Shadow Empire

Chapter 1262 A way out
Leonardo's terrible face was not covered up with mosaics in the newspaper; it appeared naked in front of people.

Perhaps people at this time did not realize how terrible the impact these unprocessed images could be on those whose mental health was not yet fully developed!

In particular, there is a lot more federal reporting. They report on more serial killers, their crime scenes, and the horrific moments of death of their victims.

The most famous case is the "Death Spin Case," in which a deranged serial killer would strap his victims to a rack while they were still alive, cut a small incision in their abdomen, pull out their intestines, hang them on a slow, constantly rotating motor pole, and then start the motor.

The motor rotates once every ten seconds or so, and with each rotation, it pulls a section of the victim's intestines out of the abdominal cavity.

Throughout this process, the victims remain conscious until the moment of their death; they experience pain and fear, and eventually descend into madness.

According to some forensic autopsy reports, it can be confirmed that at least three victims died from shock.

They were literally scared to death by this horrific method of the crime.

What's even more outrageous is that some newspapers published many photos from the scene without any editing when reporting on the case.

From the industry's perspective, their actions make sense; they want to gain more direct sensory stimulation to achieve higher sales and greater attention.

These bloody and provocative images are the best gimmick, and almost every issue of the newspaper is sold out in no time!

People were both afraid of this deranged killer, but at the same time, they were filled with curiosity about everything he did, and even a little bit of anticipation that they themselves were unaware of.

During this process, people began to imitate the psychopathic killer's methods, and more than one person imitated his methods.

Among these imitators, some excellent and some mediocre, emerged a highly talented imitator, dubbed the "Gangmen Killer" by the media.

This name not only sounds perverted, but also kind of funny.

In fact, this guy started by imitating, but he was no longer satisfied with imitation and began to innovate. He tried to crush some food and then pour it into the human body from below, continuing until the human's organs burst!

People whose intestines are ruptured will not die immediately. They will suffer extreme pain for about half an hour before dying in agony.

Perhaps people's attention shifted from the "Spinning Killer" to the "Gangmen Killer," leading to the former's dissatisfaction. The Spinning Killer even wrote a provocative letter to the police and mailed it to them. He then declared war on the "Gangmen Killer" through the media, challenging them to a competitive game.

Their competition involved committing crimes in the shortest amount of time until one side was arrested by the police.

This case has had an extremely negative impact on society, and the entire federal police force is paying close attention to it.

These psychopathic killers were all successfully apprehended when they were committing their crimes in a frenzied, almost semi-public manner.

During the interrogation, the "Gangmen Killer" confessed that he went down this path entirely because of the influence of the reports, which aroused the evil side of his heart.

In fact, similar situations are very common in the federal government.

The Federation is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and confused country where many people do not know who they are, what they want to do, or where they should go.

They can only do things according to their inner instincts.

"Gangmen Killer" is neither the first nor the last serial killer to go from imitator to original creator, because new serial killers and imitators appear almost every year.

The federal government has taken note of these issues and is drafting legislation regarding the limited public exposure of certain disturbing images. However, it has not yet been formally finalized and implemented and is still under discussion.

This matter is actually somewhat related to Lance, because the Film Commission is also working with Congress to push for this bill. As the honorary chairman of the Film Commission, Lance proposed a film rating and classification policy to ensure that teenagers are not exposed to "obscene" images that exceed the limits.

After filming is completed, no film can directly participate in film festivals and start soliciting investment. They need to send the film to the film committee's "rating office" for rating.

The main ratings are divided into five levels. The first level is for all ages, including children and the elderly. They can all go to the cinema to watch movies. This is the category with the largest audience and the review process is very strict.

The second category is for teenagers and above, meaning that children below middle school age are not advised to watch the movie and need to be accompanied by a guardian. This rating has already had some impact on movie ticket sales.

Some families enjoy watching movies together, and when a movie is not recommended for children, the adults in the family will consider choosing another movie instead.

The third category prohibits children from watching, as it may contain violent or sexually explicit content that could have a negative impact on minors.

Even with parents present, they cannot watch it.

The fourth category is restricted to viewers who are minors. This is a very strict rating standard, and if a movie is rated at this level, its box office performance is basically predictable.

Teenagers are now a significant contributor to box office revenue. They follow celebrities and pursue trendy things, and movies undoubtedly play this role in their lives and in society as a whole.

If teenagers can't watch it, it means we'll lose a lot of box office revenue!
The fifth level is the most destructive level—not recommended for viewing.

This film is not recommended for all ages, as it contains content that will likely evoke some disturbing emotions. If it were rated this level, it would almost certainly not be shown in any theaters.

This is the proposal submitted to Congress by the Film Commission, and they will soon begin to work with Congress to fully implement it.

To some extent, film rating systems have a very sharp duality. On the one hand, they constrain industry behavior and keep cult films, violent and pornographic films away from teenagers.

However, this also means that many films, despite the investment, fail to achieve the desired results for the investors. For example, some films might feature buttocks and genitals, hoping to attract teenagers to the cinema for multiple viewings to generate more box office revenue.

With a rating system in place, these teenagers will be unable to buy movie tickets and contribute to the box office.

As for adults, they might choose to find cheap girls to solve their problems instead of repeatedly watching the movie.

If Lance holds the power to rate films, then that rating system will be his ultimate weapon for controlling the entire film industry.

Many major production companies also understand this principle, but they do not object because they have also been included in this small circle by Lance, becoming one of the judges in the rating office.

The entire federal government is aware of the negative impact that impactful images can have on society, but when the time comes, even authoritative media outlets will publish those images.

Lance looked at Leonardo's face, which was so distorted that he was almost unrecognizable, flicked his hand on the newspaper, and put it back.

When Christopher borrowed a gunman from Leonardo to assassinate him, Leonardo's ultimate fate was sealed.

He had this person keep an eye on Leonardo, ready to give him a good beating whenever the opportunity arose.

Several months have passed since Christopher was killed by Lance, and Leonardo clearly did not expect that beneath the long period of calm lay a surging murderous intent.

He assumed Lance wouldn't send anyone to Sumuli, the Bianchi family's stronghold, to assassinate him, and he gradually lowered his guard, which eventually allowed Lance's men to seize the opportunity.

She found the perfect opportunity to assassinate him while he was meeting with his mistress, and succeeded in doing so.

Are our people safe now?

Mador's men were in charge of the assassination. He picked up the newspaper and glanced at it. "The people are safe. They are on their way back and will be back in four or five days."

Lance was satisfied with the efficiency of Madol's men, and he then made a phone call to Francisco.

"Did you read the newspaper?" Francisco grunted. "Leonardo is dead. I saw that shitty face!"

His tone was slightly agitated.

The Bianchi family was very hostile to the Pasreto family. It was Leonardo's idea to take action against the Pasreto family. Before the war broke out, Leonardo, as a pro-war advocate, proposed that the warriors of Sumuli return to Sumuli and fight for Sumuli.

If people are unwilling to return, they can also "donate" money to help the country win this war.

As a relatively well-known immigrant family to the Federation, the Pasreto family influenced the choices and judgments of the Sumuli immigrants to the Federation to some extent.

Paul was a tough guy; he refused the call of the four major families and politicians in Sumuli, and he refused to become a "role model" and send a group of innocent immigrants influenced by him to the front lines as filler babies.

At the same time, he refused to donate money to politicians and the four major families on Sumuli Island.

His actions drew many Sumuli people from the Federation to him, even though they received neither help from the Sumuli government nor from the four major families after arriving in the Federation.

In the past, when they had benefits, they would not have thought of these immigrants. They would have been grateful if they hadn't continued to exploit them. How could they expect the people to be willing to risk their lives for them or donate money to them?

They might waver when no one steps forward, after all, offending the Sumuli government and the four major families is ultimately a problem.

But when the Pasreto family stepped forward, they became their most reliable support.

The Bianchi family made no attempt to conceal their hatred for Paul, and their subsequent take-in of Christopher brought the animosity between the two families to its peak!
If the Pasreto family hadn't been so badly weakened, Francisco might have found a way to teach that old man a lesson.

Fortunately, he didn't last long before Lance killed him, which made Francisco feel completely clear-headed, like... a different tube that had been pierced through by a straight stick!
"Thank you, Uncle Lance. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would never have had any hope of revenge in this lifetime!"

Lance chuckled twice. "Paul helped me, and Alberto is also a good friend of mine. I've long had a reason to get rid of him."

"I called you this time because I want you to arrange for some people to keep an eye on them over there and relay their movements back to us. If they plan to cross the sea and fight us, then I need to prepare in advance and give them a huge surprise!"

"If they didn't suspect it was us, then we can ignore them."

“My people are greatly constrained in this regard. It’s easy to distinguish between Sumuli people and non-Sumuli people, so I need your help.”

Christopher didn't hesitate at all and agreed immediately, "Leave it to me. I know some people and can get in touch with some important figures in the Bianchi family."

Paulo also had friends on Sumuli Island, and Francisco naturally inherited these relationships.

After ending that topic, Lance brought up something else, "Have you been watching the news lately?"

"Many federal regions have begun to intensify their crackdown on gangs, and some well-known gangs that I've heard of have recently been dealt with by the federal government."

The Liberal Party's victory means they have more states supporting them than the Socialists, so they will be more proactive in implementing some of President Porter's policies.

Many well-known gangs were uprooted during this period, even though law enforcement had already gathered a great deal of evidence about their crimes.

Just like in Golden Harbor City, Charlie (the first police chief) and later Chief Derek (the FBI field director) were both collecting evidence of Lance and the Lance family's crimes.

However, Lance maintained a cautious attitude from the beginning and did not give them too much leverage, so it was difficult to directly overturn the table and use the sharp blade of justice to stab Lance in the chest.

However, other gangs were not as cautious as Lance. In addition, the tacit cooperation between gangs and the federal government over the years has made many gangs arrogant.

They felt that the federal government and law enforcement agencies had no way to deal with them.

And it turned out they were terribly wrong. Almost instantly, these gangs were overwhelmed by a massive amount of evidence, core members were arrested, and ordinary and peripheral members were disbanded.

They may face imprisonment for up to a thousand years, or even the death penalty.

Gangs are falling in droves, like harvested wheat, one after another collapsing, which has terrified many gangs within the Federation.

This time, the gang leader who was killed in the sting operation with Mr. Porter is a microcosm of this era of de-gangsterization. He wanted to whitewash his image and rely on powerful figures to get through this difficult time.

This problem also exists in Licale, where, no matter how much Governor Terry disagrees with President Porter, degangsterization is still a policy that the public at least does not oppose.

In addition, not all gangs are so stable; some gangs are still quietly engaged in serious illegal and criminal activities. Some gangs have also been arrested in Likale State.

And it is foreseeable that de-gangsterization will become the norm and will continue indefinitely.

How gangs will develop in the future has become an important issue that almost all gangs need to consider, a matter of life and death for each gang!
Lance brought up this issue to see if Francisco had any good ideas, and he was willing to help the young man.

For Alberto's sake.

Francisco understood what Lance meant. After all, Paulo believed he would be the first college student in the Pasreto family, which showed that he was smart, or at least not stupid.

He could glean from Lance's words some things that Lance wanted to express but didn't explicitly say.

"I watched the news, and I felt uneasy about what was happening."

“I’ve been thinking about this lately too. The wealth our family has gained through crime is less than one-tenth, or even less, of the profits we make from selling alcohol.”

“The Pasreto family has now given up almost all of its criminal businesses, and we are focusing all our efforts on selling alcohol.”

"So I'm thinking about how to clear my name, and I'll learn from you, Uncle Lance."

Lance was very pleased to hear this. "I'm glad you had this idea. At least it shows you're not a stupid guy."

"I have a suggestion that you might consider?"

Francisco frantically braced himself against the receiver with his shoulder, then found a pen and some paper on the table, ready to take notes. "Go on," he said.

"If you enjoy reading newspapers, you should definitely develop the habit of reading newspapers. You'll then know about some of the things I do here in South Yaan State, and about the unions."

“The Sumuli immigrants are a relatively large group in the Federation. I saw an introduction before that said that Sumuli is just a small country in Tanfite.”

"But they account for more than a third of the total number of Tanfield immigrants exported to the Federation, which is a huge group, Cisco."

“You can stand up and get more Sumuli people on your side, then you will have at least five or six million immigrants as your support. These will become your armor and shield, helping you overcome the current difficulties.”

“You can help those who need help, introduce them to jobs, and help them solve problems, just like Paul used to do.”

“But you need to do more than Paul and have a wider reach, so that even if the federal government has some evidence against you, it will be difficult for them to deal with you.”

“Because dealing with you would mean potentially causing riots by five or six million immigrants, a responsibility they cannot afford, and no one would be willing to take on voluntarily.”

"Can you understand me?"

　I drove 700 kilometers, then went to sleep. I'm so tired.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)