sale, and use of maple iris are strictly regulated. According to federal law, such large-scale cultivation, transportation, and extraction are not permitted.

So it's not surprising that this is an illegal business, and that they would find a reliable, safe, and secluded place for him.

Several security guards carrying rifles returned to the duty room from outside. The supervisor in the duty room immediately frowned. "There are still twenty minutes before the shift change. You should be standing outside, not sitting here!"

He tapped the table, clearly dissatisfied. The recent war between the Perez and Lance families had made everyone tense. The families had demanded that they strictly strengthen security and patrols to ensure that this place would not be discovered or damaged by the Lance family.

Perhaps they've been living a comfortable life for too long. A while ago, they were able to keep up with coming home on time every day, but these past few days they've been finding it hard to take it anymore.

The temperature is too high, and with the sun shining, it's really hard to bear.

The security guards were shirking responsibility, saying there were still many guards on duty outside, and that the absence of a few of them wouldn't cause any problems.

These people are from the Perez family's main branch, but they don't even qualify as a branch. However, they hold a unique position among the lower-level gang members.

It's like in a large company where, when a junior employee and the CEO are related, it's difficult for the boss to truly treat everyone equally.

After a few reprimands proved ineffective, the supervisor stopped saying anything further.

Just as they said, there are many people outside, so many eyes watching, nothing unexpected will happen.

The warehouse and factory were very well hidden. Even the security guards only knew that there was a warehouse there, but they didn't know that there was a factory underneath it.

As darkness fell and the daytime heat gradually subsided, the security guards, who had just returned from their shift change, sat together, beginning to look forward to their evening meal…

(End of this chapter)