Empire of Shadows

At the end of August, a guy named “Adams” gave Lance a call, inviting him to Golden State to attend this year’s Federal Joint Conference.

It sounded very grand, like some important event.

But in fact, this Mr. Adams had omitted a key word—gang.

The Gang Joint Conference was held once every one or two years. It had been held last year, and it was being held again this year, mainly because this year was the “first year of the war,” and many things in society were changing.

Gangs also needed to keep up with the development of the social form and change, so as not to be abandoned by this rapidly advancing society.

This was an event that all the gangs in the Federation wanted to participate in. It could be said that the joint conference was the standard for determining whether a gang was truly qualified to step onto the grand stage of the Federation.

No matter how much an ordinary gang boasted, as long as they could not participate in the joint conference, it meant that their influence was only effective locally, and they were still a minor character in front of their national counterparts.

Without a doubt, the Lance Family had done a lot of big things in the past two years and had already met the standard for participating in the conference.

Adams, as a relatively well-known and active social activist in the southern region, was also a broker. It was more appropriate for him to contact Lance.

The reason why a gang is a gang is because these people are either unruly, or full of doubts about authority, or are full of rebellious bones, or are simply not right in the head, and are pure villains.They needed to first figure out Lance’s attitude.

Unfortunately, Lance had refused. To invite him to Golden State?

Before he had killed the people of the Perez family, he would try his best not to go to Golden State.

Even if he had to go, it would be by driving a fucking armored car!

His refusal was within some people’s expectations. After all, he had just ended a conflict with the Perez family. The Perez family had a great influence in the central region of the Federation. There was a high probability that Lance would not come.

Some people laughed at Lance for being timid. Only the older ones understood that to not be affected by some public opinion and impulse at a young age meant that he could go further on this road.

Lance’s refusal to participate in the joint conference was in itself also a questioning of the authority of the joint conference. In addition, Frank had always been speaking ill of Lance in front of others. The attitude of the Five Families towards Lance could not be said to be very good.

Maybe not so disliked, but definitely not liked. Neutral, leaning towards dislike.

But no matter what they thought, for Lance, it did not have much meaning, because he had already decided to first occupy the entire south.

In the company’s entertainment room, everyone was sitting together and playing cards, a relatively competitive gameplay.

The card game could be participated in by four to eight people. To say it was poker was actually more like a board game that used poker cards. According to the attack, defense, and strategy, they would perform operations to get points and reduce points.

In the end, the person with the highest score would win.

This was a relatively complex gameplay, but what was interesting was that everyone knew how to play.

Its rules were not simpler than learning a mathematical formula, but 99% of the people here might not be able to learn that mathematical formula in their lifetime.

But for these things, these complex and mind-boggling game rules, they could quickly remember them, and use them skillfully, and could also remind others whether doing so was right or wrong.

Perhaps those people were right. There are no real fools in this world, only those who are willing and those who are not.

Lance then drew two cards and placed them face down in front of him. “When is Ethan’s next boxing match?”

Elvin, while looking at the cards in his hand, was responding to Lance’s question. “The tenth of next month is a Saturday. They have arranged it for eight o’clock on Saturday night.”

While drawing some cards, he continued, “If he can win this opponent, he will be able to get the qualification to challenge the boxing champion.”

The others were not surprised. If it weren’t for the fact that Ethan had come into it halfway and had no great reputation in the boxing world, the only thing he could do was to fight his way out step by step.

And it was very difficult to fight.

If it weren’t for the fact that he had Lance’s support behind him, Ethan would have had a very difficult time getting a chance to fight a top-ranked boxer, let alone a qualifying match for the challenge of the light heavyweight boxing champion.

Here, it’s not that you can fight with whomever you want, nor can you fight just because you want to.

To put it simply, if you want to fight with those famous people, they also have to consider what to do if they lose and the like.

So they will evaluate, and will weigh the pros and cons. If their chance of victory is not great, they will not fight with you.

You have all the skills, but you can’t improve a single rank.

You say you’re the best in the world, but do you have a gold belt?

Have you knocked down those celebrities to prove your strength?

So behind this, a series of operations are needed, the operation of capital, the operation of power.

You have to offer conditions that they cannot refuse, and only then will they fight with you.

Financial, the influence of power, or threats.

Without Lance considering the appearance fee, he had overcome one difficulty after another. Now he was quite famous. This time, his opponent’s appearance fee had also reached 350,000, which was paid by Lance personally.

The other party had said that if it was less than this number, he would not fight. If he lost, his ranking would be lowered, and he would also lose some stable income, so there had to be a sufficient compensation.

350,000 was enough to fight a boxing champion, but now, he could only do this.

Ennio didn’t know much about this. “If he wins this opponent, can he fight with the boxing champion?”

Elvin shook his head. “It’s hard to say. It depends on whether the boxing champion is willing to fight him.”

Ennio placed his cards on the table. “He can still refuse?”

“Then what’s the meaning of this challenge qualification?”

Elvin knew more about this matter. He was more concerned about Ethan’s development in the boxing world.

Now, after more than half a year of constant challenges, Ethan’s ranking had begun to climb rapidly, and he had also gotten the nickname “King Kong.”

But he was too young, and there was no big capital behind him. So even if he was very strong in the boxing world, there were still not many people who took him seriously.

The current boxing organization was still in its infancy. Many of the rules were not reasonable, for example, the problem of challenging the boxing champion.

They only stipulated that a boxer registered under the name of the league had to enter the top ten to be able to challenge the boxing champion, but they did not say that the boxing champion had to accept the challenge.

A boxing champion can avoid a fight, but if they always avoid a fight, their reputation will be ruined. So does it seem that a boxing champion only has one way to go, which is to accept the challenge?

That’s not the case. If at this time another person challenges the boxing champion, and the boxing champion accepts the challenge of another challenger, then from the preparation for the fight to the fight to the recovery after the fight, a year might be dragged out.

By the time Ethan launches another challenge, the boxing champion can go and respond to the challenges of others. As long as the boxing champion doesn’t want to fight with Ethan, there is always a way not to fight with him.

“My points,” Lance threw the cards in his hand into the pile, and then added some points to his own score card. “When Ethan meets the regulations, whether to fight or not will not be up to him.”

Elvin smiled. “That’s not wrong either.”

Not many of the people that Ethan had ranked up with were really willing to fight with him. This kind of unknown newcomer was very difficult to deal with.

If you agree, people will think you should win. They will not cheer for you, nor will they get more benefits and advantages because you have defeated an unknown boxer.

But if you lose, the loss will be huge.

So basically, it was all Lance who had cleared the way with a lot of money, forcing them to have to fight all the way.

But when it really came to the level of a boxing champion, money alone might not be able to make him accept the challenge. He still had to use some other means.

To let more of the Empire’s people appear in front of the public with a positive image was something that Lance had always been doing.

If a group wants not to be a victim, the simplest way is to master more of the upper-level resources and power.

With more of the Empire’s immigrant celebrities, capitalists, and even politicians, the social status of the Empire’s people in the Federation will be raised.

They were chatting about these topics, about some of the things in the family. As they were chatting, the door to the entertainment room was pushed open.

Lance glanced at the door. It was Bolton.

Bolton had already chosen a person to replace him in managing a part of the intelligence. Although he didn’t want to do this, he had been poor, had been down and out, so he knew more clearly that only by firmly holding the power in his own hands was it the safest.

But Lance had spoken up and had told him not to be so “independent.” He could only do as he was told, take out a part of his own power, and give it to his own subordinates.

At this time, he was in a hurry, and there was no expression on his face. Lance, while the others were shuffling the cards, asked casually, “Want to sit down and play for a while?”

Bolton shook his head. He walked to Lance’s side. “Our men have heard some news in the south.”

Elvin began to deal the cards. Lance tilted his head and held a cigarette in his mouth, so that the cigarette butt was on a slightly higher side, so that it would not smoke his eyes.

However, even so, he was still squinting and looking at the cards in his hand, and at the same time, he asked somewhat unclearly, “What news?”

“Someone says the Summurian people are transporting a large amount of wine to the Federation.”

Lance’s movements stopped. Elvin also did not continue to deal the cards. He turned his head to look at Bolton. “Is the news reliable?”

Bolton swallowed a mouthful of saliva. “I believe it is reliable. I have already had them go and investigate again.”

Lance took a deep breath. He had actually always wanted to go to Summuri Island, to see what those old diehards had that could protect Christopher. But because of the war, and the current situation on Summuri Island was very complicated, even if he went, he probably wouldn’t get a good result.

He was thinking about how to solve this problem, and for a while, he didn’t have any good ideas. Unexpectedly, they had first taken the initiative to send some interest over.

What did this mean?

This meant that the funds on Summuri Island were not enough. As long as they had no money and were uncomfortable, Lance would be very happy.

“Have someone inquire again, to find out a little more, and then contact the local Empire immigrant gang. At that time, we will wipe them out in one go.”

“You be more careful, and don’t be stingy with the money, understand?”

Bolton nodded repeatedly. “I know.”

Lance said nothing more to him, picked up the cards again, and started a new round of the game. All of this was just a small interlude in the day.

The waves outside the window were constantly hitting the rocks on the shore. Although it looked like a stormy sea, it sounded like a hypnotic sound of the waves.

A gust of hot summer wind blew in from the window at just the right time, lifting the curtains, and blowing on a person, instantly blowing away the sleepiness, and also cooling the heat.

Summer is a hot season. Although a sea breeze can make a person cool, and a restless heart can be soothed, a cool breeze is not always there.

In such a hot day, people’s emotional ups and downs will become greater, and it is easier to lose control.

Summer is also the peak season for Carl’s business over there. The soldiers have seen too many long skirts and long white legs, and each of them is a little unable to control themselves.

The plan that Lance and Admiral Miles had cooperated on had long been put into actual use. Regardless of whether the soldiers had a need or not, the army would issue them a “physical therapy card.”

One card would allow them to get thirty minutes of treatment service, to release pressure and soothe their emotions.

Even if some of the naval soldiers were a little shy and embarrassed to go for health care, there would still be familiar soldiers who would take them there.

Every day at noon and in the evening, you could always see many soldiers walking towards that area on the north side of the base. Lance had already had Carl build several buildings similar to single apartments there.

These buildings were not very tall, all were four- or five-story steel-structured houses, which were also the most popular construction method in the Federation at present.

The materials of those steel structures were produced in the factory according to the requirements of the design drawings. When they were transported to the construction site here, they only needed to be simply assembled and welded, and the main structure of a house would be formed.

Then the next step was to reinforce it and do other work on it. It only took a very short time to complete the construction of the house.

Although the construction period of this kind of structured house is very short, and there are many advantages, there are also a lot of disadvantages. For example, once it encounters a fierce flame, and the steel melts and breaks, a big problem will occur.

But the people of the Federation did not think that such a big fire would happen. At least most people did not think that a huge fire would happen. They had a complete fire protection system, and it was very easy to extinguish a fire.

These houses here also adopted this model. Each house was only about twenty square meters, including a bedroom and a bathroom.

On the wall outside each room were posted the photos of the workers, as well as their numbers, and also their health certificate for the past month.

Each building had about two hundred rooms, and a total of more than a thousand girls worked here.

This place had become a good place for the soldiers to relax. After the weather got hot, it was even more crowded.

Carl was inspecting his territory. He knew that there were many people outside who were talking about him behind his back, saying bad things, and cursing him.

But he didn’t care.

While those people were still digging through the trash for someone else’s leftovers, he was already living in a big villa, eating the food that a chef had made for him in front of him.

An income of several thousand a day. Let alone cursing him, even if these people came over and beat him up, he would be willing.

And, he had followed Lance’s request and had never forced anyone to come here to work.

Every person who came to work was voluntary, and there were even girls from the Federation!

The price here was not high, but the advantage was that the source of customers was stable. Sometimes they could receive seven or eight, or a dozen or so customers a day, and the distribution was fair, with no extra exploitation.

An income of a dozen or twenty or thirty a day, even in Golden Port City, was a high-income group.

They had no resentment towards this place, and they were also very respectful of Carl. After all, they were supporting themselves, and their families, with their own efforts.

If they had free time, they would also greet Carl, or have a chat.

But now, they didn’t have much time. The entire floor was filled with those sounds, and Carl was also getting a little hot-blooded.

Every time it got busy, Carl would patrol the different floors. If he ran into any problems, he could also handle them in time.

These soldiers were all young men. Sometimes there would often be quarrels over who would go first, and even brawls. He needed to deal with them in time.

He had just arrived on the third floor of building two when he heard a quarrel. He immediately walked towards the place where the sound was coming from. Several soldiers were bullying a girl.

Carl pushed through the crowd and walked in. The soldiers who came here to relax basically all knew Carl, and also knew that Carl was the manager here. However, they were not like the girls here, and lacked respect for Carl.

After all, Carl was a Slad. The business he was running made the soldiers look down on him a little, so some of them did not give Carl much face.

When he had squeezed into the crowd, he finally saw a girl hugging her shoulders and squatting on the ground, crying. He walked over and checked the girl’s body. There were no exposed wounds.

The only thing worth mentioning was the red and swollen handprint on her face. It was clear that the hit was very heavy, and it had even swollen up a little.

Then he turned his head with a cold face and looked at the three soldiers who were standing together. “What happened, gentlemen?”

“To the extent that you need to slap a young girl?”

“Does doing so make you seem stronger than others?”

Some laughter came from the surrounding soldiers.

One of the soldiers pushed Carl with some annoyance. “She refused to serve us!”

Carl frowned. He turned his head to look at the girl who was squatting on the ground, and then still chose to believe this girl, not the soldiers’ words.

After all, the people who were willing to come here to work, and could persevere, were all those who were mentally and physically prepared.

If it was someone who couldn’t do it, it would be basically impossible for them to come. Even if they came, they would quickly leave.

He noticed that this girl had been working here for at least more than a month, which meant that she was mentally and physically prepared.

He asked, “What’s wrong?”

The girl had some difficulty speaking. “They wanted to come together, but only gave one card.”

More laughter came from the surroundings. Not all the soldiers were bad. Someone in the crowd said, “Isn’t this fucking just getting a freebie?”

This sentence had brought another big burst of laughter. The faces of the three soldiers were also not good. “Fuck, does it say anywhere that one ticket can only be used by one person!”

(End of a Chapter)