Chapter 1134: How do you know I

The intense gunfire in the city made people realize that some things had changed.

This was perhaps the day with the fewest pedestrians on the streets of the Old City since it became a major metropolis; one could barely see anyone walking on the roads.

Bob's son was hiding behind the curtains of an apartment, pacing anxiously, occasionally standing behind the curtain to look out at the street.

Police cars kept passing by, their sirens stimulating his heart.

"Stop it already!"

"You're making me dizzy!"

His sister complained, while his mother and younger sister sat in the corner.

This was an apartment bought under the identity of an ordinary person, a very average apartment. It wasn't in the city center, but it wasn't too remote either. If one had to describe it, it could be considered a "middle-class apartment."

Of course, in reality, the middle class rarely lived in apartments because the cost-performance ratio wasn't very high; they preferred the social atmosphere of a community rather than the cold, privacy-lacking house numbers.

This place was a bit larger than those cheap sixty or seventy-square-meter apartments, about ninety square meters. Bob had bought six units across three floors—

six units pressed together, and through some design elements, these six apartments were actually interconnected.

They could move constantly between the six rooms through secret doors in the stairs, which was designed to avoid being trapped in any single room.

These six rooms were all safe houses, belonging to different tenants, stocked with canned food that allowed them to stay indoors for long periods.

As long as they moved in at midnight, almost no one would notice that the neighbor who supposedly didn't live there had actually moved in.

Bob's son heard his sister's complaint and stopped. "The situation is much more serious than Dad said!"

"With such a large-scale attack, Dad might..."

He was feeling quite sad and agitated, while his younger sister and mother showed signs of sadness, though his sister's expression remained unchanged.

The status of women in the Federation had improved during this period, but it hadn't reached the point of challenging male dominance.

As Bob's daughter, she wasn't highly valued, and Bob himself wasn't a man who respected women. He didn't allow his daughters to participate in too many family affairs, only allowing them to play and dine with everyone during holidays.

Even though she knew what her family did and had received some benefits from the family, Bob didn't allow her to understand or join in to work for the family.

Moreover, his views were quite traditional. He felt that if his boys failed in a fight, or were attacked or kidnapped, they would at most be beaten up, then injured in a non-fatal way to be used as leverage for Bob in other trades.

But if a girl were kidnapped or captured after a failed fight, her fate would be miserable.

Those people would vent their emotions by humiliating and torturing her, and such humiliation was itself a label of shame for the entire family—as long as she lived, in the eyes of some, she represented this shameful past of the family.

In some families, especially traditional ones, once a woman was victimized, even if the enemy didn't kill her, the family would create some "accident" or have her "commit suicide" to completely delete and forget this shameful past.

Neither sister had received any benefits from the family, which made Bob's eldest daughter somewhat dissatisfied with her current life.

She felt she wasn't an ordinary person, yet she lived a life not much different from one.

She met Bob very few times a year, perhaps only a few times, so there was no real emotional bond.

Looking at her brother's agitated state, Bob's eldest daughter's expression finally softened; after all, the relationship between the siblings was still good.

Sometimes when she had conflicts with her husband, her brother would help her.

She walked over and hugged her brother. "No one wanted this to happen. The best thing we can do now is stay here, don't let anyone know we're here, and quietly wait."

"Do you remember what Father told you?"

"If he is judged and sent to prison, the only one who can help him escape is us. This is our responsibility; you must fulfill it!"

This was one of Bob's contingency plans. His children had money, and his son held some connections.

In Bob's view, as long as they were willing to spend money, and spend it lavishly, even if they couldn't get him out, they could make his life inside much easier.

The siblings hugged each other and remained quiet.

They didn't know what was happening outside, nor did they know Bob's situation. Originally, their plan was to leave the Old City today or tomorrow, but now it seemed they might not be able to leave for a while.

Bob's son said softly, "In a few days, I'll call Fran. Maybe he can find out some information."

The family's emotions seemed to calm down slightly. To the people of the Perez family, Fran was like... a force!

But they didn't know that Fran, whom they saw as representing power and strength, wasn't having a good time either.

The small cruise ship they had chartered had been forced to stop on the sea. The gunboat arranged by Major General Bruny and the one led by Halam had intercepted them.

There hadn't been any fierce fighting, but when shells landed in the sea around the cruise ship, these people—who had never experienced war but now had to face black, gaping cannon barrels—all dropped their weapons.

If they didn't drop their weapons, the gunboat would directly shell their ship.

The stories in some literary works about shipwrecks in the ocean, or some movies, where the protagonists rely on a wooden plank, a wine barrel, plus their own urine and some food caught from the sea to survive for dozens of days, and then arrive at a nearby island with the ocean currents to gain a new life—

the reason these stories are always just literary creations is that their fantasies are too beautiful.

In the ocean, let alone having only a wooden plank or a wine barrel, as long as the boat has no power, no food, and no water, a person simply cannot survive.

Fran, as the family's highest decision-maker, knew very well that once they shelled, everyone on the ship would die.

In the end, he chose to surrender.

The gunboat didn't approach directly but arranged for two small boats to come over. After boarding, they centralized the weapons on the ship.

Only then did Halam begin to board.

Major General Bruny's men also followed him onto the ship. He didn't recognize Fran, but Halam did.

Halam saw Fran sitting in his wheelchair at a glance and walked over with a smile. "Mr. Fran, where are you going?"

Fran's physical condition had recovered quite poorly, and there was a doctor accompanying him to ensure he wouldn't encounter accidents on the way.

Fran asked softly, "Are Bob and the others finished?"

In his view, since these people could find them, it was obviously because things had already happened back home and Bob was finished, which was why they knew their route.

But in reality, it wasn't like that. From the moment they set sail, the intelligence was already in Lanse's hands.

The reason it took more than two days to find them was purely because the ocean was too big; unless there were very accurate coordinates, it was very difficult to find a ship.

So they simply searched backward from the destination port toward the Federation's waters, and finally, when they were half a day away from the coastal area of Slard, they discovered them.

Halam picked at his ear. "What the hell did you say?"

"Speak louder, I can't hear you!"

Fran's gaze was like a knife, wanting to carve a piece of meat off Halam's body!

Even though he was blocked now, he was the head of the Perez family, one of the Federation's Five Great Families. He wouldn't dare say how famous he was in the Federation, but in the underworld, he was definitely a giant.

And the person in front of him was just a small character under Lanse, yet he was humiliating him like this!

His emotions, his anger, were all growing wildly!

But the situation was very bad now, and he could only endure it. "I said, have they already moved to deal with Bob?"

Watching his submissive appearance, some of the elders of the Perez family showed indignation, and one of them stood out from the crowd. "You don't need to humiliate us!"

Halam looked at that person, then looked at his subordinate, his combat team leader.

After the latter leaned into his ear, Major General Bruny's men immediately moved away a bit, and then they heard that guy say loudly, "Fran said, have we already finished off Bob."

"That person said, we don't need to humiliate them like this. I guess his meaning is that you saying you can't hear is to humiliate Fran."

Actually... Halam's eardrum repair surgery was finished, and the surgery was considered successful.

This "considered" was according to the doctor's words; it was successful, but it required a long recovery, and now his hearing was severely impaired.

As for how much it could recover in the future, it depended on God's will.

The doctor could guarantee to the maximum extent that he could hear, but it might be slightly blurry.

Being able to hear a little was better than hearing nothing at all, and as for whether there would be new technology in the future, it could be repaired again then.

Halam understood. He suddenly raised his pistol and pulled the trigger at the guy who stood out. The bullet hit his cheekbone in an instant.

Immediately, he fell onto the deck like a marionette with its strings cut.

Halam walked over, expressionless, and pulled the trigger repeatedly at the head of the corpse until the magazine was empty.

He casually changed a magazine, threw the empty one to his combat team leader, and spat at the corpse on the ground. "Letting you laugh at me!"

The people around watched his actions and heard his words, and a bone-chilling coldness arose in them.

Halam returned to Fran's side and stared at him for a while. "I don't know if Bob is dead or not, but I know, Fran, you're in big trouble!"

"I don't care if you're some kind of big shot. You being chased out of the Federation actually means you're just like this."

"If you guys..." He turned and pointed his weapon at the people on the deck. "... still hold onto the idea that you're some big shots, then this idiot is your example!"

He looked at Major General Bruny's men. "We need a room to have a good talk with this big shot, Mr. Fran."

Major General Bruny's men nodded. He knew that communicating with Halam was a bit difficult now, so he used gestures whenever possible and firmly avoided speaking.

No one asked for Fran's opinion; he had no qualification to offer suggestions here.

Soon, Fran was pushed into a room, and then the person who pushed him was asked to leave.

Fran also roughly knew that Halam might have impaired hearing and couldn't hear, so he took out the notepad and pen he carried with him and wrote down what he wanted to say.

"My body has some problems, and I can't speak loudly now, so I will write it down."

"What do you want?"

Halam looked at Major General Bruny's men. He knew it wasn't convenient for these people to express their demands; after all... they were government officials. How could government officials be like gangsters and extort wealth from others?

So Halam's purpose and value in coming along were here. When it wasn't convenient for Bruny's men to express themselves, he would say it.

He tossed his hair, and his side bangs softly covered part of his face. Then he blew at his bangs—this action indicated he was very relaxed now, perhaps he didn't even notice it himself.

"The money you took, and your private accounts in the Federal Bank and the money inside."

"I know you want to leave here and realize you're not our match at all, but these things that belong to the Federation cannot be taken away by you."

Major General Bruny's men looked at Halam. He didn't expect Halam to have such high talent in extortion; he couldn't have said such words.

Actually, he didn't know this was Lanse's meaning.

Things belonging to the Federation should stay in the Federation, whether they were artworks, jewelry, cash, or bank accounts.

They all belonged to the Federation and should stay in the Federation, going nowhere!

Fran's expression was a bit conflicted. If all these things were left to them, it meant that even if they could really leave alive and arrive in Slard,

it would be almost impossible for them to rise again.

Look at these people on the ship!

Almost all of them were over thirty-four. They might have some of their own children, ten-something, twenty-something, but most of these people were already trash!

The younger generation of the Perez family hadn't been baptized by blood and fire. If you let them be promiscuous, take drugs, and do those hedonistic things, they could find ninety-nine ways to make themselves happy in an instant.

But if you let them fight, go and have a bloody battle with those enemies, they simply couldn't do it!

Originally, Fran's idea was that after landing, they would use the wealth they currently held to bribe local officials and find a new protective umbrella for the family.

Then bribe a group of locals, get a group of immigrants or restless laborers, and form a new family.

Because they had a protective umbrella and money, plus some smuggling channels from back home, they might be able to rise again in just a few years.

But if they didn't have this money, they wouldn't have any chance at all.

Start from robbery?

You expect those young people who can't even shoot a rifle well to rob a bank or kidnap a big tycoon?

Forget it!

Fran's silence made Halam very unhappy. "You didn't answer my question!"

Fran snapped back to his senses. He looked at Halam, then looked at the middle-aged man who had been silent all along but was clearly special.

After a brief thought, he wrote on the notepad: "I can give it to you, but we must be able to leave alive!"

Halam immediately indicated it was no problem, but Fran didn't speak or show any further indication; he just stared at that middle-aged man.

He felt that the person who could really make decisions, or rather, the person who dominated this "game," wasn't Halam, this small character, but that silent middle-aged man.

After a few seconds, the middle-aged man nodded solemnly. "No problem."

This "no problem" was like a miracle drug, making Fran relax quite a bit. Actually, there were some small thoughts inside.

He had more than a dozen accounts in his hand, as well as some deeply hidden bearer bonds in safe houses within the Federation.

These were things that could be taken out and cashed at any time, so he could retain a portion of his assets.

As for the original plan, the plan to rise again in Slard might need some changes, but at least, some seeds were left.

He picked up the pen, which felt as heavy as several or even dozens of pounds, and wrote on the notepad: "I can," as if he had used up all his strength.

Soon, the two of them pushed Fran back to the deck. Fran looked at these frightened and uneasy family members and finally sighed. "I've already talked to them. Give them everything, including my and your bank accounts."

"Don't hide anything; it's meaningless. These can trade for us to leave alive, and this matter, it ends here."

Someone immediately expressed misunderstanding and unwillingness. That guy just stood out and said only one sentence: "This is impossible..."

And then there was no then.

Halam killed him again, and the entire deck was silent.

Those people looked at the people around them holding submachine guns and rifles. They all knew that at this moment, resistance would only accelerate death; if they wanted to live, they had to obey.

Soon, a large amount of wealth was moved to the gunboat. The middle-aged man, who had kept a straight face all the way, couldn't help but show some smiles.

As for what would happen next, that wasn't his business, and he didn't need to do it.

After Halam finished registering all the accounts, it was finally Fran's turn.

The moment Fran said his account and password, he suddenly paused, and then his expression was a bit strange, as if he were crying and laughing at the same time as he looked at Halam. "On the ocean, how do you verify the authenticity of these accounts?"

"How do you... ensure we didn't lie?"

A palpitation rose from his heart, uncontrollable, spreading throughout his body.

Because of fear and terror, his expression became distorted!

(End of chapter)