Empire of Shadows

There was absolutely no reason that could explain why the police arrived so late.

It wasn’t daytime, it wasn’t spring or autumn, and it wasn’t summer. The streets were devoid of traffic.

It was after ten o’clock at night. You could barely see any vehicles on the streets.

For the police car to get from the police station to the scene of the crime, it would take, at most, ten minutes. That’s even counting that someone called the police, rather than them having heard the gunshots and coming over on their own initiative.

There was actually a police precinct near where he was attacked. Counting the time to mobilize the personnel and arrange the vehicles, six or seven minutes was the limit.

But it took them more than twenty minutes to reach the scene, and to track him to the president’s home.

This made the president have no choice but to wonder if there was any connection between his assassination and the police’s delayed arrival, whether there was some correlation that he couldn’t confirm, but that certainly existed.

Suspicion is like this.

Once the seed of suspicion is planted, germinates, and grows, it will eventually grow into a tree in one’s heart that can cover the entire sky, preventing people from seeing any light.

His eyes, as if covered in a layer of gray, stared intently at the Police Chief. His expression was calm, yet carried a trace of cold indifference. At this time, the president’s mind was filled with that letter, and its content.He was like a wounded beast, licking its wounds while staring at someone who might be one of its enemies.

A storm was brewing in the Police Chief’s mind. He was trying to figure out how to extricate himself from this matter, to prove his innocence.

The President’s thoughts, on the other hand, had drifted to a farther place. He was thinking about another matter.

How should he start this, and from what angle?

Perhaps, the entire ”beginning” would have to start with the Police Chief in front of him.

The Police Chief, who was being stared at fiercely, continuously wiped the sweat from his face. The temperature in the Dantra capital had already dropped below zero at this time. It was the coldest time of the year.

Even with the heating on, it wouldn’t be so hot that a person would break out in a sweat—

Because the weather was cold, most of the ladies and gentlemen would wear relatively thick and warm clothes, more than in the summer, so even with the heating on, the temperature in the room would not be turned up too high.

This was to prevent the visitors from outside from sweating because the temperature in the room was too high.

You can take off your coat, but you can’t take off everything. That would be a bit inappropriate.

He took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his face, but he didn’t say anything.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to say anything, but that he couldn’t.

What could he say?

Anything he said at this time would be wrong. He actually hadn’t done anything. It was a very normal official procedure.

The exchange of fire was too intense, so he had to mobilize more police officers, and carry more weapons and equipment to get to the scene.

He couldn’t possibly say that it was because the gunshots in the alarm call had made him afraid, and he had temporarily had the officers go and get their weapons and equipment, and then had deliberately slowed down the speed of the cars, which had led to their delayed arrival at the scene, could he?

He was just afraid of death.

And even if he had arrived in time, he would have missed the initial scene.

He knew it himself. He believed that Mr. President also knew it. The President asking this question now was clearly intentional.

He wanted to use him as a scapegoat.

So the more he refuted, the more he looked for reasons, the more miserable he might die later. It was better to just be honest and say nothing, so that Mr. President couldn’t find so many problems in his words.

Looking at the Police Chief’s silence, the President also sneered. ”You are also a man with guts.”

He meant that the Police Chief had guts in confronting him, and not in anything else.

”Your employment is terminated. It’s best if you don’t go anywhere these next few days. I will arrange for people to audit you and the police department. You had best pray that you haven’t done anything.”

While they were talking, the butler walked in from outside. He glanced at the Police Chief, as if asking if he could speak in front of him.

Mr. President leaned back on the sofa, looked at the butler, and nodded slightly.

”Master, the army has entered the city.”

The Police Chief was suddenly startled. He was about to turn his head to look at the butler, who was speaking, but he thought of something and forcefully held it back.

The President had been attacked during wartime, and it was in his own capital, on his way to and from work. The police couldn’t be trusted, so he had no choice but to mobilize the army from the military district to enter the city.

It seemed that there was nothing wrong with this, but the Police Chief had a very bad premonition. This matter was not that simple.

The news of the President being attacked quickly spread among the Dantra high-level. No one showed any smile on their faces.

Just like when the Emperor of the Empire had been pushed to a dead end and had to declare war on the Federation, when a ruler is pushed to a dead end, who knows how much destructive power he can unleash!

And the power in the President’s hands had not yet fallen. Although the financial groups and the political families were no longer willing to support him, and were no longer willing to let this war, which was continuously dragging everyone down and making everyone soaking wet, continue, he was still the president. He still held immense power.

It was clearly a quiet night, but because the President was attacked, the sky over the entire city had become lively.

Mr. President sat on his sofa, his legs crossed. His toes would occasionally twitch lively. If it weren’t for the fact that he had just had a fit of anger, judging only from his calmness and rationality at this moment, it was as if the attack that had happened not long ago had never existed.

The butler stood at a distance, looking at the President’s back, lost in thought. He was becoming less and less able to understand this ”master” whom he had watched grow up.

He was acting a little too composed. The composition was a bit absurd, and it made it even harder to guess what he was thinking in his heart.

...

The next day, the citizens of the capital woke up and found something different from yesterday.

Soldiers with weapons were patrolling the streets and alleys. They scrutinized every pedestrian who passed by, and often asked them to stand against the wall and accept their search. Even women were no exception.

As long as they were suspected by these soldiers, they had to accept the check and body search.

If nothing was found, it was fine. If something was found, after a beating, they would be locked up.

The public also, at this moment, knew that the President had been assassinated, and they also felt a burst of bloody conflict nearby.

A group of people who wanted to remove the President from that position and trade him as a bargaining chip.

And a president who was unwilling to give up any hope. The two sides would never find a balance!

The leader of the second-largest party in Dantra, in his manor, gathered all the party members in the capital. He stared at these people with a serious face and a hint of murderous intent. ”Who did the thing last night?”

His gaze continuously swept over these people, constantly observing the changes in their expressions. Including the people behind him, his true confidants, who were also observing the changes in these people’s expressions.

As long as anyone’s expression was slightly off, they would be keeping an eye on them.

Assassinating the president was not impossible. The Federation had, more than once, demonstrated to the world how to assassinate a president, and the procedures and methods for handling it afterward.

In so many cases, all the presidents were assassinated during peacetime, not during a war.

Because during this period, the president held immense power. He could control the army. When a president whose life was threatened and who could also control the army started to go crazy, no one could control him!

Their decision to ”trade” the president was also after the peace agreement was completed, not immediately.

But now the situation had changed. The president had been attacked. The army had entered the capital. What was the president going to do?

What would he do, and to what extent?

No one knew. No one knew how crazy that guy had become.

The party leader’s gaze continuously swept over the faces of these people. The heavy sense of oppression in the room continuously increased. Some people had already started to sweat, and some had slowly lowered their heads, not daring to look at him.

The party leader was very disappointed, because he did not find what he wanted on these people’s faces. Of course, it was not excluded that the person who had planned this assassination had a very good psychological quality and had not exposed himself.

Just as he was feeling a great headache, someone suddenly expressed his opinion. ”Everyone, is there a possibility that the president staged it himself?”

”We all know that his car is a bulletproof car. Ordinary light weapons, including the use of grenades and fire, cannot harm the car, or the person sitting inside.”

”But I heard that the people who attacked him this time were all holding weapons, submachine guns, and rifles.”

”Although the car was riddled with holes, the president himself did not have a single scratch. He is completely unharmed.”

”This is like a person living in a castle, accusing the person outside the castle who threw an egg at the wall and soiled it of trying to assassinate him.”

”If someone really wanted to assassinate him, whether it was any of us, we should have known about it very clearly.”

”When we really execute an assassination, we will definitely include everything in the plan, instead of sending out some assassins to just fire a few shots and leave, as if they are acting.”

”I would use heavy weapons. That car is not gas-proof. We could use poison gas, or set it on fire, to burn the people inside alive, instead of being like this now!”

”So I am more inclined to believe that he knew about our plan, and this is his way of breaking the situation. By staging an unsuccessful assassination on himself, he can firmly grasp the military power, and it is even possible that...”

He fell silent. The party leader’s expression also became solemn and serious, because he knew that this possibility was not excluded.

In a political struggle, any means can be used. Whether it is moral, whether it can see the light, is irrelevant.

What is important is whether it works or not.

If it works, then it is a good method. No one will care about the process. This is a game that emphasizes results.

But if it doesn’t work, even if its presentation is astonishing to everyone, but the result is a mess, people will only laugh at it as a ”magnificent farce.”

So, it is not impossible for the president to have staged his own assassination.

This speculation had, once again, changed the expressions of the gentlemen around him. To have a person stab himself with a knife to gain a greater initiative, then what he will do to you is definitely not to give you a slap or a punch, but to eliminate you!

The party leader paced back and forth a few steps. His expression became even more solemn. ”If our president is staging his own assassination, then what will he do next?”

The party leader walked towards the study as he spoke. ”You all discuss it. I need to make a few calls to confirm.”

The gentlemen in the room all fell into a deep thought. If they were the president, and knew that someone wanted to harm them, and they still held military power, what would they do?

The already unclear situation and future, at this moment, became even more blurred and chaotic.

...

New Golden City suddenly started snowing heavily. Snowflakes the size of a child’s palm fluttered down from the sky. Children, wearing thick cotton clothes, ran and jumped in the snow, seemingly happy about the arrival of such a heavy snowstorm.

Only those who had a little common sense were worried. Would such a sudden heavy snowstorm cause a snow disaster, leading to problems in the city and the surrounding areas?

Senator Cleveland stood by the window, watching the snowflakes fall. He couldn’t help but open the window and reached out to catch a few.

Just a few flakes, and they had almost covered his palm. This damn bad weather.

”Call the mayor. Pay attention to the safety issues of some of the buildings. I don’t want to see our city become a joke again in tomorrow’s or the day after’s newspapers.”

”This is New Golden City. At least we can’t make it look so ugly.”

Every time a major snowstorm occurs in the Federation, some accidents will happen. Either houses will be crushed, or hundreds or thousands of people will freeze to death, and a lot of municipal funds will also be wasted.

What is more crucial is that it will consume the energy of the gentlemen.

If they don’t go and offer condolences, don’t express some views and compensation measures, the public will think that they don’t care about the lives of the people at the bottom.

Now is not the time to care about the lives of the people at the bottom, because there are more important things happening than their lives. So he had to remind the mayor, not to cause trouble for everyone.

He walked to the side of the desk and sat down. He picked up the handkerchief on the corner of the desk and wiped it, wiping off the snow water.

Although he was saying these words that carried some warning and alertness, his face was, on the contrary, a faint smile.

Their plan was very successful. They had arranged for someone to, on the one hand, hint at the president, and on the other, to attack the president. He actually felt that if the president was not a fool, he would most likely understand his own situation, and would also understand that this assassination was just an ”opportunity” that had been delivered to his doorstep.

The fact is, the president had seized this opportunity. He had begun to let the army enter the capital, and the surrounding areas had also begun to enforce martial law. Next, it would be the start of a grand performance.

There were still some gentlemen in the room. The heating was on very high today. They were all wearing vests. The gold chain on each person’s chest would continuously swing with the movement of their bodies.

Under the illumination of the lights, it reflected a luster that was pleasing to everyone’s eyes.

In fact, gold is a very strange thing.

Young people will think that gold is tacky. Only old people will like gold.

But as they get older, they will find that their views when they were young were correct, because it is indeed only old people who like gold.

The gold that they considered vulgar actually represents wealth and power, and this is precisely what young people do not possess.

You cannot comment on something you do not possess. It is like if you only own a car that has had many owners, you certainly don’t know how satisfying it is to tear off the protective film of a brand new car, and you don’t know the sense of accomplishment that comes from gradually getting used to and domesticating this car during its use.

After all, the car that has had many owners that you have in your hand has already been broken in very well. It is not at all new.

A senator sat opposite Senator Cleveland. He crossed his legs, and placed his hands, with his fingers intertwined but not clasped, on his thighs. ”What if the President of Dantra wins this game?”

”We have to consider the possibility of this situation. He solves all his competitors, and completely controls this country.”

”What we will face is a president like a monster, a president who is very difficult to compromise with.”

”The war will continue, and it might be even more tragic.”

The others all nodded, but Senator Cleveland maintained a smile. ”I have considered these things, so don’t worry. As long as they can pay us what we want, then this war, this farce, will soon end.”

To help the president seize the opportunity is to give the surrender faction in Dantra an opportunity to put pressure. Under immense pressure, the things they were unwilling to talk about with the federal government before, they will now talk about.

They only ask to end this war as soon as possible, and even to get help from the Federation to sanction their ”crazy president”!

Senator Cleveland tapped the table with his finger. ”Actually, there is another possibility. Their president will proactively contact us, willing to stop this war, to deal with the mess in their country.”

”Now that a civil war has broken out, even if it is only a small scale, it is something that Dantra cannot afford now. They will soon fragment, and then be in a stalemate, and a larger-scale civil war will break out.”

”He must first solve the external war problem before he can proceed to solve the internal problem. Even if our demands are a little excessive, in order to achieve all this as soon as possible, they will agree.”

”Gentlemen, we have no relationship with them, and no connection. For us, we are just merchants, selling a commodity called ’peace.’”

”Now two people are standing in front of our stall, wanting to buy this ’peace.’ Then it just depends on who offers the higher price, doesn’t it?”

”The one who is willing to pay more will get ’peace’!”

The other gentlemen all nodded, agreeing with this view. And they also believed that perhaps the President of Dantra could offer a much higher price than the second-largest party!

At this time, every gentleman’s head seemed to be emitting a golden light. They had already seen the powerful and unmatched future of the Federation. As the founders, they would become an unforgettable page in history. This was an honor, and also an immortality!