Empire of Shadows

Ennio didn’t get back to Golden Port until the afternoon. Without even resting, he went straight to the company to find Lance.

When he entered the door, Lance and several other people were there. They all looked at him with surprise.

“Lend a hand!” A… very special smile appeared on his face. Lance found it a bit strange, but still followed him.

He wasn’t the type to just sit behind a desk and give orders. If someone needed a hand, he would do it.

A few people came to the courtyard, to the side of Ennio’s car. Then, after a ceremonial “thump, thump, thump,” he opened the trunk.

There were several large bags. Although he didn’t say what was inside, everyone had already guessed.

Lance walked over and took out a money bag, glanced inside. It was basically all five- and ten-dollar bills, all neatly stacked together.

According to his calculations, there was at least a hundred thousand or even more money here, “What’s going on?”

Lance was also pleasantly surprised. After all, when it came to money, no one would complain about having too little!

“Let’s move the money inside first…”A hundred-plus thousand dollars might not sound like a lot, but it was quite heavy. Two people carried a bag each into the company. Although everyone was not as sensitive to money as they were a year ago.

But the visual impact of over a hundred thousand dollars piled together still left many people speechless.

Ennio sat on the sofa and lit a cigarette, “Where should I start?”

“Let’s start from when I arrived in Fides…”

Ennio took on Lance’s job and delivered $50,000 worth of liquor to Fides. Because this liquor was now contraband, it certainly couldn’t be transported through normal means.

Originally, they planned to transport it by train, but now the Bureau of Hazardous Materials was very strict, often conducting random inspections of train cars, opening some boxes to see what was inside.

The people at the station were unwilling to take this risk. Then Ennio and the others discussed it and decided to just drive it over themselves. So, after three days, they finally entered Fides city.

The reason it took three days was because their car was relatively slow on the road. The road conditions of the interstate highway were not very good, very bumpy. They were afraid of breaking the wine bottles if they drove too fast.

They also encountered interstate highway police on the way, but those police officers were very easy to talk to. After sensing that this group of people was not easy to mess with, and after receiving ten dollars, they gave up the idea of checking the car.

In short, they arrived in Fides without any danger. Ennio immediately contacted Gallio. Gallio was also very grateful for his timely arrival because they had been coveting the liquor business for a long time.

Now there were not many smugglers in the Federation who could supply goods. This was a hot commodity. They never lacked buyers, so the relatively less powerful Empire immigrant group was excluded from this list.

Watching others make a lot of money made Gallio very painful, but now the problem was solved. $50,000 worth of liquor was enough for him to have liquor to sell this month.

At the same time, this also made Ennio discover one thing—

“The price of liquor in Fides is much more expensive than here. I brought $50,000 worth of liquor, but when I got there, he offered me a price of $80,000, and I think if I had asked for a little more, he would have agreed.”

Lance nodded slightly, “This situation is very normal. Golden Port is a port city, with leaky coastlines everywhere. It’s too easy for smuggled liquor from Yalan to get in.”

“Fides is an inland city. The smuggling channels are blocked, so the price of liquor there will definitely be higher.”

“But you have $140,000 here. Where did the other $60,000 come from?”

Lance wasn’t afraid that he had robbed a bank or something, but just in case he had really done something like looting, he had to be prepared with follow-up measures.

What if the police came after him, or the people he robbed came for revenge, they needed to be prepared in advance.

“This money was squeezed out of Snake’s family,” Ennio licked his lips. “I found his wife and child. They were very cooperative and gave up the bank account and password, and even helped us withdraw the money.”

Lance casually picked up a stack of money, pressed his thumb down on the edge of the banknotes, and then the banknotes sprang up one by one, making the sound of rustling paper.

It wasn’t very pleasant to the ear, and there was an indescribable strange smell left over from long-term use, but for some reason, it was so attractive.

“And his wife and child?”

Ennio was silent for a few seconds, then tilted his head downwards, “I sent them down.”

Lance threw the money back onto the pile, walked over to him, put his arm around his neck, and ruffled his hair, “He was the one who wanted to kill us first!”

He could see that Ennio’s emotions had changed a little when he said those words. He also looked at the others at the same time.

“If we were killed by Snake, he would take our wealth, our territory, and everything we own.”

“He and his family would move into our houses, spend our money, and hurt our friends.”

“I’m not saying people have to be ruthless, but to make you understand a principle.”

“You can show mercy, you can be lenient, but your enemy may not be!”

“When you let an enemy go, he won’t necessarily feel grateful. He might just think, you were lucky this time, but you might not be so lucky next time!”

“We can’t be lucky forever, so everything that threatens us should be dealt with.”

“Life is very fragile. It’s like a glass cup. It only takes a little external force to shatter it into pieces.”

“My philosophy has always been the same: don’t do things you will regret!”

He patted Ennio on the head, let him go, and then stood in front of the coffee table.

The coffee table was full of neatly arranged banknotes. He casually made a sweeping gesture, “$80,000 will be handled according to company regulations. Of the remaining $60,000, Ennio gets $10,000, I get $10,000, you guys split $20,000, and the other $20,000 goes into the company’s account.”

In an instant, the thrill of getting rich quickly washed away the little guilt he had left. He needed to rest now!

He hadn’t seen his father for a long time. He had encountered many things after going out this time, far more than what he had told Lance.

The moment before Snake’s wife and his child died, they were still asking about Snake’s situation. Even though they had a premonition, they still wanted to know the final truth from Ennio’s mouth!

Ennio told them that Snake was already dead. The two of them no longer struggled and quietly accepted this result, and their own fate.

At that moment, a very special taste filled his whole body. He had an urge to immediately return to Golden Port to see his father and mother!

Now, he was back, but a little timid. He didn’t know what he was afraid of.

After saying goodbye to Lance, he took a portion of the money and returned home. Now only his father lived here. Without a woman, without his cleaning, everything looked very messy.

The sink was full of uncleaned used dishes and cutlery.

The trash can was also full of spoiled food scraps.

Seeing this, he frowned, rolled up his sleeves, and started to tidy up.

It took him a long time to tidy up this seemingly dilapidated home.

As he was sitting on a chair resting, he heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock from outside the door, and then the door opened.

A tired man stood at the door looking at the equally standing Ennio. The joy in his eyes flashed by but quickly became a little dim.

He didn’t know what to say, just closed the door first, hung his coat on the rack, and put his briefcase on the cabinet.

The father and son looked at each other in silence. Neither of them knew what to say was appropriate.

After a long time, Ennio’s father finally said, “I’m sorry.”

This made Ennio’s expression change slightly, but he did not make a sound.

Ennio’s father walked to the chair and sat down, “I thought about many things after you left that day, Ennio.”

“I’m so useless. As a father, or a husband, I can’t provide you with a good life. Instead, I’ve made a mess of everything…”

He held his head, looking as if he had truly repented, “I’ve changed jobs now. Although it’s still a sales job, it’s different from before.”

Ennio sat down and also took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed it over.

“Hah, this is good stuff!” The man took one out, lit it with relish, took a deep drag, and sincerely praised, “It’s not harsh, it’s a good smoke.”

He paused for a moment and began to talk about his changes during this recent period.

He had changed jobs, given up those unrealistic dreams, and also seen through the essence of those companies.

They used dreams as bait to make a group of people who were crazy about realizing the Federation Dream become their slaves.

The moment he came to his senses, he realized how stupid he had been in the past, which also made him feel a lot of guilt.

But fortunately, it seemed that it was not too late for everything.

Now he could earn about $30 a month, and he also rented out his legal immigrant status, which gave him an extra income of more than $10 a month.

About $40 a month. Although it couldn’t make him rich, at least his life became more comfortable.

“When I came back…” Ennio was a little unsure if the man was hiding the bad side and only talking about the good.

Hearing this, the man was a little embarrassed, “You were all gone. I felt uneasy living here alone.”

Ennio found that his father had really changed a lot. The former… father who would never admit his mistakes and weakness actually said such words. He didn’t feel any happiness because of this, only sadness.

He was old, and his edges had been smoothed by society. This was his true thought!

He would feel fear because of the empty house. Let alone in the past, this was almost an impossible thing a year ago!

But now, it just happened, which made Ennio feel a little caught off guard!

“Tell me about you, how are things now?” the middle-aged man changed the subject. “I heard the Lance Family has expanded a lot. Is it very dangerous?”

Ennio scratched his head, a little embarrassed. This situation was not within his expectations, “It’s okay. Although there will be danger, it’s not as terrible as imagined.”

“And Lance is very good to us, and very concerned about our safety. We usually live together…”

Talking about these things with his father, who once had the Federation Dream and whose mind was full of abiding by the law and striving to become a superior person, Ennio still felt a little unaccustomed.

But he said a lot of things. In the end, he hesitantly took out the money from his pocket and placed it on the table.

$2,000. Outside, he could hold a gun and kill an enemy, but here, just taking out this $2,000, he felt he could hardly hold this small stack of money.

He could still remember everything in the hospital that day. His father actually remembered it too.

The man reached out and picked it up. They were all ten-dollar bills, two stacks, thick, exuding the unique stench of money.

In the process of use, fingers will leave grease on the surface of the banknotes. This grease is eaten into the money, and finally, after a series of complex fermentation, sun-drying, and re-fermentation cycles, it finally presents its current appearance.

He had never earned so much money in his life. He was still so dazed, “I… can’t take it, Ennio.”

“The money I earn can support myself. You can use this money for yourself, do whatever you want to do.”

Ennio looked at him and shook his head slightly, “I have money. I went out for a trip this time, and Lance gave me $10,000. Besides that, I also have tens of thousands in bonuses that I can withdraw at any time.”

This black money couldn’t be deposited in a bank, so Lance had Mello make a bill, recording who had how much money.

They could take all the money away, but they could also leave it in the company, which was actually safer.

Most people would leave their money in the company. It was enough to have some for their own use.

Hearing that his son had already completed the “Federation Dream” in his heart, he suddenly felt that the first half of his life was not only a failure but also tasteless.

Coming to the Federation, struggling for so long, lost his wife, his child didn’t come back, and he still hadn’t succeeded, as much of a failure as when he first arrived.

A long sigh seemed to have sighed away all the bitterness in his heart.

“This time you came back for…”

There was some hope in his eyes, hoping that Ennio would say he could come back to live, but Ennio did not say the words he longed for.

“I just came back to see you. I have to go see Mom later.”

Actually, both father and son knew the woman’s current situation, but they had never mentioned it. Go find her?

They had never even thought about it. That would only put her in a dilemma.

Ennio stood up as he spoke, “Bolton got married today. Although I didn’t attend, I heard his wife is only twenty-one.”

The man had heard of this Bolton and also had some understanding of his rise. When he heard that Bolton, who was about the same age as him, had actually married a twenty-one-year-old girl, he couldn’t help but fall into the envy and jealousy that all men have.

“That lucky bastard!” he cursed with a smile, then also stood up.

Ennio looked at him and helped him straighten his collar, just as he would help Ennio straighten his collar before he went out when he was a child.

“You can find another woman. Forty, thirty, twenty, are all good.”

The man reached out as if wanting to touch Ennio, but didn’t know how to express it.

Ennio took the initiative to approach and hugged this man he both loved and hated, “Take care, Dad.”

“If you have any problems, give me a call. Although in your eyes I may still be that bastard, but in the eyes of others, I am already a character.”

“If there are things I can’t solve, there’s still Lance. There’s nothing here that Lance can’t solve. Of course, you can also come over and play. We will all welcome you.”

After saying these things, Ennio left. If he didn’t leave now, he might not be able to resist staying the night.

Looking at the two stacks of money on the table, the man suddenly smiled. Although there was some melancholy in his heart, but…

“This bastard!” He put the money away. Tonight, the empty home no longer seemed to make people feel afraid.

He also started to do housework, tidying up the places that Ennio had missed, making them spotless. Looking at the brand-new home, he suddenly had a sense of accomplishment.

This also made this house feel like home again.

Ennio then went to see his mother. The woman had actually been living in the Empire District all these years, but not on the same street as them, and she also tried to avoid places where they might meet.

He knocked on the door a little nervously. A strange man’s voice came from inside the door, “Who’s there?”

“It’s me, Ennio, I’m…”

Before he could finish speaking, the door opened. A sturdy man stood behind the door, his mother stood next to the man, and a little boy of only eight or nine years old hid behind the two of them, looking at him.

Looking at the warm family of three, the warm and soft atmosphere in the room made him lose all thought of speaking for a moment.

He was like a discordant note suddenly inserted into a magnificent piece of music, making everything seem so uncoordinated and abrupt, and also making him feel that he was not suitable here.

“I’m sorry, I’ve come to the wrong place.”

He was about to leave, but the man called out to him, “Come in and sit for a while. You must want to say a few words to your mother.”

Sitting in the room, he was a little restrained. The man seemed to be very enthusiastic towards him.

This was also a matter of course. After all… he was Lance’s man. In the Empire District, no one didn’t know these things.

He just wanted to see his mother, just sit here for a while. The last bit of guilt he had for that mother and son slowly dissipated.

They chatted for a while about Ennio’s own affairs. It seemed that the woman was living very happily now. Ennio left after leaving $1,000 behind. He didn’t want to disturb this harmonious happiness.

He didn’t know where he had heard it, but when a person has something they want to protect, they will become incomparably strong!

Friendship, kinship, were all things he wanted to protect!