Empire of Shadows

Chapter 684: Acting According to the Script [666+23]

To convince others, you must first convince yourself.

Hope understood this principle deeply.

He walked towards the young people. Some people had already gathered on the surrounding streets, watching Hope. This was his performance!

"Young sirs, what has brought you to this state?"

"If you have encountered any trouble, please tell me. Perhaps I can offer some assistance."

"But rather than directly giving you money or food, I would prefer to give you a job!"

"Only through manual labor can you change your future!"

Some people around had already begun to applaud. What a kind, friendly, and wise Mr. Hope!

The young men looked at each other, still appearing unable to believe it!

Yesterday, they were still considering how to approach him, nearly freezing to death here. Now, this person was standing right in front of them, giving them an unrealistic feeling.

The bald young man couldn't help but ask with a slightly questioning tone and expression, "Are you... Mr. Hope?"

"Hope Wright?"

Hope unwrapped his scarf, revealing more of his face. "If there isn't a second Hope Wright here, then you must be talking about me."

Some passersby also stopped, all saying that he was the respected "Light of Slader."

Hope enjoyed this. On one hand, it satisfied his desires, and on the other hand, the respect of the people allowed him to balance the distortions within his heart.

The way he presented himself in front of the important figures and what he gained in front of these people achieved a balance, preventing him from becoming twisted.

Looking at the young people whose confusion and doubt were turning into surprise, a smile appeared on his face. "How about it?"

"Would you like me to arrange a job for you?"

"Oh right, if possible, on the first day of the new year, I hope you can come..."

His voice stopped abruptly at this moment. His eyes widened as he looked at the young men in front of him, watching one of them pull a handgun from his chest and point it at him.

At this moment, he could hear his own heartbeat, as well as the subtle sound of blood flowing through his blood vessels.

The whole world seemed to quiet down at this moment, so quiet that he could hear the sounds of all things!

He saw the hammer slowly striking the primer. He could see the muzzle of the handgun in the young man's hand starting to rise due to the recoil. He could see that small, pointed thing, accompanied by a flash of light, spraying out from the barrel!

It seemed as if he could stop everything by simply reaching out and pinching it!

But oddly enough, his movements became exceptionally slow. He had already prepared to react, but his arm seemed as if it hadn't understood his command, barely moving at all.

The gunshot that rang out seemed to awaken him in an instant, also allowing time to revert at this moment, beginning to flow again.

He felt a force push him, then he took a step backward, and then several more gunshots rang out in his ears.

He looked at the young men whose faces showed no fear, then lowered his head and pulled open his scarf and collar, watching the white shirt gradually turn red. He cursed twice, then fell to the ground with a thud.

Everyone was stunned by this scene!

Whether it was the passersby or the people around Hope, they looked in disbelief at the fallen, slightly twitching Hope, watching blood begin to pour from his mouth, watching the focus of his eyes disappear, becoming unfocused and dim.

People screamed and scattered, running away. One of Hope's bodyguards subconsciously wanted to reach for his gun, but was immediately shot and fell to the ground.

Another one, further away, exchanged a few shots with the young men while relying on cover.

He watched the young men quickly leave and didn't continue firing. Instead, he shouted for someone to call the police and emergency services.

Soon, the police and ambulances arrived at the scene. The doctor examined Hope's condition and shook his head. "He's beyond saving."

A very simple sentence caused the faces of Hope's assistants standing beside him to undergo a huge change!

"How... is that possible?"

"Maybe if we send him to the hospital and use those medical devices, there's still a bit of hope?"

One of the assistant's voices trembled slightly as he spoke, not believing it was real!

The doctor didn't even continue the examination. "It's been more than ten minutes, sir. He's already dead. He's gone to see God and will never come back!".

"Even if he was sent into the operating room at the first moment he was shot, there's a high probability he wouldn't make it off the operating table."

Although he didn't examine him very carefully, all four shots pierced the lung lobes, and one shot may have hit the heart. Even if he was shot on the operating table, a ruptured heart would be fatal.

Not just in this era, but even if it developed another hundred or two hundred years, it would still be a fatal injury.

The doctor stood up and asked the police to contact the morgue. This body died from a gunshot wound. It would be transported to the police station's morgue to be processed and kept to play a role in the case.

Hope's assistants still couldn't believe it at this time. One of them grabbed the doctor's clothes and even took out a stack of money and handed it over. "Help him. He's Hope. He can't die!"

The doctor didn't take the money. He just shook his head and pried open the hand that was grabbing his arm. "Even if he's the president, he's beyond saving!"

Soon, the ambulance left. At the same time, the police also caught the gunmen on another street.

They hadn't run far at all. Karl had already told them what to do after the deed was done.

Under the eyes of some witnesses, they were quickly surrounded by the arriving police, then put down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and raised their hands, surrendering.

These young men were harshly pressed to the ground by the police. Their faces rubbed against the snowflakes, their cheeks flushed red.

They were handcuffed, but there wasn't much fear on their faces.

The police also took away several witnesses along with these criminals.

The nature of this case was different. Not long ago, after that conflict with many deaths and injuries, another relatively important and well-known social activist was shot. The emotions of the entire refugee community were ignited in this cold winter!

Many refugees gathered outside the police station in the old industrial district—because of the large-scale demolition of the old industrial district, the old industrial district police station was now temporarily responsible for the police affairs of the New Port area.

The message from the mayor's office was that in the new administrative division, the New Port area had been clearly defined as an administrative area. A new police station would also be established here, and it was very likely that some of the police from the old industrial district would be transferred over.

In short, a large number of Hope's followers poured into the old industrial district police sub-bureau, wrapping the police sub-bureau tightly!

"...Yes, I know what to do."

"Okay... okay, I'll notify you as soon as I have news!"

The sub-bureau chief hung up the phone. The call was from Chief Blue, bringing instructions on how to handle this case.

The instructions were definitely not Chief Blue's own. Without guessing, it was known that this was Lance's intention.

The sub-bureau chief didn't have any objections or questions. Now, all the police in Goldport City, regardless of their position, were taking money from Lance's foundation.

Some people jokingly called this the "Police Company." Lance was the sole shareholder and chairman of the board, followed by the board of directors (sub-bureau chiefs), then the management (office heads), and the lowest level (police officers and patrolmen).

You could disobey the chief's orders; at most, he'd send you to patrol the streets in a remote area.

But if you disobeyed Mr. Lance's orders, then you might disappear.

The sub-bureau chief didn't plan to disappear. He was very satisfied with his current life, so he would only do as he was told.

He put on his wide-brimmed police hat, tidied up his appearance in front of the mirror, and even specially wiped the police badge on his hat with a handkerchief to make it shine.

He strode to the outside of the police station's office building and could only use a microphone to communicate with the dark mass of emotionally agitated people.

"Just now, I have received orders from above. Chief Blue and the gentlemen in the city attach great importance to this matter. In order to avoid misunderstandings between us,"

"During the interrogation process, we will allow ten observers to observe the entire interrogation process and allow reporters from 'Goldport Today' to follow and report on the entire process."

"Now, please select ten representatives who can represent you to participate in our interrogation process."

The boiling crowd quickly quieted down. After about ten minutes, they selected ten representatives, one of whom was Hope's assistant.

They all had angry expressions on their faces and distrust of the federal police as they entered the interrogation room. The moment Hope's assistant saw the bald man, he excitedly wanted to rush up, but was stopped.

"If you do that again, I will ask you to leave and replace you with someone else!"

After being warned once, he restrained himself a little, and then the ten people were asked not to speak, sitting in the corner, watching them conduct the interrogation.

These young men already knew what to say. They were also very calm now because everything was unfolding as Karl had told them in the script.

So they weren't panicked at all.

The sub-bureau chief sat in the position of the chief interrogator. He tapped the table with his hand, asking the "primary suspect" in front of him, "Did you shoot and kill Hope Wright?"

The bald young man nodded and said yes without any hesitation or hesitation. "It was me."

"Why did you kill him?"

"What's the reason?"

The bald man smiled and glanced sideways at the people sitting against the wall. "He's destroying us!"