Empire of Shadows

The new office had excellent soundproofing. The moment the door was closed, it completely isolated the inside from the outside.

Not a single sound could get out, nor could any get in.

About ten minutes later, these several traitors from the Kodak family left, satisfied. Lance couldn’t even be bothered to see them off.

Elvin asked with some curiosity, “After they’ve finished their work, do we need to… dispose of them?”

The meaning of them sitting here just now was nothing more than hoping to work for Lance. Some of them introduced their strengths.

Some could manage companies, some had worked in casinos for a long time, and they had always been in management roles.

And this was precisely what Lance was relatively short of at the moment, though not extremely so. He could take them or leave them.

But Lance had just made it very clear to them that they could continue to stay in Golden Port and work for him.

This made these people ecstatic. They confessed a lot about the current several ideologies within the Kodak family, as well as the people who advocated these ideas.

Lance had Hiram go and deal with it.He wasn’t afraid of those people running to Manteno to find connections to sue him or something. He just didn’t want to waste time on meaningless disputes.

It was like…

A model builder has made all the preparations to start building, but then wants to look at some new materials they haven’t seen before.

Building the model only takes a few minutes, but they waste several tens of minutes on the meaningless search for new materials and admiring them.

In the end, didn’t they still choose the most familiar old materials?

With the support of Attorney General Terry, and behind him, the support of Senator Cleveland, and within the city, the support of Councilman Williams, he couldn’t possibly lose!

And those contracts were not signed by Bandy under duress from him. He had taken the initiative to request the transaction in exchange for Lance not making a move on Fleming and other family members who had already been transferred away.

This was their life-saving money. There were also several lawyers as witnesses at the scene. No matter how much those people made a fuss, in the end, the casinos and the licenses would still be his.

There was no suspense about this. It would just be a waste of time. So what Lance had to do was not to let these bastards waste his precious time.

As for these few traitors, they had indeed made a contribution.

“There’s no need to deal with them for now, but have someone keep an eye on them. Just arrange for them to do some less important work,” Lance answered Elvin’s question.

But this did not clear up Elvin’s confusion. On the contrary, his confusion grew. “Then why are we still keeping them?”

What he meant was, since he didn’t plan to use these people in important positions, why keep them?

Why not just clean them all up, or let them leave Golden Port City, instead of putting them in the casino or the company?

Lance swung his crossed ankles twice. The light reflected from the tips of his mirror-shined leather shoes shone on the ceiling. “Because we are not locals.”

Elvin’s eyes were still filled with confusion. Lance patiently explained to him, “Because we are not locals, we are not native to the Federation, let alone natives of Golden Port City.”

“To everyone here, we are outsiders, and what we are doing is making them feel afraid, feel dissatisfied.”

“Elvin, if a group of outsiders you don’t know now moves into our house, and they occupy two of our rooms without our consent.”

“In the subsequent quarrels and struggles, many of us have failed. They have occupied more rooms, and even want to drive us out of our house!”

“At this time, if someone stands up and tells you, ‘Let’s fight them,’ then what would you do?”

Elvin said without hesitation, “I would fight them.”

The others in the room also nodded one after another. This was also their thought.

Lance nodded noncommittally and continued, “But if they only occupy the best few rooms, and then say that everyone should live here equally, and are even willing to let you occasionally live in a good room, and play an important role in this family.”

“Would you still be so determined to oppose them?”

“In the absence of anyone proposing to do something?”

Elvin’s expression changed slightly. Just looking at what Lance said, there was a high probability that he would choose to continue to observe.

So Lance spread his hands. “See, this is what we can’t do, and what we need to do.”

“For the people here, especially those with some power, Golden Port City is their home, and we are outsiders.”

“If we appear too aggressive, take away their houses, and even want to kill them all, so that all of them can no longer survive here.”

“Then before that ‘opponent’ stands up, they will unite to fight us, to resist us.”

“Until the ‘opponent’ stands up and clearly opposes us, they will immediately join that camp. The whole city will be swept up in a storm, a trend, until we are all driven out of this city.”

“We can’t let such a day come. So the best way is to tell the people here that we are harmless.”

“All the attacks were counterattacks to avoid extinction. When their malice towards us ends, then we can also coexist with them, and can also abide by the local rules and integrate with the local area!”

“One day, when we have truly replaced them and become locals in the true sense, then we can do whatever we want.”

“But now, we still need to be careful, cautious, and not provoke their united anger and hatred against us.”

“We need to be peaceful, stable, and let our two sides become one!”

Lance stopped here. The people in the room were all thinking, but to be honest, he didn’t have much hope that these people could understand much, because most of them had not received a higher education.

Lance had not received a higher education either, but this super school of society had taught him more profound knowledge than those who had received a higher education.

This knowledge cannot be learned in school, and not everyone can learn it in society.

If they could understand two or three parts of the content, that was already the greatest gain from his explanation.

After a while, Elvin’s face was serious as he nodded. “I think I understand a little.”

Lance smiled and threw him a cigarette. “It’s okay if you don’t understand, because I do, and that’s enough.”

The seriousness on the faces of the others in the room was immediately replaced by smiles, and laughter returned.

Yes, as long as Lance understood, that was enough!

The phone rang in the room. Lance picked it up. “This is Lance.”

Attorney General Terry’s voice came from the receiver. “I’ve read the newspapers. you’ve solved these problems much faster than I imagined. They’re as simple as one plus one for you!”

“I’ll ask by the way, is there anything I can do?”

Lance said with a smile, “No, everything is fine now, after I filled in that number.”

He paused for a moment. “It’s not that there’s nothing. Maybe I’ll go to Manteno in a while. We can talk in detail then.”

The issue of the transfer of interests within Likalai State would definitely also have to change. The government officials, dignitaries, and celebrities who had a good relationship with Bandy before might not be on the same side as him, with Councilman Williams, or even with Senator Cleveland.

But there would definitely be some overlap. So who should continue to get a share of the money, and who no longer had the qualification to get a share, all had to be figured out.

This was related to a very large interest, so he would definitely have to go to Manteno with Councilman Williams again. It would be a good time to meet with Attorney General Terry and see if it was necessary to meet with the governor again.

As the number three figure in the state government, Attorney General Terry could see the governor at any time, and he also had enough face to have the governor spare a little time.

It sounded incredible, but it was also very normal.

Even Mr. President was said to have some connection with several gangs!

This might be the advanced system of governance of the Federation. Who knows?

After chatting for a few sentences, Lance hung up the phone. Then the phone kept ringing. Many people wanted to know what had happened, or if certain things would change.

The accession of a new king meant that the rules of the old king were no longer in effect. People were eager to know what changes Lance would bring to the underworld and the world above ground of this city after he reached the top in Golden Port City.

Just as the federal government had always been doing but would not say, the gangs in this period helped the government deal with many troublesome problems and also helped the government ensure the security and stability of society.

Lance’s opinion would become the iron law of this city after 7:30, until the sun rose.

But even when the sun rose, in those places where the sun could not shine, they still had to obey the iron law set by Lance!

From this perspective, the sun cannot shine on every inch of the place, but the shadows can!

Many reporters also gathered outside the company. They now also wanted to interview Lance. The Golden Port Casino had contributed an unimaginable amount to the city’s tax revenue.

The Bandy family had done a good job at least in operating the casino, and Lance was just a novice. They were very worried that Lance would mess everything up. They wanted to test the waters first.

Everyone seemed to be contacting Lance. Everyone wanted to get some new news from Lance. Even William called and told him that he hadn’t been over for a while and that Patricia and Emily missed him very much.

This might be the most tempting part of power. Even if you do nothing, just lie there, this city, and the people in this city, will move on their own!

(End of a Chapter)