Empire of Shadows

A few days later, in Golden Port City, in Lance’s manor, the representatives of the Thorn Gang and the Marcus family had gathered here.

The Holy Bell Party had been annihilated in a very short period of time, which showed that Lance and the Lance Family already had a dominant position in Likalai State.

He was no longer a pure gang, but a combination of black and political, a… terrifying combination that had not even been seen in the top-tier gangster groups, and even on them!

The Thorn Gang had a large demand for liquor. This time, besides expressing their intention to cooperate with Lance, that they were not Lance’s enemies, they also hoped to be able to buy some liquor from Lance’s side.

After all, the fact that the Lance Family had a liquor license was already well-known in the entire underworld of the Federation. Of course, there were also another seventeen wineries.

But not all wineries dared to supply liquor to the gangs, maybe only a few.

The biggest advantage of using local wine is the reduction in transportation costs. When competing with other bars, it will be more competitive.

Now the competition in the liquor market is also very fierce. Some bars have begun to lower the price of a portion of their liquor to cater to the low-level consumers.

Like providing a cup of special-priced drink every day has also become popular in some areas. The first cup may only be fifteen cents, and the original price will be restored from the second cup.

This also allows many drunks to exercise their bodies while drinking. They will run back and forth between several bars with this kind of promotion, just to drink some cheap wine.So the cheaper the price of the liquor, the greater the room for these gangs to operate.

Only when they take out their weapons are they a gang.

When they put away their weapons and start to put the goods on the counter, they are actually also merchants!

The Thorn Gang was not short of liquor. Knowing that the Holy Bell Party had fallen too quickly this time made them feel some vigilance and unease.

If the Lance Family continued to expand, would it bring a more terrible doomsday to the gangs in Likalai State?

They needed to understand Lance’s attitude.

The prosperity of Golden Port City was one of the best in the entire Likalai State. Mayor Williams, with the help of Lance, had completely controlled the entire city. He began to build this city according to his own ideas.

He proposed to build the tallest building on the East Coast outside of Golden State, which had recently attracted the attention of many investors.

Of course, it was not to be built now, but after the war was over. But this would still bring the attention of many investors.

Taking this opportunity, Mayor Williams threw out many of his views on investment and construction, providing some new ideas, which made the investment environment of Golden Port City become good again.

Many capitalists believed that Mayor Williams was the most outstanding mayor in the past twenty years, bar none.

Because he really treated Golden Port City as a city with an open policy, and not like before, where the wealthy of the Bay Area were allowed to control this place and eat alone.

With more investors in the city, for the residents living here, the job opportunities would also increase.

With more optional jobs, the capitalists would need to raise the price of wages to attract more outstanding workers.

This was a virtuous cycle. Although from the current point of view, this wave of salary increases in Golden Port City had only affected the middle class.

But whether it was Mayor Williams, or Lance, or other investors, they all believed that this trend would, after the war was over, affect all classes!

People would like him, hope that he could continue to serve, and think that he was a good mayor.

The development of the city might not have been immediately apparent, but that vigorous vitality could be felt.

This was like an energetic young man, and a mentally exhausted middle-aged man. They were both human, but you could see the vitality in the young man, and you could see through it at a glance.

In the general context of a not-so-good environment, the upward development of Golden Port City also brought some shock to the people of the Thorn Gang and the Marcus family.

Along with that, when they sat in front of Lance, they were a little cautious.

“Mr. Lance, Mr. Coben has been dealing with some cross-border affairs on the Auburn State side recently, so he couldn’t come in person.”

“He asked me to convey his deep apologies to you. After the matter over there is finished, he will definitely come to visit you in person!”

The first to speak was the second-in-command of the Thorn Gang. As for the “Mr. Coben” he was talking about, he was naturally the leader of the Thorn Gang.

They had always had some conflicts with the neighboring gang in the north, because of the criminal business, and also some historical legacy issues.

But whether it was really because of these things that he didn’t come, was still a question mark. Maybe he was afraid that if he really came, he wouldn’t be able to leave, so he had arranged for a substitute of sufficient weight to come over.

“Please send my regards to Mr. Coben. After his work is over, I will invite him over again to play.”

“Golden Port City is a city worth visiting. Casinos, beaches, beauties, food, it has everything that makes people happy!”

The representative of the Thorn Gang bowed slightly. “I will convey it to him. Thank you for your invitation, Mr. Lance.”

Lance looked at the Marcus family’s side. Their boss, Marcus himself, had not come. The one who had come was Zabri, the guy who had met Lance before.

He looked a little more relaxed. After all, from a certain point of view, they and the Lance Family had no conflict of interest, and they had had the same enemy before. Their relationship should be closer.

“Marcus he…” Zabri glanced at the representative of the Thorn Gang sitting diagonally opposite him. What he had originally planned to say had been said by the other party. For a moment, he didn’t know how to explain.

Lance smiled and waved his hand. “I understand. Mr. Marcus will be a little worried, and also very cautious. This is not a problem.”

“I believe we will still have a chance to meet.”

Zabri breathed a sigh of relief and said with a bitter smile, “I’m sorry.”

“There is nothing to be sorry about. As a leader, his health and safety are related to the operation of the entire gang. I don’t think he is wrong to be so careful.”

“If someone invited me to a meeting that I didn’t know about and was not familiar with, I certainly wouldn’t go either.”

He paused for a moment. “I know what you are all worried about.”

“The Lance Family, I, am different from the traditional gang leaders, the kind of gang leaders who want to turn the whole world into their own territory.”

“I don’t occupy those territories, including the territory left by the Holy Bell Party this time. You can divide it up through negotiation, or you can solve it through war. I will not interfere.”

“But I will set the rules, just like this city!” Lance raised his hand and patted the thick leather armrest of the sofa by his side.

The armrest was cool and very comfortable to touch. “As long as you don’t violate my rules, then most of the time they won’t even feel my existence and the existence of my men.”

“But if someone is willing to obey, but violates my rules…” he slightly tucked his chin. This seemed to be a defensive action, but in fact, it was full of aggressiveness.

His gaze moved between the two of them twice. “…Joshua is the end!”

This made the two of them feel a heavy pressure, and their expressions became a little unnatural.

They had thought of many possibilities before they came. For example, they all thought that the Lance Family would occupy the territory left by the Holy Bell Party and become their neighbors.

Their respective leaders had all talked to them. If Lance’s attitude was tough, they could appropriately give up a part of their interests to ensure that everyone could live in peace, at least for the current stage.

There was no way not to back down. The state prosecutor’s office and the state police were still rounding up the remaining members of the Holy Bell Party.

The news of Joshua’s death had already spread. The little bit of pressure that had originally been there had disappeared in an instant.

At this time, those who had previously tried to block them only hoped that Joshua was really dead, and that everything related to him would be destroyed as soon as possible.

The human trafficking business he was engaged in was a super landmine!

But fortunately, Lance had no intention of touching this landmine at present, so these people also understood Lance’s attitude through some channels and no longer interfered in the subsequent follow-up work.

For Lance to accept the territory of the Holy Bell Party was just a matter of a single sentence.

But what they had never expected was that Lance didn’t want their territory, but still wanted to set rules for everyone.

This was a bit… annoying.

From a strong neighbor to suddenly becoming a father, they certainly couldn’t be happy.

The representative of the Thorn Gang squeezed out a smile. “Mr. Lance, why don’t you tell us what you plan to do first?”

Lance nodded slightly. He crossed his legs, lit a cigarette, rested his elbow on his knee, and leaned forward slightly. “Actually, it’s not as complicated as you think. I’m not that kind of tyrannical dictator, so these are just a few very ordinary rules.”

“First of all, you must respect me and my family.”

Neither of them felt that this was wrong. As the strongest gang, the underworld had always admired the strong. “This is not a problem. It is what we should do.”

“Secondly, I know that our state, including the surrounding states, all have human trafficking businesses. But in Likalai State, I do not allow the trade of Empire people to appear.”

“If it does, I will see it as a provocation to me and my family!”

Zabri was the first to express his agreement. “Mr. Lance, please rest assured. This situation will absolutely not happen on our turf!”

The Marcus family itself was a complex gang composed of immigrants and dark-skinned people. Zabri was a little blackie, so he, and they, also hated the human trade very much.

The Thorn Gang hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded. “No problem, we can also accept it.”

The Thorn Gang did have a human trade, because this profit was too fucking big. As long as the channel was stable, the profit was even bigger than that of liquor!

A sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl has no capital. As long as they see her on the street and leave a message, they can directly sell her.

They will not choose those ordinary girls, but will definitely choose the beautiful, the special. Such a girl can be sold for at least tens of thousands in the hands of those rich people.

The Empire people are not the mainstream group of the Federation, so their appearance, their temperament, are different from the current mainstream ethnic group of the Federation, and they belong to the “best-selling category.”

Although the representative of the Thorn Gang felt it was a pity, thinking about Joshua’s end not long ago, this was actually not unacceptable.

Lance tapped his cigarette ash, his gaze locked on the ashtray, not on them. “Third…”

(End of a Chapter)