Shadow Empire

Chapter 1162 New Licenses and Trouble, and Eliminating Trouble
"The Ministry of National Defense approved a total of twenty licenses this time, and yours is just one of them, numbered '1', with a capacity of five thousand."

"If your subsequent performance is good and satisfies us and Congress, then the Department of Defense will increase the number of employees you are allowed to have."

"By the way, if you need more people in a short period of time, you can hire some... you know, non-veteran employees, they don't take up these positions."

Federal veterans are managed by a dedicated office that creates a file for each individual and then distributes it to state offices, city offices, and even districts, towns, and villages.

Although it is called an office, it also has a very tight organizational structure, and there are reports that this office may be spun off into an independent department.

As for when it will be realized, it is still unclear, but judging from the current situation, it is indeed possible.

The more enthusiastic they were when they recruited millions of soldiers, the more headaches they face now, because the problems aren't just about veterans' post-traumatic stress disorder or battlefield syndrome, but also about their daily lives.

In short, the Department of Defense is now trying to see if there are any other ways to resolve the problems among these veterans without putting them in a difficult position.

Lance didn't ask who received the other nineteen licenses; if those people and their businesses were legitimate, the truth would come out later.

If something cannot be exposed to light, then knowing this now will not only bring no benefit, but will also cause some trouble.

He is not afraid of trouble, but he also doesn't like to cause trouble.

Just as people are unlikely to be afraid of their own excrement, but very few people are willing to scoop it up with their hands.

You may not be afraid, but you will hate and dislike it.

"Once the documents are issued in a few days, you can set up the new company you told me about last time and then recruit people."

"I have a suggestion. I'll arrange some officers for you. I guarantee they'll keep these people completely under control."

Lance agreed, which wasn't a bad thing.

Major General Bruni clearly had other matters to attend to, and he ended the conversation after making the call with Lance.

After putting down the phone, Lance looked at it for a while before starting to consider some of the next arrangements.

The only benefit Senator Cleveland offered him was to send the person over after the new president took office; that would be about it.

That's just how efficient federal workers are; if you say they're fast, then many people will make you feel like they're incredibly slow.

But as for how slow it is, it's not always the case.

Meanwhile, something rather unpleasant is happening in New Gold City.

Mr. Potter quickly walked back to his office. As soon as he entered, he saw his son standing there. Mr. Potter – he was the middle one among the grandfather, father, and grandson, so he was called "Mr. Potter".

He stood up immediately the moment he saw Mr. Potter walk in.

Mr. Potter then dismissed everyone from the room and personally went to the door to close and lock it.

He tugged at his tie, untying the one he needed to wear with his coat, and sat down on the sofa. "What on earth happened?"

Mr. Porter's expression turned slightly serious. "They've already traced it back to Little Porter."

When talking about his son, Mr. Zhongbo spoke as if he were talking about an ordinary person with whom he had a very casual relationship.

The main problem is that he doesn't think much of his son. If he did, things probably wouldn't be like this now.

Mr. Potter looked at him with some confusion. "Didn't I tell you to clean this up?"

Mr. Porter's expression was still terrible, and he had given up on managing his facial expressions.

"I have indeed started to deal with it, but the couple contacted a reporter."

"This reporter had some ability and connections, so he got his hands on the list of participants who lined up that night and started contacting them."

“I’m worried that he will most likely get something he wants to know from these people.”

Mr. Potter's gaze appeared calm, but beneath that calm lay a chilling ruthlessness. "You mean, my fucking election, which is about to begin, could be ruined?"

In reality, this has nothing to do with the election anymore. Even if he wins the election and becomes the president of the Union, Congress may immediately impeach him as soon as this scandal is exposed.

Even if he escapes this predicament, it is virtually impossible for him to serve another four years. This is an indelible stain on his political career.

In the federal government, if a person's family member commits a crime, while people condemn the criminal, they also generally believe that the male head of the household failed to manage the family well.

Asking someone who can't even manage a family of three or four to manage the entire federation is simply a joke!

So this is indeed a very troublesome matter. If it explodes before the election, his chances of winning will decrease, and there is a possibility that the decline will be precipitous.

The Socialist Party seems to have given up and stopped competing with him for the presidency, but that doesn't mean they'll remain indifferent when they see an opportunity.

They would seize any opportunity that arose and stab him in the heart.

So this matter is very tricky.

He looked at his son and asked, "Is this how you handle this matter?"

Mr. Porter made no excuses; he had indeed misjudged the couple’s desire to pursue the truth and underestimated the journalist’s investigative power in this matter.

Mr. Potter glared at his son before tossing his loosened tie onto the sofa. "Nothing is allowed to threaten my campaign right now, understand?"

"It's more important than anything else!"

"If I could deal with that bastard right now, I would definitely take care of him!"

The "bastard" he was referring to was clearly his grandson, Mr. Potter Jr.

The so-called "handling" probably just means sending him to the dock and letting the law give him a fair trial.

Because he is the president, the law will likely give Mr. Potter some leeway.

But not now. He's not president yet; there's one last hurdle he hasn't overcome. After thinking for about twenty or thirty seconds, he slowly opened his mouth and said, "Then let them disappear."

"Be careful, don't mess this up again!"

Mr. Porter nodded, then got up to say goodbye and leave. As long as his father, Mr. Porter, became the President of the Union, there would be no crime or criminal that could not be forgiven under the amnesty.

Therefore, he was not worried at all about the possibility of his actions being exposed. Even if he were exposed and arrested, as long as his father signed a pardon, he would be completely free.

"I assure you that before the election, they will not threaten your status, reputation, or influence."

Mr. Potter looked tired. He raised his hand and waved for his son to leave first. Mr. Potter then left his father's office.

After leaving the office, Mr. Porter contacted someone he knew who was very reliable and a distant relative of the Porter family.

In the federal government, these powerful people face almost the same problem: when their relatives learn of their sudden rise to power, they all want to bleed them dry.

Some people are still useful for the growth of the family, after all, it's impossible for a family to have no members at all.

But some of them are negative.

The guy he found can have a positive impact and value on the development of the family.

The other party was also willing to work for the Porter family, who were about to become president, so the guy quickly brought along some pistols with the serial numbers wiped off and the rifling re-rifled.

These are all practices that gangs use when dealing with handguns that have been fired and whose bullets have hit other people, in order to keep these weapons shrouded in mystery in the eyes of law enforcement.

The uncertainty surrounding the murder weapon is also an important defense mechanism in court.

After the two got into the car, Mr. Zhongbo said as he drove, "What we're going to do this time is to shut three people up forever."

"First, let's start with this couple..."

As Mr. Zhongbo drove, he kept looking around and occasionally glancing at the cars behind him through the rearview mirror.

Because of the lighting and angle, he couldn't see anything inside the cars, whether anyone was resting, or how many people were there. He could only see the car windows reflecting the street scene.

He felt that someone was following him, and that certain eyes were always on him; he had had this feeling for some time now.

But when he needed to find out who was watching him, that feeling subtly disappeared. To be honest, it was a very uncomfortable feeling, making him nervous, as if he were in danger.

However, since he couldn't see what was happening inside the driver's cabs, he couldn't quite determine which vehicle was giving him this terrible feeling.

His relative quickly interrupted him as he kept checking the cars behind him through the rearview mirror, asking him what they were going to do.

Meanwhile, the parents who lost their daughter were on their way home. During this time, they worked with reporters to investigate many clues and details, and finally succeeded in finding a list of people directly related to their daughter's death.

They are now on their way home with this list in hand. They have already communicated with the reporters, and the clues and lists gathered by both sides have now become the final list.

Looking at the names on the list, the couple felt their hearts bleed, as if each one of them was directly related to their daughter's death.

After they returned home, they talked to reporters on the phone while getting to know each other about the newly added names on the list.

When they talked about a guy named Kim Porter, the reporter's tone changed noticeably, becoming excited, which immediately made the couple realize that this person might be a big shot.

"King Potter, do you know him?"

"It's the one who's running for office!"

The husband, who had lost his child, looked on incredulously at the list again. If Mr. Potter Jr. was also at the event, it would be a bit of bad news for Mr. Potter, who was running for office, but not exactly a scandal.

But... this is not a good sign.

The reporter continued on the other end of the phone, "I've looked into some of the details, and there's some bad news I need to tell you: your daughter's death is very likely related to little Potter."

“I have ways to get them to tell the truth, but these people and their words can’t be used in court.”

"I'm just letting you know how things are progressing; I'll keep thinking of the rest!"

"I'm telling you all this so that you can understand one thing: it will be very difficult and there will be a lot of resistance to get justice for your daughter, but we can't give up. After all, she is a living, breathing human being."

"So... my idea is that we continue to try to find the truth, and maybe someone can help us."

"Whatever she did, it is not a reason for them to kill her!"

The couple had initially been on the verge of despair and giving up, but after hearing the reporter's words, they decided to persevere.

After all, she was their daughter. As the reporter said, no matter what she did, it was not a reason for her to be murdered.

If she has indeed committed a crime, it should be the court and judges who try her, not some individual!

Just as they were about to say something, the phone suddenly went silent. After the couple called out to each other a few times without getting a response, they were both puzzled.

The man seemed to have thought of something. He put the phone on the spring and picked it up again, trying to turn the dial, but there was no sound from the receiver.

“Maybe there’s a problem with the phone line,” he told his wife. “Anyway, we need to get some rest now. She needs our help to bring the truth to light.”

Unbeknownst to them, dozens of meters away, Mr. Zhongbo's men had already cut the telephone line belonging to their family in the telephone box.

Then, the group walked around their dwelling. Mr. Porter's request for them today was very simple—kill the couple and dispose of their bodies.

They are professionals in this area.

The couple in the room were unaware that danger was approaching. They were still thinking about their daughter, comforting and relying on each other.

A few minutes later, a sudden knock on the door startled the couple who were talking in hushed tones. The man stood up, patted his wife's hand, and said, "Don't be sad, I'll go see who it is..."

(End of this chapter)