Empire of Shadows

The intense thumping of his heart accelerated his metabolism, and also made little Eugene much more sober.

He was half-lying on the floor of the panel van, in a sideways position, his eyes staring at the person sitting next to him in the darkness.

At this very moment, he was filled with incomparable regret, like that bad kid who couldn’t even go to high school because he was disobedient, full of remorse for his past life and rebellion.

Right now, not only did he want to cry, he also wanted to shit.

The car was bumping along the road. He didn’t say who he was, nor did he make a loud noise, just remained calm.

Calmness was the last thing he could control.

There weren’t many cars on the roads of Golden Port at night. In addition to constantly running red lights, the car’s speed soon slowed down.

With a clatter, the door was opened from the outside. Someone suddenly grabbed him by the hair and dragged him out.

He had no choice but to cooperate to make it easier for himself to be dragged out.

He collapsed on the ground. The dim light illuminated some of the surrounding environment. This should be a back alley, somewhere in the city.His ears were filled with the sound of his heart beating like a drum; he was extremely nervous.

“Help him up and take him to see the Boss.”

Someone spoke, and then two people, one on each side, lifted him up and walked towards a small door.

There was a dim light bulb above the door, with the words “Number Sixty-Six” written on it.

The hinges creaked as if they were overloaded, and the door slowly opened. Faint music, along with a pungent smell of alcohol and tobacco, wafted out from inside.

The sound from under his feet also changed, from the friction between his shoe soles and the concrete floor to the impact between his shoe soles and the floorboards.

Soon, he was brought into a room. There were some people in the room, sitting on the sofa, or standing on the side.

A record player on a corner cabinet was playing the most fashionable music. Just by listening, you could tell that the person singing this song not only had a talent for singing but must also have inherited their ancestors’ ability to pick cotton.

The slow, melodious song could soothe people’s mood, but at this moment, he was only frightened.

“Lance…”

The person in the very center of the crowd was holding a wine glass. When his half-smiling gaze came over, little Eugene could no longer stand steady.

If it were any other force, trying to extort him, to blackmail his family, he would still have a way to deal with it.

But with Lance and the Lance Family, he was already desperate.

“Get our friend a chair. He doesn’t look like he can answer our questions standing up,” Lance instructed. Someone immediately brought a chair and placed it in the middle of the room, and then little Eugene was thrown onto it.

“It seems you know who I am,” Lance put his wine glass on the coffee table. “Get him a glass of wine. He needs to relax a little.”

Someone immediately poured a glass of wine and placed it in little Eugene’s hand. Lance raised his hand to signal him to take a sip. He was a little hesitant.

But then a fist hit him in the face, knocking him directly off the chair and onto the floor.

The wine in his hand naturally spilled all over the floor.

“This is why I say never to put a carpet in my office!” Lance sat there and said with a laugh. The people around him all burst into laughter.

“Now it’s wine. Maybe in a little while it will be piss, or even blood. Any place with you bastards is not suitable for carpeting.”

Lance complained, “By the way, and cigarette butts!”

Everyone laughed again. Little Eugene was helped up again and sat back on the chair.

Lance walked over to him with a wine bottle. Someone had stuffed another wine glass into his hand. Lance personally poured him some wine.

“Drink it, you’ll feel better.”

Little Eugene, whose cheeks were aching unbearably, finally decided to obey Lance’s command. He held the glass with both hands and gulped down the wine, then held the glass, at a loss, and looked at Lance.

Lance took the glass from his hand and placed it on the table next to him along with the bottle.

He returned to the sofa and sat down. “Actually, there is no direct hatred between us. It’s just that your father did something he shouldn’t have, and it has implicated you and your family.”

“Tell me, where is Eugene hiding now? I promise you and your mother won’t be involved in this.”

Little Eugene remained silent. He actually admired his father very much. This feeling was like “I Have a Gangster Big Shot for a Father”. It made him receive an extraordinary level of respect in school and in society.

He loved his father, but as a grown young man, he didn’t really know how to express it. His father had done a lot for him. Now it was his turn to do something for his father.

He mustered his courage and looked up at Lance. “I won’t tell you.”

Everyone was taken aback for a moment, and then they all burst out laughing. Some even laughed until they cried.

For some reason, seeing these people laugh so hard, a wave of anger arose in little Eugene’s heart. He once again emphasized and firmed his resolve. This time, it was his turn to protect his father.

“I—”

“—won’t say a single word!”

Lance laughed for a while and then shook his head. “Who can help our young friend confirm?”

“I will!” Devon, who was standing in the corner, came out from the crowd. As a newly promoted captain, he was very clear about his position.

Ambitious, capable, and discerning—this was the reason he was here.

Lance was not afraid of ambitious people. He was only afraid of ambitious but incapable people sitting in positions they shouldn’t.

As long as he could remain strong, then even if these people were ambitious, they could only be driven by him.

Devon took off his coat, revealing the coffee-colored vest and clean shirt underneath.

He had never worn such good clothes in his life until he had joined the Lance Family.

He carefully rolled up his sleeves, and then took a pair of pliers and a towel from someone’s hands.

Amidst little Eugene’s apprehension, Devon wrapped little Eugene’s hand with the towel, and then clamped one of his fingers with the pliers.

Little Eugene’s gaze shifted from his towel-covered hand to Devon’s eyes. The two looked at each other for more than a second, and then little Eugene let out a tragic scream he had never made in his life.

Ahhhhhh…

The record player in the corner was still turning slowly. The voice enhancement brought by the cotton-picking-prodigy race endowed the music with soul.

The gentlemen, sitting or standing by the sofa, held their wine glasses, held their cigarettes, and watched with a smile as the young man, less than five meters away from them, struggled and screamed.

The distance between civilization and barbarism is sometimes much closer than people imagine.

He didn’t know how long had passed, maybe only a few minutes, or maybe more than ten minutes. Devon, who was already sweating, opened the towel. The pliers clamped another of little Eugene’s fingers. Just as he was about to apply force, little Eugene couldn’t take it anymore.

He was much weaker than he had imagined. He had already held on as long as he could.

The tips of all five fingers on his right hand were almost all crushed.

“I…”

He just made a sound, and Lance raised his hand to have Devon stop. “Our friend seems to have something to say.”

His lips moved. He was quiet for four or five seconds without speaking, as if he were still struggling mentally. But the next second, the heart-wrenching pain attacked again, and he could no longer resist.

“We’re staying at…”

He revealed their current hiding place. Lance glanced at Hiram. The latter stood up with his men and left the room.

Lance had someone give little Eugene a shot of special painkiller. His whole person immediately felt much better.

Little Eugene just kept crying, not because of the pain, but because of his fear of the pain and his own weakness.

He regretted it very much, regretted why he hadn’t held on a little longer. But at the thought of that heart-piercing pain, he felt again that he really couldn’t hold on.

At this time, in the apartment, Eugene sat on a chair in the dining room, smoking. There were already many cigarette butts at his feet. He hadn’t called Stone.

Stone should be asleep by now, and he was also holding on to a glimmer of hope.

He knew he actually shouldn’t have these thoughts and should have told Stone in time, but he just felt that his son would come back.

Everything would be fine.

He glanced sideways at his wife, but said nothing.

Time passed bit by bit. As it was already the latter half of the night, Eugene’s whole person looked much more dejected.

Suddenly, the sound of a key turning in the door made him let out a heavy sigh of relief. He glared again at his wife, who had a surprised look on her face. Although there was not much deterrent force, because his face was covered with a faint smile…

He walked to the door with a stern face, waiting for the moment the door opened to let his son know what fatherly love was.

As the door was pushed open, both the people inside and the people outside were taken aback for a moment.

Then Eugene slowly raised his hands.

A dozen minutes later, Eugene saw Lance.

“I can explain…” he kept explaining as soon as they met. “I just had someone find a boxer. I didn’t say to let them cheat.”

Lance looked at him and asked, “Do you believe it yourself?”

Eugene was taken aback for a moment, then nodded firmly. “What I said is true, I swear.”

Lance shook his head and said, “God is not worth much.”

“Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance. Fight my brother Ethan for nine full rounds.”

“As long as you can survive, I’ll let you go.”

“This is your atonement.”

Eugene looked at the huge figure standing in the light. He swallowed, then looked back at his family, and finally gritted his teeth and took off his coat.

He knew that at this time, nothing he said would be of any use.

At this time, he had no dissatisfaction with his wife, no anger towards his child, only a desire to live.

No gloves, no protective gear, only bare fists.

When he stood opposite Ethan, only then did he feel the kind of oppressive feeling that he could absolutely not feel below the ring.

Ethan grinned. “Either you kill me, or I kill you.”

(End of chapter)