Shadow Empire

Chapter 1135: Solution, Planning, and Discussion
At this time and in this place, why don't these people care whether these accounts are real or fake after they get them?

This is a very crucial question that some people, such as the vast majority of them, cannot understand.

Even now, they still stare at Hailam and the others with hateful eyes, as if trying to remember their faces.

They were used to this kind of behavior when they were gangsters. A temporary setback won't teach them a lesson. They'll remember those people's faces and then look for opportunities to take revenge.

That's how gangs are; large-scale shootouts are ultimately in the minority. Targeting certain individuals and taking dirty tricks is the more normal practice.

They just didn't know that they had no future.

The few people who probably knew this could be counted on one hand. Fran could no longer maintain his composure; his expression turned pleading and sorrowful, and he even clasped his hands together in front of his chest, "Please..."

Hailam glanced at him and shook his head. "That's why I don't like people who are smarter than me. They make you feel like you're not very smart, even if you thought you were pretty smart just a second ago."

He didn't look at Fran, but instead looked at the people behind him. "Have you finished moving everything?"

The combat captain behind him nodded. "It's all moved."

In fact, not only their personal belongings, but also their personal items were all searched.

The people who boarded the ship were like those low-skilled robbers and thieves in movies, carrying several cloth bags and demanding that everyone put their wallets and valuables into them.

It's fair to say that apart from the ship itself, there's nothing of value left on this ship.

As he spoke, Hailam stood up and looked at Major General Bruni's men. "I'll take care of this. Wait a moment."

Fran stood up abruptly, enduring the excruciating pain that felt like his body was about to split open, and tried his best to make his voice loud enough for Hailam to hear—

"I have several accounts with tens of millions of yuan in them. All I want is my family!"

Hailam's men loudly repeated it in his ear, and Hailam, with a playful expression, said, "First, you're already too late."

"Secondly, we don't need it!"

After saying that, he stopped looking at Fran's despairing face and turned to Major General Bruni's men, "You go back and wait for me for a while..."

The other party nodded. What was about to happen might be a little... cruel, and he wasn't used to such scenes.

"See you later," he said, not caring whether Hailam could hear him or not, and then he left down the rope ladder.

Just as Helam turned around to get to work, Fran, who was in a state of extreme shock, suddenly rushed over and tried to snatch the pistol from his breast holster.

If he can seize the pistol and take Hailam hostage, he and his family will still have a chance to live; otherwise, they are doomed.

He knew very well that these people had no intention of letting them go. The idea that they could survive by handing over their accounts was all a lie!
But he was an old man after all, and he was no longer as agile as he had been in his youth. Before he even touched Hailam, Hailam punched him to the ground.

People elsewhere on the deck looked over, and some, out of anger or hatred, though not standing up, loudly berated Hailam from within the crowd.

Now that they have gotten what they wanted, they should stop humiliating Fran; he's just an old man!

Ok.

Gangsters are people too; they can be old men. It seems the speaker has forgotten how many bad things this old man has done, how many people he has directly or indirectly killed. They have forgotten all of that at this moment, only remembering that he is an old man in need of help.

Hailam completely ignored him. He walked up to Fran, who was lying on the ground, and looked down at him with a cold gaze. Fran only looked at him for a second before looking away.

What kind of eyes are those?
He didn't know how to describe it, but he had a feeling that the moment Hailam looked at him, he felt like a small animal in a slaughterhouse, and that there was no respect for life in the eyes of humans!

He's going to kill him!

Under such intense, almost tangible, killing intent, Fran could only look away. He was, after all, just an ordinary old man.

Hailam lifted his pointed leather shoe and stepped on Fran's hand, grinding it hard. He looked at the more people who were telling him to stop humiliating Fran and the crowd that was starting to stir slightly, and his eyes twitched slightly.

He took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled into the air. "Make your move."

The gunmen on the high ground began firing at the crowd on the deck. The defense official, who had returned to the gunboat, grimaced at the sound of gunfire, but his gaze and attention were quickly drawn to the neatly arranged works of art.

"Damn it, don't you know that sea breezes are corrosive?"

"Quickly, take this painting to my bedroom!"

He frantically ordered his most trusted confidants to handle the wealth for him, while the killings not far away continued.
Who the hell cares about that?
Fran cried out "No" in anguish, but it did nothing to change the outcome. Hailam squinted and opened his arms, as if embracing a moment filled with carnage.

When the last person standing fell, the gunfire stopped. Helam put a cigarette in his mouth, then took out a dagger, grabbed Fran by the hair, and dragged him to the middle of the deck.

The blood was sticky on my feet, and when I stepped on it, I could feel a kind of emptying process. It might only be a very brief moment, like... stepping on a thin layer of poop. It was very brief, but I could definitely feel it.

When you lift it up, you'll feel something; it's not like water, there's almost no stickiness, unlike blood which is sticky and has slight resistance.

"Lance asked me to tell you that if you don't die, the souls of your brothers who died fighting you will never find peace."

"Bob, and the others, will be joining you soon!"

As he spoke, with a cigarette butt dangling from his lips, he bent down and, under the blazing sun, used a dagger to cut open Fran's neck, severing his head before casually tossing it onto the pile of corpses.

After doing all this, he wiped the dagger in his hand on the expensive clothes of the headless corpse, and then put it back into the leather sheath.

He then took a deep breath, turned around and strode back, shouting, "That's a wrap, guys!"

As for whether there are any other people hiding on the ship, the answer is yes. Although it is not a very large cruise ship, it is still a big ship. If someone deliberately hides, they will not be found in a short period of time.

Hailam had no intention of looking for these people, regardless of what they were doing now, whether they were thanking God for letting them escape, or had some other idea.

Because these problems will be completely resolved in the future.

After everyone had retreated back to the gunboat, Rear Admiral Bruni's confidants were all smiles.

He didn't know how the big shots would divide the money, jewelry, and artwork, but he and his men had already received some.

There weren't many items; the painting he collected was probably worth around 100,000 yuan.

The others received some jewelry and gold ornaments, worth at least two or three thousand yuan, or even more.

These are "unexpected gains," and they can get a share of them when they go back.

Although doing dirty work is indeed tiring and risky, the pay is high.

"Is it all over?" he asked.

Someone around Hailam relayed the message to him, and Hailam nodded, "It's all over."

In fact, Hailam speaks very loudly, but because of his hearing loss, he cannot hear the volume of his own voice.

At the same time, because they can't hear themselves, their bodies instinctively think that their voices are too soft, so they always unconsciously raise their voices.

It's like when someone wearing earmuffs talks to others, an observer will notice that the person wearing earmuffs speaks much louder than normal.

The official, who was also from the Ministry of National Defense, said a few words to the people behind him, and then the two main guns on the gunboat began to rotate, aiming at the cruise ship not far away.

At this point, some of the people who had been hiding on the cruise ship had emerged from their hiding places and wanted to know what to do next.

Before they could figure out how to reel in the anchor, the ship suddenly rocked violently, followed by the sound of cannons firing!
The cruise ship, which was not intended for war, soon began to smoke, and huge cracks appeared in its hull, causing it to break apart. In the second round of firing, it was hit and split in two, each section sinking separately.

Standing on the gunboat, Hailam was quite envious of the cannons. He decided that once his ear recovered, he would also fire a few shots.

But not now.

Even from a great distance, he felt discomfort in his ears when the artillery was firing; if it got closer, it would be even more uncomfortable!

But he liked the power; that's what a real man should do.

He glanced at his watch; it was a little past ten.

In three hours, the Perez family became a thing of the past.

Everyone watching this "encirclement and suppression war" fell silent; it was clearly an operation that had caught everyone off guard.

Clark (head of the McCormick family) was sitting with three other family heads, having morning tea.

That's what they say, of course, but in reality, they are paying attention to the fighting and discussions taking place in the old city.

“I think…it will take them a long time.” Clark seemed a little off, as did most of the others, who were listless and unmotivated.

Previously, the federal government had handled cases involving gangs, but most of them took months to years to completely eliminate a gang, referring to the major gangs.

But this time, to everyone's surprise, they completely disregarded federal legal procedures.

"I heard... they plan to get on the train first and buy the tickets later."

"First, take control of all these people; arrest some and kill others."

"Those who are willing to cooperate can stay; those who are not, just kill them. What kind of evidence don't they want?"

"Even without actual evidence, they can collude with these survivors to fabricate some evidence directly."

"That's not a good thing."

The head of another family nodded. "Yes, this is terrible. If they treat us like this in the future, do you think we can fight back?"

“They resorted to violence without any reason, their behavior was more gangster-like than that of gangsters. The only difference between them and us is that they have licenses, while we don’t!”

Everyone was angry and also felt a sense of fear. If law enforcement made this operation to eliminate the Perez family a "routine," it would be a devastating blow to all gangs in the federal government.

The oldest guy here is over eighty years old, but he still refuses to give up the power he holds.

The old man was dressed very well and did not look sleazy. He crossed his legs and seemed to be in good health. "We need to find a way to get this to the media and put pressure on them through the media and public opinion."

"This can only be an exception, not a regular practice."

"In addition, we need to keep an eye on Lance White and the FBI. I can tell that they will be our real enemies in the future!"

The police in the cities where these five families live are not considered adversaries by them at all. In this era of rampant corrupt police, some corrupt police are more like gangsters than they are. Moreover, they collude with each other and are not only not enemies, but may even be friends and brothers.

But the FBI is different. Anyone with eyes can see that this operation is ostensibly led by the FBI, and they are directly under the federal government.

Mayors, governors, and local councils have no authority to interfere with the work and arrangements of FBI field offices. In other words, it is a vertically integrated department, and it is not so easy for them to infiltrate or corrupt it.

In addition, news began to circulate that Director Roland hated gangs and was a major initiator of de-gangsterization, which made all gangs wary of this law enforcement agency that was starting to emerge more frequently.

The youngest patriarch of the five major families is only thirty-two years old this year. He has just taken over from his father. Looking at these uncles and grandfathers, he said softly, "How about we find some gunmen and take care of this Roland?"

The others looked at him with a mixture of scrutiny and mockery. Clark coughed and said, "Have you considered this? Roland is Mr. Potter's subordinate. If we kill Roland, Mr. Potter will think we've disrespected him."

"I can't even imagine what a president who feels humiliated could do!"

The young patriarch immediately retorted, "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Clark paused for a moment, then said, “Next month is the date for the Mafia Council meeting. This time, we’ll hold it in Golden City and talk to Lance White.”

"Him?" The young patriarch was taken aback. "Isn't he just like Roland, a lackey of the federal government?"

"Look at what he's doing now, it's disgusting! I don't even know if he's a gangster or not!"

Clark shook his head. The young man's father had suffered a stroke, which, although he hadn't died, had left him unable to work.

That's not entirely accurate. He was rescued, but he lost some of his abilities, so he directly passed the position to his son, while he remotely controlled the situation from behind the scenes.

A young man who had spent his life eating, drinking and having fun, and was suddenly carried up to a position, was not quite used to the job of a gang leader. He was clearly not very competent.

However, no one said anything; everyone goes through this process.

First, awaken; then anticipate; and finally, become an excellent leader.

The oldest man agreed with Clark's idea, "It's a good idea to talk to Lance face to face; he may not be on the side of the federal government."

“Senator Cleveland is a Socialist, Mr. Porter is a Liberal, and there is a direct conflict of interest between them.”

“If Mr. Porter wins, the seats in Parliament will be rearranged. I’ve heard that the Labour Party has also won two seats, which means that the entire power structure of Parliament will be disrupted and started all over again.”

“The Liberal Party members have long disliked the Socialists, but since the Socialists have always been the majority party in Parliament, they have been suppressed and can only keep their opinions to themselves.”

"Soon the Liberal Party's voice in Congress will become louder, and those who don't get along with Senator Cleveland will definitely challenge him."

“Lance is on Senator Cleveland’s side, so it’s impossible for him to be in cahoots with Mr. Porter and the FBI.”

Didn't your father tell you these things?

The young man... well, he's not really young. In the Federation, someone in their thirties is considered middle-aged, but he looks very young, both physically and mentally, so he's still a young man.

He shook his head somewhat awkwardly, "He has difficulty speaking now."

Thinking of his father, who was bedridden and could barely move, he could only sigh. He was missing too many crucial things. He would have to go back and ask that old man for details and make him tell him everything that needed to be told.

He didn't even know which senator his family had a good relationship with, which was terrible!
A person who had been silent until now suddenly spoke up, "I wonder how Fran is doing."

"I heard he ran away."

"He runs very fast, but I don't know if he can escape."

"Who knows?"

Their conversation quickly shifted from heavy and serious topics to lighter ones, such as whether developing in Slade was a good option.

If possible, they might try to send someone over to establish a foothold before any problems arise.

If the situation in the country deteriorates to the point of no return, they can quickly relocate and preserve their strength.

A live "police catch thief" show attracted the attention of not only gangsters but also the federal government.

(End of this chapter)