Shadow Empire

Chapter 486: Disappearance of Lisa

a new Year.

Jingang City is filled with a New Year atmosphere, and many businesses are attracting consumers by organizing activities and offering discounts.

Business is becoming increasingly difficult. This is the most common situation and problem people encounter nowadays, but it cannot be solved.

During this period, the Presidential Office convened a group of economists, sociologists, and some capitalists to hold a "Federal Economic Development Seminar" to study why the Great Depression occurred through the development of the federal historical economy!

Similar situations occur in the process of social and economic development in the Federation and even in the world.

The economy emerged from the doldrums - the economy began to grow by leaps and bounds - and entered the so-called boom period - the Great Depression!

This is a cycle, and they hope to find solutions to the current economic downturn by studying past economic cycles.

But for ordinary people, life is no different from the past.

Lisa was walking around the mall with a big belly. She brought a maid with her, an immigrant maid who was not tall but good at work and had great strength.

Her job is to take care of Lisa, whose belly is obviously pregnant, and to take good care of her and prevent her from having any accidents.

In Ponda's own words, there was no need for Lisa to leave the house and go outside, no need to take the risk.

But the more she looked pregnant, the more Lisa wanted to go out for a walk.

On the one hand, it was too boring to stay at home all the time. The unchanging family environment and the lack of entertainment made her feel suffocated!
There wasn't as much family entertainment during this period.

There were no televisions, no personal computers, and even the radio would stop broadcasting after 2 p.m. and would not resume until the evening.

Newspapers and magazines, no matter how interesting they are, can only be finished in a short while.

She had to find something to do.

On the other hand, the physiological changes brought about by pregnancy make her uncomfortable. Taking a walk or going outside can help relieve her various discomfort symptoms during pregnancy.

She now has a maid, and Ponda can rest assured that he can just give the maid everything he buys.

The two of them came to a fruit shop. Looking at the various bright red fruits in the room and the natural fragrance, the two ladies couldn't help but stop.

The owner of the shop was also a woman. She took the initiative to introduce the fruits there to Lisa.

She has rich sales skills and cleverly linked eating fruits with the health of the baby in Lisa's belly, for example, "A doctor said that eating more fruits is good for the health of children."

These words... don't have any problems in themselves, and they don't contain any detailed content, so they are easy to accept.

The two entered the fruit shop, and the maid couldn't help but be amazed when she saw the price tags of the fruits.

She has begun to get used to her current job and life. For hostess Lisa, there are only things she likes or dislikes, and nothing she cannot afford.

So in her eyes, those fruits that cost a few dollars or more than ten dollars are no different from ordinary fruits.

You know, grapes now cost around 300 yuan per ton, but here, 300 yuan can only buy a few dozen pounds of not-too-expensive fruit.

Ponda has been working hard, and after they catch the bootleggers, the Dangerous Goods Administration will give them a certain amount of reward based on the value of the case.

Even if he didn't take any bribes, Ponda could still make at least three to five hundred dollars a month. Adding the money Lance gave him, his family had no shortage of money.

"Buy some strawberries. I want to eat them." Lisa picked for a while and chose those big strawberries that looked very beautiful.

The maid took a look and was shocked as usual. The price of six dollars and ninety-nine cents was ridiculously expensive!

But to Ms. Lisa and Mr. Ponda, it's just ordinary merchandise.

They picked some strawberries and some other fruits, which totaled more than 50 yuan. A slightly more senior worker could only earn this much money a month, but for Lisa, this was just a small part of her daily expenses.

"Find a place to sit for a while. I need to rest and eat something."

The two found a place in the mall where guests could rest and sat down. Lisa picked up a strawberry and put it in her mouth impatiently, with a comfortable smile on her face.

It's a little sour, but just within the acceptable range for people. The rest is sweet, sweet enough to touch the heart!
"Madam, I'm going to wash these fruits. I want to go to the bathroom at the same time."

Lisa nodded, "I saw a restroom on the way here, I'll wait for you here."

The maid came into the bathroom carrying some fruit for Lisa to eat.

She went to the toilet first, then washed all the fruits and cut two of them with a knife.

Of course, in order to ensure that these fruits would not make Mrs. Lisa feel uncomfortable after eating them, she tasted a little of each one.

good to eat!

She brought the washed fruit back to the place where they had agreed to meet, but she only saw their things, not Lisa.

She was a little confused. Maybe Madam Lisa went somewhere else, or met someone she knew?

She didn't know, so she could only wait there for fifteen minutes. When Lisa didn't come back, she became anxious.

She went to find the security guards of the mall, but it was of no use. There were too many people today, and no one would notice if a pregnant woman left here, or remember the faces of every pregnant woman.

The maid had no choice but to run and call Ponda. She didn’t know what to do!

“…During this period, we have achieved remarkable results in our business. In total, we have arrested more than 200 suspects involved in smuggling and selling alcohol, and seized smuggled alcohol worth about 3 million.”

"To be honest, I never thought we could achieve such impressive results. Members of the State Prohibition Committee have contacted me by phone. The State Prohibition Committee and Congress are very appreciative of our achievements during this period."

“So we were given some excess rewards, as well as opportunities for promotion and learning.”

"I hope that everyone can maintain this momentum and continue to crack down on bootleg liquor sales and public drinking in the city so that the prohibition can be truly implemented."

"If anyone can catch a big case, I will definitely recommend him to the State Prohibition Committee..."

The people in the office applauded loudly. Director Dell smiled and raised his hand, "Okay, everyone, go back to your work."

"It's a bit tiring during this period, and when it's over, we can take turns to rest."

"Okay, everyone return to your posts."

Ponda also returned to his post. He glanced at several senior agents and Dale going to the director's office, shook his head and began to organize the documents in front of him.

People always regret after making a choice and glorify the other option they gave up, just like now, he sometimes thinks about it.

If he had chosen Lance's suggestion and asked him to find a way to kill a senior agent, would he have been one of them now?
Will he have a bigger and higher stage, will he have easier job opportunities?

He hardly went home in the past two weeks because he was too busy.

This was the craziest time for smuggling liquor, because it was New Year's Day and many people wanted to have a drink, so the price of liquor once again saw a significant and significant increase.

Whether it's bootleggers or those who brew their own and sell it secretly, they are undermining the gains made since the implementation of Prohibition.

This kind of behavior should be banned.

They can't solve any major cases, and they have too many minor cases to solve. Instead, those senior agents sit in their offices doing nothing, and huge amounts of merit and bonuses are recorded on their heads every day.

Ponda was working on a case involving the sale of homemade wine. A couple used their wine-making skills to frantically make homemade wine in their basement.

The winemaking cycle is not long, only ten to twelve days. Wine can be produced three times a month, with three to four barrels each time, which can produce one hundred and fifty to two hundred bottles.

Selling at a price of three yuan per bottle, the couple could make a gross profit of about five hundred yuan per month just from smuggling liquor.

The net profit is about three hundred and seventy to three hundred yuan, which is why so many people continue to enter this industry even though they know that brewing, selling and smuggling alcoholic beverages are illegal.

The profit is too high!

It’s a bit outrageous!
When Ponda caught them, they were bottling wine in the cellar with their family.

The whole family, more than a dozen people, were arrested and brought to justice, facing five to ten years in prison.

As for their families, it will be between two and five years. Ponda will be responsible for the case until the end. He also needs to organize all the evidence and submit it to the judicial office, which will prosecute and then hand it over to the court for judgment.

Although he is now considered a "special agent", he is essentially still in the lower middle level. Strictly speaking, it is roughly equivalent to the "captain" in the gang, rather than a senior cadre.

From this point of view, the organizational structure of the federal gangs is actually very scientific. After all, even government law enforcement agencies are using it.

However, this also made Ponda a little dissatisfied. He actually did a lot for the Hazardous Materials Administration, but because of an airborne senior agent, his contributions became a joke.

He felt somewhat unconvinced.

The phone suddenly rang, and he picked up the receiver and put it to his ear, "This is Ponda."

"gentlemen?"

"It's me. Mrs. Lisa and I were taking a break in the mall. We bought some fruit and then chose a place to sit down and rest."

"I went to wash the fruit and came back, and Mrs. Lisa was gone..."

After hearing this, Pangda was stunned for a moment and immediately became nervous.

He loves his wife more than anything!
"Stay where you are, I'll be right there!"

He hung up the phone and stood up. His colleague at the desk next to him called out to him, "You want to go out?"

Ponda nodded, but didn't believe why. "I have to leave for a while for something."

His colleague lowered his voice and said, "They said that if you want to leave the office now, you must report it or ask for leave."

This was requested by the four senior agents, because there were so many small cases during this period that they were short of manpower. If one person was missing, a case might be delayed for another two days.

In addition, they had to respond to calls from time to time, so Chief Dale also agreed with their decision.

No leave is allowed in the first three weeks of this month without a valid reason.

Ponda felt inexplicably uncomfortable after hearing his colleague's reminder, but he still thanked his colleague and went to the senior agent's office.

"Weber, I need to leave for a while."

Weber was his immediate superior, a senior agent parachuted in from the State Prohibition Committee, and this position originally belonged to him.

He learned from others that Weber's uncle was a member of the state prohibition committee.

Weber sat behind the table and looked at Ponda. Before he came here, he knew that the man in front of him should be the real owner of the position under his butt.

He took away this man's original position, and after taking office he had been observing Ponda to see if he had any dissatisfaction with him.

The Hazardous Materials Administration is not an easy law enforcement agency, and they often have to face off against bootleggers on the front lines.

In order to protect their liquor and escape legal sanctions, bootleggers will pull the trigger on law enforcement officers without mercy.

So Weber has always wanted to transfer Ponda to other groups, but he has never had a good opportunity to do so, nor can he do it directly.

He would leave a bad impression on others, so he was always observing, waiting, and looking for opportunities.

"Are you going out to work?" Weber kept a false smile on his face. "Write a report and I'll approve it for you."

Ponda hesitated for a moment, "My maid just called me and said my wife got lost in the mall. I have to go check on her."

Weber looked at him, still smiling. "Excuse me, your wife..." He stretched out his fingers and circled around his head. "Is she normal?"

Ponda was stunned for a moment, with an obviously dissatisfied expression on his face, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Of course she is a normal person!"

Weber ignored his disrespect and said, "Since your wife is normal, what are you worried about?"

"She might have just been attracted by some promotional items, so she got separated from your maid. When you come back in the evening, she will definitely be sitting in the living room waiting for you!"

"I heard that the case in your hands will be tried the day after tomorrow. Have you prepared all the materials?"

Ponda was silent for a few seconds, "There are still some things that haven't been finished."

The smile on Weber's face faded. "Then why don't you go back and do what you should do?"

"I believe any lady of normal intelligence can find her way home."

"If they can't find it, they can call the police and they can help them!"

Ponda looked at Weber with dissatisfaction and disgust in his eyes. "I said, I want to take a leave."

Weber leaned back in his chair, "I told you, no private matters!"

There was a hint of provocation in his eyes as he looked at Ponda. He hoped to have some conflict with Ponda, and then transfer this man away, or even expel him from the team of the Hazardous Materials Management Bureau!

It’s not that he is so bad, but as a normal person, he feels that once he takes Ponda’s position, it will be impossible for them to coexist peacefully!
Rather than not knowing when this person might stab you from behind, it is better to throw him out before the danger happens!

If Ponda had not considered doing this, then he would apologize for these things one day, but he would never regret it.

Compared to an apology, the potential danger caused by Panda's existence is obviously more troublesome!
Ponda's breathing became heavy, he clenched his fists, turned around and left his office, which made Weber a little disappointed.

He curled his lips, took out the "Chao Bao" from the drawer and continued reading.

There is no man in the entire Likalai State who doesn't love "Chao Bao", including him!
Ponda went directly to Director Dale's office and explained the situation. Director Dale was silent for a while and said, "Go ahead. I'll talk to Weber."

This made Ponda feel relieved, "Thank you, I will be back soon after I find Lisa!"

After Chief Dale smiled and comforted him, Ponda drove away in the police car.

He saw the maid, two policemen and the mall security guard at the entrance of the mall. After showing his ID, he intervened in the discussion.

"We have searched the first and second floors, but have not seen Madam Lisa. We are searching the third and fourth floors now, and we will have results soon."

When Ponda heard this, he felt even more uneasy.

Lisa is a sensible woman. Even if she meets friends or is attracted to some activities, she will never leave without saying a word or go somewhere else!
Something bad must have happened that forced her to leave here and never come back.

He was a little impatient and wanted more police and security guards to join the search, but they were all rejected.

It's just that one person is missing, and he is not a big shot, so he cannot be classified as missing and cannot be found, and more police and security guards will not be alerted.

There was no choice but to dial the Lance family’s number.

Lance has returned from Xinjin City. The bootleg liquor market has been in a highly active period during the two weeks during the New Year.

There is demand everywhere, and the price of alcohol keeps rising!
There are already Imperial gangs in five regions of Likalai State buying alcohol from Lans, and they consume millions of goods every month.

These goods can bring Lance at least three hundred thousand in profit.

With the price of alcohol still rising, the profits will only increase!

"Looking for you."

Lance was checking accounts in the office. He took the phone with a cigarette in his mouth, "This is Lance."

"Lance... Lisa got lost in the mall. Can you arrange for someone to come and help me look for her?"

"I was worried that she might have met with an accident."

Lance agreed immediately after hearing this. It was not a big deal. "Give me the address and I'll arrange for someone to go there."

"Thank you!" Lance's happiness made Ponda feel better. He thanked him again solemnly, "Thank you so much!"

Lance didn't really care about this, "We are friends, we should help each other!"

(End of this chapter)