Empire of Shadows

After a person has been under high tension, enters a safe environment, and begins to relax, they will gradually feel sleepy.

Lance dozed off for a while, until he heard a knock on the door. He then opened his eyes, looked towards the door, where Corinda was standing, “Mr. William wants to see you.”

Lance rubbed his neck, asked her to bring two cups of coffee, and at the same time, called the person in.

When William came in and saw Lance sitting there unharmed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down next to Lance and asked with a frown, “What happened?”

Lance shook his head, “I’m not sure, but it’s nothing more than that. Someone felt I was in their way and wanted to kick me aside…”

“Thanks!” Corinda walked in with two cups of coffee, placed them on the table. Lance picked one up and took a small sip.

A very rich oily taste, and the heaviness brought by the oil, this feeling was indeed good, just a little too hot.

He placed the cup on the coaster on the coffee table and continued the previous topic, “…But they didn’t expect to kick a steel plate. Although it also caused me a considerable loss, their toes were also fractured.”

William kept nodding. This might be a habitual action of his, “Did anyone die?”

His voice was very low. If it weren’t for Lance, it was highly likely that he would never have come into contact with these things in his life, but in this world, there are always gains and losses.If you get something, you will definitely lose something. No one is always gaining without losing.

If there is, then what he is about to lose will be all that he has gained and even more!

William lost a stable, ordinary, and boring life, and gained upward momentum and hope, and of course, an unstable life.

He was a little afraid of what Lance would say, but he also knew that he had to accept all of this.

“Seven of ours died, and more than a dozen of theirs died.”

“My God…”

William looked a little foolish. In the past, when he saw these numbers, he would only think of them as a number printed in the newspaper, a lead spot, but now, these numbers had become heavy.

“Who did it?” he pursued, “Will you retaliate?”

Lance looked at him strangely, “Should I call and thank him for attacking me?”

William shook his head repeatedly, “I didn’t mean that, I just feel…”

Lance gave him a cigarette, “Don’t think about things too complicatedly. This is like a fight between children. If you hit me, you have to be prepared to be hit by me. It’s just that the battle between adults is a bit more dangerous.”

“As long as I find out who these people are, then the rest will be easy to do.”

He took a deep drag on his cigarette, then exhaled slowly, as if he could see the future through the smoke.

After a while, he turned his head and asked, “Thank you for coming. I’m fine. Besides this matter, is there anything else?”

As soon as Lance finished speaking, he thought of something, “I forgot, the funds!”

He stood up, supporting himself with his legs, walked to the safe, turned the main knob, and took out $10,000 from inside, putting it in a kraft paper bag.

“This money is very clean, the kind that isn’t afraid of being checked.”

The money Lance had in his hands now was actually very clean. The money “borrowed” from the bank, besides what was given to the Merchants Association, the rest was all his.

With the bank’s proof, this money that couldn’t see the light could be mixed into this loan.

Unless someone insisted on investigating him hard, otherwise, he would never be able to spend all of this loan, but it was limited to small-scale consumption.

If it were a large amount, there would still be a little trouble.

$10,000. Although William could also take it out, the fact that Lance just placed it on the table so lightly still made him nervous for a while. After all, it was $10,000!

Lance didn’t pay attention to his expression and asked casually, “How has Jobav been recently?”

William’s attention shifted from the kraft paper bag, “He recently found a few campaign assistants, and some people are helping him come up with ideas. He’s looking a bit better.”

Previously, Mr. Jobav didn’t think he had any competitors, so his “vision” was very high, and he spoke in grand terms.

It’s not that he was lying, it’s just that his campaign strategy was on a macro level, things like creating more job opportunities for residents—

If this kind of nonsense was said during a mayoral election, some people might believe it, but to use these words in a city council election, only a fool would believe it!

The Empire District did not have the foundation to build large-scale factories, so they would not recruit workers nearby.

Not only large-scale factories, but other factories or labor-intensive industries were also not suitable, so what Mr. Jobav said about increasing the employment rate was complete nonsense!

But now he had found some people to help him, and his campaign strategy had also been lowered.

He promised to hold at least one free neighborhood clinic every year, with specialized doctors to give free physical examinations to the residents here.

He also promised to provide a small, low-interest start-up loan to people of the Federation who wanted to start a business, after a selection process.

He proposed some very specific and practical campaign strategies, and his competitiveness immediately stood out.

He himself was an Empire immigrant and had a great deal of influence among the Empire immigrant community. He was indeed more likely to win than William.

Listening to his description, Lance kept shaking his head, “Still the same old politician’s tricks, all unrealistic things.”

Although William was mentally prepared for Lance to be able to see the essence of these things, he was still surprised!

“How do you see it?” he asked.

Lance shrugged, “A free physical examination is meaningless. With three or five intern doctors, working six hours a day, how many people can they examine in a day?”

“Even if the event lasts for three days, it would be a miracle if three hundred people could complete the examination!”

“As for the start-up loan, he’s in the banking business himself. Even if it’s low interest, he’s still making money, it’s just a matter of how much.”

“If those people succeed in their business, maybe he’ll even take away their shares.”

“If they fail in their business, then he won’t lose anything either, because he will take away their collateral.”

“Nothing new, but something that can deceive the public. But…” Lance looked at William, “I think you should have a way to deal with it. You didn’t look helpless when you were talking about these things!”

William laughed out loud twice, “Yes, just as you said, he likes to say these nice things, so I’ll just hold him up high.”

Lance knew that he must have a way, and he also affirmed his method.

This kind of campaign plan that likes to say nice things is most afraid of someone taking you seriously!

Just like “I’ll treat next time.” If no one takes it seriously, then it’s just a nice thing to say. But if someone asks when the next time is, where it is, and how you’ll treat.

The person who said this sentence will become embarrassed.

Because once the time and place are determined, it means he has no way back and must fulfill his promise.

But if he doesn’t say, it’s equivalent to telling everyone that he is a liar!

Give everyone in the Empire District a physical examination?

Even if Jobav was a banker, he couldn’t afford this expense, even if all the doctors were interns.

This was a very targeted strategy. The more Mr. Jobav wanted to appear beautiful and practical, the more he would lose!

But this targeting also had a disadvantage, which was that what if Mr. Jobav really went all out and just brought in a large number of doctors to make the event grand, this way he could win the support of the people.

But Lance wasn’t worried about this. He would find a way to make him unable to come up with the money at that time.

William came to chat with Lance for a good while, mainly to see if Lance was injured. As the news of the fierce gunfight and Lance being attacked spread rapidly, more and more people came to know about this matter.

Meanwhile, in the Pasoretto Manor, Paul was looking at his nephew standing in front of him with some fatigue, “Tell me, was it you?”

Dover shook his head and said, “I told you, this matter has nothing to do with me!”

His tone was very fierce, as if he had suffered some great injustice, and his tone was also mixed with anger and resistance, which made Paul once again doubt if he had made a mistake!

But he also had his own sources of information. He knew that this matter was directly related to Dover.

Letting Dover give up his bar was also a decision of Paul’s. More than one person in the family had an opinion about Christopher having no contribution yet occupying a bar with super high profits.

It wasn’t that one person had an opinion, but many people had an opinion.

Some were from the younger generation, some from the older generation. Some of them had risked their lives for the family, but they couldn’t enjoy such a good opportunity.

And a person who had never done anything for the family was controlling such a bar.

Every month, even after deducting the fees handed over to the family, he could still have a large sum of money left for himself, enough to make many people envious!

In the past, the Five Families had great deterrent power. This deterrent power was not only external but also internal. Although they would complain, they could only endure it.

Recently, with both internal and external troubles, Paul felt that it was no longer appropriate for Dover to continue managing this bar. It was asking for trouble for him!

So he took advantage of this opportunity to transfer Dover’s bar to Lance, and then let Dover stay away from the whirlpool of public opinion.

Then he would compensate Dover with another business, so that he could still make money easily, but not in a high-profile way.

But he didn’t expect that Dover would be very dissatisfied with his arrangement.

If it weren’t for the fact that Dover’s father had taken a few bullets for Paul, he wouldn’t have indulged Dover so much.

The uncle and nephew, one sitting and one standing. Dover was not afraid in the slightest, but instead stared at Paul with some stubbornness.

His direct gaze made Paul feel uncomfortable because the doubt, distrust, and a trace of something that could be felt as vigilance in his gaze were too glaring!

Dover was not afraid of him.

When he was a child, Dover didn’t dare to look him in the eye, but now, they had been looking at each other for a long time.

Paul shook his head slightly, “I have my sources of information, Dover.”

He didn’t give Dover a chance to continue speaking, raising his hand, “There are some things I originally wanted to tell you later, but you have disappointed me too much.”

“You actually sold out our friend, just because he was going to take away your bar?”

Dover looked impatient, “Don’t try to trick me into talking. I won’t admit to things I haven’t done!”

Perhaps in his view, as long as he insisted that he didn’t know, this matter would stay away from him.

“Lance is a very difficult young man. If you mess with him, he will definitely track you down, and then he will find trouble with you.”

He still had that look, “Do you have any evidence?”

Paul shook his head slightly, “For us, is evidence important?”

This sentence made Dover stunned for a moment, but then he turned his head to the side and said nothing.

Paul had a big headache. The matter actually couldn’t stand up to investigation. Those people Lance’s men had killed on the spot, as long as they figured out their identities, they could know whose men they were.

Then they would grab the leader of this group and force him to tell who had instructed them to do it.

In the face of death, not many people can not submit.

Perhaps those with unwavering beliefs can do it, but for people who mix in gangs, it’s highly unlikely they can.

Even if they know they will die if they talk, and will also die if they don’t, they will still, for the sake of a fleeting opportunity, tell everything.

Paul had seen many such people. This time, he believed it would be the same.

Thinking of this, he reached out and pressed a button on the desk. In less than ten seconds, several people pushed the door open and entered, “Paul?”

The guy at the very front was wearing a very well-fitting formal suit. His center-parted hair was slicked back with plenty of pomade, clinging to his head like an open book, parting his hair from the middle, and it even reflected light!

He was another one of Paul’s brothers, and by extension, also Dover’s uncle.

“Lock him up. Without my order, don’t let him out.”

Dover looked at Paul in disbelief, “You’re going to lock me up for a Lance, for a small gang?”

Paul said with a grim face, “I’m doing this for your own good.” As he spoke, he looked at the man with the center part, signaling them to take the person away now.

The man with the center part walked to Dover’s side, “Do I need to ask you to come with us?”

Once he was escorted out, the whole family would spread his bad side. He snorted angrily and strode outside.

Paul cleared his throat. The man with the center part, a little confused, stayed behind and turned to look at him, “Is there anything else?”

He was a little embarrassed, “Dover has caused me a problem this time. Hand over the few around him, but they can’t say anything bad about Dover. And the people related to this matter…” he slowly nodded downwards, giving the man with the center part a clear meaning: they all had to die!

The man with the center part was also a little puzzled. He went and closed the door, then walked to the chair opposite Paul’s desk and sat down, “Paul, I’m not questioning your decision, I’m just a little curious. Is it necessary to be so cautious?”

“Maybe for those ordinary people, the Lance Family is indeed a bit formidable, but I believe that even if he knows it was Dover who did it, would he dare to harm Dover?”

“Are we being too careful?”

Paul shook his head. He looked very tired. All the recent events had exhausted him, “If it were before, I would have talked to him, but the situation is different now.”

“Two bastards have betrayed us. We still don’t know how the mayor plans to deal with us. If we make another enemy, it’s not a good thing for us.”

“You saw that group of people from Lance. They were able to fight back and kill more than a dozen people under a surprise attack. If they were prepared, they might not have had any casualties!”

“Have you ever seen anyone who goes out with submachine guns in their car for no reason?”

This sentence immediately left the man with the center part speechless. Even for them, at most, carrying one or two pistols was the most common configuration.

Occasionally having one or two submachine guns in the convoy was the limit.

But it was said that at the scene, at least ten submachine guns were firing, making it impossible for the attackers to get close at all!

If you messed with this kind of person, it was indeed a little unsettling.

“And… we don’t have the energy to deal with them now.”

Paul finally told the truth. He had received a piece of intelligence that the Cassia family was transporting people from Yalan to here.

This time they were not doing human trafficking. It was said that they were all armed militants.

They had already withdrawn from the “confrontation,” so why were they bringing so many armed militants over at this time?

There must be something they didn’t know about!

The situation on Summuri Island was still deteriorating. The four major families had already started to have friction, and the conflict was escalating.

Now many “old Summurians” were returning to Summuria Island from the Federation, preparing for a war between the four major families that could break out at any time.

Paul’s side was very short on manpower. Most of the people left here were Federation children of Summurian descent, not Summurians in the true sense.

And they happened to be the generation that questioned authority…

In fact, in a sense, these young people were very similar to Lance and his group. They were unwilling to bow to the so-called “authority,” always wanting to look up and see if those high and mighty big shots were really high and mighty and could not be desecrated!

The man with the center part was silent for a moment. He nodded, “Sometimes you don’t have to hide things in your own heart. You can say them out, and we can face them together.”

Paul smiled, “One person is enough to worry about things. Maybe everything won’t develop as fast or as bad as we imagine!”

After Dover was locked up, the few of his most capable friends, who were also family members, were all summoned to the manor.

They sat in a room, being told that Paul would see them later, and that Dover was also here. They didn’t suspect anything.

A few young people sat and chatted about the recent situation in Golden Port, about Lance being attacked, about many things.

Their words were full of dissatisfaction with the family, with some of Paul’s decisions.

No one would be happy to be suddenly transferred from a position that was flowing with oil.

Soon, the man with the center part appeared outside the door, “Mr. Paul is in the back garden. You can go over now.”

The few of them had been to the manor before. While thanking him, they walked towards the back garden with the man with the center part.

When they arrived at the back garden, they did not see Paul or Dover here.

When someone asked the man with the center part, the man smiled and told them to walk a little further, that Paul and Dover would be here soon.

At his urging, these few young people walked deeper and deeper into the garden. When they reached a place with dense vegetation, several gunmen suddenly walked out of the house. They were holding submachine guns, and in the incredulous eyes of the young people, they pulled the trigger!

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