Empire of Shadows

“The last time we met seems to have been many years ago.”

A smile was on Officer Brayden’s face because the man in front of him was his best friend from high school, and also a semi-neighbor.

That was not a period of life worth remembering, with a poor family and a terrible community. But it was precisely because of this that Officer Brayden had the desire to strive.

He had a good friend and classmate, David.

The two had the same class, the same living environment, and faced roughly the same environment. They made different choices.

Officer Brayden believed that becoming a police officer could change the situation of him being frequently bullied. At least assaulting a police officer was a felony in the Federation!

As long as he put on that police uniform, if someone really wanted to bully him, he would have a good enough reason to shoot and kill the other party directly.

David, who had a different idea from him, believed that the best way to avoid being bullied was to become the one who bullied others, not the one who was bullied.

After high school, the two quickly found their own goals. Being a federal police officer was not a particularly good job, not even considered a civil servant. It could only be said to be the bottom of the government’s law enforcement department.

In addition to the dangerous environment, it was very easy for him to become a police officer.Then he was separated from David.

David went to the western region of Likalai State, saying that his uncle was working there. Later he heard that David had joined the Holy Bell Party, and gradually there was no more news.

The Holy Bell Party did not have a good reputation in Likalai State, or even in the entire Federation. The label of an extreme conservative and radical gang was theirs, as well as the handbells they would leave at the scene when they executed someone ritually.

In short, they were considered a notorious gang, but in the eyes of the extremely conservative farmers, they were as pure as little angels.

One was a notorious gang member, and the other was a not-so-famous small patrolman in Golden Port City. The relationship between the two was thus cut off.

Although sometimes Brayden could hear some rumors related to David, especially in recent years, they had never had any contact.

Now seeing David appear outside the door, besides surprise, there was also some deep-seated doubt in his heart!

He walked over and hugged David. At this time, David behaved just like a gentle and normal person.

This was also a significant feature of the Holy Bell Party. If you were a typical Federation person, they were so harmless that you would feel that even speaking loudly was impolite!

“Sometimes I even dream of you, and I have a lot to say to you, but now that I see you, I don’t know what to say!”

Officer Brayden let go of David, then took two steps back and sized up this childhood friend again, then returned to the house. “Come in, let’s sit down and chat.”

David did not refuse. The two entered Officer Brayden’s house.

The house was not large, an old house. He had had a failed marriage, perhaps his bad temper had made it impossible for people to tolerate him.

Until now, he was alone.

If he had needs, he would spend money to find girls on the street to solve the problem. For him, this was a kind of “enjoyment.”

He didn’t have to listen to his wife’s nagging, and they had a child.

He could freely choose those young girls without having to wrong himself.

A perfect life.

David smiled and looked at Officer Brayden. “You haven’t changed much from the past, except for your beard…”

The two talked about many things after they had separated, but many things were not discussed in depth.

For example, David only told Officer Brayden that he had joined the Holy Bell Party, but did not say how he had joined.

After all, this kind of rather extreme gang was not so easy to join.

Officer Brayden did not ask either.

After the two had a little understanding of each other’s past after they had separated, they were both a little sentimental.

As they talked, the topic of reminiscing naturally ended. Officer Brayden also knew that the real theme was coming.

“I want to ask about something,” David used a relatively tactful wording.

Officer Brayden did not refuse. He nodded. “As long as it’s something I know.”

“Lance, that Lance White, is he really a citizen of the Federation?”

“I always feel that he doesn’t seem like a citizen of the Federation, more like an immigrant. And I’ve also heard some rumors that he is actually an illegal immigrant from the Empire.”

“I hear that you’ve always been helping people with naturalization in Golden Port City, so I thought maybe you would know something.”

Officer Brayden was only stunned for a very short time, but it was captured by David.

If David had come to ask him this question two years ago, he would have definitely told the truth.

But now, he couldn’t say it, because the entire police department was eating the dividends of the Lance Family.

The police department gave people a salary, and the Lance Family gave them another salary. At the same time, if they had any urgent need for money, or had some disease that required huge medical expenses, Lance’s foundation would pay for it.

Some were interest-free loans, which they could repay over a lifetime, which was equivalent to giving it to them.

Some were direct grants, aid, and didn’t even need to be repaid.

Under such circumstances, whoever went against Lance was going against the entire Golden Port City police force.

Although Officer Brayden was also a Federation-first supremacist, he was not extreme.

“I’m not very clear,” he finally decided to lie. He looked at David’s eyes, without any avoidance, so as not to appear guilty.

But what he didn’t know was that in that very brief moment of hesitation, David had already guessed the answer.

At this time, he patted Officer Brayden’s arm. “It’s okay, I was just curious. After all, such a young person, I want to know if he has any special background.”

After he finished speaking, he skipped this topic and talked about other things.

Not long after, he stood up to leave, on the grounds that he had come with a mission.

After Officer Brayden saw him to the door, he watched him get into a luxury sedan, and left his sight under the protection of two other cars in front and behind.

He stood at the door and smoked a cigarette. The deep friendship from his teenage years, the friendship of supporting each other forward, had not changed his determination.

He quickly threw the cigarette butt on the ground, crushed it hard with the tip of his crocodile leather shoe, and then returned to his room and dialed that very special number.

“Lance, David… that guy from the Holy Bell Party, was asking me for some information about you…”

“…We used to be neighbors and classmates. I didn’t know he had actually joined the Holy Bell Party. I didn’t say anything…”

“Okay, okay, I see. That’s it.”

He hung up the phone. Suddenly, the pressure that David’s visit had brought him disappeared completely.

Since you’ve been gone for more than twenty years, don’t fucking come back into my life!

Officer Brayden picked up his wide-brimmed police hat and put it on, took a piece of chewing gum from his pocket and put it in his mouth, placed one hand on his holster, and left the room.

On the other side, after David returned to the Holy Bell Party’s villa in Golden Port City, he reported his guess to the upper echelons of the Holy Bell Party.

“…I found my friend and asked about this matter. His hesitation told me that Lance White is a cunning immigrant. He has used some methods to deceive people.”

“He has dirty mixed blood flowing in his veins. He should not be allowed to enter God’s sheepfold!”

At this moment, David showed a very special kind of fanaticism, a religious fanaticism.

The set of theories of the Holy Bell Party had a very efficient brainwashing ability on young, uneducated young people.

They told the young people that all your misfortunes are because those low-blooded bastards have ruined your lives.

What kind of people can join the Holy Bell Party?

Farmers who are not doing well in life, cowboys, robbers, and the descendants of the bloody slave-killing squads. They have lost hope in life, but are unwilling to admit that the ugliness of life is because of their own incompetence.

The appearance of the Holy Bell Party helped them find a reason and a way to vent their anger on others. This way, they didn’t have to bear the fact that they were incompetent good-for-nothings, but instead believed that everything was due to the bad influence of those other than themselves.

In fact, for the real high-level, the ruling group of the Holy Bell Party, they were on the contrary very rational, because they knew very well that whether it was the Holy Bell Party, any propaganda means, or anything else, its core purpose was for them to obtain more wealth, status, influence, and power.

So when David said what he had found out, the attention of the high-level of the Holy Bell Party on the other end of the line was on another matter.

“You’re saying, Lance White personally admitted that the smuggled liquor market in Golden Port City has a scale of 200 million?”

His tone was filled with pleasant surprise, and also a trace of doubt.

Although David felt that this holy man’s attention was in the wrong place, he still followed the strict class system between superiors and subordinates and answered the other party’s question, “Yes, Lance personally admitted it, and he believes that in the next few years, this market will continue to expand.”

There was no sound from the receiver, but the gradually thickening and heavy breathing within a dozen seconds let him know that the holy man was still on the other side.

“The damn heretics have stolen the fruit that belongs to God, David. We must take back God’s pasture and clear these bastards out of it!”

“You’ve done very well. You’ve brought back very important news. We’ve figured out his true colors. We’ll discuss how to deal with him.”

“As for his what-the-hell alliance, you can ignore it.”

“Our attitude has always been very firm, and that is that we will absolutely not stay with the bastards!”

“You rest well for a few days and wait for my news.”

David agreed with satisfaction. That’s right, this is the true shepherd of God. He felt a sense of mission. He was willing to dedicate everything for God!

He hung up the phone, sat on the sofa for a while, and then stood up, took a somewhat delicate-looking subordinate, and came to the prayer room.

He wanted to confess to God, because he had done something wrong again…

(End of a Chapter)