Shadow Empire

Chapter 740 You Don’t Understand Me [666+9]
When people are tired, hungry and thirsty, they will become very energetic.

But after overdrawing the physical and mental energy, you will suffer more and more.

Joshua didn't seem to feel tired when it was just getting dark, but now, every step was a torture for him. He slowly moved forward on the rugged mountain road. After moving for a while, he couldn't move anymore, so he found a tree to lean against and sat down.

He told himself that he just wanted to sit down and rest for a while. He still had to keep walking and try to get down the mountain from the side in a short time.

After he sat down, he felt that every cell in his body was jumping for joy. It was a comfort that came from the bottom of his heart!

He closed his eyes slightly and told himself that he was just closing his eyes to rest...

Suddenly he opened his eyes and looked at his wrist that was grabbed, and his breathing became extremely heavy in an instant!
The desire to survive caused his adrenaline to surge, and at this moment, he felt that he was incredibly strong!
"it's me."

In the darkness, the dark figure in front of him who was holding his wrist spoke. It was a senior cadre in the gang. Joshua's expression relaxed a little, but his other hand never moved away from the pistol.

At the same time, he was a little annoyed. He clearly just wanted to close his eyes and rest for a while, so how could he fall asleep inexplicably?
And was discovered.

He suspected that he might have made some sound in his dream, which led someone to come to him following the sound.

There was no point in regretting these things now, so he just kept himself calm.

The young buds sprouting from the treetops blocked a lot of the moonlight, but some of it fell through.

The unpolluted moon is exceptionally bright, and you can even see it roughly even in the dark night.

Neither of them spoke. The senior cadre sat down next to him and asked after a while, "How are you going to leave?"

Neither of them talked about what happened in the valley. There was nothing to talk about such a complete failure.

Those who firmly believe that they can return to heaven are still in the valley, while those who escaped have long lost their faith.

Even if there is, it is not that firm.

The Lord’s call was so loud, but not only did he pretend not to hear it, he also ran away. This is not the example that a true believer should set.

Joshua licked his cracked lips and said, "Go down the mountain from the side. It's only a dozen kilometers away from the interstate highway. We can cross it in a day."

"Once we get to the interstate, we can get out of here."

He used the word "we", and a smile appeared on the faces of the senior cadres.

"There's something I've never asked you." The cadre asked a question. His throat and voice were just like Joshua's, a little hoarse.

They are not plants that can absorb water by standing on the ground. There are no streams or anything like that on the mountain, so there is no place to replenish water.

In fact, there is a lot of water in the leaves of those plants, but it is not easy to absorb it. Both of them are very thirsty.

Joshua just wanted to talk less now, he nodded and said "say" again.

"How much money is left in those accounts?" the cadre asked a question that he cared about very much.

Joshua became alert and was silent for a while. "More than seven million."

The cadre whistled and then coughed a few times, "This is a lot of money."

There was a hint of greed in his tone. If he could get this money, he would live a worry-free life for the rest of his life.

Facts have proved that they are no match for Lance. Even if they can make a comeback in the future, they may not be Lance's opponent.

He has people in the federal government and even the military. This time they sent armored vehicles, but what about next time?

Will there be artillery, or even tanks?
He didn't know, nor did he want to know. He only knew that as long as he left here, he would never go against Lance again.

Now he was thinking about how to get Joshua to tell him his account number and password, or how to get him to share the money with him.

Joshua actually knew that this guy asked these questions with bad intentions, but now they were on the run, and the possibility of the two of them surviving together might be slightly greater.

At least when you encounter danger, all you have to do is run faster than the other person.

And as long as he doesn't reveal his bank account number and password, he is safe to a certain extent.

Thinking of this, he didn't continue to pretend to deal with it, and licked his lips, "I'll sleep for a while..."

After saying that, he simply lay down, curled up and closed his eyes.

Fatigue came over him like a tide, and after a moment of shock, the cadres around him seemed to accept the result.

Joshua woke up from his sleep in the second half of the night. His energy and strength were restored. The cadre was also dozing off beside him, and seemed to have fallen asleep as well because he couldn't hold on any longer.

Looking at him sleeping in a daze, many thoughts flashed through Joshua's mind, but in the end he did not take any action.

He shook the cadre awake, "You fell asleep."

The cadre was stunned for a moment before he reacted, a little embarrassed, "I'm too sleepy."

Then there was a moment of silence, and Joshua took the lead, "Let's go now. It will be inconvenient to wait until daybreak."

The cadre did not refuse, but when the two stood up, they realized that this road would become even more difficult.

The blistered and worn soles of their feet made every step a painful torture. They had no choice but to take off their shoes, prick the blisters, then tear off their sleeves, tie the soles of their feet tightly several times, and tighten them.

Walking this way is a little better, although every step is still maddeningly painful.

Neither of them spoke as they continued walking towards the side of the mountain, but when they were halfway there, they stopped.

Because I saw several cars parked at the foot of the mountain in the distance, with their headlights on, illuminating the way down the mountain.

At the same time, there were people patrolling back and forth in the surrounding woods with flashlights, very quickly and densely.

Reality is not a work of art. No one is stupid enough not to know how to look up or down.

A story like crawling at the feet of the enemy without being discovered will always be just a story, or just an accident, and will never become a real thing.

Neither of them expected to escape under the search of so many people patrolling with flashlights.

The two were silent for a while, and then walked silently to the other side. They didn't know how many hours had passed, nor how many days had passed. Their feet were so painful that they had lost all feeling.

When they crossed a small hill and looked down, they fell into silence again.

Same configuration, same people patrolling.

It’s not that you can’t go down the mountain from other places, it’s just that they are too steep and you can easily fall if you’re not careful. Some places are even cliffs.

There are only a few places where it is easy to go down the mountain.

The sky grew brighter unknowingly. In the early morning, Lance asked them to organize a group of people to go up the mountain again. He would not feel at ease unless Joshua was found.

Although Joshua was not found today, several cadres or members of the Holy Bell Party who could not run were found. They all became the nutrients of this mountain.

The sound of gunfire made the people hiding in the mountains even more frightened. Because there was plenty of light during the day, they did not dare to move after hiding.

The right choice at this time is to stay as still as possible.

Without food and water, everyone is experiencing both mental and physical torture.

Although Joshua was not found today, we discovered the place where Joshua and his entourage had bandaged their foot wounds, and there were still some strips of cloth left on the ground.

They concluded that the remaining people had gone deeper into the mountains. On the third day, Lance's help arrived.

They transported more than twenty truckloads of people, and Deputy Duke came along with him, along with some hunting dogs.

"I heard that someone was looking for someone, so I borrowed these hounds from a hunter I have a good relationship with. They have a keen nose and may be able to provide some help."

Seeing so many people and the arrival of the hound, Lance finally had a smile on his face.

He didn't exchange much pleasantries with Deputy Director Duke and directly assigned him the task.

Soon, people in police uniforms began to clear and block the valley and surrounding areas. They also set up checkpoints on the small road leading to the valley, prohibiting other vehicles from approaching at will.

While others began to go up the mountain more intensively.

They went up the mountain well prepared, bringing more food, water, and flashlights, and searched in alternating steps, scooping the entire forest clean.

On the night of the third day, gunshots were suddenly heard deep in the forest, not far from the main patrol force. Everyone was full of confidence.

Early the next morning, after filling their stomachs, everyone started searching again.

Soon they made some discoveries.

The further you go into the mountains, the more traces you will leave behind.

In winter, a large number of fallen leaves fall to the ground. After being absorbed by ice, snow and rain, they gradually rot and eventually form a piece of rotten soil.

The farther away a place is from human contact, the more obvious the rotten soil becomes.

They will only be slowly absorbed by the earth after spring comes, but at this moment, they are there.

Clear footprints appeared one after another, allowing the search team to quickly find their target.

Joshua's face was extremely pale at this time.

I haven’t eaten anything for three days. Yesterday I was so hungry that I ate some leaves, which made me feel even worse!

He is on the verge of collapse!
Last night, the cadre was about to attack him, but he discovered him and killed him first.

But this also completely exposed his tracks.

I don’t know when it started, but it became difficult for him to even stand for a while, let alone walk.

He lay on the ground, his mind completely blank.

He inexplicably thought of his childhood, his father's high-spirited appearance, and his father's despair on the judgement seat.

I thought about the respect and flattery that the people around them showed them, and also about their indifference, contempt and even harm that came later.

Life is like this mountain. Sometimes the ups and downs are small, but sometimes, they are huge.

He was too hungry and thirsty. He could actually hear the sound of the search party in the distance, but he didn't want to run.

He fell asleep in a daze. He didn't know how long it had been before he was awakened by the sound of "found it" in his ears.

He looked at the crowd that had gathered around him, his face not showing much fear, only some relief.

At night, they came down from the mountain. In the cathedral where the ground was covered with blood, Joshua was pushed and fell in front of Lance.

Lance looked at Joshua, who was in a particularly miserable state, and did not give him any respect. The Lord of the Crucifixion looked at Joshua, who was sitting in front of Lance, with a bitter face, as if asking him why this happened.

"This is the first time we've met."

"But it's also the last time!"

He paused, "I heard you have an account..."

Someone confessed this matter. Those cadres who escaped to the mountains and were caught today tried to use this secret to buy their chance to survive, but obviously, they all failed.

So Lance also knew this secret. He had an account containing gang funds, several million.

Joshua's eyes lit up, he looked up at Lance and said in a slightly begging tone, "As long as you let me go, the money will be yours!"

"Seven or eight million, plus my own money, it adds up to tens of millions!"

"Ten million in wealth to buy my life, Lance, this deal is too good to be true!"

"How much alcohol do you have to sell to make this much money?!"

He looked at Lance with a slightly morbid smile and longing on his face. He felt that no one could refuse this condition, not even Lance!

That's not one hundred thousand or one million, that's ten million!

The eyes and attention of the people around him were also focused, and Deputy Director Duke swallowed.

Ten million.

He dreams of having so much money!
He looked at Lance with a fiery gaze. If Lance could get the 10 million, how much would they get?
Based on his understanding of Lance, they had made such a long trip, so it shouldn't be too much for each person to get three to five hundred yuan, right?
The total amount does not exceed one million.

Many police officers thought so, and believed that Lance might bargain with him, after all, it was 10 million.

But only Lance's people looked at Joshua with a cold and slightly mocking look.

Joshua felt a little creeped by those cold gazes. His eyes lingered on those people's faces, as if he was looking for something.

But the more he found, the more horrified he became!

He turned his head and stared at Lance again. Lance looked at him unmoved, with the same indifference and ruthlessness.

"How about it?"

"Ten million, just please spare my life. I will disappear from the Federation and never come back!"

Lance shook his head slightly. He pulled out the pistol from the holster and turned off the safety. "Are these your last words?"

Joshua was completely stunned. His face flushed red and he was so excited that he was a little hysterical. "That's 10 million!"

"That's one thousand..."

Snapped!
The sound of pistol bullets was much weaker than the sound of machine gun firing yesterday and the sound of rifle firing.

But even such a faint gunshot is enough to take a person's life!
Joshua kept blinking and raised his hand to touch his forehead, where there was a small hole.

He touched the sticky liquid at the edge of the hole with his fingers and then held it in front of his eyes.

The dark red is blood.

His pupils began to tremble violently.

He seemed to be gathering his strength; veins all over his body were bulging and his muscles were tense, but soon he suddenly collapsed to the ground as if a spring had loosened.

His body kept twitching like a fish about to die of drought.

His eyes were lifeless as he looked at the master who was facing him with a sad face, and his mind was really blank!

(End of this chapter)