Empire of Shadows

On the interstate highway from Indeno State to Likalai State, every so often, state troopers would direct passing vehicles to pull over and undergo inspection.

It had been several days, and they still hadn’t found any personnel related to the Perez family traveling together.

The state police on several roads reported the same problem every day, and these messages were then compiled and sent to Lance.

“They wouldn’t dare lie!” Bolton was a little panicked. “I’ve already had people double-check. There were indeed people, and more than one person saw the Perez family get several large buses, and then they disappeared down the interstate highway.”

Lance pursed his lips and gestured for him to sit down and talk. “We can’t always treat our enemies as fools. When they know we’re not to be trifled with, if they still say ‘I’m coming in’ when they break in, then they are truly hopelessly stupid.”

“Obviously, our opponents are not that stupid.”

“If there were no smart people in the Perez family, they would have lost their position long ago. Would they still be, as they are now, firmly occupying a spot as one of the five major families of the Federation?”

In this era, gangs were at their most rampant, influencing elections, bribing politicians, and even assassinating presidents. There was nothing they dared not do.

If the Perez family were all fools, it wouldn’t be Lance’s turn to have a feud with them; they would have been taken out by the ambitious gangs waiting to take their place.

“So we don’t use the methods we used on those past fools to deal with them!”He added some emphasis to his tone, then he picked up the phone and dialed the number of the managers of the major railway companies here in Golden Port City.

They were willing to give Lance face. Of course, not giving face was also not an option. After all, this was Lance’s territory, and they were not the only railway operators; there were always alternatives.

In order to “compete fairly,” they had to at least ensure that they were not excluded from the fairness. So whatever Lance needed, they would do their best to satisfy.

Soon, these managers told Lance that they had no recent changes in their operational schedule. Everything was still planned according to last week’s schedule.

No one had cut in line, and there were no private special trains to Likalai State.

After putting down the phone, Lance placed his fingertips together, his elbows resting on the armrests, and held his hands in front of his chest. “If they didn’t come by car, nor by train, and they still want to find a way to hide their tracks, what other way is there to get to us?”

There would be no problem on the interstate highway. The state police didn’t actually know the people of the Perez family, but they knew weapons. All those carrying illegal weapons would have their identities checked.

But so far, there had been no appearance of a large number of submachine guns or the like, which meant that at least they would not be coming by road.

To separate men from their guns in enemy territory was no different from sending them to their deaths.

Lance’s gaze moved across the faces of the gentlemen in the room, and finally settled on Elvin’s face. “Elvin?”

Elvin didn’t show the helplessness of a bad boy being called upon by the teacher. He had a somewhat knowing smile. “They’re coming by sea.”

Lance nodded. “Yes, they’re coming by sea.”

“And they won’t enter Golden Port Docks directly, nor will they stop at the nearby shore. It’s no secret that we have a good relationship with the Coast Guard, especially for them.”

If they wanted to investigate Lance’s connections in Golden Port City, and even in Likalai State, they could definitely find out that Lance, through the Coast Guard Headquarters of the Department of Defense, had interfered in the personnel changes of the Likalai State Coast Guard.

The closer to Golden Port City, the stronger the force of the Coast Guard. There were always smugglers in the Yalan region who were unwilling to give up and wanted to send liquor in, so the Coast Guard side was also very busy.

Lance stroked his chin. “They should be landing on the coast outside of Golden Port City. This way, they can appear in front of us at the fastest speed.”

“If they are far away, they will have to find a way to get a car, and they will also have to run on the interstate highway, and there will be a risk of being discovered by the state police.”

“So there is a high probability that they have already landed and are heading towards us.”

Lance picked up the phone again and dialed Damon’s (the Empire immigrant gang leader in Gold Star City) number.

Gold Star City, as a satellite city of Golden Port City, the distance between the two cities was only a little over a hundred kilometers. If you drive fast, it’s a two- or three-hour journey.

Also because of the short journey, from the city’s overall planning, the two cities belonged to an overlapping area of urban management. Because of the special nature of Golden Port City, of course, these overlaps were all managed by Golden Port City.

In addition, this was basically all an intercity highway. There were no state police patrolling the highway, which on the contrary made it convenient for them to act.

There were only two cities closest to Golden Port City. One was Creek Valley City, and Creek Valley City was still some distance from the sea.

Besides that, there was also Gold Star City, which was also by the sea.

Golden Port City had snatched away almost 95% of Gold Star City’s shipping content, so the coastal management of Gold Star City was relatively lax. After they entered the city, they could quickly get vehicles and directly insert themselves into Golden Port City. This was Lance’s judgment.

He needed someone who was very familiar with Gold Star City to find out about the recent situation.

Damon was a good choice. Under Lance’s support, he had, to a certain extent, completed the “unification” of Gold Star City.

In fact, to say it was unified was a bit of an exaggeration. In reality, there were still many gangs that had carved out a lot of territory. It was just that the strongest now was Damon’s gang.

This place was too close to Golden Port City, too close to the Lance Family. Some of the gangs that couldn’t stand it had already left this place. The ones that remained were naturally the ones who were willing to obey.

So to say that they had unified Gold Star City was not impossible.

Receiving Lance’s call made Damon a little surprised, but then he was happy.

The fact that Lance could take the initiative to call him showed that at least he was a familiar face in front of Lance, and the relationship was definitely a little more intimate than just an ordinary “acquaintance.”

“Mr. Lance, is there anything I can do for you?”

Lance did not exchange many pleasantries with him and went straight to the point. “Have there been any strangers in the city these past two days, at least one or two hundred, or maybe more?”

“By the way, ask those places that sell stolen cars if any large buses have been sold in the past few days, or if a large number of small cars have been bought.”

Damon frowned. To be honest, a gang leader of his level was unlikely to care about such small matters.

So he was a little embarrassed. “I have to ask. Please wait a moment, Mr. Lance.”

Soon, the sound of him shouting for his subordinates came from the receiver. After about seven or eight minutes, he returned to the phone.

“Mr. Lance, my subordinate told me that there have not been a large number of strangers in the city.”

“As for ordinary strangers… it’s very difficult for us to tell if they are the people you are looking for.”

“But there have indeed been many stolen cars sold, and also three large buses.”

When Lance heard this, he basically understood. There was a high probability that they were already on their way to Golden Port City.

“Well done, Damon.”

Feeling that Lance was about to hang up, Damon took the initiative to ask, “Do you need my help?”

He could guess what was happening. He wasn’t a fool.

The things Lance had said and what had already happened were all telling him that it was very likely that there would be a big firefight in Golden Port City next!

His good intentions were rejected by Lance. It wasn’t that Lance had become arrogant and looked down on people, but that it was really unnecessary.

“Taking care of yourself is the greatest help to me, my friend!”

“After I have dealt with the matters at hand, we can have everyone come over for a get-together in the summer…”

He paused for a moment as he spoke. “Alright, I still have things to do. See you later.”

“See you later, Mr. Lance.”

After Lance hung up the phone, he looked at the gentlemen in the room. “They are already beside us.”

“Bolton,” he looked at Bolton. Bolton immediately stood up.

“I’m here, Boss.”

“Have your men keep a close eye. They may enter the city in a dispersed manner. Keep a close eye on the roads leading into the city.”

“If you find anything, don’t alert them first, understand?”

Bolton nodded and then sat back down.

Lance looked at the others again. “Everyone go and get ready!”

“At most, it will be one of these few days. Don’t let our federal counterparts look down on us!”

The people stood up one after another and left. Lance had Hiram and Elvin stay behind.

“I’m worried that they will launch a surprise attack at night, because our men can’t see the situation on the street at night.”

“Even if Bolton has gotten some ‘bats,’ it’s impossible to take care of every road leading into the city.”

Some old people couldn’t sleep at night and got up early in the morning. They were developed by Bolton into night city monitors.

Their job was to collect information at night, and their income would be a little more than those who worked during the day, and they also had a fixed salary.

After decades of being given a hard time, Bolton had developed a sharp instinct for spotting when someone was just pretending to have their eyes closed when they should’ve been open.

But these people were ultimately a minority. No one could boringly stare at the sidewalk under the streetlights all night.

These “bats” might be useful, but before they were systematized, they could only be used as a reference.

“You guys arrange it later. Strengthen the protective force of the manor.”

“This time, we choose the battlefield!”

“In a while, I will show my face publicly and then go back by car. The other matters, Elvin, you handle them. This time, try to keep all the people who come.”

After he had finished speaking, he called Chief Bruce and had him arrange the night shift work of the police force for the next few days. The night shift would have more people, and the police cars would be filled with gas before they got off work at night.

He didn’t say what had happened, but Bruce could also guess that there must be something that needed him and the police to make a move.

This was the value and meaning of his existence!

At this time, Ted still didn’t know that they had already been exposed.

Or rather, he knew that he had been exposed, but it no longer mattered.

He had already had someone send Milo’s ashes back. Now, he had only one motivation left to live, and that was revenge.

He hadn’t even considered how to retreat from Golden Port City after the war started, or rather, he might not have even thought of being able to leave this place.

He knew that this was a dangerous and unequal battle.

But he also knew that if he didn’t do it now, he wouldn’t have any chance in the future.

There was only one puff left of the cigarette in his hand. The setting sun shone on him, making him look particularly lonely.

He took a final drag, flicked the cigarette butt away, took the food box handed to him by his subordinate, and began to eat with his head down.

(End of a Chapter)