Empire of Shadows

Milo looked up at Lance. Half of the sky was stained with thick black smoke, which made one side of Lance’s face appear slightly dim, while the right side was still bright with the morning sun. From his nose, his whole person seemed to be divided into two parts.

One part was shrouded in sunlight. His handsome face made it difficult for people to believe that he was the biggest gangster boss in Likalai State.

The other part was shrouded in shadow. He had merged with the shadow, or rather, at this moment, he was the shadow!

For some reason, Milo had this feeling at this very moment, but he was not at all happy about his artistic cell.

He knew he was done for.

He thought of the first time he had killed someone.

At that time, he was just sixteen years old and had already started working for the family with his father.

A kid, from god knows where, had broken into their warehouse and had stolen something worth about five thousand.

An uncle of his father’s was very angry. He was an old man who liked to link everything to the “honor of the Perez family.” Even if someone just saw him and didn’t take off his hat to say hello, he would throw a tantrum—

“This person doesn’t respect us, doesn’t respect the Perez family. We have to teach him a lesson.”Naturally, the things in the warehouse were stolen. He believed that this was a blasphemy and provocation to the honor of the Perez family. If they could not catch this person and make an example of him, to let everyone know that the glory of the Perez family would not tolerate the slightest humiliation, then it would be the greatest shame of the Perez family.

He was not young, and was a direct member of the family. His words still carried some weight. So this trivial matter, which could not even be considered a small matter, was handed over to Milo and his father.

Mainly, it was given to him.

At that time, he had just started high school. He had been well-nourished since he was a child, so he was very tall, and also very strong and sturdy. In the high school campus, he was definitely one of the very tall ones.

He didn’t like school. He longed for the free life of a gangster.

Anyway, he still had to work for the family in the future, so he had dropped out of school early and had started to work. This could also be considered a test for him from the family.

He had, through the family’s channels, locked onto a suspect. The things the other party had recently been selling on the black market were what they had lost.

But this person was very cunning. No one knew where to find him. So Milo had gone to his best friend.

The scene at that time… in a daze, was the same as at this very moment. The young man, who was a few years older than him, was kneeling in front of him, pleading for him to be spared. He had no idea what his good brother had done, and where he was.

That was in the unlucky bastard’s apartment. He was standing in the room, and the unlucky bastard was kneeling in front of him.

His father and his father’s subordinates were standing at the door, watching him through the doorway.

He tightened his grip on the gun in his hand, and after cursing “you bastard,” he had directly pulled the trigger on the innocent person.

He had fired several shots in a row. The blood had splattered on his face. His face had a “dull and cruel smile,” as if… his body had not reacted, had not been able to keep up with the rhythm of his thoughts.

The expression on his face looked like a smile, but if you looked closely, it was actually ferocious!

He didn’t care if that person really knew what his brother had done, nor did he care if he was innocent. This was the effect they wanted—

To offend the Perez family would have wide-ranging implications.

If you don’t want to be implicated, then report him!

This trick was very effective. Soon they had gotten a piece of news from another person, which had led them to find the person who had stolen the family’s property.

When this matter was reported to the family, Milo had been praised by his father’s uncle, who had called him the “young backbone of the Perez family,” a praise, but it was said that he had called at least twenty or thirty young men this.

But in any case, his performance had made him enter the line of sight of the family’s ruling class, which was how he had everything he had today.

In a daze, he overlapped with the innocent person who had been kneeling in the shadows of the apartment and begging him that day. They were both so innocent, so… helpless.

He looked at Lance, wanting to find pity in Lance’s eyes, even a trace of it.

But he only found coldness.

Lance shook his head slightly. “You have been honored because of your surname, and you will also pay the price for your surname.”

He took a step back. At this instant, Milo’s goosebumps rose, and his scalp tingled fiercely. He suddenly wanted to jump up, but it was too late!

The person behind him directly held down his shoulders. A cold object was pressed against his head. This time he did not stop resisting. He was still struggling, but the next second, a gunshot rang out.

He looked at the puff of blood that had sprayed out on the ground, at the white tissue in the blood. The muscles on his face twitched a little. The memory stayed on the scene of the young man who was older than him, finally falling at his feet.

He fell to the ground with a thud.

There was no sound.

Lance looked down at his leather shoes, a little helpless.

“Next time you shoot someone in the head, point the muzzle down a little. I just got these leather shoes…”

He walked to the side of Milo’s body and rubbed the upper of his shoe on his clothes. “Fucking… I don’t want to say anything about you.”

Hiram, with a playful look on his face, didn’t care at all. “I’ll get you ten pairs. If ten pairs aren’t enough, then a hundred. Just throw them away after wearing them once. How about it?”

Lance glanced at him. “I’ll dock you a month’s salary.”

Hiram’s eyes widened, a look of disbelief on his face.

Lawn, at the side, put away his weapon and pursed his lips. “Serves you right.”

The two of them soon began to play and fight. Lance glanced at the rack used for hanging things and signaled for the men to hang Milo up.

Soon the convoy left this place. The fire also spread over. Everything was burned to ashes in the raging fire…

The state police also left with Lance and his men. These were all arranged by Chief Anthony to come along, to minimize some of the trouble.

The state police have the qualification and power to carry out official business across states, so this was not an offense to their counterparts in Indeno State.

The convoy met on the interstate highway and then headed towards Likalai State. When the convoy entered the territory of Likalai State, all the cars slowed down and slowly pulled over.

The police captain in the first police car that had stopped came to the side of Lance’s car. Lance rolled down the window. “Mr. Lance, I still have some of the cowboys that I’ve arrested here.”

Lance glanced at him and turned to look at Hiram. “You handle it.”

Hiram rolled his eyes, pushed open the door, and left the passenger seat with his submachine gun.

Soon the cowboys were taken out of the police car. There were only a dozen or so of them. In fact, there were still some other cowboys, but they had run very fast, or were very cunning, and had not gotten involved.

A few of the cowboys were still struggling, still emphasizing the rights they had, but there were also a few who had already realized that something was wrong, but at this time it was a little too late.

They were asked to kneel on the side of the road. Someone resisted, but was immediately killed. Then Hiram, like an executioner of a king, walked over to them one by one.

The gunshots in the wilderness startled the birds and beasts that were staying nearby. A large flock of birds circled in the sky. After the convoy had left, they dived down again to taste the rare bloody meal.

The strong smell of blood soon attracted the predators in the vicinity. A relationship in the food chain was vividly played out at this moment.

In Indeno State, the fire grew larger and larger. The mayor was afraid that the fire would eventually spread over, so he had no choice but to call the fire department. Soon the fire brigades from the nearby cities arrived.

Looking at the big fire, the fire chief, after observing the terrain, said that they could only let it burn itself out.

They had dug a firebreak around the Maple Iris Grass field to ensure that the big fire would not spread to the surroundings. After leaving a few people to observe, the others left first.

The fire burned until evening before it was completely finished.

The mayor and the others had no idea what had happened on the farm. At this time, the mayor, the sheriff, along with some of the bolder people and some of the cowboys who had not been arrested, entered the farm. Soon, they all ran out, covering their mouths.

A strong, and disgusting smell!

Fuck!

The mayor was plump, and he threw up the most. He even fucking threw up the hard noodles he had eaten for breakfast!

What made him even more terrified and uneasy was that as long as he closed his eyes, that picture would appear in front of him—

A corpse, already cooked, was hanging on the gallows, and it was still sizzling with oil…

Fuck!

He vomited while cursing. Although it was so dark that he couldn’t see the specific appearance, he knew that that was Milo Perez!

Five minutes later, Milo’s father received a phone call.

Because of his outstanding performance when he was young, he had already been transferred back to the family headquarters to work, mainly in charge of some business matters.

The higher the level of the gang, the more it was like a capital-operated enterprise. Everything would be more regular, more scaled.

He sat quietly in front of the phone. There had been no sound from the receiver for a long time. Even the busy tone had long disappeared. There was only “nothing,” like deathly silence.

He sat there for a long time without coming back to his senses. He had been a daredevil when he was young. He was not, in the strict sense, a direct member.

A direct member refers to the branch of the second-generation family head. Over the years, they had also had many people, but there were more non-direct members.

A non-direct member is not always a non-direct member. As long as you contribute to the family, you can become a direct member.

Direct members have many welfare benefits. For example, their children, as soon as they are born, are registered in the family foundation. Every month, they can get a sum of money, which comes with their age.

When they reach the age of twenty, they can choose to continue to receive money monthly, or to receive a lump sum.

Besides this, there are also many other welfare benefits.

He wanted his son, his descendants, to become direct members, so he had always been very hardworking, very diligent.

Only in this way could his children, his descendants, not have to risk their lives like him.

Although the family no longer needed to expand its territory, maintaining the stability of the family also required a large number of people. Battles were happening every moment.

It was precisely because he had fought too hard that in a battle, he had been shot in the testicles and had lost the ability to have children.

Milo carried all his faith in the continuation of his bloodline. So much so that at his best age, in his twenties, he had sent him to a southern farm far from the family to be a farmer!

It was to let him avoid the possible cruel gangster struggles, both internal and external.

Unexpectedly, he had already done his best to protect his son, but he was still gone.

He put down the phone. His whole person seemed to have aged by several decades in an instant. His vitality was instantly sucked away by an invisible large hand.

He sat there with his back bent, his mind a blank.

It was not until a long while later that he reacted. Someone was knocking on the door.

“The door is unlocked. Come in.”

The door was opened. One of his cousins stood outside. “Mr. Frank wants to see you.”

He nodded. “I’ll be right there.”

His voice was a little hoarse. After hearing that terrible news, his throat seemed to have been covered with a layer of gauze.

He slowly stood up, supporting himself with the table. It was clearly a very simple matter, but for him now, it had become a very difficult matter.

His legs seemed unable to support the weight of his body!

He took a step and almost fell. It wasn’t until a while later that he returned to normal.

A journey that usually took seven or eight minutes had taken more than ten minutes. When he pushed open Frank’s huge office, there were already many people in the room.

Some of the core members of the family, the direct members, were all here.

“Come over here!” Frank had already stood up. He walked around the desk and went up to him. He hugged Milo’s father, a very solid, very tight hug!

“I’m sorry. I heard the terrible news. I have already sent the family members from the vicinity over. Maybe…”

He had wanted to say, “Maybe that’s not Milo,” but in the end, he did not say it, because from what he had learned, and from his own experience, he already knew that that was fucking Milo!

Only Milo would be hung up!

This was a revenge, a revenge that vented hatred, so the one who was hung up must be a member of the Perez family!

Who the fuck would hang a farmer or a farm woman?

Milo’s father could no longer control his emotions and burst into tears.

The members of the Perez family around him all looked at him solemnly, with more or less a look of grief on their faces.

The old man who always talked about “blasphemy against the family’s honor” was also here. He was sitting on the sofa, supporting himself with his cane. This time he was not screeching and yelling.

“Frank, I want to avenge Milo!”

“Please allow me to go to Likalai State.”

Frank’s face showed no change in expression, but in his heart, he was very unwilling. To go to Likalai State was no different from sending someone to their death.

The more people who died, the more the authority of the Perez family would be damaged. But now he couldn’t say no. After all, Milo had just died.

He glanced at Bob. Bob immediately stood up. “I support your revenge, but we have to first find out who did it.”

Frank nodded slightly. His own brother still knew his thoughts.

Milo’s father let go of Frank. He apologized while taking out a handkerchief and wiping his red eyes.

After a while, he looked at Bob. “Besides Lance, who else could it be?”

They all knew that the family had just burned down Lance’s four cinemas, which had severely damaged the face of the Lance Family.

At a time like this, the only one who could retaliate so bloodily was the Lance Family.

And the mayor had said that the state police who had come were all driving police cars from Likalai State.

The police in different places, and in different departments, all had their own set of independent things that could identify their identity. The police badges that those police officers had shown had the words “Likalai State Police” on them.

Bob raised his eyebrows. His brain was spinning at an unprecedented high speed. “It’s too obvious, Ted (Milo’s father)!”

“Yes, it’s too obvious. They seem to be afraid that others won’t know that they are from Likalai State. They even have to deliberately show their documents to let them see. They seem to be guiding us to the fact that this was done by the people of Likalai State.”

“Everyone knows now that we are in conflict with the Lance Family. If we are also retaliated against, should we retaliate back?”

“A direct member was killed. We certainly can’t pretend that we don’t know anything. Once we make a move, will we fall into someone’s trap?”

“I am heartbroken!”

“Milo was an outstanding young man. He shouldn’t have left so early.”

“So we need to find out this matter in more detail!”

“If it wasn’t done by the Lance Family, even if we execute Lance, the real killer will escape. He will even laugh at us, and Milo’s soul will not be at peace!”

Perhaps it was the last sentence that had worked. Milo’s father restrained some of his emotions. “I understand. you’re right. I was impulsive.”

Frank regained control of the conversation at this time. “I will immediately arrange for someone to investigate this matter. As soon as there are results, I will notify you at the first opportunity.”

“Please rest assured. As long as we find out who did this, we will absolutely not let him go!”

The old guy who liked to shout slogans also found a suitable opportunity at this time. He stomped his cane on the floor. “No matter who it is, we will not allow a guy who has blasphemed the honor of the Perez family to live in this world!”

Frank nodded again. “Yes, we will not allow that.”

“Now, besides finding out who our enemy is, there is another matter: to bring Milo back.”

“He should be with his kinsmen.”

The Perez family had its own family cemetery. To be buried in the family cemetery after death, and the closer the burial position was to the center, the more of an honor it was!

Ted took a deep breath, his eyes full of tears. He almost gritted his teeth to say this sentence, “I’ll go in person!”

Frank glanced at him, and then nodded. “Okay, you go in person. Bring some more people.”

Ted took out his handkerchief again and wiped away his tears. “I’m sorry, I lost my composure. Then I’ll go and prepare first.”

“He’s too lonely over there. I want to bring him back soon!”

Frank did not stop him.

The moment Ted went out, the expression on his face changed.

In fact, he knew, and the people inside also knew, that there was only one possibility for such a naked blow to the face of the Perez family.

But they had to think about the overall situation.

He didn’t want to. He was just a father who had lost his only child. He wanted to avenge his child, and that was all!

(End of a Chapter)