Empire of Shadows

“We’ll be making a move on the Cassia Family in the next few days. After we take care of them, we won’t have any rivals left.”

Alberto was on the phone, explaining some of the Pasoretto Family’s upcoming arrangements. “At that time, we might need to borrow some of your strength.”

Lance, sitting in his office taking the call, couldn’t help but tease, “You have three families. Isn’t that enough to deal with one Cassia Family?”

Alberto sighed. “You know, we’re severely short-staffed right now, but they’re still constantly bringing people over from Yalan.”

“Of course, this is just a possibility, it might not become a reality. Actually, I also think it’s unlikely they’ll let us ask for help from others.”

“The Mayor was shot, the docks are in chaos again, and we’re about to go to war…”

“Lance, I have a very strange feeling. It’s like we’ve gone back to the year 1980!”

The year 1980 was Golden Port’s most chaotic period, and it was also the stage when the Five Families gradually emerged from the chaos.

Alberto wasn’t actually that old, but from the mouths of the older gang members, he had an infinite longing for that legendary era.

Everyone hopes to become one of the protagonists of the story, to become a legend.Not to be the person reading the story, or an embellishment around the legend.

“I don’t think the governor will allow things to get this chaotic,” Lance said what was on his mind. “This isn’t forty years ago. Forty years ago, anything was possible, but now, many things are not.”

As he was speaking, the office door was suddenly pushed open. Lance lowered his voice. “Looks like something’s come up. I’ll call you back later.”

He hung up and watched Lawn rush in from outside, panting slightly. “Bolton was attacked. He’s slightly injured and has been sent to the hospital.”

Lance furrowed his brow. “Who did it?”

“The Wolf Gang!”

Lance frowned. “They’re planning to attack us amidst the chaos, but why would they attack Bolton?”

Bolton’s “security level” was not high. For one, he had no access to the family’s core business. Even if he were caught, others couldn’t pry any valuable information from him.

Secondly, he couldn’t even be considered a gang member in the true sense. He just collected intelligence and relayed it to Lance, that’s all.

He was not a threat, not aggressive. Attacking him had no practical significance other than infuriating the Lance Family.

This left Lance a bit confused.

Others entered the room one after another. Except for a few who were not in Golden Port or were on their way, everyone else was here.

Elvin walked in from outside and offered his thoughts. “Bolton controls our largest intelligence network. Although this network is not proactive, it’s undeniable that if some people enter the Empire District, Bolton will definitely be the first to know.”

Reminded by this, Lance’s gaze once again swept over the others. “What about Morris?”

A young man who came with Ennio and the others said, “Morris went to play ball.”

Morris liked to play basketball.

In fact, the young people of the Federation were quite fond of sports, except for the overweight ones.

The Federation government had spent great effort and large sums of money to promote the development of national sports. Sports like baseball and football were becoming, or had already become, very influential. Basketball was one of them.

There were many reasons for promoting basketball, but one that was probably more reliable was that basketball required far less space than baseball and football.

Even half a basketball court could host a basketball game for the young people on the street, whereas playing baseball or football required not only equipment but also wide-open spaces.

That’s why basketball was promoted—because it didn’t require much space.

Surveys have shown that areas with sports facilities have significantly better public safety rates than areas without them.

When young people put their energy into sports, the incidence of crime will decrease, although some sociologists believe that doing so is useless.

It’s like an unmarried worker who is exhausted after a day’s work, but when he feels the urge, he will still go home, get his hands ready, and reward himself.

Sociologists believe that if a person really wants to commit a crime, it has no direct relationship with whether they are tired or not.

Many people in the family had their favorite sports. Baseball and basketball were the most common. Morris was not tall, but he loved to play, and he was decent at it. At least he had a certain probability of throwing the ball into the basket.

The court he frequented wasn’t too far from the company, a ten-minute drive.

Lance looked at the few people by the door. “Who will go and get him back? It’s not safe outside right now.”

Someone raised their hand. “I’ll go.”

Lance watched the person leave, then began to talk about the subsequent arrangements…

Morris, on his way, didn’t know that Lance was sending people to find him, nor did he know that Bolton had been attacked. He was shirtless; the August weather was hot enough to make one breathless, even here by the sea.

Gusts of salty, hot wind were like knives cutting at one’s skin. The worst thing to do at this time was to get a cut on your skin.

Otherwise, the salt crystals from the sea breeze mixing with sweat and entering the wound would sting like a bee sting.

The driver was already approaching the alley where the casino was located. Morris had been here many times; he used to live nearby.

The old man liked to gamble here because they were all acquaintances, which made it feel unrestrained, and they all knew each other’s backgrounds.

Casinos, especially these underground ones, often have a very fixed clientele.

They couldn’t just open their doors and solicit random passersby to come in and gamble, so those who could come to this casino to play cards were basically people who lived nearby.

In fact, almost all the customers knew each other, or were simply friends.

The more stable a casino is, the harder it is for strangers to integrate, because gambling itself has a “fraudulent” attribute.

A stranger would not go against a group alone. He couldn’t use experience and intuition to judge whether these people were colluding to cheat him out of his money.

Blindly believing that the casino and other gamblers are good people is truly stupid. So in this atmosphere, if a casino doesn’t open its doors to do business, it’s hard to consistently get new customers.

The car slowly began to turn into the alley, but Morris’s eyes lingered on two strangers at the alley entrance.

They stood at the mouth of the alley as if on guard. Morris had never seen them before.

These people had a very strong gang aura and traces about them. They were gang members!

These people and the ordinary pedestrians on the street were forever two different types of people, like two different colors, easily distinguishable.

The Empire District also had some small neighborhood families. This was the ecology of a region. As long as they didn’t cause trouble or mess around, Lance would allow them to exist.

The car slowly entered the open space in the alley, where two other cars were parked. Morris got out of the car, not forgetting to turn back and say, “Don’t turn off the engine.”

He took out a lighter, lit a cigarette, tucked his weapon into his waistband, and put his shirt back on.

It was quiet all around. He didn’t notice anything unusual, but he felt uneasy.

He didn’t know where the uneasiness came from, nor could he explain it, but he just felt uneasy, as if his nerves were on edge.

He took two puffs of his cigarette and arrived outside the casino door, pressing the electric button.

From where he stood, he could faintly hear the “buzz buzz” of the electric bell inside.

Soon, the door opened. It was an old acquaintance of his.

Seeing a familiar face always gives people a sense of security. Morris relaxed a little. He bumped fists with the man who opened the door. “How much did the old man lose today?”

The doorman shrugged. “A thousand.”

Morris whistled. “You fleece him like that, aren’t you afraid I’ll fleece you?”

The doorman revealed a smile. “You can’t blame us this time. The ones who won his money are two new faces.”

“New faces?” Morris repeated, receiving the doorman’s confirmation.

“Someone introduced them, they haven’t been here before.”

Morris took another drag from his cigarette. “Only two new faces?”

The doorman nodded. “I guarantee it.”

Morris hesitated for a moment but chose to go in. After all, his father was inside.

He soon saw his father, sitting at the gambling table in a temper, with many people watching.

For most of the gamblers here, losing a thousand in one go was the stuff of legend.

If the protagonist of this legend was someone they knew, they would be even more interested.

Some people were advising Morris’s father to calm down, but some were also fanning the flames, saying he would definitely win the next hand. A casino is always like this, a microcosm of life.

Morris’s gaze first fell on the two new faces. They didn’t react when they saw him, continuing to stare at their cards. This put his anxious heart at ease.

He walked over to the casino operator, took out a stack of cash from his pocket, and handed over fifty bills. “You shouldn’t have given him so many chips!”

The operator put on a difficult smile. “I know, but that’s your father. When he threatens me, it’s hard for me to say no.”

The casino operator also looked aggrieved. Morris’s old father said he wanted to buy chips, could he refuse?

What if the little old man said something bad about him? He might not be able to continue running an underground casino in the Empire District. After all, this was the Lance Family’s territory.

But if he satisfied all the little old man’s demands, even if Morris got angry, as long as he said a few nice words, the casino could still exist.

The casino operator actually understood everything.

Morris knew what his father was like. As long as there was money to gamble, that was the most important thing to him.

Whether it was family or his wife, they all had to make way for gambling. He just shook his head and walked to the gambling table.

Many people around greeted him. Seeing the little guy they had watched grow up become a big shot was indeed an interesting thing.

This also became a topic of bragging for many people, for example, “I watched Morris grow up,” which could attract the blind admiration of some young people.

After dealing with the people around him, he walked to his old father’s side and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve cleared your tab. Although I don’t mind you losing money at the casino, for your luck to be so bad as to lose so much at once, you’d better wait before playing again.”

“What you need to do now is to pack up your remaining chips, end the game, go back, get something to eat, take a shower, get some sleep, and come back tomorrow.”

There was a hidden meaning in these words. His father, having been around casinos for so many years, immediately understood.

He glanced at the two new faces sitting opposite him and casually threw the cards in his hand onto the table. “I’m out.”

He stood up, and the dealer began to count his chips for him.

The two new faces seemed genuinely unconcerned. They glanced over and then looked away.

Morris had been watching the two of them. When he saw that they didn’t make any drastic moves, he breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he was just being too sensitive.

The old man collected the remaining cash and walked towards the door with Morris. No one stopped them, nor would anyone do so.

“Do you think they cheated?”

Standing outside the casino door, Morris’s father took a cigarette from his hand and lit it.

Morris shook his head. “I’m not sure, but they’re a team. They can get two hands each time, while you only get one. Your winning rate will always be lower than theirs.”

These two people didn’t even need to communicate what cards they had. They just had to determine whose hand was better.

Then they use the best hand to gamble against others. The winning rate is very high.

It’s like ten people gambling. If nine of them are a team, they don’t even need to cheat to drain the wallet of the other person.

You are always betting your uncertain hand against someone else’s best hand. In the end, you can’t possibly win.

The old man came to his senses and stomped his foot heavily. “These sons of bitches.”

Morris patted his old man’s shoulder. “Alright, don’t be angry, it’s only a thousand dollars.”

“I’ll give you another two hundred. Go back, relax with your girlfriend, and remember not to play with new faces next time.”

Having received the money, the old man was actually not that angry anymore. The father and son got into the car. Just as they were about to say something, several cars suddenly entered the alley.

These cars stopped directly in front of them. Then, a large number of people got out of the cars, holding pistols and submachine guns, and aimed them at Morris’s vehicle.

The moment Morris saw these changes, he pressed his father’s head down onto the back of the car seat, then pulled out a submachine gun from under the seat.

He felt despair, deep despair, because the other side had too many people.

The only thing he could pray for now was that Lance and the others would hear the commotion and come over as soon as possible.

Inside the casino, the doorman stood by the door with his hands up and a blank expression. The casino owner had a gun to his head and was slowly putting down the phone.

A crowd of gamblers crouched in the corner, not daring to breathe.

Outside the door, there was fierce gunfire.

Morris’s old father had always thought that gambling was the most exciting thing, especially when the last card hadn’t been turned over, but he was facing a heavy bet.

The moment he picked up the chips and threw them out, his heart would beat violently, a suffocating but exhilarating feeling. He loved that feeling.

He gambled not just for the wins and losses, but for that thrilling moment, addictive and inescapable.

But at this moment, he suddenly felt that the thrill of gambling on an unknown outcome was weak. How could it be one-ten-thousandth as exciting as this?

He stretched out a slightly trembling hand and looked at Morris. “Give me a gun.”

Morris took another one from under the seat. “Do you need me to teach you how to use it?”

The old man shook his head. “No need, you weren’t even born when I was shooting guns.”

Morris managed a smile. “I hope the shooting you’re talking about is actual shooting.”

The little old man rolled his eyes. “When I was young, many girls liked me. I didn’t need to take care of it myself.”

The rain of bullets pinned them down, but their moods were quite stable at the moment.

Lance was discussing the next preparations when the phone suddenly rang. He glanced at it and immediately answered.

“Morris is trapped in the alley by the casino. They’re exchanging fire. The location is… Hurry, or it’ll be too late!”

Lance shot up. “Morris is in trouble. Let’s go now!”

Everyone was startled, then followed Lance as they rushed to the garage. The convoy quickly entered the roadway, ignoring red lights and everything as they sped towards the casino.

They had already floored the accelerator; the cars were like flying on the road.

When they arrived, they happened to see the cars from inside pulling out. Lance didn’t give chase and went straight into the alley.

The car in the open space was riddled with bullet holes. Everyone’s heart sank. Lance jogged to the side of the car. All four people were lying in pools of blood.

He clenched his fists. “Quick, get them to the hospital…”

There was a hospital nearby. The four were directly pushed into the operating room. Lance also made another call to a doctor, asking him to transfer a few more skilled doctors from a major hospital.

A large number of family members surrounded the hospital, including Bolton, who had also come over.

Bolton was relatively lucky. He was shot once, but it wasn’t fatal. The bullet grazed his rib, and after breaking the bone, it changed direction and passed through.

He had lost a lot of blood, but it just looked scary.

Lance nodded at him when he saw him, not in the mood to talk. Two people had already been pushed out of the operating room—the bodyguards he had assigned to Morris were already dead.

Morris and his father’s condition was also very bad. Multiple bullets had entered their bodies. They had only been saved so far because they were brought in promptly, but the doctors couldn’t guarantee they would live.

The doctor Lance had called over even spoke to him separately about these matters. With current technology, even if they were saved, their condition would not be good. They would basically be invalids.

Especially Morris’s father. Even if he could be saved, he might only have a year or two left.

The doctor hoped Lance would prepare for the worst…

(End of chapter)