Empire of Shadows

After leaving the mayor's house, Eric returned to his own house.

The few lackeys sitting in the living room, enjoying high-quality wine, immediately stood up with obsequious and flattering smiles.

Originally, Eric was a little dissatisfied with them, but his mayor uncle not only gave him spiritual support but also agreed to let him use the income from the bars and nightclubs in the Imperial District first. He felt like spring had arrived.

"What do you think Shaina wants most?"

The lackeys began to offer suggestions. Some said Shaina liked a dress designed by a famous fashion designer, some said Shaina's favorite should be a set of well-known jewelry, but some also thought they were all wrong.

"Maybe she would be interested in the new convertible…"

Recently, "Ister Industries" launched a brand new convertible car designed for middle and upper-class women.

It doesn't have the roaring engine of those "muscle cars," nor does it have the square, somewhat rigid, but powerful shape.

It has very obvious curves and arcs, and the car looks a bit smaller and more refined than ordinary vehicles, making it more suitable for women to drive.

This convertible car, called "Moonlight Goddess," received a lot of praise as soon as it was launched. The only thing that made people feel it was slightly less good was its price.

Nineteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, less than twenty thousand, but there is actually no difference whether it reaches it or not.

The entire car uses calfskin leather, walnut wood, and ivory as the main materials for the interior, especially the main console, with embossed silver edges and patterns spliced with pure ivory, giving it a classical artistic atmosphere.

Ister Industries cleverly used "an essential car for modern independent women" as its slogan in its promotion, which quickly attracted the attention of many middle and upper-class women, and it is said that sales are good.

Currently, there are three colors for sale. The first is ivory white, which sells the best.

The second is bright red, which also sells well, but not as popular as ivory white.

The last one is sky blue, which does not sell very well.

The lackey who came up with this idea watched Eric fall into deep thought, and he continued to explain, "Shaina can't wear the same clothes or accessories every day."

"We all know that she has her own ideas about dressing. Some clothes and jewelry she wears once, and then rarely wears again."

"If you, Young Master Eric, give her a very luxurious set of jewelry or a very expensive long dress, how many times can she wear it? Can she wear it every day?"

Eric shook his head, "Of course not…"

The lackey became more energetic, "That's right, but if you give her a car, she will drive that car every day. As long as she drives that car, she can't help but think of the person who gave it to her, that is, you, Young Master Eric!"

A smile appeared on Eric's face. He beckoned to the lackey who had made a good suggestion, and the lackey trotted to his side.

Eric patted him hard on the back of his neck, "You're really a fucking genius. Are there dealerships in King's Harbor City?"

"Of course!"

Eric seemed a little excited. This gift is really too good!

As for money?

Does money even matter?

Eric didn't know how much money his mayor uncle had, but he knew that at least hundreds of thousands of funds flowed into a special account every month.

This is what he knows. Those funds and accounts handled by Olsen that he doesn't know about may be even more!

The group quickly got into the car. Under the flattery of the lackeys, Eric felt that he was bound to win!

At the same time, in the Hazardous Materials Administration, a meeting was in progress.

"The situation regarding alcohol prohibition in King's Harbor City has significantly improved with our public destruction of a large batch of mid-to-high-end liquor this time."

"I learned from some informants that some local bars have chosen to close down and wait and see."

"This means that our actions have achieved the purpose we wanted to achieve, deterring these merchants who illegally operate alcohol products."

"But there are still some people who stubbornly continue to operate."

"The governor called me the day before yesterday. He affirmed and supported our ability to solve such a large case so quickly. A reporter from the 'Planet News' will arrive in King's Harbor City this afternoon to interview us."

"We are the first region in the country to solve a case worth more than 300,000, so not only me, but you also need to be interviewed."

"This is a very good opportunity. You will show your faces to the national audience and to the congress and those upper-class figures."

"This will have an undeniable impact on your future development, so I hope you can be mentally prepared to deal with the interview this afternoon."

"Here is a press release. Take a look at it first."

At the director's signal, the secretary handed a copy of the press release to all the senior agents.

The so-called press release can be regarded as the official version of the "correct answer." What can be said is written on it, and what cannot be said is not written.

They only need to know what can be said. With a unified version, there will be no problems.

The reason why the director set the value of this case at 300,000 at the time was to strive to be "Federal First."

At the same time, the purpose of public destruction was also to increase persuasiveness.

More than one million people in the city know about this, so it is impossible for more than one million people to deceive the Congress and the Presidential Palace together, right?

After receiving the news, the Congress was indeed very concerned. Not only did it send the heavyweight party "official media" such as "Planet News," but it also promised some rewards.

This case will have a very good solution to the problem of the alcohol prohibition not being implemented effectively, and it will also make people understand that they are serious about the alcohol prohibition.

Lucar looked at the materials in his hand for a while. In fact, the content was not complicated. The general meaning was that everyone started a secret investigation after taking office.

From thousands of clues, they caught a big fish, and then in the shortest time, under the personal guidance of the director, they solved the case.

Of course, all senior agents have contributed to the success. They are all heroes of this battle, and everyone can share some benefits from it. No one will object.

Seeing that no one raised any objections, the director was very satisfied with these subordinates, and the smile on his face became a little more.

He turned his head and glanced at the deputy director, "Then can we end it?"

It seemed like a question, but in fact, he was not asking for the deputy director's opinion, and the deputy director would not be stupid enough to say, "I have a few more things to say." He just nodded and closed his notebook, "Yes, we can end it."

"Very good!" He stood up and pointed to two senior agents, including Lucar, "You drive to pick up the reporter. They should be arriving at the pier soon."

The two naturally would not refuse. When leaving the conference room, Lucar felt a surge of urination. The meeting lasted forty minutes. He drank a lot of water before the meeting and had been holding his urine for more than half an hour. He was about to burst!

"You go start the car first. I'm going to take a piss."

His colleague smiled and shook the car key in his hand, "I'll wait for you at the door."

Lucar turned and walked into the toilet. Two agents walked out, took the initiative to give way, and saluted in greeting.

He wasn't used to this at first. When he was in the city police station, the junior police officers were not so serious or formal.

In theory, they did need to salute when facing senior police officers.

But everyone was too familiar. Not only would they not salute, but sometimes they would come over and bump fists with you, or even question your judgment.

Everyone's relationship was very good, and you couldn't stiffly demand that they must listen to you, and even if you did, they might not listen.

However, when he received training this time, he realized that this was actually not a good phenomenon.

Because they are law enforcement departments, law enforcement departments cannot have liberalism. There must be a leader and a person responsible. It cannot be that one person says I have an idea, and another person says I have a suggestion.

One person must be responsible, the person who makes the decision, and others only need to be responsible for execution.

To achieve this, there must be a strict class system. Inferiors must salute when they meet superiors, including him, when they meet the director and deputy director.

He responded to the two agents and entered the toilet, walking to the urinal at the innermost part and unzipping his zipper.

He was thinking about some things. Although the time for urination is short, people tend to enter a divergent thinking state at this time.

It's like concentration and urine are squeezed out of the bladder together!

The rustling sound of water made him think of some of the work to be done next. Just as he was thinking about whether to go to the Imperial District for a walk, suddenly a force seemed to push him.

Just as he lowered his head to see if he had peed on his hands or shoes, the entire bathroom shook violently, as if there was an earthquake.

Then the sound of the explosion came from outside!

"Fuck!" He looked down at the urine on his hand and some stains, and some on his pants. He quickly ran to the sink to wash his hands, zipped up his zipper, and rushed out without even bothering to deal with the urine stains on his feet.

The corridor was full of people. These agents, with expressions of fear, anxiety, or confusion, were running towards the exit, and some were even taking out weapons.

Lukar rushed to the adjacent room, ran to the shattered window, and looked outside. In the parking lot, a blaze was raging, and the heavy car had been blown to pieces!

He stood there for a moment, then turned and hurried back to the corridor, running downstairs.

By this time, a crowd had gathered around the exploded car, trying to help, but… everyone knew that all they could do was put out the fire.

Fire trucks and ambulances arrived quickly, and the city police department also sent two police cars.

The fire was eventually extinguished by the firefighters, leaving traces of flames everywhere. The chief stood in the yard, his face ashen.

A senior agent was blown up after lighting the car and driving it out of its parking space.

It was everywhere.

Not just fragments of the car, but also of him, were everywhere.

On the walls, on the ground, and on the bodies of some of the other cars.

Not much, but sticky and disgusting, making people nauseous.

A few of the female agents had already vomited, and the male agents looked just as terrible.

"This is retaliation!" the chief roared. He had lost his composure and grace. He paced back and forth, his hair falling out of place, which he kept brushing back.

"It must be that so-called Brotherhood gang. They're retaliating. These people… are hateful!"

The deputy chief looked worried, but if you looked closely at his eyes, you would see a hint of a smile hidden deep within.

He had only been in office for less than a month, and although he had solved a major case, it had also allowed those criminal organizations to put a bomb in a car and kill a senior agent.

He glanced at Lukar. If Lukar hadn't gone to pee, then two would have died!

If two senior agents died, even if they could eventually take down this Brotherhood gang, the Goldenport City Hazardous Materials Administration would lose all face.

"Dale, the first thing we need to do now is to check if there are any other bombs in the other vehicles."

His words made the other agents feel a chill in their hearts for no reason. Chief Dale was also stunned for a moment. He looked at the deputy chief, "You're right, have people check it immediately."

But who the hell wanted to do that?

Looking at the silent, unmoving agents, the chief could only call out names. He called out a few agents, and although those who were named did not refuse, each of them had the expression of someone whose father had just died.

Even Chief Dale knew that these people were cursing his already deceased mother, and perhaps his aging wife and daughter as well, but what could he do?

Sometimes, someone has to stand up and sacrifice themselves for others. At this time, whoever's value is lower will definitely be sacrificed first.

Several young agents went to the vicinity of the other vehicles. They searched the interiors of some cars and eventually found bombs on the chassis of the cars.

There were two more cars that had been fitted with bombs. Chief Dale's face was deadly black.

He sent Lukar to pick up the reporters, while the others were called back for a meeting.

His anger stemmed from the fact that no one knew how they had planted these bombs in the cars in the parking lot.

After the explosives were removed, the bombs were placed on the table, and the technical personnel inside the Hazardous Materials Administration quickly figured out how they worked—

"This wire needs to be connected to the accelerator pedal. Simply starting the car will not cause an explosion, but if someone steps on the accelerator, this wire will pull the detonating device."

"Then, after about three to five seconds, the bomb will explode."

"A very simple delayed fuse. If it wasn't taken from some explosive device, it was made by themselves."

Chief Dale seemed less afraid now that he knew how this thing worked, "Immediately search our entire office building, don't let any corner go unchecked."

"I want to make sure this building is safe."

"Then, put wire mesh and steel bars on all our windows, so that the only entrances and exits here are the main gate or the back door."

"From today onwards, there must be someone on duty 24 hours a day. Also, get me two guard posts for the parking lot, and I'll arrange for people to keep an eye on it 24 hours a day. Put barbed wire on the yard wall!"

"We've already lost a senior agent, and I don't want to lose anyone else."

"Find out as soon as possible who planted the bombs here, and whether it's what we think it is."

"If it is…" he paused for a moment, "I want you to hunt down these bastards!"

This explosion was like a bucket of cold water poured on his body, which was stripped bare by excitement. It soaked him from head to toe, and chilled him to the bone!

He was about to receive an award, but everything might change because of this explosion. He looked full of hatred.

If he didn't get his face back, he would become a laughing stock within the system!

How would people call him in the future?

Dale the Exploding Man?

Fuck!

In fact, whether the Brotherhood did it or not was no longer important at this point. What was important was that the Tobacco, Alcohol, and Hazardous Materials Administration, and their Chief Dale, had to show the absolute determination they upheld to maintain "justice!"

The explosion not only alarmed the small area of the Hazardous Materials Administration, but also the entire city.

Countless phones were constantly picked up and put down, as if everyone at this moment had a great desire to confide.

Lance hung up the phone, revealing a somewhat solemn expression.

From the perspective of an outsider, a non-involved person, whether Big Bolly did it or not, this matter had nothing to do with him.

Moreover, no matter who won in the end, it seemed that he was on the winning side.

But in reality, it wasn't.

With the Tobacco, Alcohol, and Hazardous Materials Administration being blown up like this, they were put on the fire. Their target now was not just the Brotherhood gang, but all evil!

In other words, because of this explosion, the prohibition situation in Goldenport City would become more severe than in other places, and it could obtain more resource tilt from the state government and the office.

Because the explosion provoked not only the Hazardous Materials Administration, but also Congress's determination to prohibit alcohol!

What a fucking idiot!

Lance cursed, picked up the phone, and dialed Bill's number.

Bill was also alarmed by the explosion, but he didn't think as much as Lance did. What he was thinking about was, if the Tobacco, Alcohol, and Hazardous Materials Administration started focusing on cracking down on the Brotherhood's bars, could he take the opportunity to expand?

But he also had some worries, because Big Bolly had once again shown his madness. He actually used bombs to blow up law enforcement agencies!

If he took the opportunity to expand, would he turn around and bite him?

This madman, he's crazy!

Just as he and his cadres were discussing these matters, the phone rang.

He raised his hand and pressed down, and the office suddenly fell silent, "This is Bill."

"This is Lance, pull your people out of the Empire District, this is the final ultimatum."

Before they conduct a large-scale search and crackdown throughout the city, they must complete the "unification" as soon as possible!

Bill didn't react for a moment after hearing this, but soon he said with some annoyance, "What the fuck… are you talking about?"

He really wanted to ask Lance, don't I need face?