Empire of Shadows

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Hatred is a special emotion. It can make a person do many terrible things that he himself cannot imagine.

Moreover, hatred cannot be resolved by any means. Not only will it not diminish with the passage of time, but it will continue to brew and ferment in the guilt and remorse of the heart!

Those who talk about using time and love to resolve hatred, their purpose is often not really to resolve hatred, but something else.

That is just their high-sounding excuse. They need it.

Not much time had passed. The screams of his nephew before his death seemed to still echo in his ears. The assistant’s emotional fluctuations were a bit large.

He lowered his head, his hands pressed on his thighs, trembling slightly. Hatred was like a venomous snake gnawing at his heart. Every day was a torment for him!

Only by killing this bastard with his own hands could he free himself from the cage of remorse and embrace life again.

Lance sat there. Catching a Jimmy was like a game to him. It wasn’t difficult at all, but…“Twenty thousand is a lot, but it’s not the driving force for me to do this,” Lance didn’t refuse directly, but gave him a sentence that he didn’t quite understand.

The assistant looked up at Lance. He didn’t know what this sentence meant. He tried to find something else on Lance’s face.

Expressions like “I’m not satisfied with the price you offered” or “Did you forget you should give me some more,” there were none. Lance just looked at him calmly. His calm eyes made him unable to feel the slightest emotional fluctuation.

He knew that a key thing was still missing, but what was this thing?

His brain, having worked with Jobav for a long time, had fallen into a kind of erroneous cognition. “I can give you more money, my savings…”

Lance raised his hand and waved it. “This is not the reason that drives me to do this for you. Anyone can give me money, but I won’t necessarily do anything for them.”

The assistant was a bit loss and also a bit pained. He held his head in his hands. “I don’t know!”

Lance said softly, “No, you do know. Find it, say it…”

It’s unknown how much time passed, but the assistant’s brain, which had become stiff from long-term monotonous work, finally loosened up a bit. From some rumors he had heard, he found what he thought Lance wanted.

He instinctively felt it was a bit ridiculous, but soon, he no longer found it ridiculous. Instead, he had an indescribable feeling, like…

He didn’t know how to describe it. Perhaps the believers of God back then also had this feeling, that sacred feeling that only comes when surrounded and illuminated by warmth and light.

He stood up from the side of the sofa, walked to a place not far from Lance, and lowered his head. “Mr. Lance, please help me get justice. I’m begging you.”

At this very moment, the assistant’s originally uneasy, restless, anxious, hateful, and remorseful heart, which had been wrapped in various negative emotions, suddenly calmed down. He had already done everything he could for his nephew.

A smile appeared on Lance’s face. “I will get justice for you!”

He paused for a moment. “In a few days, he will appear before you. Now go back and get some good rest. Everything will be alright!”

The assistant left. His steps had not been so light since his nephew’s accident, and a smile even appeared on his face.

When he walked out of the house, a ray of sunlight shone on him just right, making his whole person feel warm!

He drove the car back to the office by the bank. The first thing Mr. Jobav did when he saw him was to ask, “Did Lance agree?”

The assistant’s expression was slightly strange. It was hard for him not to compare Mr. Jobav with Lance, but after comparing, he would feel that the gap between the two was getting bigger and bigger.

Actually, he shouldn’t have such thoughts, but he… just couldn’t help but think this way.

He nodded. “Mr. Lance has agreed to our request. Jimmy will appear before us soon.”

Mr. Jobav pumped his fist. “Great!” He actually hated Jimmy very much too. Jimmy often came to extort him, and he also wanted to vent his anger!

He immediately signed a check for twenty thousand dollars and handed it to him. “Have someone deliver it. I’ve given your share for you. This is what I owe you.”

The assistant was silent for a moment, then nodded. He knew what Mr. Jobav meant. If it weren’t for his compromise, although his nephew might still have died, at least it wouldn’t have been because of their betrayal.

Because being shot and killed for not being Jimmy’s match, and being betrayed by one’s own flesh and blood and tortured to death, are two different concepts.

But whether it was ten thousand or twenty thousand, it could ultimately not fill the crack in his heart.

The assistant first went home. Although Mr. Jobav had paid his share, he still wanted to give Lance something.

He opened the safe and solemnly took out a box from it.

There were many pieces of jewelry in the box, among which the most eye-catching was a ruby ring.

Half of it was ruby, and the other half was gold. The clear and translucent ruby made it worth at least fifty thousand dollars, or even a higher price.

For the assistant and his family, this ring had an extraordinary meaning because it came from a nobleman’s reward.

It was originally a ring worn by a nobleman. Because his ancestor had performed exceptionally well as a deer hunter in the hunting grounds, the nobleman had bestowed this ring upon his ancestor.

Passed down from generation to generation, it had transformed from a valuable ring into a kind of family heirloom spirit.

But today, he felt that it was time to give it away, to someone more suitable for it!

Although Lance was a bit surprised when he received the ring, he gladly accepted the gift.

No matter how much it was worth, first of all, it was not money itself. The value of a gift lies not in its intrinsic value, but in the sentiment.

Lance accepted the assistant’s gift and casually wore it on his finger.

Having accepted someone’s things, Lance certainly had to work. Soon, Bolton received Lance’s instructions, and some people on the street began to move around.

Even Bolton himself went to the vicinity of the Port District to inquire about news.

He had recently gained a small reputation in the underworld of Golden Port. He always took the initiative to inquire about various matters, and then summarized them and handed them over to Morris.

Morris was now basically the “intelligence chief” of the Lance family. He had many familiar faces in the Empire District, and people were willing to chat with this young man who had grown up on the streets.

So it was easier for him to get some intelligence, and Lance had put him in charge of this part.

With Polly’s death in a “gunfight” and the backbone of the Brotherhood scattered, the Brotherhood, which was originally rampant and domineering in the Port District, seemed to have… ended their rule overnight.

On the contrary, the Red Dog Gang began to rapidly expand its territory.

But the Port District was too large. Before the Red Dog Gang had occupied half of it, several new neighborhood families began to rise and define their own spheres of influence.

The originally relatively simple Port District suddenly became complicated, with the addition of five or six forces including the Red Dog Gang.

However, none of this had anything to do with Jimmy, because Jimmy was preparing to run.

If one were to say whose death had the greatest impact, then without a doubt, the senior cadres of the Brotherhood were the most severely impacted.

Polly was the foundation of their foothold in Golden Port. If it weren’t for Polly, the Brotherhood would not have developed and grown to its current state.

Jimmy and some senior cadres knew that Polly had a big shot supporting him, but they didn’t know who it was.

A gang with a big shot as a backer and a gang without one are two completely different concepts.

But no matter what, it was all over now!

Jimmy planned to flee to Valley City first, and then continue north…

He just didn’t know if the Bureau of Dangerous Goods was still chasing them like a mad dog now?

Just as he was observing the situation on the street through the gap between the curtain and the window, the sound of a key suddenly made him tense. He grabbed the gun in his hand and stood behind the door.

As the door was pushed open, a woman walked in.

He pulled the woman into the house, nearly making her fall to the ground. Jimmy quickly poked his head out and looked left and right in the corridor before he felt relieved and released the safety.

He closed the door and looked at his furious girlfriend, with no intention of apologizing. “Was anyone following you?”

His girlfriend put her hands on her hips and questioned him, “Shouldn’t you apologize first?”

“You not only hurt me, but you also almost made me fall. You must apologize.”

Jimmy was a little impatient. “Fine, I apologize, alright?”

“Now tell me, was anyone following you when you came back?”

His girlfriend was still very angry because she felt that Jimmy’s apology was not sincere, and an insincere apology was the same as no apology at all.

But she also understood Jimmy’s bad temper to some extent. While picking up the scattered food on the ground, she said angrily, “Yes, many people were following me.”

“Fuck!” Jimmy immediately pushed his girlfriend aside and rushed to the window to look outside. The street, which seemed to have no problems, now seemed like everyone was abnormal!

The girlfriend watched as the food she had just picked up was knocked to the ground again. She was about to go crazy. “Are you fucking out of your mind?”

“This is our food for today and tomorrow!”

Food?

Jimmy couldn’t care less about that!

He strode to his girlfriend’s side, grabbed her arm, and dragged her to the window, pointing at the not-so-many people on the street and asking, “Come here, tell me who followed you back…”

“Is it the one who walked into the phone booth?”

“And that one reading a newspaper on the roadside. Who the fuck reads a newspaper on the roadside? Was he following you back?”

The girlfriend raised her arm and broke free from his restraint. “Are you already crazy?”

Jimmy was still very nervous. “You just said many people were following you!”

His girlfriend had a matter-of-fact look on her face. “When have I ever gone out without anyone following me?”

“They just want to fuck me, isn’t that normal?”

“FUCK!” Jimmy cursed hard. “You’re fucking sick!”

His girlfriend didn’t indulge him either. “I don’t know which of us is the fucking sick one!”

“I’ve fucking had enough of you!” She threw the things in her hand, turned around, and pulled the door to leave, leaving only Jimmy and the empty room, and the potatoes rolling on the floor.

Looking at the tightly closed door of the room, Jimmy cursed a few more times. He then slowly squatted down and picked up the food.

He had to leave.

He told himself that if this continued, even if he wasn’t sick, he would be tormented into sickness.

The fear of death kept him in a constant state of tension. Any subtle change in the environment would make him feel that Director Dale’s people were already around him.

He saw Polly in the newspaper. That face, which had been pieced back together by the medical examiner for over an hour, shattered and with a missing part, gave him nightmares every night.

He didn’t want to become like that one day. The shadow of death had been lingering over him.

He went to the kitchen, washed the potatoes and other food, then casually chopped them up and threw them all into the pot…

On the other side, Jimmy’s girlfriend left the apartment she was renting after her anger subsided.

As Jimmy’s girlfriend, she didn’t actually have a formal job, because Jimmy could get money. A little bit from him was enough for her to live for a long time.

At the same time, as a girl who was exposed to Jimmy’s circle and environment, it was difficult for her to be like ordinary girls, who would go to the library or a concert hall to pass the time.

The place where she passed the time was on the street.

She came to a street nearby where she had acquaintances. Some young people were gathered here. When they saw the girl, they waved, and the girl trotted across the street to meet them.

“Take a drag!” A young man passed the cigarette dangling from his mouth over. The girl said, “Thanks,” and then took a deep drag.

She leaned against the guardrail by the roadside, stretching her body backward. Although the weather was not yet hot, people were not wearing as much as they did in winter.

Young people are a group with flamboyant personalities, and now the Federation was also encouraging distinct personalities. Most young people didn’t wear much.

She stretched her body, stretching her curves. Soon, two young men squeezed her in between them.

These young people belonged to the “neighborhood families” in their nascent stage. They knew each other and had long gathered and been active in a fixed place, but so far, they had not been involved in criminal activities.

One day, when one of them used “I have a good idea to make money” as an opening, a low-level neighborhood family would emerge.

But for now, it still needed some time to brew.

“How come we haven’t seen you out lately?” a young man in his twenties asked, putting his arm around her waist.

The girl slanted him a look. She knew this little buddy really wanted to sleep with her. The other party had pleaded several times, but she had never agreed.

“You’d better take your hand away. If Jimmy sees it, he’ll chop off your paw.”

It wasn’t that she was very loyal to Jimmy, but she had just had a fight and was in a bad mood. She didn’t want to flirt with anyone.

The young man was quite thick-skinned and instead held her tighter. “He might not be able to beat me.”

“But he has a gun!” the girl added.

The young man’s movement froze, and then the girl broke free from his arm and stood with the other girls.

Both young men were a little annoyed. A gun, that thing was indeed too terrible for them!

If they couldn’t get rid of Jimmy, they couldn’t have a relationship with this girl, which was something they didn’t want to see.

“I heard the Lance family is looking for Jimmy.”

A big boy said softly, as if to make his companion beside him make up his mind, he added, “They promised to give us a thousand dollars after they find him.”

The other person hesitated a bit. “Can you be sure Jimmy is at her place?”

The two young men said no more. They looked at each other, saw something in each other’s eyes, and then exchanged opinions by nodding.

“We’re going to buy a pack of cigarettes,” one of them said.

The others did not refuse, because if they bought cigarettes, the others could also smoke.

The two young men quickly left here. They ran, running wildly in another direction.

This was the place where the Port District and the Empire District intersected. They would sometimes go to the Empire District to hang out and witness the prestige of the Lance family, so they knew where to find these people!

Less than two days after the news that Lance was looking for Jimmy was released, someone said they knew where Jimmy was.

Bolton sat on a chair in a roadside open-air coffee house. He was stirring a cup of coffee. This was his fifth refill.

If it weren’t for the fact that he had paid for two cups and was a member of the Lance family, the owner might have already told him to get lost.

Two of his men brought two panting young men here. “They said they know where Jimmy is.”

Bolton already had a faint aura of a gang cadre about him. Without looking up, under the dissatisfied gaze of the coffee shop owner, he put three more sugar cubes into his coffee cup and kept stirring.

The sound of the coffee spoon colliding with the coffee cup was continuous. “Do you know the price of lying?”

Only then did he look up. The two young men nodded repeatedly. “We know. We’re not lying. Jimmy’s girlfriend is our friend.”

“She usually hangs out with us, but she’s barely been out these past few days. And she proactively brought up Jimmy, saying he has a gun.”

Bolton’s stirring paused for a moment, then he picked up the coffee cup and drank it all in one gulp. He took out five cents and placed it on the table. “I’m going to make a phone call.”

“If you’re not lying, and we find Jimmy…” he patted the cheeks of the two young men, “then you’ve struck it rich!”

The news quickly followed a clear “route” from Morris to Elvin, and then to Lance’s ears.

He immediately had someone bring Jimmy over. Hiram took on this job, mainly because he liked to train new recruits and instill in them his theory that “no matter how accurately you shoot a pistol, it’s not as good as a submachine gun.”

He had told Lance before that he hoped to form a submachine gun team. That would definitely be awesome!

A dozen or so minutes later, three cars parked in the back alley of the apartment where Jimmy lived. They came in from the alley of the building behind, just to avoid being discovered by Jimmy.

Hiram pushed the drum magazine in, pulled the bolt, and with a flick of his clothes, the trench coat covered the submachine gun hanging by his side. “Action!”

(End of this chapter)

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