Shadow Empire

Chapter 1141 A Race on the Time Track
From holding on to finally compromising, everyone goes through a process, and this process is not long.

The moment the thought of giving up arises in their minds, even if it's just a fleeting thought, the ending of the story is already set.

The guard was very familiar with the FBI's procedures and understood that it was a privileged agency.

It's not quite the same as law enforcement agencies like the police department, the hazardous materials administration, and the inspection office.

These agencies also adhere to the most basic constitutional requirements of the federal government; they are only one part of the overall law enforcement system. Even the Hazardous Materials Administration has great power, but its coverage is very limited.

Like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it has more discretionary law enforcement powers and is also connected to the Presidential Office and Congress.

What do these two departments do?

Any issue that may not conform to procedures or federal regulations in a legal or other way can be resolved through a "presidential order".

If a presidential order cannot resolve the issue, Congress may enact specific legislation for them.

It's pointless to try and fight against a violent department that's a product of authoritarianism.

The guard also participated in the trial of some cases, none of which were major; they were given to him for practice after the FBI began its formal operations.

So far, he has not found anyone who has been able to hold on until the end after Roland made his decision. Everyone is like that; they can't hold on for long, only to give up halfway through.

Actually... sometimes he would wonder if Ruyi and the others could hold on a little longer, and if they would give up on interrogating them...

However, he later realized that even if he persisted, there might not be any good results.

Because those responsible for torture are inhuman.

In other words, no human being with any sense of humanity could do this job. Making a living by insanely torturing and harming one's fellow human beings is something a normal person cannot endure.

Watching your fellow human beings scream in agony before you, completely abandoning their dignity and personality, might feel exhilarating to a few.

But in reality, after the pleasure is over, something new will emerge: fear.

Those who manage to endure it are often mentally disturbed.

It's probably a huge joke to discuss with a psychopath whether you can survive his torture.

The guard didn't know if Director Roland was a pervert, but he knew that a normal person wouldn't lock themselves in here and force themselves to say something that interested them in this way.

In other words, Director Roland at this point had actually become a pervert, perhaps only he himself was unaware of it.

The guard didn't know why he was able to think of so many things in such a short time. He felt the pain in his body, and his expression twisted just as perfectly as the torment he was suffering.

But at this moment, his mind was calm, perhaps because he already knew the ending?

"What do you want me to say?!" he asked in a slightly hoarse voice as he looked at Director Roland, who was lighting his cigarette, during a break after a beating.

Director Roland simply looked at him, his expression somewhat grim, yet strangely indescribable, as if mixed with a hint of apology and hatred. He shook his head. "I know you haven't reached your limit yet."

These words startled the guard, who then erupted in the first outburst of anger since he had been imprisoned there!
"You fucking bastard, you son of a bitch! We all know I'm innocent, yet you're here saying I haven't reached my limit yet?"

Director Roland placed his cigarette, which he had only taken two puffs of, on the edge of the table. He licked his lips. "Look, you still have the courage and energy to curse me, which means you're still resisting. You need to understand, this is the FBI. There's nothing we can't investigate!"

He raised his fist again, and the other agents at the door sighed and silently looked away.

When Director Roland returned to the table, the cigarette that had been sitting on the edge of the table had burned out.

Only a clump of ash remained.

He lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, looked at the pitiful-looking guard, and slowly exhaled, "We still have plenty of time."

Just as Director Roland had arranged for someone to keep an eye on Lance, Lance also arranged for someone to keep an eye on Director Roland. When Lance heard that Director Roland had left the old city with his men, he immediately called the senior detective supervisor who had already defected to him.

"Roland left today with a few men. Do you know where he went?"

Lance's questions on the phone were very direct, which caught the senior detective supervisor off guard for a moment. But after a while, he seemed to remember something. "Roland is in the Bureau of Investigation right now. I heard he's interrogating an important person."

This news intrigued Lance. "Who was he interrogating?"

Now that the senior detective supervisor has already come to his side and exchanged information a few times, he won't hide anything. For him now, it's obviously more meaningful to have Lance bring down Roland.

"It seems to be the guard on duty, the one who let the person in."

The entire plan was orchestrated by Lance, and he certainly knew that this person was innocent. He recalled what Luo Lai had told him a couple of days ago, and he seemed to have roughly guessed the truth of some things.

What reason did he give?

The senior detective supervisor had no idea about this reason; he hadn't inquired about it. He turned around, and although he was alone in his office, he still looked somewhat guilty.

"I don't know, but I can try to find out."

Lance considered it for a moment and gave him an affirmative answer, "Okay, but be careful."

"Another thing I'm considering is whether we need to recruit more people within the FBI, whether it's for your safety or because you need help."

This was a very polite and unskilled way of speaking. It calmed him down and then revealed my purpose – a very ordinary communication method.

The senior detective was inexplicably moved. Without much thought, he said, "You decide what to do."

He paused for a moment, then added, "I will be careful."

After hanging up the phone, he left his office with his coffee cup. He could have asked his assistant to get him a new cup, but he went himself because he needed to find out some information.

The break room is clearly the FBI's most popular "intelligence exchange location" right now, bar none.

Almost every agent who manages to steal a moment from their busy schedule will take the opportunity here to pour themselves a cup of coffee, relax, have a smoke, and exchange intelligence.

So this place became strangely popular, and when the senior detective supervisor arrived, the tea room, which was originally quite crowded, immediately became quiet.

The senior detective supervisor smiled and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Am I not allowed to be tired for a moment?"

The Federalist liked humor and self-deprecation, and his words immediately lifted everyone's spirits. People laughed and expressed their agreement. Who the hell can work all the time without getting tired?
Those are cows, those are horses!
With the arrival of a senior detective supervisor, the conversations started to get interesting, more like... showing off to the supervisor, and they talked about things that the senior detective supervisor wouldn't know in his office.

For example, who in the Bureau of Investigation is dating whom? There are female agents here too. After all, women's delicate emotions allow them to handle many things that men cannot handle with patience.

So it's quite interesting that someone is in a relationship.

Some people also talked about issues related to the cases, and some strange things found in the cases. For example, one detective said that there was a psychopath in the case he was investigating.

He called himself "the greatest chef in the Federation," and his ingredients, naturally, were those of his own kind that were different from the rest.

They originally couldn't catch the cook, but perhaps feeling there was no challenge left, he started to provoke the police and the FBI, playing a guessing game with them.

Now, they've caught the "cook" red-handed and will soon be able to pull him out of the crowd.

This topic resonates strongly within the FBI because they are now dealing with cases that local police departments are unwilling to take on or cannot solve.

Local governments and police departments certainly don't like the FBI's behavior of stealing cases. Since you want criminal cases so badly, great! There are a bunch of unsolved cases in the archives, go ahead and work on them!

Chief Roland accepted all these cases without expecting them to be solved. His main goal was to provide everyone with some insights into criminal investigation. Many of these case files involved investigations conducted by outstanding detectives and investigators of the time, and one could learn a great deal from these records.

People chatted amongst themselves, and soon the detective supervisor's conversation turned to the guard. He said with a hint of regret, "I really don't know what temptation he was given to betray us!"

As a newly established, promising law enforcement agency, these agents had a strong sense of honor, and they immediately began to condemn the guard. At this moment, someone who knew the inside story stepped forward and offered an explanation, which was more like a boast: "I heard that a sum of money was deposited into his account, and he couldn't explain its origin, so it was confiscated."

"I really don't know how much money it would take for him to sell his job, and us, and his dreams and glory!"

The atmosphere was somewhat silent at this moment, because the content of the matter clearly conflicted with their enthusiasm.

Everyone knows that their ideals should be priceless, but someone started a bad trend at this time, selling his dream for a sum of money.

The senior detective supervisor sighed, "Alright, I should go back now. If I don't, they'll send a team to rescue me."

This was obviously a little joke, and everyone took the initiative to say goodbye to him.

He took his coffee back to his office, locked the door, and dialed the number Lance had given him.

“I made some inquiries, and Roland said that the guard received a sum of money in bribes. That’s the evidence.”

Lance wasn't surprised after hearing this; this method of framing someone was the cheapest, quickest, and most difficult to explain.

You say this money has nothing to do with you, then who the hell would transfer such a large sum of money to you?

If someone made a mistake, wouldn't they know to try and get the money back?

So this money must be related to you.

As long as there is a reason, an excuse to take action, or a fabricated charge.

Then the rest will be much easier.

It's not just dogs that bite; people can bite too.

Do you have this guard's personal information and account details?

The senior detective supervisor quickly went to the archives department, checked the guard detective's personal information, and then gave it to Lance.

On the other end of the phone, Lance, who had obtained some key information, wore a playful smile.

If he could prove that the money didn't actually come from him, but from Director Roland or someone connected to him, wouldn't the plot be more interesting?

He immediately dialed his friend's number at the bank, appearing much more casual than Director Roland's cautious approach.

"Help me check an account and see which accounts this account has been in contact with, and whether there have been any large amounts of cash deposited into these accounts in the past few days."

As a VIP at the bank, Lance's requests were practically divine, given the large sums of money laundered and deposited into the bank every year.

Don't think that small banks are afraid of bank runs; big banks are afraid of bank runs too. Every bank run results in a huge loss. If Lance gets upset and transfers his money away, the bank may have to terminate multiple projects at the same time.

So they quickly investigated and found out which accounts were associated with the guards, as well as the recent situation of these accounts.

"Could you trace this...50,000 yuan to which account it came from?"

Because it's an out-of-state transfer, it will take some time to investigate. Of course, that doesn't mean they can't investigate. Lance called the head office, and they can definitely handle it.

The manager he spoke to emphasized, "It's 49,800 yuan, plus a 200 yuan transfer, totaling 50,000 yuan. These are two separate transactions."

Lance gave a strange look when he heard this. "I was planning to transfer 50,000, but I found that there was no money in my account?"

The bank manager chuckled twice. "That's possible. So, are you still going to investigate these two accounts?"

Lance considered for a moment, "I need to know who owns the two accounts, their transactions, and the details of the accounts involved in those transactions."

After a brief silence, the bank manager said, "We generally do not disclose depositors' information."

“However, Mr. White, you are one of our bank’s most distinguished guests, so I will make an exception and help you investigate this information. But I hope you will not disclose these matters, after all, it…”

He didn't finish his sentence, but he had already conveyed his meaning.

Lance readily agreed, and then the bank manager said he needed two hours.

During this process, the guard finally couldn't hold on any longer. Without Director Roland needing to prompt him, he took the initiative and said, "It's Lance! Stop hitting him! It's Lance!"

They were pricking his sensitive and painful areas with steel needles, and he finally couldn't take it anymore.

Director Roland didn't even remind him who he was going to talk about; he just knew who he was going to talk about. That's what Director Roland meant by "reaching the limit."

He finally spoke up and "confessed".

Director Roland had the torture instruments removed. He moved a chair, sat opposite the almost inhuman guard, lit a cigarette, and then shoved it into the guard's mouth. "Look," he said, "since you knew you'd have to talk sooner or later, why did you have to suffer so much?"

"You're a veteran agent, you should understand."

The guard wanted to laugh, but couldn't. He took a greedy drag on his cigarette, and the smoke seemed to make him feel a little better.

“It was Lance, Lance made me do it. He said he would give me a sum of money after it was done, and now that money is in my... family’s account.”

Director Roland was very satisfied with his answer. This kind of voluntary confession, which he couldn't bear, was more authentic than any coercive confession. Even if someone wanted to see the video, they would still find it real.

"So you let the person in."

The guard nodded repeatedly. "Yes, I saw him bring the poisoned coffee and sandwich into the room, and then I urged him to finish and leave as soon as possible. I didn't want to attract anyone's attention, but I didn't expect you to find out anyway."

Director Roland smiled slightly. When people reach their limit, they become very cooperative.

He sighed. "You've caused us a lot of trouble and problems. Was the person who poisoned us also one of Lance's men?"

The guard immediately nodded in agreement. This was clearly an attempt to elicit a confession; otherwise, he really wouldn't know what else to say. "I heard that he was sent by Lance."

Director Roland pursed his lips, stood up, and looked down at the guard. "You have betrayed my trust in you, and you have also sold your dreams and future for nothing. You will be punished for your foolish actions, and the law will give you a fair outcome."

“Take him away and bandage him up. The rest of you come back to the old city with me, and we’ll go talk to Lance again.”

With witnesses and the stolen money in the bank, even if he can't bring Lance to court, he can still make him suffer.

Once he joined the FBI, he refused to believe that Lance could withstand their methods!

If Lance can't take it anymore and starts to confess, even if it's just a small case, once the breach is opened, it will be a cataclysmic collapse!

Of course, he needed to talk to Mr. Potter before that.

He drove himself to Mr. Potter's office, in an office building in the most bustling part of New Gold City.

Huge campaign posters are also hanging on the exterior wall of the office building, and people in the surrounding area can see them as long as they look up.

It is said that this oversized poster incurs several hundred dollars in fines every day, but it remains hanging there, and the fines are paid to the city hall every day.

After registering at the entrance, Director Roland was granted the opportunity to exempt Mr. Porter from inspection.

Mr. Potter's aides escorted him to the office door and warned him, "You only have five minutes!"

　I'm currently out of town and unable to proofread. I'll correct any typos when I get back.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)