Empire of Shadows

Within the Republic of Dentera, the Federal people are facing a situation even worse than what the Empire immigrants in the Federation faced around this time last year.

Politics, race, nationality, stance, and alignment all contribute to the people of the Republic of Dentera's extreme hatred for the Federal merchants who are "aiding the enemy!"

This book is first published on the entire network by 𝕥 𝕨 𝕜 𝕒 𝕟 . 𝕔 𝕠 𝕞

Their Prime Minister waves his fist on the podium, telling people that the copper and gunpowder the Federal people sell to the enemy are turned into bullets fired at them.

The steel sold to them becomes warships and artillery.

Even the grain sold to them becomes rations for the damned invaders!

Under his propaganda, it seems as if the Federal people are the ones pushing the war from behind!

This is a very dangerous tendency. Once some terrible things happen under the impetus of certain people, the situation will quickly deteriorate and involve more Federal people.

He is writing these news articles to remind people to pay attention to this aspect. He even suspects that perhaps this is just the Republic of Dentera laying the groundwork for some terrible actions they will support later!

But he can't do anything except write articles.

Lance's phone call slightly interrupted his train of thought while writing. The thing people fear most when writing is having their train of thought interrupted.

This isn't like masturbating. You can stop for a moment, retrieve some other information, and then continue.

Stopping at this time may completely muddle the subsequent train of thought.

However, the big news in Lance's mouth also gave him a little interest.

George and Lance met last year. At first, he just felt that Lance was a very "sensible" young man. He started his own business at a young age and developed a very interesting business model.

He matched Federal people who were unwilling to work with illegal immigrants who needed work permits, satisfying the needs of both groups while also earning himself a large sum of money.

For George, earning ten to twenty thousand dollars a month is definitely an amazing income!

However, as some rumors about Lance gradually spread in Goldport City, he also realized that this young man was not just a resourceful entrepreneur, but also a gang leader.

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

People don't fear him, nor do they hate him. On the contrary, they are willing to talk about him.

Previously, George had done special reports on gangs. After all, the five major families in Goldport City have a certain reputation throughout the Federation.

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

They are unwilling to actively talk about things related to gangs, avoiding them, but this shows their dislike of gangs.

This point is not reflected in the Lance family.

In the Empire District, just find a place where people gather and ask them about their views on the Lance family, and everyone will become very talkative.

They can find many topics they are willing to discuss with you, and they are not gnashing their teeth, but smiling.

They have not shown such willingness to talk when discussing mayors, officials, or the police.

Moreover, basically what people talk about are good, positive things, without anything negative.

So George has a very good impression of Lance.

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

The Federation has been using typewriters for a long time, and almost all reporters can skillfully use typewriters. Moreover, there are now some specialized typists, mainly women.

He rubbed his wrist and took a sip of the coffee that had cooled down.

Lance's voice came from the receiver, "I think it's best if we talk face to face."

This made George even more interested. He hesitated for a moment, "We have half an hour to talk about this."

"Enough, I'll pick you up!"

More than ten minutes later, three cars stopped in the parking lot of the 'Goldport Today' newspaper office. George saw Lance, opened the car door and sat in.

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

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

This sentence made George stunned for a moment. He really didn't know about this. "It seems you've had a very exciting time. If you have the opportunity, you can tell me about it. I'm quite interested in these things."

He then added, "Also, the recent changes in the situation in Goldport City. I heard that the five major families have become four major families."

The convoy slowly drove away from the parking lot. These news, which are "rumors" for ordinary people, are just Lance's life.

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

"Do you know the Red High Heels Club?" Lance turned to look at him.

George nodded. "I know, it's very famous. I heard they provide erotic services to some wealthy people."

Lance showed a meaningful smile. This smile made George realize that it might not be as simple as erotic services.

As a journalist, he immediately became sensitive. "Is what you're going to say related to 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 Red High Heels is just a link in the industrial chain."

"There is a brokerage company called Dream Crystal. They sign some girls as contracted models, take photos of them, and provide performance opportunities. Do you know about it?"

George pondered for a while and shook his head. "It sounds familiar, but I really don't know about it."

"In fact, they are a model company on the surface, but in reality, they are engaged in the human trafficking business."

George, who had been sitting somewhat loosely, immediately sat up straight. He put the cigarette in his mouth and began to record these elements in his notebook. "Then what?"

"Where should I start?"

"Why not start with the story of a photo!"

The convoy circled around the streets many times. Lance decided to expose this matter.

In fact, he is not worried that someone will make trouble for him, because the general manager of Dream Crystal is likely to be finished by the time the police find him.

Losing such a role, even if Dream Crystal can reopen, they will not be able to do the same business as before.

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

Perhaps with such a reminder, there will be slightly fewer victims.

Lance doesn't actually have that many great ideals. He is just a very ordinary person.

But when he encounters something that he can't stand, he will come out and kick it.

This is not some chivalry, nor is it a sense of justice, it's purely because he feels uncomfortable in his heart if he doesn't do something about these things!

People should live a clear life, especially when they have the ability to do so.

Listening to Lance talk about this black industry in the underground world, and that it is just one link in many industrial chains, George's body was cold and trembling slightly!

"Why... did you suddenly think of telling me this?"

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

The Federal government publicly announces that there are approximately 70,000 to 80,000 missing teenagers every year, not including the cases of missing teenage illegal immigrants.

According to the current laws of the Federation, they are not even considered Federal people, or even people, so they are not included in the statistics.

If these are included, there may be 130,000 to 140,000 missing teenagers.

This is already a very alarming number. If these missing cases are also involved in human trafficking, it is simply... chilling!

In fact, the Federation, as a former major country with a long history of slavery, has a fairly high acceptance of human trafficking.

It's just that human trafficking used to be legal, but now it is illegal. There used to be slave-catching teams, but now the slave-catching teams have become more hidden.

It's just that the Federal people have always felt that they are civilized people and that their country is a civilized country. Suddenly, Lance said something like this, and he couldn't accept it.

Hundreds of thousands of missing teenagers, are they really missing, or were they bought and sold?

No one knows!

He looked at Lance. He felt that there must be other reasons behind this matter.

Lance didn't hide anything. "Someone became a victim, and their family found me."

George became slightly nervous. He opened his mouth, not knowing whether to ask or not.

In fact, as a journalist, he can come into contact with more dark things than ordinary people. He knows that if a girl is traded as a commodity.

Then her fate will definitely not be too wonderful!

"She came back alive, but she was a little injured."

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

"But I need to remind you of one thing, you can only report news related to Dream Crystal, nothing else."

"I hope this news can reduce some potential victims."

George took two puffs of his cigarette in a row. Lance's instructions made him able to guess that the buyers might not be ordinary people.

He also knew how undemocratic and unfree this supposedly democratic and free federation was. Anything involving the privileged class, the capitalists, had to be handled with utmost caution.

Even the *Goldenport Today* where he worked was part of the capitalist machine!

He nodded. "I understand."

But his tone betrayed a hint of unwillingness.

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

He narrowly missed it last year, but this year, there was hope.

Balancing foreign news against domestic news, George chose Lance's story.

"I'll start organizing the information as soon as it arrives."

Lance nodded and said, "There might be some extra pressure, and someone might try to make trouble for you, or even threaten you. Call me if you need help!"

Soon, the convoy returned to the parking lot next to the newspaper office. George got out of the car, watching the convoy leave with a sense of melancholy.

After standing there for a moment, he turned and went back to his office.

He looked at the typewriter on his desk, but his mind was filled with thoughts of those tragically fated teenagers. He decided to withdraw the news about the crisis erupting in the Republic of Dantella for now.

Then, he began to bury himself in organizing the elements already in his notebook.

He loved this profession because he wanted to present the truth to the public. The public had the right to know the truth, and that was the most sacred aspect of a reporter's job!

Meanwhile, when Charlie heard that the person tracking the car had followed it to the Wanli Law Firm, he drove to Mr. Bowen's villa.

"It's Lance's people," he said, sitting on the sofa, stating the name, "Lance White, the leader of the Lance family. He reportedly controls hundreds of core gang members and thousands of peripheral members."

"Besides the Five Families, he's the strongest gangster in Goldenport City, without a doubt."

In fact, the Lance family's strength already surpassed several of the Four Families. Of course, people still habitually believed that the Five Families were the strongest, with a natural bias.

For example, they would think that the Five (Four) Families' current strength was reduced because of the war, but they would recover soon.

Stereotypes and prejudices existed at all times, even with Councilor Charlie.

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

But others gave cautious evaluations, believing they were a valuable force.

If that were the case, then Lance's favor would be worth something.

He roughly understood who had persuaded Councilor Wade to make him repay the favor. In this city, probably only Councilor Williams would go to such lengths for someone else's affairs.

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

He seemed very deceptive on the outside, gentle, humble, polite, speaking softly, his voice unhurried, giving people a comfortable feeling.

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

As the "Bay Area Hound," Charlie had handled many things for them, including dirty work like "cleaning up bodies."

In Goldenport City, there was a very special "renovation company." This company was registered by Charlie's people, and its main business scope was similar to that of ordinary renovation companies.

However, this company had no business phone number, and its business address was a back street storefront that had been closed for many years. It barely had any presence.

But when there was a need, a few former policemen would drive over with some cleaning tools and paint to help these wealthy people clean up their basements.

The rising water in Angel Lake also owed some credit to them.

Charlie smiled and nodded.

After a while, Mr. Bowen said, "There's a problem with Dream Crystal. Go take care of it."

Charlie nodded. "I heard some reports about their illegal operations before. This situation should be investigated to give the public an explanation."

Mr. Bowen nodded in satisfaction. "Since someone has reported it, it should be investigated as soon as possible. This is your duty. Don't tarnish your badges!"

Charlie lowered his head with a humble expression. "I understand. I will personally oversee this matter."

Mr. Bowen specially pointed at him. "That general manager is dangerous…"

That meant not to leave him alive. He was dangerous, so kill him on the spot. That was reasonable.

Seeing that there was nothing else, Charlie took the initiative to bid farewell.

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

Sometimes, he actually admired Lance. Lance and he were doing the same thing—climbing up as much as possible.

It was just that Lance had chosen a very dangerous path. He faced dangerous choices at all times and might lose his life.

He had escaped several crises only because he was lucky. Someone with bad luck would have already died.

This path could allow one to stand up straight, but not everyone could walk it.

And he had chosen to be a dog.

Although being a dog was…uncomfortable, this path was stable.

There were advantages to being a dog. A dog would have a small kennel and didn't need to worry about wind or rain.

A dog had food given by its master every day and didn't need to worry about filling its own stomach.

A dog didn't need to face any competition. The only thing it had to do was wag its tail at its master and bark at bad people.

What was wrong with being a dog?

Why did one have to stand?

But in his heart, he still admired Lance. Not everyone could do what he did.

Admiration was admiration. He couldn't become Lance, just like Lance couldn't become him.

After getting the instructions from him, Hunter immediately took action. He directly led people to seal up Dream Crystal's company. All important documents were confiscated, and all employees were detained separately.

This time, the Bureau of Justice didn't drag its feet on approving the judicial documents. As soon as the application phone call was made, the people from the Bureau of Justice drove over and sent the search warrant and arrest warrant to Hunter's hand.

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

He was in the basement, already dead and stiff!

The last moment of his death, his face was full of fear, and clear tear stains remained!

In the dim room, feeling the slow passage of life, even if he was seeking death in the end, he could not endure such fear!

The ticking sound brought by the flow of blood plunged his whole person into a huge panic, the constantly jumping heart brought the panic and the feeling of dying was tormenting his nerves.

He began to feel cold, to feel black, to feel that he did not want to die!

But in the end, darkness still swallowed him, and in this dim basement, he died.

After receiving the news feedback, Mr. Bowen hung up the phone, picked up a separate phone book, and crossed out a number in one of the lines.

There were more than a dozen such numbers in this phone book…

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