Empire of Shadows

”The world is not safe, Bruni.”

Lance offered Major General Bruni one of his cigarettes. ”We face new challenges at any moment. Soldiers can retire, but they cannot put down their weapons.”

Major General Bruni paused. ”I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

Lance explained, ”The war is over, but friction between nations is not. Armed conflicts arising from conflicts of interest between two, or more, nations or regions will always exist.”

”Interest is the eternal nature of international relations. Where there is profit, there must be cost. Everyone wants to gain more, not pay more, which means true peace internationally is impossible.”

”The probability of full-scale war will decrease in the future, but the possibility of localized conflicts will increase.”

”When conflicts and differences between nations become irreconcilable, local wars and proxy wars become the best solution.”

”They have conflicts among themselves, so will they have conflicts with us?”

”The attitudes of the three Northern nations toward us have changed drastically. Maintaining social order in the Yalan region is a new challenge.”

”Soldiers can temporarily go home, but they cannot put down their weapons. A security company is an excellent cooperation project.””We can allow the soldiers to maintain their military discipline and training. When necessary, they only need to change their clothes to transform from security guards into warriors.”

Major General Bruni was so engrossed he forgot to smoke. He looked at Lance as if he had discovered a treasure, his eyes gleaming.

”You are absolutely right!” His arm gestures, emphasizing his point, caused ash to drop. Only then did he realize he held a cigarette.

He took a puff and grew more interested. ”This is an excellent idea. It reduces military spending while ensuring our combat capability doesn’t decline too much.”

”You are a genius, Lance!”

He was clearly excited. There was a vested interest for him here. He was thinking of even greater possibilities.

”You mentioned your company intends to handle the security and interests of Federal enterprises and workers in the Slad region?”

”Can I take that to mean this is a mercenary company?”

Lance nodded, confirming it. ”That’s just one way to phrase it. You can use many other names for us, but the essence remains the same.”

”We get paid, we solve the employment problem for demobilized soldiers, and we protect Federal businesses and workers abroad.”

Countless ideas sparked in Major General Bruni’s mind. He already had a draft for a report. He planned to submit this report to the Ministry of Defense and Congress. This could be the key to his promotion to Lieutenant General.

Generals gained promotion from the war, but only a few from the Ministry of Defense were promoted. They were civilian soldiers, more like politicians in uniform.

If they were promoted too broadly, the Army would raise objections. The military and the Ministry of Defense were both part of the armed forces, but they had internal friction.

Major General Bruni also wanted his ”Major General” to become ”Lieutenant General.” That would significantly increase his power, opportunities, and benefits.

He was focused on how to write the report, how to convince people to accept his idea.

Just as they discussed these matters, a car suddenly darted out from beside their convoy. The move was aggressive and almost hit Lance’s car.

The car carrying Lance swerved slightly, causing Major General Bruni to nearly slam into the door panel. ”Damn!”

”What happened?”

Before he could finish, two figures emerged from the right window of the car that darted out. They threw something at Lance’s window.

The windshield was instantly covered, obscuring their view. The car was forced to stop.

Intense fighting immediately erupted around them. The view was completely blocked, and they had no idea what was happening outside.

Lance remained perfectly still. He pulled a submachine gun from under the seat and looked at the panicked Major General Bruni. ”Can you use this?”

Major General Bruni glanced at the submachine gun in his hand and swallowed hard. ”I can, yes.”

He had practiced shooting, hitting the target two or three times out of ten shots at a twenty-meter range. He was a Major General, not a warrior or a soldier. He wasn’t required to go to the front lines or have refined marksmanship.

He was a politician in uniform.

In this moment, he felt immense fear.

Fortunately, Lance’s composure calmed him down slightly.

”What’s going on?” he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Lance, cigarette in mouth, pulled the bolt of his submachine gun. ”Perhaps someone doesn’t want me to live.”

Major General Bruni looked at Lance saying this so casually, utterly astonished, even speechless. ”Don’t you find this shocking?”

Lance chuckled. ”You’ll get used to it after you’ve been assassinated a few times.”

”F***, I don’t want to get used to it!”

The entire car quickly grew hot. Smoke poured from the ventilation ducts. Mador instructed the driver to immediately close the air vents. ”Boss, they set the car on fire.”

Without explosives or large-caliber weapons, an armored car was practically impenetrable at this time.

In a city like the New Golden City, which was more important than the capital, using large-caliber weapons and explosives was unthinkable.

Bob hadn’t lost his mind enough to try that. So, they chose fire, forcing the occupants out due to the heat.

That would nullify the armored car’s protection.

But since Lance already knew their plan, he was prepared.

In fact, several of Lance’s men were following them discreetly, ready to solve the problem immediately after Lance was attacked.

The gunfire outside erupted quickly and intensely, but it also subsided quickly. The temperature inside the car rose to an unbearable level within two or three minutes.

Lance glanced at Major General Bruni. ”I’m going to open the door. We charge out together.”

Major General Bruni tightly gripped the weapon in his hand. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and nodded.

After Lance finished counting down, he forcefully kicked the unlocked car door open. The fire outside had largely died down, and the fighting in the street was winding down. Major General Bruni scrambled out. Seeing Lance raise his submachine gun and spray bullets at the remaining attackers, he gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger at the figures he thought were the attackers.

For some reason, the recoil of the gun in his hand, the moment he pulled the trigger, drove away the fear and anxiety in his heart.

His hunched body straightened up, and he even started cursing.

If the magazine hadn’t emptied so quickly, he might have unleashed even more emotion.

Fortunately, Mador thoughtfully provided him with more ammunition, and Major General Bruni enjoyed the gunfight immensely.

Not every military officer gets the chance to shoot at a real, live target.

Watching the attackers fall back and collapse from the gunfire, Major General Bruni felt... completely at ease.

His soul felt soothed!

Lance walked up to a wounded man lying on the ground and emptied the rest of his magazine into the man’s head, then handed the submachine gun to one of his combat captains.

In that short time, police sirens wailed loudly. The Federal police were consistently late, only arriving after the fighting was over.

Lance instructed Major General Bruni to hand his weapon over to someone else. The two men stood together.

Major General Bruni sensed something was amiss. He felt his mind was clearer than ever before.

”The police arrived too fast,” he said, watching the police form a cordon, weapons aimed at them. He lit another cigarette.

He squinted at the police, unsure if the smoke was bothering his eyes or if he didn’t want anyone to see his gaze.

As a native of the New Golden City, he had lived there for over twenty years and knew the police response time.

It should take them at least ten minutes to arrive from the nearest precinct, yet so many police officers showed up in less than five minutes. This suggested only one thing:

The police were nearby. They must have known the attack was coming, and they were waiting.

Waiting for the incident to happen, and then rushing in.

Major General Bruni glanced at Lance. ”You’ve made some powerful enemies.”

Lance smiled, spreading his hands. ”I’ve offended more than one person.”

It was an answer that revealed everything and nothing.

The Deputy Chief, who was present at the scene, shouted through a megaphone. ”Drop your weapons immediately and lie on the ground!”

”Repeat: drop your weapons and lie on the ground immediately, or we will open fire!”

The Police Chief was also there, but he remained inside an ordinary police car, watching the chaos.

Roland had told him the Perez family would attack Lance here, leading to a fierce gunfight.

He was instructed to arrest everyone. A gunfight in the New Golden City was a serious incident. Even with Lance’s background, getting out unscathed would be difficult.

This action would make Lance a pariah.

Even if this incident didn’t completely eliminate Lance—which Director Roland knew was unlikely—it would cost Lance significantly.

You had to deal with powerful figures like this: chip away at their protection piece by piece until their vulnerable core was exposed, then deliver the fatal blow.

The Police Chief was completely supporting Roland’s decision. His relationship with Lance was terrible, full of deep-seated friction.

Now, seeing the plan succeed, the Police Chief smiled. The men standing in the street with guns were clearly ”thugs.”

That was all he saw. He didn’t see the complexity behind the scenes.

For instance, Mr. Potter was also watching this. He planned to use this gunfight in the city center as a prime example in his campaign.

He would tell the public he would stop such incidents, demonstrating his commitment to de-gangsterization.

Naturally, Lance, pushed to the forefront of the media frenzy, would be abandoned by some of his supporters.

Even if he wasn’t abandoned, he would lose some of his importance, which also served to curb Senator Cleveland’s influence.

No matter how small, every incident tied to politics was significant.

Seeing the growing number of police officers, Major General Bruni’s face grew darker. If he surrendered now, his career at the Ministry of Defense would be over!

His backers wouldn’t allow a man who lost face and became a public joke to reach a higher position.

He stood his ground, facing the police, his mind racing.

He even looked at Lance with a hint of suspicion. He felt he had been manipulated, but he needed more intelligence to confirm it.

He slowly walked toward the police officers, despite being unarmed. The officers grew tense.

He didn’t walk too close, stopping at a distance where conversation was possible. ”Are you the officer in charge here?”

He looked at the Deputy Chief, who flinched at Major General Bruni’s authoritative tone.

The Deputy Chief swallowed hard, resisting the urge to look back at the Chief’s car.

”Yes, I am the officer in charge here.”

Major General Bruni’s gaze was sharp. ”I am Major General Bruni of the Ministry of Defense. I am about to retrieve my identification.”

He slowly took his ID from his jacket pocket, motioning for an officer to retrieve it. ”I demand an explanation.”

The Deputy Chief felt an urgent need to urinate. He knew he couldn’t leave, so he had an officer retrieve the ID.

Seeing the ID, which was simple, even roughly made, he knew it was genuine.

Fake IDs were usually more ornate.

He swallowed again. ”I need to call and verify this.”

Major General Bruni nodded, then walked away to a phone booth.

The Ministry of Defense quickly confirmed the identity of Major General Bruni.

His heart sank. A gang fight was one thing, but a gang attacking a Federal official, a Major General no less, was a whole different matter.

The Chief also realized the severity of the situation. He rushed out of his car and called Roland.

”Have they been arrested?” Roland sounded calm, anticipating only one outcome.

But the Police Chief’s next words silenced him.

”You didn’t tell me there was a Major General from the Ministry of Defense in Lance’s car!”

”F***! This has become a huge problem, understand?”

Roland also felt a headache coming on. ”A Major General from the Ministry of Defense?”

”I didn’t know that!”

He immediately stood up, pacing. ”First... process this as a normal police response. It was just a routine incident, understood?”

The Police Chief hung up, cursing under his breath. He couldn’t follow the original plan now.

That son of a bitch is a menace!

The news quickly spread, reaching almost every powerful figure.