Shadow Empire

Chapter 1195 A Series of Changes

Unless God intervenes, there's a high probability this person won't wake up.

The lieutenant governor, a smile playing on his lips, was sitting comfortably in his office when he suddenly received a phone call informing him that he was about to become governor!
Such a good thing is unheard of. I've heard of vice presidents sleeping in late in the morning and being suddenly dragged out of bed and taken to the presidential palace, but I've never heard of a deputy governor doing something like this.

He was secretly delighted. If a ranking were made at this moment, ranking all those who did not want Governor Wade to wake up, then without a doubt, the Lieutenant Governor would be ranked first with an absolute precipitous lead!

If given the chance, he would even be willing to run over and strangle Governor Wade in bed, as long as the Department of Justice doesn't bother him!
He pursed his lips and thought for a while. Lance's words had actually told him what to do next.

He had also heard about some "dirty" things between Governor Wade and Lance, and given Lance's ability to manipulate the change of governor, he dared not neglect Lance at all.

"I will seriously consider this matter. If there are any problems, we should maintain efficient communication."

His attitude was very serious. Lance took a sip of his coffee and put it down. "I heard that the Wade family is also colluding with the mafia. This is a good opportunity to investigate carefully, find the problems, solve the problems, and prevent the problems from happening again!"

"Don't be afraid that the problem lies with our officials. Only by facing these problems squarely and not hiding them can we truly solve them."

“If there’s anything I can help you with, you can call this number,” Lance said, pushing a card over. “Even if I’m not here, you can tell the person who answers the phone what you need.”

The deputy governor picked up the card, looked at it carefully, and then carefully placed it in his breast pocket. "I understand."

"So now I..."

Lance supported himself on his knees as he stood up, followed closely by the lieutenant governor. "I won't disturb you any longer; you have very important work to do."

The deputy governor nodded. "Perfect, I'll see you to the door."

The two walked together in a very friendly and familiar manner, which led some people to speculate about Lance's identity.

Only after watching Lance's convoy leave did the lieutenant governor's calm face reveal a surge of elation. He gave a small pump of his fist and exclaimed, "Yeah!"

He then quickly straightened his clothes, put on a serious expression, and got into the car.

A dozen minutes later, his car appeared at the hospital, where a large crowd had gathered, showing no respect whatsoever to the lieutenant governor.

Many people even rolled their eyes at him, and no one paid any attention to him.

When he arrived at the emergency room entrance, the core members of the Wade family were all gathered there, and Governor Wade's brother gave him a brief greeting.

"How is he?" The lieutenant governor took out a cigarette, but just as he was about to smoke it, another brother of Governor Wade reached out and grabbed the cigarette from the lieutenant governor's hand, throwing it into the trash can.

"The doctor said that no one can smoke here."

The deputy governor paused for a moment, a flash of anger crossing his eyes, but he quickly concealed it, even showing a hint of apology on his face. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Governor Wade's most trusted brother reached out and pushed his brother aside. He and the lieutenant governor came over and said, "Forgive him. He's in a bad mood because our brother is still in critical condition."

The lieutenant governor looked distressed. "It seems the outcome is very bad?"

Governor Wade's brother nodded. "The doctor said his condition is very bad, and there's a high probability... that he'll be difficult to save. We're just doing our best right now, and even if he is saved, he might not wake up."

The time since being shot was too long and the blood loss was too great, which has already affected the brain.

At this point, Governor Wade could only prove he was still alive based on his vital signs, but in reality, he was practically dead.

Two minutes of oxygen deprivation to the brain is usually enough to kill a person. He was deprived of oxygen for even longer, but the hospital is now using all available means and equipment to ensure that his heart is still beating, his blood is still flowing, and his lungs are still breathing, delivering oxygenated blood to all parts of his body.

But in reality, he had completely lost consciousness, and the doctors were discussing how to make this public.

If this patient were an ordinary person, they would have stopped the resuscitation efforts long ago and then indifferently told those outside that they had done their best.

But he's the governor, so they can't just jump to conclusions and decide he's beyond saving; they need to continue trying to save him.

This is the best illustration of the inequality of life caused by power and wealth. People always say that money can't buy life, but this view is wrong.

When two people have the same disease, the rich person tends to live longer than the poor person, and there is even a possibility of a cure!

Governor Wade's brother was clearly aware of this as well; given that he hadn't been able to be saved after such a long time, the chances of him being saved were extremely slim.

The lieutenant governor sighed. "I never expected these things to happen. Has the shooting suspect been caught?"

Governor Wade's brother shook his head. "Not yet."

At this moment, the lieutenant governor seemed to have activated something, and he gritted his teeth and said, "These idiots are always useless when they are needed."

“When we don’t need them, they often cause trouble.”

"I'll keep an eye on them and catch them as soon as possible. If you need any help from me, give me a call!"

Governor Wade's brother nodded. In fact, even at this moment, he did not realize that when there was a high probability that Governor Wade could not be saved, the lieutenant governor could already take over as governor.

If the legislature approves the move, or if no one objects, the lieutenant governor will soon officially become governor.

Now, in case of an emergency, the deputy governor is only temporarily acting as governor.

Even if it's only temporary, it signifies that his power in the state has reached its peak.

Upon returning to the state government, he immediately summoned the local mayor.

With such a big incident, the mayor must be very anxious. The deputy governor calmed him down a bit and then said, "The situation in the city is a bit chaotic right now. On my way back, I saw police, state police, and some people who might be gangsters harassing ordinary people."

“This kind of thing shouldn’t happen here, at least not when gangs harass pedestrians. You need to get the Redstone Police Department working.”

"Finding criminals is the job of the police and law enforcement agencies, not the job of gangs or other social groups. Do you understand what I mean?"

The "social groups" mentioned by the lieutenant governor were actually the gangs controlled by the Wade family, as well as some security guards and similar roles within their own companies.

The mayor's pupils contracted sharply; he was somewhat incredulous, but quickly regained his composure. "I know what to do."

The governor is still lying in the hospital's emergency room, and the lieutenant governor is about to seize power?
However, this also made him realize that the situation at the hospital might be so bad that the lieutenant governor was now exercising the governor's powers.

After the mayor left, the state police chief also came to the office. He tried his best to appear calm, but true composure cannot be faked.

With just one glance, the lieutenant governor saw through the facade he was trying to maintain.

"There were many police officers and state troopers on site, forming a defensive line to separate Governor Wade from the dangerous crowd."

"When someone fired the first shot, our officers didn't even do anything; none of them went to the gunmen or stopped them from continuing to fire."

"They didn't even try to protect the governor, letting him stand on the high platform and become a target for those people, getting shot many times."

“You bear a great deal of responsibility in this matter.”

The state police chief paused, seemingly realizing something. He didn't admit his mistake or ask for a solution, but instead stared at the lieutenant governor and asked, "Governor Wade... how is he now?"

Sweat was starting to bead on his forehead. He realized that the lieutenant governor hadn't called him over to urge him to arrest the gunmen, nor to ask if he had any ideas on how to stabilize the situation, but rather to cause him trouble.

Why would a lieutenant governor cause him trouble?
In that instant, the slow-moving thoughts in the state police chief's mind seemed to be electrified, and they began to spin rapidly, revealing a clear truth before him.

This lieutenant governor intends to remove him from office simply because he is one of Governor Wade's men!

What is this going to do?
This was… He didn’t know how to describe what was happening to him at this moment. He instinctively resisted and was terrified! He knew very well what would happen if he lost the power he currently held. All he wanted to know now was how the governor who was supposed to protect his power was doing!

The deputy governor stared at him with a cold smile. "The governor's condition is not good. There is a high probability that he will not wake up. During the time between his waking up and his passing, I will temporarily take over the governor's duties."

"The state police department should be held responsible for the governor's assassination because of its negligence."

"Your abilities make it hard for me to believe you can do this job well, so..."

A faint smile appeared on his face. "You've been suspended."

The state police chief immediately realized what was happening, "You have no right to do this!"

The lieutenant governor smiled. "Sorry, I happen to be qualified to do so. It seems you're quite unhappy about this, but don't worry, the prosecutor will be talking to you soon."

The state police chief, who had initially intended to put up a fight, fell silent instantly. He knew very well that his own hands were not clean, or rather, that law enforcement officers in this era were not clean at all.

When you earn only five or ten yuan more per month than an average worker, but have to endure several hundred percent more danger at work, it's hard not to think about other things.

Those criminals will wave countless banknotes to corrupt you, make you rich, and most importantly, make you safe.

Police officers, police chiefs, and bureau chiefs—almost all law enforcement agencies in this era accept bribes, and some even actively solicit bribes from gangs and criminal organizations.

The simplest way to determine if someone is suspected of committing a job-related crime is to examine whether their job income is consistent with their lifestyle and expenses.

When someone earns only a thousand yuan a year but lives in a house worth tens of thousands of yuan, drives a luxury car worth tens of thousands of yuan, and spends only a few hundred yuan a month.

You're saying this person didn't do anything illegal?
People with intellectual disabilities will look at you with pity!
Looking at the state police chief, who seemed to have had his bones removed, the lieutenant governor's face showed even more disgust. "I'll have someone come to your place to hand over the work later. You'd better cooperate."

"Now, leave my room and go outside."

Under the leadership of the lieutenant governor, the state government quickly recovered from the turmoil of Governor Wade's assassination, and people realized that this was not a simple assassination attempt.

But no one dared to discuss it, let alone think about it deeply. Who knew if they might inadvertently discover the truth, let it slip, and become the next victim?
Meanwhile, the Liberal MPs from Indenau State also gathered at the large villa of the local committee chairman.

The atmosphere in the room was somber. Just a few days ago, it had been very lively here, with them constantly holding various cocktail parties and gatherings, everyone smiling, and laughter filling the courtyard.

Because they are about to win a Senate seat here that originally belonged to the Socialist Party, which will allow them to completely crush the Socialist Party in Parliament.

But at this moment, Governor Wade, who had supported their work, was already lying in the hospital.

"I called their dean and asked around. It's highly likely that Wade won't survive."

"Right now they are just maintaining his vital signs, hoping to see if there is any miracle that he can wake up."

"The lieutenant governor is a staunch Socialist. He will definitely resubmit the candidate list after he takes office. Do you have any way to continue to resist him?"

There were more than twenty people in the room, but not all of them were state senators; there were also some members of the House of Representatives.

The state senators sitting on the sofa looked at each other and shook their heads.

They do not have a veto power in the local legislature; in other words, they have no way of deciding whether a candidate's nomination is approved or not.

Seeing their silence, the local Liberal Party committee chairman looked worried; such a huge change had occurred in such a short time.

He sighed heavily, somewhat at a loss.

After a while, someone suddenly spoke up, "This is a political assassination, Mr. Chairman!"

"It is very obvious that the person who assassinated Governor Wade must have been a member of the Socialist Party, because only in this way could they fundamentally solve the problem of nominating candidates."

The speaker was a state congressman. Everyone else was looking at him, but their gazes didn't show any surprise or delight; they were just looking at him like he was a fool, which made him a little embarrassed.

"Did I... say something wrong?"

The local committee chairman shook his head. "No, you're absolutely right, but so what?"

"We all know this is possible, but what can we change?"

"Unless we can catch those people, those gunmen, right now and try to get the answers we want from them, it will still be useless even if everyone knows this."

“We are facing the entire top echelon of the Socialist Party. If we don’t have evidence, the law won’t try them. Do I really need to tell you something this simple?”

The state representative pursed his lips and said nothing more.

For a moment, they didn't know what to do.

Half a minute later, the phone in the corner suddenly rang shrilly, and the chairman of the state committee immediately went over and answered it.

He turned around, lowered his voice, said a few words, and then put down the phone. When he came back, his face was expressionless.

"Wade has been declared brain dead; he will not wake up."

The atmosphere in the room worsened. Wade's downfall meant the lieutenant governor would officially take over, and they couldn't stop it.

A group of people don't even want to talk anymore. They haven't even had a few days to be happy before they have to go back to the environment ruled by the Socialist Party.

By this time, the hospital had already announced the results, but the Wade family refused to accept them. They stormed into the ward, grabbed the doctor by the collar, and forced him to continue to treat Governor Wade.

But the doctor didn't do that. He simply adjusted his glasses, which had been knocked askew by the slap, and looked at the irritable man in front of him.

"From a medical perspective, his brain was already almost completely necrotic due to lack of oxygen before he arrived at the hospital."

"His continued 'life' is nothing short of a miracle of medical advancements. I would even say that if his head were removed from his body, he could still breathe and his heart could still beat as long as blood circulation was maintained."

"But these no longer have any autonomous behavior. As soon as we remove the assistive device, they will die immediately."

"There's no point in trying to save him anymore. Even if God came to me right now, I couldn't wake him up."

Someone punched him again, but he remained the same, simply looking at these people and adjusting his glasses.

Standing before him was Governor Wade's brother. He gritted his teeth and asked, "Is there absolutely no other way?"

The doctor shook his head, not wanting to say anything more.

Governor Wade's brother loosened his collar, wiped his face, and strode outside.

Normally, he had the best relationship with Governor Wade in the family, so now that Governor Wade is lying there and has been declared brain dead, the family members are quietly putting him first.

As he walked out, he said, "We need to reorganize the family assets as soon as possible, liquidate what can be liquidated, and find a way to move all the family members out. We can't stay here any longer."

Those around him were somewhat puzzled, "Why can't he stay?"

The governor's brother suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around and looked at the people behind him, "They dared to kill our governor brother, so they dare to attack us!"

"Do as I say!"

(End of this chapter)