Empire of Shadows

Hiram lay on a treatment bed, watching Lance and the doctor talk beside him, but he couldn’t understand a single word they were saying.

Since returning from the explosion site, he had immediately gone to the New Golden City, which had the best medical technology.

After a period of natural healing, his condition improved slightly. He could hear some sounds, but they were indistinct.

In his world, every sound, including Lance talking to the doctor, was a continuous hum.

”Buzz, buzz, buzz buzz buzz buzz.”

”Buzz buzz buzz, buzz buzz...”

Lance glanced back at the confused Hiram, then focused on the doctor. ”So, surgery is the only option now?”

The doctor nodded. ”The perforation of both his eardrums is severe. Relying on his body’s natural recovery capacity, we essentially cannot guarantee he will regain his hearing.”

”Even if we put him through subsequent training, it will be difficult for him to fully understand people’s conversations. Furthermore, living this way brings inconveniences far beyond normal communication.”

”The phone ringing, the doorbell, alarms—you know our lives are full of sounds that tell us what to do and what not to do, including the horns of cars rushing by.””If we lose the ability to judge these sounds, life becomes extremely troublesome.”

”Perhaps for a short time, we can find someone to help him, but it’s impossible for someone to do this indefinitely.”

The doctor seemed to remember something and pursed his lips. Ordinary people couldn’t afford this, but these people certainly could.

Money was truly powerful. If Hiram were an ordinary person and either refused surgery or couldn’t afford it, the sounds in his world would forever be muffled, like a drum skin laid over everything. His life would be a mess.

But he had money. Even without surgery, he could hire someone to be his ears and assist his life.

Lance thought for a moment. ”What is the success rate of the surgery?”

The doctor smiled easily. ”The fact that you sought me out suggests someone mentioned our expertise.”

”I can’t speak for other surgeries, but in eardrum repair, we are professionals.”

He avoided quoting a specific success rate—a way to manage risk.

After all, every surgery, even minor ones, carries risks. No one could predict when God might suddenly want to take someone to Heaven.

By avoiding specific numbers, people would only focus on the success stories and ignore the risks.

If one in a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand failed, it would become impossible to justify.

Lance looked back at Hiram, then extended his hand and shook the doctor’s. ”Arrange it as quickly as possible. Don’t worry about funding or other logistics; just name it.”

”I have only one condition: the most authoritative specialist must operate, and start by only repairing one side.”

If it succeeded, the other side would naturally be repaired.

If it failed, there was at least a backup opportunity.

The doctor held Lance’s hand. ”I understand your concern. I will arrange this as soon as possible. He can be on the operating table in three days at the latest.”

Hiram then got off the treatment bed. ”This damned light hurts my eyes. How did your discussion go?”

He spoke casually, but he wasn’t sure if Lance understood, as he realized he couldn’t entirely understand his own words either.

Everything was a buzz.

Lance grabbed a clipboard from a nearby desk and wrote down what he wanted to say.

”Surgery in three days. One side first, then the other, to ensure you have a chance to hear again.”

Hiram slowly read the sentence, then sighed. ”I hope everything goes smoothly.”

Lance had already heard a more detailed account of what happened that night. It turned out Hiram wasn’t the only one with hearing damage; a few others were affected too.

However, they stood further away and only had small perforations. Unlike Hiram, who stood too close.

He could only call it bad luck. Even if Lance had been there, he couldn’t have prevented it. Who would have guessed Hiram would burn down the basement, and who would have thought the basement would suddenly explode?

But Lance was satisfied with the results.

You steal my liquor, I destroy your inventory. The ”mutual harm” in gang warfare was fully demonstrated!

Since Hiram needed treatment and couldn’t command operations, Lance decided to bring in Ennio.

Ennio might not be an expert in combat, but he was diplomatic and cautious. The actual fighting could be left to the captains, and Ennio would only need to manage the overall situation and call Lance when necessary.

The other brothers in the family were quite concerned about Hiram’s injury. Morris called Lance specifically about it.

”I heard Hiram damaged his eardrums and is now deaf?”

”Yes. The blast perforated his eardrums. He needs surgery to recover. Why?”

Morris laughed twice, then sighed. ”I’ve been thinking about one thing since I got married, Lance.”

”Time passes too quickly.”

”It feels like yesterday when Ennio and I were running around on the streets. I still feel like I’m only a teenager, but now, I’m almost thirty.”

”Time flies. In a blink, I’ve even become a father.”

Morris’s wife had given birth to a child, a girl, and was now pregnant again.

A woman who wasn’t exceptionally intelligent could only hold onto a man in a few ways, and having a child was one of the better choices.

Family life gave Morris a different perspective on life and himself. He seemed to have matured overnight, no longer the person he once was.

Life is divided into many stages, and each stage brings its own unique thoughts and psychological shifts. This was normal.

”I don’t know how to put it, but I think I, and most of us, are still mentally stuck in the past, in our self-perception of age.”

”Ennio isn’t married either. Very few of us are, let alone have children.”

”I think we should remind everyone.”

”And if something happens, at least... do you understand what I mean?”

Lance hummed. ”At least there’s an heir, right?”

”I understand. I will consider it. What you said is certainly valuable to us.”

”But you also know I can’t force them to do this. They need to come to this realization themselves. I can’t change their minds.”

After the short call, Lance felt that Morris, having married and had a child, was enjoying ”domestic bliss,” and his mindset was shifting.

This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing; it meant he was integrating more fully into society.

He had a family, responsibility, and things to worry about.

But for a gang, it wasn’t entirely good; it was a double-edged sword. It gave people a purpose to fight for, but also more reason to hesitate.

People often said that a man in his forties with a family, children, and a career who threatened to kill you was likely just venting hot air.

But a teenager who threatened to kill you was likely to follow through.

This was due to burdens, responsibilities, and attachments.

This also subtly told Lance that everyone was aging, and they would likely follow the path of other families—becoming burdened and hesitant.

After smoking a cigarette by the window, he returned to his chair. ”Did that girl’s family report her missing?”

Alan nodded. He was in charge of monitoring the situation. ”Yes, they reported it. The police have started an investigation.”

Lance nodded slightly. ”Find a way to provide them with some leads. Also, it would be best if the girl’s family knew who was involved in this, without knowing exactly what happened to their daughter. Do you understand what I mean?”

Alan nodded. ”I understand. Let them suspect young Potter, but without hard evidence.”

Lance pointed at him. ”Exactly. And ideally, make them exert some pressure on the police.”

Alan nodded again. ”I know what to do.”

The operation in Old City needed to wait for Ennio to arrive, which would take a few days. Lance’s current instruction to the men there was to maintain defense and await new orders.

Meanwhile, Lance instructed his men to plant some explosives in a few of the nightclubs. If the Perez family launched a fierce attack, they were to abandon the properties and blow them up.

While using explosives in the city was somewhat extreme, he was confident the Perez family would suppress the incident.

More important than the Old City operation was dealing with Potter.

Lance turned to the television in his office. On the screen, Mr. Potter was participating in a campaign event as the Liberal Party’s Presidential candidate.

He stood on a stage, waving his arms and shouting.

It was a recording of the campaign speech from the day before—Mr. Potter’s first speech.

He stood on the podium, presenting the entire campaign strategy given to him by the Liberal Party. Among the notable points were de-gangsterization and another point Lance hadn’t heard before: efficient and clean government.

This first speech attracted widespread attention. Shortly after it aired, Federal phone lines saw a surge in usage.

While de-gangsterization was somewhat anticipated, the focus on efficiency and integrity was unexpected.

”...Our Federal government faces many problems. In the environments I’ve encountered, corruption and bureaucratic inertia are severe.”

”Some regional officials treat this as part of their job. They accept bribes and offer political or professional favors to those who provide the money.”

”I’ve seen low-level officials who show up on time and leave on time, yet spend the entire day reading newspapers in the office.”

”This situation is widespread and affects the role our government can play in today’s rapidly developing society.”

”Therefore, if I win the election, I will establish an Integrity and Efficiency Department to tackle these issues...”

The sound from the TV was noisy. The audience was constantly gasping or applauding. The TV broadcast quality was poor.

However, preliminary polls conducted by consulting agencies immediately showed Mr. Potter had a significant lead.

Random passersby interviewed stated they supported Mr. Potter because he seemed more pragmatic than the Socialist Party candidates.

He wasn’t afraid to expose the worst problems and show the courage to correct them, which earned him strong support from voters.

Watching Mr. Potter’s performance on TV, Lance felt he was playing with fire.

Why did the Federal government never openly discuss corruption, or avoid putting it on the table?

Because the entire Federal government, from top to bottom, suffered from this problem. If someone stood up to fight corruption and malfeasance, they were fighting the Federation itself!

From a single bullet in an army warehouse to the coffee machine in the Presidential Palace, too many people’s interests were involved.

In Lance’s view, one could oppose corruption and malfeasance, but not publicly.

He was causing unnecessary trouble for himself.

Lance turned off the TV. He had seen enough. It was meaningless and unnecessary to watch more.

Meanwhile, the missing girl’s parents had just left the police station. They had filed a report, but the police told them to go home and wait for news.

Two to three hundred thousand people went missing annually in the Federation. This was just one more missing girl. The police had already made a basic judgment, especially after seeing the girl’s high school graduation photo.

Young, beautiful, blonde, with a good figure. Reportedly a former cheerleader.

Girls like this were often the favorite toys of certain high-society figures. Many missing person cases they dealt with were similar.

The victims suddenly disappeared one day, never to be heard from again, until an informant surfaced during another case, leading to the breakthrough in the missing person’s case.

Otherwise, these cases would likely remain cold forever.

On the way home, the mother asked the father, ”I saw an officer pull you aside in the stairwell. What did he tell you?”

The father’s face was drawn with bitterness, as if he had tasted something extremely bitter, and his eyes were tired and helpless.

”He... he told me that many cases like this happen every year. He told me to prepare myself for the likelihood of no follow-up, and he asked if we had any other children.”

Hearing this, the mother cried out. ”What did he mean by that?”

The husband sighed. ”He meant to tell us to have another child if we didn’t have one.”

”Because she won’t be found.”

The mother fell silent for a moment. She hugged her husband. ”So, they know what happened, don’t they?”

The man suppressed his grief. ”I don’t know. Perhaps it happens so often, and the outcome is often the same, that he simply made that judgment.”

The mother’s voice was tearful. ”But I never read about it in the newspapers!”

This was perhaps the most surreal aspect of the Federation!

Two to three hundred thousand people went missing every year, sometimes even three or four hundred thousand, but newspapers, magazines, and official media never reported these incidents, as if the missing persons didn’t exist.

When every channel of public information remains silent, it often indicates the severity and complexity of the problem.

Perhaps the owners of these channels—the newspapers and magazines—were part of the problem, a crucial part, and thus were unwilling to let the public know.

The couple embraced, comforting each other. The mother then asked, ”Are we still going to look for her?”

The father nodded resolutely. ”Yes, we must. She is our angel. No matter where she went, we must find her!”

His eyes shone with a fierce light. ”No matter what!”

The couple composed themselves upon returning home. The next day, they began their spontaneous search for their missing daughter.

They printed many missing persons flyers. Though they knew it was likely futile, they held onto a sliver of hope.

What if someone saw their daughter?

It was only now that they realized they knew nothing about their daughter’s social life or circle. As parents, they were likely negligent.

Like the parents of the hundreds of thousands of missing people, they might eventually give up after prolonged suffering and exhaustion, but for now, they were not giving up.

Two or three days passed without news from the police. Or rather, the police weren’t investigating.

Just as the couple felt despair—they had the courage to face anything, but didn’t know how to act—someone called them.

The caller claimed to have seen the girl in the flyer.