Shadow Empire

Chapter 1212 Exposed
The streets were filled with members of the Lance family, dressed in distinctive trench coats, their insignia on their left arms setting them apart from ordinary gangsters and passersby.

These people kept searching the nearby streets, and some homeless people hiding in corners to avoid the cold were pulled out of the dark and damp corners and asked if they had seen or encountered anyone.

The old doctor looked out the window of his house from the second floor at everything on the street. These people were not bad; they did not beat anyone, and even gave the homeless some money.

As they walked away, the old doctor felt increasingly uneasy.

He walked out of the room, stood on the sidewalk, and looked at the people in the distance, who were already somewhat blurry.

His neighbor was standing right next to him. "Did they ask you too?"

The old doctor glanced back and saw that his neighbor ran a grocery store, which was filled with all sorts of things and resembled a small supermarket.

In relatively closed neighborhoods, these grocery stores do very well because people's daily lives are almost inseparable from them.

The old doctor nodded. "They knocked and came in; do you think I'd let them leave?"

His neighbor scoffed, "I wonder which lucky guy will find those guys they're talking about. You know, they told me they'd give me 30,000 yuan if I could help them catch those bastards."

Thirty thousand yuan!

The grocery store owner's voice suddenly rose a lot, "I'm going to do this... It would take me at least decades to earn this much money, but right now I just need to provide a lead and then go with them."

His eyes were glowing green, which reminded the old doctor of a time when they encountered a pack of coyotes while traveling in the car on the outskirts of the city on their way back from a trip.

Coyotes aren't actually large gray wolves; they look like ordinary dogs. But when they gather in large numbers and stare at you with their green eyes, you can get a chill down your spine.

The old doctor had that feeling then; those green eyes glowing in the darkness made him feel threatened by death.

Fortunately, the coyotes knew that attacking the car would not bring them any victory or food, but would instead result in heavy losses, so they just watched from a distance.

Once the car had traveled a sufficient distance, the coyote disappeared.

He will never forget those eyes, just like the eyes of the grocer now, they practically radiate green light!
Whether it was his own sensitivity or not, the old doctor felt that the grocery store owner's gaze was somewhat amused. He immediately put on a similar smile, and his tone was filled with longing and greed, "If I could have 30,000 yuan, many things could be solved."

Who wouldn't want that?

The grocer nodded in agreement, "Yes!"

"With so much money, who could refuse?"

The longer the old doctor spent with his old neighbor, the more uncomfortable and uneasy he felt.

He made up a random excuse to return to his clinic. Although it was already dark when those people arrived, he couldn't guarantee that no one had seen them.

He paced back and forth a few steps, glanced at the phone, and then went to the phone and dialed the number of one of his cousins.

The Sumuli people do not reside in any one city in the Federation; they are distributed throughout most cities in the Federation, including Likalai State and Jin Port City.

He dialed his friend's number in Jin Gang City, and the call was answered quickly.

"Hey bro, you don't call me that often!"

Both of them were quite old, but they had a good relationship. The guy on the other end of the phone and the old doctor both lived in Redstone City.

But as Likale State developed rapidly, his old friend's children thought they should try their luck on the East Coast, where they might be able to make something of themselves.

These second-generation immigrants born in the Union are in a very awkward position.

They are not entirely immigrants, but if you say they are not immigrants, the locals can't accept them so easily.

Perhaps only in the third, fourth, or even fifth generation will the Federation accept them.

The children all left, and this guy left with them. Although they were now in different areas, they still talked on the phone often, as if they were sitting together chatting.

The old doctor, unlike before, didn't speak to him with a smile. Instead, he asked very seriously, "How much do you know about the Lance family?"

His friend paused for a moment, then asked somewhat uncertainly, "Have you offended someone from the Lance family?"

“If you’ve offended their people… this is bad news. I’ve heard that Mr. White has a good relationship with the Pasreto family. Come here now, and I’ll take you to beg Francisco for our help. You might be able to escape this predicament!”

The people of Sumuli are very united, and the rise of the Pasreto family was built on this unity.

When they first arrived in the Federation, they were not much different from ordinary people. However, because they were reasonable, had strong fists, and were willing to help others, they eventually gained the support of the Sumuri people and gradually gained a foothold in Golden Port City, which led to the later Pasletto family.

Before Paul died, before the Sumuli people's own festivals and Advent Day, some of them, who were the older members of the neighborhood, would go to the Pasreto family to give Paul holiday greetings.

Paul would meet with them and chat with them, showing no airs whatsoever. This made many Sumuli people willing to try their luck with the Pasreto family when they encountered problems.

When the Pasreto family encountered trouble, ordinary Sumuli people were willing to offer help.

The old doctor interrupted him, "I haven't offended the Lance family. I just want to ask what their reputation is like on your end."

Before Governor Wade was eliminated, Redstone City was considered his territory, and Lance wouldn't come here easily. It was also difficult for members of the Lance family to enter. Therefore, for the people living in Redstone City, the Lance family was a very distant and unfamiliar name.

He wanted to know what the Lance family really represented.

His friend hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Has something happened?"

Without hesitation, the old doctor revealed what he knew: Lance had been assassinated.

"My God, is he... seriously injured?" his friend couldn't help but exclaim.

This piqued the old doctor's curiosity. "You care about him a lot. Have you received any help from them?"

His friend sighed, "I never received their help directly, but many people throughout Golden Harbor City and the entire state of Likalai have received indirect help from him."

"It's hard for me to explain this clearly. After all, they've done so much that they don't seem like ordinary gangs who don't engage in production and only know how to take and destroy."

“Mr. Lance White is a good man. He shouldn’t be injured. Hopefully, his injuries aren’t too serious!”

Hearing that his friend would actually pray for Lance, the old doctor became even more curious and learned more about Lance from his old friend. After listening, he took a deep breath, "From what you've said, he really is a good person."

"Now I'm faced with a choice, but I don't know what to do."

His friend probably knew what had happened and immediately tried to comfort and advise him, "If you know anything, you'd better tell them clearly."

“They won’t wrong you, they won’t target innocent people. The Lance family is very fair, and I’ve never heard of them randomly targeting good people.”

"But if you know and you don't tell them, then you will become their enemy."

"The more friendly these people are to the innocent, the more ruthless they are to their enemies!"

"Listen to me, brother, if you still want us to go fishing by the lake together when we're old, you'd better tell me the truth!"

After a while, he said, "I understand, I'll go and make up for the mistake."

"Waiting for your good news!"

After hanging up the phone, the old doctor's wife also came out of the room. She looked at her husband with great concern. Looking at the woman who had been with him all his life, the old doctor finally chose to believe his friend's words.

He dialed the phone number the person had left, and within about ten minutes, several cars pulled up in front of the veterinary hospital.

A young-looking man with an imposing presence walked in from outside. "You're the one who said you knew where those bastards were?"

Lance was still resting. He had originally wanted to come, but Erwin refused. What he needed to do most right now was to recover from his injuries, not to run around.

He can handle these things.

The old doctor nodded somewhat timidly. After the young people dressed in the same style of clothing came in, they searched his house inside and out again.

Irwin saw the newspaper and the phone number left in it, and he asked, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

The old doctor tensed up and said somewhat awkwardly, "I don't know you, so I need to find out what happened and who you are."

“My friend in Golden Harbour City said you are trustworthy people, so I made this call.”

He mentioned his friend in Golden Harbor City, who had just said he could take him to meet the Pasreto family.

This family has a very good relationship with the Lance family, so he mentioned it here in the hope that it would have some effect.

This statement did have some effect; the pressure Erwin put on him was reduced considerably. If he was a "local," then Erwin was willing to trust him.

The people outside who were still conducting their investigation saw the company's convoy parked here, and the team leader who had come here earlier ran back.

He entered the room, glanced at the old doctor, and pointed at him with a half-smile. He didn't mean anything by it, but it still startled the old doctor.

When Erwin saw that it was one of his own, he didn't say anything. His attention returned to the old doctor. "You called me, which means you have some clues. Now tell me your clues."

Once the old doctor had made his decision, he didn't hesitate any longer and immediately began to recount what had happened before.

A friend knocked on the door, treated a gunshot wound victim, and then watched them leave, recounting the entire process in detail.

Irwin listened intently, and when he heard that the gunmen were all Sumurians, a detestable character naturally came to mind—Christopher.

“Do you know where they’re hiding right now?” Erwin asked.

He still needs to go back and talk to Lance about this, but of course, the most urgent thing right now is to find those people.

The old doctor shook his head. "They didn't tell me where we were going, but I know the person who brought them here lives at the end of this street, at the house number..."

In such a relatively closed environment, most of the residents on a street know each other.

Just like in those large factories, even if the workers there aren't very familiar with each other, they're more or less familiar with each other's faces, or even acquaintances.

After he finished speaking about everything he knew, he looked at Erwin expectantly. Erwin smiled and said, "You know what?"

"Your decision saved yourself and your family."

He took out a check and placed it on the table. "You can keep this transfer check, but I suggest you don't use it yet, because if the information you provided is incorrect, we'll have to come looking for you!"

The old doctor glanced at the check with some reluctance, then refused to accept it. "We'll talk about this after you've caught those bastards who hurt Mr. White."

Irwin didn't press the matter, put the check away, and patted the old doctor's arm. "Now I really believe you're a smart man."

After he finished speaking, he took off his hat and said, "Thank you for the information. See you later."

The old doctor said goodbye to them, then watched them leave his house, get into their car, and drive off at the end of the street.

He knew that someone was going to die, but that had nothing to do with him. At least he had saved himself and his family, and there was still a chance he could get some compensation.

Just a short while later, the owner of the grocery store next door came in. He looked at the old doctor with some regret and asked, "Are those people from the Lance family?"

The old doctor nodded, and then he saw deep disappointment in the grocery store owner's eyes.

Clearly, the grocery store owner knew something, and the old doctor didn't know what had prompted him not to call and report him.

Perhaps it was worry, perhaps it was conscience, or perhaps something else, but in any case, he missed this opportunity.

The grocer asked in a voice filled with longing that everyone could hear, "Did they give you the money?"

The old doctor didn't answer, he just kept smiling. It was clearly a very presumptuous question, and he could have simply ignored it.

Even the grocery store owner couldn't stay any longer. Although the old doctor didn't say anything, he actually said everything.

He left muttering curses under his breath. Why couldn't he have been more decisive?
Is decades of neighborhood friendship more useful than at least ten thousand dollars?

Fake!

(End of this chapter)