Empire of Shadows

At the end of the month, the weather was so scorching hot it made one want to peel off a layer of skin.

Golden Port City, like a baking oven, was still bustling with tourists from all over the world.

The beaches in the Bay and Beach Area were packed with people. Some of the more unrestrained girls wore even more revealing swimsuits, attracting the gazes of the young boys.

They would occasionally tease the boys, and watching them make a fool of themselves seemed to be their greatest pleasure.

The long coastline had been turned into a large public bathhouse by these tourists, if they even knew what a bathhouse was.

The city’s roads were also full of tourists. This was possibly the “world’s” last peaceful summer. As the Federation’s plans to join the war became increasingly clear, several countries near the Federation also seemed to be starting to consider which side to take.

This was also why, in addition to conscripting for the navy, a large number of land troops were also being conscripted.

Perhaps Congress and Mr. President were more ambitious than people imagined.

But regardless, people were grabbing the tail end of this last peaceful summer, wantonly enjoying everything here!

The crazy Golden Port City, the crazy beaches, the crazy casinos, and… the crazy bars!From a glass of “naturally fermented grape juice” with ice cubes to a “grain-fermented beverage,” unrestrained revelry became the sole theme of this city this summer!

In such a “height of summer,” some people from Yalan, from within this state, gathered in the hotel above the Golden Port Casino.

There was still more than an hour before the meeting. Zabri sat at a “Lance Poker” table, participating in the game.

There were already many Lance Poker tables here, but it seemed as if there were still not enough. People’s enthusiasm for winner-takes-all surpassed everything else!

Play eight times, as long as you win once, you don’t lose!

This had become the reason almost all gambling addicts used to convince themselves to participate in the game!

This time, they were not betting against the dealer, not against the casino, but against other gambling addicts. The casino would not be heavily involved, so naturally, they would not cheat when dealing the cards.

They had never trusted the dealers to be so upright, so naturally, they were also willing to believe that they could definitely win.

After looking at the cards in his hand, Zabri’s gaze lingered on the expressionless faces of the other players.

The players who could now sit at the Lance Poker table all the time in the casino had already understood the essence of this game—

Intimidation, bluffing, and traps. This was the essence of Lance Poker.

As some of the gambling addicts who had traveled here brought the gameplay of Lance Poker back to the places where they lived, more and more people began to learn about this gameplay that was suitable for three to fourteen people. Some places even called Lance Poker “Deception Poker.”

But regardless, it was already a hit, very famous, and along with it, the Golden Port Casino had also become a holy land in the minds of many Lance Poker masters.

A casino that could nurture such an exciting gameplay must have the strongest players in the Federation, and even in the world.

Many people came here to participate in the game with a pilgrimage mentality. Naturally, this also made the level of the players at the gambling tables higher and higher.

Zabri tossed a twenty-dollar chip onto the table. A new round of choices began. He focused his full attention on everyone, on the changes in their expressions, on the changes in their eyes.

Except for a few people, most of them had expressionless faces, as if they were wearing a human skin mask, from which no value could be read.

Round after round, the chips on the table grew more and more, but the number of players participating in the game became fewer and fewer.

When Zabri turned over his cards, he was just about to stand up to collect the chips when he was stopped by another player.

He looked at the other party’s cards, listened to the dealer announce the result, and left the side of the gambling table, cursing.

“That son of a bitch must have cheated!” he said to his subordinate.

His subordinate was a little helpless. “You can report this to the casino.”

Since someone had committed suicide by jumping off a building after cheating in the casino, it could not be said that there were absolutely no cheaters in the casino, but it could be said that those who did were definitely the low-key kind.

Winning streak?

Always losing small and winning big?

Doesn’t exist!

As long as they felt something was wrong, they would be taken away.

If they could cooperate with the inspection and no problems were found, the casino would compensate them with chips: 500 for the first floor, 5,000 for the second floor, and 50,000 for the third floor.

As for the upper levels?

How to deal with those non-public gambling tables was the business of the guests. Of course, the casino could also provide appropriate cooperation, but an additional fee would be charged.

So the Golden Port Casino was gradually being considered one of the cleanest casinos. Here, as long as someone was suspected, they would be inspected.

Of course, randomly suspecting others also had a price to pay.

Zabri didn’t want to cause trouble now. He shook his head. “He got lucky!”

In just a short while, a little over an hour, he had lost tens of thousands on the first floor.

In fact, he didn’t care much about this money. What made him unhappy was that he clearly had a big hand, but was always beaten.

With the same cards, others could win, but he would definitely lose. This was the reason for his anger.

“It’s about time,” his subordinate reminded him. He then nodded, took a few deep breaths to adjust his mood, and then took the elevator up with his subordinate.

It was an observation elevator. He could see almost all three floors of the casino. Countless gambling addicts and the red, green, blue, purple, yellow, orange, white, black, silver, gold, and even crystal chips on the gambling tables wove a sea of desire.

All the people were deeply mired in the sea, unable to extricate themselves, struggling unknowingly.

No matter how hard they tried, in the end, they could not escape the fate of sinking to the bottom of the sea.

“Lance is a very capable person,” Zabri said suddenly.

His subordinate didn’t quite understand why he had suddenly said this. Fortunately, he took the initiative to explain. “That Lance Poker, and some of his practices.”

“It looks like he’s being excessive, but he’s also being very measured. I now feel that the decline of the Five Families must be inextricably linked to him.”

“And I also heard that he… has someone in Congress.”

When he said this, he himself couldn’t help but laugh a few times. Gangsters, Congress—these were words that simply couldn’t be connected.

But for some reason, he felt that it might really be possible.

As he laughed, his expression became grave. If this was true, the situation would be very bad.

As the elevator reached the floor they wanted, he readjusted his mood, straightened his clothes, and, guided by the sign at the door, entered a small conference hall.

There were many such conference halls above the Golden Port Casino. Some of the people who came here to play came in groups: enterprises, group companies, capitalist families, and even federal government officials.

Besides experiencing life, they also needed a place to work. These small chapels and small conference rooms could come in handy.

Zabri walked into the conference hall and found his seat. Without him noticing, someone suddenly bumped into him.

“Watch where you’re going, you bastard!”

He frowned and glanced at the person who had bumped into him. It was a piece of shit from the Holy Bell Party. His face became somewhat disgusted. “You’re as disgusting as a pile of dog shit. Your dog of a mother should have really kept you in her stomach instead of shitting you out.”

“Fuck!” The guy who had been on the receiving end of his tirade suddenly became impulsive. Just as the two were about to fight, the staff on the scene immediately rushed over and pulled them apart.

The person from the Holy Bell Party was a guy named David. His silver-brown hair was slightly curly, not long, and it curled in circles on his head, looking a bit strange.

His face looked rectangular, with a dimpled chin, and his eyes were light blue, which gave him a very special feel.

But as it happened, this person was an extreme conservative radical.

The Holy Bell Party and the Marcus family competed in some areas. Where there is competition, there is friction. The friction of gangsters would certainly not be resolved in a civilized way, so there was a feud between the two sides.

David made a throat-slitting gesture at Zabri. Although he was conservative and radical, he knew that this was Lance’s territory.

Although he didn’t think a young man could be that capable, before he had completely figured it out, he still decided to respect the other party.

He was indeed quite extreme, but that didn’t mean he was stupid.

After he had finished his throat-slitting gesture, he turned around and left with an arrogant and domineering attitude.

“Mr. Zabri, do you need us to mediate?”

Zabri’s face was very grim, of course not towards these staff members. He shook his head. “That’s just a mad dog. I’m used to it. Thank you for your kindness.”

He came to his seat and sat down, his heart still fluctuating.

As more and more people arrived at the scene, and at the appointed time, Lance finally appeared on the stage, right on time.

Some people in the audience were dissatisfied with his attitude. Some just snorted in dissatisfaction, while others directly expressed their dislike for Lance’s style.

Lance also heard these discussions, but he didn’t care.

He walked to the center of the stage, his face calm and composed as he looked at these people, and then opened his mouth to speak, “This should be the first time we’ve all met. Let me introduce myself. My name is Lance, Lance White. I’m very happy to be able to meet you all here.”

“I know you will notice my young appearance, and also feel that this is just a young man, not worthy of your much attention.”

“Here, now, I remind you all not to have such an idea.”

“I will try my best…”

Before Lance could finish speaking, a man with a thick Yalan accent, slightly dark skin, and a small mustache said loudly, “Talk about something we’re interested in. We’re not here to make friends with you. We have to talk business.”

Many people nodded one after another. Everyone here had a gangster background. The only difference was that some gangs were larger in scale, like the Holy Bell Party, the Marcus family, and the Thorn Gang, which was actively sitting in a corner.

But there were also some smaller ones, like these gangs from Yalan.

In Lance’s eyes, they were no different from the third-rate small-time characters in the suburbs who lived by extorting three or five dollars from pedestrians.

He looked at that person. “If I were you, I would choose to shut up and listen quietly, instead of causing trouble for yourself and the gang behind you!”

(End of a Chapter)