Empire of Shadows

"I don't seem to have a choice," Lance said, neatly arranging the two contracts. "But this is also the best option."

He paused for a moment. "So, when do I start working?"

Alberto didn't immediately put him to work. Instead, he asked about his current job. "What are your plans for your job at the bakery?"

"It's just twenty bucks. I'll take care of it."

This book is first published on the entire network by 𝕥 𝕨 𝕜 𝕒 𝕟 . 𝕔 𝕠 𝕞.

Alberto opened a drawer, took out a roll of money, counted out twenty bills, and handed them to Lance. "Here's forty dollars. This is your allowance for the next few days. I hope this forty dollars makes me feel like I spent it well!"

Lance took the money. "I guarantee you'll feel like the money was well spent."

"Go find Foddis. He'll give you some small tools that you can use when you're collecting debts."

"Get to work. I look forward to hearing good news from you!"

Lance stood up, straightened his clothes, and then turned to leave.

Alberto had already spoken to Foddis, in fact.

So, when he arrived in the hall, Foddis was already waiting for him.

He led Lance to a small house next to the parking lot in the backyard. "What kind of weapon are you used to using?"

"Baseball bat, dagger, or hunting knife?"

"But I don't recommend using lethal weapons right away. If you accidentally kill our esteemed client, the boss will skin you alive."

"Unless you can make up for his loss!" As he spoke, Foddis pushed open the door. From the outside, the small room didn't seem special.

But after coming in, you'd find weapons piled up everywhere.

Baseball bats, daggers, hunting knives, steel pipes, steel bars, almost everywhere.

"Any guns?"

The "Prepare to be amazed, hick!" expression on Foddis's face hadn't fully formed before it became somewhat awkward.

"Stoner has the firearms. You'll meet him later, but not now."

"Without the boss's permission, you can't get guns from the company for the time being. Of course, it's your business if you buy your own."

"So, pick a weapon first. I recommend this one!"

He took down a baseball bat printed with red, blue, and white stripes, swung it a few times, and handed it to Lance. "Authentic baseball bat of the Goldenport City Sailing Team. I like their games. They'll definitely win the championship this season!"

It was obvious that he was a baseball fan. Then, he handed the baseball bat to Lance. "First learn how to attack, and then consider more threatening weapons."

"Our job is to help people who need money to get through difficult times, and then, after they get through difficult times, make them pay us back the money that belongs to us. We never actively harm anyone. Do you understand what I mean?"

Foddis repeatedly instructed him, and then left the "weapons room" with Lance and said, "Go pick a car. We can't have you and your friends running around working for us…"

Lance's eyes lit up. No one doesn't like driving. He immediately looked at the high-end luxury cars glistening in the sunlight.

But unfortunately, Foddis turned his body in the opposite direction, pointing to a few cars parked in the back alley that looked broken and dirty. "This is what you should choose."

He scratched his head, his scalp feeling inexplicably hot. "For God's sake, can these cars even run?"

"Why not?" Foddis walked to a car, grabbed the door handle, and with a click, the entire door fell off.

He quickly supported the nearly falling door and shouted loudly, "Jamie, why did the door fall off one of the cars here?"

A middle-aged man wearing denim overalls and covered in dirt walked out of what looked like a warehouse.

He had a cigarette in his mouth and said impatiently, "That car just arrived. The ones next to it are all good. Why did you have to choose a bad one!"

"Is this our new partner?"

Foddis clapped his hands and released the car door. "Not exactly, but I believe we'll be working together for a while."

He said, introducing Lance, "This is Jamie. If you watch racing, you must know the Supersonic Team. He's the number two mechanic."

"But then some unpleasant things happened, so he's now working for the boss."

Jamie shrugged. "I owe him a favor, so I'm working for him to pay it back." He paused, selected a key from a row of keys hanging on the nearby wall, and tossed it to Lance. "Go try out your new car, the brown one. I specially adjusted it."

Many debtors actually can't repay the money, or they really don't have the money. To reduce losses, the company brings back their cars.

Luxury cars can be leased or resold, and other cars that can be handed over to used car dealers are all sold.

Those that can't be sold are left here, in case they're needed.

Lance started the car somewhat awkwardly. What he found a little unsettling was that this car had a hand throttle.

An old-fashioned car. God knows how many years old it was. The throttle was on the right side of the steering wheel, and it was increased or decreased by pulling it backward.

It had a scale that allowed the pulled-out throttle lever to be hung on it, ensuring that it would always give fuel—let's call it the throttle lever. Lance didn't know what to call the thing.

But one thing had to be admitted, this might be the earliest car with cruise control…

After a short period of experimentation, he became proficient. Although it was a hand throttle, after getting used to it, it wasn't too inconvenient.

Lance put the baseball bat in the trunk, then said goodbye to Foddis and Jamie, and drove away.

The two chatted for a few words, then went to do their own things.

Driving on the road, Lance, after being anxious for a while, finally began to get used to the traffic of this era.

As long as he didn't exceed thirty miles per hour, the car drove relatively smoothly.

He drove directly to the bridge not far from the pier. Ervin and the others were now living there.

Passing a store, he specifically stopped the car, spent two dollars, bought ten packs of cigarettes, and also asked for a box of matches.

It was already forty minutes later when he arrived under the bridge.

The sound of the horn made several heads poke out from under the bridge's culvert. Ervin looked at Lance standing by the car in disbelief.

He was smoking a cigarette, slightly bent over, his right hand next to the steering wheel in the driver's seat.

"My God, where did you get the car?" The buddies quickly ran out.

They had a very special smell on them. It was summer, and they hadn't showered or changed clothes for a long time, but they couldn't be blamed.

There weren't many good washing resources here, although the river was right next to them.

The domestic sewage and treated industrial wastewater in Goldenport City were all discharged into the sea, so the river water was black and smelled bad.

The smell wasn't as irritating in winter, and the smell of the sea could cover up some of it in summer. Although some people had repeatedly reported these situations to the city hall, the old men only focused on the comparison of economic growth, not on whether the river smelled bad.

The young people who hadn't showered or changed clothes for several days and were prone to sweating smelled so bad that they could almost kill people!

They stood by the car, stroking this truly classic car, and Lance gave them some cigarettes.

"Mr. Coty, the gentleman we borrowed money from, he gave us a new job."

"If we can help him recover two debts that belong to him, then the money we owe him will be written off, and we can also get some benefits from it."

He patted the car. "This is the means of transportation he gave us first. This time I need four people to come with me. Who wants to go first?"

Ervin immediately stood next to Lance. "I want to go."

Ethan also patted his chest. "I want to go too. I owe you one."

Melo was about to speak, but Lance stopped him. "You stay. You're older, and you're calmer than others in emergencies."

"In any case, if something unexpected happens, try to stall for time. We'll be back soon."

He randomly pointed to two people in the crowd and then let them get into the car.

Ethan sat in the passenger seat. When he got into the car, he could clearly feel the car sink down.

Lance asked curiously, "How much do you weigh?"

He was a little embarrassed. "One hundred and eighty pounds, but I've already lost some weight."

Ervin couldn't help but laugh in the back seat. "Don't listen to him. That scale only goes up to one hundred and eighty pounds!"

Ethan was a little embarrassed and angry. "Damn it, no one would think you're a mute if you didn't talk!"

After the car started driving, the laughter of the group gradually decreased. They all rolled down the car windows, enjoying the not-so-comfortable, hot wind blowing in.

The first guy who owed Alberto money was called Candela, an insurance company employee. He borrowed a thousand dollars from Alberto, and it was time to pay it back.

He had been dragging his feet, and he had heard that he was planning to run away.

"Are we going to beat him up?"

Watching the destination getting closer and closer, Ethan couldn't help but ask.

Lance drove, answering without turning his head, "That depends on whether he cooperates with us…"