Empire of Shadows

Chapter 564: Living for Oneself [666+20]

Stone was hysterically shouting and cursing, lost in thought.

He cried as he did so, filled with fear and a desperate need to be strong, a complete fool.

Lance nodded slightly. “Satisfy him.”

The moment he said those words, Stone visibly froze, the shock on his face not yet transformed into an emotional expression when a rope was looped around his neck and pulled tight!

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At first, he didn't struggle, merely closing his eyes, seemingly seeking death.

But as time ticked by, little by little, he suddenly began to struggle uncontrollably, grabbing at the rope, trying to untie it, tearing at it with force, even trying to stand up.

But his legs were held down, leaving only his hands to try and loosen the rope, even just a sliver of space to gasp for air!

But he couldn't do it, even with his fingernails breaking as he clawed, he couldn't do it.

The figure behind him gripped both ends of the rope tightly, strangling him, Stone was no match.

Finally, after a brief, forceful rigidity, his body suddenly went limp.

Logically, it should have ended there, but immediately they loosened the rope and began pressing on Stone's chest, performing artificial respiration.

The cut-off power was turned back on after less than two minutes of resuscitation.

He gasped for air, a whistling sound in his throat, abruptly sitting up, his gaze somewhat lost as he looked at the people in the room.

He wanted to speak, but couldn't, his voice hoarse.

Wasn't he dead?

How was he alive again?

He didn't know, but he knew one thing: it was good to be alive!

To be able to breathe freely, how wonderful!

His eyes changed, no longer like before, still timid, still afraid, but now with a determination to face death.

At this moment, the moment of resurrection, his determination shattered.

His eyes darted away, no longer daring to look at Lance, but Lance looked at him with a smile. “Still want to die?”

He didn't speak, didn't move, just lowered his head.

“You’ve already died once, Stone.”

“This time you were dead for a few minutes, and we could still bring you back, what about next time?”

“How many minutes can you die next time?”

“Five minutes?”

“Ten minutes?”

“Twenty minutes?”

He shook his head. “Or is it a complete death?”

“What does dying feel like, Stone?”

Before he could recover from Lance's questions, he was distracted by a new one.

He didn't know, his mind was blank, perhaps this was the world after death?

No, it wasn't!

A tremor from the depths of his soul, from the depths of his species' genes, made him tremble all over!

He didn't want to die!

Because he had died once, he didn't want to die even more than before, he cherished being alive even more!

Even at this moment, he felt that being beaten was a kind of enjoyment, at least he was still alive!

“It seems Tyed didn’t teach you how to respect others.”

He nodded slightly, and the person standing behind him suddenly tightened his grip on his neck again. Just as he was about to struggle, the people beside him held down his arms and legs, not giving him a chance to struggle this time.

He was pressed firmly into the chair, feeling death descend little by little…

A little over a minute later, he was placed back on the ground and resuscitation began.

This resuscitation took a little longer, but fortunately, he was brought back. Amidst violent gasps and coughs, he got up.

The cough wasn't because of a problem with his lungs, but because of his heart.

Many people think that a cough must be a lung problem, but heart problems can also cause coughing, constant coughing, it's just that people don't associate them together.

After he sat up, he looked at Lance in horror, as if looking at a demon.

Lance was still the same, looking at Stone with a smile. “This time, it took us ten minutes to bring you back, Stone.”

“How long do you think it will be next time?”

“Or is there no next time?”

Hearing Lance say these words, he couldn't help but feel afraid!

Lance had someone bring a chair, and he sat down. “Actually, you’re not as important as you think, Stone.”

“It’s not just you who has value.”

“How many deaths do you think Fleming can withstand?”

“What about your cousins, male and female?”

“Bundy is so afraid of death, wouldn't he be even less able to withstand it than you?”

“People aren’t as strong as you think, people are very fragile.”

“Look, you’ve already died twice.”

“Will the third time be eternal sleep?”

Lance looked at him and raised his hand. Stone's eyes were instantly filled with fear, he put his hands in front of his neck and asked in a hoarse voice, “What… cough, what do you want me to do?”

Lance put his hand down, and the people around him also moved away from him slightly, which made him feel an unprecedented sense of security.

He looked at Lance, his voice terribly hoarse. “What do you want me to do?”

Lance breathed a sigh of relief. “Help us get Mr. Stone to sit up…”

After Stone sat down, Lance said, “I need evidence of the Coda family’s crimes.”

“You and your father have been managing the Coda family's criminal activities for many years, you must have left some evidence, I want that.”

“Give it to me, and I guarantee to let you change your name and go to a place where no one knows you to live.”

“Don’t give it to me, then eternal slumber awaits you, you can’t be so lucky every time, death will always snatch you from our hands one day!”

Dealing with the Coda family is not quite the same as dealing with the Keane or Teague families, and this is also some of the changes brought about by Bundy’s money laundering process.

Many of his industries, including personnel, have broken away from the “criminal organization”, such as those gunmen.

They are mixed with ordinary security guards in the security company. How can you prove that this security company is the violent department of the criminal organization?

Lance couldn't prove these, so they were always not so easy to eliminate—

It is not difficult to simply erase them from a physical point of view.

No one can physically withstand bullets and not die, they can't, and neither can Lance.

But doing so would leave some bad records, such as people would remember that Lance used violent gang methods to murder some legitimate and legal businessmen, which would become evidence of his crimes placed in front of every big shot, without even needing to be collected.

In the future, when they want to deal with Lance, they only need to take these things out, and Lance won't be able to escape.

At the same time, using such low-level means to complete a high-difficulty task will only trap him in this class.

Senator Cleveland doesn't lack people willing to kill for him, what he lacks is a partner.

Although from now on, this partner is still somewhat out of reach for Lance, at least he can't let himself have no chance at all.

So how can we complete this matter without leaving any traces?

In fact, it is very simple. He has controlled the police force in Goldport and has a good relationship with the State Attorney's Office. He can completely treat the Coda family as a large organized crime group.

As long as the evidence is obtained, in court, even if the President's mother personally runs over with a train overnight, saying she wants to protect the Coda family, she won't be able to!

Of course, this has nothing to do with whether the law is equal, because the moment the President appears, the law is not equal.

You, a President, interfere with judicial justice that does not involve politics?

Congress will immediately protest and even impeach!

So, in other words, doing so is more traceless and less prone to accidents, they are doomed!

Perhaps at this moment, Senator Cleveland, Attorney General Terry, and even the Lieutenant Governor and Secretary of State have not really taken Lance seriously, and they all think that he will use violent means to solve this matter stupidly, leaving behind handles and evidence that can put him to death at any time.

But who could have imagined that he, a gang leader, would not think about using guns and bullets to solve this problem, but would use the weapon of law?

No one could have imagined this, no one!

Stone's reaction is a bit slow now, after all, his brain has been deprived of oxygen for seven or eight minutes, and many brain cells have died, so he does need a little more time.

After a while, he asked, “What do you want this evidence for?”

Lance shook his head. “That’s not a question you should be asking. You just need to answer me, where is the evidence, or tell me, you want to die again.”

A look of pain appeared on his face. He… felt that he had done his best for the family, for his father, for Bundy!

He had already died twice!

Lance didn't even know if he could save him if he died a third time, and he himself had no confidence. He didn't dare to gamble.

He didn't dare to gamble that he would be able to escape Death's embrace forever.

He could succeed many times, but he only had one chance to fail, and as long as he failed once, he would be completely dead.

His mind was racing, and his eyes turned red again. He gradually realized that his pants were a little damp, a little cold and wet.

The speed at which touch acted on his body began to decrease. He had already wet his pants during his first death.

When a person dies, their sphincters and urethra will uncontrollably relax, and they will naturally release feces and urine.

He hadn't eaten much from yesterday until now, so there was no stool, but there was quite a bit of urine.

Countless thoughts and ideas churned incessantly within him. On one hand, he told himself it was just death; he had already died twice, so why should he fear truly dying?

On the other hand, another version of himself constantly urged him, if he could live, why die? Why shouldn't someone else die? Why did it have to be him?

He had already done enough for his family and loved ones!

The old him was already dead. Now, he should live for himself.

“We have some notebooks…”