Shadow Empire

Chapter 1088 Little by Little

Where there is light, there will always be shadow; this is an unchangeable fact, the truth of the world.

Even in the city of New Gold City, there are still gangs of all sizes, but their operating methods are slightly different from those of gangs in other places.

Elsewhere, gangs may operate in a more brutal manner; they may... gain something like status, prestige, or even a form of dominance by committing violent crimes and creating fear.

They use fear to gain people's "respect," thereby achieving control over society.

However, it's difficult for them to do that in New Gold City. There are too many celebrities and politicians living there, and you never know if the person you just passed by has a prominent surname or holds a high position.

These people have many ways to wipe a gang out of the city, or even the country, so the gangs in New Gold City, regardless of size, are relatively mild in their criminal activities.

Smuggling in-demand goods, including human trafficking, is, in a sense, serving the bigwigs in the city.

When important people want alcohol, they will get some to sell.

When powerful figures need to vent their darker side in some way, they will do some of the business they want them to do.

Furthermore, gangs of all sizes often do dirty and tiring work for these big shots; this is their way of survival.

A complete ecosystem consists of light, shadow, justice, and evil.

It was past one o'clock in the evening when the gang leader, who had just discussed the deal with Lance not long ago, was sitting on the sofa, cutting pieces of cooked beef with a knife and stuffing them into his mouth while quenching his thirst with beer.

He opened his shirt, exposing a clump of dark chest hair to the air. Some food scraps and beer foam landed on his chest hair, but he didn't seem to care.

He felt that what he did was a very dashing and unrestrained approach, although not all of his subordinates thought so.

"Are they back?" He cut another slice of beef and put it in his mouth; he really enjoyed this way of eating beef.

The underling shook his head. "Not yet..."

The leader frowned; his emotions were not as calm as he appeared.

Ultimately, this matter is digging a hole for Lance and the Lance family. Of course, he knows what the consequences of doing so will be, but he and most of the others here think the same way.

Lance and the Lance family are, after all, an outsider force. Even if they suffer losses here, there's nothing they can do about it.

This is paying tuition, and it also makes them understand that this is not Golden Port City, not Likalai State, and it's not up to them to call the shots.

Furthermore, there are powerful figures supporting him behind this. In a city like New Gold City, everyone wants to curry favor with influential people.

With the support of influential figures, their careers can develop very rapidly.

Without the support of influential figures, their careers will encounter many problems during their development.

This might not be as obvious elsewhere, but in New Gold City it is very clear.

He had no prior conflicts with Lance or the Lance family, and he had never even met Lance face-to-face before finalizing the deal with him.

If anyone's to blame, it's the promise the important person made to him that he couldn't refuse.

It's already past 1 a.m., why haven't they come back yet? Is something wrong?
He was a little irritated. He knew that taking on this job was definitely risky, and he had also heard about the conflict between the Lance family and the Perez family.

He always harbored a sense of wishful thinking, though he would never admit it himself.

"Bring me a bottle of whiskey." Beer wasn't working as well; its lower alcohol content couldn't quickly soothe his agitation.

His men quickly brought over a bottle of whiskey, which costs about 27 or 28 yuan to produce here, but can be sold separately for about 40 yuan.

If it weren't for the request from a powerful figure, he would actually prefer to cooperate with Lance, because the quote Lance provided was lower and of better quality.

Everything is expensive in New Gold City.

The whiskey mixed with beer wasn't as stimulating on the palate, and after one glass, he clearly felt something, which prompted him to pour himself another glass.

People in the Commonwealth, and indeed alcoholics all over the world, are interested in mixing different kinds of alcohol together.

Whiskey and beer is just one of the most common ways to mix them.

Just as he was enjoying the relaxation brought by the "bomb," the sound of a car engine came from the yard. He breathed a sigh of relief, and the worry on his face disappeared, replaced by a smile.

He stood up, holding onto the armrest of the sofa, and casually tucked the small knife for cutting meat into the scabbard at his waist.

He staggered into the courtyard. By then, it was completely dark. Although it wasn't pitch black, it was still difficult to see people's faces clearly from two or three meters away.

"Why are you back so late?" he asked, standing unsteadily at the door.

In the courtyard outside the gate, a car was parked, and some people got out of it. He blinked hard. "Was it done?"

"Were their goods seized?"

A young man took a few steps forward from the darkness. "Something's wrong..."

Upon hearing this, the gang leader became anxious. This matter was extremely important to him and the future development of the entire gang. He almost instinctively walked towards the young man.

"what happened?"

The young man walked towards him, and the distance between them grew closer. In the moonlight and the dim light from inside the door, he could finally see the young man's face clearly. "I don't think I've seen you before?"

The young man standing in front of him had a face that was only roughly outlined due to the angle and the light, but that was enough to make him feel that the face was unfamiliar.

“I am… (the gang leader’s) cousin, and I only recently joined the gang.”

The gang leader had drunk quite a bit and was now drunk, subconsciously ignoring these things.

That's how small gangs are; some people suddenly join, and others suddenly leave. They don't have the same strong sense of discipline as large gangs.

Even the Lance family, if they want to join now, need an introduction; it's not something anyone can just do casually.

If a newly joined gang member encounters any accident, whether good or bad, their family can be located when it comes to assigning responsibility or providing compensation.

For example, if someone dies unexpectedly in a firefight, then compensation will definitely be given to their family. Many people who come to the Federation to seek their fortune come alone; their families may still be in the Empire or where they came from, so someone needs to know how to find them.

Or, if someone betrays the family, then the person who introduced that person into the family will bear joint responsibility.

Since you were the one who introduced him, if you don't clearly explain your relationship with him, you're his accomplice.

It's not easy to get in, and it's not easy to leave either. You can't leave easily without a good reason.

But smaller gangs don't have so many rules; anyone who wants to join can do so anytime, anywhere.

Anyone who doesn't want to stay in the gang can leave anytime, anywhere, with just a word or any excuse.

So he wasn't surprised to find that there was another person he didn't know.

The man's face was blurry, but his eyes were bright. He stared into the young man's eyes for a moment, then asked, "What happened?"

The young man replied softly, "I have to talk to you alone."

The gang leader didn't think much of it. He walked to the side and stood there, and the young man followed him.

Just as he turned around to ask what had happened, something cold pressed against his head.

Then came the sound of gunfire behind me. The gunshots were strange; they weren't the loud "bang bang" or "bang bang" sounds, but rather "puff puff" sounds, like someone was farting continuously!

With the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground, several more vehicles entered the area, and screams and cries of agony began to emanate from inside the house.

The attack came too fast; it was all over in less than two minutes.

The gang leader, who had been intoxicated, was now completely sober, only covered in cold sweat.

"I have a question: who told you to do this?"

"They're using a deal to frame us."

The strong smell of blood in the air made the gang leader feel extremely nauseous. He felt nauseous, his stomach was very uncomfortable, and he had an urge to urinate.

Whether it was due to nervousness or some other reason, his sphincter muscles were sending him special signals.

He kept blinking, his body completely consumed by fear!

"If I tell, can I... survive?"

"of course can."

Upon hearing this, the gang leader visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Although he warned himself that it might be a lie, he forced himself to believe it was true!
He then uttered a name, the name of a person he considered important.

As he uttered the name, he felt the gun barrel, which had been heated against his scalp, leave his head. He instinctively turned his head slowly, and then everything was plunged into primal darkness.

Twenty minutes later, a name written on a small card appeared in front of Lance.

Lance picked up the small card, looked at the ordinary name "Mel Crown" on it, and turned to ask the young combat captain who was handling the matter, "Did he say what this person does?"

The young combat captain paused for a moment, then scratched his head somewhat awkwardly. "I...no, after he said the name and spelled it out, I killed him."

"Sorry, I messed it up."

Lance shook his head and put the card back on the table. "Not yet."

"You can take this as an experience, a lesson, so that next time you and others encounter a similar situation, you will be able to handle it well."

"Go take a break and relax. You'll be even busier in a few days."

After letting the young combat captain leave, Lance dialed Tom's number again.

"You want to ask about the senator's reaction to that previous incident?" Tom asked casually. Lance had called him earlier to explain the situation.

The FBI's underlying purpose in targeting him may be to target the interest group of Senator Cleveland.

Outsiders may not know much about it, but they do know that Lance, as a gang leader, runs the largest casino in Golden Harbor City, as well as a liquor market, and that he supplies benefits to Senator Cleveland's interest group.

No one knows the exact amount; people only know that he played such a role.

Only the core members of this interest group know how much Lance has contributed to the group.

Regardless of whether this was the FBI's true objective, Lance needed to link his "safety" with the "safety of interest groups" in order to gain more assistance.

So he used Tom's method to express his concerns to the senator that if he were "taken down," then the hundreds of millions of dollars that interest groups would receive every year would be gone.

This money, if not supporting the entire interest group, at least supports half of it.

“That’s not the case, but you can let me know if you get any feedback.” Lance’s voice was relaxed; he was certain the senator would prioritize his safety and interests.

Tom could sense that Lance wasn't particularly nervous. He chuckled twice. "The senator is very concerned about this. He's investigating the mastermind behind it in his own way. Once he finds out who's trying to threaten our position, he'll give you an answer."

"How's it going? Are you satisfied?"

Lance laughed and said, "What else could I possibly think but satisfaction?"

Then he brought up the matter of the phone call, "I want to ask you about someone, Mel, Mel Crown, do you know him?"

Tom frowned and thought for a moment. "This name sounds familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere before. Wait a minute..."

The receiver picked up the sound of it being put down and Tom's footsteps as he left. Now that he had his own office, he was obviously going to another office to ask someone else about it.

About three or four minutes later, footsteps approached from a distance, followed by the sound of a microphone being picked up and scraped. "I found out, Mel Crohn, a prosecutor."

"Do you and him... have some kind of conflict?"

(End of this chapter)