Empire of Shadows

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Flames illuminated Lance’s side profile. It seemed an evil spirit was hidden within the flames, frantically trying to escape from the back door to harm the people in the alley!

Flames shot out half a meter from the second-floor windows and continued to intensify.

Lance looked at the empty back alley, finding it hard to believe they had just left.

Did he win?

No, he had lost from the very beginning. The outcome of this battle couldn’t be decided by winning or losing; it could only be expressed by how tragically he lost.

Did he lose tragically?

His house was set on fire, along with receipts, various loan documents, and items worth seventy to eighty thousand, all reduced to ashes. Was that tragic?

Looking at the brothers who had been shot, lying on the ground, dying, was that tragic?Although he and some of them ultimately survived, Lance felt no joy at this moment, only raging anger!

He took a few deep breaths, his throat burning as he swallowed.

The flames scorched the air, making it dry, and his throat quickly lost moisture when he breathed. Even swallowing saliva made his throat uncomfortable.

“Who… got shot? I heard someone say just now,” he walked over to a person lying on the ground, looking up at him.

It was someone who usually had little presence but had followed him from the start.

The young man lay on the ground, clutching his chest and abdomen. Blood had already spread from beneath him to the surrounding area. He swallowed a mouthful of blood, opened his mouth as if to say something, but only his mouth moved, no words came out.

Bloody foam slowly seeped from his mouth. He stretched out his hand, and Lance grasped it. His eyes seemed to brighten for a moment.

Lance couldn’t understand what his eyes were trying to express. Finally, he showed a smile, and Lance felt the weight in his hand steadily increasing.

He died.

Lance knelt down, placed the young man’s hand by his side, and closed his eyes.

The atmosphere here suddenly became somber.

“There’s someone here too…”

Lance quickly walked over. Another ordinary, unremarkable young man, but one who had always followed him.

“I’m going to die.” The nineteen-year-old’s life had just begun, but at this moment, it came to an end.

He clearly realized that his life had reached its conclusion, and God had opened His arms to him.

“Lance, listen… cough, I have no regrets. You gave me respect, and helped me regain my dignity.”

He suddenly made a big swallowing motion. After a while, seemingly having swallowed down what had surged up, he continued, “Fighting for you was my wish. It’s just that my luck wasn’t very good.”

He laughed twice, seemingly mocking his own bad luck. “Thank you… Lance, thank you…”

“I should go…”

“Don’t tell my parents, just say everything is fine with me…”

The girl who had been hiding in the corner was already crying. Lance punched the car, “Your parents are my parents, I swear!”

A look of reluctance appeared on the young man’s face, but God favored him and still took him away.

Several others had also died.

Six people remained here, and several were injured. This was a heavy blow to Lance’s team!

Lance stood by the flames, looking at those who were still alive, “I promise, they won’t have died in vain!”

Mello walked over, “Let’s leave here first…”

As they left, Lance saw the police. The police now seemed indifferent to their departure.

Fire trucks were fighting the fire on the main street. A dozen “gang members” were held down on the ground, and the media’s flashes captured their “humbleness” and the police’s “grandeur” in the same frame.

The battered vehicles quickly left, and what happened here rapidly spread throughout Golden Port City.

Thirty minutes of fighting, it was said that about a hundred people were held off by about thirty people. If the fire hadn’t started to spread, potentially causing a larger fire and more losses, the consequences would have been hard to say.

But at least, now “Lance” and his “Lance Family”, had entered the sight of some people.

Lance drove their battered car back home quickly and immediately called a doctor.

Woken up in the middle of the night by the call, the doctor’s tone was somewhat unpleasant, “It’s… ” he looked at the grandfather clock, “not yet four o’clock.”

“God, does something really have to be this late?”

But soon, Lance’s voice came through the receiver, “My brothers are seriously injured, and need your help.”

“Now?” He looked at the time again. Do these people not sleep at night?

Lance was in no mood for idle talk. “Sorry, I just lost six brothers, and some people are injured. I’m in no mood to joke with you.”

“It’s the same choice again, you name your price, or I’ll name one for you.”

Although it wasn’t a direct threat, the doctor heard the threatening tone in his voice, and he became a little more alert. “I don’t want trouble, Mr. Lance.”

“You don’t have to worry about trouble. Everyone knows about this, and no one will come looking for trouble with you because of it.”

“If they do, give me their name, and I guarantee they’ll never trouble you again.”

The doctor chuckled coldly, “No need, Mr. Lance…”, but he also heard Lance’s determination. “Where are you?”

“I need to prepare some surgical equipment and medicines. How many of you are injured?”

“About a dozen. Some just need simple stitches, but a few might need surgery. The location is…”

The doctor went to a friend’s clinic, got various medical instruments and medicines, then found the nurse he often partnered with, and together they went to the place Lance had described.

When he arrived, he found everyone in a somber mood. One person lay on the coffee table in the hall, and from his still chest, it was clear he was dead.

The doctor felt a bit tricky, “Sorry, I’m late.”

Lance turned to look at him, and that look made the doctor a little afraid. But soon, his eyes softened, “There are still others who need your help. They’re inside.”

The nurse was a little scared. Lance looked at her and forced a smile, “I promise no one will harm you, regardless of the outcome.”

The doctor pulled the nurse inside. Neither of them discussed money.

“Seven now,” Lance leaned back on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and looked very tired.

“Remember their names, their family situations back in the Empire, send their parents fifty dollars each month, and help them write a letter.”

Lance looked at Mello. Mello, aside from a few scrapes when he fell, was relatively lucky.

He nodded, “I’ll make a record of it.”

Lance looked at the ceiling and exhaled a puff of smoke.

Around four o’clock, Alberto arrived. His face lit up with surprise, and he immediately gave Lance a big hug, “I knew you were tough!”

Lance forced a smile, “They took seven of my brothers.”

Alberto, however, thought that wasn’t many. “While this is sad news, Lance, from an outsider’s perspective, this number isn’t high.”

“On their side, there are about thirty casualties, several times your losses. Now everyone is laughing at Heller.”

“You’ve made a name for yourselves!”

Lance however, had a different opinion, “If making a name for myself requires someone to die for me, I don’t really want that kind of fame.”

Seeing his exhausted face, Alberto’s expression also became more serious. “This is the price, Lance.”

“If you want others to respect and revere you, you must have something that commands their respect and reverence.”

“Whether it’s your status or the weapons in your hand, otherwise they will trouble you again and again, like today.”

“This country always boasts about its civilization, advancement, and beauty, but all of this is just for show.”

“Do you see it now?”

“All the things you thought impossible, as long as they don’t cross their bottom line, there’s nothing they can’t compromise on.”

Lance nodded, “I have a question now.”

Alberto gestured for him to speak.

“If I take revenge on Heller tomorrow, will anyone stop me?”

Alberto shook his head. “You said you understood, but you still don’t, Lance.”

“Imperials fighting Imperials, no matter how you fight, the Federation people will ultimately benefit!”

“If you kill Heller, you can’t take over his businesses, but the Federation people can. They don’t care what you do, as long as you don’t cross their bottom line or make this city seem dangerous.”

“So even if you openly kill Heller in the city center with a weapon in broad daylight, they’ll pretend not to see it!”

“Federation people make the rules, and we follow them. But first, you need to understand what the rules are!”

“And how far you can go!”

“Mr. Pasoretto asked me to tell you that this city, this country, is far more complex than you imagine.”

“If you’re not planning to make some…”, his wrist rotated a few times, “technical adjustments on this matter.”

“Then this matter ends here, and Heller won’t trouble you again.”

“But if you want to avenge your brothers, then crush him in one go. No one will stop you.”

“Because here, order is needed.”

“The order of politicians, the order of the police, and… our order!”

“Someone has to be responsible for these things, Lance. When we are still weak, we must follow the rules.”

“But when we have the strength to break the rules, or even make them, then we can consider the next steps.”

“For now, all you need is a good night’s sleep, and then figure out how to make those important people stop ignoring you!”

Alberto quickly left, and the doctor also finished the other surgeries.

Several people were seriously injured, and the rest just needed simple stitches, which the nurse could do.

When Lance asked him how much he wanted, he only asked Lance for twenty thousand dollars.

And a favor.

(End of this chapter)

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