Empire of Shadows

In the room, everyone seemed a little excited.

A smart and wise leader could bring a gang not only a higher reputation but also make the gang members safer.

Under this surprise attack, the Keane family had almost no power to fight back. The morning’s assassination of several cadres who could get clear information had only made them shrink the power of their cadres.

They probably hadn’t even discussed clearly how to deal with this sudden attack, and then their bars were also attacked when they least expected it.

Three bars were burned, two were smashed, and two others were riddled with bullet holes.

It was impossible for there to be only these few bars in the city center. The number of bars was definitely beyond people’s imagination, but the bad chain reaction brought about by this matter was still constantly undergoing a chemical reaction.

First of all, people were a little afraid to go to the Keane family’s bars to drink. Who the fuck knew if a group of people with weapons would suddenly rush in and shoot at sight?

Even if the Lance Family didn’t have any vicious rumors, for example, that they shot ordinary people, but what if?

The gentlemen of the city center were not the mud-legged dogs of the Empire District or the Port District. They were all the elites of society, representatives of the middle class, with a monthly income of at least a few hundred to a thousand dollars.

What if they were grazed, or even lost their lives? Was it worth it?Where can’t you drink, when can’t you drink?

That night, the number of people in the Keane family’s bars was visibly much smaller. Until the war between the two gangs was over, the business of the bars would be affected.

Lance’s bars were also affected, but the degree of impact was relatively low.

The people who came here to drink were all poor people.

The poorer you are, the more you love to gamble.

The poorer you are, the more you love to drink.

Why?

Because for the poor, three or five dollars cannot make them middle class, let alone let them become members of the upper class.

But if they could win three or five dollars… well, if they could win three or five dollars, then they would live very comfortably this month.

And what they needed to do was to put three or five dollars on the gambling table, and then shout out their bets hysterically with a flushed face.

Without these three or five dollars, it would just be a tighter month. But with it, this month would be heaven!

So the poorer you are, the more you have to gamble. Only gambling can change their short-term living situation.

Saving three or five dollars may seem meaningful, but what’s the point?

To change your class?

Changing your class by saving three or five dollars a month is as ridiculous as the President shouting that everyone is equal!

And why the poorer you are, the more you have to drink?

Because life is so fucking bitter!

Only the intoxicating drunkenness can disperse the bitterness in people’s hearts. Even if they tighten their expenses, they still hope to fall asleep drunk at night.

Instead of thinking about the terrible and embarrassing life situation before falling asleep. That’s what they should think about when they go to work tomorrow, not now.

For the middle class, drinking is optional.

But for many poor people, wine is not just wine, but also medicine, a medicine that can cure all diseases!

This was also the reason why the people in the room were happy. They laughed loudly, talking about the interesting things they had encountered when they attacked the Keane family’s bars and assassinated those cadres.

Lance also sat in his wide chair with his legs crossed, a smile on his face, listening to them loudly narrate those interesting things.

Each and every one of them was wearing a suit. From the gold watches revealed by the cuffs of their sleeves when they occasionally raised their wine glasses or held their cigarettes, it could be seen that each of them lived very well!

Clean and tidy custom-made suits, fine silk ties, gold watches, gold tie clips, various but definitely not cheap belt buckles, and a pair of mirror-bright leather shoes!

In addition to the wine glasses in their hands, the cigarettes and cigars in their hands, and the various luxury consumables on the coffee table, anyone who came would only think that this was a place for a group of rich people to have fun, not a gangster’s den!

“…The moment that fool opened the door, he looked at us with a dazed expression. He even wanted to run…”

A young “big boy,” only twenty-one years old, was narrating to others the process of him killing that Keane family cadre in the guest room. When people heard him talk about walking into the room and shooting all the bullets into that fool’s head, someone raised their wine glass.

“A toast to the great Lance!”

The atmosphere and emotions were perfectly set off. People raised their wine glasses one after another, and some even raised their wine bottles.

Lance also added some wine for himself and raised his glass. “To all of us!”

“Cheers!”

Joyful laughter filled the entire room. After a satisfying victory, everyone looked at Lance as if they were looking at their god!

Lance put down his wine glass, took a drag on the cigarette in his hand, and then raised his hand to quiet them down.

“We’ve had a beautiful opening to this battle, but gentlemen, we cannot be proud of this, nor can we relax our vigilance because of it.”

“Before we have torn off those people’s heads and kicked them like balls, we must be vigilant, we must be on guard.”

“Because next, the battle will gradually become more intense. The Keane family is not one of those small gangs that will retreat after being beaten a few times.”

“This is the base of the Five Families. They will not retreat, and they have nowhere to retreat.”

“So they will definitely counterattack. We must fight resolutely, fight without mercy!”

Lance looked at Bolton in the corner. His importance had increased a lot now, and he was also considered a core character.

However, he was still very cautious, because he knew very well that his relationship with Lance was not the same as the relationship between others and Lance.

Rob would always be a hidden bomb between them, but at the same time, he was not completely without “insurance.” Gerald was his insurance.

So he would try to be as low-key as possible. The good news was that his new son had been born, which would make him feel more at ease, and also make Lance and the others feel more at ease.

He saw Lance’s gaze turn to him and took the initiative to say, “Boss?”

Lance nodded slightly. “These few days, have the old men on the street use their eyes more. Don’t be stingy with money. Pay attention to the summary and distribution of information.”

“Have you done the centralized processing office I asked you to do?”

As Lance’s future territory grew larger and larger, the area Bolton had to manage would also become larger and larger.

Just one phone call was not enough, so Lance had him set up an office, not in the bank.

Because this place would become a kind of “intelligence concentration” place. Currently, there were twenty phones, but in the future, it might have two hundred, or even more!

Those people not only had to receive intelligence, but there were also people inside who had to analyze intelligence and process intelligence, that is, to send the correct information to the correct people.

This was a very important job. Lance was willing to give Bolton a chance. Now his whole family was under Lance’s watch.

Coupled with such high treatment, and the thorn of Rob, he believed that Bolton would work harder than others to prove his worth.

If others were not hardworking enough, Lance would at most not use them.

If Bolton was not hardworking enough, he might disappear.

Bolton quickly nodded. “It’s already being done. I’ve sent out all the phone numbers. This is a good time to test the effect.”

Lance was very satisfied with his attitude. “You work hard. Keep a close eye on it.”

Then he looked at Elvin. Elvin, like Bolton, also called out, “Boss.”

“You also work hard. Arrange and deploy the manpower. As long as they dare to come, we dare to take them on.”

“But pay attention to the method, pay attention to safety, and at the same time, we must also show our morale!”

Elvin said with a smile, “It sounds a bit complicated, but I believe I can do it well.”

For this deputy, Lance was still very trusting.

Then he called them out one by one and arranged their work. Now that the police were his own people, this allowed him to completely let go and do what he wanted.

After arranging for everyone, he poured himself another glass of wine. “To victory!”

“Victory!”

The Keane family did indeed begin to retaliate more frantically. They constantly infiltrated the Empire District. This time they had learned their lesson.

They didn’t come in groups, just one or two cars at a time, coming in from various places, and then, finding Lance’s bar, or suspecting it was Lance’s people, they would launch an attack.

The streets began to become chaotic, filled with the sound of gunshots. This had a great impact on Lance’s business, but the Keane family was not having a good time either. Their losses were even greater than Lance’s.

They came with one car and five people, and might not be able to kill a few of Lance’s men, but they, along with their car and weapons, would be left in the Empire District.

This made many of the low-level gang members of the Keane family begin to feel fear and apprehension.

It was as if being chosen for a mission was being arranged to be sent to their deaths.

No one was willing to do this kind of mission with no return. Although there were also some who could escape back, that was ultimately only a minority.

The riots in the Empire District soon began to “spread” on a larger scale. People now knew that the Lance Family was not only fighting against the Kodak family, but even the Keane family had been dragged into it.

Two against one, the fight was lively. This was not a good sign for the Keane family and the Kodak family.

The activities between some small gangs also became more frequent. They seemed to have also discovered the decline of the Five Families and had some ideas they shouldn’t have.

When a tiger falls not because it wants to rest, that is the moment it becomes prey!

Even Councilman Williams called and specifically asked Lance about this matter. First, he asked when this exchange of fire would probably end, and second, he asked if he could hold on.

He found it a little hard to believe that Lance could carry two of the Five Families and run forward. For them, although the Five Families were just a force that couldn’t see the light, they absolutely could not be underestimated.

They did have to abide by the rules, but if they were really pushed to the edge, for example, like now, almost in a desperate situation, then the rules would be of no use.

Rules are to restrain the living, not the dead.

Lance just told him that it would be resolved before June!

(End of a Chapter)