Empire of Shadows

When Hyram kicked him in the stomach, the young man felt as if every nerve in his body had been yanked at once.

He immediately curled up into a ball! Hyram tossed his hair back, raised his foot, and kicked him hard. "Don't want to find a job, so you rob stores?"

"And use a gun?"

Some people on the roadside had looked sympathetic, but when Hyram said these words, they were all stunned, and then realized that these young men were the ones who had robbed the small store yesterday.

They not only stole money and goods, but also shot and wounded the store owner. If the doctor hadn't been successful in the rescue, he might have died.

Even so, not considering the high cost of the rescue, just hearing that half of his liver had been cut off made people feel terrified and angry!

No one wants this kind of thing to happen to them, especially when they haven't provoked anyone. It could happen to anyone.

The small store owner's experience spread throughout the Imperial District in a very short time, and people were very angry. They had already found out who one of them was.

Some people spontaneously went to the branch office to provide clues, but the police said, "We are investigating," and asked the public "not to interfere with the judicial process," telling them it was best not to do anything.

They also said that if they loudly publicized who robbed the store, it was likely to cause the bandits to flee in advance, putting them at a disadvantage.

But the police themselves did nothing. Only two police officers listened to these things, recorded them, and returned to the police station.

This feeling of dissatisfaction has been accumulating, which also makes some people very confused.

They wanted to do something to make this country, this society, at least not deviate so much from their perception of it, but they couldn't do anything.

At this moment, when someone did something about this matter, they suddenly felt a kind of unspeakable comfort.

Some people who knew about this matter had faint smiles on their faces. Evil was judged, and evil would never overcome justice.

Although this justice was a bit strange, at least it was not in league with evil, and it judged the other party, didn't it?

Suddenly, a gunshot came from the other side. Hyram shrank his neck, followed by Maurice's cursing. Hyram pulled out his pistol and ran over.

Lorne looked at the two novices, pointing at the young man on the ground, "Keep beating him, but don't kill him."

He also pulled out his pistol and followed Hyram across the road.

Across the road, Maurice was hiding behind a corner, and two other young men were hiding behind the car.

Hyram ran to his side, "Were you hit?"

Maurice shook his head, panting heavily, and lifted his windbreaker, which had a hole in it.

Hyram quickly felt him all over, and only after confirming that he didn't feel any wounds did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"That son of a bitch!" He quickly stuck his head out to take a look. The guy had already run away.

The surrounding onlookers had already screamed and hid.

He directly opened the passenger door of the car Maurice was in, and Lorne took the opportunity to squeeze in.

Maurice signaled the driver to get out. He personally sat in the driver's seat, released the brake with force, and stepped on the accelerator to the floor.

The tires smoked and skidded, and the whole car shook twice in place before rushing out.

In the end, people can't outrun cars.

Hyram and Lorne sat in the passenger seat and the seat behind the passenger seat, respectively. When they approached the frantically running young man, they both stretched their pistols out of the car window at the same time.

Bang bang bang bang, several shots in a row. The young man holding the revolver staggered a few steps and almost fell. He steadied himself by holding onto the shop window on the side of the road and continued to run forward.

But the speed obviously slowed down.

After running about ten more steps, he fell to the ground headfirst, and he couldn't hold the gun in his hand anymore, and it fell to the ground.

Maurice turned the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes. The car screeched and drove onto the sidewalk.

When Hyram and Lorne got out of the car, the young man was already crying.

"Spare me... Mom!"

This was the closest Maurice had been to death since the alley battle that day. He pulled out the gun he was carrying and rushed to the young man's side.

Hyram had already kicked the revolver aside. Maurice cursed while emptying the magazine.

According to the good tradition of the Lance family, Hyram and Lorne also took the opportunity to shoot all the bullets out.

The young man lay on the ground, and because of the constant infusion of great love into his body, he shed his last tear in emotion.

The tense muscles and fearful expression gradually eased and became calm.

When the clicking sound of the empty chamber came out, Hyram pulled out the magazine and changed to a new one.

Some people hid in the alleys and watched them, while others hid in the shops. The street was as quiet as death.

He glanced at the shattered shop windows on the side of the road that he and Lorne had shot out of the car just now and walked straight over.

Countless eyes moved with his steps, and their hearts rose and fell with him.

He first walked into one shop. There were three customers in the shop, plus the owner, four people. They were all standing in the corner, with their heads down, very scared.

Hyram still had a strong murderous aura on him. Although he looked stupid now, no one dared to underestimate him.

"I accidentally broke your glass..." He gave a thumbs up and gestured at the cracked shop window behind him, then took out five yuan and put it on the counter, "This is to pay for your glass."

"If the money is not enough, you can come to the Lance family to find me, and I will make it up to you."

The boss was so scared that he didn't know what to say. Hyram couldn't help but smile and walked over to pat him on the shoulder, "I don't eat people, brother!"

Saying that, he turned around and left, and went to another shop. This was a bakery, and there were still some fresh breads in the window today.

Looking at the bread under the glass shards, Hyram rolled his eyes, took out two five-yuan notes, and put them on the counter, "This is to pay for your glass and bread. I don't know if it's enough."

The boss was a young couple, and there were still several customers in the bakery standing blankly by the dining table.

The couple nodded quickly, slightly bent over, "Enough, sir, enough, it doesn't take so much money..."

As they said that, they wanted to return the money to Hyram, but Hyram refused, "If there is more, give me... a bag of donuts. They all love to eat this."

The young couple saw some incredible things in each other's eyes, but soon they prepared a large bag of donuts and handed them over, no longer as scared and uneasy as they were at the beginning.

"I hope you weren't frightened. Please believe me, this street will soon be quiet again. Good day!"

He left the bakery with the bag of donuts, leaving behind some people looking at each other.

"They seem... a little different from those other gangs."

The young couple said softly, the ten yuan was indeed far more than their loss.

The glass probably cost more than three yuan, and the bread below was actually only worth two or three yuan. Giving ten yuan was indeed too much, even if they filled a whole bag of donuts.

But this is not a question of how much money, but that these people would actually compensate them for their losses!

Several customers who were eating bread also walked to the shop window and looked outside.

An older man couldn't help but say, "Yesterday... a store on a few streets over there was robbed by five young men, and they shot and wounded the owner."

"My God, how is the injured boss?"

This older man seemed to be very talkative and well-informed, "His liver and spleen have been removed, because the injury was very serious. I heard that he now even needs to poop from an opening in his stomach..."

"That's terrible!" The other guests exclaimed.

These exclamations made the old man realize the meaning and value of what he said, "So I think their approach is not extreme at all. You should think about it. If no one comes to manage these lawless people, maybe we will be the next victims."

"If someone has to hold a gun, I hope it's them. At least they know to compensate after breaking your shop window and bread."

Several people were silent, carefully savoring what the old man said, but they didn't know that soon the injured old man, who had only had a large part of his liver cut off, would become a vegetable in the rumors...

Of course, this actually doesn't have much to do with them, or rather, it has to do with everyone. If the shop owner is "talked to death", then every link in spreading the rumors is an accomplice and participant!

Outside the door, Lorne had already taken out a tarpaulin from the trunk of the car and spread it all over the trunk. The two of them picked up the body and threw it in.

Lorne drove away directly, he had to go back to deal with the body.

Perhaps because this guy was shot and killed in the street, the guy who had just come out of the antique shop also gave up on running away.

After being beaten hard, the four people were taken into the car and quickly disappeared into the streets.

About ten minutes later, two more cars came, and several young men in work clothes brushed the remaining blood on the ground. They seemed to have used some chemical agents...

The police arrived here twenty minutes later, but they didn't get any information. Almost everyone didn't remember what those shooters looked like, nor did they remember what color their car was, let alone who was killed and taken away.

Collective amnesia!

At this moment, Nick, who was in the hospital, looked at his dying father on the hospital bed, the anger and hatred in his eyes seeming to ignite the air with sparks!

Of course, being on the verge of death was just his current state, extremely weak, but it didn't mean he was really about to die.

For the sake of money, the doctors had snatched his life back from the hands of the Grim Reaper. He was now awake, just a little too weak.

"I will definitely make them pay the price!" Nick's voice squeezed out from between his teeth, and anyone could hear the hatred in his words.

The old man shook his head slightly and closed his eyes, seeming a little tired. After a while, he opened them again, "After calling the police, just let it go. They are all desperate people. You don't need to take risks for me. It's not worth it."

Nick didn't speak. The old man knew that his youngest son was the most stubborn, "I will get better. Let's just forget about this. This is the Federation, not the Empire."

Just as he was speaking, Nick's eldest nephew suddenly rushed in, his face full of surprise, "They've been caught!"

The other relatives in the room stood up one after another, with equally surprised expressions on their faces. Nick also suddenly got up and looked at him, "If you don't want your butt to bloom, you better finish your sentence in one breath."

Nick's brother also asked, "Did the police catch them?"

"Are they being held at the branch or the city bureau?"

Criminal cases are basically handled by the city police局, but some minor injury cases that do not cause serious consequences are handled by the branch局.

There was also some light in the old man's eyes.

The child shook his head and laughed twice, "The police didn't catch them. The police didn't even do anything. It was the Lance family!"

"They went to Eleventh Street this morning to fence the stolen goods, and then someone saw them, and then the Lance family came."

"Several of them even tried to escape, and someone even fired a gun, and then the one who fired the gun was shot dead by them in the street!"

"The others were all taken away. Everyone is talking about it now…"

As he spoke, his expression was a little strange.

Nick was so surprised that he couldn't speak!

"What else?"

His nephew glanced at his grandfather lying on the hospital bed and said a little hesitantly, "They said that grandpa's organs in his stomach have been cut out and he has become a vegetable."

Although such rumors would make people very unhappy to hear, the people in the room were all laughing at this time. Nick was also laughing. He turned around and sat back down, sitting by the bedside, "Did you hear that?"

"They all say you're about to die. You have to get better quickly and give them a big surprise!"

The old man also laughed twice, but his expression immediately became serious, "How do you know the Lance family?"

"What did you promise them in order to get them to help?"

Nick knew that his father disliked gangs the most. The old man came here during the most active period of the Camilla Gang.

Every day it was either gang fights, or kidnapping and extortion. In order to prevent the extorted people from going to the police局 to sue them and cause them trouble, they would tear up the ticket regardless of whether they could get the ransom.

This made the Imperials very afraid, afraid of the Camilla Gang, and also afraid of all gangs.

Nick told the story and the results, and his voice was loud enough for the other relatives to hear, "I didn't pay any price, Dad."

"I met Mr. Lance. He is very young, but I saw in him the aura that only big figures have."

"I told him about what we encountered and begged him to help us, and then… you saw it. The police couldn't do anything, but they have already done it!"

After listening, the old man was silent for a long time, "Go to the warehouse and get some gifts, and take the family to thank Mr. Lance and the others. He helped us, and we should also know how to be grateful."

Nick nodded, "I will."

The old man nodded, "Go now."

After leaving the hospital, he went directly back to the warehouse behind the store. He didn't know what to take, but finally took out two bottles of his own brewed wine from a very secret place, wrapped them in paper, and carried them with him.

As soon as he came out of the store, some old neighbors surrounded him. They had just seen Nick enter the store.

"We are all very concerned about your father's condition. I heard that he has become a vegetable. I heard that there is a psychic in Xilin District…"

Nick smiled and raised his hand, "Stop, stop. My father's condition is very good and he will be discharged from the hospital in a while."

"I don't know who you heard these things from, but obviously, these are all rumors!"

The old neighbors were stunned for a moment, and then they began to congratulate him, after all, this was indeed a good thing.

Then someone with good news asked, "I heard that you asked the Lance family for help?"

Nick did not deny it, "Mr. Lance is very young, but he is also very reasonable. He understood my difficulties and sympathized with my experience, so he helped me."

"So the rumors are true?" someone exclaimed, "I heard that they were just caught and shot dead in the street!"

The people around who were behind on the news also exclaimed, "My God, that's terrible!"

But others didn't care about these things. They were recording these rumors in order to prove their authenticity in the process of spreading them, and to add their own sense of participation. They would often continue to embellish them, and then use "I saw it with my own eyes" to increase the sense of reality.

Nick watched them discuss enthusiastically, bid farewell to them, and then went to Wanli Affairs Office with his family.

But unfortunately, Lance was not there now. Ervin received them, accepted the gifts they brought, and said that he would convey their gratitude to Mr. Lance.

At this time, Lance had been called over by the director of the Imperial District Sub-bureau and was in his office.

"…The rumors on the street are very bad now. There are all kinds of things being said, and these rumors make me very passive."

"They will think that I am an incompetent sub-bureau director, even inferior to the head of a family."

The director of the Imperial District Sub-bureau, Bruce, has a big beard. His skin is very white and his beard is thick and black. He should be a mixed race with multiple bloodlines.

But because he mixed well, or rather, mixed early, he has become a "pure-blooded" federal person.

He looked at Lance, his expression a little unhappy. This was his usual tactic, "We asked you to solve the chaotic street problems, not to solve them in this way."

Lance looked at some of the trophies and ribbons on the wall behind him, which was a small wall of honor.

Seeing Lance's absent-minded look, he knocked hard on the table, "Pay attention to your attitude, Lance."

"I don't know how you convinced those big shots, but this is the Imperial District Sub-bureau. Here, I am the one who calls the shots."

"You have to learn, and you must respect me!"

Lance's gaze returned from the wall of honor to Bruce's face, "Within a week, those vicious cases in the Imperial District will completely disappear. Even petty theft, I will make them less frequent. This will become one of the administrative regions with the highest security rate in King's Port City…"