Shadow Empire

Chapter 214 Good Brothers Come and Stop Cooperation and Loss

"I hope you get better soon..."

Lance stood at the head of the bed in the ward with some gifts. He came to visit Eric.

Eric was lying on the bed, his face and nose bruised, one of his legs and one of his arms were in plaster and hung up.

He might seem like he wants to... yell?
Or any other drastic movements, after seeing Lance, but because his movements were too big, he felt the heart-wrenching pain.

He could only grimace, gasp for air, and keep shouting "It hurts".

In the end, Chief Charlie chose to dispatch police. He called other police stations and asked them to send police, but either the chief was not there or there were not enough police officers. He knew that someone was forcing him to take sides.

Although he didn't know why he had to be forced to take sides, he was about to retire and only had two years left before he could enjoy his old age.

Why must he be forced to take sides in the last two years?

He has been a dog for so long that he doesn't want to stand up now!

He thought of the slave liberation movement in the past, when some slaves helped the slave owners suppress the rebels. When the rebels were about to be sent to the gallows, they asked the slaves who had coerced the slave owners to kill their own kind.

Why would they help the slave owners to persecute their own kind? Don’t they want freedom?
Some of the slaves told them that "not all people want to be free," a statement that silenced many.

Especially as a party opposing the slave emancipation movement, these people and events were used as examples for propaganda.

Chief Charlie felt that this could also be applied to himself. Not everyone wants to be a human being. Some people are willing to be dogs forever, like him.

This time he arranged a police car and two police officers to respond to the call, and he had to express his position.

Or he could stand on the mayor's side - but that was absolutely impossible. His entire family lived in Jingang City. He didn't dare and couldn't take the risk.

Then he can only stand on the side of local forces and use the lowest configuration to tell everyone that he is still everyone's loyal "Bay Area Hound".

The two policemen eventually stopped the violence and Eric was immediately sent to the hospital.

He had multiple broken bones and even more severe bruises. Simply put, he was beaten too hard.

Seeing him howling on the hospital bed, Lance walked to the doctor with some reluctance, "Give him an injection of special painkiller. Choose the best one with the fastest effect. I'll pay for it."

The doctor looked at Lance, then at Eric.

Eric was just injured, not brain-damaged. He heard what Lance said and shouted, "Give me a shot, quickly, I need it."

He has never suffered such losses since he was a child!
If the broken head made him feel terrible pain, then the fractures and bruises all over his body made him feel like he was about to die!

It was worse than death now, because death would be over in an instant, but he had to endure the pain that tormented him every moment.

During this period, both medical methods and drugs were not that advanced. The pain caused to the patients by tibia fractures and rib fractures was unimaginable!
Finally, the doctor asked the nurse to get a special medicine and then injected it.

The power of the special medicine lies in its ability to quickly relieve pain. The wound and the fracture are still there, but the magical thing is that he doesn't feel any pain anymore!
Eric, who was originally in pain all over, suddenly felt better after twenty or thirty seconds.

It doesn't hurt anymore.

He had never thought that just "no pain" could make people so comfortable, even... The ceiling suddenly cracked, and a beautiful snake came out, spitting at him, but quickly went back in.

What the hell is this?
He blinked his eyes, and the whole world seemed to be shaking slightly, but he did not feel uncomfortable at all, instead he felt more comfortable.

He likes this feeling.

Hey!

He laughed for no apparent reason. He himself didn't know why he laughed. Maybe it was because he felt comfortable.

The doctors and nurses didn't take it seriously. Recently, many special painkillers have been on the market, and some patients have experienced this situation. This doesn't mean that there is something wrong with the medicine. On the contrary, it shows that the medicine is very effective.

The special medicine they injected Eric with was the latest model, costing 9.80 yuan per injection, which was unaffordable for ordinary people.

Most of them charge a little over one dollar for an injection, or use several tablets of painkillers that cost fifty cents.

Although those painkillers or analgesics are also effective, they do not last as long, take effect as quickly, or have as good results as this one.

Lance pulled a wad of money out of his pocket, counted out two hundred and fifty dollars and handed it to the doctor, "Eric is my best friend, I can't bear to see him suffer."

"When he starts to feel uncomfortable, give him another shot. Here are over 200 yuan. Give him at least 20 shots."

"The rest is considered labor compensation."

After receiving more than fifty dollars in hard work fees, the doctor smiled a little, "Your friendship is touching, sir."

Lance smiled and sighed, "We are friends after all."

He walked to the bedside. Eric no longer cared about him at this time. From his out-of-focus eyes and the silly smile on his face, it could be seen that he should be very comfortable now.

Lance walked outside the ward, which was full of people, including Lawyer Orson.

It was not convenient for the mayor to come in person, so Attorney Orson intervened in the whole matter as the full representative.

He saw Lance and waved to him, "How is he?"

"He said he was in so much pain, I asked the doctor to give him a painkiller injection, and he should be falling asleep by now."

Lawyer Olson had some ability in law and politics, but he did not know much about medical matters.

He nodded noncommittally and pulled Lance to the corner.

"What role did you play in this matter?" Lawyer Orson got to the point right away.

Lance shook his head. "I don't quite understand what you mean, Lawyer Orson. I just played a role that I was supposed to play."

"Master Eric wanted some quick money, and I gave him some suggestions, and he chose one of them."

Lawyer Orson's look was serious and unfriendly.

Originally they had a plan to move forward step by step, rather than... in leaps and bounds.

But the problems of Eric and the Kodak family directly ruined their plan. Now the contradictions and conflicts have become transparent, which makes the mayor very passive.

His rumored illegitimate son was beaten like this. If he retaliates, everyone will look down on him!

And this contempt, that is, disappointment, will make him lose something important.

The aesthetics of the Federation have not been distorted or changed. For men, muscles, strength and the courage to punch are what people appreciate.

A sissy, a weak person is not.

He had to fight back, but he didn't want to do it now. Someone had forced him into a position where he shouldn't have been and ruined all his plans!

After carefully thinking about the whole incident, Lawyer Orson found that Lance may have played an "disgraceful" role.

If Eric, or the nightclub, did not run a casino, the Kodak family would have no reason to directly attack their industry.

It is definitely not a smart move to attack Eric's industry without any reason.

But Eric ran the casino, against the city's rules, so they had a case.

But even so, it doesn’t matter, because the nightclub has always been run by Lance anyway.

The first person to be affected after the Kodak family arrived should have been Lance, but in the end Lance not only did not go, he also leaked the news to Eric.

This put Eric at the forefront.

Then an unreasonable fight suddenly broke out. Until now, he has not heard any rumors from the Kodak family and found the first few people who started the fight.

This series of coincidences cannot be coincidences.

His expression was serious. “You’d better understand what you’re doing.”

Lance shook his head. "I just did what I was supposed to do, Lawyer Orson." "You said let me listen to you."

"I listened to you, and you said I didn't listen."

"This bothers me a lot." Lance's expression was a little subtle, and the look he gave Lawyer Orson was not as "disguised" as before.

“Is it true that when you become a big shot, the first thing you have to master is to throw your responsibilities to others?”

"Will this make me look more wise?"

Lawyer Orson looked unhappy. He was silent for a while and said, "You don't need to run the nightclub and those bars anymore. Take your people and evacuate from those places."

This is a complete lack of trust in Lance. Lance doesn't care. He didn't want to be there any longer. "No problem, does this mean that there is no contact between us anymore?"

Lawyer Orson was silent for a while. "If you are willing to get closer to the mayor..."

"And he's not willing to give me 500 dollars a month?" Lance sneered and shook his shoulders. "That's great, Lawyer Orson. We've tried our best!"

Lawyer Orson didn't say anything. He was thinking about how some subsequent events would develop. Lance said goodbye to him and left briskly.

The situation of Eric being seriously injured began to develop rapidly as Lance expected. The mayor was also very clear that he had to launch a strong counterattack in the face of this situation!
As for the Kodak family saying that they have not found the first attacker, or even that those people were not their people, it actually doesn’t matter anymore.

The next afternoon, Chief Dell received a "report call" and they quickly drove two armored vehicles and more than a dozen police cars to a villa in the Bay Area.

They invaded the villa directly and violently, and found a group of people gathered here drinking and gambling.

The professional gambling equipment and tables on site tell people that this is a small, private casino and it has not been registered.

Originally, this matter was not under the jurisdiction of the Hazardous Materials Administration, but the large amount of alcoholic beverages found at the scene gave them the qualifications to intervene.

These people were taken back for investigation, and if they cannot clear themselves of possible charges of "smuggling and selling alcoholic beverages" and "drinking in a group", they may all be sentenced to severe penalties.

And this villa is the asset of the Kodak family.

At the same time, Director Dell made a public radio speech, announcing that Jingang City would enter a period of strict prohibition on the sale of alcohol starting today, and all people or things that violate the prohibition would be severely punished if caught.

And they have obtained the consent of the state government. If necessary, these criminals can be tried not locally, but in the state government and state courts.

The mayor used a powerful counterattack to tell people that he was not a wimp and that the rules of this city could no longer restrain him!

For a while, the entire Jingang City was filled with an unsettling and depressing feeling. If anyone noticed the changes in the Commercial Services Bureau during this period, they would find that a large number of companies had registered here in the past few days.

Most of them came from inland cities. The arrival of these people not only brought some fresh blood and motivation to the city, but also brought chaos!
"Our bar was raided..."

When Lance arrived at the door of the bar, the Hazardous Materials Administration not only arranged a police car, but also an armored vehicle.

A cordon was set up around the area. On the street, more than 30 boxes of various alcoholic beverages were placed on the ground, and a dozen young people were handcuffed and standing behind the drinks.

There were agents and reporters taking pictures of them, and a large crowd had gathered around them.

When some people saw Lance coming, they made way for him to go to the innermost part.

Perhaps because of Lance's arrival, people's discussions became quieter. Perhaps this was the only way to avoid offending Lance.

Senior Agent Lugar, who was in charge of the case on the scene, immediately spotted Lance, who was dressed obviously differently in the crowd.

He walked closer to Lance with a half-smile in his hand, holding a clipboard, and chatted with Lance as if he was chatting with an acquaintance, "Hey, do you want to go out for a walk tonight?"

Lance glanced at him and said nothing.

Lukar didn't care at all, "How much do you think these wines are worth?"

He seemed to have guessed that Lance would not talk to him, so he continued, "There are about four hundred bottles of wine here, and the market price is about two thousand four hundred yuan."

"And over there..." He pointed at the young people standing in a row behind the drinks with the clipboard in his hand, "The bail for each of these people needs to be at least three hundred dollars."

"Let me count... There are eleven young men here. Their bail will cost at least $3,300, plus the wine and the stolen money we found..."

Lucard whistled, "You lost seven or eight thousand dollars, Lance."

There was a hint of pride on his face. During this period, Lucard also felt the difference in Director Dale. He asked everyone to be more proactive and fulfill the tasks assigned to them by Congress.

The first person Lucard thought of was Lance, so after getting the detailed location of the bar from a young man, he came directly to arrest him.

There is no doubt that the information is very accurate. He wanted to see some...negative emotions on Lance's face, but unfortunately, Lance remained calm.

"It's only seven or eight thousand, Lukar, have you never seen money before?"

"Or is seven or eight thousand yuan already an astronomical figure for you?"

Lance pulled out his ivory cigarette case, took out a cigarette, lit it, and blew a puff of smoke at Lugal, who turned his head away.

Maybe he didn't like seeing Lance's nonchalant look, maybe he wanted to provoke Lance, or maybe he wanted to find that kind of inappropriate expression on his face.

He lowered his voice a little, "Lance, you think everyone likes you, but you are not as popular as you think."

"Do you know who reported you?"

Lance glanced at him sideways, "Who is it?"

He didn't expect Lucard to say anything, and that was true, but it wasn't like Lucard said nothing.

He said in a tone of watching the fun, "The people around you."

Lance raised his eyebrows and repeated, "The people around me?" Then he sneered, "You don't know me and the people around me, Lucard."

"We are brothers who can trust each other's lives. They will not betray me."

"If they really betrayed me, then there must be something wrong with me, not them."

"People like you won't understand."

He was clearly planning to laugh at Lance's joke, but inexplicably... He looked around and saw that the expressions on the onlookers' faces were all different, but there was almost no expression that he wanted to see.

No one laughed at Lance, and no one sympathized with him. Instead, many people looked at him with disgust.

The smile on his face gradually faded. He took a step forward and tapped Lance's chest with his hand, "You'd better prepare the money to pay the bail!"

Then he turned around and went back to the center.

Lance looked down at his chest, flicked off the non-existent dust, nodded at the young people standing there in handcuffs with a nonchalant look on their faces, and then disappeared into the crowd.

He got back in the car and said, "Check who Lukar has been in contact with recently and send someone to keep an eye on him."

Erwin was a little bit incredulous, "Is there really a traitor among us?"

Lance shook his head. "It may not be someone close to us. He said that just to make us suspicious of each other. We can't fall for his trick."

"Let Lawyer Robben go with the money to bail them out tomorrow."

Hiram, who was sitting in the passenger seat, asked, "So, is this matter over?"

Lance shook his head. "He already said it was seven or eight thousand dollars. How could he just let it go like that?"

"First check to see how many locals there are in this hazardous materials management bureau and make a list of them."

"If he can bribe some insiders to deal with us, then we can also bribe some insiders to deal with him."

"That idiot Polly just committed two bombings. It's not appropriate to be ruthless to them now. Let's have the bar take some preventive measures and build more escape routes."

"If the wine is gone, we can get more. I don't want anyone to get hurt..."

(End of this chapter)