Empire of Shadows

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In the luxurious living room, Will rose under the gaze of everyone, walked to the wall, picked up a travel bag, went to the coffee table, and unzipped it.

He lifted it forcefully and shook it upside down. Rolls of banknotes tied with rubber bands immediately poured out, landing on the coffee table, with some rolling onto the floor.

Everyone’s breathing became slightly rapid, and their heartbeats fluttered with the scattering banknotes.

What was the purpose of being in a gang?

Not being bullied, living a grand life, having face—everyone’s answer might be different, but there was one point they could all agree on: having money!

For these people, being in a gang was no different from going to work. Every month, Will would give them an unpredictable amount of money.

If the gang made more money, and Will got more money, then they would get a little more, one or two hundred, or more.

If the gang didn’t make much criminal profit this month, or even incurred losses, for example, a gang-owned establishment was burned down by another gang.

Then they would get less money, but it was still better than working outside, seventy or eighty dollars.This was why, despite the danger, they were all willing to stay here.

Money truly was a good thing, at least in the Federation; it could solve most people’s most troubles.

But it wasn’t that good, because it was too difficult to earn.

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the banknotes. They didn’t know how many there were, but certainly everyone would get a roll.

After the last roll of banknotes was poured out, Will tossed the travel bag aside and lit another cigarette. “One roll per person. When the job’s done, there’s another roll waiting back here.”

He exhaled a puff of smoke, and the smoke distorted people’s vision, making his calm face appear somewhat twisted in the blur.

This wasn’t the first time his subordinates had taken this kind of money, and they all knew the rules for dividing it. Will’s most trusted confidant sat in his previous spot and began handing the rolls of money to the people around him.

After receiving the money, everyone would stand on the other side. Some put the money directly into their pockets, while others would remove the rubber band, fold it, and put it in their pockets, making it easier to carry.

Each roll contained twenty five-dollar bills, totaling one hundred dollars.

If they came back and there was another roll, that would be two hundred dollars.

There were over thirty people here, so two rounds of money would be about seven thousand dollars.

Two rolls were left in the end, meaning someone didn’t show up, but he didn’t care anymore.

“I have only one request, to avenge my brother…”

At this moment, Officer Lukar became nervous because the police officer he had arranged to stake out told him that Will had suddenly gathered a large number of his subordinates, suspecting they might be taking action tonight.

He quickened his pace along the way, arriving outside the Assistant Chief’s office, and knocked on the door.

After about ten seconds, a weary “Come in” was heard. He pushed the door open and saw the Assistant Chief yawning.

The Golden Port City Police Department had a police chief and two assistant chiefs. Due to the special nature of the city, assistant chiefs had to be on call twenty-four hours a day.

In other words, one person was here during the day, and the other was here at night.

The Assistant Chief saw Officer Lukar and rubbed his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Officer Lukar explained what his subordinate had found, “I suspect Will and his men are going to make a move tonight. He’s gathered a large number of his subordinates at his villa now.”

“This could be a mobilization. Once the mobilization ends, they will definitely make a move.”

It took the Assistant Chief twenty or thirty seconds to slowly react, but he didn’t agree with Officer Lukar’s judgment. “Do you have evidence?”

“Or is all this just your speculation?”

Officer Lukar shook his head, “I don’t have any evidence, but I believe my guess is correct.”

“He can’t hold back anymore; he’ll definitely make a move.”

He looked at Officer Lukar, “Lukar, you’re an experienced officer. You should know very well that our police force is very strained at night.”

“If, because of your unproven speculation, I have to mobilize police forces to prevent something that hasn’t happened yet, and you’re wrong, do you know how much trouble that will cause me?”

“If your speculation is correct, then everything is fine. You’ll be commended, I’ll be commended, everyone’s fine.”

“But what if your guess is wrong?” the Assistant Chief retorted. “Do you know what we’ll have to pay for if you’re wrong?”

“Also, what if they discover we’re mobilizing police and decide not to do anything tonight?”

“Although I don’t want to admit it, this place, from here to the precinct, has been infiltrated beyond recognition. Now, no matter what major operational plans we have, they’ll know even before the Chief does!”

This was also a fact. In the era when crooked cops were most rampant, anyone could, for a stack of banknotes, dial a number from a roadside phone booth that didn’t quite fit their identity.

“Are we just going to do nothing?” Officer Lukar was somewhat annoyed, though this wasn’t the first time he had been so annoyed.

The Assistant Chief shook his head, picked up his cold coffee, and took a sip. “They’re all criminals, Lukar. Let them fight it out. After they’re done, we’ll clean up the mess.”

“Believe me, the citizens would rather have more of them die than to stop them before they even make a move!”

For some reason, Officer Lukar suddenly remembered Lance’s unfunny joke—the climax of the story is always in the last twenty minutes!

He returned to his office, sat down, then couldn’t help but stand up again. After pacing back and forth several times, he called two officers, grabbed their weapons, and pushed the door open.

This time, he didn’t drive his own car, but a patrol car. Sometimes, a police car could play a bigger role in such emergencies.

Meanwhile, several shadows climbed over the wall behind the firm and entered the alley. In the darkness, Hiram and Lawn walked close to the wall, staying in the shadows.

Across the road, a car was parked with two people inside.

They were the ones staking out, and at this moment, they were feeling a bit drowsy. The baseball game replay playing on the car radio also failed to pique their interest in the slightest.

One was resting his head on the steering wheel, nodding off, while the other was leaning back, slumped in the passenger seat, mouth agape, already in dreamland.

Hiram and Lawn quietly walked to both sides of the car door, slowly opening them.

Thanks to the car being well-maintained, the hinges didn’t creak.

The two exchanged glances. Hiram pulled out a dagger, grabbed the driver’s hair, and simultaneously stabbed him in the neck.

Meanwhile, Lawn, on the other side, pressed his arm over the other man’s wide-open mouth and similarly stabbed him.

Both struggled fiercely, but not for long, before they went still.

Lawn walked over to Hiram, dragged the person out of the driver’s seat, threw him into the back, and then drove the car into the firm’s courtyard.

This car would be disposed of tomorrow.

Watching the stakeout personnel get taken care of, Hiram ran back into the office. Soon, five cars drove out in single file, rapidly advancing towards the western part of the Imperial District.

At night, there weren’t many cars or people on the road. The night blocked out light and people’s vision, and it also concealed countless sins.

On the other side, Will was also arranging for people to deal with the stakeout personnel.

Of course, he wouldn’t kill these police officers. Although he was tormented by hatred to the point of near madness, he hadn’t gone so far as to kill criminal investigation police officers.

Several subordinates walked out of the villa. The driver who was staking out nudged his sleeping partner with his elbow, and the partner immediately woke up with a start.

He wiped his face as he looked around. “What’s wrong?”

However, his partner didn’t answer him. Just as he looked at his partner, he also saw several people outside the driver’s seat.

They all held pistols in their hands, and the person standing closest to them said softly, “Will invites you to his villa as guests. Don’t make it difficult for us!”

Under the dark muzzles of guns, all beings are equal.

The two police officers raised their hands, their drowsiness gone. They didn’t talk tough and were very cooperative.

Fortunately, Will didn’t make things difficult for them either, merely tying them up and throwing them into the basement, telling them that he would release them after the matter was resolved. Everyone got into the cars, and seven cars left the villa in sequence, but what they didn’t know was that besides the police watching them, someone else was watching them at the villa gate.

Morris was actually exhausted at this point, but he knew they were going to act tonight, as Lance had told him, so he kept pushing himself.

Drowsily, he suddenly heard the sound of a car horn. With a jolt, he looked towards the villa gate, where a line of cars was blocked.

A man in black was scolding the security guard, who was bowing and apologizing, then lifted the barrier.

“Damn it!”

“They also chose tonight!”

Watching the cars slowly emerging from inside, Morris had little time to think. These cars were moving fast, and perhaps in just over ten seconds, he would only see their retreating backs.

It was at this moment that he made an important decision: he started his car, then followed, and even turned on his headlights.

Even more miraculously, the last car didn’t realize it was the last car.

In the darkness, they couldn’t clearly see Morris’s car, but they could see two headlights. Coupled with the confined environment, the people in the last car could only subconsciously assume that this car was also with them.

Two convoys, driving face to face in the dead of night, no one spoke in any of the cars, everyone remained silent.

Some were checking their weapons, some were secretly praying, and some were suppressing their surging emotions!

After more than ten minutes, the two convoys could vaguely see each other’s headlights in the distance, but neither of them realized that their target was in the opposite lane.

The nights in the Imperial District were quiet. It was poor and backward. Before it became the “Imperial District,” most dockworkers lived here because it wasn’t far from the dock.

Whether by public transport or walking to the dock, it didn’t take much time.

But with the influx of a large number of Imperial immigrants and illegal immigrants, they began to congregate here, making it convenient for them to work at the dock or other areas, so there were more and more Imperial people here, eventually becoming the Imperial District.

But this didn’t make a quiet area lively. While other places were bustling at night, the Imperial District remained quiet.

The dim light bulbs on both sides of the road didn’t illuminate much, and occasionally stray cats or dogs passing under the streetlights would quickly hide back in the shadows after being illuminated.

Nocturnal creatures clearly understood this: don’t expose yourself to the light.

Perhaps only the homeless sleeping on the ground under newspapers didn’t care much about this, anyway, no one would be crazy enough to harm them, who had nothing.

The distance between the two convoys grew shorter and shorter. Unfortunately, it was night. If it were daytime, perhaps a passing math teacher would slap his forehead and come up with an elementary math problem that only a college student could solve.

But now, there was nothing here.

The convoys got closer and closer, even allowing for a blurry view of the people inside each other’s cars.

Lance looked at the convoy opposite him. He didn’t recognize the person at the very front. Will’s car was in the middle, so he simply assumed they were ordinary passersby.

Golden Port City was one of the most chaotic but also most orderly cities in the Federation with the most gang presence, so encountering gangs driving in groups at night was not surprising at all.

Although car speeds were difficult to increase to a very high level during this period, the passing process was still very short, lasting at most a dozen seconds.

Just as the two convoys were about to pass each other, Morris spotted Lance.

The next moment, a car horn blared from Morris’s car. Lance, whose attention was caught, immediately saw him and the gestures he made.

Although those gestures seemed to have no specific meaning, it made Lance realize that this convoy was the one he was looking for!

But now… what to do?

Almost within those few seconds, Lance swerved the steering wheel, and the front of his car collided with the rear of Morris’s car. The sound of the collision and various horns alarmed the entire convoy, and both moving convoys came to a halt due to this traffic accident.

Lance glanced at Ennio in the passenger seat. “Tell the brothers, these are the people we’re looking for. Once my car starts, tell them to follow me, circle around them, and shoot while circling. Go quickly!”

Ennio listened, crouched down, and left the passenger seat to relay the message.

Will, sitting in the car, frowned and looked back through the somewhat blurry rear window. “What happened?”

He looked at his subordinate in the passenger seat and ordered, “Go see what happened.”

His trusted subordinate pushed open the car door, got out, and quickly walked to the back of the convoy.

Morris’s car was diagonally in the middle of the road. The front of the other car was clearly past the center line and had hit the rear of Morris’s vehicle.

Anyone could see it was the other party’s fault.

A young man stood at the front of the car, checking the collision. He walked over, “What’s going on?”

The young man seemed apologetic. “Sorry, my cigarette accidentally fell. I bent down to pick it up, and the steering wheel suddenly swerved.”

“You see how much it’ll cost; I can give you the money. It’s my fault!”

The trusted subordinate looked at the young man’s face several times, then at the damaged area. “Wait…” he said, then walked back.

He stood outside Will’s car window and relayed what he had seen and heard. “He plans to compensate us a little money and wants to know how much.”

Will’s brow remained furrowed. “Tell him he doesn’t need to compensate us. Tell him to leave. We have other things to do.”

Normally, he would let the other party know who was boss in the Imperial District, but now, he was in a hurry for revenge and didn’t have time to waste on such trivial matters.

The trusted subordinate nodded and returned to the scene of the accident.

Meanwhile, Will also began to focus on the convoy opposite him.

They had five cars, and Will’s side had seven, so the opponent’s fourth car was directly opposite Will’s car.

Both sides were staring at each other. Will looked at these people, and these people looked at them.

In the dark car, with only a strong light source from the back, he couldn’t clearly see the faces of these people, but he could see that they were all staring at his side, which made Will feel uncomfortable.

Just as this staring made the atmosphere a bit tense, even a bit explosive, the guy in the back seat of the opposite car’s driver’s side suddenly tossed his hair.

A slight smile appeared on Will’s face, but quickly faded. He muttered “idiot” in a voice only he could hear.

But quickly, his brows furrowed again. He saw someone in the opposing convoy talking to each person in each car, just a few words, then leaving.

This action made him feel a bit uneasy. He looked back again, and his trusted subordinate was walking towards him. For some reason, he suddenly felt a pang of trepidation.

He looked at the opposite side again, and the idiot who had made him smile just now had already leaned his upper body out of the car.

Then, to Will’s horror, he pulled out a submachine gun from beside him!

“Fuck!” He suddenly ducked under the car seat, pulled out his pistol, and without bothering to aim, fired outside.

But at this moment, Lance’s convoy had already started moving.

The sound of pistols and submachine guns instantly echoed over the road!

Will’s trusted subordinate hadn’t even had time to get back into the car before he was hit by several shots and fell to the ground.

The entire convoy was caught off guard, and many people were shot before they even pulled out their weapons!

Lance was driving the car, and Ethan in the back seat continuously pulled the trigger. The submachine gun spewed flames steadily in his hands, as if it had no recoil.

Five cars circled seven cars, gunshots incessant, smoke pervading the air.

The stray cats and dogs in the alley by the roadside instantly vanished. The rats that occasionally peeked out from sewer openings also scurried back to the deepest parts.

The homeless covered in newspapers by the roadside wished they could fly away immediately, but they were afraid that suddenly standing up would attract fire, so they could only continue to play dead.

“Drive, drive, drive the car!” Will yelled loudly, slapping the back of the driver’s seat.

But just as the driver sat down, his head suddenly slammed heavily into the steering wheel. Will cursed and tried to get out of the iron beast…

(End of this chapter)