Empire of Shadows

After watching two movies in a row, the two of them walked out of the cinema. Patricia was still immersed in the winding plot, unable to extricate herself.

Lance didn’t particularly like this kind of plot. Although tragedy could sublimate the story, it would ultimately not become the content that most people loved.

Facts would prove that people didn’t spend money to go to the cinema to find unhappiness. They hoped that the ticket price they paid could bring them happiness and laughter, not sadness and depression.

After coming out, Lance persuaded her for a good while before Patricia finally believed that all of this was fake, just created by the screenwriters to deceive people’s tears.

“If you get a chance to see them, you must give them a beating!”

“They made me cry sadly for a good while!” The girl wiped her tears with a handkerchief, her eyes still a little red, “Do I look a bit awful?”

Lance shook his head, “Still as beautiful as ever.”

Patricia burst out laughing, a smile returning to her face, “You’re so nice, Lance.”

She held Lance’s arm, and the two of them walked aimlessly on the street, “Tell me about your work, okay?” she asked.

She was also very interested in Lance’s work. Lance picked some things he could say, “We introduce jobs to the poor, and those illegal immigrants, so that they can live in the Federation.”“If it weren’t for us, many people might have frozen to death this winter. I’m not saying this to say how great I am, I just want to tell you that although some people might think I’m a gangster, the things I do, even the Federation government may not be able to do.”

He also talked about the cinema, including filming movies and the like. In short, it was a lot, and very miscellaneous. Patricia listened with some curiosity, “The newspapers say you guys have firefights. Are you like that too?”

Lance did not deny it. Sooner or later, she would know these things. A person cannot, and it is impossible to, be innocent for a lifetime, unless they are pretending.

As she gradually matured, she would come to understand these things. Rather than letting her feel deceived in the future, even if it was a white lie, it was better to tell her directly.

“Yes, firefights, gun battles, people getting injured, even killed.”

The arm the girl had hooked through his began to tighten, holding on very tightly, “Will you get injured too?”

Lance shook his head slightly, “No.”

She didn’t believe it, “That’s impossible.”

“Because I have the goddess of luck protecting me!” Seeing that Patricia still looked unconvinced, Lance held her face, “You are my goddess of luck. You will protect me from harm…”

After a while of intimate exchange, the girl covered her burning face, very shy, but also felt very comfortable.

Kissing is a very effective way to relieve anxiety and create happiness.

This was a beautiful era because everything was still so simple and unadorned.

If nothing unexpected happened, Patricia might enter a brand new stage of her life tonight, but the problem was, something unexpected still happened.

Just as Lance was thinking about where to have dinner tonight, Hiram appeared from the crowd.

Lance waved to him. Patricia was a little curious, “Is this someone you know?”

She had never seen Hiram before and felt that Hiram was a bit strange, though of course, she wouldn’t say it out loud.

“This is Hiram, a brother in the family. Although he looks a bit stupid, I swear, he is definitely not a stupid person.”

Hiram rolled his eyes, extended his hand, and shook hands with Patricia, “They are all lying, just jealous of me.”

Patricia couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh. At least the impression Hiram gave her was not like the gang members people talked about.

Fierce, evil, violent. Instead, he exuded a kind of… simple honesty of a country farmer.

However, she also seemed to understand that Lance might have something to do tonight, which made her very disappointed.

Coming out this time was actually with the preparation of offering herself. It was supposed to be romantic, tender, and it had been like this until this moment.

Lance had taken her to see movies, go shopping, and said sweet nothings as soft and sweet as cotton candy, but it only lasted until this moment!

“If you have something to do, I can go back first.”

She tried her best not to show a disappointed expression. Lance smiled, “Sorry, but if things end relatively quickly, I’ll come find you tonight.”

“Remember not to lock the window!”

A surprised smile appeared on the girl’s face, “Will you really come?”

“I will, I promise!”

Patricia blushed, but fortunately, the twilight helped to hide some of it, “Then I’ll wait for you…”

This was not far from where she lived, but Lance still sent her back. Hiram and the others all drove their cars.

A few minutes later, Patricia sat on the sofa somewhat disappointed, holding her face, in a daze.

Emily came and sat down beside her, a little curious, “What’s wrong?”

Patricia didn’t want to talk, which made Emily even more curious, “Did you two have a fight?”

“No!” she said.

“Then why are you unhappy?”

“Because he had something to do at the last minute and left first. We were supposed to go out for a nice dinner tonight, and then go to some bars.”

Emily became interested, “Let me know next time you go to a bar. I want to go and see too.”

“By the way, did you two… you know, this afternoon?”

“Mom!”

Lance looked back at the closed main door of the Lawrence house, then drove out of the community.

“We found that bastard.”

When he said this, Hiram’s voice was almost squeezed out from between his teeth.

Lawn was his very good friend. They were not from the same place, but they had met while looking for work at the docks.

There were also Dracy and a few others. Their relationship had always been good, relying on each other.

If someone was bullied, the others would stand up for them. Of course, if someone couldn’t find a job, the others would also buy food to share with everyone.

Although the days were very hard, it also made them feel a very special atmosphere, just like a family.

Young people are always like this, valuing friendship more than family ties. Although Lawn didn’t need to be hospitalized, he had also lost his ability to work for a short time.

The flesh pierced by the bullet could not be filled back. The doctor could only cut that part off with scissors, trying to preserve a part of the skin.

Then the skin and flesh were sewn together. In short, the entire operation was not simple. The surgery fee alone cost $2,500, and it took more than an hour.

The doctor said that it would take at least three to six months for Lawn’s left arm to return to its normal function. Before that, it was best not to do any strenuous exercise to prevent the stitched area from splitting open.

And even if it healed, because of the loss of flesh, he would have a period of discomfort…

In short, this made Hiram hate those few people to the core.

For the past two days, they had been looking for that guy. Until today, a blue-collar worker had found traces of this person in an underground bar in the Port District.

“A Wolf Gang bar?”

Hiram nodded, “Not sure.”

Lance lit a cigarette, “Ask Bill. He must know about this.”

Soon, news came back from Bill’s side. It was not a Wolf Gang bar, but a bar opened by a small gang in the Port District called “Venom.”

They didn’t know where the liquor in their bar came from. People who had tasted it all said it was good, but the price was not cheap. What was strange was that even though the price was high, there was still a regular group of people who consumed there.

Lance had no friendship with this Venom gang, but also no enmity, so the action tonight was still mainly to wait, not to arrest people.

At this time, the Venom bar had already opened. Many people had already appeared around the bar waiting for it to open. The boss of Venom was mixing their liquor—liquor mixed with painkillers.

Ever since the boss of Venom was shot once, he had discovered the dependence on painkillers, and had miraculously thought of mixing it into alcohol for sale.

As a result, he had succeeded with this liquor. Liquor mixed with painkillers could give people more satisfaction, and could also make them drink more!

Except for occasional outbursts of temper, most of the time it was stable.

This kind of liquor was only available here. Every day, a large number of customers were waiting here to enter. The almost endless money had allowed a small gang of only seven or eight people to expand to more than thirty people in two months, and it was still continuing to expand.

Every day, just this one bar could bring them a profit of $2,000 to $3,000. They already had the foundation for further expansion.

This bar not only had ordinary drunkards but also people from other gangs. The people of Venom knew this, but they were not afraid.

Because only their Boss knew the formula, and it was said that this formula was very mysterious and even had something to do with native witchcraft.

As a large amount of liquor was mixed with painkillers, watching the painkillers completely dissolve in the liquor, the leader of the Venom gang showed a satisfied smile.

He opened the warehouse door, motioned for his men to move the liquor out, and at the same time, the bar also began to open for business.

A large number of drunkards rushed in eagerly. The liquor here was clearly ten to twenty cents more expensive than other places, but they were still happy to enjoy it here.

Among them was the guy with the blue eyes.

For the past few days, they had been in a firefight with the Red Dog Gang. Their nerves had been tense every day. Finally, tonight there was nothing to do, so they could come over and spend some money.

He hadn’t had a “Venom Bomb” for several days. The Venom gang had added a prefix to their bomb, calling it the Venom Bomb, to distinguish it from the liquor of other bars.

The effect was indeed good, and the recognition among the drunkards was very high.

The moment a large mouthful of liquor was poured down his throat, the blue-eyed man’s whole person seemed to suddenly relax.

The indescribable discomfort and slight stinging pain in his body also seemed to disappear at this moment. His whole person was like being back in the womb, soaking in the warm amniotic fluid, enjoying the warmth and tranquility…

He even had some emotion in his mind. If only all of this could last forever, how wonderful would that be!