Shadow Empire

Chapter 204 Welcome to Jingang City!
Polly's head exploded in an instant like a watermelon falling from the upper floor. After a brief silence, the scene was filled with chaos!
Only then did the deputy chief remember to hold Chief Dell's head and push him behind the police car.

Director Dale looked at Polly, who was lying on the ground with his body twitching, with a dull look in his eyes, and subconsciously reached out to touch the wet and hot thing on his face.

It's slimy and soft, and is slowly crawling downwards.

He touched the jelly-like substance, then looked down, and then a desire to vomit rose in his heart. He felt nauseous, nauseous, and wanted to vomit.

He threw the thing on his finger to the ground frantically as if he was throwing a poisonous snake. He couldn't hear the "pop" sound in the noisy environment.

But he succeeded.

His eyes were no longer as calm as they used to be. Even when facing the worst situation, he could calmly think of countermeasures.

All smart people will never be able to solve problems with violence.

No matter how smart you are, he will shoot you.

No matter how eloquent you are, even the president will listen to you and give you a shot.

No matter how clever you are, and no matter how many times you can turn the tide and get a chance to go further, he will give you a shot.

Everything, politics, wealth, status, everything, pales in comparison to life.

A large amount of blood gushed out from Polly's body. They were less than three meters apart, and he could even smell the strong smell of blood and a special fishy smell.

Director Dell felt a tremor, fear and terror from the deepest part of his soul.

Only when he was a child and accidentally set fire to one of his grandfather's warehouses and almost burned himself to death did he experience such trembling and shaking, unable to control himself.

At this time, the noise around him finally seemed to affect him. The deputy director shook him hard several times, and he looked at the deputy director somewhat at a loss.

"You have to leave here now, the shooter may still be nearby." The deputy chief had a "I'm fucking thinking about you" expression on his face.

Director Dell, whose eyes were originally dull due to fear, immediately became sharp. He stared at the deputy director, who seemed to meet his gaze calmly.

The two looked at each other for two or three seconds, and Chief Dale shook his head, "Thank you, but I don't need it. I'm here with my soldiers, and I'm not going anywhere!"

He spoke very loudly and some agents looked over here. No one knew what they were thinking at the moment, but it definitely couldn't be bad.

The deputy director lowered his head and looked away, "Just make your own judgment..."

It seemed as if nothing had happened, yet it seemed as if a lot had happened. Director Dell took out a handkerchief and wiped off the remaining stains on his face, although he still felt a little sick.

He glanced at Polly, who was still bleeding, and threw the soiled handkerchief over to him.

But unfortunately, it was not covered and quickly became the same color as the blood.

"The gunmen are on the corner and they are running away!" Suddenly, an agent saw the suspected gunman getting into a car.

While shouting, he rushed into the car on the side of the road, stepped on the accelerator to the limit, turned the steering wheel, and the tires of the police car turned around on the ground with smoke coming out.

Then, several other agents, fearing that their colleagues might suffer, also got in their cars and chased after them.

Although the distance between them is a little far, as long as they keep up, with the help of the radio, they will never let the other party run away in this city.

People breathed a sigh of relief. If the gunman could be caught, perhaps more valuable clues could be unearthed.

However, just as the first police car was about to rush through an intersection, a van rushed out from the side at an extremely fast, unreasonable speed...

The huge crash could be heard even from a distance of one or two hundred meters. The police car was knocked over and directly hit the wall, with only the power wheels still turning.

A driver who looked a little annoyed walked out of the cab of the van. He looked at the police car that he had overturned with an uneasy expression, and seemed a little at a loss.

Several agents who followed later went to check on the agents in the car, while others rushed to the van driver and punched him.

Behind the window of a store opposite, a reporter used his camera to record everything in detail!
In the sunshine, several law enforcement officers were using their fists to pin a driver to the ground and beat him.

Chief Dell withdrew his gaze from a distance, his face looked very ugly. There was no doubt that the car accident was also arranged by the gunman's men.

He had completely calmed down at this time. He glanced at the dead ghost Polly lying on the ground, and thought of a question in his mind -

What qualifications does he have to be silenced?
As a qualified politician, it was natural for him to think this way. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that there was a big net that had trapped him and them.

He might not feel it when he wasn't struggling, but when he started to struggle, he could clearly feel it, and the more he struggled, the tighter the net became, making it harder for him to breathe...

"...After a fierce battle, we finally killed the mastermind of the bombing, the leader of the Brotherhood Gang, known as 'Big Polly', who refused to surrender and stubbornly resisted."

"We will continue to arrest and question other members of the Brotherhood who were involved in this case, and decide whether to bring them to court based on the crimes they have committed."

"You are now free to ask questions."

Half an hour later, in the meeting room of the Hazardous Materials Administration, Director Dale announced the result of the arrest by saying, "We shot and killed Polly who was resisting."

Because Big Polly didn't want to be arrested, he knew that he had committed an unforgivable crime and would eventually be put on the electric chair, so he refused to negotiate and refused to surrender.

The agents from the Hazardous Materials Administration could only shoot him on the spot, and the rest of the work of digging out the inside story of the explosion could only be done from other members of the Brotherhood.

They cordoned off the scene at the time, so people didn't know how Polly died. Although some people said that Polly was assassinated to silence him, in this era, people are still willing to believe law enforcement agencies.

At this time, all the reporters at the scene raised their hands, and Director Dell calmly chose a reporter who looked more pleasing to the eye.

On the other person's chest was written the introduction of "Today's Jingang Columnist". Although Dell had not been in Jingang City for long, he knew how great the influence of "Today's Jingang" was in this city.

Just one sentence from the reporter caused Director Dell to blacklist the newspaper and all its reporters.

"Mr. Director, there are witnesses who said that you almost captured Polly alive, but someone shot Polly with a rifle from more than 100 meters away to silence him. The public is worried about whether you can really do your job well."

"Is there anything you would like to tell us?"

Without even thinking, Chief Dale responded, "Fake news, next."

He pointed at another reporter, a reporter who looked slightly bald, and stood up and asked, "Director Dell, we are reporters from the Tide Newspaper, which ranks fourth in circulation in Jingang City. Have you read our newspaper?"

Director Dell nodded slightly, "I have some understanding of it."

There was a lot of laughter at the scene. Director Dell suddenly realized something and his expression became even uglier.

The reporter didn't seem to care at all that he had offended the director of a powerful law enforcement department. He asked more deeply, "We have published sixteen eighteen-year-old girls in this issue. Who do you like best?"

"Chaotic" is a newspaper that mainly reports on strippers and publishes call girl information. It is filled with a large number of girls who are naked and in urgent need of help from kind people.

Anyone who is willing to lend a helping hand can just call the number above to meet these poor girls and discuss the details of the assistance.

The reason why this newspaper has huge sales is because for only five cents, you can see a large amount of naked bodies of the girls in it, which is very tempting to men of all ages.

It is said that they are planning to publish a new newspaper recently, called "Jian Ting", which will mainly publish information about male dancers and target the growing female consumer market.

In Likalai State Prison, a copy of the Tide is worth more than ten dollars!
Reporters for such sleazy newspapers are more likely to be found in nightclubs, strip clubs and escort services than at a serious press conference.

Their audience doesn't care about any of this, they just want to see bodies, not serious news.

But his appearance here is obviously an act of malicious intent.

It can even be said that there were many reporters at the scene who were just like him, and would embarrass Director Dell if they were pointed out.

It doesn’t even matter if they can’t get their name, they will rush to stand up.

Listening to the crowd's shrill laughter, Director Dell chose to end the free questioning, picked up the documents and turned away. He returned to the office full of anger. Since arriving in Jingang City, nothing has gone smoothly!
He thought that the informant had provided him with a huge warehouse of smuggled liquor, which was a good start, but unexpectedly, it was the beginning of bad luck!
Damn it!
In the office, he slammed the table hard. Polly's death made him go from active to passive again.

He looked out the window at Jingang City bathed in the sun. The sun clearly covered every corner of the city, but he always felt that there was a shadow that was lingering, looming, and covering the city even more than the sun...

Things developed faster than he had imagined. In less than an hour, almost everyone in the government department knew about the new political joke: "I had some understanding of it."

These people who were watching the fun were actually obviously divided into several groups. Most of them laughed unscrupulously without caring about Director Dell's face at all.

These civil servants are all born and raised locals, like William, who has a large number of civil servants in his family.

Either you have to remove them all across multiple departments, or if you only deal with one, you will offend the others.

So they can laugh loudly and happily without restraint, without any consequences.

Some people smile less obviously. These are outsiders who are in the process of becoming locals. They can be said to be "Jingang immigrants" rather than "federal immigrants."

Almost all of them are from the Federation, but not native Jingang people. However, as their jobs become stable and they marry locals, they are integrating into the local community.

So they can express their true emotions appropriately without worrying about retaliation.

As for those who don’t smile or talk, they are typical outsiders. They must be careful. In this seemingly open and inclusive city, there may not be enough space for a stranger!

Director Dale knew that there was a deeper mastermind behind all of this, including the phone call from Polly saying that he was not the one who planted the first bomb.

Now, he believes it.

But Polly was already dead, and many possible clues were lost. He had almost no other options except to feel regretful.

Just as he was thinking about how to resolve this situation, the phone on the desk suddenly rang.

"This is Dell."

"Dale, it's me." He could still recognize the mayor's voice. Remembering everyone's voice is also what a qualified politician should do.

Some politicians and bigwigs have some bad tastes. They want everyone to respect them. Sometimes they will jokingly ask others on the phone if they know who they are.

If you meet this kind of person, you'd better know!
"Mr. Mayor..."

"Can we chat sometime?"

Director Dell did not visit the mayor after arriving in Jingang City. On the one hand, he came from the central government, although he was just a "small role" when he was in the central government.

But he has senators behind him, and he also has backers and circles.

On the other hand, the Hazardous Materials Administration itself is a vertical organization. It does not need to deal with local officials, and it tries to avoid this matter as much as possible.

The more you deal with people here, the harder it is to remain neutral; you never know how complicated the relationships here are.

After spending a long time with certain people, if they suddenly make an excessive request, would you agree to it?
And the purer his loyalty to Congress and the Presidential Palace, the more the superiors will like him and the more they will value him.

But now, he seemed to have no way out, so he agreed immediately.

Ten minutes later, a low-key car with luxurious interior stopped in the parking lot of the Hazardous Materials Administration. Director Dell changed his hat and put on a stand-up collar windbreaker. He got into the mayor's car without being noticed by outsiders.

Luxurious interior, soft upholstery everywhere, cowhide, sheepskin, ivory, silver, precious woods...

He took off his hat and coat and placed them on the seat beside him.

"any drinks?"

The mayor took out a bottle of wine from a small wine cabinet and said, "Chief Dale really needs some now."

Even though Congress is keeping a close eye on the issue of national prohibition and has asked them to take it seriously and crack down on those who defy the ban and continue to sell and drink alcohol.

In fact, they have never banned it at all. They even have special people who provide alcohol to Congress and senators. The presidential palace also purchases a batch of alcohol every month for drinking.

This huge social experiment has always been aimed at the lower and middle classes, not the upper and middle classes.

They pretended to quit drinking just to let the lower class know their determination, not because they really wanted to quit drinking.

"Whiskey, any?" Director Dale now needs some strong liquor to calm his emotions.

The mayor changed to a bottle of Gold Label La Boquerque. The amber liquid and its fragrance made Chief Dell feel a little relaxed just by smelling it.

He took the glass, clinked glasses with the mayor, and then they both took a sip.

After taking a sip of wine, I felt much better.

The car drove slowly, and people around on the street couldn't see what was going on inside because there were curtains.

The mayor may have seen Chief Dell's "caution" and he said with a smile, "You don't have to worry so much. I won't harm you."

He meant that Director Dell waited for him to take a sip before drinking, and he was too cautious.

Chief Dale smirked as if he didn't understand, but the mayor didn't mind making it clearer, "Because we are all outsiders."

"How's it going, Dale?"

"Are you satisfied with the locals' welcome ceremony?"

Director Dell's expression gradually became more serious. "I don't quite understand what you mean."

"Don't use honorifics. We are all outsiders."

"You are not a native of this city, and neither am I, but we have experienced the same thing."

“This is their welcome ceremony!”

"The local city councillors and the five major families they refer to are locals who span politics, business, the mafia, and almost all industries, forming a huge network."

"We outsiders cannot join them, so naturally we will be wary and targeted by them."

"Do you know why Polly died?"

Dale actually already had some guesses, but he still shook his head. Playing dumb when necessary is not really stupid.

The mayor didn't mind him playing dumb, "Because you are an outsider and you want to explore the locals' secrets, then this person who may know the locals' secrets but is unwilling to keep them, or may not be able to keep them, has to shut up."

"I heard that Councillor Wade's people showed up at the scene and then withdrew."

Chief Dale caught a key word from it, "You mean, Councilman Wade?"

The mayor nodded. "His family is older than the history of this city. If Polly knows any of his secrets, then Polly will definitely be silenced."

"This is their welcome gift to you, and also a warning to you, warning you not to delve into the secrets of this city and its locals!"

The mayor leaned back in the car seat. The soft backrest made him feel comfortable and safe. "I've been there before, too."

"And what happened to me was more terrible and more brutal than what happened to you."

"Would you like to hear a story?"

(End of this chapter)