Chapter 440

The Federation citizens in the Dantra Republic were facing a situation similar to what the Empire immigrants in the Federation had faced at this time last year, and it was even worse.

Politics, race, nation, stance, faction—all of these made the people of the Dantra Republic especially resentful of the Federation merchants who were “aiding the enemy.”

Their prime minister, waving his fist on the podium, told the people that the copper and gunpowder the Federation people sold to the enemy had become the bullets aimed at them.

The steel sold to them had become warships and cannons.

Even the grain sold to them had become the rations of the damned invaders.

Under his propaganda, it was as if the Federation people were pushing the war from behind the scenes.

This was a very dangerous trend. Once something bad happened under the impetus of certain people, the situation would quickly deteriorate and implicate more Federation people.

He was writing this news, reminding people to pay attention to this matter. He even suspected that perhaps this was just a preliminary preparation by the Dantra Republic to support some of their subsequent terrible actions.

But he could do nothing but write articles.

Lance’s phone call at this time slightly interrupted his train of thought for writing the article. When writing, what people fear most is having their train of thought interrupted.

This wasn’t like wanking, where you could stop, browse some other information, and then continue.

If you stopped at this time, it was possible that the subsequent train of thought would become completely chaotic.

However, the big news Lance mentioned also aroused a little of his interest.

George and Lance had first met last year. At first, he just thought Lance was a very “perceptive” young man. He had started his own business at a young age and had developed a very interesting business model.

He matched Federation people who were unwilling to work with illegal immigrants who needed work cards, satisfying the needs of both groups while also making a large sum of money for himself.

For George, earning ten or twenty thousand a month was definitely an astonishing income.

But as some rumors about Lance gradually spread in Golden Port, he also realized that this young man was not just an entrepreneur with ideas, but also the leader of a gang.

But to say so seemed a bit wrong, because the Lance Family and the other gangs were not the same thing.

People were not afraid of him, nor did they hate him. On the contrary, they were willing to talk about him.

Before, George had done a special report on gangs. After all, the Five Families of Golden Port had a certain reputation throughout the Federation.

When people talked about gangs, when they talked about the Five Families, most of the comments were negative.

They were unwilling to take the initiative to talk about things related to gangs, avoiding them, but it could be seen that they disliked gangs.

This point was not reflected in the Lance Family.

In the Empire District, if you found a place where people were gathered and asked them their opinion of the Lance Family, everyone would become very talkative.

They could find many topics of conversation to chat with you about, and not with gritted teeth, but with a smile on their faces.

They did not show such willingness to talk when discussing the mayor, officials, or the police.

And basically, what people talked about were good, positive things, with nothing negative.

So George had a good impression of Lance.

“What big news?” He locked the typewriter’s keyboard so that he wouldn’t accidentally touch it.

The Federation had been using typewriters for work for a long time. Almost all reporters could use a typewriter skillfully, and now there were also some specialized typists, mainly women.

He rubbed his wrist and took a sip of the cold coffee.

Lance’s voice came from the receiver, “I think we’d better talk face to face.”

This made George’s interest even greater. He hesitated for a moment, “We have half an hour to talk about this.”

“That’s enough. I’ll come and pick you up.”

A dozen minutes later, three cars were parked in the parking lot of the Golden Port Today newspaper office. George saw Lance, pulled open the car door, and got in.

“Do you have to make such a big fuss just to go out now?”

He was referring to the three-car convoy waiting for him here. Lance said helplessly, “If you had been assassinated more than once, you would definitely be more careful than me.”

This sentence made George pause for a moment. He really didn’t know about this. “It seems your life has been very exciting these days. If you have a chance, you can tell me about it. I’m more interested in these things.”

He then added, “And the recent changes in the situation in Golden Port. I heard that the Five Families have become the Four Families.”

The convoy slowly drove out of the parking lot. This news, which was a “rumor” to ordinary people, was just his life to Lance.

“The Cassia family provoked public anger, so they are finished. That’s all.”

The convoy merged into the traffic, with no particular destination, just circling around an area.

Lance gave George a cigarette. He was thinking about where to start. George did not disturb him and took out his notebook.

“Do you know the Red High Heel club?” Lance turned his head to look at him.

George nodded. “I know. It’s very famous. I hear they provide sexual services for some rich people.”

A very meaningful smile appeared on Lance’s face. This smile made George realize that it might not be as simple as just sexual services.

As a newsman, he immediately became sensitive. “Is what you’re about to say related to the Red High Heel?”

“No,” Lance shook his head. “It has nothing to do with it, but it is a link in its entire industrial chain. Even the Red High Heel is just a link in the industrial chain.”

“There’s a modeling agency called Dream Crystal. They will sign some girls as contract models, take pictures of them, and provide them with performance opportunities. Do you know about it?”

George thought for a moment and then shook his head. “It sounds a little familiar, but I really don’t know it.”

“Actually, on the surface, they are a modeling agency, but in reality, they are engaged in the human trafficking business.”

George, who had been sitting in a loose posture, immediately sat up straight. He put the cigarette in his mouth and began to record these key points in his notebook. “And then?”

“Where to start?”

“How about we start with the story of a photograph.”

The convoy drove around the streets for many laps. Lance decided to expose this matter.

Actually, he wasn’t worried that someone would cause him trouble, because the general manager of Dream Crystal would most likely be finished by the time the police found him.

Without such a character, even if Dream Crystal could reopen, they could not do their previous business.

It was better to sacrifice it to raise people’s vigilance.

Perhaps with this reminder, the number of victims could be slightly reduced.

Lance actually didn’t have that many, that great ideals. He was just a very ordinary person.

But when he encountered something that he couldn’t stand, he would step in and stomp on it.

This was not some kind of chivalry, nor was it a sense of justice. It was purely that if he didn’t do something about these things, he would feel fucking uncomfortable.

A person has to live transparently, especially when they have the ability.

Listening to Lance talk about this underground black industry, and that it was just one link in a large chain, George’s body turned cold and trembled slightly.

“Why… did you suddenly think of telling me this?”

He lit another cigarette, his own. Looking at the shocking key points on his notebook, he felt very suffocated.

The federal government announced that there were about 70,000 to 80,000 cases of missing teenagers each year, which did not include the cases of missing illegal immigrant teenagers.

From the current laws of the Federation, they were not yet considered Federation citizens, and not even considered people, so they would not be included in the statistics.

If these were included, there might be 130,000 to 140,000 missing teenagers.

This was already a very horrifying number. If behind these missing person cases, human trafficking was also involved, this was simply… chilling.

In fact, as a large country that had a long history of slavery, the Federation’s acceptance of human trafficking was quite high.

It was just that in the past, human trafficking was legal, and now it was not. In the past, there were slave-catching teams, and now the slave-catching teams had become more hidden.

It’s just that for a long time, the Federation people had considered themselves civilized people, and their country a civilized country. For Lance to suddenly say such a thing, he found it a little hard to accept.

Tens of thousands of missing teenagers. Did they really go missing, or were they bought and sold?

No one knew.

He looked at Lance. He felt that there must be other reasons behind this matter.

Lance did not hide it either. “Someone became a victim, and his family found me.”

George became a little nervous. He opened his mouth, not knowing if he should ask.

Actually, as a reporter, he could come into contact with more dark things than ordinary people. He knew that if a young girl was traded as a commodity…

Then her end would definitely not be too beautiful.

“She came back alive, just with some injuries.”

“This dark curtain has existed for a long time. Do you have the courage to lift it?”

“But I need to remind you of one thing. You can only report the news related to Dream Crystal. Anything else, you cannot report.”

“I hope this news can reduce the number of potential victims.”

George took two quick drags of his cigarette. For Lance to give such an instruction, he could already guess that the buyers were probably not ordinary people.

He also knew very well how undemocratic and unfree this democratic and free Federation was. As long as it involved the privileged class, the capitalists’ affairs, one had to be cautious and more cautious.

Including the Golden Port Today where he worked, it was also a link in the capital chain.

He nodded. “I understand.”

It could be heard, however, that his tone was a bit unwilling.

“I’ll have someone bring you some materials later. Maybe you can win a Golden Newspaper Award this year.”

He was a little short last year, but this year, there was hope.

On the one hand, it was news about foreign countries, and on the other hand, it was news about domestic affairs. In his deliberation, George chose Lance’s news.

“I will sort it out after the materials arrive.”

Lance nodded and said, “There might be some extra pressure, and someone might cause you trouble, or threaten you. When you need my help, give me a call.”

Soon the convoy returned to the side of the newspaper office’s parking lot. George got out of the car. He looked at the departing convoy, a little wistful.

After standing for a moment, he turned and went back to his office.

He looked at the typewriter on his desk, but his mind was full of those teenagers with tragic fates. He decided to withdraw the news about the crisis brewing in the Dantra Republic for now.

Then he began to bury his head in sorting out the elements already in his notebook.

He liked this profession because he hoped to show the truth to the public. The public has the right to know the truth. This was the most sacred part of a reporter’s job.

On the other side, when Charlie heard that the person who had been tailing the car had eventually been tracked to the Wanli Firm, he drove to Mr. Bowen’s villa.

“It’s Lance’s men,” he said, sitting on the sofa, “Lance White, the leader of the Lance Family. It’s said that he currently controls hundreds of core gang members and thousands of peripheral members.”

“Besides the Five Families, it’s the most powerful gang in Golden Port, bar none.”

Actually, the strength of the Lance Family was already stronger than several of the Four Families. Of course, people were still accustomed to thinking that the Five Families were the strongest, and there would still be a natural filter.

For example, they would think that the Five Families (four) had their strength reduced due to the war, but would soon recover, and so on.

Stereotypes and prejudices exist at all times, even here with Councilman Charlie.

Mr. Bowen had also learned some information about the Lance Family through a few phone calls these past few days. Some people showed a disdainful attitude towards them, believing that they were still just a small force that could be wiped out at any time.

But some also gave a cautious evaluation, believing that they were a very valuable force.

If that was the case, then a favor from Lance was indeed of some value.

He roughly understood who had persuaded Councilman Wade to have him repay the favor. In this city, the only one who could do this for others was probably Council.

“Let’s leave it at that for this matter. Lance should be an interesting young man. We old folks should be more tolerant towards young people.”

He looked to have a very deceptive appearance—gentle, modest, polite, speaking gently, his voice unhurried, giving people a very comfortable feeling.

But some of the things he did were not so glorious.

As the “Bay Area’s Hound,” Charlie had handled many things for them, including dirty work like “disposing of bodies.”

In Golden Port, there was a very special “renovation company.” This company was registered by Charlie’s people, and its main business scope was similar to that of ordinary renovation companies.

However, this company had no business phone number, and its business address was a back-street storefront that was closed year-round. It had almost no presence.

But when there was a need, a few former police officers would drive a car with some cleaning tools, paint, and the like, to help these rich people clean their basements.

They also had a hand in the rising water of Angel Lake.

Charlie smiled and nodded.

After a while, Mr. Bowen said, “There’s a problem with Dream Crystal. Go and solve it.”

Charlie nodded. “I’ve heard before about some reports of their illegal operations. This situation should indeed be investigated clearly to give the public an explanation.”

Only then did Mr. Bowen nod with satisfaction. “Since there have been reports, it should have been investigated earlier. This is your duty. Don’t tarnish your badge.”

Charlie lowered his head with a humble expression. “I understand. I will personally supervise this matter.”

Mr. Bowen also pointed at him specifically. “That general manager is very dangerous…”

This was to say that no witnesses should be left alive. He was very dangerous, so he was shot on the spot. This was very reasonable.

Seeing that there were no other matters, Charlie took the initiative to propose his departure.

He didn’t know if there was any deal or any dirty business between Lance and Mr. Bowen. He didn’t care about these things. What he cared about was his current job.

Sometimes he actually quite admired Lance in his heart. Lance and he were doing the same thing—climbing as high as possible.

It’s just that Lance had chosen a very dangerous path. He was facing dangerous choices at all times, and might lose his life.

A few critical moments, it was just his good luck that he escaped. A person with bad luck would have died.

This path could straighten your back, but not everyone could walk it.

And he had chosen to be a dog.

Although being a dog was very… uncomfortable, this path was very stable.

Being a dog has its benefits. A dog will have a small kennel, no need to worry about the wind and rain.

A dog has food given by its master every day, no need for him to worry about filling his stomach.

A dog doesn’t have to face any competition. The only thing it has to do is to wag its tail at its master and bark at bad people.

What’s so bad about being a dog?

Why do you have to stand?

But in his heart, he still admired Lance a little. Not everyone could do what he did.

Admiration was admiration. He could not become Lance, just as Lance could not become him.

After receiving his instructions from him, Hunter immediately took action. He directly sealed off the Dream Crystal company, all important documents were confiscated, and all staff were detained separately.

This time, the judicial bureau did not drag their feet on approving the legal documents. As soon as the application call was made, the people from the judicial bureau drove over and handed the search and arrest warrants to Hunter.

Then they went to the general manager’s villa. They found some bodies inside, including the general manager.

He was in the basement. The man was already dead, and even stiff.

In his final moments of death, his face was full of terror, and clear tear stains remained.

In the dim room, feeling his life slowly slipping away, even if he was seeking death in the end, he could not bear such fear.

The dripping sound of the blood flow made him fall into a great panic. His heart beat wildly, and the panic and near-death experience tortured his nerves.

He began to feel cold, to feel the darkness, and to not want to die.

But in the end, the darkness still swallowed him. In this dim basement, he died.

Mr. Bowen, who had received the feedback, hung up the phone. He picked up a separate phone book and crossed out a line of numbers.

There were more than a dozen such numbers in this phone book…

(End of chapter)