Empire of Shadows

Mr. Hoff, back in his house, sat in his chair. He casually opened his cigarette case, which contained cigarettes, cigars, and several boxes of tobacco.

All of them were of the finest quality. The value of the contents of this one cigarette case alone could equal the combined income of an average family for several years, without eating or drinking.

It might even exceed that.

Normally, when he was alone, he liked whiskey with a cigar. The aroma and alcohol of the whiskey could wash away some of the lingering taste of the cigar on the mucous membrane of his mouth, making each puff a completely new experience.

At the same time, some of the cigar's flavor and the whiskey's bouquet would merge and intertwine, creating a new experience. For those who enjoyed cigars and whiskey, it was an unparalleled experience!

Not to mention, under the dual effects of alcohol and nicotine, the wonderful, slightly tipsy feeling made one feel like they were floating in the air.

Even if God reached out to him from the sky, he probably would have refused!

But now, he wasn't in the mood to enjoy that kind of pleasure.

He felt he had been a little reckless today.

Generally, someone in his position rarely did such reckless things. It could only be said that… Lance made him extremely resentful, not just because it now affected his interests.

More importantly, Lance had embarrassed him twice.

The first time was when Lisa was snatched away by him halfway. Although he went to Red Heels to cause trouble and vented his anger, he managed to regain some face.

But everyone knew very well that Lance had ultimately not given him face. His trouble with Red Heels didn't really resolve the embarrassment.

The second time, it was still Lance.

He had to hand Lisa over.

He had never been so infatuated with Lisa's body as he was during that period. Perhaps people only become greedy for things they suddenly can't get.

When he could enjoy her at will, he wasn't so passionate about her body; he just wanted to vent his desires.

But after losing her and then getting her back, he felt that some of his emotions had sublimated.

Unfortunately, Lance had embarrassed him again.

Now, his interests in Goldenport City were somewhat affected, which was the third time.

That's why he mentioned the notorious, extremely conservative and radical organization, the Sacred Bell Party, in front of so many people, and their 'Saint' Joshua.

Joshua was the current de facto ruler of the Sacred Bell Party. He claimed to be a saint, sent by God to cleanse the ugliness and darkness of the world.

This person seemed a bit crazy, but he was crazy in a calm way. He wasn't the kind of crazy who would grab a piece of excrement and eat it without knowing what it was. He would make someone else grab the excrement and eat it, then tell them, 'This is a piece of shit.'

If possible, not many people actually wanted to deal with Joshua. The people of the Sacred Bell Party couldn't be regarded as ordinary gangs.

In an environment of organizational discipline and religious nature, these people were all a little mentally unstable to varying degrees.

Originally, Mr. Hoff's intention was to provide Mr. Charles with an idea—look, we're not completely helpless; we still have a way. You can try to start from here.

His intention was to have Mr. Charles contact the Sacred Bell Party. He couldn't do it himself. Mr. Charles's business was so big, and he knew so many people; how could he not know anyone from the Sacred Bell Party!

But he really didn't expect that Mr. Charles would pretend not to know them and ask him to make contact.

He had been a little careless.

But now that the matter had been pushed onto him, it probably wouldn't do if he said he couldn't handle it.

After smoking a cigarette, he picked up the phone and dialed the number he didn't really want to dial.

"This is Joshua. Who is calling?"

Joshua's voice was very magnetic and gentle. One could sense through the phone that he was a very charming middle-aged man.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

He looked about forty-six or forty-seven years old but didn't appear old. He usually wore a white cloak with a golden cross on his chest and a golden bell outlined with golden thread on his back.

He usually wore glasses, with his short hair parted in a three-seven split, slightly graying.

His hair had started to gray when he was a teenager, but it had always remained just slightly gray.

His features were also very soft and handsome. He was a very handsome young man when he was young.

If he didn't have his fits, or rather, if his emotions didn't become agitated, then he was a very kind and approachable person.

"It's me, Hoff," Mr. Hoff hesitated as he announced his name.

"I remember you, Mr. Hoff, a regional opinion leader!"

There was a hint of surprise in Joshua's voice, as if old friends were meeting after a long time, making it impossible to associate him with his notorious image.

"Yes, Mr. Joshua…"

"Call me Joshua. We're friends. I remember that."

"And I'll call you Hoff."

"So… Hoff, is there anything I can help you with?"

Mr. Hoff took a deep breath. "You know that since last year, the situation in Goldenport City has been somewhat beyond everyone's expectations."

"The rapid rise of the Lance family has left us with no time or measures to respond. By the time we started considering how to restrict it, it had already developed to a level we couldn't control."

"Joshua, we want to ask you for a favor."

Joshua certainly knew about the changes in the underground world of Goldenport City, but he didn't know it so clearly.

Listening to the remarks of Mr. Hoff, with whom he didn't actually have a very good relationship, he didn't choose to believe him immediately. At the same time, he caught a key word.

"You said, 'we'?"

"Who else is there?"

Mr. Hoff confessed to some of the representative figures of the Bay Area interest groups. These figures might not be famous in the world of gangs.

But they were still very famous in the upper class of the state.

Like Mr. Charles, he was a major shareholder in the Goldenport Wharf, and a considerable portion of the profits generated by the Goldenport Wharf each year went into his pockets.

In fact, profits were just a small problem. His influence on the wharf could be transformed into political influence. Otherwise, why would Mr. Hoff and the others respect his opinions so much?

Not just gangs, religious organizations, or any other organization, as long as they wanted to expand, they couldn't do without three elements.

First, money.

Second, people.

Third, relationships.

The Sacred Bell Party itself was a very terrible gang. If they wanted to continue to expand and increase their influence, they had to have the help of some upper-level forces.

They needed some political influence.

Whether they did it in the past to quickly take root in the hearts of those extremely conservative and radical farmers, or whether they were just crazy to begin with.

Past developments had allowed them to expand very quickly, but as their size grew, they gradually felt the stronger force entrenched in the skies above Licarée State.

Political, military, other.

If Joshua wanted the Sacred Bell Party to walk out of Licarée State and become a nationwide gang, or even… a religion.

Then he had to have politicians and big capitalists supporting him from behind.

He knew Mr. Charles. He was indeed a famous celebrity and had many connections with the state government, which was helpful for the "going out" plan.

He didn't think much about it and agreed. He had heard David talk about this matter and also heard about the 200 million liquor market in Goldenport City.

If it were the era of the Five Great Families, he wouldn't have cared so much about this market. After all, although the market size was very large, it was very fragmented.

But now it was different. Lance had already integrated this aspect, and he just needed to swallow the Lance family and then accept their set of rules.

Wealth, political influence, network relationships, he had no reason to refuse.

Although he knew why Hoff was calling him, he still had to go through the necessary procedures.

The value generated by someone asking you for a favor is different from the value generated by you actively wanting to do something for someone else.

So even though he knew what the purpose of this call was, he still asked, "I know Mr. Charles and the others, so what do you want me to do for you?"

Mr. Hoff lowered his voice slightly, as if afraid of being eavesdropped, "Get rid of the Lance family!"

"Hoff, we're friends. In theory, I should help you solve this problem."

"But I heard that the Lance family's control over Goldenport City is very strong. Even if our car just enters the city, he can know it immediately."

"And the police chief seems to be his man too?"

"What I can do, I can do, and what I can't do, I can't do. I'll tell you, instead of agreeing to you first."

The entire Licarée State's underworld was well aware of how difficult it was to invade Goldenport City. This was also why Joshua hadn't taken action there for so long.

Mr. Hoff frowned after hearing this. "Then what should we do?"

Emphasizing the difficulty of helping is also a good way to weigh one's own value.

"My idea is that we kill Lance first. Once Lance dies, the Lance family will definitely be in chaos. Then our people will rush in and kill their cadres."

"Even if his people, friends, can react, it will be too late."

"Doing this won't be easy, and you need to contribute a little."

Mr. Hoff felt that something was not right, but Joshua's idea was undoubtedly very attractive to him. He could only bite the bullet and ask, "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to get our people inside, using your car, or your friend's car."

"Then, either you or your friend will set up a meeting with Lance. We'll make our move when you meet."

Mr. Huff felt his scalp tingle slightly when he heard this. If he really did this, then without a doubt, everyone would think he was in cahoots with the Holy Bell Syndicate.

Perhaps he would lose his power at the next party congress. After all, the Socialist Party could not continue to place someone in an important position who was involved with a religiously-tinged, extremely conservative, and radical gang.

However, he did not immediately refuse, but said, "I'll think about it..."