Shadow Empire

Chapter 515: Lance's Little Tail and Being Late

In the morning, after Hunter arranged the general work for the day, he left the police station with the file bag. While driving, he was thinking about a question.

Does Lance really not leave some evidence every time he does something?

He doesn't think so.

Lance is not a god. Even if he was, he would have left evidence, but they just didn't find it.

When I was studying at the police academy, the professor in charge of solving cases also talked about this issue. There is no perfect crime in the world.

As long as there is a crime, there will be some clues left behind. What the police have to do is to find the key evidence among the many traces.

While discussing the bombing yesterday, he discovered a less noticeable clue.

He didn't notice it at first, but after he got home and took a shower, and was about to have a drink before going to bed, he looked at the wine glass in his hand and the wine bottle on the table, and suddenly realized something -

All those broken bottles scattered in the wasteland around the farm!
Yes, a broken wine bottle, a Golden Lion brand bottle.

What clues are these wine bottles?
Some people may ask, Hunter didn't figure it out at first, he just subconsciously felt that this was a clue.

It took him quite some time to finally understand what he thought was wrong.

If the winery belongs to Lans, then if he wants to export these Golden Lion brand liquors on a large scale, he needs to make bottles!
As long as he is associated with these bottles, he will be caught by the tail.

By grasping this small tail, it is possible to convince the judge that Lance not only made the wine bottles, but also produced the wine and sold it.

If he didn't sell them, where did all those bottles and their contents go?
Hunter was very excited after figuring out the key point. He drank several glasses of wine before he calmed down.

He was going to deal with it today at work, but he didn't tell anyone this time.

Weber's death reminded him that Lance's infiltration into the police system was extremely terrifying. Two police stations had openly resisted his orders as the chief. So in other police stations, including his headquarters, were there people who had sided with Lance?
He didn't know and didn't want to guess, because once he guessed, he would definitely not be able to sleep.

He drove out of the police station without telling anyone. It seemed that it was irresponsible for the police chief to leave the police station at this critical moment.

But in fact, for the police of their faction, what is currently implemented is actually a "dual chief system", that is, Chief Hunter and Chief Charlie.

And Director Charlie's status is obviously higher than Director Hunter. If they can't find Hunter, they will naturally call Charlie, the former director.

There is a high probability that they will be able to contact Charlie, so there will be no problem if Hunter leaves for a while, for an afternoon.

So this time he didn't tell anyone and planned to investigate it himself. After finding out the truth and getting the key evidence, he could directly arrest Lance!

As one of the team leaders of the criminal case team, he had experience in handling cases independently, so he was not worried or afraid.

The glass factories in Jingang City are all located in the industrial area. Because they require combustion, combustion will produce some smoke. If you set up a glass factory near a residential area, you will be complained about.

Therefore, most factories are concentrated in the industrial zone in the westernmost part of the city, where supporting facilities are very complete, site prices are cheap, and worker prices are not expensive, making it very suitable for starting a business.

He came to what people called "Glass Street". Both sides of the street were lined with glass factories of all sizes, and almost all of the chimneys of the glass factories were emitting smoke.

As the population of Jingang City continues to grow, the demand for glassware is also increasing.

After Hunter parked the car, he started walking.

The car was too conspicuous and he was worried that someone would be curious and discover it.

He came to the first glass factory, where the workers were working. When the manager saw Hunter coming, he immediately greeted him with a smile, "Sir, how can I help you?"

Hunter also smiled, "Can you produce bottles?"

The manager smiled and said, "Of course, every factory here can do it. Can you tell me what you want these bottles for and whether they have any shape requirements?"

Hunter shook his head. "No special needs. I plan to use it to hold some...liquid drinks, but I need them to be safe because those drinks are special."

The manager understood what I meant. They actually made wine bottles for others in private, because there were many family workshops that also brewed various alcoholic beverages.

They need containers to hold these things. Although the business may not be big, if they make more at one time, they can sell them slowly.

But he wouldn't show it. "Are you talking about carbonated drinks?"

"You can take a look at these..." He took out some pre-made wine bottles, which were no different from those beverage bottles.

Then he bought a sealing machine, covered it with iron sheet and pressed hard, and a sealed wine bottle appeared, but this was obviously not what Hunter wanted.

He shook his head and pulled out a drawing of a wine bottle that he had drawn himself, which was a little more complicated.

The manager just took one look and shook his head, "Sorry, we don't do that."

The wine bottles he provided could be said to be soda bottles as well. If he were really implicated and taken to court, he could easily find an excuse that the other party came for soda bottles and that he also sold soda bottles.

What the buyer does with the soda bottle has nothing to do with them.

But if they directly sell bottles that are obviously wine bottles, they will definitely be held jointly liable.

Hunter took out the prepared photo, a bottle of Golden Lion whiskey, and stared at the manager, "What about this one?"

The manager frowned and looked at it, a little impatient, "Sorry, we don't provide these. I hope you can ask somewhere else, otherwise I will call the police."

Hunter raised his hands. "I mean no offense. I'm leaving now."

The manager shook his head as he watched him leave. No one was really ignorant enough to call the police. This kind of thing would happen a few times.

Hunter wandered along this road for the whole morning without any results. When he had visited almost all the shops on this side of the road, he stopped outside the door of a "Venus Glass Factory".

The factory didn't seem too busy. Several workers were standing at the door smoking. He glanced at them and walked towards them.

No matter it is this era or any other time, as long as it is in the Federation.

If a stranger approaches you with a clear purpose, you'd better make two preparations.

1. If the other party pulls out a weapon, you'd better raise your hands immediately to cooperate with him. No matter whether he wants your necklace, your shoes or your hat, you'd better give it to him, otherwise he may really shoot you twice or stab you twice.

For these people, committing a crime is like feeling uncomfortable after waking up every day. They have long been accustomed to it and even cannot do without it.

Second, if the other party does not pull out a weapon, then you'd better run away. He may just act on impulse, so you have a chance to save your property.

However, if you are not a very good runner and your opponent has inherited the strength and speed from their ancestors who worked under the scorching sun, then you'd better stand there and cooperate, because you will be caught up and have your nose broken.

The workers all stood up and stared at Hunter.

Hunter pulled two dollars from his pocket, "I have a question."

Several workers looked at each other, and one of them, who looked more prestigious, stood up and asked, "What do you want to ask?"

“I’ve been doing this for over 20 years, and there’s nothing I don’t know.”

Hunter tilted his head and motioned for them to talk over there. The man didn't refuse and followed Hunter over there.

The worker tentatively took two dollars from Hunter's hand, and Hunter did not stop him, which made the worker smile.

"I wanted to order a batch of custom glass products, but I approached several companies and they all refused. Some even said they would call the police."

The workers were not surprised to hear these words. “Someone was caught making bottles for wine, went to jail, and was fined. You know, the law is a toy for the big guys!”

"They can convict you however they want."

The worker's words were full of dissatisfaction with the current judicial system and law enforcement. Hunter pursed his lips and asked, "If I want these bottles, who should I contact?"

The workers were a little hesitant. They now produced a large batch of wine bottles and sent them out every once in a while. Logically, they were able to produce them, but the manager had the final say on this matter.

His hesitation made Hunter realize that this glass factory also produced wine bottles. He directly took out the photo of the broken Golden Lion whiskey bottle and said, "This is it."

He stared at the worker's expression. The moment the worker saw the photo, his expression changed uncontrollably!

This change made Hunter clench his fists. He knew that he had found it!

The worker pushed the photo back and said, "I'm sorry, I can't make the decision on this matter. You need to go to the manager."

He turned to leave, "I already gave you two dollars."

Hunter smiled and said, "It's okay, I'll talk to your manager later."

He didn't go to the manager.

As an old policeman, he knew very well that going to the manager at this time would only alert the manager and those behind him, so he left immediately. As for the workers?

He got two dollars, he probably wouldn't say anything nonsense, he knew these workers well.

Like to take advantage of small things, but afraid of getting into trouble.

But he didn't know that after the worker came back, he took the initiative to talk to the manager about the matter. They had worked together for many years, and the worker felt that this person might cause damage to the factory.

He doesn't want to lose this job.

"What did he tell you?"

The worker honestly told what happened before, and specifically said, "The way he spoke was a bit like a policeman, not a gangster. You know, the way gangsters speak is different from the way policemen speak."

The manager could only stare at him after hearing this. "So you answered his question?"

"Shet!"

"You better hope your boss doesn't think this is a nuisance!"

"Now, get out of my way, you're giving me a fucking headache!"

Several workers left. They had all worked in this factory for more than ten or twenty years and had deep feelings for it and a good relationship with the manager.

These scoldings are actually nothing to them.

After watching them leave, the manager dialed Lance's number.

"Mr. Lance, we've encountered a little trouble here." He said it very tactfully and didn't get straight to the point.

Lance didn't guess what he was talking about at first, "Are there any gangs causing trouble for you guys?"

"Let their leader answer the phone."

"No, no, no, that's not the question."

"Just now, a man who might be a policeman came over and asked if we could produce wine bottles, and he took out a photo of the Golden Lion wine bottle."

"I wonder if he knows something."

"And just now outside the factory, there seemed to be some probing between him and the workers. I'm not sure if the workers leaked anything."

Lance frowned. He really hadn't thought about this question.

Fortunately, although he acquired the factory, the factory's information did not change. The only possible trouble was that these workers had seen him.

Of course, this is not a problem. It can be solved by handing it over to Lawyer Robben. Lawyer Robben is not only proficient in arguing, but also has connections above him.

But this is a hassle.

"Please wait a moment. I will arrange for someone to come over."

After he hung up the phone, he asked Devin to come over. Young people are very popular recently and are very willing to participate in various activities.

"Go to Mr. Blue and he will give you some photos. Take the photos to our glass factory in the factory area and ask the manager to find out who just passed by and then come back with the photos."

"If the person he saw is not in the photo you took, then you take him to see Bruce, and Bruce will take care of the rest. Do you understand?"

Devin repeated what Lance had told him, and after confirming that everything was correct, he left.

Then Lance called Blue as well. Since he was transferred to the Forest Police Station, he refused to work there and stayed at home.

He was waiting, waiting for Lance to deal with Charlie and Hunter, and then get back what he had lost with interest.

He was happy to help with Lance's request. There were also many activities within the police force every year, and they would take photos as souvenirs. Bruce took out several photos taken during police activities in recent years, and the main personnel were all on them.

The directors of various branches, senior officials of the headquarters, and some celebrity police officers, among them were also graduation photos of several classes of the police academy—

As the branch chief, Blue is eligible to attend every graduation ceremony as an "honorary alumnus", which can be regarded as "alumni relationship".

When Dave took the photos to the manager of the glass factory, the manager easily found Hunter from the photos and said with certainty, "That's the guy."

"Are you sure?" Devin asked. He actually knew Hunter. This acquaintance did not mean that he and Hunter were friends or had talked before. He just knew that the man was the police chief, that's all.

The manager nodded and confirmed again and again, "Yes, that's the person. I won't forget him. He just came here."

Daven directly picked up the phone and asked the manager to temporarily step aside, "It's Hunter."

"Hunter?" Lance was a little surprised by the result.
Lance frowned. He didn't know why Hunter would go there in person, but this was definitely not good news. "Let the manager answer the phone."

After waiting for a while, the manager's voice came through the receiver, and Lance continued.

"This incident made me realize that we need to make some changes and move the factory to Venus City. We have people there who will arrange everything for you."

"By then we will have a bigger factory, more advanced machines and more workers, and you tell the workers that they will become team leaders and their wages will increase."

"If they don't want to go with us, then give them some money and teach them to shut up, otherwise my people will help them!"

"You go talk to the workers immediately and shut down the factory immediately."

"Take the people and leave there immediately!"

Lance made his move quickly, and it wasn't entirely because Hunter discovered the factory.

Lawrence Farm has a large output. Venus City is obviously closer to Lawrence Farm, and the prohibition of alcohol there is not very strict.

The manager agreed. He couldn't live without Lance anymore. His life now was completely different from his past life!

In the past, his wife always sighed and implied that he was unwilling to fire the redundant workers, which was a burden to them.

She's always complaining about everything!
But now she has changed. She no longer complains and has become tolerant, kind and compassionate.

She didn't care about what happened to the manager's factory, and even said with a smile that as long as the manager didn't need her money, she didn't care even if he found a mistress outside.

When people reach middle age, they basically have a clear understanding of the essence of life.

People at the bottom of society actually have very low demands on life. As long as they can live without any difficulties and are not troubled by money, that's enough.

Everything else is bullshit!
So going to live somewhere else is not a problem at all!
The manager put down the phone and walked from the office to the factory, "Come here..."

Ten minutes later, the entire factory was shut down and the workers went home.

As for the manager, he bought a train ticket directly to Jinxing City, and this time he went alone.

Hunter returned to the police station and called Charlie.

"I caught Lance's little tail."

This slightly proud tone of words made Charlie stunned for a while, "How did you do it?"

He recounted his findings and explorations, "I'm sure that even if that factory didn't produce bottles for Lance, they should know who was producing them!"

Charlie thought for a while after listening to this, "I told Director Dell about this matter. It's too slow for us to get a search warrant through the legal process. The Hazardous Materials Administration has its own judicial office. Let them send the documents to us directly."

He paused and said, "No, I'll go talk to him. Find some trustworthy people. I don't want Lance to know about this the moment you say it."

Although there is no evidence that the farm winery belongs to Lans, they all assume that it is Lans's farm.

The four major families are now in decline, and the Kodak family's wine is all smuggled in. Everyone knows this, even the Contraband Management Bureau knows it.

There is a reason why they don't investigate. After all, a considerable portion of the profits generated by these liquors will be sent to Jinzhou.

Then the only family with such a huge production demand in the city is the Lance family!
Hunter immediately mobilized some police officers, and Charlie told Chief Dale about this, who immediately agreed.

He is now extremely troubled. If he can catch the person behind the ranch, it will be a chance for him to make amends.

At least it can clear him of suspicion!
Half an hour later, the search warrant was delivered to Hunter, and he personally led eight police cars to the Glass Street in the factory area.

When he saw the tightly closed factory door, he showed a look of surprise and then hit the steering wheel!

(End of this chapter)