Empire of Shadows

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Bolton returned home with a heavy heart. He had just been called to a meeting by Lance.

This was his first time attending a high-level cadre meeting. Looking at the group, clearly only seventeen, eighteen, or nineteen years old—twenty was considered old—and filled with extraordinary vitality, he felt an indescribable feeling.

He felt that he had grown old.

He had never felt this way before. Back then, all he thought about was the “Federation Dream.” He wanted his life to be a model of the Federation Dream, to become the enviable “Mr. Bolton.”

But after all these years, besides a house and a loan, he also had a broken family and two disobedient children.

But thankfully, everything had changed.

At the cadre meeting, Lance spoke about the fact that one of the bars had been raided by the Bureau of Hazardous Materials. He said someone had sold out the bar’s location to the Bureau.He didn’t know who this person was, but the person in charge of tonight’s operation said that this person was someone they should all know.

This made many of the young men stand up in anger. Lance didn’t just solve the problem of whether they could eat their fill.

He also allowed them to gain people’s respect, to let their personalities be independent. This was something money couldn’t buy.

He himself had only recently started to feel this way.

Mr. Jobav was very rich, but he lived without dignity, not as well as the people here.

Lance even mentioned Bolton specifically—

“Your job doesn’t change, but your focus needs to shift a bit. Arrange some people around the bar to see if anyone is frequently appearing near our bar but not entering it.”

“If this person is very familiar with our bar’s location, then he must be from the Empire District, and it’s possible we’ve all really met him.”

“Keep an eye on familiar faces. These familiar faces are often more deceptive. Once you find them, figure out their situation, and then we’ll find a way to confirm it.”

Facing the pressure from the Bureau of Hazardous Materials, Lance made arrangements without any panic, one could even say with composure.

This bred even more admiration in Bolton. When he thought of his own performance the first time Lance visited their home, he couldn’t help but want to slap himself a few times.

But thankfully, Lance wasn’t the type to hold his past ugly behavior against him and even gave him good treatment.

The weather at the end of March was already in the teens. The young people had already changed into single layers, shivering in the cold wind, while the elderly were still wearing thick clothes.

He took off his coat and hung it on the rack. As soon as he entered the living room, he smelled the aroma of meat.

He quickened his pace and saw a sumptuous dinner on the table: steak, lamb chops, and some vegetable salad and dinner rolls.

He was indeed tired after a busy day and sat down accordingly. “What’s the special occasion today that someone is willing to treat?”

Rob’s money was almost all spent on dating. Sometimes at the end of the month, he didn’t have enough and had to ask him for more.

As for Nancy, she indeed didn’t need to ask Bolton for extra pocket money, but she would never be generous enough to buy so much good food to share with everyone.

Bolton knew very well that both of his children had problems with their personalities. This was caused by his divorce from his wife; he bore some responsibility.

Perhaps out of guilt towards his children and not knowing how to make up for his guilt, he had adopted an indulgent attitude towards both of them.

Perhaps in his view, this was the only way he could compensate them.

But in reality, doing so would only make their personalities worse.

Rob coughed twice, “I found a new job. My boss is nice to me and gave me half a month’s salary in advance, so I decided to treat you all to a nice meal.”

Bolton took a small lamb chop. It was very tender and melted in his mouth. “Where’s Selena?”

Nancy, sitting opposite him, put down her knife and fork. “Dad!”

Bolton shrugged, “Sorry, I forgot.”

After being in a cold war for two months, Selena and Rob finally broke up.

Selena really couldn’t stand Rob’s… she didn’t know how to describe it, pettiness?

In short, if she just spoke a few words with another man, Rob’s small-mindedness would erupt. He would demand that Selena keep her distance from those men and not have too much contact.

Sometimes he would even use Lance to mock her—

When they first met, he believed that Selena argued with him for Lance’s sake and very disrespectfully told him to “shut up,” and when he left angrily, she stayed behind and talked enthusiastically with Lance.

Rob believed she liked Lance, so he became jealous and held this matter in his heart.

Whenever the two had a disagreeable argument, he would bring this up and embellish it to attack Selena.

Selena couldn’t stand such a boyfriend and sometimes even suspected he had mental problems. He would use phrases like “Do you want to sleep with Lance?” and “How do you want him to f—k you?” to humiliate her.

And after saying these words, she could clearly feel Rob becoming more excited, more aroused!

When they first met, Rob behaved quite normally, but as they spent more time together and became more familiar with each other, a truer version of themselves was revealed to each other.

Sometimes the truth isn’t the best; it can be worse.

Now, the two had completely broken up. Rob also seemed to have moved on from this failed relationship. Everything was developing in a good direction.

Bolton chatted with Rob about his new job. Rob seemed reluctant to talk about it, only saying it was a very easy job. Bolton didn’t ask any more about it.

He was in a period where his ambition was bursting forth. He hoped to gain more of Lance’s attention and have his own place among the high-level cadres.

After dinner, he quickly went out again. He had to contact more people.

At the dinner table, the siblings swallowed the last bit of food. Nancy contentedly stroked her stomach, “If only you were a rich man, I could eat meat until I can’t walk every day!”

Rob looked at her with a smile, “That day will come.”

The next morning, Lance called Alberto.

“Last night, one of my bars was shut down by them. How are things on your end?”

After hearing this, Alberto asked, “Were the losses heavy?”

“A few thousand, it’s okay.”

Only then did he answer Lance’s first question, “It’s about the same. Last night, one of our bars was also shut down, but luckily it wasn’t our liquor storage warehouse. Still, the family lost over ten thousand.”

“I heard the Kodak family was hit the hardest. It forced their casinos to stop serving liquor; now they only offer juice.”

Speaking of this, Alberto couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “Who the hell drinks juice while gambling?”

“Can you imagine it?”

“In the midst of the most exciting and brutal card games at the gambling table, what they raise are not glasses full of whiskey or brandy, but a glass of juice.”

“I laugh just thinking about it. I hope juice pairs better with cigarettes!”

Lance asked a question of concern, “Does Paul have any intention of talking to Dale and the others?”

Paul was Pasoretto’s first name. In private, they would all call him that. Only when outsiders were present or in formal situations would Lance use “Mr. Pasoretto” to address him.

Alberto was well-informed, “I heard Dale is impossible to communicate with. He’s on the same line as the mayor, which means he’s destined not to stand with us.”

“And, Lance, I heard a lot of people have come from Fides. You have to be careful. I’m afraid they’re not here for tourism.”

Fides was in the northwest of the neighboring state. The mayor had previously served as a city councilman in Fides. Later, through some political deals within the party, he obtained the party’s nomination for mayor of Golden Port and successfully took office.

No one knew how many unethical deals were behind this, but there certainly wouldn’t be few, though it was hard to say.

The mayor wasn’t the first “outsider.” The Socialist party was definitely very dissatisfied with the local cliques. Selecting him to be mayor might have been a move to use his methods to open up the situation, but it seemed the effect wasn’t very good.

But now, the situation had changed. He began to mobilize a large number of people from Fides. The Five Families saw this as a very bad signal.

It meant that their conflict would continue to escalate, but now that the competition had begun, it was impossible to stop, unless one side bowed its head.

The Five Families couldn’t possibly bow their heads, and neither could the mayor. It seemed there was a choice, but in reality, there was no choice from the beginning.

“Lance, you might not believe it, but I’m actually… full of anticipation for what’s about to happen.”

“Golden Port has been too quiet for all these years. Perhaps this will be a chance for a metamorphosis.”

Lance heard the meaning behind his words, “Yes, I think so too.”

Alberto urged, “Be careful. I hope you become a big shot in the future, so that for old times’ sake, you can give me the capital to be arrogant. I’ll only need to say to people, ‘Lance and I are good brothers,’ and they’ll back off!”

Lance couldn’t help but laugh out loud after hearing this, “Are you talking about Eric?”

“Then you’ll first have to call me ‘Dad,’ and also be prepared to have your legs broken!”

“F—k, that’s not what I meant!”

“Yes, yes, I know, that’s exactly what you meant!”

After bullshitting for a while, Alberto told Lance that Gerald and their film crew had started shooting. If Lance was interested, he could go and see, it was in Valley City.

A few more days passed, and the Empire of the Night nightclub reopened its doors.

The Empire of the Night nightclub was already a landmark building in the Empire District. Its reopening sparked a lot of discussion among people, with the most discussed topic being who would take over the position of general manager after Lance left.

In the morning, around ten o’clock, a group of people arrived at the steps outside the Empire of the Night nightclub. One of them was wearing a fur coat, the fluffy collar making his shiny bald head even more conspicuous.

This man was wearing a pair of sunglasses. He was the new general manager of the Empire of the Night nightclub, named Brinton. In Golden Port, probably few people knew who he was.

But in another city, Fides, more people knew him.

This guy was the number two figure in the Viper Gang. He also had a nickname, “Chainsaw,” which was related to his special hobby.

When executing his enemies, his favorite way to deliver the final kill was with a chainsaw. He often made the scene so bloody that it made people uncomfortable.

But for him, this was all a form of praise. In his perception, the more people who feared him, the more it proved his success on this path.

The Viper Gang had responded to the mayor’s call, and Brinton had transferred over from Fides with a group of key elites.

Fides was an inland industrial city. To say it was poor would be inaccurate.

But to say it was rich, it was far from the prosperity of Golden Port.

The number one figure in the Viper Gang told Brinton that if they could gain a firm foothold in Golden Port and develop rapidly here, they could completely abandon their foundation in Fides and move over directly.

You know, in the Federation, people often mentioned the Five Families of Golden Port and the Five Families of the Federation, and not the five families of any other city.

This showed the “value” of this city!

At the same time, Brinton had an additional new job upon arriving here, which was to take over the Empire of the Night nightclub and several bars.

He needed to run these businesses well to provide a steady stream of funds for the mayor’s conflict.

How much money he could get, how much importance and trust he could receive, depended entirely on how much money he could provide for the mayor from here.

“A big city is a big city. I heard the Empire District is a poor and backward place here?” He took off his sunglasses and looked at the person next to him.

The Empire of the Night nightclub was modeled after a famous building in the Empire. The twelve columns on the front made it look less like a nightclub and more like a great hall or something.

The group of people walked up the steps laughing and talking. Looking at the luxurious decoration inside, Brinton was very satisfied with his “new home.”

After a tour, he arrived at the manager’s office and sat in the chair. “I heard the manager who used to be here was called what?”

The person sitting in the first seat of the sofa, who looked a bit thin and frail and wore glasses, said, “He’s called Lance. He’s the boss of the Lance Family and is very prestigious in the Empire District.”

Brinton bared his teeth after hearing this and said, “What’s the use of prestige, did he offend Councilman Sidney?”

Compared to the people of Golden Port who called the mayor “Mr. Mayor,” these people from Fides were more accustomed to calling him “Councilman Sidney.” It was a very intimate form of address.

That person nodded, “He didn’t take good care of Young Master Eric. Now Young Master Eric has a broken leg and arm, and ribs, and is in the hospital.”

“My God, these people are so f—king terrifying. And this Lance, he couldn’t even handle this small matter. No wonder Councilman wants him to get lost.”

“But now that we’re here, everything will get back on track. We’re going to let those damn ‘locals’ experience the simple and honest customs of Fides!”

There wasn’t much of the emotion he was trying to express in his words on Brinton’s face. In fact, not many people liked that bastard Eric. If he didn’t have a good… uncle, who the f—k would care about such a small character?

The people in the room all showed knowing smiles; they also lacked respect for Eric.

“So where should our work begin?” Brinton rubbed his stomach, “I’m a little hungry.”

“Perhaps we should get these places up and running first?”

That evening, the Empire of the Night nightclub reopened, attracting many patrons, as did the bars. Everything became lively again.

The most important point was that in these establishments, they could sell liquor with impunity.

Orson the lawyer told them not to worry about the Bureau of Hazardous Materials coming to check on them, because Chief Dale was also one of their “own people.”

Not only would he not check on them, but if they needed to deal with competitors, they just needed to pass the information to Chief Dale, and he would arrange for people to help them attack their competitors.

This made Brinton and the Viper Gang behind him exude a strong sense of confidence from the inside out, as well as a “cockiness” that was three parts similar to Eric’s.

For them, even the “officials” were on their side, what reason did they have to lose?

Another weekend came, and a large number of Empire people gathered outside the St. Nayea Cathedral again. Only this time, as its organizer, Mr. Jobav was no longer the core here.

With Lance’s arrival, people soon began to line up to greet him. Although Mr. Jobav felt a little sour, he ultimately accepted this outcome.

But he had also been troubled recently because the mayor had made new demands.

“Where’s that assistant of yours?” Lance didn’t see the old fellow who was almost inseparable from Mr. Jobav and asked curiously.

“I’ve arranged some new work for him, he didn’t come.” Mr. Jobav glossed over the topic in one sentence. He didn’t want to talk deeply about it.

In fact, after the last incident ended, he had transferred the assistant away from his side. The reason was that his nephew’s child was growing up, and he needed a father-like figure to help him find the right direction on the path of life.

His nephew’s wife couldn’t fill this role, so Mr. Jobav felt he had to do it himself.

And his assistant agreed without the slightest hesitation.

To be a beacon and navigator on a child’s path in life, one certainly couldn’t juggle Mr. Jobav’s busy work here. Now he was the Vice General Manager of Jinda Bank, and had more time to take care of that child.

Of course, these were just some surface factors and results. In reality, Mr. Jobav had become a little wary of this old partner who had been with him for decades.

You know, if anything ultimately contributed to his nephew’s death, then he was one of them!

Let alone going to see what had become of Jimmy, just recalling the assistant’s madness during his revenge made his back turn cold.

What if one day, he suddenly felt that he also deserved to die, would he also silently give him a blow with a stick?

He didn’t dare to bet, and he had a suitable reason, so he transferred him away.

***

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