Chapter 567

Some people have nowhere to retreat, while others are unstoppable.

For one day, Lanse spent his time constantly answering and making phone calls.

The intensity of the fighting these past few days was simply too fierce. It could be seen that Bandi and the others hadn't done nothing either, for example...

Attorney General Terry made a phone call to Lanse.

"I heard it's been very lively over there these past two days?"

He spoke quite implicitly, not saying "You've done several big things these past few days" right away. After all, he hoped to use Lanse as a springboard to leap into higher political circles.

If it weren't for Senator Cleveland behind Lanse, the Attorney General would never have called Lanse, let alone cooperated with him to purge the New Jincheng police force.

Now, at least a hundred more police officers are under investigation, and dozens of high-ranking officers have already been detained.

Such a large-scale measure that could shake the management of a city's police force is not something an Attorney General would do.

Even if he were to do it, he would more likely notify the mayor first and let the mayor solve it himself, because in a sense, the prosecutor's intervention means the situation is spiraling out of control.

Otherwise, politics is about gradual progress; if the upper layer of power has not yet intervened, the higher layer should not intervene.

For politicians, power is layered, but not divided by size.

It sounds strange, but it is actually easy to understand.

Layering refers to different classes, the classes of politicians.

Some are municipal councilors, some are mayors, some are governors, some are presidents; this is layering, different classes.

And size refers to the "power" brought by actual, real governance. This is not something easy to explain, but it has a good example.

A municipal councilor can easily destroy an ordinary family, and a mayor, a governor, a president—they can all do this.

They can achieve the greatest power and strength within their own class range.

These powers are equal and not divided by size, because they are already the limit themselves.

If everyone has the same power, why would you intervene across levels in matters that others can handle just as well?

Therefore, exerting influence layer by layer is an important factor in the stability of the ruling class; the president will not interfere in the affairs of the governor, and the governor will not interfere in the affairs of the mayor.

Then naturally, as long as the police vermin like Charlie did not affect the level of the state government and did not cause socially destructive influence...

Attorney General Terry should not have purged the police force on such a large scale.

This is not right.

But who the fuck let Lanse have an even higher giant standing behind him?

So he called Lanse, hinting that enough was enough, not to go too far, as the phone calls had already reached the state government level.

Bandi ultimately couldn't hold on and sent a distress signal to Manton.

"Just some minor problems, it will be over soon," Lanse replied.

"Soon?"

Attorney General Terry asked in a very relaxed tone, "How soon?"

Lanse glanced at the watch on his wrist, which had a flipping calendar, a large calendar; this was a patented technology that had just started to be used. The appearance of a calendar on a watch meant its price was very high.

Even if it didn't look like it was worth much, it would still have an astonishing price.

Capitalists know very well how to make money; they first earn the money of the rich, then the money of the middle class, and finally the money of the underclass; it is basically like this.

"Just these few days, at most one week."

Attorney General Terry thought for a while. "As soon as possible. I will help you suppress this pressure temporarily, but you must resolve your trouble as soon as possible."

"You understand what I mean; this matter is not easy to do."

He lied. A mature politician must always let people know, regardless of what help he provided, whether someone asked him to help or he wanted to help voluntarily.

He must make those who benefit from the help understand that this favor was not easy to provide.

Lanse did not expose his little lie; isn't this also a way to deepen connections?

The governor might not be very enthusiastic about Senator Cleveland; after all, he is a "big shot" himself. Whether he continues to be re-elected as governor, enters Congress, or simply runs for president, he doesn't need to fawn over a senator that much.

He can be friends with senators, but he won't fawn over them.

On the contrary, the Secretary of State is more enthusiastic about Senator Cleveland; he still has more room for progress. Although the Lieutenant Governor is also enthusiastic, he won't take the initiative to offend a senator either.

Bandi's dissatisfaction, grumbling, and distress signal actually disappeared the moment his backer in Congress began to decline.

The remaining ones couldn't play any role.

Offend a senator in Congress for a "small character"?

These are "golden years"; the power of a senator is disturbingly great!

So, he is lying.

Lanse said with a smile, "I promise, it will be over soon, and it will look very legal and compliant, and won't make any of you feel embarrassed."

The Attorney General's expression had some subtle changes, but unfortunately, Lanse couldn't see it. He smiled and said, "I am very much looking forward to it."

After ending the call, Lanse shook his head and went to see Shi Dong again.

Shi Dong's freedom was restricted, and he was locked in a small room. When he saw Lanse coming, he just glanced at him and quickly lowered his head.

"Bandi has actually already called."

Shi Dong's head lifted again, his eyes filled with a longing for freedom and home. He didn't speak, but his eyes spoke; he was asking Lanse how the negotiations had gone.

Looking straight into Shi Dong's eyes, which were full of longing for an answer, Lanse gave him the answer he least wanted to hear.

"I made them an offer, but they rejected my quote."

Shi Dong looked incredulous and lowered his head again. Lanse's voice didn't stop and continued to ring in his ears.

"Bandi told me he only wants your corpse back."

As soon as this sentence came out, Shi Dong's fists clenched tightly. "This is impossible!"

His voice was very loud, and his voice echoed constantly in the room, even making him feel that his eardrums were uncomfortably vibrating.

The door was opened, and several young men walked in. A trace of unease flashed in Shi Dong's eyes, but he endured it.

He braced himself to look like a tough guy; in fact, he had already done well enough.

How many people could stand tough in this situation instead of kneeling on the ground begging for forgiveness?

They stuffed something into Shi Dong's mouth, and then Lanse had someone bring a phone in front of him and pressed the speaker button.

He dialed Bandi's phone number, and the call was quickly connected. "I am Lanse."

"Lanse... what do you want?"

Lanse glanced at Shi Dong and lit a cigarette. "Have you thought about the conditions I offered last time?"

"This is impossible!" Bandi's attitude was very firm. His voice didn't cut off cleanly; he seemed to want to say something more, but Lanse didn't give him the chance.

He directly interrupted Bandi. "Shi Dong is your nephew. I don't know if Gao Li is next to you. Do you really not care about his life?"

"He has done quite a few things for you, for the Keda family."

"My conditions are not harsh. You can consider them again."

Bandi had just said "I," when someone interrupted from the side. "Give it up, Lanse!"

"He is already dead. Don't think about using these ghost tricks to deceive us."

Lanse asked, "Do you want to talk to him?"

The receiver fell into dead silence in an instant.

Any father at this very moment would find it hard to refuse such an opportunity; this might be the last conversation he would have with his son, but...

No sound came from the receiver, only heavy breathing, the sound of a lighter, and the sound of a glass being placed on a stone tabletop and ice cubes colliding with the glass.

About two or three minutes passed, and accompanied by a "hiss" of smoking, Gao Li's voice sounded from the receiver.

"I don't know if he is alive, nor do I know if he is right by your side. If he is, I love you, Shi Dong. I love you more than anything."

"You are a brave child. You know what you have to face, and you have the courage to face these things."

He was almost gritting his teeth, as if the voice was squeezed out from between his teeth. "We... are proud of you!"

After speaking, without waiting for Lanse to say anything more, he hung up the phone directly.

Lanse looked at Shi Dong, whose eyes were already red. He pursed his lips, shook his head, and spread his hands. "Look, you've been abandoned."

He had someone take the phone away and signaled for others to untie him. Lanse looked at him. "They want to sacrifice you to preserve the family."

Shi Dong sat on a chair, leaning forward, covering his face with both hands. He was crying.

He was already an adult, in his thirties, and hadn't cried for many years, but now he was crying.

He felt Gao Li's love for him and also felt his loyalty to the family.

He didn't blame Gao Li.

From a rational point of view, the family was clearly greater than the individual.

The family did not represent any one person; the family represented all the people surnamed Keda, his brothers and sisters, his relatives. If it meant sacrificing these relatives as the price for him to obtain salvation, rationally speaking, he thought it was wrong.

He could only cry; crying was a very good way to vent emotions.

Lanse still looked at him like that. "You still have a chance to save yourself. Do you want to hear it?"

Shi Dong suddenly looked up. His eyes were bloodshot, and there were quite a few tears in his eyes and on his cheeks.

He wiped the tears from his face and looked at Lanse. "Kill me!"

He suddenly wanted to stand up hysterically, but was quickly hit in the face with a fist and fell back into his seat. He leaned forward, holding the armrest of the chair, looking at Lanse, his forehead and neck full of bulging blood vessels and veins—

"Kill me, you bastard!"