Shadow Empire

Chapter 1146 Shouldn't we avenge the grudge from ten years ago?
Hearing the slightly off-key "Hua Q" coming through the receiver, Chief Roland was neither surprised nor uncomfortable. He even patiently explained, "Derek, all of this is so that we can better combat crime."

"The danger posed by the Lance family has surpassed that of the five great families!"

"Oh, right, first the four major families, the Perez family is finished."

"That makes him even more dangerous!"

“Lance is a cunning crime boss. He is smart and knows how to hide himself and how to use his power to cover up his crimes. Such a person may not be able to see what bad things he is doing on the surface, but in places we cannot see, he is threatening the security of this country!”

"This is a ticking time bomb, and if we don't resolve this issue, it will definitely not be a good thing for any of us."

"You can curse me, say whatever you want, I'll accept it. I'm not doing this for myself..."

Derek couldn't help but interrupt him, "You're a little obsessed with Lance now, Roland!"

"Your desire to defeat him has surpassed your commitment to justice. I don't know what happened, but this is definitely not a good thing!"

"What you need to do now is calm down and ask yourself whether it's worth it."

Roland's breathing became somewhat heavy through the receiver. Although Derek was still investigating evidence of crimes committed by the Lance family, some of his beliefs were beginning to change.

The more he investigated the Lance family's crimes, the more he felt an indescribable...emotion.

On the one hand, the Lance family is clearly a gang that uses violence to set the rules of the game in the entire region.

According to the information they collected, at least fifty people died directly or indirectly related to the Lance family, not to mention those who died in shootouts and gang wars.

The victims mentioned here were not gangsters; they were likely innocent people who may have offended them or for some other unknown reason.

Moreover, they were running a criminal business, but they quickly switched at Lance's request, and now it's difficult to continue the investigation.

For example, selling alcohol, including in Golden Harbor City, Lance is handing over the bar business to other gangs. Except for some bars managed by family members and combat captains, which are still operated by them, the rest have been handed over.

The FBI can investigate smuggled liquor, but ultimately the Bureau of Hazardous Materials is in charge of these cases. Lance has a good relationship with them, from top to bottom.

Moreover, these bars have no connection to him in name only, so they cannot be used as evidence against him.

Apart from that, he has hardly run any other criminal businesses. Although the buildings behind the naval base are still in operation, the people running them are now the refugees who stayed behind and some locals.

Lance wouldn't accept the money those girls earned by selling their bodies; it would be divided into four parts.

The girls received one-third of it, and the remaining third would go to the Navy. As for where it ended up, Derek had no right to investigate, nor dared to, since it was the military.

Of the remaining two-sixths, half will be allocated to the operators, which will cover their basic expenses for maintaining their current operations.

One-sixth of them will go to a "care foundation," which is a private fund. Only the registration information can be found; it was registered by a deceased federal male.

They will use this money to help refugees and illegal immigrants in need, such as with medical issues, humanitarian aid and care. If they need to go to court and can't afford to pay, the foundation will also help them hire lawyers.

This is a foundation that "provides services free of charge." Since the registrant is dead, the foundation now operates according to the rules and regulations in place when it was established. Everyone is just a "machine," not a soul, so investigating this is pointless.

Those funds are definitely in the accounts no matter how you look at them; Lance doesn't care about the money and won't touch it.

Aside from these, Derek could find almost nothing else outrageous about Lance and the Lance family’s practices.

Grab any local on the street in Golden Harbor City and ask them what they think of Lance and the Lance family.
They'll tell you a bunch of nice things, and then after you've walked for less than five minutes, a few young people will come up to you and follow you.

They won't ask you to do anything, that's illegal. They'll just follow you, keep following you, until you ask them to.

The Lance family's actions here have become more legitimate; they are completely shedding their gangster ways and becoming a group that many people cannot live without.

For example, the labor service agency is now the largest labor platform in the entire state of Likale and even the South. Anyone can come here to look for job opportunities, whether they are refugees, illegal immigrants, or anyone else.

This has replaced many of the functions of labor unions. Capitalists like to deal with them because they don't like to create labor-management conflicts like labor unions do, and then profit from both sides.

Most importantly, the information provided by labor agencies is very transparent. They can not only ensure that capitalists can hire workers smoothly, but also ensure that the welfare benefits agreed upon between workers and capitalists are not exploited.

In short, they are like the sun in the sky above this city, impossible to ignore, yet they bring warmth without bringing coldness.

Faced with such a "gangster," Derek's thinking is also changing.

He accepted Roland's invitation to become the FBI director of Golden Harbor City to investigate the Lance family's crimes, not... to stop such a humane and efficient dynamic organization from doing what they were supposed to do.

When a gang is no longer a gang, does that mean it is no longer within the scope of justice?
In the past two years, Derek's spirit and thoughts have undergone several transformations.

Lance may not have handled some issues well, and some historical issues are unclear, but at least they are doing well now.

Derek reflected his thoughts directly in his call with Roland. After a brief pause, Director Roland suddenly asked, "Were you bribed?"

This made Derek laugh in anger. "Then fire me!"

Director Roland sighed. "I've been under a lot of pressure lately, you know. There are indeed some problems between Lance and me."

Derek chimed in, "You belong to two different camps, figure it out."

This statement actually hits the nail on the head, and it's the core reason why Director Roland is relentlessly pursuing Lance. Biting people is his value at this stage.

Mr. Potter, those big shots in Congress, they don't keep a hound for show, not to make it look imposing. What they need is for the hound to catch prey and bite people.

If you don't bite people and can't catch prey, what's the point of having you?
Rather than saying that Director Roland and Lance had an irreconcilable conflict, it would be more accurate to say that he was being forced into having a conflict with Lance.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, just tell me if you agree or not."

“I don’t know if your thoughts have changed at all, but you have to understand, Derek, whatever drives me to do this, to fight Lance to the bitter end, it doesn’t change the fact that they have committed a lot of crimes.”

"Just because they've changed for the better and started doing charity work, does that mean their past crimes of murder can be ignored?"

"No, no one, no matter who it is—the president, the Supreme Court justice, or even God—can forgive anyone's past sins on their behalf!"

"They need to pay the price for this, anytime!"

That makes sense, but Derek still thinks that Director Roland has brought too much subjective emotion into this matter.

Perhaps the conflict between him and Lance had escalated to the point where neither side could back down.

After much deliberation, Derek finally relented, saying, "Consider it my way of repaying you for promoting me to this position!"

“I will question those undercover agents, and if they are willing to cooperate with your work, then good, I will let that person do it.”

"But if no one is willing to cooperate with you, I can't let my lads die for your cause!"

He spoke very firmly, saying that the risks involved were too great, and the more harmless the Lance family appeared now, the more ruthless they would reveal themselves at some point!

Derek, who has been studying crime and gang organizations for a long time, is well aware of this.

After the lion prides, who lazily lie on the savanna and look like oversized cats, have filled their bellies, you can see their amusing and harmless side.

But once they need to bare their fangs, it becomes a brutal hunt!

They would tear their prey apart and devour them raw on the savanna, right in front of other animals.

He had heard before that "Mr. Bolton's" son had been executed on Lance's orders in a very cruel manner. He couldn't imagine, and didn't want his lads to get into trouble.

Director Roland breathed a sigh of relief, his mood immediately reflected in his slightly lighter tone, "This is something I owe you, and I assure you, it's definitely not about sending them to their deaths; everything will be arranged perfectly."

"If they make a move, we'll arrest them!"

"I'm waiting for your good news."

After hanging up the phone, Derek couldn't help but light a cigarette. This damn job!
There were four people who were placed undercover in the Lance family this time. In fact, he did not ask these people to do any proactive work. It was more like giving agents with a strong sense of justice a chance to try.

These individuals, like Chief Roland, possess a kind of "distorted" hatred of crime, and placing them in the investigation bureau would only bring more trouble.

Sending them undercover and placing some restrictions on them can actually prevent them from causing big trouble.

In fact, he hadn't considered what these people were capable of, and even if they were discovered, Derek would find a way to persuade Lance to let them go, but there was a prerequisite: they couldn't pose a threat to the Lance family.

Being discovered by them and betraying the family are two different things.

He spent the whole day contacting these people. Later that day, two undercover agents clearly expressed great interest in the job, while the other two were obviously not interested.

And one of them was the most vocal, even asking to meet Derek.

Left with no other choice, Derek had to do some simple makeup to make himself look like a different person in the dark before he entered a bar.

In a corner of the bar, he ran into the person who wanted to see him.

The two sat back to back, with no one else around. The noise in the bar masked their conversation.

"Let me do this."

A young voice came from behind him. Derek, sipping his whiskey, asked, "Are you aware of the great risks involved?"

The Lance family's whisky-making skills are getting better and better. Compared to those gangsters who just want to make a quick buck during Prohibition, Lance clearly wants to turn it into a brand, a famous brand, and may even push Lion Kings to go public in the future!

Therefore, the distillery's recipe has been continuously improved, and with the ability to rotate the cellars, the flavor and taste of modern whisky no longer require thickeners or flavorings.

Of course, adding some additives appropriately can help people enjoy its deliciousness, and these additives are basically harmless.

This gives Lion Brewery's whiskies a wide variety of flavors, from old-fashioned nutty and herbal notes to bolder ones, such as those with added mint and fruit flavors.

These drinks are very popular among young people, and the liquor market in Golden Harbor City, and even the entire state of Likalai, has basically been completely consumed.

He was savoring the wonderful whiskey in his hand when the voice behind him came again, this time with obvious, gritted teeth and hatred: "I've been waiting for this day for a long time. Let me do it. I want to be the one who pushes down the first pillar!"

This is a phrase that seems to encapsulate ancient wisdom. In stories like those of legends, a human kingdom was controlled by an "evil god" who built a magnificent palace on the mountain behind the kingdom, casting a shadow over it forever.

Later, after some events, a young human hero knocked down a pillar in the palace, and then the magnificent palace collapsed completely in a very short time.

The palace ruins, imbued with divine power, completely buried the once-arrogant evil god.

Therefore, people came up with this phrase—

The person who knocked down the first pillar.

This phrase can be used to describe someone who initiates a chain reaction.

Derek fell silent for a moment. Pushing down the pillar was simple, but the price to pay was heavy.

He didn't speak, but the young man behind him continued, "Lance killed my parents, and I've been thinking about revenge every single day. Now that this opportunity has presented itself to me, I can't accept that I'm not the key person to overthrow the Lance family!"

"No matter what the consequences, I will bear them myself!"

His words carried a hint of bloodshed. Derek paused, wanting to ask the young man if he had seen any blood, but he didn't ask the question in the end.

"Since you've already made your decision, I won't try to persuade you anymore. We'll be here again tomorrow, and I'll tell you the whole plan."

After saying this, Derek finished his drink, put down the glass, and left the bar.

There are many people like this. They come in for a drink, and then leave. These are the bar's favorite customers. They don't cause trouble, they pay upfront, and they leave as soon as they're done drinking. They never take up seats. They are the bar's premium customers!

That evening, he contacted Roland, who had been waiting for news. Roland was clearly delighted when he received the answer.

“I know that young man. His father is a police officer in New Gold City, I think. He had a conflict with Lance for some reason, and then…”

"In short, this is a very good candidate."

"That's what I think!"

Director Roland wasn't just waiting idly; he devised a plan, and Derek's brow remained tightly furrowed after hearing it.

If the planner is willing and the implementer doesn't object, then anything he says in the middle seems superfluous.

"The risk is very high. I hope you can do as you say, and that no one will be in trouble!"

Director Roland assured him on the phone, "He will be absolutely safe."

That night, Director Roland's men set off from New Gold City toward Golden Harbor City, all dressed in plainclothes.

Some people were driving, some were taking the train; they looked like tourists heading to Golden Harbor City.

Over the course of three days, the young man in charge of executing the plan also went through the entire plan repeatedly.

After waking up in the morning, he went to the balcony to water the flowers, which was actually a way of communicating.

He has four different plants here, each representing a different meaning: "yes," "no," "meet," and "danger." These can also be extended to mean "okay" or "not okay."

He would put one of the potted plants into the room, and the absence of that potted plant on the windowsill would represent his views on the message being conveyed.

There's a similar window sill in the building opposite his.

When he saw a pot of tulips on the windowsill he checked every day, he paused for a moment, then began to do what he did every day.

He brought all the flowerpots back to the windowsill, watered them, then took a shower and made himself a hearty breakfast.

He tidied up all the odds and ends, making the whole house look very neat.

Because he knew that there was a very high probability that he would never return here in his lifetime.

As an undercover agent, even one on the periphery, he knew very well that once he did what he did today, he would be quickly discovered as soon as he appeared in Golden Harbor City, or even in Likalai State.

So this is his last day here.

He put the cigarettes in his pocket, checked his weapon, then took a deep breath and pushed open the apartment door.

A new day has begun...

(End of this chapter)