Empire of Shadows

In the luxurious living room, Will rose to his feet amidst the gazes of everyone present, walked to the wall, picked up a duffel bag, went to the coffee table, and unzipped it.

He lifted it with force, mouth downwards, and the rolls of banknotes, bound together with rubber bands, immediately poured out, landing on the coffee table, some rolling onto the floor.

Everyone's breathing became slightly rapid, and their heartbeats swayed with the scattered banknotes.

What is the purpose of joining a gang?

To avoid being bullied, to gain prestige, to have face—everyone might have a different answer, but there is one thing they can all agree on: money!

For these people, joining a gang is no different from going to work; Will gives them a sum of money each month, the amount varying.

If the gang earns more money, and Will receives more money, then they can get more—a hundred or two, or even more.

If the gang doesn't make much criminal profit that month, or even suffers losses, such as when a gang-owned establishment is burned down by another gang,

then the money everyone receives will be less, but it's still better than working outside, maybe seventy or eighty.

This is why, despite the danger, they are willing to continue staying here.

Money is truly a good thing, at least in the Federation; it can solve the majority of problems for the majority of people.

But it's also not that good because it's so hard to earn.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the banknotes; they didn't know how much there was, but surely everyone could get a roll.

After the last roll of banknotes was poured out, Will tossed the duffel bag aside, lit another cigarette, "One roll for each person. After the job is done, there's another roll when you get back."

He exhaled a cloud of smoke, the fumes distorting people's vision, making his calm face appear somewhat twisted in the haze.

These subordinates of his were not taking this kind of money for the first time, and they all knew the rules of distribution. Will's most trusted confidant sat in his previous position and began handing out the rolls of money to those around him.

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

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

If there was another roll upon return, that would be two hundred dollars.

There were more than thirty people here, and dividing the money twice would amount to about seven thousand dollars.

Two rolls were left over, indicating that someone hadn't come, but he didn't care.

"I only have one request: avenge my brother…"

At this moment, Officer Lucar became nervous because the officer he had arranged to stake out told him that Will had suddenly gathered a large number of his men, suspecting that they were going to do something that night.

He quickened his pace and arrived outside the Assistant Chief's office, knocking on the door.

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

The Goldenport City Police Department has a police chief and two assistant chiefs. Due to the special nature of the city, the assistant chiefs need to be on duty twenty-four hours a day.

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

The Assistant Chief saw Officer Lucar, rubbed his eyes, "What's wrong?"

Officer Lucar explained the situation his men had discovered, "I suspect Will and his men are going to make a move tonight. He's gathered a large number of his men at his villa right now."

"This may be a mobilization. Once the mobilization is over, they will definitely take action."

The Assistant Chief took twenty or thirty seconds to react slowly, but he did not agree with Officer Lucar's judgment, "Do you have any evidence?"

"Or is all of this just your speculation?"

Officer Lucar shook his head, "I don't have any evidence, but I believe my speculation is correct."

"He can't hold back anymore; he will definitely take action."

He looked at Officer Lucar, "Lucar, you're an old officer, you should be very clear that our police force is very strained at night."

"If I were to mobilize the police force to prevent something that hasn't happened yet because of your unproven speculation, do you know how much trouble this would cause me?"

"If your speculation is correct, then everything is fine. You will be commended, I will be commended, everyone will be fine."

"But what if your speculation is wrong?" the Assistant Chief retorted, "Do you know what we would have to pay if you guessed wrong?"

"Also, what if they find out that we are mobilizing the police force and give up on doing things at night?"

"Although I don't want to admit it, the precinct has been infiltrated so badly that they might even know about our major plans before the chief does!"

This was also a fact. In the era when corrupt cops were rampant, anyone could dial a number in a roadside phone booth for a stack of banknotes that wasn't quite in line with their identity.

"Are we not going to do anything?" Officer Lucar was a little annoyed, although this was not the first time he had been so annoyed.

The Assistant Chief shook his head, picked up the coffee that had already cooled, and took a sip, "They're all criminals, Lucar. Let them fight it out, and we'll clean up the mess after they start fighting."

"Believe me, the citizens would rather see them die more than stop them before they take action!"

For some reason, Officer Lucar 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 and left.

This time he didn't drive his own car, but drove a police car. Sometimes a police car can play a greater role in such emergencies.

At the same time, several shadows climbed over the wall from behind the firm and entered the alley. In the darkness, Hiram and Raun kept close to the walls, walking in the shadows.

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

They were the people staking out here. At this time, they were already feeling a little drowsy, and the replay of the baseball game being broadcast on the car radio didn't arouse their slightest interest.

One was holding the steering wheel, nodding off, while the other was leaning back, slumped in the passenger seat, with his mouth open, already in dreamland.

Hiram and Raun tiptoed to the doors on both sides of the car. They slowly opened the car doors.

Thankfully, the car was well maintained, and the hinges didn't make a creaking sound.

The two exchanged glances. Hiram took out a dagger, grabbed the hair of the guy in the driver's seat, and stabbed him in the neck.

On the other side, Raun used his arm to cover the guy's wide-open mouth and stabbed him in the same way.

Both men struggled desperately, but they didn't struggle for long before they became motionless.

Raun walked to Hiram's side, dragged the man out of the driver's seat, threw him into the back seat, and then drove the car into the firm's yard.

This car would be disposed of tomorrow.

Watching the stakeout men taken care of, Hiram ran back into the firm. Soon, five cars filed out and sped towards the western part of the Empire District.

At night, there weren't many cars or people on the road. The night hid the light and people's vision, and also concealed countless evils.

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

Of course, he wouldn't kill these police officers. Although he was being tormented by hatred and was almost driven mad, he hadn't gone crazy enough to kill the police of the Criminal Investigation Unit.

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

He wiped his face and looked around, "What's wrong?"

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

They were all holding guns, 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 the guns, all lives are equal.

The two officers raised their hands, and their drowsiness disappeared. They didn't put on a tough act and cooperated very well.

Fortunately, Will didn't make things difficult for them either. He just tied them up, threw them into the basement, and told them that he would release them after things were over.

Everyone got into the cars, and seven cars left the villa in turn. What they didn't know was that besides the police staking them out, there were also people staking them out at the entrance of the villa.

Morris was also very sleepy at this time, but he knew that they would take action tonight. Lance had told him, so he had been persisting.

In a daze, he suddenly heard the sound of a car horn. After a jolt, he looked at the villa gate, and a row of cars was blocked at the entrance.

A man in black was scolding the security guard, who was nodding and bowing apologetically, and then raised the barrier.

"Damn!"

"They also chose tonight!"

Looking at the cars that were slowly coming out from inside, there wasn't much time left for Morris to think. These cars weren't slow, and maybe in just over ten seconds, he would only be able to see the backs of them leaving.

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

Even more miraculously, the last car didn't even realize that it was the last car.

In the darkness, they couldn't clearly see the car Morris was driving, but they could see two headlights. Coupled with the enclosed environment, the people in the last car subconsciously assumed that this car was also part of their group.

Two convoys were driving towards each other in the deep night. No one in any of the cars was speaking; everyone maintained silence.

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

More than ten minutes later, the two convoys could vaguely see each other's headlights, but neither of them realized that their target was on the opposite lane.

The night in the Imperial District was quiet. It was poor and backward. Before it became the "Imperial District," most of the dockworkers lived here because it wasn't far from the docks.

Whether taking public transportation or walking to the docks, it didn't take too much time.

But as a large number of Imperial immigrants and illegal immigrants poured in, they began to cluster here to make it easier for them to work at the docks or other areas. So, more and more Imperials came here, eventually becoming the Imperial District.

But this didn't make a non-bustling area lively. When other places were at their liveliest at night, the Imperial District was quiet.

The dim yellow light bulbs on both sides of the road couldn't illuminate too much area. Occasionally, stray cats or dogs passing through the light source under the streetlights would quickly hide back into the shadows after being illuminated.

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

Perhaps only the homeless people sleeping soundly on the ground didn't care about this. Anyway, no one would be crazy enough to harm them, penniless as they were.

The distance between the two convoys was getting closer and closer. It was a pity that it was night. If it were daytime, perhaps a passing math teacher would have slapped his forehead and come up with an elementary school math problem that required college students to solve.

But now, there was nothing here.

The convoys were getting closer and closer, even able to vaguely see the blurry figures of the people inside each other's cars.

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

Goldport City was one of the most chaotic but orderly cities in the Federal States, with the most gangs, so it wasn't surprising to encounter gangs going out in groups at night.

Although the speed of cars during this period was difficult to increase to a very high speed, the process of passing each other was still very short, at most ten seconds.

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

The next moment, the sound of a car horn came from Morris's car. Attracted by the noise, Lance immediately saw him and also saw the gestures he was making.

Although those gestures didn't seem to have any specific meaning, it made Lance realize that this convoy was the one he was looking for!

But now… what to do?

Almost in these few seconds, Lance turned the steering wheel, and the front of his car crashed into the rear of Morris's car. The sound of the collision and different horns alarmed the entire convoy. Both convoys, which were moving, stopped because of this traffic accident.

Lance glanced at Ennio in the passenger seat. "Tell the brothers, these are the people we are looking for. When my car starts, have them follow me in circles around them, shooting while circling, hurry!"

After listening, Ennio hunched over and left the passenger seat to relay the message.

Will sat in the car, frowning, and looked back through the somewhat blurry rear window. "What happened?"

He looked at his confidant in the passenger seat and ordered, "Go see what happened."

His trusted subordinate opened the car door and got out, quickly walking to the end of the convoy.

Morris's car was skewed in the middle of the road. The front of the other car was clearly over the center line, hitting the rear of Morris's vehicle.

Anyone could see that 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 looked full of apology, "Sorry, my cigarette accidentally fell. I bent over to pick it up, and the steering wheel suddenly swung over."

"See how much money you need, I can give it to you, it's my fault!"

The trusted subordinate looked at the young man's face several times, and then looked at the place that was hit, "Wait…", he said and walked back.

He stood outside Will's car window and told him everything he saw and heard, "He plans to compensate us a little money, and wants to know how much."

Will's frown never eased, "Tell him, he doesn't need to compensate, let him go, we have other things to do."

If it were normal times, he would let the other party know who was the boss in the Imperial District, but now, he was eager to take revenge and didn't have time to delay for this trivial matter.

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

At this time, Will also began to focus his attention on the convoy opposite him.

They had five cars, and Will's side had seven cars, so the other party's fourth car was right opposite Will's car.

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

In the dark carriage with only a strong light source behind them, he couldn't clearly see the appearance of these people, but he could see that they were all staring at his side, which made Will feel uncomfortable.

Just when this kind of eye contact made the atmosphere a little tense, even a little bit of gunpowder, the guy sitting in the back seat of the opposite driver suddenly flicked his hair.

A smile appeared on Will's face, but it quickly subsided. He said in a voice that only he could hear, "Idiot."

But soon, his brow furrowed again. He saw someone in the opposite convoy talking to everyone in each car, just a few words, and then walking away.

This action made him feel a trace of unease. He looked back again, his trusted subordinate was walking towards this side, and for some reason, he suddenly had a feeling of palpitation.

He looked over to the opposite side again, and the idiot who had just made him smile knowingly had already leaned out of the car.

Then, in Will's horrified gaze, he took out a submachine gun from beside him!

"Fuck!", he shrank into the car seat, pulled out his pistol and fired at the outside regardless of whether he could see it or not.

But at this time, Lance's convoy had already started moving.

The sound of pistols and submachine guns resounded through the sky above this road in an instant!

Will's trusted subordinate didn't have time to return to the car and was shot several times 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 drove the car, and Ethan sat in the back seat, constantly pulling the trigger. The submachine gun in his hand was as stable as if it had no recoil at all, spitting out flames.

Five cars circled around seven cars, with constant gunshots and smoke filling the air.

The stray cats and dogs in the alleys on the side of the road disappeared in an instant, and the rats that occasionally poked their heads out of the sewer openings shrank back to the deepest part.

The homeless people covered in newspapers on the side of the road couldn't wait to fly away at this time, but they were afraid that suddenly standing up would attract firepower, so they could only continue to play dead.

"Drive, drive, start the car!", Will shouted loudly, while vigorously slapping the back of the driver's seat.

But as soon as the driver sat down, his head suddenly hit the steering wheel heavily. While cursing, Will tried to leave this iron coffin…