Empire of Shadows

Lance’s kidnapping plan made everyone feel it was perfect. Hiram looked at Lance with a strange expression, “You must have done this before.”
“Don’t talk nonsense, I haven’t!” Lance said with a laugh and a curse, “Alright, everyone, do as I just instructed. We don’t know when that guy will call me, but we must have all preparations done before he calls us.”
“This will be the main thing for the next few days.”
Elvin raised his hand, “The day after tomorrow, the Wolf Gang’s bar opens…”
Lance blinked his eyes and quickly reacted. The Wolf Gang had opened a bar on the edge of the Empire District and the Port District, near the Triangle Area.
This was a probing, and also a statement. Lance didn’t say much about it, “Since he dares to stick his claws in, he has to be prepared for us to chop them off. Then let’s arrange it by the way…”
The next morning, the nearly decorated bar made it clear at a glance that this was a place that sold alcoholic beverages.
Under the mayor’s intervention, the Bureau of Hazardous Materials would not investigate the Wolf Gang’s bar at all. Even if someone reported it, they would not go to check.
Even if they had to go, they would call in advance to let them hide the liquor in time, so that no evidence could be found.
Except for those drunkards who were just there to get drunk, the purpose of most people drinking was to relax. A comfortable environment could let them shed their fatigue.
On some occasions, the people of the Wolf Gang directly stated that they had someone on top, so drinking in their bar didn’t have to worry about being searched by the police and other situations, which also led to their bar’s business being significantly better than others.
Displaying the business content so unscrupulously was in itself a guarantee of strength.
Many people said they had connections with the people from the Bureau of Hazardous Materials. This was also one of the methods the Professor used to persuade those small gangs to coexist peacefully with them, and even to integrate into them!
He could guarantee that the bars of these small gangs would not be harassed, and any news could be notified to them in advance.
This was very important for small bars that were not strong in themselves, because every time they were sealed, it meant they suffered a heavy blow. They were not Lance, not some other big gang, so it didn’t matter if they were taken down.
Of course, the Wolf Gang’s bar would not directly hang up the bar’s sign. No matter how powerful the mayor was, he would not dare to go against the administrative orders of Congress.
Outside the bar was a place that truly only sold drinks, fruit juice or soda, but if you walked further inside, it was a place that sold liquor.
All kinds of liquor, just them being in bottles and placed there, could make people feel the smell of wealth they exuded!
There was still a day before the opening. There were already some people from the Wolf Gang in the bar, doing the final inspection work.
The professor had a premonition that this bar would be extremely popular!
So early in the morning, he had people come over to do the final tidying up, and then prepare for tomorrow’s business.
For this, he also launched some promotional activities, for example, buy five get one free. This way, without changing the price of the liquor, it could also make the customers feel that it was a good deal, and they would be more willing to come here.
Maybe at first, they would come in groups of several people, buying liquor together just for the free one, but as the consumption habits were formed, they would gradually stop being so greedy for small gains.
Although the professor was a high school teacher, he also had some of his own experience and insights in terms of management.
The bar manager was checking the inventory. There were about $10,000 worth of various liquors here, and after the business started, another batch would be sent over.
The members of the Wolf Gang stood at the door chatting, their faces filled with longing for a better life in the future!
After they came to Golden Port from Fides, no matter how much else they had gained, at least in terms of wealth, they had obtained in just a few months the profit that might have taken a year to obtain in the past!
Golden Port was just as people said, full of gold everywhere!
The flesh trade, which was not even doing very well in Fides, also became easier in Golden Port.
As long as the girls stood on the street for a while, someone would come up to them and ask for the price, or drive them away in a car.
The price of the girls controlled by the Wolf Gang was very cheap, from $2 to $5. They never did particularly expensive business.
The two-dollar ones were the most common ordinary girls. With heavy makeup, they wouldn’t look ugly.
In the eyes of ordinary people, a girl who scored around seventy-five was priced at $5.
Any higher than that could not be sold on the street, nor could it be enjoyed by those who ate fast food on the street.
They had to have enough fame first, and then they could cooperate with high-end hotels and send those beautiful girls in.
In short, no matter what business it was, the profit that could be obtained in Golden Port was several times that of Fides city!
Not all of this group of people were from Fides. In these few days, the professor had already integrated some small gangs. When the Wolf Gang eliminated the Red Dog Gang and gave up the territory, many people were not so disgusted with them anymore.
There were also some people who took the initiative to integrate into the Wolf Gang, some Golden Port locals.
The professor’s strategy was very successful. He gave both sides more space and scope for cooperation. When the Wolf Gang was not all Fides people, but also Golden Port locals, then no one could say for sure whether it was a local gang or not!
These people stood outside the bar chatting with some excitement because after the bar opened tomorrow, a considerable part of its income would be at the manager’s disposal. The better the bar’s business, the higher their income would be. Who could be downcast because their income had increased?
Just as they were chatting about some fresh news, about some gang matters, and also about the Lance Family.
Everyone said that the Lance Family’s control over the Empire District was very strict, but now they felt it was just so-so.
The bar was about to open, and maybe the Lance Family didn’t even know. And they still boasted about being the “controllers of the Empire District”?
These young faces and the young souls in their bodies, under the encouragement of the “brave to question” spirit in recent years, not only questioned their parents and elders but also had doubts about the already famous Lance Family.
Perhaps someone would talk about them just having wiped out the Gregg family, but these things and their influence had not yet fully spread.
Just as they were discussing whether the Lance Family would attack tomorrow, or just pretend they didn’t know anything and didn’t care, as they were now.
At the corner at the end of this street, three cars were speeding towards this side.
Hiram checked the drum magazine. He felt that the thirty-something rounds of a magazine were too few. The gunsmith had made a drum magazine for Hiram, which could hold seventy-five rounds, but the price was that the weight of the gun would increase a lot when using the drum magazine.
And the barrel would be more likely to overheat due to continuous shooting. In the last dozen or so shots, whether they could hit or not depended entirely on luck!
He pulled the bolt, chambering a round. The bar in the distance was already faintly visible, and he could also see the dozen or so gang members outside the bar.
These people looked like gang members at a glance. Good people wouldn’t stand outside a bar smoking and chatting. As the distance between the two sides got closer and closer, Hiram rested the barrel of his submachine gun on the car window.
When the two sides were only about fifteen meters apart, he pulled the trigger!
Not just him, the others in the car also pulled the trigger. Bullets poured out like a rainstorm!
The pedestrians on the road, after being in a daze for a moment, screamed and fled from here, but the people outside the bar were not so lucky!
Some of them fell on the spot. Some were hit and crashed into the bar and began to return fire. The scene was in chaos!
Although there were no more people standing at the door, they still had no intention of saving bullets. The bullets frantically shot towards the decorated bar, including its sign.
About ten seconds later, the three cars quickly left again. The passersby who had been dodging the shooting didn’t even know what had happened, and it was all over!
The living people immediately told the Professor and Wolf what had happened here. Wolf’s temper was a bit explosive. When he heard this news, he directly slammed the table and stood up, “You sons of b—tches, let’s go and get them!”
But the Professor was obviously much calmer. He looked at Wolf, “Are you planning to go and die?”
Wolf had a fierce expression on his face, “If we don’t retaliate, they will definitely think we are afraid of them!”
“So, you’re planning to go and die?”
Wolf’s eyeballs were wide open, “We just gathered so many small gangs, and now Lance’s men have given us a hard slap in the face. What will those small gangs think?”
“They will think we are not as strong as they imagined. They will breed some thoughts they shouldn’t have!”
“We must prove to them that we are not to be trifled with!”
The professor pushed up his glasses, “So, you’re planning to go and die?”
“Lance and his men obviously knew we had opened a bar long ago. Their control over the Empire District is still very strong. I guarantee you will be discovered as soon as you enter the Empire District.”
“And what awaits you is a large group of people surrounding your car and shooting at it. In the end, they can get at least two pounds of bullet heads out of your body!”
“And then your wife will find another man, your child will be left unattended, and your money will either rot in the bank or be spent by your wife’s new husband.”
“No one will remember a clown who rushed to his death. People will only remember Lance, who killed many clowns.”
“So, are you going to die?”
Wolf suddenly sat back down with some dejection. When it came to using his brain, he trusted the Professor more than anyone else.
If it weren’t for the Professor, he might not have had today’s achievements, nor would there be a Wolf Gang.
He picked up a cup and took a big gulp of water, “But my bar probably can’t open tomorrow.”
Seeing that Wolf’s temper had begun to subside, the professor lowered his voice a little, “If it can’t open, then it can’t open. Just wait a few more days to renovate.”
“Next time they want to stop us so easily, it won’t be so easy!”
“If you want revenge, then you’d better find out where Lance’s bar is. They shot up our bar, so we’ll retaliate!”
“We need to have a planned revenge, not rush over like a fool and then be shot to death by random gunfire!”
Wolf slammed the water cup on the table with a loud bang, “I’ll handle this!”
Watching Wolf take the initiative to leave to “work,” the Professor let out a sigh of relief.
This Lance was very difficult to deal with.
The professor didn’t know what else was waiting for them, but he knew that this bar would be very difficult to open.
But in fact, this was also their first round of confrontation with Lance. Before the two sides officially started a firefight, this was also a kind of probing.
Probing each other’s abilities, observing each other more carefully.
If only Lance had died when he was attacked before, how good would that be?
He sighed.
Compared to the professor’s pessimistic attitude, Hiram had finally had a good fight this time!
The drum magazine with seventy-five rounds made his hands a little numb, but it had to be said, it was really satisfying!
The bullets continuously sprayed out from the muzzle, tearing apart everything in front of it!
Whether it was human bodies, or glass, wooden boards, they would all be fiercely bitten by it, and then passed through. This feeling was great!
The car was filled with laughter and cheers. They didn’t think this was any trouble at all. This was the Empire District, the territory of the Lance Family. Even the police department was under Lance’s control!
The three cars entered the alley one after another, parked, and Lance stood at the back door with a smile, looking at them.
“Was everything smooth?”
Hiram put the gun in a cart next to him, as did the others.
These guns had to have their rifling changed so that they wouldn’t match the bullets that were fired. Hiram waved his fist, “It was exhilarating!”
He described everything that had happened at that time, his face beaming. The feeling of this job was great!
Compared to the $17 a month income at the docks, even if he wasn’t paid, he loved this job!
Mador, standing next to Lance, stood behind Lance, maintaining his vigilance. Ever since Lance was attacked, he had temporarily put down his work as an instructor and had been following Lance, as the captain of the guard team.
That group of them were veterans from the Empire, carefully selected by Elvin. These people all had excellent combat experience, and their marksmanship was good, they were also ruthless in killing, and their judgment of the situation was more professional. They could protect Lance well.
While others were talking, Mador had been paying attention to the movements around him. Suddenly, he noticed a spot of light on the wall to his left move. He turned his head to look in the direction the light spot was changing. On a building across the street, a window was being opened.
The one opening the window was an old man. If it was just that, Mador might not have been sensitive or cared.
But when he found that the old man was also looking at him, and their gazes collided from a distance of possibly seventy or eighty meters, he sensitively realized that there was something wrong with this old man.
After the two looked at each other from a distance for a while, the old man looked away and turned back into the room.
Mador walked to Lance’s side and said softly, “The room in the middle of the building on our right with the open window, the situation is a bit off.”
Lance turned his head and glanced, “I didn’t see anything.”
Mador said, “The person who opened the window just now has been observing us. This position is very dangerous for you.”
In an instant, many things came to Lance’s mind. He nodded slightly, “Take some people to check it out. If we’re wrong, give them some money.”
Mador immediately turned and left with a few people. Lance also took a few steps back and returned to the house.
Elvin looked around from both sides and chased after him, “What’s wrong?”
“I just saw that Mador’s expression was a bit serious.”
Lance lit a cigarette. Although the lights were on in the room, compared to the harsh sunlight outside, it still made people feel that the room was dim.
In the dim environment, Lance’s face was not so clear. He said with a blank expression, “He suspects someone is observing us.”
Elvin was just about to go out and have a look, but was afraid of being discovered, so he could only stop his feet, “I’ll call a few more people over, in case they are in danger.”
Lance nodded.
He believed Mador’s judgment. He had no reason to lie to him, and he had also fulfilled his promise to bring their families over.
Lance only had kindness towards him, nothing else!
He slowly exhaled smoke. Countless people flashed through his mind, but none could stay there for long.
At this time, Mador had already blocked the front and back doors. This apartment had a front door and a back door, both of which were guarded by people. And he took the others directly to the fourth floor. That window was on the fourth floor.
He found the approximate location, knocked on the door, and no one answered in the room.
He took two steps back and drew his pistol. He had clearly seen someone just now, but now the person in the room was not making a sound. How could there not be a ghost?
The others also took out their weapons one after another. Mador took a few more steps back, then a powerful front kick. The not-so-strong door lock was kicked open at once!
The few of them, holding their weapons, did not rush in at once, but stood on both sides of the door to observe.
After confirming that no one was ambushing, they entered the room alternately.
There was no one in the room. Mador put away his weapon. He walked into the kitchen, opened the lid of a soup pot. Inside were the ingredients for a tomato and mushroom soup that had been prepared but not yet cooked.
The others turned around in the other rooms. There were signs of life, but no one.
“They should have just left not long ago. I saw someone here before I came.” Mador stood at the window observing the street opposite. More than half of the scene in the backyard behind the company’s house could be seen. This was indeed a good observation post.
Just as he was about to leave after a fruitless search, he suddenly stopped as he passed a table, casually touched an inconspicuous spot on the edge of the table, and then sniffed.
Then he had the person next to him sniff it as well. That person gave the same judgment as him, “Gun oil.”
Mador nodded, “Yes, gun oil.”
“Notify Lance, seal off the entire building!”