Empire of Shadows

Richie sat on the side of the old sofa with a cigarette in his mouth. He already knew about David’s death.

In the newspaper, the unlucky bastard was lying on the ground, his head tilted, a gunshot wound near his temple, another in his neck, and about seven or eight in his chest.

Human emotions are complex.

David and Richie’s relationship was the best among them. David’s death did not make the others feel that horrified. Many of them used words like “he has returned to the embrace of God” to comment on his death.

It seemed that as a member of the Holy Bell Party, being able to return to the embrace of God was a great honor.

This was very strange. Since it was so honorable, why didn’t they just solve each other—

Suicide cannot get you into heaven to listen to the gospel of God, but they could kill each other, and then they could enter heaven.

No one did that. No matter how much they considered themselves, or told the outside world, how loyal and devout they were to God, they had never thought of reporters returning to the embrace of God.

There are still too many things worth lingering for in this world, so much so that these “pure white lambs of God” also have to temporarily put their faith aside for the sake of material desires.

Or rather, it wasn’t them who died, so they didn’t feel the pain, just like David to those lower-level gang members.He always said that it was their honor to be able to sacrifice themselves for God.

It was also their honor to be able to return to the embrace of God.

Now, he himself had the honor of obtaining everything, so he should not be in pain, but in joy and delight. It’s a pity that these could not be seen on his face.

Richie took a puff of his cigarette, glanced at the listless Arthur in the cage in the corner. In fact, they hadn’t abused Arthur much, just beat him a few times, and he immediately became cooperative.

This also saved Richie a lot of trouble. At least he didn’t have to arrange for someone to keep an eye on him all the time to prevent him from escaping from here.

Arthur hadn’t said any harsh words either, hadn’t said that as long as he left here, he would have his father, his brother, his brother Lance send them all to hell.

He hadn’t said a single harsh word. On the contrary, he would take the initiative to express his willingness to cooperate, to negotiate.

His proficiency in these matters made people feel a little incredible!

“Time’s up.”

Someone reminded him. Richie took another puff of his cigarette, put out the cigarette butt on the ground, walked to the side of the phone, and picked it up.

Then he dialed the number on a piece of paper. There were already two crossed-out numbers on the paper, and there was also a time next to the numbers.

This was his task, to make Mayor Williams run around.

He didn’t understand these political issues very well, but he knew that Joshua had asked him to cooperate with Mr. Charles, so he would cooperate, and he would not care about other things.

The phone rang for a while before it was answered. He heard Mayor Williams’s voice. Just as he was about to speak, a piercing honking sound suddenly came from not far away.

Although the sound was not very loud, it still affected his speech a little.

Fortunately, the honking sound did not last long and soon stopped.

Only then did he start the process again. “You are very punctual, Mr. Mayor. Our game is halfway through. You will see your child soon. I hope you don’t stop here.”

“Then the next address is at… you have thirty minutes. You must arrive before 5:15.”

“Then… we’ll talk later!” he said and hung up the phone, and then crossed out that line of numbers.

At the same time, he dialed Mr. Charles’s number again. “Sir, I have just contacted Mayor Williams. He was at that phone booth. I told him to get to the next address in thirty minutes…”

After hearing this, Mr. Charles replied with great satisfaction, “Well done. No need for any extra communication. Keep it up.”

“It will be over soon, and then this place will be your territory!”

As he spoke, he hung up the phone. For a minor character like Richie, he didn’t even have the most basic attention.

Everything he said was just based on a normal, work-related attitude.

Just like a doctor in a hospital.

As long as a beggar has the fee to treat himself, he can also treat the beggar like a normal patient.

Mr. Charles was like this. This was just work.

He didn’t explain to Richie why he was doing this, nor did he explain what to do next. All he needed was obedience, firm and resolute obedience!

Richie returned to his sofa and sat down. The slightly sunken sofa enveloped his body, giving him a strong sense of security.

He tilted his head back, leaned against the back of the sofa, and closed his eyes slightly.

“Call me when the time is almost up.”

Soon he fell into a daze, as if he had entered another world, filled with soft holy light, and also David under the holy light.

What he didn’t know was that at this moment, he and David were actually highly similar in some aspects—

They had both been discovered by Lance.

Mayor Williams, who had just walked out of the phone booth, had a fierce smile on his face. This expression was not easy to describe, like a smile born of extreme hatred.

He stared at Lance, his eyes filled with flames of anger. “I heard the sound of a car horn—”

“Beep—”

“Beep-“

“Beep-“

“Beep—”

“Beep beep!”

Lance immediately recorded these changes in the honking with numbers, using its length as “1,” “2,” “3,” and recorded them on the paper in his hand.

A total of five digits, which could have many variations. Lance’s method was just like this. The drivers in different areas used different honking methods.

As long as he could hear the honking sound during the call, he could definitely find them!

This was a very effective method, and it was not so easy to be discovered.

“You continue to do as they say. I’ll go and solve it.”

Mayor Williams nodded vigorously. Just as Lance was about to leave, he suddenly grabbed Lance’s arm. “Don’t kill them.”

Looking at the almost palpable murderous intent in Mayor Williams’s eyes, Lance nodded. “I’ll leave them for you.”

After he finished speaking, he patted Mayor Williams’s hand. The latter let go of his hand and said, “Sorry.”

Lance turned and got into the car. According to this string of numbers, he had already locked down the area where Arthur was, the Triangle District.

In fact, the Triangle District was not an administrative area. It was just a place where three administrative districts bordered and continued to extend outwards. This place, because it bordered three sides, allowed criminals who had committed crimes to jump back and forth.

Cross-district law enforcement was also a major taboo in the Federation. In addition, the police department sometimes couldn’t figure out who should handle the cases here, so this place became more chaotic than other places.

Although the Bay Area was just to the north, in this area, the windows of many shops were covered with wire mesh or even steel bars.

Lance’s initial financial company was also here.

It was accessible from all directions and looked very prosperous and lively.

Chaos also brought another kind of stability. From different perspectives, this place had its own rules. As long as you didn’t break the rules here, very few people would take the initiative to find trouble with you.

Richie and his group had gotten a house with a basement in a back street. No one was nosy, not even curious.

In the past, some people were curious. From birth, they were full of curiosity about this world, until they might, out of curiosity, walk into an alley in the Triangle District, and then see—

A gang was conducting an illegal transaction, so they went to see God.

Someone was committing violence. They became eyewitnesses, so they went to see God.

Someone was hiding something, so they went to see God.

With more people going to see God, there were fewer living people with rampant curiosity.

In fact, some people had noticed that someone had put an iron cage at the entrance of the alley, but no one was curious about whether the cage held a dog, a woman, a man, or something else.

They wanted to live, and they also had no curiosity.

If someone still had a sliver of curiosity, they would notice that there were some strange vehicles on the street.

A few young men standing at the entrance of the alley noticed the slow-moving car. The Lance Family was indeed the biggest gang in Golden Port City, but this did not mean that there were no small gangs, no community families.

These young men lived in the vicinity. They were an obvious, developing community family.

A group of young people who lived nearby and knew each other huddled together for warmth. This was the prototype of a gang.

They regarded this area as their territory, and that slow-moving car was obviously not just passing by.

A few of the young men looked at each other. One of them touched the dagger in his coat and nodded at the others.

They immediately headed towards the slow-moving car. The people in the car couldn’t help but laugh when they saw this. It reminded them of their past.

The young men quickly approached the vehicle and blocked it. At the same time, the “Boss” of this group of people put his hand on the frame of the passenger door. He lowered his head and looked into the car. “This is… family’s territory. You guys…”

He saw everything inside clearly, and then suddenly stopped talking. And his face began to turn pale, and some beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He saw the two people sitting inside and saw clearly the badge on their left arm, which they regarded as an “idol.”

This little Boss suddenly became a little stuttering. “I’m sorry, sir. I… I didn’t know it was you.”

He withdrew his hand and stood outside the passenger door, standing up straight, just like when he was young and still had reverence for his teacher.

Because of being punished to stand, he stood up straight.

The young man in the passenger seat smiled. “Don’t be so nervous. I didn’t know this was your territory.”

The other young men also realized this. They also did not dare to speak and huddled together.

But with a single sentence from this peer in the passenger seat, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on their faces!

What did this mean?

It meant that the Lance Family had acknowledged that this was their territory!

In the future, if anyone came to try to snatch their territory, or to do something bad here, they could be more justified in shouting at them—

The Lance Family has acknowledged that this is our territory. On what grounds do you say it isn’t?

In Golden Port City, this was like an official certification.

The little Boss was so excited that he couldn’t close his mouth, revealing a few not-so-neat, slightly yellowed teeth. “Sir, is there anything we can do for you?”

The young man nodded. “Have any strangers appeared in the vicinity recently?”

“You’ve never seen them before, they’ve suddenly appeared, and they might just be living in the vicinity.”

A few of the young men immediately discussed in a low voice. Not long after, they had provided some information and were willing to take the initiative to cooperate with them.

The members of the Lance Family immediately called for backup, but in the end, it turned out that those few locations were not the people they were looking for.

They did not make things difficult for these young men either. After all, they were also enthusiastic.

Seeing that the time was approaching the next appointed time, all the cars had stopped at the designated location that Lance had asked them to listen at.

At 5:15, Richie picked up the receiver on time and dialed the number. When Mayor Williams had answered the call and said a few words, Richie frowned again.

A brief burst of honking sounds appeared in the vicinity, but because it stopped very quickly, he did not pay much attention.

He continued to follow the procedure that Mr. Charles had asked him to do, to make Mayor Williams continue to rush around, and he promised that this was the last time.

Mayor Williams would see Arthur soon.

He reported the process of this matter to Mr. Charles again. He knew that people like Mr. Charles actually looked down on him, but he didn’t care.

What he wanted was not to be looked down upon. What he wanted was a tangible benefit. He had done so much for Joshua. In a market of 200 million, to give him a little more, shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Of course, he also had a question in his heart, which he had to ask. “Sir, should we release Arthur?”

He glanced at the well-behaved Arthur in the cage and asked his question.

Mr. Charles sneered. Although it was a laugh, it was not pleasant, because the laughter was full of sarcasm.

“No need to release him. He still has other uses.”

“You guys can rest now, and you don’t have to continue to contact Williams. Let him understand that we are playing with him!”

After he finished speaking, he hung up the phone. Richie looked at the receiver in his hand and shook his head. Although they were… a gang with a religious nature, as long as Joshua had promised something to someone, he would definitely do it.

He could hear the mockery in Mr. Charles’s voice. He didn’t feel angry, but on the contrary, he felt that the really ridiculous one was this big shot, Mr. Charles.

Even a gangster knows to keep his word. He is such a big shot, yet he has no concept of it at all.

He returned to the sofa and sat down. After a daze, he felt a little drowsy. He touched his hungry stomach. “Is there anything to eat?”

A subordinate handed over a small bag of cooked food. He glanced at it. It couldn’t fill his stomach. “Who will go and buy some back?”

A few people looked at each other. In fact, none of them wanted to go out. Going out meant risk.

But now Richie had a request. They couldn’t just let Richie go himself.

In the end, they chose a guy. It’s unknown what price those people had to pay for this.

Richie looked at this subordinate and nodded. He took out a few banknotes and gave them to him. “Buy some more food, and the cigarettes are also running low. Buy a few more days’ worth. We should be leaving soon.”

It was winter now. After buying them back, they could be placed on the balcony outside, and they wouldn’t spoil in a short time.

The man took the money and nodded, then put on a flat cap, pulled the brim low, and walked out of the room.

As soon as he came out of the alley, he saw two cars parked on the side of the road, with people sitting in them.

As he was looking at these people, these people also noticed him. In the process of him walking out of the alley, he had put his hands into the pockets of his jacket, where there was a handgun.

He had never felt his heart beat so strong and powerful, nor had he ever felt so close to God at this moment!

He hunched his neck and lowered his head slightly, so that they couldn’t see his face clearly.

He had a feeling that these people were not normal.

But he didn’t dare to go back now. Maybe turning around now would alert these people. He could only bite the bullet and continue to leave.

When he had walked out of the alley and towards the deli, and had walked for more than ten meters, he finally felt that the gazes and pressure on him had disappeared.

His face became extremely ugly. He wasn’t sure if those were Lance’s men, but he didn’t dare to gamble!

Now the only problem was, what the fuck was the phone number of the room?

Less than a minute after he left, Mayor Williams’s car drove over from a distance and stopped on the side of the road.

Lance in the cafe on the side of the road waved at him. Mayor Williams also walked in with his hands in his pockets. Before entering the door, he shook his clothes and took off his hat, which had some snowflakes on it.

The cafe was very warm. There was only Lance’s table. It was obvious that everyone else had been temporarily asked to leave. Lance was treating, and they had nothing to complain about.

Lance poured a cup of hot coffee for Mayor Williams. “Do you want milk and sugar?”

“One sugar, one ounce of milk.” Mayor Williams’s expression was filled with surprise and amazement. He placed his hat on the chair of the booth opposite Lance, and then moved his body to sit down. “He’s here?”

There was a very small silver cup in the cafe. This was a utensil used to measure milk.

One small cup was one ounce, about twenty-odd milliliters, which could effectively improve the taste of the coffee.

Lance helped him pour the milk in, and then added a sugar cube.

“Just in these few buildings across the road,” he withdrew his hand and looked at Mayor Williams.

Lance had once again broken through his upper limit of understanding of Lance. He had originally thought that this matter would take a long time, and might not even be found, just locking down a location.

But he had not expected that he had actually found it!

Lance briefly explained, “This place can only hear three different honking sounds at most, but just now you said you only heard two.”

“This means that their location is at the street corner, and those honking sounds are also numbered, so it’s not hard to guess.”

“Now our only problem is, should we go and find him.”

“Or continue to wait, wait for them to expose themselves, and then snatch Arthur from their hands.”

If James were here, he would realize that, including his father, they were facing many choices every day.

To make a smart choice, there is no trick.

Courage, and responsibility.

(End of a Chapter)