Shadow Empire

Chapter 189: Morality and Capture

"Mr. Lance, thank you so much!"

An old man in his fifties stood in front of Lance, with his head slightly lowered, holding Lance's hands tightly with both hands, and his expression was very excited.

He has been in the federation for seven or eight years, but has never obtained legal immigration status.

He consulted people more than once, and the Immigration Bureau did not close the immigration channel, but if he wanted to obtain legal immigration status, he either had to go through the process or tell stories.

If they had followed the procedures, they would not be illegal immigrants. As for telling stories...some people may have succeeded, but there are more people who have not been successful.

Telling a story is not an easy task, and it has to be told well and in a way that makes people believe it.

For example, some people say that they were persecuted by nobles, but they are just commoners, how could they be persecuted by nobles or even the royal family?
Do the nobles and the royal family still need to persecute them and force them into exile?

Maybe a phone call can make them become lonely souls of an era, the kind that can't even make the front page headlines.

Some people also said that they knew a huge secret, but they couldn't tell the secret unless they were given legal status first...

In short, it has been almost ten years and he is still an illegal resident.

It was not until today that he felt that a "turnaround" was truly emerging!

"No matter what, Mr. Lance, we will always remember what you have done for us!"

"If you need us for anything in the future, please let me know!"

Lance shook his arms, "Everything will be fine, God bless you!"

A middle-aged man who was waiting for Lance's handshake couldn't help but interrupt and said, "The God of the Federation has never blessed us. Instead, it is you, Mr. Lance, who has always taken care of us."

People laughed a little, perhaps because they thought the words were a bit exaggerated and blasphemous to God, or perhaps because they thought they were too loud, so the laughter quickly subsided.

Lance always maintained a humble attitude and did not become arrogant because of people's praise. He said softly, "I have heard a saying that when a person is poor, the most important thing he should do is to take good care of himself."

"But if this person becomes rich, in terms of wealth and status, then he should take care of more people instead of always focusing only on himself."

“I want to be a rich person, not just rich in wealth and status, but also rich in spirit and morality!”

William, who was standing behind Lance, got goosebumps when he heard what he said. He suddenly felt that he still had a lot to learn from Lance in terms of being thick-skinned.

At least he couldn't say such corny and shameless words, but Lance could not only say them, but also say them so naturally and fluently!
The old man's eyes were red with excitement. "I thought of my deceased wife. If you could have come here earlier, perhaps our lives would have been completely different!"

He once again held Lance's hand tightly with both of his own, "Please take care of yourself, and then take care of us!"

"I will!"

Lance and the old man's words continued to spread among these people, and they whispered these words to those who did not hear and who were standing farther away.

The way people look at Lance is subtly changing, and it's a complicated feeling to describe.

It was like... I suddenly felt more confident, as if someone was backing me up, and the gloomy sky seemed to suddenly become bright!

At first William felt it was corny and got goosebumps all over his body, but soon he became serious because he didn't feel that this was a lie or that Lance was serious!

This made him begin to respect anyone who has lofty goals and ideals and is trying to achieve them. Others will respect them from the bottom of their hearts!

Not to mention, they are in the same group.

William could already foresee that today's incident would not only bring him great fame, but would also have a terrible impact on Lance among these groups!

With hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, even if only half of them can be converted into legal immigrants, plus the Imperial District, Lance already has a lot of "capital" in Jingang City.

This also made William full of confidence in his future. Lance's words once inadvertently echoed in his heart, resounding through his soul -

Not just MPs!

I am already in my forties, but for some reason, I suddenly become so passionate again!

Just as Lance and his friends were about to leave, a group of police cars suddenly came from a distance and drove towards the dock. The traffic policeman leading the way in the front directed people not to occupy the road.

There are not only police cars here, but also a metal car——

Its appearance is not much different from that of an ordinary car, except that the butt is a little higher. The entire car is made of an iron shell, which looks a bit funny.

Not many people know about it. This is the current mainstream "armored vehicle" of the Federation. In fact, it is a car chassis, towing an iron shell with bulletproof capabilities.

This armored vehicle can accommodate six people, two people in the driver's seat and the co-pilot seat, and four people in the back. These four people can sit or stand, can shoot outwards, and there is also a very small trunk.

This was the first time that an armored vehicle appeared in Jingang City, especially since it was not parked somewhere but was running on the streets.

Lance stood at the door of the hotel and looked over here. What he didn't know was that in this convoy, there was an "old acquaintance" of his.

Senior Agent Lucard was sitting behind the passenger seat of a car, his expression focused and serious.

Not long after the director took office, he received a "report" that a warehouse was storing a large amount of illegally smuggled liquor. The amount was staggering, and it was right in the port area.

"Catch the big one" has always been the intention of the gentlemen in Congress. All places must find a case with a large value to solve as soon as possible. Only in this way can the rampant illegal liquor be curbed.

When Lucard and his team came back, the director was still at the State Prohibition Office because there were some things that were not convenient to say to the lower-level law enforcement officers.

Some bigwigs in Congress believe that when necessary, even if some evidence has to be fabricated, it must serve the purpose of deterring lawbreakers.

For example, if someone only smuggled five boxes of wine, he might be released after serving three years in prison. This has no deterrent effect on criminals.

Because the cost of smuggling is very low and the profit is very high, even if they are caught, it will not curb the crime, but will only make people think that they are just unlucky.

People will continue to commit crimes and even promote violations of Prohibition.

So now, just increase the smuggled quantity by twenty times, fifty times, to one hundred boxes, two hundred boxes, enough to send someone directly to the electric chair!
There was no need to carefully examine the evidence. Just execute the person first and then let more people know that someone had been sent to the electric chair and executed for violating Prohibition.

Death is always a greater deterrent to crime than a painless punishment. Only in this way can Prohibition seem less like a joke of Congress!

As for injustice?

He has already started committing crimes. If he is not caught, he will definitely get bigger and bigger in the future, or he will definitely accumulate so much in his lifetime. Now he is just sentenced in advance.

How can there be any injustice?
The director understood what he was suggesting and was still thinking about how to deal with the matter when someone took the initiative to send him a letter, gave him an address and told him that there was a large amount of smuggled liquor inside.

He didn't believe it at first, but he still sent people to investigate, and found that there was indeed a lot of wine.

He immediately began to organize a large group of people and started to put on a show.

The reporters who had not yet completely dispersed followed quickly like sharks that had smelled blood. This was what the director wanted to see.

Ten minutes later, there was a brief exchange of gunfire in the southern part of the port area, which soon subsided.

At the scene, a large amount of brandy was neatly placed in an open area, like the director’s medal of honor!

The reporters were looking at the license plates frantically, and the director was in front of the camera, accepting interviews from the reporters.

"...Before I took office, I knew that Jingang City had been a disaster area for smuggled liquor since the implementation of the prohibition order." "Here is a very developed transportation system, both by land and sea. A lot of smuggled liquor from abroad lands here."

“When I was chosen to come here, I felt the heavy responsibility on my shoulders. This is both a recognition and a challenge for me.”

"Fortunately, I did not disappoint my superiors' expectations of me. After our thorough investigation, we destroyed a den storing smuggled liquor today, killed two people, and captured two alive."

"Next, we will focus on this batch of stolen goods and dig deep into the mastermind behind the scenes..."

"Fuck!" A bottle of brandy was thrown heavily to the ground, glass shards and wine splashed everywhere, and the whole room was filled with crackling noises for a while before it quieted down.

The rich aroma of wine filled the room, but few people looked like they were enjoying it. Everyone was serious, even a little scared!
The short Big Polly was walking around in a frenzy, and the place where he hid his liquor was raided.

Not only were they all caught in the act, with two people dead, but the Alcohol, Tobacco and Hazardous Substances Administration even said it wanted to dig deeper to find out who were the masterminds behind the scenes!
Since he became the leader of the Brotherhood, he has never suffered such a big loss!

That warehouse contained not only the wine he got from Heller, but also a batch of his own wine, and now it's all been taken away!
He lost at least two or three hundred thousand!
Although more than half of them were offered to him by Heller.

"Someone must have betrayed our information, otherwise these sons of bitches wouldn't have been able to find that place. Let's check if any of us who have been to that place have seen anything strange recently."

"For example, if they suddenly disappear for a while, or if there is anything unusual in the past few days, you must dig him out for me. I want to kill him with my own hands!"

He was about to say something, but suddenly stopped, "Go now, I hope you can give me an answer as soon as possible!"

"Wait!" He looked at the senior officials who had stood up and were about to leave. "Go find out who is involved in this operation. I want their information!"

After these people left, Polly returned to his chair and sat down.

His chair was custom-made, slightly higher than a normal chair, so that he wouldn't look like a joke—

He would look very short if he sat on an ordinary chair. If someone came in from outside, they could only see his head and neck through the desk. He would look like a child sitting in an adult's seat.

He didn't like people looking at him like a child, so he made his chair a little higher so that he would look more normal.

But the trade-off is that his legs will leave the ground when he sits down.

But who would go around the table to see if his feet were off the ground?
If someone really did this, he wouldn't mind shooting the other person to let him feel the price of insulting him!
He picked up the receiver, dialed a number, and was quickly connected.

“My liquor was checked.”

The voice in the receiver sounded somewhat gloating, "I saw the news, there are over 300,000 worth of wine, I mean, is there really that much?"

Polly's temples ached a little. "At least two hundred and fifty thousand. If they calculate it according to the market price, it's about the same."

The person on the other end even laughed out loud, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that!”

"So, what is your purpose in calling me now?"

"Do you know that damn chief?" Polly asked.

The other party gave a negative answer, "I don't know them. They are an independent system. However, I know a senior agent there, but he probably can't help you."

Polly continued patiently, "I don't care if you know him or not, just find a way to tell that idiot to return the goods to me. I'll give him 30,000 dollars and my friendship."

The guy on the other end of the phone didn't answer him immediately. Instead, he thought for a while before saying, "Polly, they are different from us. I'll give you whatever you want as long as it doesn't have a big impact."

"But they are different. They have drawn the best from various departments. They are not here to play tricks on you. They are here to work!"

"I can guarantee that I will have someone pass this message over, but not only will they not do it, they will target you instead."

"I heard that they have an internal judicial office that specializes in handling some of the legal documents they can handle."

"In other words, they don't even need to notify the Justice Bureau when they arrest you. They can handle the paperwork internally. Do you understand what I mean?"

"They are a completely different kind of evil than us!"

"But if you strongly want me to convey these words to you, I can do that. But what you encounter has nothing to do with me."

Polly became even angrier after hearing this, "Is that the end of it?"

"It's better this way!"

"Fuck, fuck!" Polly didn't care anymore and started to criticize.

The tone of the person on the other end of the phone also became harsh. "You'd better pay attention to who you're talking to. If you don't want me to check on you every day, you'd better eat the shit out of your face..."

With a clang, Polly threw the receiver onto the base. This matter was not over yet!

While Polly was furious, a group of people were opening champagne.

Alberto has returned from Alan, and brought two friends, two Alan people, with him.

"This is Mr. Carloscia, and this is Mr. Gomez." Alberto introduced the two new friends to Lance. "Mr. Carloscia is the Deputy Minister of Commerce of Lapa, and Mr. Gomez is the President of the largest Chamber of Commerce in their country. They came here at my invitation to travel and inspect the business environment of the Federation."

"This is Mr. White, Lance White, my best friend!"

After Lance shook hands cordially with these people, he and Alberto walked over to the side, "What the hell?"

Alberto smiled happily. "It's just a small country. The total population may not be as large as that of Likalai State. You probably know a little about the situation there. They mainly rely on the export of agricultural products."

"I gave them a big order for juice and potato wine, which I needed for my own bar, and then I accidentally became their big customer..."

A country with a population of just over one million naturally attaches great importance to big customers, not to mention that this customer comes from the wealthy federation.

But these two people do not look poor, and it is obvious that they are a small minority among the more than one million people.

Alberto patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't think too much. Just eat well and have fun. They will supply me with goods for a long time. If you need, I can also give you some..."

He got some "tips" from Lance that the strong potato wine could be mixed with anything, whether it was juice or something else, which made everything possible.

Asia has abundant resources of tropical fruits. These tropical juices can be mixed with alcohol to make excellent fruit wine, and they don't attract much attention.

Lance naturally didn't say anything about this. He looked at the two "foreigners" and suddenly some special ideas came to his mind, but when he thought about it seriously, he couldn't grasp it. Perhaps this would take some time.

The Tobacco, Alcohol and Hazardous Materials Administration shut down a warehouse with a huge stock of smuggled liquor in one go, which really gave the entire Jingang City a special shock, and led to a significant increase in the price of liquor.

Some small bars have taken the initiative to close to avoid becoming "next", but more are still forging ahead, after all, it makes them more money.

Just two days later, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Hazardous Substances, in front of all the reporters, crushed the confiscated liquor on the dock.

The wine flowed from the bottle directly into the sea, and the aroma of the wine filled most of the pier. If the weather wasn't so cold, someone would have jumped into the sea to catch it.

Even so, some people still got some sea water, but unfortunately they couldn't taste the flavor of wine.

This move also made the people of the city realize the ill intentions of this new department and their determination!
Interestingly, Mr. Pasletto’s high-end liquors, which were previously unsalable, started to sell well again, and Alberto also negotiated some new sources of supply, and everything is back on track!

Except for Polly, he was not that hurt. A lot of Heller's wine had already been sold, so he didn't lose anything. He could only say that he was happy for nothing.

But for him, this was already an unbearable pain!

(End of this chapter)