Shadow Empire

Chapter 1166 The Application of Lackeys and Some Changes on the Farm

Seven or eight minutes later, Director Roland walked in from outside after receiving permission.

He appeared very careful and cautious; he knew he had messed up a lot of things, so he was very careful in front of Mr. Potter.

The only one who can ensure that his ideal can still be realized is this Mr. Potter.

He seemed somewhat restrained because of the terrible things he had done; otherwise, he would have been a completely different person.

“Sit down. This isn’t a dangerous place,” Mr. Potter said, gesturing to the sofa on the other side.

Director Roland smiled and sat on the sofa with a slight bend in his back, but not in a natural or comfortable posture. He leaned forward as much as possible against the back of the sofa, making him look a little cautious.

"I called you here because I need your help with something, the specifics..." He glanced at Mr. Zhong Bote, "You two talk it over, I have other activities tonight and need to rest."

He yawned as he spoke, then raised his hand to stop Director Roland from standing up and returned to the lounge further inside.

Mr. Porter looked at Director Roland and stated his request.

“I need you to help me find someone. Here is some of his information. Please take a look.” Mr. Zhongbo handed over the reporter’s personal information.

Director Roland took the information and read it carefully. As he read, his brows furrowed slightly, because he was a reporter.

He disliked dealing with journalists, who exuded a nauseating aura and always wrote things haphazardly without regard for the facts, leading the public to think in the wrong direction.

Moreover, journalists' articles can often be very damaging to these federal government employees, putting them in a very passive position.

If he could, he would rather not deal with these people, including arresting a journalist.

Who knows if this reporter will write articles to smear him later?

Journalists like this often have friends and colleagues with whom they have good relationships, and they can become accomplices in spreading fake news.

"May I ask what he did?" Director Roland cautiously asked after reviewing the documents.

Mr. Porter looked at him with a smile, “He stole my things.”

This was a pure lie, one that made no attempt to conceal his perfunctory attitude, but at this moment, Director Roland was not able to see through it and could only accept it.

“I understand. I will arrange for people to look for him immediately, but... I can't guarantee that I can find him right away, since I don't even know if he is still in Xinjin City.”

Mr. Porter did not force him to make a commitment to find the guy within a certain timeframe, but simply told him to do his best to find him.

"Find him as insignificantly as possible without causing too much trouble, do you understand what I mean?"

“For me, this is obviously not something to be proud of, and I don’t want it to become a joke or a story that people use to chat about.”

Director Roland nodded. "I know what to do."

Mr. Zhongbo gave him his business card and said, "Call me this number after you find him, and I will take him away. You can rest assured that this matter will not affect you or your work in any way."

This statement seemed like a very simple promise, but Director Roland seemed to glean something from it. He glanced at Mr. Zhong Porter again and nodded, "I understand."

He was unwilling to delve into what exactly was going on or whether he was implying anything. For Director Roland at this point, preserving his position and his value was the most important thing.

The fact that he can still be used by the Potter family is, in a sense, the best reflection and demonstration of his current value. If he no longer even has the right to be used, that would be the worst thing.

After leaving Mr. Potter's office, he got into his car with a somewhat gloomy expression. He didn't know what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into, but he knew that he had better get it over with as soon as possible and pray that there would be no further consequences.

After returning to the FBI, he summoned all his trusted confidants. For the time being, he was still the "restoration leader" of the FBI, so everyone still respected him and was willing to follow his orders.

Looking at these senior detectives, he took out the reporter's identification information and placed it in front of them. "Arrange for your people to find this guy, starting by investigating his personal information, his recent check usage, and his past."

"He is most likely still hiding in New Gold City. Investigate his social relationships to see if you can find any clues. Also, it would be best to investigate all his real estate properties; you might find something else."

Supervisor Ike was also among those recruited this time. Although he messed up the last time, it was obviously not his fault, and he himself was seriously injured.

So far, Director Roland has not suspected his subordinate. He has read the report, and the doctor removed more than a dozen pieces of shrapnel from his body. If he hadn't been lucky, he might have died in the grenade explosion.

He didn't believe that someone who had betrayed him would take such a risk to fabricate this kind of evidence, so he still trusted Director Ike.

But to say that one completely and utterly believes in it is not entirely accurate.

He always avoided some very crucial and important tasks, using various excuses such as Director Ike needing to rest. However, no one talked about this, and no one opened up about this possible suspicion.

This wasn't exactly a secret, so he involved Supervisor Ike as well.

At this moment, another supervisor asked, "What's wrong with this person?"

Director Roland glanced at the supervisor who had asked the question. "He took what he shouldn't have taken and did what he shouldn't have done."

"This matter is related to whether our FBI can gain more authority later, so you have to handle it well."

"I have one request: once you've apprehended someone, immediately take them into custody, but don't search anything around them or interrogate them. Gag them, put a hood over their head, and then keep them in solitary confinement until someone comes to take them away. Do you understand?"

He has absolutely no desire to get involved in anything that might involve the dirty secrets of what is now considered the "presidential family." He hasn't yet achieved his plans and doesn't yet have the ability to challenge evil. Therefore, what he needs is to be patient and even become one with evil.

Deep down, he had considered that once he had the power, he would reinvestigate the case.

As for whether it was true or not, he himself hadn't thought about it; he was just using such wording and excuses to deceive himself.

All the senior detectives left with their respective files, and Chief Roland specifically instructed them to "keep a low profile."

After returning to his office, Manager Ike immediately called Lance.

Now he and Lance are absolutely on the same side, and he has fatal evidence in Lance's hands, so he can exert greater initiative.

He didn't know if the reporter had any connection with Lance, but he knew that a case like this, which made Director Roland very nervous and gave him all sorts of special instructions, should be discussed with Lance.

The call was quickly connected. Lance had nothing to do these past few days, just waiting for the upcoming Saint Farm festival so he could go back to the farm to celebrate.

This year's Saint Farm Festival will be exceptionally lively, with the state government organizing grand festival activities across the country. The local agricultural commission is also planning a "Giant Pumpkin Contest" to find the largest pumpkin in the entire state from local farms.

The owner of the Pumpkin King will receive a prize of one thousand dollars, which is a considerable sum for many farmers, and they are all actively participating.

Lawrence Farm, in particular, has recently been inspecting and selecting the large pumpkins from its own farm and considering whether it could win an award.

So he had plenty of time at this moment. After receiving a call from Supervisor Ike, he listened to the other party explain the situation and simply smiled to indicate that he understood.

Although he was in Golden Harbor City, everything that happened in New Golden City was within his expectations and control.

After hanging up the phone, he thought for a moment and then called the Ford manager. The Ford manager, who had just returned from Director Roland's office, was taken aback when he heard Lance's voice on the other end of the line. He was about to say something when he heard Lance's voice on the other end of the line.

"You didn't tell me about Roland asking you to go find that reporter, which has made me a little suspicious, Ford."

"Is there something else you haven't told me?"

Ford was visibly nervous and puzzled. This had happened less than ten minutes earlier, and Lance already knew about it. Moreover, it was certain that only the supervisor knew about it now.

Is there no one else under Lance in the management team?

He immediately explained, "I thought this had nothing to do with you. What could a local reporter possibly have to do with this?"

"You don't even know if it has anything to do with me, so how can you be so sure that it has nothing to do with me?"

“Listen, Ford, we’re not just friends, we’re business partners. If you want me to trust you, then you have to be able to trust me first.”

“I’m not questioning or blaming anyone. I’m just calling to let you know that if you find out anything about me from Roland’s side, or anything you’re unsure about, you can call me. I’ll be waiting for your call!”

He paused, then asked, "Did you recruit any more people when I asked you to do it last time?"

To prevent Ford's executives from being exposed, Ford wanted to place more people within the FBI. So when something aroused Director Roland's suspicions, he would divert his attention by protecting some minor figures. This could be considered a defensive tactic.

The Ford executive was relieved to hear that Lance hadn't been too harsh. "I've already found a few people and we're discussing this further with them."

"Great, I'll meet with them after I've settled things, so they can feel our sincerity. Anyway, that's all for now. Remember to call me if you make any new discoveries."

After hanging up the phone, he shook his head and called the person in charge of the matter, instructing them to keep a close eye on the reporter to ensure that more useful photos or even videos could be taken, and ideally, to implicate the FBI as well.

Just think about it, a scandal involving the president's family, with the FBI director and the FBI itself involved, once the media explodes, Roland, this lackey of the presidential palace, won't even have the slightest chance!
Even the FBI might be sidelined by them before it can truly rise to prominence.

That evening, while watching the Golden Harbor Evening News, Lance was told by the host that Congress had passed a proposal to postpone the election date, and that it would be implemented immediately.

The election will be held on the Monday of the second week of November, possibly November 2nd, but also possibly November 8th, depending on other dates.

This year, it's November 5th, which is the Monday of the second week.

The voting period lasts for two weeks, ending on November 19th. Three days later, all ballot boxes will be delivered to New Gold City, and then the vote counting will begin.

The results will be announced on November 25th, revealing the winner of the presidential election, who will then take over power from the previous government on January 1st of the following year.

The reason for this arrangement is to avoid the important holiday of Saint Farmer, so that federal voters can first enjoy Saint Farmer and then devote themselves to the election.

This news wasn't particularly noteworthy for Lance, since the president and the election had nothing to do with him. What he was concerned about was that the passage of this proposal was very likely related to Senator Cleveland knowing about those things.

Perhaps this is why Director Roland was in such a hurry to find that reporter—

They mistakenly believed that the source of the information in Senator Cleveland's possession came from that journalist, and not from anyone else.

In the following two or three days, the Federal Gangs Council also concluded smoothly. This year's council proceedings were somewhat unsatisfactory. First, gangs from one state withdrew en masse, and rumors circulated in the underworld that "the Lance family is not on the same side as other gangs."

They seem to want to alienate the entire Federation's gangs from the Lance family.

This was exactly the result Lance wanted; he didn't want to get involved with these low-skilled gangs.

Secondly, there's the issue of whitewashing. The four major families have already gained some experience from Lance, and they will try to whitewash themselves after they return, so that the federal government won't easily find fault with them.

Lance, along with some others, returned to Lawrence's farm.

Although there is still some time before the Sacred Farm Festival, the festive atmosphere here has already completely taken hold, with smiling farmers and peasants everywhere.

Because Lance paid for the construction of the railway connecting Lawrence Farm to the main rail network, Lawrence Farm became the most convenient place for transportation in the area.

The resulting clustering effect is terrifying. Farms further away will proactively send their crops to Lawrence Farm for packing and transportation, or even sell them directly to Lawrence Farm.

They offer much more reasonable prices than companies like Baileys (a monopoly on agricultural distribution channels), and the transportation costs are also very low. All it takes is some horse-drawn carts and roadside hay to transport cartloads of crops there without paying any extra fees.

On the way here, Lance saw the transport wagons. Several horses pulled a very long and wide wagon, on which crops were neatly piled up, forming small hills.

From a distance, they look like small hills slowly moving along the road, perfectly capturing the joy of a bountiful harvest at this moment!

When Lance arrived at Lawrence Farm, he saw William chatting with the rest of the family in the open space, which was much livelier than before.

Upon seeing Lance get out of the car, almost all the men in the Lawrence family put down what they were doing and went over to greet him.

William walked in front and hugged Lance. "You don't look any different!"

He was somewhat moved, noting that Lance looked almost exactly the same as when he had seen him a few years ago.

Lance laughed and let go of him. "Actually, there's been a lot of change, especially compared to when he was younger."

"When you were young?"

"Come on, Lance, you're still young!"

Lance liked that sentence. He smiled and patted William's arm. "I'm thirty now, William. I'm not young anymore, but I feel pretty good!"

He then greeted the others, and everyone came over to shake his hand and say hello.

Then they left and came to the construction site outside the farm, where they had been chatting earlier.

"I just overheard you talking about the town and the mayor?" Lance asked.

William immediately explained, "Because there's a train station here, a lot of people have gathered here, and now more people are living around the farm. The state government has asked us if we plan to build a town here."

“If we are planning to build a town, then we can elect our own mayor. We were just discussing that.”

In a federation, as long as there is a fixed settlement and a certain number of residents, they can establish the most basic federal administrative units.

It might seem like doing this doesn't make much sense, but it actually does, because the town also has its own "organization," especially in a place like this, which gives the Lawrence family even more power.

For example, a sheriff.

To put it more bluntly, in these remote towns far from the city, the sheriff is essentially a combination of police, prosecutor, and judge, and can directly determine whether a person is guilty and how to execute them.

This effectively granted the Lawrence family a limited, legal power of life and death.

(End of this chapter)