Empire of Shadows

The office door suddenly burst open, and Hiram, who was chewing gum, pulled out his pistol from its holster.

He stood on the wall side of the door—

This was a lesson learned in blood.

In past battles, everyone discovered that if someone was inside the room and someone knocked or asked a question, the mortality rate for those answering behind the door was very high!

When encountering gunmen who came with a kill order, they wouldn't play any "open the door first" or "shoot first" games with you.

As long as you made a sound behind the door, they would immediately shoot at the door.

The first time someone foolishly stood their ground and met God, people may not have paid much attention, but as more people died and were injured, it was gradually discovered and taken seriously.

The wall was harder, and not all houses were wooden structures, providing more protection.

"Who's there?" Hiram's thumb on the gun switched off the safety, ready to shoot at any moment.

"Me, Elvin. All done."

Hiram opened a crack in the door and glanced outside. After confirming it was Elvin, he released the safety and put the pistol back in its holster.

He walked in from the outside, a submachine gun slung over his shoulder. "It's all taken care of."

Lance nodded slightly, stood up, and walked towards the door. After taking two steps, he remembered something, turned his head to look at Lorraine, and held out his hand.

The latter reached out and tightly grasped Lance's hand, following Lance out of the vice-principal's office with her small backpack.

Walking in the corridor, Lorraine curiously looked at the people around Lance; it was her first time meeting them.

But she could feel their sincere respect for Lance.

There were only quiet and orderly footsteps in the corridor, which was strange. It wasn't like this at first; everyone's steps were chaotic and disordered.

But after walking a few steps, Lorraine noticed that everyone's pace began to become consistent, and the footsteps became orderly.

Lance didn't notice this, but even if he did, he wouldn't care much.

This was actually a kind of "leader effect." As the most special and prominent person in this group, his behavior would unconsciously influence others, causing them to emulate him and move closer to him.

Whether it was ordinary actions or anything else, not intentionally, it naturally became his rhythm.

Reaching the elevator, Lance asked, "Who were they with?"

Elvin pursed his lips, "The Holy Bell Party."

This made Lance turn his head to look at Elvin in surprise, as if asking, "Are you kidding me?"

"The Holy Bell Party?" he repeated to himself, his tone filled with confusion and incomprehension. He had no grievances with the Holy Bell Party.

Why would they assassinate him?

And how did they get in?

Elvin quickly explained, "They all have Holy Bell Party tattoos, and they weren't recently done; they should have been there for a long time."

With a "ding," the elevator door slowly opened. Lance took Lorraine's hand and took the lead to the innermost part, then turned around.

Only then did the others enter, filling the space around him and in front of him. After entering, everyone immediately turned around, facing the direction of the elevator door.

Hiram pressed a button with the finger he had just picked his nose with, leaving a sticky mark.

Before long, maybe just thirty or fifty seconds later, the elevator door reopened, and the people standing in the lobby turned to look at the elevator.

After Lance came out, he glanced at the young people in the lobby with their burning gazes and nodded slightly.

Although Lance appeared at the company almost every day, getting close to him was still not an easy task, even for the people of the Lance family.

These ordinary gang members all had their own jobs, perhaps patrolling a certain block, perhaps staking out a certain place, perhaps having various tasks to do.

Only a few could be on duty at the company.

Apart from large-scale events, it was not easy for them to get close to Lance, and Lance was the idol of young people around the age of twenty in Goldenport City, even the entire city.

Even those teenage boys in this private school had a strong curiosity and yearning for this legendary figure, Lance!

It was conceivable how excited they were when they saw Lance and how much they wanted to show themselves.

Seeing them standing tall and proud, Lance smiled and walked outside. He also patted the arm of a young man next to the elevator.

This immediately filled the young man's face with an expression of pride and showiness!

The corpses were placed in the lobby on the first floor, a total of seven bodies. They were left with only their underwear, and all other clothes were stripped off.

After inspection, they were placed aside.

Lance intended to let go of Lorraine's hand, after all… corpses were a bit too stimulating for a girl like her.

But when he tried, Lorraine instead grabbed his hand even tighter. He turned his head to look at the girl and saw perseverance and a certain determination in her eyes.

He no longer tried to break free from her grasp but continued to hold her hand and came to the side of the corpses.

Each person had a tattoo of a handbell and a bible on their chest, which was one of the symbols of the Holy Bell Party.

It represents God's gospel and glory. Everyone who joins the Holy Bell Party must have such a tattoo.

"Looks like it's real. Find someone who knows them and ask."

Lance stood there for a while, then walked outside. Although these people were dead, there were still clues.

Aishe's father.

The young man with the submachine gun slung over his shoulder immediately opened the car door. Lance quickly walked over, got into the car, followed by Lorraine.

The others also got into the car one after another, leaving only a few people here to handle the aftermath.

After Lance's convoy left, the branch director of the Creek Valley District also entered the scene with the police.

Soon after, the principal of the private school issued an announcement that a group of Holy Bell Party thugs from the western region of Ricallie State attempted to launch an attack in the private school and were discovered in time.

After ineffective persuasion and deterrence, they were shot and killed on the spot.

The Creek Valley District branch hoped that everyone could provide some clues and intelligence. The principal used harsh words in front of reporters to criticize the actions of the extreme organization of the Holy Bell Party and called on all sectors of society to pay attention to campus safety issues…

Today's events made them, including other private schools, understand a truth.

Sometimes, no matter how many people you know, in the face of power, they are meaningless and shatter at the slightest touch!

Aishe was also ordered by the principal to suspend her studies and return home because she was considered the fuse of the entire incident.

She could do anything she wanted, except go to school!

Considering that she was still a girl, the principal had Aishe's teacher drive her home.

The school suffered huge losses in this incident. It was conceivable that after today, a large number of students would drop out of here, and their proud network of connections would be shattered in half!

The school board and those investors would peel off his skin and slap it hard in his face. He had messed up everything!

Now, the only thing he could do was to try his best to make up for it and minimize the losses as much as possible.

There was still a long way to go from the Creek Valley District to the Bay Area. Aishe cried all the way, and her teacher didn't know how to comfort the girl.

The atmosphere was heavy all the way. As a teacher at the best private school in Goldenport City, at least until this moment, he knew how much trouble Aishe's father had caused.

Not to mention the private schools in Goldenport City, even the private schools in Ricallie State would most likely not accept Aishe.

It wasn't that Lance's influence could cover the entire Ricallie State, but that those schools didn't want to cause trouble!

Unless they moved to another state, she might not even have a place to study.

The teacher silently sighed. "Everything will be alright," he could only say, but it was useless. There was only sobbing in the back seat.

Aishe wanted to be strong, but she couldn't do it at all. The thought of her and her family causing so much trouble made her feel like the sky was falling.

The heavy and sad atmosphere in the car continued all the way. After the security guard at the entrance of the community checked, the car slowly entered the internal road and stopped outside her house.

Perhaps because he could soon get rid of this terrible thing, the teacher's mood improved slightly.

"After you go back and calm down, have a good talk with your father."

"My suggestion is that you can ask him to change to a new environment for you, so that you can make some new friends."

"If you have any questions you want to ask, you can call me."

The teacher pursed his lips and sighed again. "I will always be proud of you!"

If you didn't consider the matter itself, he still liked Aishe very much.

Aishe was very active in the class and was willing to participate in various activities organized by the school.

For this kind of private school, the activities organized by the school are often not simple and are more like a multi-level social activity.

They need their parents to come to the school, which is why some people are clearly not of this class, but they still grit their teeth and even take out loans to send their children in.

Isn't it just to use the school as a bridge to get to know those real upper-class people?

Although it may make them look a little humble, in the adult world, what is humble or not?

There was only "wealth" and "poverty," nothing in between.

Aisley and her family were enthusiastic about various social activities, making them a relatively outgoing family.

Beautiful, with golden hair, and from a good family, who could hate her?

Perhaps because they were at her doorstep, Aisley's tears subsided slightly. She said, "Thank you," pushed open the car door, got out, and bowed to her teacher.

Then, slowly, her steps became visibly heavy as she walked towards her house.

The teacher shook his head and started the car again, driving away. He still had to go back and write an apology letter and read it aloud at the assembly because he hadn't recognized the truth of the matter at first, causing harm to Miss Lorraine.

He couldn't help but slap the steering wheel, the sudden noise startling a pedestrian on the roadside, who cursed loudly.

Every teacher has a scale in their heart. A good student's fart sounds loud and smells sweet, while those students they don't care about, even if sacrificed, they feel it's what they deserve.

Standing on the steps, Aisley withdrew her gaze from the teacher's rear car window. She pressed the doorbell, but no one answered, and no one opened the door.

She suddenly froze for a moment, then her body began to tremble slightly.

When she came down from the school's administration building, she saw the cleaning staff wiping the bloodstains from the ground and the police putting body bags into the car.

She began to overthink, becoming terrified, and pressed the doorbell several more times, but still, there was no response.

Just as she took off her backpack, fumbled for the key, and couldn't manage to insert it into the lock, the door slowly opened.

Her mother stared at her with unfocused eyes, her gaze not like that of a mother looking at her daughter, a living person, but more like she was looking at something else.

"Mom..." she called out timidly in a low voice.

Her mother seemed to come back to her senses at this moment, slowly squatting down and hugging her, hugging her very tightly, so tightly that she began to feel pain!

She seemed to realize something. She didn't cry out in pain but hugged her mother, as if trying to give her some sense of security.

Aisley was able to bravely resist that silent and powerful force, preventing herself from crying out in pain.

By Angel Lake, several young men were tidying up the blood-stained tarpaulin, diligently and earnestly.

Devon bent down and wiped the blood from his leather shoes, making sure there was no dust on his newly bought shoes before straightening up with satisfaction.

"Dig the hole deeper. The last one was too shallow. I could smell the stench, damn it."

"If you guys slack off again this time, I'll throw you down there and let you have a good time!"

He laughed and scolded, then picked up the documents in his hand and got into the car.

Before Lance had even left the school, Aisley's father had already been arrested.

Perhaps, for this middle-aged man, he didn't believe Lance could escape this calamity.

He didn't even feel a sense of foreboding like Hoff and run away immediately. When Allen and Devon found him, he was actually at home, laughing foolishly at the TV!

Then, very quickly, he was taken away, right in front of his wife.

Everyone has to pay the price for their actions and bear the consequences, no exceptions, not even Lance.

Aisley's father didn't last long either, revealing everything. What was interesting was that he was also a minor shareholder in the dock, with less than one-thousandth of the shares, but it was still a gain.

After he signed the equity transfer agreement, he would soon be buried deep underground.

And with these things, he exchanged for the safety of his family.

His wife and his daughter were saved by him.

The cool spring breeze blew, and the car sped along the road leading to the city. The comfortable atmosphere emanating from nature in the mountains and forests made people want to shout!

To rest eternally in such a beautiful place could already be considered a blessing!

When Devon returned to the company, Lance had not been back for long.

This was Lorraine's first time here. Her emotional fluctuations today were relatively strong, and she was noticeably listless after returning.

Lance asked Corinda to take the girl to freshen up and rest for a while, while he himself still had some work matters to handle.

Because the assassination attempt had failed, Lance instructed Bolton to maximize the number of personnel on the streets.

This incident also served as a reminder to him that there were places in this city that he couldn't monitor.

"It's possible they came in at night!" Bolton was sweating a little. If a few gunmen could get in without them knowing today, more gunmen could get in tomorrow!

He was very satisfied with his current life. His daughter had returned to his side, his wife was like a large toy, obedient, and his newborn son had great potential.

Most importantly, he had money in his hands, and he was getting richer and richer, and his social status was also rising.

He longed for this kind of life to continue even more than Lance did.

Lance nodded noncommittally as he listened to his explanation. "That's indeed a problem. We don't have anyone guarding the streets at night. If someone really comes in, we most likely won't be able to detect them."

He pondered for a moment, "I'll think of a way to solve this."

He didn't say how to solve it, so Bolton couldn't help but overthink. He had to show his worth.

He suddenly seemed to think of something, "A few days ago, Hoff seemed to have left once. It's also possible they came back in Hoff's car."

Lance nodded, "I remember that. Someone saw Hoff's convoy leave Gold Harbour City."

He furrowed his brow and thought about the possibility of this development. It was indeed possible, and he had been careless.

But he quickly shook his head, "Hoff ran away too early. If we could find him, these problems wouldn't exist."

"We still need to continue expanding our eyes and let our tentacles spread throughout the entire Licarrai State, not just be confined to Gold Harbour City."

"Don't be satisfied with our current achievements, gentlemen. Now is not the time to lie on our laurels and enjoy ourselves."

"We still have many enemies and face many challenges."

"The only advice I can give you is not to slack off. Once you slack off and fall behind, I won't stop and wait for you!"

As he spoke, Devon walked in from outside. He handed the file bag in his hand to Lance. "He said Hoff told him to do this. Also, this is the equity transfer agreement he signed."

Lance took out the document and carefully looked at it before quickly signing his name at the end of both documents, immediately giving both documents legal effect.

"His family..." Devon hesitated.

Lance shook his head slightly and put the pen cap back on. "We are people who follow the rules and keep our promises. He exchanged this equity for the safety of his family, so we can't tear up the agreement."

"It takes a long time to establish authority, but it only takes a moment to destroy it."