Empire of Shadows

Lance's original intention was to meet Bandi in a relatively… discreet place, but Bandi invited Lance to meet him in his office at the "Golden Port Casino," so Lance could only accept the invitation with pleasure.

At the same time, he also wanted to see what was so special about this casino, which was known as the most luxurious in Golden Port City.

The Golden Port Casino is located between the Starlight District and the Bay Area. It is not a square building, but was designed by a well-known designer.

It is said that it looks like a huge gambling table and stacked chips, which very well indicates the nature of its architectural use.

It is open 24 hours a day, from morning to night. As soon as the convoy entered the internal road, someone came over to take the initiative to lead the way.

The huge parking lot was full of people. Lance also saw two buses parked in the parking lot. People who looked like tour guides were waving flags, taking attendance, and leading them into the casino.

The Golden Port Casino has more than forty buses traveling back and forth in Licarai State to pick up customers, and the port码头 is their main destination.

As long as you get on the bus, you can be taken to the Golden Port Casino for free, and get ten dollars worth of non-refundable promotional chips, and enjoy a free lunch.

During this time, cigarettes and drinks in the casino are free, as long as they sit at the gambling table.

In the Federation, there are also some travel guides related to tourism that mention Golden Port City. These travel guides all say that the first stop to Golden Port City is to take a free ride to the downtown casino.

If you are lucky enough to win a little with the free chips, then you will have the travel expenses for the next few days.

Even if you lose, it doesn't matter, anyway, these ten dollars are free. They can also rest here for a while and have a free buffet lunch.

Most of these guides tell people how to spend the least amount of money to do these things, but in fact, many tourists will be infected by the atmosphere here as soon as they come in.

Those gambling dogs waving chips and constantly shouting will make people's adrenaline soar, their mouths dry, their tongues parched, and then they will come to the gambling table, turn the money in their pockets into chips, and throw them on the gambling table!

No matter whether they warn themselves not to cross the line before doing these things, most of them will eventually forget these admonitions they gave themselves.

Hearing that Lance was here, a middle-aged man took the initiative to come and greet Lance and the others.

He was wearing a black flat-collar礼服, a white shirt, and a bow tie, looking very绅士.

"Hello, I am Gauri, you must be Lance!", Gauri's face was full of cordial smiles. He had heard many rumors about Lance and had some good feelings for Lance.

Gauri's job itself is to handle the casino and some underground world affairs, so he will be more intimate with Lance, this kind of "gang leader."

He would think that they are people from the "same world."

Lance nodded, "I am Lance, hello, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

The two shook hands, and Gauri greeted the others.

Raun, Hiram, and Allen.

He didn't know Mador, and Lance didn't introduce him, which made him think that Mador was just Lance's bodyguard. He just nodded and didn't shake hands with each other.

"Bandi is receiving a visitor and may have to wait a while. I will take you around the casino. I hope you don't mind."

Even if Lance minded this kind of thing, he wouldn't say it. He nodded and entered the casino with Gauri.

The moment he entered the casino, someone immediately came over with two trays. The trays were chip trays made of red velvet, and there were stacks of chips inside.

"The Golden Port Casino has been in existence for more than sixty years. This is the result of several generations of our family. We are all proud of it!"

Gauri raised his chin slightly. This was indeed something that made him feel proud.

It produces a lot of money every day, and it brings them not only money, but also status and power.

Lance nodded slightly, and the two continued to walk inside.

They came to a gambling table. When the guests here saw Gauri, they all greeted him.

Gauri often appears in the casino. Sometimes he even sits at the gambling table and gambles with these gambling dogs, or becomes a dealer to preside over the gambling game.

So he is very popular here, and many people know him.

"Want to play a couple of games?"

Two people holding chip trays stood on his left and right sides. He said generously, "If you lose, it's on me!"

The surrounding gambling dogs all showed different emotions and eyes such as "amazement", "envy", "jealousy", and "curiosity".

They didn't know Lance, but they knew that Lance was definitely not a small character, otherwise Gauri wouldn't do this.

But to everyone's surprise, Lance looked at Raun, "Do you have a dollar?"

Raun took out a dollar from his pocket, "Yes."

Lance clamped the dollar bill between two fingers, put it on the gambling table, and signaled the dealer to continue.

The dealer looked at Gauri, not knowing what to do. Gauri frowned slightly, but still nodded slightly, signaling him to deal the cards.

This is a very simple way to play, just to compare the size. Lance's card was neither big nor small, but he lost.

"Interesting."

He used a dry "interesting" to evaluate this gambling game, then shook his head and stood up, "The games here are not suitable for me."

Gauri glanced at Lance with a meaningful look. He vaguely felt that Lance was making a statement, a demonstration of his position.

But he didn't understand these things, maybe Bandi could understand.

He laughed twice, "Gambling is like this, there are wins and losses, luck determines everything."

He signaled the two staff members holding the chips to leave, "If you are not interested in these, we can continue to walk around inside."

"There is more than just a casino here!"

The Golden Port Casino is the largest and most luxurious casino in Golden Port City, and even Licarai State. This is an entire den of luxury!

In addition to the casino, there are also nightclubs, theaters, and various performances to greatly enrich all the fun people want to get.

You can also shop here. Almost all the luxury brands that can be seen in the Federation have stores here.

Those gambling dogs who win money love to splurge the most. After all, the speed of making money is too fast, so they don't care about the prices of those luxury goods at all. What they care about is the happiness brought by spending money.

Swimming pools, indoor stadiums, and some leisure projects with characteristics of other countries, as well as the highest-standard prostitution groups.

Those tall and beautiful girls who are so beautiful that ordinary people outside only dare to fantasize about secretly are all clearly priced here.

People always say that youth is priceless, but youth, in fact, has a price in many cases.

Just like here.

I have to say that the Kodak family is really trying their best to operate this casino, and Lance is also amazed by their operating results.

After wandering around here for half an hour, and everyone had broadened their horizons, Bandi finally "had time."

In fact, Lance had already known that there were no visitors at all. This was their visiting process.

When Bandi invited him to the Golden Port Casino, it meant that they would inevitably go through such a process before they could see Bandi.

As for why they did this, the reason is very simple—

To deter Lance with huge wealth and status.

This also made Lance realize that the matter of Bandi asking him to come to talk about peace might not be so easy to talk about.

Otherwise, he wouldn't need to use such a plan at all.

Bandi's office is very large, very spacious, and has many facilities.

The huge floor-to-ceiling glass windows allow his office to overlook the entire casino, which gives people a feeling of "everything is under control."

He is a person with a strong desire for control. After Lance shook hands with him, he sat down on the chair opposite him.

"Sorry, I kept you waiting. I had something to do temporarily just now. I hope I didn't make you wait too anxiously. It's my fault."

"Gauri is my brother. Did he treat you well?"

Lance nodded, "Mr. Gauri took us around the casino. Everything here is amazing, Mr. Bandi."

Bandi couldn't help laughing after hearing this. He likes to hear such compliments.

Just like the father of an excellent child, if you say how much money he has earned or how great he is, he is just ordinary happy.

But if you praise his most proud masterpiece, that is, his child, he will feel that you are a good person.

"I'm just making it better on the basis of my family's ancestors!"

"I'm glad you like it."

He paused, "You must be very confused as to why we are gathering here today."

Lance nodded. He moved back, letting his butt sit firmly, clasped his hands together, and placed them in front of him, "Indeed."

Bandi went straight to the point, "I have a friend who thinks there is some misunderstanding between you."

Lance emphasized some of the keywords in his words, "Misunderstanding?"

Bandi nodded in agreement, "Misunderstanding!"

Lance smiled and motioned for him to continue. In fact, he could feel that this misunderstanding was definitely not a small misunderstanding.

"Heirik, you may not have heard of this name. He is the vice president of the Liji Group and one of the company's shareholders."

"It was he who entrusted me to mediate the conflict between you."

Lance shook his head after listening, "I'm afraid this misunderstanding is not so easy to mediate."

Bandi showed some puzzled expression, "Can you tell me about it?"

Lance did not refuse, "He owes me about four million. If he can give me this four million, then I guarantee that I will not make trouble for them again."

"But if they can't give me this four million…" Lance looked at Bandi, "For your sake, Mr. Bandi, I can accept only three and a half million."

"If they can't even give me three and a half million, then I'm sorry, I will keep making trouble for them."

"The first time I heard someone tell me that Goldport City is the Goldport people's Goldport City, a thought arose in my heart: 'They are right.'"

He was telling Bandi that this is Goldport, not Gold Province, and he wouldn't care so much about the Legere Group.

Bandi had heard about the general conflict between them. In some ways, the Legere Group was indeed at fault first.

It was a bit much to tear up the contract with Lance just because they felt they had made less money.

Lance's current attitude seemed very firm. He pondered for a while, "You also caused them losses."

Lance was unmoved, "They owe me."

He looked at Bandi, "When someone tries to keep what belongs to you in their own hands, the best response is not to tell them, 'You can keep it,' but to make them understand how stupid what they're doing is!"

"These are my conditions, and they will not change."

Bandi's face didn't show much emotional change. He was better at hiding his emotions than others. "The Legere Group has considerable weight throughout the Federation. They have deep cooperation with congressmen and industry associations."

"It's no exaggeration to say that when they make certain decisions, the governor needs to consider whether to compromise."

Bandi tried to persuade Lance with the Legere Group's influence and their position within the Federation, "You are a smart man, Lance. I have always paid attention to you."

"From the beginning, inadvertently hearing Paul mention this name, to now, you have become a remarkable leader."

"You should know better than those people what we need to move up."

"You can gain their friendship. After resolving this conflict, we will all become good friends, sharing resources and connections."

Lance looked at him, their eyes met, and after about ten seconds, Lance said clearly, "They owe me."

"If I want something, I will work hard to get it myself, instead of relying on someone else's charity."

Gaoli was originally watching the people inside the casino, but at this moment, his gaze shifted from the floor-to-ceiling glass window to Lance's face.

Even he could hear that this sentence was very impolite.

He seemed to be saying that Bandi was trying to persuade him to bow his head like a beggar because of someone else's charity, and even though Bandi was very sophisticated, he was a little annoyed at this moment.

After all, he is now the head of the five major families… no, the four major families, while Lance is still just the leader of a lower-level gang.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became a little different. Lawn and Hiram, who were sitting on the sofa in the distance, both turned their attention to this side, and Mador, who was standing by the wall, walked to the door and stood there.

In case a fight broke out, he had to control the door, whether to escape or to block them here.

Bandi's face clearly showed some displeasure. He felt that he had already communicated with Lance in such a humble manner given his status, but Lance still couldn't understand him.

This made him a little angry.

"I actually meant well," he said first, "but obviously I may not be able to do these things well."

"Lance, has anyone ever told you?"

Lance asked, "What?"

A hint of playful ruthlessness appeared on Bandi's face, "Your bones are very hard."

Lance laughed loudly after hearing this, not taking his words as a threat at all, but rather seeing it as a compliment, "Thank you for thinking so. My bones are indeed very hard!"

"Someone wanted to press me to kneel down, but in the end, he drowned in his own office."

"Someone wanted to break my bones, but they are still swimming under Angel Lake."

"My bones are very hard. If there are no harder bones, it's best not to clash head-on with me!"

Gaoli had already stood up. He looked at Lance. The entire casino was full of their people.

As long as Bandi gave an order, he would completely leave them here.

Bandi's expression was no longer as calm as before, "Aren't you afraid?"

Lance shook his head, "Everyone is afraid, but Mr. Bandi, you have lived in such luxurious buildings and enjoyed everything that ordinary people cannot enjoy for too long, to the point that you have forgotten."

"Although lives are not priced the same, they are equal in the face of death!"

"I will die, I know, so what about you?"

"Have you ever thought that one day, you will also die."

Gaoli couldn't help it, "Lance, watch your tone."

Lawn and Hiram both stood up, and the atmosphere in the room suddenly became a little tense.

Lance turned around slowly and looked at Gaoli, "Do you want to try my hard bones?"

He grabbed both sides of his clothes and shook them, supporting himself on the armrest to stand up, "Want to?"

The contempt in his tone made Gaoli clench his fists!

If he could decide for himself, he would give Lance a lesson right now, but Bandi was in charge here.

Bandi couldn't sit still either. The situation was clearly developing in a direction he hadn't considered. He stood up, "Lance, can I understand this as your attitude towards us?"

Lance turned to look at him, "You asked me to give up four million in losses to agree to some ghostly compromise you offered. You have already expressed your attitude, Mr. Bandi."

"Your compromise and your attitude are only worth this!"

"I've decided now that I won't even give you fifty thousand worth of face. Four million, not a penny less!"

"Don't think about threatening us. We have come from nothing to where we are now, relying on our daring to challenge and our fearlessness of death."

"If you think my bones are not as hard as you imagine, or not as hard as this Mr. Gaoli, we can try, anytime, anywhere."

He looked at Bandi, pointed at him, and turned to walk towards the door.

Mador immediately opened the door, and Lance walked out of the door with his head held high. Lawn followed closely behind. Hiram flicked his hair and made a pistol gesture with both hands towards Bandi and Gaoli before leaving.

Mador's gaze had been fixed on Gaoli. Only after Lance and the others left the room did he finally leave.

Gaoli immediately looked at Bandi, "I can have people leave them here."

Bandi was also having a headache now, "Leave them here, and then kill them?"

Gaoli looked like it was a matter of course, and Bandi asked again, "And then what?"

"Face the Lance family's crazy revenge?"

"They still have several core figures, including that number two figure, Elvin. If Lance dies, they will definitely retaliate madly."

"And Alberto, he helped Francisco settle those people in the family because Paul helped him."

"How will he deal with us for Lance's sake?"

"How much will we lose by then? Have you considered it?"

"I'm still just acting as an intermediary to mediate this matter. This is not our business, unless we are sure that we can directly suppress them, without giving them any chance."

Gaoli's temper flared up a bit, "Then just let them leave so swaggeringly?"

Bandi was also a little annoyed, "They won't have it easy. The Legere Group has other methods."

Gaoli showed a very obvious look of disappointment, "Bandi…"