Empire of Shadows

At past three in the morning, Melo , wearing casual home clothes, met this young man who had betrayed the family in the main hall.

He looked at him, just staring at him calmly. After seeing the young man become a bit unnerved, he shook his head, “You killed someone who was always very good to you, and you also let down a friend who had a very good relationship with you.”

At this moment, Little Ka walked in from outside. He was stunned for a moment when he saw the young man, then immediately rushed over, jumped up, and kicked him, knocking the young man to the ground where he rolled twice.

Obviously, this was a strike filled with anger, holding nothing back.

Still not satisfied, he rushed over and kicked the guy on the ground violently. But, whether intentionally or unintentionally, he avoided the young man’s head, his kicks always landing on his body.

After kicking for a while, Melo had people pull him away.

“Lance will be back in two days. At that time... you will know your fate.”

As he spoke, he stood up. “Lock up those other people. We’ll deal with it when Lance gets back.”

Two days passed quickly. When Director Roland learned that Lance was bringing people back to Golden Port City , his first thought was ”The plan succeeded!”

If the plan hadn’t succeeded, Lance wouldn’t be rushing back so hurriedly. This could only mean their plan was successful.But what gradually made him feel that something was wrong was, if the plan succeeded, why hadn’t they contacted him?

More than a day later, Lance’s luxury motorcade had already entered Golden Port City from the interstate highway.

If people drove 24 hours non-stop, driving was clearly much faster than taking a train, and one’s whereabouts were not as easily tracked.

A train was different. The train track is just one line, getting on at one end and getting off at the other, with no changes in between. If someone wanted to attack Lance , they could completely ambush the train.

Planting explosives or something, this would put Lance at greater risk.

But driving was different. The interstate highways are interconnected. Maybe you see them heading south, but no one knows if after fifty kilometers they will turn west or east, or even turn back to take a different road.

And there were always people to switch drivers. Not only was it fast, but the safety factor was also high.

“You’re back!” Melo hugged Lance . “The people are locked up in the back room. Their emotions are stable. That supervisor kept demanding to make a phone call, but I didn’t allow it.”

Lance nodded and patted Melo’s arm. “You have to worry about things more when I’m not here. Take me to see them.”

Melo nodded, turned with Lance , and glanced at Hiram standing behind Lance . “I heard you had a little problem with your ear?”

Hiram pretended as hard as he could to have heard. “Yes, the road was a bit too bumpy.”

Melo turned his head to look at Lance . “Has he been like this the whole time?”

Lance couldn’t help but reveal a small smile. “The doctor said he’s still in the recovery period. His hearing will recover a lot later, but it definitely won’t be a full recovery.”

“If there’s a chance, he can have more surgeries, or seek other methods. We’ll talk about it then.”

“If you don’t want to play a guessing game with him, you’d better speak louder. He can hear if you’re louder.”

The group entered a house behind the manor, a house that looked very simple. This was the young man’s first time entering it.

He had heard that this was the Lance Family’s execution place. They would kill the people they wanted to kill here, then process them, and then find a way to send them out to intimidate everyone.

He had always wanted to infiltrate this place before, to find some evidence of the Lance Family’s crimes, especially murder, but he never had the chance.

If you weren’t a core member, you had to at least be a captain to have the chance to come here.

As an outer member, he couldn’t even get into Lance Manor, let alone enter such a core place.

This time, he did get in, but as a prisoner.

He was a little nervous. To say he wasn’t nervous was obviously a lie. Anyone would be nervous at this time.

He roughly knew his fate. He really wanted to face it calmly, but the thought that he would likely be ”honor executed” after Lance returned made him unable to stop feeling afraid.

He even had an impulse, wishing Lance would never come back in this lifetime!

Including the day he ”fled,” it had been two days in total. He had become much more gaunt, his mind was a mess, wanting to think about everything, but unable to think clearly about anything.

Just as he was in a daze, people suddenly came outside the room. Someone glanced at him through the window of the iron door, then opened the door. “The Boss wants to see you.”

The young man was pushed and pulled out. He slowly walked toward a room further inside. There was a larger room here. From the ceiling, to the walls, to the floor, all were covered in what looked like high-end tiles, glass tiles.

First developed by a Federal decorative materials company, it was just an ordinary mosaic tile with a glass-like coating on the surface, making these tiles easier to clean.

It was a success as soon as it hit the market. Beautiful, pretty, was everyone’s impression of it.

And, of course, easy to clean.

Standing on these bright tiles, the young man could already imagine in his mind what it would look like when his blood splattered on them. The people around wouldn’t need to use any complicated methods to clean up the bloodstains.

They would only need to spray a special chemical cleaner, then rinse with water, and everything would be spotless.

His body trembled slightly, out of fear.

Lance wasn’t here yet. He was waiting.

After about seven or eight minutes, a burst of footsteps came from outside, as well as the sound of people talking. Two of the voices were very familiar to him.

One was Lance’s . He had heard Lance speak, not from a close distance, but he would never forget this voice in his life. It was the voice of his enemy.

There was another voice he also couldn’t forget, but its appearance here at this time only made him feel angry!

This anger seemed to have dispersed the fear in his body. He stared at the entrance with wide, hate-filled eyes.

The first to enter was Melo , the family’s number three figure. Although outsiders rarely spoke of this person, because he didn’t participate much in aggressive activities, such as firefights or gang wars.

But within the family, he was considered the number three figure, second only to Elvin, and also someone Lance trusted.

The next to enter was Lance White , the man he could never possibly forget!

Even now, he still couldn’t forget everything he saw that day. His life, his future, everything, was completely changed because of this man!

The third person to enter was stunned for a moment upon seeing him, then a slightly awkward smile appeared on his face. The young man gritted his teeth and squeezed his name out from between them—

“Director Derrick.”

Derrick was indeed a bit awkward right now. Originally, their target was Lance , but now here he was, standing in the most core part of Lance Manor.

This former subordinate of his probably already believed in his heart that he had betrayed him. He could only sigh. This matter... was really impossible to straighten out.

Lance watched this scene with great interest. “This subordinate of yours looks like he wants to take a bite out of you right now. Aren’t you going to explain?”

Derrick didn’t quite understand why Lance’s sense of humor was so morbid, but with this opportunity, he did indeed plan to explain.

“If I said it had nothing to do with me, you definitely wouldn’t believe it.”

“Actually, your methods were very crude, inferior. Only Roland would think it could fool others.”

At this moment, Melo, standing to the side, felt his face flush. He had indeed been fooled.

If he hadn’t called Lance , and Lance hadn’t calmly and rationally analyzed it with him, he might have already fallen for Roland’s trap.

Derrick didn’t know that his casual remark had made Melo feel stupid. He glanced at Lance . “In fact, Mr. White saw through your plan at a glance. He called me and asked about this matter.”

“We talked before. After my own consideration, I admitted to it.”

The young man didn’t listen to his explanation at all and just said viciously, “Traitor!”

This made Derrick almost want to laugh out loud, a feeling of helplessness, a bit of anger, mixed with a bit of grievance.

“Rather than calling me a traitor, it’s better to say you’re just an idiot being used by Roland!”

After speaking, he shook his head, not wanting to say anything more to the young man. It was useless. An idiot blinded by hatred and manipulated by hatred.

In Derrick’s heart, that last bit of pity also disappeared. He didn’t feel he had wronged the young man in any way.

Lance noticed his emotional change and had someone bring a few chairs over. They sat down separately.

He didn’t speak first. After a moment of silence, Derrick asked, “Can I take him away?”

“I guarantee he will never appear in front of you for the rest of his life, nor will he appear in Golden Port City , Likalai State , or any place you are. You won’t see his shadow.”

Derrick also had his own network of contacts. If Lance agreed, he planned to throw this idiot to a foreign country.

This was the only thing he could do for him after being his superior for so long.

Lance shook his head. “He killed my man. If he hadn’t done that, I could agree. But he did. You know, in this city, no one is allowed to provoke us and then leave here safely.”

“I invited you over today, for one, to chat with you. You have to get all those people you planted here out.”

“I don’t like playing such boring games. You should also know, the people you plant can’t possibly touch any of the family’s core matters.”

“Instead of letting them waste time here, why not think about how to catch those criminals outside the city!”

Director Derrick could be considered... a mid-level official in the FBI. The FBI has only one agency, and all the, for example, Likalai State Branch, Golden Port City Branch, these are all sub-branches. If the entire FBI is divided into five levels.

Level five is the lowest, level one is the highest. Then Derrick is between level two and level three.

Not all cities have an FBI presence. Some regions only have a state branch. Like Likalai State , there are only three branches in total.

One is the state branch, one is the Golden Port branch, and one other place.

They are not only responsible for crime problems in the city, but also for crime problems throughout the state.

Golden Port City , without a doubt, has the lowest crime rate in all of Likalai State . The FBI wasn’t needed here at all. The original purpose of establishing it was also for Lance .

But now Lance and the Lance Family have already moved beyond the scope of a low-level gang. Whatever they do, it’s a wasted effort.

Derrick smiled a little awkwardly. “I’m just a branch director. I ultimately still have to obey Roland’s orders and requests.”

“Besides, you know, these young people are full of righteous energy. If we don’t give them an outlet to vent, don’t find them something to do, it’s very likely they’ll do things even I can’t believe.”

Lance seemed to agree with this point of view. He nodded. “You have a point. But in the future, this kind of thing needs to be transparent between us, to avoid causing misunderstandings.”

Derrick naturally wouldn’t refuse.

Lance shifted the topic to the young man. “This kid, from the moment I came in, has been staring at me with those eyes that want to eat someone. Can you tell me, what grudge is there between him and me?”

Before Derrick could say anything, the young man spoke up, “You killed my family, in New Golden City !”

“I’m here for revenge!”

Lance was somewhat surprised. “Can you remind me?”

“You know, I’m a super villain. I’ve killed too many people. If you can’t make me remember, I might not even know who your parents were or why I killed them.”

These words didn’t have any special content, but they were especially harsh to the young man’s ears. He gritted his teeth and briefly explained the matter.

His father, a policeman, had offended Lance , and then Lance came looking for him. Lance also recalled this incident.

He didn’t feel he had done anything wrong. If someone snarls at you and tries to bite you, the best response isn’t to run or beg for mercy, but to punch them hard in the nose.

Different people’s fists are lighter or heavier. Lance’s belongs to the super-heavy category. Few people can withstand a direct punch from him.

“Is that so?”

“I regret it. But if it happened again, I would only do it more thoroughly.”

Lance appeared very calm, but the young man couldn’t take it anymore. “This is how you are?”

“After killing innocent people, this is how you are?”

“Don’t you feel guilty?”

Lance still looked at him with that calm expression. “Do you understand your father?”

“Did you know your father took dirty money and wanted to deal with me? I was just counterattacking after his plan failed.”

“Our work, our life, is like this. If you want to hurt others, you have to be mentally prepared to be hurt back.”

“In this world, what is there that only has rewards and no costs?”

“You are very naive.”

The young man didn’t believe this. After all, in his heart, his father was always a positive, shining figure. “Don’t think you can find excuses for yourself through this kind of slander!”

Lance shook his head and said, “I’m not making excuses for myself. Think about your life.”

“If your father was just an ordinary policeman, could his meager salary support you going to college?”

In the Federation, police are not much better off than workers. Their income might be ten or twenty percent higher, but the work is more dangerous.

If a policeman doesn’t take dirty money, he can’t live in a detached house, can’t afford his own car, and certainly wouldn’t have the money to send his son to college, let alone support their family’s relatively affluent and comfortable life!

This was actually the simplest and most direct evidence. It’s just that people living in a honeypot never suspect the honeypot.

Now that Lance had pointed it out, the young man opened his mouth, but seemed to have lost even the strength to refute.

He wasn’t a real idiot to begin with. As soon as Lance said this, many things immediately clicked in his mind.

When Lance saw his expression, he knew he understood.

Then, a smile appeared on his face, but it was definitely not a nice smile. “You see, the truth becomes clear with debate.”

“I have no more confusion. I think you don’t either. So let’s begin.” He glanced at the young captains standing by the wall.

This was an honor execution. Derrick stood up, feeling restless. “I still have some things to do at the office...”

Lance looked at him and asked, “You’re not going to try a little harder?”

Derrick pressed his lips together, glanced at the young man, and shook his head.

Lance motioned for Melo to lead him out. The young man, who originally felt some hatred for Derrick, now desperately wanted Derrick to stay.

He watched pitifully as Derrick left the room, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Two captains walked up behind him and tied him to an execution device. A captain in charge of the execution took off his jacket. He took out some tools.

His face bore a cruel and brutal expression. “You have committed the crimes of deceiving the family, betraying the family, and killing a brother. On behalf of the Lance Family , I pass judgment on you...”

He used a dagger to directly pry open the young man’s mouth. The action was savage. This made the young man not dare to keep his mouth shut, because he had just resisted for a moment, and the dagger had cut his lip. The pain and fear forced him to open his mouth.

Immediately after, a hook reached into his mouth, hooked his tongue, and pulled it outward.

Following a moment of numbness, there was a sudden, intense pain, like a burn!

People nearby came to help. His tongue was sewn to his left hand with a needle and thread by these people. This represented his atonement for lies.

While he struggled violently, they used a knife to peel his facial skin off, bit by bit, and then set it aside.

This would be stuffed into his mouth later, as a warning to the world.

Then his right hand, where his heart would be placed, to represent his repentance for the brother who was killed!

Tomorrow, the entire city would see this guy, and everyone would be made clearly aware of the severe consequences of betraying the family and harming members of the Lance Family !

Amidst the continuous, miserable screams, the young man was so scared he lost control of his bowels and bladder. Only at this moment did he realize that he was not as strong as he had imagined!