Empire of Shadows

"You must know which warehouses the Ligee Group has on the docks."

Jack frowned after hearing this, "If you're thinking of taking some agricultural products from their warehouses to cover your losses, Lance, I can only say that idea isn't very realistic."

He carefully explained the reasons to Lance, "The prices of those agricultural products aren't actually that high, like wheat, potatoes, and such, only a few dozen dollars per ton."

"If you're hoping to empty their warehouses to get your profits back, I don't think it's very realistic. How many tons would you have to move to make up for your losses?"

He shook his head, "The only thing that might be possible is their top-grade beef, but that beef has a special warehouse and dedicated people guarding it. Getting a little out is easy, but getting a lot is almost impossible."

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"Because you'd need a lot of trucks, cranes, and hoists. Even if you worked in the middle of the night, many people would notice you, not to mention they have their own night shift workers and security guards. You don't have the time or space to do that."

As he spoke, he was also trying to find a solution for Lance, but after thinking for a while, he still didn't have any good ideas. "I can tell you their warehouse layout, but I can't help you with other issues."

Lance didn't tell Jack his plan because he wasn't sure if Jack was trustworthy, and the potential power of this plan was enormous, so he wouldn't tell anyone before implementing it.

The claim was only part of it; his real goal was the Ligee Group's stock price.

In the Federation, the financial sector was unprecedentedly prosperous, and capitalists had developed all kinds of financial tricks.

You can buy stocks and sell them when they appreciate, or you can borrow some stocks from a brokerage, sell them for cash, and then buy the stocks back at a lower price after a while to return them to the brokerage.

There are many ways to make money here, but strangely, it's always a small group of people who make money.

Once a group of companies has some claims and scandals, the negative developments will soon be directly reflected in their stock prices, which is Lance's way of getting justice.

He had heard some similar things from a friend surnamed Lin, some methods and means used by capitalists to encroach on people's wealth.

This time he needed to borrow it and use it on the capitalists.

Seeing Lance's persistence, he finally decided to tell Lance the layout of the Ligee Group's warehouse.

The two had a little something to eat outside the racetrack at noon, and when the time passed twelve thirty, a large number of people began to enter.

Lance casually bought a few betting tickets and entered the stands with Jack.

He had watched sports competitions, such as the sailboat team's competition, the time Alberto dragged him to watch.

The two commentators explained the game slowly throughout the whole process, and even chatted during the commentary, saying some things that had nothing to do with the game.

But in the racetrack, the commentator's mouth seemed to have been borrowed from someone else, and the deadline was coming soon, so it seemed like they would be letting themselves down if they didn't use it hard.

From the moment the horses came out of the pen, they chattered non-stop almost like the sound of a submachine gun, until the horses crossed the finish line, then they stopped.

At the moment when the horses crossed the finish line, many people around stood up excitedly, raising their hands and waving the betting tickets in their hands.

But there was also a considerable part of the people who stood up cursing and threw the betting tickets in their hands, accompanied by various greetings.

Greetings to the racehorses they bought, and also greetings to the riders.

Jack didn't have the mind to chat with Lance at all. He began to flip through the betting tickets in his hand, took out a few of them separately, tore them up with a look of annoyance, and threw them on the ground.

"Lost several dollars."

Lance didn't feel much about this, "If you win, how much can you win?"

Jack took out the remaining betting ticket in his hand, "If the racehorse I selected in the next game can appear in first place, I can get two dollars in return from the racetrack."

Lance showed an expression that everyone understood after hearing this, "Sounds like very little, only two dollars."

Jack said again, "If I guess right in the third game, then it can provide me with ten dollars in return."

"Fourth game, if I guess right again, they have to give me fifty dollars!"

"Fifty times the profit, Lance, one dollar can get fifty dollars, and you know, it's not like there's no chance, we can not buy those unpopular ones, we only play for first place!"

"There are many ways to play here, but we are all pursuing the way to play with the most odds, and what we are playing now is."

Lance asked a very crucial question, "Have you ever won?"

Jack was silent for a while, "Okay, you win, I'm often only one step away from victory, but I can't always take that most crucial step!"

"I'm never too far from victory every time, I may lack a little luck!"

Winning is always a small probability event. In this kind of game that can obviously be controlled by people, it is never luck and probability that determine the outcome.

Considering that they need some lucky people to continue to encourage others to keep investing, there will be a few lucky people every time.

They will be happy that they have won a big prize, and annoyed that they bought too little, and only in this way can they stimulate more greed in people.

Until all the races were over today, Jack didn't let himself become a dreamer.

"I invested a total of twenty-two dollars, and now I have five dollars in my hand, at least I didn't lose everything, right?"

Lance found it difficult to agree with him, "But you lost seventeen dollars."

Jack rolled his eyes, "But I still have five dollars."

"But you lost seventeen dollars…"

Jack took a deep breath and patted his hands on his sides, "Okay, I lost seventeen dollars, what a terrible day!"

"I have to go back to eat dinner tonight, my daughter needs me, so…"

Lance held out his hand, "It's okay, I have something to do tonight too, we'll contact each other later."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye!"

Watching Jack leave, Lance also returned to the car.

Now the federal government doesn't seem to care much about smuggling, but they will care about it sooner or later, and smuggling will become difficult by then.

Especially… when the FBI starts searching everywhere for opportunities to seize power like power-hungry wild dogs, some things in the entire country will change.

In the evening, everyone gathered together again, and Elvin had already inquired about some news through some channels.

"Several big gangs from Fiddes have come, and they seem to be planning to develop in King's Harbor City."

"These people have also appeared in other districts, but they are just from other gangs, especially in the port area. They have already started grabbing territory and are causing friction with the surrounding street families."

"The leader of the Viper Gang is still sitting in Fiddes. If Brinton can open up the situation in King's Harbor City, then they will all transfer to King's Harbor City."

"This place is much more prosperous than Fiddes, and it is also full of temptation for these gangs. It can be seen that in the next period of time, more foreign gangs will come."

"The underworld in King's Harbor City will definitely be chaotic for a while."

"They have been at the Empire Nights nightclub in Fiddes. I heard that they renovated the third floor and transformed it into their base camp. There are many people there all the time."

"Including Brinton, it seems that they all live in Empire Nights."

"If we take the initiative to attack them, we may encounter stubborn resistance."

Lance took out a cigarette from the ivory cigarette case, tapped the butt of the cigarette downwards on the riverside to make the tobacco firm, and then put it in his mouth and lit it.

"If we take the initiative to attack Empire Nights, we will be put on the defensive. We all know that building is very solid."

"What I mean is to find a way to trick them out. As long as they leave that building, we can find a place to ambush them."

"With preparation against no preparation, our chances of winning are greater."

Everyone agreed with this suggestion. Except for Enio, all of them had participated in the firefight in the Triangle District. They all knew that they were able to survive because the house they were in at the time was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

If the people from the Camilla Gang wanted to rush in, they had to accept a round of bullets. No one could be shot and not die, so they couldn't get in at all.

Even in the subsequent street fighting, because of the lack of cover, the other party couldn't advance. After everyone shot at each other for a while, it eventually ended with the Camilla Gang's defeat.

The power required for offense is always higher than the power required for defense, and this also requires the attacking person to have a strong psychological quality and stress resistance.

Lance wasn't worried about their psychological quality and stress resistance. He just didn't want so many people to die.

Everyone briefly discussed it and thought that Lance's idea was very good, at least it could reduce their casualties.

Since everyone had no objections, Lance continued, "Aren't they asking where our bar is?"

"Then find a bar as bait and find a way to lure them out."

Enio was a little worried, "Will we encounter any danger?"

Lance shook his head, "Even if we don't tell them where our bar is, do you think they won't be able to find our bar?"

"There are 200,000 people in the Empire District, at least several thousand or even tens of thousands of drunkards, and these people's characteristics are too obvious."

"Not everyone is on our side. There are also many people who are on the side of 'money'. As long as they are willing to spend money, they will definitely be able to find some clues."

“So, rather than passively reacting, we should proactively leak the information to them.”

“Even if problems arise, we'll only lose a bar. Rebuilding it is simple; all we need is alcohol.”

“But what they'll lose is their lives, something they can never get back!”

In the end, Lance agreed with all of his ideas, and Lance handed the task of developing a plan to Elvin, with him making the final decision.

In the past few days, the middle-aged man who appeared at the bakery that morning has been coming every day, buying a little more bread each time, trying to build a good relationship with these old men.

This has also made him a regular at the bakery and a "familiar face" in the eyes of the surrounding old men.

One morning again, the middle-aged man arrived at the bakery a little after nine o'clock. He bought half a pound of bread and asked the shopkeeper to cut it into thumb-sized pieces before going to the table outside.

He tore open the paper bag, signaling that everyone could eat, and the four old men sitting at the table didn't stand on ceremony, directly taking pieces and eating them.

The bread from this kind of ordinary roadside bakery isn't soft at all, and there's no aroma of butter or other spices, nor is it sweet.

It's just plain, ordinary salty bread, and it's also hard and unappetizing.

But undeniably, it is indeed one of the snacks that can kill time while chatting.

The old men's teeth aren't very good, and they can eat a small piece of bread for a while.

The topics everyone chatted about were still so… scattered, from "The Secret History of the Imperial Emperor" to "The Imperial Rebellion," from the Federal President wearing bear underwear to the President's wife swearing.

Anyway, as far as they're concerned, there's nothing in this world they don't know.

To join in on these old men's topics, the middle-aged man has really had to cram a bit these past few days.

Now, he has to read at least the 《International News》 and 《Today's Goldport》 every day before coming over, otherwise, he can't chat with these people at all.

It's best to also read some 《Planet News》 or 《Federal Daily》 and 《The Post》, because these old men have too broad and varied a range of knowledge, and the average person really can't keep up with their topics.

The middle-aged man has gradually found some feeling and can occasionally interject a sentence or two, expressing his own views.

And the old men's listening and occasional affirmation give him the illusion that he should have studied hard back then, and maybe he wouldn't have to be in a gang now…

Seeing that it was almost noon, the half-pound of bread on the table had been eaten almost entirely, and the middle-aged man was planning to say goodbye.

Before leaving, he still wanted to tentatively inquire with these old men.

“It's been a pleasure chatting with you. I've recently discovered that I really enjoy being with you. You've taught me a lot, and my perspective on the world is different from what it used to be.”

“Sometimes I really want to treat you all to a drink to celebrate, or rather, to thank you for the redemption of my life…”

It was another emotional appeal combined with an inquiry. He was very good at this.

In the past, when he said this, the old men would gloss over it, but today, the situation was clearly different.

An old man who looked a bit skinny revealed an expression that the middle-aged man couldn't understand, like a bit of smugness, or like showing off. He stamped his cane on the ground with both hands.

“If you really have this intention and aren't just saying it casually, perhaps your idea can be realized.”

He paused, then continued, “Do you know how much money it takes to treat all of us to a drink?”

The middle-aged man suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and asked, “How much money?”

“At least two dollars!”

Including the middle-aged man, there were five people in total. If they drank twenty-five cent shots, that would be one dollar and twenty-five cents.

And it was very likely that they wouldn't just have one drink; they might have two, or drink whiskey or gin.

The middle-aged man resisted the urge to immediately pull out a large wad of money and said with an expression that looked down on the other party, “Only two dollars.”

The skinny old man chuckled, “I hope you can still laugh after you get to the bar.”

He looked at the others, “We all have things to do tonight. How about tomorrow? Tomorrow night at seven o'clock, we'll go together.”

The middle-aged man couldn't wait to get this information at this moment. His voice even trembled slightly, “Can you tell me where it is? I'll go wait for you.”

The skinny old man didn't fall for that, “I said, we'll go together when the time comes. You wouldn't want to try to weasel out of it, would you?”

The middle-aged man immediately denied it, “Of course not possible… Since you insist, then we'll meet tomorrow night, no matter what?”

The skinny old man confirmed again and again, “No matter what.”

Then the old men said goodbye to each other and got up to leave.

The middle-aged man also quickly left this place. He took a bus to the next stop and then drove back to the Empire Night.

“So, tomorrow night you'll know where the bar is?” Brington showed a satisfied smile. He patted the middle-aged man on the shoulder, “Good job. After we take care of the Lance family, that bar will be yours to run.”

The middle-aged man could hardly contain his ecstasy. Of course, he knew how much money could be made from Goldport City's private liquor, which meant he was about to become a high-ranking member of the gang!

This money was enough for him to support a large group of subordinates!

“Thank you, thank you!”

“Brington, I will always be your loyal friend!”

Brington hugged him as if he hadn't reacted, “Friends don't need the word 'loyal.' You have to use the word 'trustworthy'!”

“Yes, trustworthy. I will always be your trustworthy friend!”

Brington laughed heartily, and after a while, he began to assign tasks.

Since he could find out where the other party's bar was tomorrow, he would take action tomorrow night, not giving Lance any chance to resist, and directly defeat them!

Of the hundred or so people who came with the Viper Gang, except for a dozen or so who stayed behind at the Empire Night, almost all the others were assigned to go out.

He wanted to establish his position in Goldport City in one fell swoop, letting the gangs here know that although Fiddes was not as prosperous as here, the gangs in Fiddes were no weaker than the gangs in Goldport City!

He even had some thoughts and impulses to challenge the five major families. Who the hell said that the five major families were the five major families? Who said that the Viper Gang, he, Brington, couldn't become the next five major families?

The people of the Viper Gang immediately began to gather, and these changes were clearly watched by the eyes in certain corners of this district.

With the obvious drop in the crime rate in the Empire District, even at seven or eight o'clock, there would be pedestrians on the road, even people strolling around.

Countless pairs of eyes eventually formed a surveillance network, and no one could escape the attention of so many gazes.

The next afternoon, several old men waited with smiles at the bus station. Their credit had already been eaten, and all that remained was to enjoy the fruits of victory!

A little after six o'clock, the middle-aged man hurried over. The several old men said they wanted to take the bus over, which made the middle-aged man itch to say that he had a car and could take them together.

But considering that he was playing the image of a frustrated middle-aged man, he ultimately didn't do so and got on the bus with the old men.

As the bus left here with seven or eight obviously abnormal cars, Morris stood in a public telephone booth and made a call.

“They've taken the bait…”