Empire of Shadows

Lance called some people and drove towards the Priliccia District. On the way, Lance suddenly laughed inexplicably, which made Elvin always couldn’t help but look at him.

“What’s so funny?”

“Mind sharing?”

Lance lit a cigarette. He had just taken a drag when he started to laugh again, “I find it very interesting. Back then, we were helping others collect debts.”

“Now, it’s our turn to help people renege on their debts. Don’t you think that’s very interesting?”

Elvin was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then a smile also appeared on his face, “It is quite interesting. Actually, thinking about it now, it hasn’t been that long, but it gives me a feeling that a very long time has passed.”

He thought of something and also started to laugh out loud, “Actually, it’s all that idiot Ethan’s fault. If it weren’t for him, there wouldn’t have been so many things.”

Laughing and laughing, Lance let out another sigh, “If it weren’t for this matter, I wonder what we would be doing now.”

“Maybe we would still be trying to find the path to success, but this path is not very easy to walk. Every path looks quite good, but in fact, they are all blocked.”

“To a certain extent, in terms of change, Ethan contributed the most, although he probably doesn’t even know it himself.”Elvin thought of something, “These few days, Ethan told me something. I guess he hasn’t told you yet.”

“What?” Lance crossed his legs, his elbow resting on his knee as he took a drag on his cigarette. The smoke he had just exhaled was blown away by the wind coming into the car, and then swirled away.

Elvin said with a smile, “He wants to take up boxing.”

“Boxing?” Lance suspected he might have misheard, “Has he ever learned boxing?”

Elvin shook his head, “No, he has never been in contact with boxing. A story about a boxing champion was reported in the newspaper these past few days. He was very moved after reading it, and he wants to give it a try.”

Lance had actually also read that report. It was a very Federation-style report.

The boxing champion was frail and sickly as a child. In order to let him survive, his father began to require him to exercise, and even made a punching bag for him to hit.

He never thought of himself as an outstanding boxer. He didn’t even understand boxing until a boxing match was reported in the newspaper.

The winning boxer could get a prize of $100. This stimulated his desire to explore. Then he signed up for an amateur boxing match in his hometown with a prize, and the prize was $10.

There were only about a dozen people participating in the entire competition. What was surprising was that he actually won the championship. Every boxer said that his punches were unexpectedly heavy and irresistible.

Just like that, a boxing coach discovered his talent and signed him. After several years of training, he finally became a qualified boxer. After many challenges and attempts, he defeated the heavyweight boxing champion this month and got the championship gold belt.

His story inspired many people and once again made countless people of the Federation believe that as long as you work hard and sweat, there will be a day of success.

This scene was so familiar to Lance, just like… that salesman whose name he didn’t know, but who became the CEO of a listed company through sales, and also like that real estate enjoyment officer who eventually became a real estate tycoon by promoting real estate.

It was more like the successful businessman who never told others that he had a governor father, started from scratch with $100, and was now worth hundreds of millions.

Each of them had once illuminated the night sky of the Federation, leaving an indelible mark, and becoming the goal that countless people crazily yearned for and pursued!

But no one has ever really delved into the reasons why these people could succeed, but simply believed that hard work will definitely pay off.

And got a lesson—you didn’t succeed because you didn’t work hard enough!

“If he likes it, then let him give it a try. If he can defeat all his enemies on the ring in front of the whole world and become the boxing champion, it will also be a very glorious thing for us!”

Ethan’s physique is large, and he is not weak. Perhaps this is indeed his talent and opportunity.

“Let him try it. Go and ask if there are any excellent boxing coaches in Golden Port. Let him come and teach Ethan. Don’t be afraid to spend money.”

He took another drag on his cigarette and exhaled slowly, “As for the subsequent family work, don’t arrange it for him.”

Elvin was stunned for a moment, “Is it necessary?”

“This is just a boxing match, and I believe that if he knew, he would definitely not choose to go boxing.”

Lance shook his head slightly, “This is a righteous path, and it’s a righteous path paved with golden light, Elvin.”

“If you have the opportunity to walk the righteous path and can still be like now, with money and status, I hope each of you can walk on the righteous path!”

“The path we are on now does indeed look good, but have you ever thought, how many people have we said goodbye to?”

“I don’t want to have to say goodbye to all of you one day, or one day I’m lying in a coffin waiting for you to offer me white flowers.”

“So don’t walk this path. If you have a chance to live another way, don’t ever give it up.”

Elvin was deeply moved after hearing this. He thought of Gerald.

Gerald’s movie was now showing. Some newspapers had already reported on him, saying he was the most handsome young man in the Federation. Many people hoped to see more of his performances.

It could be said that Gerald had directly entered another track and had another kind of life.

No bullets and rain, no halfway interceptions, no one shooting at him with a submachine gun. Of course, the performances in the movie didn’t count.

He could stand in front of people openly and accept people’s love and admiration. He could proudly tell anyone his identity and job without feeling a little embarrassed.

Elvin nodded, “I will talk to him.” He paused, “I will be with you until the end, Lance.”

Lance smiled and pushed his head with his hand, “Go and say these things to those girls. It only makes me feel sick when you say this to me!”

The laughter in the car was carried far away by the evening wind. Perhaps it had already disappeared in the world of many people, but for the people in the car, it was always there, and would always be there!

After the car entered the Priliccia District, it became much more stable. The ground here was well-maintained. After all, it was a place where the middle class lived, and they had to take good care of it.

Otherwise, these mainstays of taxpayers would really call and complain.

As they approached the community where Barbara lived, Lance saw William standing on the side of the road. The convoy slowly stopped, “Why didn’t you go in?”

William showed a slightly embarrassed smile, “I feel a little safer going in with you!”

Lance laughed heartily and opened the car door, “Patricia will definitely be sad to hear that, because every father is his child’s hero!”

William, sitting in the car, rolled his eyes, “To hell with heroes. I think it’s better to be alive. And where are there so many heroes in this world?”

Lance introduced Elvin to him, “My brother. If you run into any trouble and I’m not around, you can find him.”

“There are a few other people I’ll introduce to you later, but there’s one guy you shouldn’t look for if you run into trouble, called Hiram, the guy who looks a bit like a farmer’s stupid son.”

William asked with great curiosity, “Why?”

Elvin continued, “Because he only ever speaks with bullets!” As he spoke, he also greeted William, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. William. Lance often talks about you.”

“Talking about my unheroic deeds?” he teased himself. An adult man, a man who had worked at City Hall for more than ten years, knew how to adjust the atmosphere.

The convoy soon entered the community. The community security guard saw the $20,000 luxury car and automatically let it pass.

People who can afford such a luxury car are definitely not bad people, because God said that bad people do not deserve to have wealth!

The convoy soon arrived outside Barbara’s house. Two cars were parked randomly in the parking space at the entrance. Looking at the license plate and the way they were parked, they should belong to those people.

“It seems they are still here.”

Lance got out of the car. All the lights in the villa were on. Light can not only dispel darkness, but also fear!

He briefly introduced these people to William, and then walked towards the villa side by side with William.

At this time, in the room, a few people were appraising some valuable items. Barbara sat on the sofa, shedding tears. She was terrified. Her parents were communicating with a man in his thirties.

“This house of ours is still worth more than $20,000 now, plus those bonds, we can scrape together $100,000…”

The man had a buzz cut, with a pointed hairline on his forehead, like the tail of some animal. His face was a bit long and thin, with a bluish chin.

He was observing Barbara. It had to be said that Barbara was indeed very beautiful.

Her beauty was different from Patricia’s beauty.

Patricia’s beauty was a pure beauty, like a small white flower blooming in a patch of tender green grass in late winter and early spring.

Seeing her makes one think of sweet and sour love, not anything else.

Barbara’s beauty was pure charm. The feeling she gave people was the most primitive impulse, the desire to grab her by the hair, press her down on the bed, and ram her from behind until she was about to flip over!

“These things are not enough for $50,000.”

The man came back to his senses, glanced at the things on the table, and showed a smile, “It’s a pity, Mr. Lawrence, you heard him.”

Lawrence’s face flushed a little, “These things together are clearly more than $50,000…”

The man had an indifferent expression, leaning on the sofa, “What you think is your business. My men said it’s not enough for $50,000.”

Barbara’s father took a deep breath, “I know…”

This guy, who should be a small leader, raised his hand and stopped him from continuing, “You want to say you know many people, right?”

He couldn’t help but laugh, “Mr. Lawrence, we are a gang. Do you understand what the word ‘gang’ represents?”

“It means we are not bound by ordinary laws, or the rules you think of, because we are a gang.”

“You can find someone to drive us away once, twice, but the person you find can’t possibly be there every time you need them.”

“And are you sure you can summon them an unlimited number of times?”

“You can’t do that, but we can come every day!”

“Either pay the money, or let your daughter lend me for three months. To be honest, a girl like her will definitely become a legend in Golden Port!”

The small leader thought of the high-end social venues in the Bay Area and the Starlight District. If someone like Barbara dressed up a little, a few hundred or a thousand dollars a time would not be a problem.

If you were lucky, it might be more!

And for him, Barbara was not only a tool that could make money for him, but also an important means for him to win over some people.

Some people, from the moment they were born, have never worried about money and power. The money you can give them might not even be as much as their pocket money, and power is something that gangs can’t touch.

To deal with these people, you can only work hard in other directions, for example, sex, this special “currency” that has existed since ancient times, or some other novel things.

People always have hobbies. For these people with money and power, besides money and power, their main hobby is still sex.

When Barbara proposed to borrow money, he agreed with almost no consideration. What he wanted was for Barbara not to be able to pay back this money!

Because Barbara herself could bring him far more benefits than the interest on those tens of thousands of dollars.

It was just that he didn’t expect this matter to be settled so quickly. He had to thank the people from Basil Investment Bank, and also thank these people for their stupidity.

Even a loan shark like him knew that was a f—king scam, but these people didn’t believe it?

His words made Barbara’s body tremble slightly. She was already a little desperate. Her only hope now was Lance.

Just as the family was at a loss, the door was pushed open.

“I just heard someone say they want to come every day. Who wants to come every day?”

When Barbara and her parents saw Lance and William come in together, they all breathed a sigh of relief. He even said “thank God”!

The small leader frowned and glanced at Lance, “Who are you?”

Lance ignored him and looked at the few gang members in the living room. He walked to the side of the sofa, and the small leader subconsciously stood up.

His face had already changed a little. He could smell the scent of his own kind from these people!

“We are from the Doug family. You’d better not cause trouble!”

Lance was famous, but there were not many people who had actually seen Lance. It was normal for him not to know Lance. He tried to use the name of the Doug family to scare Lance away, but obviously, this name could not scare Lance.

“Doug?”

“Why would someone use a dog as a name?”

Laughter immediately broke out in the room, but the small leader’s face turned ashen, “Do you know who you are insulting?”

Lance picked up the loan contract on the table and looked at it for a few moments. While looking at it, he said, “Just a dog. What, do you still expect me to be in awe of a dog and a dog’s family?”

After he finished looking, he casually tore up the contract and then threw it at the small leader, “The debt is now cleared.”

The small leader’s eyeballs were bulging out. His subordinates also stood up one after another, showing a look as if they were going to eat someone.

Lance looked back at them in a circle, his final gaze still falling on the small leader’s face, “Not convinced?”

“Weren’t you very happy when you treated them like this just now?”

“You like to bully people. Coincidentally, I also like to bully people.”

The small leader gritted his teeth, “Tell me your name.”

He seemed to have used a lot of strength for every word, squeezing it out from his throat and between his teeth. Lance looked at him, “You want to take revenge on me.”

The small leader did not seem timid, “You have insulted the Doug family. You will have to pay the price for this.”

Lance took a step back. He glanced at a vase on the coffee table. It was metal. He picked it up and weighed it, then looked at Barbara, “Is this thing expensive?”

Barbara already didn’t know what to say, just nodded dumbly, “Over $2,000…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Lance swung the vase and smashed it hard on the small leader’s head. His whole body staggered to one side, and he stood up straight again, holding onto the sofa.

There were two or three cuts on his forehead, and blood flowed down his cheeks.

His subordinates, after a brief moment of shock, were all about to make a move, but were immediately held at gunpoint by Lance’s men.

“Tell me, your name!” the small leader continued to ask for Lance’s name. He didn’t care at all about the wound on his forehead.

But Lance’s answer was another blow!

With a duang, he almost fell on the sofa, then stood up again, swaying, holding onto the sofa, “Don’t you dare tell me your name?”

“Are you also afraid of the Doug family’s revenge?”

His left eye was constantly blinking because the blood had soaked his eyelashes. He looked at Lance, “Is this your friend? Family?”

“It doesn’t matter. I guarantee that all of you will die, and die very miserably. This is the price!”

Lance shook his head, “You shouldn’t have tried to anger me!” Another blow came, Duang. When his head was hit by the bottle, blood splattered out. The family of three by the sofa were all dumbfounded.

William was also particularly nervous at this time. His hands were trembling a little as he took out a cigarette and lit one. It seemed that only this could relieve his nervousness.

But the young men who had come with Lance were not nervous at all. On the contrary, every one of them had a playful expression on their faces.

This time, the small leader did not straighten up so quickly. The three consecutive blows to his head made his whole world spin. He held onto the sofa and the coffee table, panting heavily.

Blood dripped down his cheeks onto the floor. He looked at Lance’s shiny leather shoes, his mind seemed to have short-circuited a little.

After more than ten seconds, he straightened up again. Just as he was about to say something, another Duang came.

This time, he couldn’t hold on anymore and fell directly to the ground!

He lay on the ground, his face to the side, looking at Lance with the corner of his eye, his eyes filled with a trace of hatred.

People from gangs are like this. Either they will become cowards at this moment, or they will become the embodiment of hatred.

“I don’t like the look in your eyes,” Lance raised the bottle in his hand and smashed it hard on the ground!

Barbara’s body, sitting on the side, also trembled violently with the sound of the bottle smashing on the man’s head!

Lance did not stop, and swung the bottle again, “A dog dares to threaten me?”

“Don’t you want to know who I am?”

“Remember, tell God or Satan, my name is Lance!”

One blow after another, one blow after another, until he had no more breath!

Lance placed the bottle back on the coffee table. The blood quickly spread out into a circle from the bottom of the bottle.

He straightened his attire, glanced at the shirt that had been splattered with blood, wiped it with his finger, but it was of little use.

“I’ve had this shirt for less than a week!” Then he showed a smile to Barbara and her family, “Don’t worry, he has no future!”

Then he raised his hand and pointed at the ceiling. Gunshots instantly rang out in the living room…

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