Shadow Empire

Chapter 582 Father and Son Conversation and Life and Death
The people of Jingang City have indeed experienced many bizarre things in the past few days.

For example, a family drowned in their swimming pool.

The swimming pool is only one and a half meters deep, and anyone would be able to stand up if they weren't so nervous.

But the thing is so incredible, they all drowned.

Some people laugh at them for being stupid, especially those at the bottom of society. They laugh at the stupid things that happen in the upper class as if it can prove that they are the smart ones.

But those who knew some inside information felt sweaty and uneasy.

As for news like those of people jumping off buildings in groups, and people being inexplicably bitten to death by poisonous snakes in the north in their homes in the south, they are everywhere.

Of course, in order to protect the final dignity of the deceased, pseudonyms are basically used in the reports.

Why did they know that the family that drowned in the pool were upper class people?

Without knowing what they are called?
It’s actually very simple. Poor people don’t have private swimming pools at home.

In short, these bizarre news during this period have instead dispelled the fact that Jingang City has changed hands. After all, this matter has nothing to do with 99% of Jingang people.

Whoever is the boss of Jingang Casino and whoever can run the casino will not change their lives in the slightest.

That’s why those bizarre news quickly become the focus of public opinion, even though they have nothing to do with them anyway.

After James came back from work, he went back home first - in the manor. There were many houses in the manor, where Congressman Williams lived and where he lived.

Strictly speaking, they live together, but as long as they don't want each other to, they can go a year without seeing each other.

After changing into casual home clothes, he came to Congressman Williams' study.

Now James is a member of parliament. He has his own work to do and his own social life, so it is impossible for him to be with Congressman Williams every day.

"Have you been back?" Congressman Williams, who was reading a newspaper, looked up, then put the white paper back on the table and took his reading glasses off his nose.

He carefully put it into an ivory eye box and placed it in a drawer.

James sat down and nodded, "Yes, I have been back."

Congressman Williams nodded noncommittally, "You know what?"

"I heard that William's wife, Ms. Emily, is pregnant again."

This sentence made James feel a little...awkward. He had been married for some time, but his wife was not pregnant.

The marriage was a political one. His wife's father was the granddaughter of a friend of Congressman Williams, a big capitalist and very rich.

Over the years, with the help of Congressman Williams, the business has spread throughout Likalai State and is planning to continue expanding outward.

In the federation, this kind of combination of money and power is common, and as long as the law does not prohibit politicians from marrying the daughters of capitalists, they may do so.

This was possible because in addition to the daughters of capitalists they could choose from, they also had the daughters of politicians.

However, such political marriages may not always have good results. James needed a marriage because he wanted to run for city councilor. He and his wife had no emotional foundation. Although they were married, their relationship was not good at all.

The woman often went back to her own home to live instead of living at Williams Manor.

At the same time, James didn't like the woman very much, so both sides accepted this kind of life and lived their own lives.

But as the eldest man in the family, Congressman Williams still hopes that his descendants can flourish.

Offspring are wealth to the poor, as having more children can help them with work.

It is also wealth for the rich. After all, blood ties are more reliable than employment management.

James didn't want to continue talking about this topic, and it is very likely that he will not have children in the short term.

After all, it was something he couldn't do alone, unless his wife cooperated with him, but that didn't seem so easy.

"I was at a little party today and they were talking about Lance."

Listening to him talking about things he didn't want to care about, Congressman Williams nodded slightly. He knew why James didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't continue.

For some things, just one click is enough, too much will become annoying, after all, he was also a young man once.

"What did you discuss?"

James was relieved to see that his father didn't pursue the matter of the child, "They were talking about...Lance's violent problem."

"Severe!" Senator Williams repeated the word. "These are serious charges. What do you think?"

James sat in a chair, very relaxed, "I can't say they are wrong..."

"After all, you know, he was indeed rather cruel in dealing with some members of the Kodak family."

He chose his words carefully.

After hearing this, Senator Williams smiled slightly and said, "So do you think that his being so... cruel is a good thing or a bad thing for us?"

James thought for a while and said, "It should be a good thing."

Congressman Williams nodded and said, "Yes, you are right, it should be a good thing."

"If you can spare a little time to look through some history books, you will find that every wise king is always surrounded by some jesters, some cruel ministers, and some wise ministers."

"Do you think the king could be a fool?"

"How can a fool become the number one person in a country or a political force?"

"Of course we have to exclude those who got the throne purely by luck and took advantage of the succession system."

"And those heirs who have obtained the throne through their own efforts are not fools, but why do they also need such ministers?"

He gave some examples, all of which were relatively well-known monarchs, who were indeed surrounded by such ministers. This question made James start to think.

What Congressman Williams needs to do is to guide his successor and make him more mature and intelligent.

“That’s because no matter who is ruling, there will always be some people who are dissatisfied with the ruling group.”

"So they need some people to clear out those dissidents without getting their hands dirty."

"We are not kings, and Lance is not a cruel subject, but we can cooperate in this way."

"He did his job well, so we should also do ours well. This is good cooperation and good partnership!"

"And you see, the city immediately became much quieter, which proves that not everyone is not afraid of death. People will be afraid under such cruel means."

"It is much easier to rule a group of people who are full of reverence than to rule a group of people who are full of hostility!"

Councilman Williams licked his lips. "You should defend him."

"You have to protect him until there is no conflict of interest between us."

"Protecting him is equivalent to protecting ourselves, rather than questioning whether what he did was right or wrong!"

He paused for a moment and said, "I heard that Lance and the girl from Lawrence's family are going to get engaged in the summer. He is smarter and more determined than anyone else to take the crucial step."

"You can choose a suitable gift for him, something expensive."

"You can talk to him and see if you can be the godfather of his child."

Senator Williams turned to look at James, with something like teasing in his eyes, which he could not quite distinguish. "I think there is a high probability that he will not refuse."

In fact, from Congressman Williams' perspective, Lance has developed very well!
After Lance dealt with Bendy, he collected more information about Lance's development. At first, he just thought that Lance's development was very impressive.

But as he studied those things, he found that it was no longer something that could be explained clearly with just a little bit of power.

Even...the Lance family cannot be called a gang, at least not the traditional gang that people understand.

They do little to harm ordinary people, and the only thing that can be called a criminal business is buying bootleg liquor.

Apart from this, they do almost no other business related to crime, and the crime of selling bootleg liquor will be diluted sooner or later.

In fact, the facts have proven that Prohibition, this large-scale social experiment, has failed.

Far from stopping people from drinking, Prohibition made many people even more dependent on alcohol.

At the same time, people do not save the money they would have spent on drinking and use it for normal consumption.

Prohibition did not make society better as sociologists said, but made some things worse. The uncontrolled expansion of gangs, the Lance family is an obvious example.

They quickly accumulated a considerable amount of wealth by selling bootleg liquor to the poor, giving them enough confidence to fight against the five major families.

The gang groups in every city are constantly changing, and the pattern of the underground world is also constantly changing. Unfamiliar gangs are rising, and old gangs have failed to transform in time and eventually fell.

The federal government's control over the underground world is constantly weakening, and the positive effects of the experiments that people want to see are not obvious.

It’s… so bad!
Therefore, the crime of bootlegging will not be too serious in the end. In other words, unless someone can get 100% evidence to accuse Lance of various murders, the judicial department will not even be able to find out how to accuse him!
He was accused of organizing gang crimes. What crime did they commit?

Help the poor?

Find jobs for the unemployed poor and solve life problems for citizens who are unwilling to work?
Or did they do something particularly horrible?

Maybe not.

As for kidnapping, murder and the like, in Congressman Williams' opinion, these are all small matters, insignificant little things.

Because as long as someone comes forward to take the blame, the problem will be over.

Lance is in a position where he cannot fail, and now he controls the casino and the path to success. As long as he doesn't do anything stupid, he will definitely go further!

On the contrary, it is very likely that James' future development will be inferior to Lance's.

So in the opinion of Congressman Williams, letting James recognize Lance's first child as his godson is actually a great advantage for James.

This is a bit like being upside down, but it’s true!

James didn't know what his old father was thinking, but he had one good point, which was that he was obedient.

He agreed immediately, "I will personally choose an expensive gift and send it to him."

Congressman Williams nodded and continued talking about what James said.

"Don't think Lance is cruel and brutal."

"Someone is willing to be a sharp knife, but you think the knife is too sharp. This only shows that you are not yet a qualified ruler."

"You need to be more open-minded. Since we choose to cooperate with him, you should trust your partner."

However, Congressman Williams will not blame James for this. He still needs time to grow, and he has enough time to grow.

As long as he keeps growing, that's enough.

After finishing the topic, Congressman Williams drank the coffee in the cup, and James immediately stood up and poured him some more.

He said casually, "Now that the current matter has come to an end, Lance and I will go to Maintenon in a while."

"Just take care of the work you have in your hands and come with us."

He picked up his coffee and blew on it. "This time we are going to redefine the issue of benefit distribution. Many big shots will appear, and you need to play the role of... a helper. Do you understand what I mean?"

James nodded, "I understand. I'm just a servant."

Congressman Williams nodded with satisfaction, "Anything else?"

James shook his head, "No more."

The old man took a sip of coffee and then put it down. "Go back and do your own thing. Come back if you have any questions."

James stood up and said goodbye. Although he left, Congressman Williams no longer had the interest to continue reading the newspaper.

At the beginning of June, many things seemed to have stabilized again, and the police officer who decided to take the risk for one hundred thousand dollars also felt relieved.

Up to now they haven't found me, so there must be something wrong with the direction of the investigation. This is a good thing.

Another good thing is that after a specialized diagnosis, they believe his wife has a good chance of recovery.

This made him feel that everything he had done was worth it.

He has already made up his mind that after his wife's cancer is cured, he will quit his job and take his wife on a trip around the world.

Life is really too fragile, they shouldn't waste their limited lives on how to survive.

They are no longer short of money, and they have the time and the qualifications to travel around and have a look.

Just as he was dreaming about the future, two police officers walked up to his desk and knocked on it. "Deputy Chief Duke wants you to go to his office!"

He was stunned for a moment, then quickly stood up and walked towards the stairs.

It was at this moment that his wife was pushed into the operating room.

Cancer research experts within the medical group were ready for surgery, and the woman was sent to the operating table after being deeply anesthetized.

She was stripped naked, and her chest, abdomen, and private parts were all shaved off.

But no one was interested in her body. What the doctors were most eager to do now was to cut open her skin, open her chest and abdominal cavity, and look at the tumors.

The reason why people believe that cancer is curable mainly comes from their lack of understanding of cancer.

They had not yet classified tumors and did not know that there were actually malignant and benign tumors. So when some benign tumors were removed and the patients were cured, they generally believed that cancer had a chance of being cured, and the chance was not low.

But as people study cancer, they will find that not all tumors are benign and can be removed.

But at this stage, they still hold the most original ideas.

The woman with her eyes closed seemed to feel some of the tense atmosphere. It was not known whether it was because the anesthetic did not take effect deeply, but when the scalpel cut her skin, her heartbeat began to tremble and beads of sweat appeared on her head.

Her husband wiped the sweat off his face with his hand. Deputy Director Duke sat behind his desk and asked, "Why?"

"Why did you poison Bandy? Who ordered you to do it?"

He could only deny nervously, "I don't know what you are talking about, I have never done these things!"

Duke and his team had no intention of letting this guy actually recruit anyone. As long as he was alive and had no value in recruiting, it was far more valuable than what he said.

But in order to "protect" him, he now needs to be "treasured", which requires his cooperation, or in other words, he needs to accept his fate.

"There is still some funds for your wife's surgery. Need I say more?"

The man's pupils contracted slightly, then gradually dilated. He lowered his head and remained silent.

As a policeman, he knew that these things would not withstand investigation, and once discovered, he would not be able to escape suspicion and accusation.

There was a painful expression on his face, just like his wife who was on the operating table.

Obviously, the results of the X-ray were different from the actual results of the laparotomy. The environment and situation after the laparotomy were more complicated than what they saw on the X-ray. For a moment, the surgeon didn't even know how to start.

But this will not be an on-off operation. After all, such a rare case is placed on the operating table, and she must become the result of the research.

As for death?

That's not their problem, it's just that God loves her and brought her to him.

After a temporary discussion among the medical experts on site, they renegotiated the surgical procedure, and two new doctors came to the operating table with scalpels in hand.

Conventional laparotomy has also become more like full anatomical surgery, exposing more organs and lesions.

As they began to cut, everything was faithfully recorded by multiple cameras.

It could become an important case study in a medical class or research material in a laboratory.

Fifteen minutes later, the officer's badge and his service gun were taken away and he was taken to a safer location.

He obeyed Deputy Director Duke's arrangements, but he had only one request, that is, not to tell his wife what happened after she woke up.

The moment he stepped into the police car to be transferred, in the operating room, accompanied by a long beep of the buzzer, the doctors stopped their actions.

"Do you want to continue?"

"why not?"

They are busy again, and it won't stop just because someone leaves...

(End of this chapter)