Shadow Empire

Chapter 539: The Target of Public Criticism [666+9]
"Have you heard any news?"

On the lawn of a large villa in the Bay Area, several gentlemen sat there, enjoying the beauty of spring.

The gentle sea breeze no longer carries the harshness and biting coldness of winter, but only a tenderness full of vitality.

It is difficult to use an accurate word to describe the wind blowing at this time, but it is gentle, just like the hands of those young women.

The little girls' hands were either too light or too heavy; only the young women's hands were just right.

The spring breeze blows on my face, and the whole person seems to melt into the spring at this moment.

Some of the gentlemen wore scarves, while others did not. For the older folks, it was still a bit cold.

One of them asked curiously, "I heard some of it, but I don't know if it was you who said it."

The gentleman who first brought up the subject asked him, "What is your news about?"

The gentleman who answered shrugged. "Regarding the navy, I heard that they have already decided that a whole fleet will be stationed in Jingang City, but not in the city. They will build a larger military base in the west."

"The number of troops stationed in the first phase will exceed 20,000."

Another gentleman wearing a scarf whistled, "So many people?"

The well-informed gentleman shook his head and said, "I heard that they will continue to increase manpower in the future. They plan to station 50,000 people here."

The expressions of the gentlemen on the lawn grew serious. For a naval base with a population of 50,000, it seemed a bit of a waste to use so many people for strategic defense.

Everyone seemed to be thinking of the news that has been frequently reported in newspapers recently -

The Secretary of State is negotiating with another military alliance on the Tanfit continent regarding alliance and war.

They invited the Federation to join their military alliance and fight together against the people of the Dentra Republic.

The information revealed by the Secretary of State and the Presidential Office was very restrained, and a general from the Ministry of Defense even declared in a semi-public occasion that the Federation would never intervene in this war.

Until now, everyone believed that the Federation would not blindly and meaninglessly join this war, but looking at the current situation, it seems that they are not so sure.

The gentleman who first started the conversation said after a moment of silence, "Didn't the President just say that we won't get involved in a war that has nothing to do with us?"

The man in the scarf sneered, "He also said he would respect the results of the election."

As soon as this sentence came out, everyone laughed out loud. Yes, his words could not be trusted. He had a history of lying, and more than once.

After laughing for a while, everyone felt a little more relaxed, but they were still a little worried.

"If a war really breaks out, Jingang City will immediately become a war front..."

The thought of their sunny beaches being lined with fortifications, of their docks being used for free by the military, of most of the factories in the city, of people working for the navy without pay.

They even felt a little disappointed when they had to donate part of their wealth to the navy because of their "selfless patriotism".

"Hopefully... it won't be so bad in the future and the gentlemen in Congress will stop the president."

No one continued to discuss this topic in depth. It was not a suitable topic to discuss in such comfortable weather.

The topic returned to the gentleman who had first raised the subject, and someone asked him, "Is this the news you heard?"

The man shook his head and didn't want to continue to be mysterious. "I heard that Charlie was in trouble recently."

“What trouble could that old dog get into?”, someone asked.

His thoughts were natural. Charlie had basically no natural enemies in Jingang City, and now he was wearing the skin of a politician.

Even the lowest-level politician is still a politician, and dealing with him will be troublesome and costly.

"The State Attorney's Office seems to be investigating corruption in the Jingang City Police Force, and they seem to have arrested many of Charlie's men."

After hearing the news, the expressions of those gentlemen who originally did not think there was any problem changed.

The man in the scarf asked, "Who told you that?"

"Someone told me that the new chief named Blue arrested Charlie's men. At first I thought they were just childish tricks."

"You know, that's how people like them are. They keep fighting but nothing comes of it."

"I heard that Charlie asked the prosecutor about the state prosecutor's office a few days ago. He specifically asked if there were any documents that could assist in the investigation."

He pointed vaguely, "It's the one they said they were going to investigate police corruption last year."

"So I suspect the state attorney's office is investigating him."

The others were lost in thought, and someone added, "It seems Lance talked to Terry the last time Senator Cleveland came."

"Has he infiltrated the Cleveland Senators' circle now?" If so, they would have to consider adjusting their strategy.

No one knew the real situation, but they didn't think Lance could get in. He was just a gangster at the bottom of society. How could he get into the highest political circle?

"I think it may be because of Williams. Williams has some connections with their circle. Lance and Williams are very close now."

What he said was a little unclear, but everyone understood.

Lance and Williams are now on the same side, so Williams will naturally introduce him to a higher level circle, but this does not mean that Lance can join in.

He was like a handy tool. When they were socializing upward, if Charlie was there, they would also introduce Charlie as the chief of the Jingang City Police Department, but he might not be able to jump into those circles.

"I don't really care about this. I just want to know what's going on with Charlie."

The man in the scarf frowned, "Give him a call and ask him to come over and talk."

Then someone called Charlie. As gentlemen, they didn't need to call Charlie in person.

But after waiting for seven or eight minutes, there was no news. After waiting for a while, a guy who looked like a secretary came over and said with an unnatural expression, "I called all the numbers, but no one answered."

Now the gentlemen's expressions became less natural than before, as if everything was under their control.

The arrogance hidden behind the calmness began to emerge, but then a hint of unnaturalness appeared.

"Send someone to look for him and bring him here as soon as possible."

The guy who looked like a secretary quickly went to make arrangements. The gentlemen on the lawn looked at each other, and their expressions became solemn.

Charlie is very easy to use and very handy. After being used for more than 30 years, it has become people's "habit".

"He knows so many things."

The man in the scarf took out his pipe, lit it and took a puff.

Thick smoke came out of his mouth, "I'm going to make a phone call."

The gentleman in the scarf had a lot of connections in the state government. The others nodded, and he stood up with the help of the armrests of his chair and walked into the room.

He came out of the room after more than ten minutes, with a serious expression on his face. "I just called Terry and asked about the progress of this matter."

"He told me that he had never assigned such a task before."

"I think he's lying."

Another person couldn't help but say, "Then find Charlie and ask him to explain the problem clearly."

The man in the scarf sighed, "I'm just afraid I won't be able to find him."

They sent more people out to look for Charlie. For ordinary people, Jingang City is very large, with so many administrative districts and a population of 1.7 to 80 million or 1.8 to 90 million. It is difficult to find someone in such a large city.

But for the gentlemen in the Bay Area, it is actually not too difficult to find someone, and this person is someone they are very familiar with.

A large number of people were outside looking for Charlie, but they still couldn't find him. After more than an hour, even they were slow to notice something was wrong.

To make matters worse, Charlie's family has disappeared!
For a moment, the Bay Area seemed to have experienced an earthquake. The news that Charlie might be arrested by the State Attorney's Office began to spread, and everyone was trying their best to find out the truth through their own means.

There were indeed some people among them who had some ability, and they got a piece of information. Charlie was not arrested, but the investigation did exist.

Immediately, many bigwigs sat together urgently to discuss how to deal with this matter.

Mr. Hof pushed the door open in a hurry. He took off his hat and put it on the hanger, then found a place to sit down.

Many people in the room greeted him, "What's going on now?"

"Charlie may have escaped."

"I heard that they are looking for him too. We must find him before they find him."

Mr. Hof nodded in agreement. He had accidentally killed a high-ranking call girl before. At that time, he was completely immersed in a particularly excited mood and had no ability to process any information from the outside world.

When he came out of that state, the girl was dead.

As an important regional opinion leader, he has a good status and reputation in Likale State, and he cannot ruin his future because of a bitch.

So he asked Charlie and Hunter to help him deal with it, and the girl should be living at the bottom of Angel Lake now.

If Charlie was caught, would he confess these secrets in order to survive?
When he thought of this, Mr. Hof felt unprecedented tension and anxiety.

At this moment, he, the entire room, and even some people further away, all had the same idea -

Find Charlie and shut him up forever!
(End of this chapter)