Shadow Empire

Chapter 248: The plan remains the same and who are you fighting against?

Snake didn't know how he survived. He was pressed against the ground the moment the grenade exploded. But even so, he remembered the moment before he lost consciousness and felt the pain in his body.

He was covered in dust and had several burning pains on his back. The fragments had torn the wooden bed apart, leaving wounds on his body that were bleeding continuously.

He coughed a few times, then crawled out of the house with the gun in his hand.

It is difficult for him to even stand up now, he is too badly injured!
He felt his clothes were sticky, and he knew that was the effect of being soaked in blood. He didn't know how much time had passed, but he knew that he had to call for help as soon as possible!
He crawled slowly towards the door using his hands and feet. Just when he was about to reach the door, it suddenly opened.

Pairs of brand new, shiny leather shoes appeared in his sight. He slowly raised his head and saw several young faces.

"Mr. Snake?"

The leader asked.

Snake didn't know what happened to the others, but he just wanted to survive. "I'm not Snake. Snake lives in the next room."

"Shit, he's Snake, I swear!"

"He has a viper tattoo on his wrist. He is the only one in the entire gang with a tattoo on his wrist!" The voice of a senior gang official came from outside the door. Snake's eyes went dark, but fortunately he held on.

He knew that there was no point in quibbling. He looked at the man in front and asked, "What are you going to do with me?"

Lance showed a regretful expression, "I didn't intend to let you leave alive, Mr. Snake."

"I came here just to see who was planning to kill me, but..." He showed some regret, "I didn't expect it to be someone like you."

"As the host, please allow me to say 'Welcome to Golden Harbor City, Mr. Snake'."

"And...", he said, and began to turn around, "...goodbye, Mr. Snake."

The two young men standing behind him drew their pistols and were shot to pieces by Snake's "Marafak".

Morris stood in the parking lot and shouted toward us, "The state troopers are coming."

Lance stood on the second floor and gave him a thumbs up, meaning that everything was settled.

The group went downstairs, and several other senior officials of the Viper Gang followed them at a loss all the way to the parking lot.

Lance got in the car, looked at them, and said with a slightly regretful expression, "Sorry, there is no place for you here."

Several high-ranking officials of the Viper Gang were still unclear about what this sentence meant when intensive gunfire rang out again!
In an instant, all five of them fell to the ground, their faces showing fear of death, or anger at having such an end!
A group of people got into the car, including the Viper Gang's car, and they were all driven away by Lance and his gang.

About seven or eight minutes after Lance and the others left, three state police patrol cars stopped on the shoulder of the road not far from the motel.

They first observed with binoculars for a while, then listened carefully for a while, and after confirming that no one had fired a shot, they approached the motel without sirens.

The state troopers breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the empty parking lot in front of the motel.

They sounded the sirens and notified the radio station that they had arrived at the crime scene.

Being a policeman has never been an easy job these days. In some literary works or rumors, people always feel that criminals are reluctant to shoot at law enforcement officers.

But this is actually a misunderstanding, or it can be said that this is actually a plot arrangement for the purpose of dissemination. In real situations, there is nothing that criminal groups dare not do!
For example, when the West was being developed, criminal gangs not only dared to rob commercial institutions, but also sheriff's offices, post offices, and banks!

Law enforcer?
Law enforcement officers are also human beings. In the eyes of criminals, law enforcement officers are no different from ordinary people.

They will die if they are shot in the vitals. They are not Superman and they can't scare anyone!
Therefore, the federal government has no shortage of people who dare to take action against law enforcement officers. On interstate highways, there are often no-man's lands, and highway police and state police are actually very cowardly.

They didn't dare to randomly intercept vehicles that looked tough. If they did stop a bad guy, that would be the time for them to put on the national flag!

So even if they receive a call saying there is a gunfight, they have to wait until the gunfight is over, or even until one of the parties leaves, before entering the scene.

Looking at the corpses scattered all over the ground, the leading police officer relied on the tobacco in his pipe to eliminate the nausea and discomfort, "These bitches are too unrefined..."

His partner couldn't help but tease, "How do you want them to be particular?"

"They cleaned them up for you and then put their hands up and waited for you to come over and cuff them?"

The officer swore under his breath and went back to work.

They need to check the identities of these people and find some identifying information from them in order to determine who the victims are.

But in fact, there is no use doing so. Thousands of people die on federal interstate highways every year, with an average of more than a dozen highway homicides every day. Not to mention those that can be solved in the end, even those that can be discovered may be less than 80%.

There are still many people sleeping under the soil in the wild for dozens or even hundreds of years. Only when the murderers who killed them get tired of the police's incompetence and take the initiative to step forward will they see the light of day again.

Otherwise, most of the bones will eventually be decomposed by nature and return to nature completely.

As for chasing those criminals?

They are not that stupid. The criminals had already disappeared without a trace. Even if they were asked to chase them, they would only chase them in the opposite direction.

Time passed bit by bit. In order to show his "sincerity", Brinton brought out thirty or forty people this time, and the remaining half stayed in the nightclub to prevent Lance and his men from attacking the nightclub.

It was not even nine o'clock yet, but he had already arrived at the agreed restaurant early and expelled the normal guests from the restaurant.

All the tables and chairs were placed against the wall by his men. In the whole restaurant, there was only a table in the middle, and dishes were served on the table one after another.

Smelling the delicious aroma, he felt hungry, but he had to wait until Lance arrived.

He was in a good mood. After tonight, the Viper Gang would be the largest gang in the Empire District!
The clock pointed to eight fifty-five, and his men suddenly walked in, "Lance and the others are here."

A convoy of cars stopped at the door. Alvin and Ethan got out first. They checked the hotel and made sure that no one was hiding inside before going back outside. Lance got out of the car, walked into the restaurant and sat opposite Brinton.

This was the first time they sat face to face. Lance lit a cigarette and looked at Brinton, while Brinton also looked at Lance carefully.

"You are not what I imagined, Lance." He said carelessly and heartlessly, "But you are punctual. I like people who are punctual."

Lance said "thank you", which made Brinton stunned for a moment, "Weren't you the one who answered the phone this afternoon?"

He could tell that Lance's voice was different from the one he had heard when he called in the afternoon, and he was a little confused about the situation.

Lance didn't deny it, "But the result is the same, isn't it?"

He looked around and said, "We are sitting here now. Isn't this your purpose?"

Brinton thought about it carefully, and a smile returned to his face. "Yes, as long as the result is the same, that's fine."

"By the way, I've invited a special guest over tonight. I hope you don't mind."

Lance looked at him with a half-smile, "Oh? What guest? Do I know him?"

He had thought Brinton was talking about Snake, the dead guy who should be lying on the interstate highway police coroner's table right now, and the coroner was experiencing the unique pleasure of being a coroner in Golden Harbor City - looking for bullets in a sticky, beaten body.

But this time he guessed wrong, because soon he heard footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around and looked back. It was Eric.

He looked much gloomier. The painkillers had caused him so much trouble that he was now completely dependent on them.

A few days ago, Red High Heels was surrounded and he was arrested. The damn Charlie didn't give him any face at all. He was only wearing a pair of underwear when he was searched.

The only sense of security the mayor could provide him was that the police didn't stick him in the ass with a stick! But being incarcerated was not comfortable. In the middle of the night, the effect of the painkillers wore off, and he felt pain all over his body. He kept crying, and ended up being beaten up by the prisoners he was incarcerated with.

If the other party hadn't beaten him up and then noticed that he was still screaming, and realized that he was probably not pretending, he might have died in pain!
This made him feel extremely humiliated, and at the same time, made him realize that he might be dependent on painkillers for the rest of his life.

He didn't like this. Although this little money was nothing to him, he didn't like the feeling of having his personality controlled by a drug.

He wants to vent and relax!

Brinton's big move certainly could not be hidden from him. When he heard that Brinton planned to completely get rid of Lance tonight, he suddenly became interested.

He also wanted to see, in the last moments of Lance's life, whether he would be... He didn't know how to describe the word "weird", but he just had that feeling.

The meaning of every word Lance said and what he expressed were completely different things. He was obviously in a more active position, but he always felt that Lance not only looked down on him, but also laughed at him!
He wanted to see if he could continue to be so arrogant!
Eric regarded Lance's unwillingness to bow to him as arrogance. In his opinion, someone of Lance's status should not have the courage to reject him.

As a result, Lance not only rejected him many times, but also made him sulk.

So here he is.

He swaggered over and sat down next to Brinton, looking at Lance with contempt and mockery in his eyes, "Don't bother with me, I just came here to sit for a while and eat something."

He said as he greeted the two of them, "You ordered so much food, why don't you eat it?"

"Don't waste food. There are still many people who can't even fill their stomachs."

Brinton agreed and started to use his knife and fork, "Eat and talk."

Lance didn't refuse. After running for the whole afternoon, he was a little hungry.

In order to wait for Snake to arrive, Brinton could only try to delay time, "Lance, there is actually no conflict between us that cannot be resolved."

"We're all in it for the money, for something more, and at this point our goals are the same."

"We can cooperate deeply, and we have such a foundation." He said and glanced at Eric, meaning that as long as Lance bows to Eric, then they will have the basis for cooperation.

Eric liked this about Brinton. He could see the situation clearly. But Eric sneered and said, "Farewell, Mr. Lance doesn't look down on people like me. You should talk about other things."

Brinton felt it was a pity, "If we can cooperate, we will definitely be the strongest in Jingang City!"

He paused and said, "Lance, I actually like it here too. We are all people who have climbed up from the bottom. I know it's not easy to be at the bottom."

"How about this? I'll use the intersection of Main Street and Main Street as the center point and divide the empire into two parts, east and west."

"You are in the west, and we are in the east. How about we each run our own business, coexist peacefully, and not invade each other?"

Lance looked at Brinton's clown-like expression. He was not in a hurry at all. Instead, he began to recommend some dishes. "The steak is made with good ingredients. You should try it."

Brinton was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Lance to take the initiative. But then he thought that Lance had no future. Then he smiled and said, "Okay, I'll try it."

Why bother arguing with someone who is about to die?
For a moment, the atmosphere in the restaurant was surprisingly harmonious. They stopped talking about territory, partnerships, etc., and started chatting about some news about Jingang City and even some international situations.

Eric had almost finished eating. He looked a little strange, and then he stood up shakily. "I'm going to the bathroom. You guys continue chatting."

His body began to ache and his finger joints began to itch.

Before every pain, the first thing that comes out is itching, followed by unbearable severe pain. These itches also tell him that he needs to continue using painkillers.

He came to the restroom, picked a cubicle, and sat on it without caring whether the toilet was dirty or not. Then he breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on his face that he was not even aware of.

Outside, the dinner was still going on. Lance was full while eating. His stomach couldn't hold so much food. He picked up the napkin and wiped his mouth. "It was a good dinner, but it was a little late. But the deliciousness made up for it. Brinton, you are good at choosing a restaurant."

"So..." He leaned back with one hand on the edge of the table. Although he didn't look aggressive, he became taller in Brinton's eyes.

"Our dinner is over. Is our conversation also coming to an end?"

Brinton was stunned for a moment, "Yes... I mean we haven't come to any conclusion yet."

Lance looked at him, "Are you waiting for someone?"

Brinton suddenly became alert. "I don't quite understand what you mean, Lance."

"I just invited you to dinner. I want to resolve our differences peacefully. That's all."

Lance took out a cigarette and lit it. They were the only two people in the restaurant, and everyone else was standing at the door in case someone suddenly attacked them.

Alvin, who was standing outside the door and chatting with Brinton's men, saw Lance lighting a cigarette. He suddenly hugged Brinton's men beside him, acting very intimately, and walked to the side with the other party.

When others saw this step, they seemed to have already started to prepare for action, because Lance lighting a cigarette was the signal!
Lance looked at him and said in the most normal, nonchalant tone, "You're waiting for Snake."

Brinton showed an expression of disbelief on his face, as if asking "How the hell did you know that?", and then he showed an angry look, "Did you bribe the people around me?"

A young man from the Viper Gang at the door heard Brinton's shout, and the moment he turned around, someone grabbed his neck.

Just as he was about to struggle, he felt a knife stabbing into his chest. His heart immediately started beating wildly and he didn't even have the strength to speak!

At this moment close to death, his hearing seemed to become particularly sensitive. He heard the "puff" sounds coming from all around him, as well as the screams of people being strangled, but it was too late for him to do anything.

He was supported by the people around him and walked into the alley, then thrown to the ground, and then the second person pressed on him...

The world became dim, and the last rays of light he had left made him notice that some people he knew were being pointed guns at their heads and were standing in a row against the wall.

This is a trap!
Before he died, he roared silently, but to no avail.

In the restaurant, Brinton didn't notice that his people at the door had been taken away. His attention was focused on Lance.

His many years of experience in the gang also told him that something was not right.

But he didn't dare to move now.

Lance shook his head. "I didn't bribe the people around you. It's not difficult to know what I want to know about you. There are always people who are afraid of death. If they are afraid of death, they will tell me everything I want to know."

"I'm curious, Brinton, are you afraid of death?"

Brinton's face was dark. "It doesn't matter whether I'm afraid of death or not. What's important is, Lance, do you know who you are fighting against?"

"You think you are against me, but actually you are against Mr. Mayor. You are just a small character, you shouldn't be so stupid to get involved."

Lance glanced at the ash on the cigarette and said, "Can you pass me the ashtray?" Without waiting for Brinton to answer, he said, "Forget it, I'll get it myself."

He walked to the table next to him and picked up a glass ashtray, which was very handy.

When he walked to the table, he looked down at Brinton and suddenly asked the same question again, "Are you afraid of death?"

"Brinton?"

Brinton had a mocking look on his face. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he saw Lance suddenly and quickly raise the ashtray. Then he felt the breeze on his cheek and the sound of wind pressure in his ears!
The time left for him in this world was running out. In this one thousandth of a second, he uttered the last sentence or word left in this world -

"Shet!"

(End of this chapter)