Empire of Shadows

"Sir, Lance called, inquiring about Ms. Lisa."

Mr. Hoff's face flushed, he was extremely excited!

He had always liked Lisa, mainly because she was so sensible.

Most people have goodwill towards truth, kindness, and beauty, hoping that they can be preserved and stay by their side.

However, a small group of people in the crowd act in the opposite way to the mainstream. The thing they love to do most is to destroy truth, kindness, and beauty.

The more sensible Lisa was, the more Mr. Hoff liked to see her in pain.

When her sensibility and forbearance were personally destroyed by him, it could bring him more pleasure!

Not just because of sex, or anything else.

Mr. Hoff's breathing was heavy, and the butler could vaguely hear Lisa's painful sounds.

His gaze lingered on Lisa, "Last time, he was the one who saved you, right?"

"So this time, can he still save you?"

He poked Lisa with the small needle in his hand, which made Lisa's body tremble sensitively. Pain, vague pleasure, and some complex emotions were mixed together.

She whispered, not knowing whether it was pain or something else.

"Just say I'm not here…"

Mr. Hoff not answering the phone was within Lance's expectations. After all, he was a regional opinion leader, and in some ways, his status was much higher than that of a city councilor!

Don't think that he doesn't seem to have any "real power," but within his party, among the members of the Socialist Party in Goldport City, he has a great influence.

He can determine the tendencies of these party members in their choices, so he is given the title of "opinion leader."

This is also the source of his recklessness. The entire Bay Area may not be monolithic, but not everyone can tear it apart.

In fact, many people know that the most prosperous place in this city hides the most sin, but what can they do?

This is the foundation of this city, it is everything here!

There was someone in the city hall who tried to challenge them, but now he is as decadent as a waste. Any administrative order that does not conform to the interests of the Bay Area cannot even leave the mayor's office.

A Lance, or an agent that the Hazardous Materials Administration has never heard of, they are not on Mr. Hoff's "danger list."

Lance hung up the phone and shook his head slightly, "He didn't answer the phone."

Ponda sat opposite Lance with red eyes. He had exhausted all his abilities and couldn't find any clues related to Lisa. He could only place his hope on Lance.

After all, for a small character like him, Lance can mobilize more and greater power!

But there was still no good news. It had been several hours, and she seemed to have suddenly evaporated from the world!

He had even made the worst plan!

Many people go missing in Goldport City every year, locals and immigrants.

For ordinary people, they don't actually know about this. The federal government is also unwilling to publish these data to the public.

They can't say that the federation has three to five hundred thousand people disappearing every year for various reasons.

They can't do that, so for ordinary people, as long as no one in their family goes missing, they won't care too much.

But as a law enforcement officer, Ponda knows this. He even knows where some people eventually go—

Black factories, basements, or human experiments and operating tables.

Pregnant women are a special and more expensive type of commodity among many commodities.

Never underestimate the evil in human nature, and never underestimate how much these evils are willing to pay to let the evil be released!

Lance looked at Ponda. After a moment of silence, he said, "I have a piece of information that may not be accurate. Lisa is likely to be in Mr. Hoff's villa."

"Mr. Hoff?" Ponda repeated the name, "The only Mr. Hoff I know is…"

Lance nodded and said, "It's the one you're thinking of, the opinion leader of the Licarai State Socialist Party, a big figure in the Bay Area."

Ponda's eyes were a little lost, because this Mr. Hoff is indeed a big figure, and he is just a small character.

He looked at Lance's expression with some complexity and some confusion, "I don't understand, why her."

Lance pursed his lips, "Because you are not strong enough."

"You can't protect your wife, she has become someone else's prey, that's all!"

"If you were a senior agent now, or even the director of the Hazardous Materials Administration, do you think they would dare to do this to Lisa?"

"No, no one would do that, because they can't afford to offend you. They will think before doing these things."

"But you are just an ordinary agent. Although they call you a special agent, you are no different from ordinary agents."

"For them, you are like a homeless person on the street, a beggar, or a family at the bottom who has no resistance to life, not worth their attention!"

"They are trampling on you and your family's dignity in such a blatant manner, because they know that you can't change anything!"

He didn't mention Lisa's previous job. Lance wouldn't say it until Ponda found out about it himself.

Lance's words were like sharp thorns piercing into Ponda's heart. Before, he might have been a little unconvinced, uncomfortable, and felt that the young man who parachuted in was blocking his path to promotion.

But he didn't have excessive anger, and he maintained a relatively normal attitude towards this matter.

But now, he doesn't think so!

For the first time, he has a desire to obtain greater power and a higher position!

At the same time, he also had some doubts, but he didn't say them out loud.

Lance saw his doubts, handed the phone to him, and helped him dial the phone number of Mr. Hoff's villa, "Come on, try it, maybe the situation is not that bad."

Ponda picked up the phone, and the phone was quickly connected, "This is the Bay Area... number."

Those who know the address naturally know who lives in this villa, and those who don't know the address are also very likely not to know this phone number.

Ponda tried to relax himself, "I am Ponda, an agent of the Hazardous Materials Administration. I am looking for my missing wife. There is news that she may be at your place..."

The butler's voice was aloof and cold, "If you have evidence, then you can let the police come over with a search warrant and an arrest warrant, and we will cooperate with the law enforcement department."

"But if you don't have evidence, and just heard some not-so-friendly remarks outside, then you better think clearly about what you are doing."

"Slander is also subject to legal responsibility!"

"There is no Lisa here, don't call again."

"Go back and get some sleep, maybe the person you mentioned will return to your side tomorrow morning."

Soon the phone was hung up. From the butler's words, Ponda heard a hint of something. He was warning himself not to pursue this matter!

He was also telling him that after this night, Lisa would go back.

At this moment, he finally believed what Lance said, Lisa, is in Mr. Hoff's villa.

The fist he was clenching tightly was declaring the strong anger in his heart. He gritted his teeth and looked at Lance, syllables squeezed out of his mouth, "Help me!"

Lance looked at him with a calm and composed expression, "If you were a senior agent, or if you were the director of the Hazardous Materials Administration, I would help you now."

"Helping you can bring me enough benefits, but you are just an ordinary agent, Ponda, and what you need me to do is to offend a big figure in the Bay Area."

"Do you think, you are worth this price?"

At this time, Ponda, whose heart had fallen into absolute torment, was very confused. The past him, the present him, the future him, and Lisa and the child in her belly.

His life, future, family, everything!

At this moment, they were all messed up!

He didn't know what Lisa was suffering there. He tried his best to stop himself from thinking about the bad things, but he was a normal person, an adult with normal thinking logic.

He wouldn't think... that Mr. Hoff kidnapped Lisa just to make her eat well, live well, and make her happy!

She must be suffering painful torture and treatment!

Every second that passes, she will be in more pain!

Now, he seems to have entered a desperate situation. No one can help him anymore, among the people he knows!

Ponda slid off the sofa. He knelt on the ground, clenched his hands tightly into fists, pressed them on the ground in front of him, and lowered his head, "Help me, I promise, I will make you feel it's worth it!"

A few seconds, ten seconds, twenty or thirty seconds, just when Ponda was desperately not knowing what to do, Lance stood up, "Let's go, we'll pick up your wife."

In an instant, the strength that supported Ponda suddenly disappeared, but immediately afterwards, a new force began to rise from the bottom of his heart.

He stood up holding the coffee table, stood firmly behind Lance, and left the room.

A convoy quickly drove towards the Bay Area. Soon the convoy arrived outside Mr. Hoff's villa. Lance rang the doorbell, and soon the butler came out.

He looked at Lance with a displeased expression, as well as the people behind Lance, those cars, "What's the matter?"

"It's rest time now, Mr. Hoff won't see anyone."

Lance stood outside the iron gate, he looked at the butler, "Go and tell Mr. Hoff, we are here to take Lisa away."

The butler frowned. "I told you, there's no Lisa here, or Sally."

Lance stared at the butler, seeing in his eyes the same look common among the big shots in the Bay Area.

Coldness, disdain, superiority!

"It seems you haven't figured out the situation!"

"It's you who hasn't figured out the situation, Mr. Lance. This is Bay Area… number. Do you know what you're doing?"

The butler retorted directly. Since the day he arrived here, he hadn't taken the Bay Area's gangsters, police, police chiefs, or the five major families seriously.

Some forces are above these forces. He maintained his usual arrogance, even though he was just a butler, not the owner of this villa.

Lance took a few steps back, and just as the butler thought Lance had chosen to back down, a sneer appeared on the corner of his lips.

The sound of tires skidding in his ears made his heart tighten inexplicably. The sudden headlights outside the gate also made him subconsciously lunge towards the low bushes on the side.

The next second, a huge crash came, and the iron gate was directly rammed open by a car.

He stared dumbfounded at Lance and his group walking in from outside the gate, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets, forgetting to maintain his composure. "Are you guys out of your minds?"

"This is Mr. Hoff's villa!"

"Do you know what you're doing?!"

Lance walked up to him, looking down at the embarrassed butler. "Doing what I think is right!"

What happened outside was quickly known to Mr. Hoff. He quickly came out of the basement, looking at Lance, who was already sitting on the sofa in the living room, with a displeased expression.

Being disturbed from his enjoyment made Mr. Hoff very annoyed, and more importantly, he felt threatened!

"What exactly do you want to do?" he asked, suppressing his anger.

Lance looked at him, not at all afraid of the things his status brought. "Let me and Mr. Hoff be alone for a while."

Everyone in the room left in an orderly manner. Ponda hesitated for a moment, but eventually left as well.

In the entire hall, only Lance and Mr. Hoff remained.

Many guards from the villa area had already arrived. It could be heard that it was noisy outside, and the sirens of police cars were also sounding in the distance. It seemed that everything was "under control."

"We all know Lisa is here. Before everything escalates beyond repair, let me take her away."

Mr. Hoff's face was a little red, partly because of anger, and partly for other reasons. "I told you, she's not here!"

Lance smiled and said, "You're not a child anymore, Mr. Hoff."

"Welsching is a child's trick, not an adult's."

"I'll leave one person behind, and take the others away. Later, you let my man take Lisa back. We both save face, what do you say?"

He took out a cigarette case, took out a cigarette and lit it, took a big puff with a "hiss" and slowly exhaled, "Don't let us embarrass each other, okay?"

The two stared at each other for a moment, and finally Mr. Hoff was defeated. He didn't say yes, or no, just snorted.

Lance immediately smiled and stood up. He walked over, reaching out his hand as if to shake hands with Mr. Hoff, but Mr. Hoff ignored him and instead asked him a question.

"Is it worth it for a prostitute?"

Lance didn't mind Mr. Hoff refusing his kindness. "First of all, she's no longer a prostitute now. She's married and has a family."

"Secondly, whether it's worth it is my business, not yours, right?"

He took another puff of his cigarette, slightly raised his hand to Mr. Hoff, touched his forehead with his palm, "See you later, big shot!"

Ponda quickly greeted him, looking at Lance with concern. Lance nodded slightly, then he let Elvin stay behind, along with a car.

The others all retreated.

At the entrance of the villa, Lance saw Hunter who had rushed over. Both of them were stunned for a moment.

Their relationship used to be okay, but as some things happened, it had obviously become worse and worse.

However, they still had to maintain superficial politeness. Hunter took the initiative to walk over and even extended his hand. "Why did you make such a big joke?"

Lance looked back at the iron gate that had been wrecked, and he nodded noncommittally. "It is a bit big."

"Looks like the problem is solved?"

Lance nodded again. "Yes, it's settled. You made a wasted trip."

As he spoke, he looked around. A large number of police officers had already surrounded the place, but his face didn't show any fear.

"This is the first time I know the police can respond so quickly."

Hunter maintained the demeanor of his police chief as if he couldn't hear Lance's sarcasm. "Providing strong security for citizens is the primary task of the Goldenport Police."

Lance showed a "listen to what the hell you're saying" expression. "Okay, the joke is over, we have to leave."

Hunter didn't speak, and the surrounding police officers didn't move either. Police cars blocked the road to leave. Lance smiled and asked, "What, do you want to keep us here?"

Hunter was actually weighing the pros and cons, and at this moment, the butler happened to walk out of the villa. He paused when he saw Lance, snorted angrily, and then walked to the side.

He gave Hunter a look, and the latter quickly said, "I'll leave for a moment," and then walked to the butler's side.

After the two whispered for a while, Hunter signaled the surrounding police officers to make way. "You can go."

Lance nodded. "Thanks…"

The convoy quickly made a U-turn.

Just as the car he was in was about to pass Hunter, Lance had the driver stop slightly.

He looked at Hunter in the back seat, and Hunter also thought Lance had something to say to him, and even took two steps forward.

But what no one, including himself, expected was that Lance suddenly shouted "Woof woof" at him twice.

Then he laughed and patted the driver's seat, and the convoy started again and left here.

At first, Hunter didn't react, but gradually he seemed to realize something, and his face became particularly ugly!

"That son of a bitch!" He turned around, and the expression on his face became humble again, because Mr. Hoff wanted to see him.

Ten minutes later, a car appeared on the road leading to the Starlight District, catching up with the convoy parked on the side of the road, and drove towards the city center.

Lisa needed some medical assistance. The doctor almost chose to call the police when he saw Lisa.

She had many small wounds on her body, even in sensitive areas. The doctor believed she had suffered inhuman abuse.

The good news was that although there were many wounds, they were not particularly deep or serious, and would heal in at most two weeks.

The child in her belly also didn't have any major problems, at least the doctor didn't find any major problems.

However, for safety reasons, she was asked to stay in the hospital for a few days of observation before she could leave.

Lance waited until the results came out before taking people away, leaving only Ponda and Lisa.

The ward was very quiet. Lisa's eyes had long been red and swollen from crying. She turned her head away from Ponda and said softly, "Let's get a divorce."