Empire of Shadows

A large truck slowly came down from the country road and stopped outside a roadside cafe.

The girl behind the counter, who was making lunch, glanced at it from a distance and couldn’t help but say to the young man who was also a part-time worker beside her, “A lot of big trucks have come today. It’s never been like this before.”

Young people always have some inexplicable longing for these huge, steel beasts that can roar with black smoke.

Although it was highly unlikely that he would ever be able to drive such a large truck in his life, it didn’t stop him from liking these things.

Just like some people like guns. They don’t necessarily have their own weapons, but they are very familiar with all the weapons on the market in the Federation.

They can quickly say the name of a gun, who the designer is, when it began to be mass-produced, and some of the special parts it uses, the advantages and disadvantages of its design, and the like.

This young man liked cars. Most men would like cars, whether they were young or old. He recognized at a glance that these large trucks were not the old, cheap kind.

Each one was worth a good two or three thousand!

This was not a small sum of money!

He pursed his lips with some envy. “Maybe they’re just passing by here. Otherwise, do you think they’ll go to the town?”The roadside cafe was on the country road leading from the interstate highway to the town, about… three to four kilometers away from the interstate highway.

The boss, in order to attract customers, had put up a billboard on the side of the interstate highway, which read, “Good coffee and delicious food here,” and then a thumbs-up sign that was constantly swaying in and out through a reciprocating motor.

Later, because of the rain or something, the sign suddenly stopped moving, and the boss had not thought of repairing it. It had been like that for a long time.

So much so that now the entire billboard was rusty and full of the traces of time.

In fact, it hadn’t been that long!

The girl didn’t say anything more. The two of them quickly prepared the three “classic lunches” and then sent them to the side of the dining table.

Three truck drivers were sitting at the dining table, tasting this not-bad-looking lunch.

These truck drivers seemed to know each other. They were all communicating in low voices and were very vigilant.

No matter who pushed the door open to come in, they would stare at the person who came in.

This had caused a few customers to be scared away by their gazes, and they had left in a hurry without even ordering lunch.

A few more large truck drivers came in from outside. The bell at the door rang. The girl and the young man shouted “welcome” at the same time. The girl also walked to the ordering position and placed the menu on the counter. “Order here, gentlemen.”

One of the drivers came over. The other two drivers and the other drivers also knew each other. They said a few words with a smile, and then found a place to sit down.

It was another familiar, couldn’t-be-more-familiar operation. What else could a federal person’s lunch be?

A portion of it was already prepared in advance. Now they just had to heat it up, add some sauces and the like, and then put it together.

The moment the last plate of lunch was “assembled,” the young man pressed a timer, which showed that it was less than eight minutes.

He had made three lunches in eight minutes. He had broken his own record once again!

After he had sent the food over with a tray, the busy noon seemed to be able to stop.

He washed his hands, said a word to the girl, said that he was going to the bathroom, and then left from the back door.

He wanted to go and see those big trucks. Although he would not drive them in the future, he wanted to see these steel giants up close and feel the smell of engine oil!

Not long after, he took a detour and came to the parking lot. He looked at the neatly parked rows of large trucks, and felt his heart pound.

He could name the brand and model of each car, as well as their release price—

The truth is sometimes very cruel.

The more you can’t afford something, the more thoroughly you will study its price and configuration!

He came to the front of a large truck. The engine hood was still radiating heat. The smell of engine oil and other smells were mixed together, forming a very special fragrance.

He reached out and stroked the chrome-plated air inlet, and then quickly withdrew his hand. He had been burned.

The heat from the hot engine made the chrome-plated air inlet at least sixty or seventy degrees. If he touched it directly with his hand, he would definitely feel pain.

“Good boy…” his eyes were full of a small satisfaction, but what he didn’t know was that a driver in the restaurant had put down his work and was looking at him through the glass window.

Another driver at the same table also saw the young man approaching their large truck. He nudged his lips. “Go and see what’s going on.”

The driver sitting outside nodded and then stood up. While wiping his hands, he walked towards the outside.

At this time, the young man still didn’t know what would happen next. He was completely immersed in his own world.

Until… he smelled some wine.

“Wine?” He was too familiar with the strong aroma of wine.

In the past, wine was sold here. To provide wine for the drivers not far from the interstate highway sounded like a good idea.

At this time, people already had some understanding of the dangers of drunk driving, but before the legislation could be enacted, Prohibition had been implemented first.

In the past, when the cafe sold liquor, the young man would occasionally sneak a little. He liked the feeling of being drunk.

However, he had not been drunk for a long time, because he couldn’t afford it.

There was a small bar in the town. The price of a glass of beer was nine cents, the kind of ice water glass, not a large glass, which could be finished in a few sips.

He had drunk it twice. Besides when he went out to play with everyone, he would ask for a glass. Other times he would not drink, it was a waste of money.

He was very curious, why would this large truck exude the fragrance of wine? He looked to both sides. No one was paying attention to him. He walked in from the side of the large truck.

The further he walked, the more he could feel the strong aroma of the wine, until he was standing on the side of the large truck (a large truck with a side door). He looked down at the liquid that was seeping out of the gap in the container door. He dipped some with his finger and then put it in his mouth.

A clear aroma of wine, accompanied by that familiar taste, soon exploded in his mouth. This was wine!

He widened his eyes and looked at this large truck. He didn’t know how much wine could be loaded inside, but he knew that this must be very valuable.

For some reason, his heart began to pound, because the container door was not locked. The drivers were eating inside and would not be back for a while.

Should I steal a bottle?

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva. In a place like the countryside, people often do what they want.

He stood on the edge of the container with his foot on the pedal and forcefully pulled open the container door. A stronger aroma of wine rushed out!

He took a deep breath. Just by taking a deep breath, he was a little intoxicated!

All he could see were square frames made of wooden strips, with straw and bottles of wine inside. He picked up one of them. It was a brand he had never seen before.

He noticed that some of the wine had already been broken, which was why it had flowed out. He felt it was a pity.

He knew this was whiskey. A bottle would cost at least three or five hundred. To have broken so many, he didn’t know how much had been lost.

At the same time, he also found a reason for himself to take away a bottle. Anyway, so many have been broken. No one will notice if one is missing, right?

He affirmed his idea, inserted the wine bottle between his stomach and his pants pocket, and then pressed it hard.

He jumped out from inside. Because he was carrying a bottle of wine, and because of an incorrect estimation of the impact, he stumbled a little, and then his whole person stopped there.

“Look what I found!”

“A little thief!”

“You’re in big trouble, young man. You dare to steal things from the Perez family?”

The young man looked up and saw a large truck driver looking at him with a teasing expression, and the other party was holding a gun in his hand.

The young man slowly raised his hands. “I can explain, sir!”

He didn’t know what kind of family the Perez family was, but it must be a remarkable family. So many large trucks, if they were all loaded with wine, how much would that be worth?

The thought of having caused such a big trouble because of his momentary curiosity and greed made him almost scared to tears. “I can give you money. I’ll buy this bottle of wine!”

At this time, several vans had entered from the country road outside. The two of them had seen them, but neither of them had taken it seriously. They were dealing with the matter at hand.

A meaningful smile appeared on the driver’s face. He shook the weapon in his hand. “It’s not difficult to have me let you go. Open the bottle cap.”

The young man didn’t know what he was going to do and was still in a daze!

“If you don’t want me to shoot…”

The young man could only slowly twist the cap on the wine bottle.

Just as he was saying these words, the vans that had just come in suddenly stopped outside the glass wall of the cafe. With the opening of the car doors, a large group of guys with submachine guns jumped out of the cars.

They opened fire on the drivers who were eating behind the glass wall without any hesitation. The drivers who were eating had actually noticed the abnormality of these cars, but they were too fast!

They had driven over quickly and had come to a screeching halt. They hadn’t even had time to react before the car doors had opened, and then the gunshots had sounded.

The whole process probably only took… four or five seconds?

Or seven or eight!

The girl screamed and fell to the ground. The drivers were the first to be hit and were riddled with bullets. The continuous burst of gunshots also attracted the attention of the driver in the parking lot.

The moment he turned his head, the young man swung the wine bottle and slammed it hard on the back of his head, and then he ran away…

The fierce gunshots even alarmed the people on the edge of the town, but they didn’t dare to come over. Even the sheriff just watched from a distance.

The shooting lasted for less than twenty seconds. Then these gunmen entered the restaurant with their guns. They finished off the truck drivers who were not dead.

When they came to a guy who looked like the leader of this group, one of them stepped on the person’s head and said in a very loud voice, “This is the territory of the Lance Family. How dare you sell wine here?”

The guy who had been shot twice, while swallowing the blood that was surging up, tried his best to make a sound. “We are from the Perez family. If you don’t want to get into trouble…”

A gunshot rang out, interrupting his words, and also breaking the bones in his face.

After a magazine of bullets, this would be the cleaner’s nightmare!

They looked around again. Someone also fired a round at the things on the counter, and then the group quickly left.

Before they left, another group of people had already entered the parking lot, got on the large trucks, started them, and drove them away.

They had not noticed, or rather, had deliberately done so, that an unlucky bastard had been lucky enough to have survived. He was shivering in the innermost position. He had also been shot, and he thought that he had successfully pretended to be dead.

At this time, his heart was filled with fear and at the same time, anger!

The Lance Family!

Those people came quickly and left quickly. About forty minutes later, a large number of state police arrived at the scene, but what was left for them was a ground full of corpses, and in the parking lot, a broken wine bottle, and another corpse.

The wailing of the police sirens also made the public begin to approach here. The girl from the cafe and the young man were being questioned in the office.

They just objectively described what they knew, what had happened, and also mentioned the names of the two families.

“Perez family” and “Lance is in.”

The police officer in charge of questioning them was a sergeant, the head of this area.

Ever since the chief of the state police had established a friendship with Lance, the state police’s side had also, through some cooperation methods, obtained a lot of benefits.

For example, the liquor they had seized had basically been privately swallowed by them.

As long as they didn’t take it out to sell, if they drank it themselves, or gave it as a gift, it was fine.

If you don’t want the wine, and just want the money, that’s also not a problem. They can contact the nearby underground wineries that have Lance’s authorization, and they will buy back these wines at cost price.

This was also why the state police were very cooperative with Lance’s request, because this thing could really get you money!

And with Lance and the State Prohibition Committee in the back, even if it was a little excessive, no one would say anything.

So when this sergeant heard the name of the Lance Family, he had taken the initiative to leave here and had come to a phone booth outside and had made a call to Lance.

The call was to Elvin’s side, and then it was transferred.

Listening to this sergeant repeat these things, Lance had the other party provide an account. Recently, an interest-free loan with a repayment period of one hundred years would be sent to his account.

After hanging up the phone, Lance looked at Elvin. “Have our men received this intelligence recently, and have they arranged for someone to do this?”

Elvin did not give him a direct answer. “I’ll go and check!”

This large-scale armed action, if it had not been reported, then it was a major matter!

Whoever led it would have to bear a huge responsibility, and might even be executed!

He didn’t want it to be someone from within the family. Lance nodded. He raised his hand and paused for two or three seconds, and then he pointed. “Find out. If it was our men, no matter who it was, find him!”

In fact, it was not difficult to find out these things. You just had to see if the captains were all there.

Those who had work to do and were temporarily not here could mostly also be contacted by phone.

In about twenty minutes, Elvin returned to the room with a look of relief on his face. “It’s not our men. Someone is impersonating us!”

Lance scratched his head. “The Perez family.”

“I seem to have heard this name somewhere,” he looked at Elvin.

The latter pursed his lips. “The Five Families.”

Of course, he wasn’t talking about the Golden Port Five Families. They had become a thing of the past. He was talking about the Federal Five Families.

Lance was slightly stunned for a moment, and then he couldn’t help but laugh softly. “Why do they always like five families, three families, and the like?”

“Does it sound very… stylish?”

Elvin shrugged. “Maybe they think it will be more respectable this way.”

Lance shook his head. “It seems someone doesn’t want them to have face.”

As they were talking, the phone on the desk rang with a shrill sound, which was a little harsh.

Lance picked up the phone. A strange voice came from the receiver. These sounds were squeezed out from the throat, as if there was an old phlegm that couldn’t be spit out.

Some people like to talk like this. In their words, talking like this will have a “voice from hell.” Lance, however, felt that they were very stupid.

“Lance?”

“It’s me.”

“You’ve touched something you shouldn’t have, understand?”

Just two sentences, and Lance knew who the other person was.

“If I say this wasn’t me, would you believe me?”

The guy on the other side laughed out loud. “I thought you were some remarkable character, but I didn’t expect it to be just this?”

“Listen, a cargo of 1.5 million, plus the trucks and the drivers, and the impact of the stupid thing you did on us. Mr. Perez, seeing that you are still young, take out five million, and this matter will be over.”

Lance asked with some uncertainty, “Did you just say… five million?”

“Yes, five million. You’ll earn it soon, and so will we.”

“What we want is not the money, but an attitude, understand?”

“Bring the money to Golden State in July. It just so happens that we will be holding a joint conference. you know what I mean.”

The Gangster Joint Conference, the leaders of the most powerful gangs in the entire Federation would sit together, solve some disputes, demarcate their spheres of influence, and also distribute their businesses.

Many gangs wanted to join in, but only a very small number could get in.

Lance said unhurriedly, “What if I say no?”

“What?”

“No?”

“No what?”

“I said, Likalai State is my territory. I will not allow anyone’s wine to enter here without my knowledge.”

“Secondly, this wasn’t me. But if you insist on thinking it was me, then fine, no problem. Send someone over!”

“This is Likalai State, not your territory. In your place, I’ll listen to you. But in fucking Likalai State, even if you are the Perez family, you have to listen to me!”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Haha!”

“Fuck you!”

(End of a Chapter)