Empire of Shadows

After a period of high tension, entering a safe environment and beginning to relax, people gradually feel sleepy.

Lance drowsily slept for a while until he heard a knock on the door. He opened his eyes and looked towards the door. Corinna stood there, "Mr. William wants to see you."

Lance rubbed his neck and asked her to bring two cups of coffee, and to bring the person in as well.

William came in and saw Lance sitting there unharmed, which relieved him. He sat down next to Lance and frowned, asking, "What's going on?"

Lance shook his head, "I'm not sure, but it's nothing more than the same old story. Someone thinks I'm blocking their path and wants to kick me away..."

"Thank you!"

Corinna walked in with two cups of coffee and placed them on the table. Lance picked one up and took a small sip.

A very strong oily taste, and the heaviness that oil brings, this feeling is indeed good, but it's too hot.

He put the cup on the coaster on the coffee table, continuing the previous topic, "...But they didn't expect to kick a steel plate. Although it caused me considerable losses, their toes also fractured."

William kept nodding, which might be a habitual action of his. If it weren't for Lance, he would likely never have been exposed to these things in his life, but in this world, there are always gains and losses.

You gain some things, and you will definitely lose some things. No one is always gaining without losing.

If there is, then what he is about to lose will be all that he has gained, and even more!

William lost his stable, ordinary, and boring life, and gained the motivation and hope to move upward, as well as an unstable life, of course.

He was a little afraid of what Lance would say, but he also knew that he had to accept all of this.

"Seven died on our side, and more than a dozen died on their side."

"My God..."

William looked a bit foolish. In the past, when he saw these numbers, he would only think of them as numbers printed on a newspaper, a lead spot, but now, these numbers have become heavy.

"Who did it?" he asked, "Will you retaliate?"

Lance looked at him strangely, "Am I supposed to call and thank him for attacking me?"

William shook his head repeatedly, "I don't mean that, I just think..."

Lance gave him a cigarette, "Don't think about things too complicatedly. It's like children fighting. If you hit me, you have to be prepared to be hit by me. It's just that the battles between adults are more dangerous."

"As long as I know who these people are, then the rest will be easy to do."

He took a deep puff of the cigarette and then slowly exhaled, as if he could see the future through the smoke.

After a while, he turned his head and asked, "Thank you for coming. I'm fine. Besides this, is there anything else?"

As soon as Lance finished speaking, he thought of it, "The funds!"

He supported himself with his leg and stood up, walked to the safe, turned the main button, and took out ten thousand dollars, packed in a kraft paper bag.

"This money is clean, the kind that isn't afraid of being investigated."

The money Lance has now is actually very clean. The money "borrowed" from the bank, except for what was given to the Chamber of Commerce, is all his.

With the bank's proof, this shady money can be mixed into this loan.

Unless someone insists on investigating him thoroughly, he will never be able to spend this loan, but it is limited to small amounts of consumption.

If it is a large amount, there will still be a little trouble.

Ten thousand dollars, although William could also take it out, Lance just put it lightly on the table, which still made him nervous for a while, after all, it's ten thousand dollars!

Lance didn't care about his expression and casually asked, "How is Joffa doing recently?"

William's attention turned back from the kraft paper bag, "He has recently found a few campaign aides, and some people are helping him think of ideas, so he looks a little better."

Before, Mr. Joffa didn't think he had any competitors, so his "ambition" was very high, and he was talking big.

It's not to say that he was lying, it means that his campaign strategy was some macro stuff, like getting more job opportunities for residents--

This kind of nonsense might be believed if it was said during the mayoral election, but it's foolish to believe these arguments in the election for city councilor!

The Imperial District does not have the foundation to establish large factories, so they will not recruit workers nearby here.

Not only large factories, but other factories or labor-intensive industries are not suitable, so Mr. Joffa's claim to increase the employment rate is completely nonsense!

But now he has found some people to help him, and the campaign strategy has also been lowered.

He promised to hold at least one free street clinic every year, with specialized doctors to provide free physical examinations for the residents here.

He also promised that for Federal people who want to start a business, a small, low-interest business loan will be given after selection.

He put forward some very specific and practical campaign strategies, and his competitiveness suddenly became prominent.

He himself is an Imperial immigrant, and he is very influential among the Imperial immigrant community, so he is indeed easier to win than William.

Lance shook his head constantly as he listened to his description, "It's still the same old politician routine, all unrealistic things."

Although William was mentally prepared for Lance to see the essence of these things, he was still surprised!

"How do you see it?" he asked.

Lance shrugged, "Free physical examinations are meaningless. Bring three or five interns, check for six hours a day, how many people can be checked in a day?"

"Even if the event lasts for three days, it would be a miracle to have three hundred people complete the examination!"

"As for business loans, he is originally in the banking business, even if it is low-interest, he is still making money, just more or less."

"If those people succeed in starting a business, he may even take away other people's shares."

"If they fail to start a business, then he will not lose anything, because he will take away those people's collateral."

"Nothing new, but it can deceive the public, but..."

Lance looked at William, "I think you should have a solution, you don't seem helpless when you talk about these things!"

William laughed twice, "Yes, as you said, he likes to say these nice words, then I will hold him up high."

Lance knew that he must have a solution, and he also agreed with his solution.

This kind of campaign plan that likes to say beautiful words is most afraid of someone being serious with you!

It's like "I'll treat you next time." If no one takes it seriously, then it's a beautiful word, but if someone asks when is the next time, where, and how to treat.

The person who said this will become embarrassed.

Because once the time and place are determined, it means that he has no turning back and must fulfill his promise.

But if he doesn't say it, it's like telling everyone that he is a liar!

Invite everyone in the Imperial District to have a physical examination?

Even if Joffa is a banker, he can't afford this expense, even if all the doctors are interns.

This is a very targeted strategy. The more Mr. Joffa wants to appear beautiful and affordable, the easier it is for him to lose!

But this targeting also has a drawback, that is, if Mr. Joffa really goes all out, he will find a large number of doctors to make the event big, so that he can earn people's support.

However, Lance is not worried about this. He will find a way to make him unable to come up with the money at that time.

William chatted with Lance for a long time, mainly to see if Lance was injured. As the news of the fierce gun battle and Lance being attacked spread quickly, more and more people knew about it.

At the same time, in the Pasreto Manor, Paul looked at his nephew standing in front of him with some exhaustion, "Tell me, did you do it?"

Dover shook his head and said, "I said, this matter has nothing to do with me!"

His tone was very intense, as if he had suffered some great grievance, and his tone was mixed with anger and resistance, which made Paul suspect again that he might be wrong!

But he also has his own sources of information. He knows that this matter has a direct relationship with Dover.

Letting Dover give up his bar was also a decision of Paul. There is more than one person in the family who thinks that Christopher has made no contribution but occupies a highly profitable bar.

It's not just one person who has an opinion, it's many people who have an opinion.

Some are from the younger generation, some are from the older generation, and some of them have fought for the family, but they cannot enjoy such a good opportunity.

And a person who has never done anything for the family controls such a bar.

Even if the expenses turned over to the family are deducted every month, he can still have a large sum of money left for himself, enough money to make many people jealous!

In the past, the five major families had great deterrent power, and this deterrent power was not only external but also internal. Although they would complain, they could only endure it.

Recently, under internal and external difficulties, Paul felt that it was no longer appropriate for Dover to continue managing this bar, as it was inviting disaster for him!

So he took this opportunity to transfer Dover's bar to Lance and let Dover stay away from the vortex of public opinion.

Then he would compensate Dover with a business, so that he could still make money easily, but not in a high-profile way.

But what he didn't expect was that Dover was very dissatisfied with his arrangement.

If it weren't for Dover's father blocking a few bullets for Paul, he wouldn't have indulged Dover so much.

The uncle and nephew sat and stood, Dover did not have the slightest fear, but stared at Paul stubbornly.

His staring gaze made Paul uncomfortable, filled with doubt, distrust, and a hint of something that made one feel wary—it was too piercing!

Dover wasn't afraid of him.

When Dover was a child, he didn't dare meet his gaze, but now, they had been staring at each other for a long time.

Paul shook his head slightly, "I have my sources of information, Dover."

He didn't give Dover a chance to speak, raising his hand, "There are some things I originally wanted to tell you later, but you've disappointed me too much."

"You actually betrayed our friend, just because he wanted to take your bar?"

Dover looked impatient, "Don't try to trick me into talking, I won't admit to something I didn't do!"

Perhaps in his view, as long as he insisted he didn't know anything, this matter would stay away from him.

"Lance is a very troublesome young man. If you provoke him, he will definitely find out about you, and then he will come looking for trouble."

He still looked the same, "Do you have any evidence?"

Paul shook his head slightly, "Is evidence important to us?"

This sentence stunned Dover for a moment, but then he turned his head to the side, saying nothing.

Paul had a headache. The matter couldn't stand investigation. The identities of those people Lance and his men killed on the spot could be easily found out.

Then, all they had to do was capture the leader of this group and force him to confess who ordered them to do it.

Faced with death, not many people can resist.

Perhaps those with unwavering faith could do it, but those who mingled in the underworld were very unlikely to be able to.

Even if they knew that speaking out would lead to death, and not speaking out would also lead to death, they would still reveal everything for a slim chance.

Paul had seen many such people, and this time he believed it would be the same.

Thinking of this, he reached out and pressed a button on the table. In less than ten seconds, several people pushed the door open, "Paul?"

The guy standing at the front was wearing a very well-tailored suit, his hair parted in the middle and plastered with enough pomade to make it look like an open book. The hair was parted in the middle of his head, sticking tightly to his scalp and reflecting light!

He was another of Paul's brothers, and also Dover's uncle.

"Lock him up. Without my orders, he is not allowed to be released."

Dover looked at Paul in disbelief, "You're locking me up for a Lance, a small gang?"

Paul said with a stern face, "I'm doing this for your own good."

As he spoke, he looked at the middle-parted hair guy, signaling them to take the man away now.

The middle-parted hair guy walked to Dover's side, "Do I need to ask you to come with us?"

Once he was dragged out, the whole family would know about his terrible side. He snorted angrily and strode towards the outside.

Paul coughed. The middle-parted hair guy stayed where he was, somewhat confused, and turned to look at him, "Anything else?"

He was a little embarrassed, "This time Dover has caused me a problem. Hand over those few people around him, but don't let them say bad things about Dover, and those who are related to this matter…"

He slowly nodded downwards, giving the middle-parted hair guy a clear meaning: they all had to die!

The middle-parted hair guy was also a little puzzled. He went to close the door, then walked to the chair opposite Paul's desk and sat down, "Paul, I'm not questioning your decision, I'm just a little curious, is it necessary to be so cautious?"

"Maybe the Lance family is indeed a bit powerful for ordinary people, but I believe even if he knows Dover did it, would he dare to hurt Dover?"

"Are we being too careful?"

Paul shook his head. He seemed very tired. All the things that had happened recently had exhausted him. "If it were before, I would have talked to him, but the situation is different now."

"Two bastards have betrayed us, and we don't yet know how the mayor plans to deal with us. If we create another enemy, it's not a good thing for us."

"You saw Lance's group. Even under a surprise attack, they were able to fight back and kill more than a dozen people. If they had been prepared, they might not have had any casualties!"

"Who have you ever seen going out with submachine guns in their cars for no reason?"

These words immediately made the middle-parted hair guy speechless. Even for them, carrying one or two pistols was the most common setup.

Occasionally putting one or two submachine guns in the convoy was the limit.

But it was said that at the scene, at least ten submachine guns were firing, making it impossible for the attackers to get close!

If you provoke this kind of person, it is indeed a bit unsettling.

"And… we don't have the energy to deal with them right now."

Paul still told the truth. He had received intelligence that the Cassia family was transporting people from Yalan to this side.

This time they were not doing human trafficking. It was said that those who were brought over were armed militants.

They had already withdrawn from the "confrontation", so why would they bring so many armed militants over at this time?

There must be some things they didn't know!

The situation on Sumuli Island was continuing to deteriorate. The four major families had already begun to have friction, and the conflict was escalating.

Now many "old Sumulians" were returning to Sumuli Island from the Federation, preparing for a possible sudden war between the four major families.

Paul's side was very short of manpower. Most of those who stayed here were federal children of Sumuli origin, not true Sumulians in the real sense.

And they happened to be a generation that questioned authority…

In fact, in a sense, these young people were very similar to Lance and his men. They were unwilling to bow their heads to so-called "authority" and always wanted to look up and see if those big shots on high were really high up and inviolable!

The middle-parted hair guy was silent for a while. He nodded, "Sometimes you don't have to hide things in your own heart. You can say them out, and we can face them together."

Paul smiled, "It's enough for me to worry about things. Maybe everything won't develop as quickly or as badly as we think!"

After Dover was locked up, the few most capable friends around him, who were also family members, were summoned to the manor.

They sat in a room, saying that Paul would meet them later, and Dover was also there. They didn't suspect anything.

Several young people sat and chatted about the recent situation in Jincheng, about Lance's attack, and about many things.

Their words were filled with dissatisfaction towards the family and some of Paul's decisions.

Anyone who was doing well in a lucrative position would not be happy to be suddenly transferred.

Soon, the middle-parted hair guy appeared outside the door, "Mr. Paul is in the back garden. You can go over now."

The few people had been to the manor before. While thanking him, they walked towards the back garden with the middle-parted hair guy.

When they arrived at the back garden, they didn't see Paul or Dover here.

When someone asked the middle-parted hair guy, the middle-parted hair guy smiled and told them to walk further ahead, and Paul and Dover would be there soon.

Under his urging, these young people walked deeper and deeper into the garden. When they reached a place with lush vegetation, several gunmen suddenly came out of the house. They held submachine guns in their hands and pulled the triggers in the young people's incredulous gazes!