Shadow Empire

Chapter 441 News and Dogs
The people of the Federation in the Republic of Dentra are facing the same situation that the Imperial immigrants in the Federation faced at this time last year, only even worse.

Politics, race, country, stance, camp, all these make the people of the Republic of Dantra particularly hate the federal businessmen who "aid the enemy"!
Their prime minister, shaking his fist from the podium, told the crowd that the copper and gunpowder the Federals sold to the enemy had become bullets fired at them.

The steel sold to them became warships and artillery.

Even the food sold to them became food for the damn invaders!

Under his propaganda, it seemed as if the federals were pushing the war behind the scenes!
This is a very dangerous tendency. Once something bad happens under the instigation of some people, the situation will quickly deteriorate and implicate more federal people.

He is writing these news to remind people to pay attention to this matter. He even suspects that perhaps this is just a preliminary preparation made by the Republic of Dantra to support some of their subsequent terrible actions!

But he could do nothing except write articles.

Lance's phone call at this time slightly interrupted his train of thought in writing the article. When writing something, the thing people fear most is having their train of thought interrupted.

This is not gluing. You can stop for a moment, retrieve other information, and then continue.

If you stop at this time, your subsequent thoughts may become completely chaotic.

However, the big news that Lance mentioned also made him a little interested.

George and Lance met last year. At first, he just thought that Lance was a young man with a lot of "feelings". He started his own business at a young age and developed an interesting business model.

By bringing together federal workers who are unwilling to work and illegal immigrants who need work permits, he not only meets the needs of both groups, but also makes a lot of money for himself.

For George, earning 10,000 or 20,000 yuan a month is definitely an amazing income!

But as some rumors about Lance gradually spread in Jingang City, he also realized that this young man was not only an entrepreneur with ideas, but also the leader of a gang.

But that doesn't seem quite right, because the Lance Family is not the same as those other gangs.

People are not afraid of him, nor do they hate him. Instead, they are willing to talk about him.

George had done a special report on gangs before. After all, the five major families in Jingang City are well-known throughout the federation.

When people talk about gangs and the five major families, most of the comments are negative.

They are reluctant to talk about things related to gangs and avoid them, but they can show their dislike for gangs.

This point is not reflected in the Lance family.

In the Empire District, just find a place where people gather and ask them what they think of the Lance Family. Everyone will become very interested in talking.

They can find many topics they are willing to talk to you about, and they do it with a smile instead of gritting their teeth.

They haven't shown any willingness to talk about the mayor, officials, or police.

And basically people only talk about good, positive things, there's nothing negative.

So George had a good impression of Lance.

"What's the big news?" He locked the typewriter keyboard so he wouldn't accidentally touch it.

The Federation had been using typewriters for a long time, and almost all journalists were proficient in using them, and there were still some dedicated typists, mainly women.

He rubbed his wrists, picked up the cold coffee and took a sip.

Lance's voice came through the receiver, "I think it's best if we have a face-to-face meeting."

This heightened George's interest, and he hesitated, "We have half an hour to talk about this."

"That's enough, I'm here to get you!"

Ten minutes later, three cars stopped in the parking lot of the "Today's Golden Port" newspaper. George saw Lance, opened the car door and got in.

"Do you have to make such a big fuss just to go out now?"

He was referring to the convoy of three vehicles waiting for him here. Lance said helplessly, "If you have been assassinated more than once, you will definitely be more careful than me."

This sentence made George stunned for a moment. He really didn't know about this. "It seems that you have spent a very wonderful time these days. If you have a chance, you can tell me about this. I am quite interested in these."

He then added, "Also, the situation in Jingang City has changed recently. I heard that the five major families have become four major families."

The convoy slowly drove away from the parking lot. These news, which were considered "rumors" to ordinary people, were just part of Lance's life.

"The Cassia family caused public outrage, so they ended it, that's all."

The convoy merged into the traffic flow. It had no destination and was actually just circling around an area.

Lance gave George a cigarette while he was thinking about where to start. George didn't interrupt him and took out his notebook.

"Do you know the Red High Heel Club?" Lance turned and looked at him.

George nodded. "I know. They are very famous. I heard that they provide erotic services to some wealthy people."

Lance gave George a meaningful smile, which made him realize that this might be more than just an erotic service.

As a journalist, he immediately became sensitive, "What you want to say has something to do with red high heels?"

"No!" Lance shook his head. "It has nothing to do with it, but it is a link in its entire industrial chain. Even the red high heels are just a link in the industrial chain."

"There is an agency called Dream Crystal. They sign some girls as contract models, take photos for them, and provide them with performance opportunities. Did you know?"

George thought for a moment and shook his head. "It sounds familiar, but I really don't understand it."

"On the surface, they are a modeling agency, but in reality, they are engaged in the human trafficking business."

George, who had been sitting in a sloppy posture, sat up straight all of a sudden. He put the cigarette in his mouth and began to record these elements in his notebook. "And then?"

"Where should I begin?"

“Why not start with the story of a photo!”

The convoy circled the streets for many times, and Lance decided to expose the matter.

In fact, he was not worried that anyone would cause trouble for him, because there was a high probability that the general manager of Dream Crystal would be dead by the time the police found him.

Without such a character, even if Dream Crystal could reopen, they would not be able to do the same business as before.

It would be better to sacrifice it and raise people's vigilance.

Perhaps with such reminders, there will be fewer victims.

Lance actually doesn't have so many great ideals. He is just an ordinary person.

But when he encounters something that he cannot tolerate, he will come out and take action.

This isn't some kind of chivalry or sense of justice. It's simply because he doesn't do anything about these things and he feels fucking uncomfortable!

People should live with clarity, especially when they have the ability.

When George heard Lance say that the black industry in this underground world was just one link in many industrial chains, his whole body felt cold and trembled slightly!

"Why... did you suddenly remember to tell me this?"

He lit another cigarette, his own, and looked at the shocking elements in the notebook, feeling suffocated.

The federal government has announced that there are approximately 70,000 to 80,000 cases of missing teenagers each year, not including cases of missing illegal immigrant teenagers.

According to current federal law, they are not considered federal citizens, or even human beings, so they are not included in the statistics.

If these are taken into account, there may be 130,000 to 140,000 missing teenagers.

This is already a very shocking number. If these missing cases are linked to human trafficking, it would be simply... chilling!

In fact, as a former major country where slavery existed for a long time, the Federation is quite accepting of the trafficking of human beings.

It's simply that human trafficking was legal before, but it is not now; there were slave-catching teams before, but they have become more covert now.

It’s just that the people of the Federation have always thought that they are civilized people and that their country is a civilized country. When Lance suddenly said such a thing, he found it a little hard to accept it.

There are hundreds of thousands of missing teenagers. Are they really missing or are they being bought and sold?
neither knows!
He looked at Lance, and he felt that there must be other reasons behind this incident. Lance did not hide this matter, "Someone became a victim, and his family found me here."

George became a little nervous and opened his mouth, not knowing whether to ask.

In fact, as a reporter, he is more exposed to dark things than ordinary people. He knows if a young girl is being traded as a commodity.

Then her ending will definitely not be a good one!
"She came back alive with just some injuries."

"This dark curtain has existed for a long time. Do you have the courage to uncover it?"

"But I need to remind you that you can only report news related to Dream Crystal. You cannot report anything else."

"I hope this news will reduce some of the potential victims."

George took two puffs of his cigarette. After hearing Lance's instructions, he could already guess that those buyers might not be ordinary people.

He also knew very well how undemocratic and unfree this democratic and free federation was, and that he had to be extremely cautious when it came to matters involving the privileged classes and capitalists.

Including the "Today's Golden Port" where he works, they are all part of the capital!
He nodded, "I understand."

But you can tell that his tone is a little unwilling.

"I'll have someone give you some information later. Maybe you can win a Golden Newspaper Award this year."

Last year it was a little off, but this year, there is hope.

On the one hand, there was news about foreign countries, and on the other hand, there was news about domestic countries. After weighing the pros and cons, George chose the news about Lance.

“I will sort it out once the information arrives.”

Lance nodded and said, "There may be some extra pressure, and someone may cause trouble for you or threaten you. Call me when you need my help!"

Soon the convoy returned to the newspaper's parking lot. George got out of the car and looked at the departing convoy with a sense of melancholy.

After standing for a moment, he turned around and went back to the office.

He looked at the typewriter on the table, but all he could think about were those teenagers with miserable fates. He decided to withdraw the news about the crisis that was erupting in the Republic of Dantra.

Then I started to organize the elements already in my notebook.

He likes this job because he hopes to show the truth to the people. The people have the right to know the truth. This is the most sacred thing about being a journalist!
On the other hand, when Charlie heard that the person who followed the car finally tracked it to Wanli Office, he drove to Mr. Bowen's villa.

"It's Lance's people." Sitting on the sofa, he said the name, "Lance White, the leader of the Lance family. It is said that he currently controls hundreds of core gang members and thousands of peripheral members."

"Except for the five major families, it is the most powerful gang in Jingang City, bar none."

In fact, the strength of the Lance family is already stronger than several of the four major families. Of course, people are still accustomed to thinking that the five major families are the strongest, and there is also a natural filter.

For example, they would think that the five major families (four) have lost strength due to the war, but will recover soon.

Stereotypes and prejudices exist all the time, even among Congressman Charlie.

Mr. Bowen also learned some information about the Lance family through several phone calls during this period. Some people showed disdain for them, believing that they were still just a small force that could be wiped out at any time.

But some people have given cautious assessments, believing that they are a very valuable force.

If that was the case, then Lance's favor was of some value.

He roughly understood who had persuaded Councilman Wade to repay the favor. Councilman Williams was probably the only person in the city who could do this for others.

"Let's just leave it at that. Lance should be an interesting young man. We old men should be more tolerant towards young people."

His appearance is very deceptive, he is gentle, modest, polite, and speaks softly in an unhurried voice, giving people a very comfortable feeling.

But some of the things he did were not so glorious.

As the "Bay Area Hound", Charlie has handled many things for them, including the dirty work of "collecting corpses".

There is a very special "decoration company" in Jingang City. This company was registered by Charlie's people, and its main business scope is similar to that of an ordinary decoration company.

However, this company does not have any business phone number, and its business address is a back street storefront that has been closed for many years, so it has almost no presence.

However, when there is a need, several former police officers will drive their cars and bring some cleaning tools, paints, etc. to help these wealthy people clean their basements.

They also contributed to the rising water level of Angel Lake.

Charlie smiled and nodded.

Mr. Bowen said after a while, "There's a problem with Dream Crystal. Go and fix it."

Charlie nodded. "I've heard about some reports of their illegal operations before. This situation should indeed be investigated thoroughly so that the public can be given an explanation."

Mr. Bowen nodded in satisfaction. "Since someone has reported it, you should have investigated it earlier. This is your duty. Don't bring shame to your police badge!"

Charlie lowered his head with a humble look on his face, “I understand, I will keep an eye on this matter myself.”

Mr. Bowen even pointed at him and said, "That general manager is very dangerous..."

This means that we don't want to kill him alive. He is very dangerous, so it is reasonable to shoot him on the spot.

When Charlie saw that there was nothing else to do, he took the initiative to say goodbye.

He didn't know whether there was any deal or anything dirty between Lance and Mr. Bowen, he didn't care about that, he only cared about his current job.

Sometimes he actually admired Lance in his heart. Lance and he were doing the same thing - climbing up as far as possible.

It’s just that Lance chose a very dangerous path. He faces dangerous choices at all times and may lose his life.

He was lucky enough to escape several critical moments, while people with less luck would have died.

This path can help you stand up straight, but not everyone can walk on it.

And he chose to be a dog.

Although being a dog is...uncomfortable, this path is safe.

Being a dog has its advantages. When you are a dog, you will have a small home and you don’t have to worry about wind and rain.

When a dog has food given by his owner every day, he does not need to worry about filling his stomach.

When a dog doesn't have to face any competition, the only thing he has to do is wag his tail at his owner and bark at bad guys.

What's wrong with being a dog?

Why do you have to stand?

But deep down, he still admired Lance a little. Not everyone could do what he did.

He admires me, but he can't become Lance, just like Lance can't become him.

After Hunter received the order from him, he immediately took action. He led people to seal off the Dream Crystal company. All important documents were confiscated and all staff members were placed in solitary confinement.

This time, the Justice Bureau did not delay approving the judicial documents. As soon as the application call was made, people from the Justice Bureau drove up and delivered the search warrant and arrest warrant to Hunter.

Then they went to the general manager's villa and found some bodies inside, including the general manager.

He was in the basement, already dead, even hard!
In the last moment of his death, his face was full of fear, and there were clear traces of tears left!

In the dim room, feeling the life slowly slipping away, even if he was seeking death in the end, he could not endure such fear!
The dripping sound of the blood made him fall into a huge panic. His heart kept beating wildly, and the panic and sense of impending death tormented his nerves.

He began to feel cold, dark, and he didn't want to die!
But in the end, the darkness swallowed him up, and he died in this dim basement.

After Mr. Bowen hung up the phone after receiving the feedback, he picked up a separate phone book and crossed out the number on a line in it.

There are more than a dozen numbers like this in this phone book...

(End of this chapter)