Chapter 176 ShadowCorp Black Card

Claire was, of course, fully supportive of Jeremy—after all, she was his woman.

Jeremy commanded, "I want you to get rid of all the Brooks family’s people stationed in Sunrise!"

The Brooks family didn’t just rely on the underworld to carry out their criminal activities. According to the information Claire had gathered, the Brooks family had cultivated many individuals to interact with criminal organizations, and these people were inconspicuous.

Take Riverside Haven, for example. The Brooks family had deeply infiltrated this area. Riverside Haven had a nickname: the Crimson Triangle. The living environment was densely packed, with each building over forty stories high and mostly small apartments. The population exceeded half a million, predominantly young people, making it a hotbed for scams and deceit.

Many small companies in Riverside Haven were nurtured by the Brooks family, engaging in shady businesses like high-interest loans, mortgage loans, and various financial schemes. They also offered high-paying jobs that initially seemed local, but once you arrived, they’d tell you the positions were only available out of town if you wanted the high salary.

Many young people, desperate for money, fell into these traps. Initially, they were treated well, with meals and accommodations provided, creating a false sense of warmth. To lure young men, these companies even hired attractive women for recruitment, making the men drop their guard and get scammed without realizing it. Some were even deceived under the guise of romantic relationships, willingly going abroad to work for big money.

Every year, hundreds to thousands of young people were deceived. Less than ten percent ever returned alive. Many were from poor rural families, or were left-behind children, or from single-parent households. Reporting to the police was futile, as the victims were said to be working abroad. They could make phone calls, but it was always to ask for money, never to return home. Many were drained of their value and sold to organ ships on the high seas, or even beaten to death. The fate of the girls was even worse, often sold to entertainment venues or bought to become child-bearing tools.

Jeremy, having decided to take on the Brooks family, needed to eliminate these people first. Those aiding the Brooks family deserved to die. Claire provided a list of the small companies the Brooks family had cultivated, and Susan and her team were tasked with killing them all. The leaders were killed, and the subordinates, fearing for their lives, either hid or fled.

That very night, dozens of people were killed in Sunrise. They died gruesomely, each found with items containing the identities of those they had deceived. Each of these people had many lives on their hands, as many of those they had tricked were already dead. Even if the police discovered the murders, they wouldn’t dare make the case public and would let it go unresolved. The Inspectorate also remained silent, as if these deaths were insignificant.

The Inspectorate knew what these people were involved in but didn’t intervene due to the Brooks family and ThunderLord Palace. Each of the murdered individuals had a black card on them, with a single word: "Death." The upper echelons knew this was the work of ShadowCorp. When Travis from the Inspectorate learned of this, he merely smiled. ShadowCorp was no longer what it used to be, and he knew the ShadowCorp in Sunrise was a shadow of its former self. Whether it was truly ShadowCorp’s doing didn’t matter; it was best to let the higher-ups handle it.

At the Brooks Manor, Gordon was furious, shouting, "Useless, useless! How could you let this happen?" He was berating Nolan and Josh, who were responsible for these people. Naturally, Gordon, the head of the Brooks family, wouldn’t handle such matters personally. Nolan and Josh were terrified, grateful to be alive as they were at the Brooks Manor.

Nolan said, "Gordon, it was ShadowCorp. Who knew they’d target us?"

Gordon sneered, "Do you really think ShadowCorp has the guts for this? Someone is using ShadowCorp’s name to destroy our collaboration with the criminal groups."

Gordon wasn’t an idiot. ShadowCorp had been a shadow of its former self since StormDragon’s death three years ago. Everyone knew of ShadowCorp’s existence, but their actions lacked the former confidence, fearing elimination.

Nolan said, "Gordon, everyone thinks it’s ShadowCorp. The police and Inspectorate aren’t intervening. Look at this." Nolan had used his connections to obtain a ShadowCorp black card. ShadowCorp’s cards came in several types, with black signifying death. The most terrifying was the blood-red card, which meant the extermination of an entire family.

Gordon examined the black card, his expression growing darker. "It’s real!" This black ShadowCorp card was genuine. After the incident three years ago, ShadowCorp had gone underground, and these black cards had become rare. It was said that those who made the cards no longer dared to do so, making each card used one less available. How could there be dozens of these black cards in Sunrise now?

Gordon frowned, "Could it really be ShadowCorp?" If someone were using ShadowCorp’s name, the cards would be fake. Even if someone could replicate the black cards, they couldn’t make them identical. But this black card was undoubtedly real. Dozens of genuine black cards appearing in Sunrise at once was bizarre.

Nolan said, "Gordon, that’s what’s strange. Even if ShadowCorp still exists, they couldn’t produce so many black cards. According to our knowledge, these black cards must be issued by ShadowCorp’s headquarters. Could it be that ShadowCorp’s higher-ups are unhappy with our actions?"

Gordon paced, his fear evident. ShadowCorp, even diminished, was still ShadowCorp, with PhoenixFury in charge. PhoenixFury, a fan of the deceased StormDragon, had fought to preserve ShadowCorp. If ShadowCorp was indeed involved, Marvin’s opinion would be needed.

Gordon said, "I’ll report this to Marvin. You two stay put and don’t go out." Nolan and Josh didn’t need to be told twice; they wouldn’t dare leave the manor, knowing it was safer there.