Shadow Empire

Chapter 1156 Breaking the Rules and Following the Rules
Wherever there are people, there will inevitably be conflict.

You like to put a potted plant on the windowsill, while I just like to place a sculpture on the windowsill.

It is always difficult for people to have absolutely consistent ideas; there will always be some minor differences. And these differences are the key points that cause contradictions and conflicts.

People prefer those who are relatively mild-mannered because it is easy to be around them without any aggressive tendencies.

Being with people who have aggressive personalities can be exhausting. You never know if what they said to you was just an expression of their thoughts or a test.

These problems can exist between ordinary people, let alone when so many gangs gather together.

Some people didn't like Lance's style. They were all gangsters, all bad guys, and they felt that Lance put himself in a higher position, which made them dislike him.

There are definitely more than just one or two people who dislike him. Once there are many of these people, a misconception will arise that he is very strong.

In reality, they weren't strong. Under the instigation and encouragement of others with ulterior motives, the two hot-tempered guys went to the casino. Without even realizing it, they were fanned by those around them and ended up in trouble.

"What do you think Lance will do?" The leaders of the four major families sat together in the room. The news of what happened in the casino quickly reached their ears.

Stephen is the youngest here, and if his father hadn't had that accident, he might still be doing what he loves.

In terms of hobbies, he and Lance certainly had something in common. He loved making movies, had a deep passion for film, and even owned his own film company and had directed several films.

It's a pity that before he could become a well-known producer, he had to return to his family to inherit a huge gangster family.

He sat at the table, rummaging through the fruit basket with his hands, his lips turning red from eating cherries, and said, "I think he'll handle things strictly by the book."

"Although I am not familiar with him, based on what I have done to him, whether this is a test or an accident, they will not get the result they want."

What outcome do they want?
They wanted Lance to exempt those two idiots in order to get Lance to make a statement, a statement that Lance, them, and the entire Federation's mafia were one.

There is never a shortage of smart people in this world, just as there is never a shortage of fools.

Even as the sun is about to rise, there are still people who praise the darkness at this moment.

If Lance pardons the two men who caused trouble on his turf, they will have more to talk to him about.

Although the five major families of the Federation ostensibly set the rules for the entire federal underworld, these rules still needed to be followed by someone; that was the rule of the entire underworld.

These rules are not only beneficial to themselves, but to everyone. They are just the largest members of the gang, but they are by no means in a dominant position.

So when these small gangs unite, they can ignore them, but they won't actively confront them.

Kevin chuckled twice; he seemed to have a different opinion, but he didn't say it aloud, only expressing it through his laughter.

Clark turned to look at him. "Do you think he'll back down?"

Kevin pursed his lips; it was actually a bit funny for an old man to make that gesture. "If he wants to fill the vacancy in the Perez family, further enhance his prestige, and become one of the new 'Five Great Families,' he needs the support of these small gangs."

"If they all strongly oppose it, there's nothing we can do even if we agree."

Clark frowned. "Actually, I have a feeling that he doesn't care about this title, this honor."

Meanwhile, some gang leaders, including one from the same state as the two idiots who had been captured, also found Lance.

Looking at these people, the aura of "they don't look like good people" they exuded was very strong. If it were an ordinary person, they might feel a little pressure, but Lance was not an ordinary person.

"...If someone causes trouble on your turf, I believe you will act in accordance with your rules."

"Gentlemen, this is my territory. Here, I'm in charge!"

"You may not like the rules I set, nor do you like me or my family, but you must not break them."

“If someone breaks it, then I will do it my way.”

A tall, burly man with a menacing face walked out of the crowd with a smile. "Mr. Lance, those two are just short-tempered. I believe they've calmed down by now."

“I can get them to apologize to the customer who was assaulted and provide substantial compensation. I guarantee that customer will be very satisfied with everything he receives!”

Lance stared at the guy for about ten seconds, and when he saw the other man's smile begin to stiffen, he shook his head. "I told you, my rules come first here."

The burly man was immediately annoyed. He felt that Lance had humiliated him. He turned around and glanced at the people standing behind him. "Can't there be exceptions?"

Lance shook his head. "If there's nothing else, you can go back now."

"There are other activities this afternoon, so you can go and prepare or wander around. Don't waste your time here."

He turned to leave after he finished speaking, but the burly man with the fierce face actually tried to chase after him. He was immediately stopped by someone, who shouted between him and Lance, "Mr. Lance, we respect you very much, but we hope you can also set an example that will earn our respect!"

"I haven't received much higher education, so I might be a bit direct. We're giving you face, and we hope you can give us face in return."

Lance glanced back at him with a slightly strange expression. "You'd better not give me face. I'm not really interested in giving you face either."

He left without looking back after he finished speaking. He didn't know who had instigated these people, and he didn't really care.

In fact, even if these people don't show any "disagreement" with him now, he will find a way to find one or two targets in the meeting this afternoon.

Senator Cleveland was worried that if he really associated with these people, it would give others cause for criticism.

But if he directly confronts these people, he can show people that he is not one of them.

Sometimes what you say isn't important; what you do is what matters most.

But sometimes it's the other way around; nobody cares what you actually did, they just want to hear what they want to hear from you.

Back in the casino's inner room, Lance had someone push the unfortunate man's wheelchair and led him into a room.

Two gang leaders were smoking here with grim faces. They were indeed a bit impulsive, but the harsh words around them were gradually making them lose control of their emotions.

Especially that idiot who always goes against them, and wins more often than he loses.

This is the most unbearable thing for anyone who likes to gamble in casinos.

"What do you think will happen next?" one of them asked.

The two men are brothers; one is the leader of a gang, and the other is his deputy. They both have equally bad tempers.

In their youth, during their early years, the society of the Federation was in great chaos.

Sometimes, the rampant activities of gangs cannot be attributed to these individuals alone; rather, they are a societal problem.

When an ordinary person doesn't provoke others, they may be targeted and harmed, so they must find ways to protect their rights.

Joining a gang is the simplest and most direct way.

Once you join a gang, you won't be bullied; you can even bully others.

Only by showing toughness, even arrogance, can one avoid being looked down upon in society.

The older brother, who was the gang leader, snorted coldly, "What else can we do?" "It's nothing more than apologizing to that big-nosed guy (the guest they stabbed). I don't like Lance White; he's not like us."

"Whether it's his style of doing things or everything here, it all tells me that he's an anomaly!"

He couldn't imagine anyone would offend another gang leader for the sake of their guests. If this had happened on his turf, he would have just said the person who got beaten up deserved it, and even found someone to clean up the mess to avoid any further trouble.

But here, they were "invited" to this room, told to wait for Lance to come and find them.

His brother sighed, "If that's really the case, then I'll do the apology later, you just need to shut up."

He was afraid that his brother's temper would flare up again, causing an even bigger unpleasant situation.

Previously, it was only aimed at the players at the gambling table. If things got out of hand, it wouldn't look good. There was no question of anyone refusing to give anyone face.

But if they start making a scene in front of Lance, then they are really disrespecting Lance.

His brother clearly knew this too, but he just snorted and said nothing more.

Not long after, the door to the room was opened, and Lance came in with some people, including the guy whose thigh had been stabbed.

Upon seeing the two bastards, the big-nosed customer became very excited. "Mr. Lance, it's them, it's them!"

Lance nodded slightly, patted him on the shoulder to calm him down, and then looked at the two people in the room. “You stabbed my guest on my turf. You didn’t take my words to heart and you didn’t give me any face.”

As he was speaking, the younger of the two brothers stepped forward and said, "We are willing to compensate you, Mr. Lance. Give him 20,000 yuan, and I will apologize to him. Let's just let this matter go?"

He had a smile on his face, but Lance could clearly sense his resentment and even a hint of bitterness in his heart.

Lance glanced at the older brother, "You two seem quite resentful."

Before the younger brother could speak, his older brother interrupted, "Lance, this is just a small matter. Aren't you going too far by insisting on doing this?"

“I know you want to establish your prestige, but you shouldn’t use it on us brothers.”

"We were only beaten up, and we're already willing to compensate and apologize. What more do you want?"

He stared wide-eyed at Lance with a furious look, as if Lance was the culprit behind all this.

Lance pursed his lips. "You've got one thing wrong."

"If breaking my rules here can be resolved with just an apology and compensation, and I can pretend nothing happened, then who will follow these rules?"

"There are far more people in this world who are richer than you. If every rich person behaves like this, who will believe what I say in the future?"

"Since you have broken my rules here, you must accept my punishment."

The older brother's temper was noticeably worse. He seemed inexplicably unafraid of Lance turning on him and walked up to him, almost touching him. Face to face, he asked in a slightly arrogant voice, "You fucking want to kill me?"

Lance smiled and shook his head, but the next second he suddenly reached out and grabbed the other person's hair, jogging and using all his strength to pull him towards the wall next to him, making his head slam hard against the wall.

The loud thud brought everyone to their senses. The younger brother, who was about to make a move, was suddenly confronted by several guns. He dared not move and could only glare at the men.

By the wall, Lance kept grabbing the guy's hair and slamming his head against the wall.

He didn't react in time during the first collision and was knocked unconscious, making it difficult for him to fight back now.

He could only flail his arms wildly, trying to avoid his head making close contact with the wall, but every time he did, Lance's fist would land on his face.

As he tried to cover his face with his arms, Lance would tighten his grip on his hair, slamming him against the wall again.

Even though Lance no longer actively fights on the front lines, he still maintains a very good training habit. He exercises every morning or whenever he has free time, and his body is at its peak.

Blood quickly stained the wall, and Lance punched the idiot's mouth and nose hard several times. He was bent over, face down, with blood dripping onto the ground.

Lance was also slightly out of breath. Perhaps because his opponent had been on the defensive the whole time, he had conserved his energy better, and he struggled even more.

He cursed Lance as he struggled and tried to fight back.

Lance suddenly shoved him forward, turned around and took a claw hammer from the person behind him. Amid the younger brother's exclamation, he strode up to his older brother and slammed it hard into his head.

It was a sound that... made your teeth ache a little. Claw hammers are basically not used for processing bones. Even though the human skull is very hard, it's no match for a claw hammer.

With a muffled thud, the gang leader, bent over with his arms outstretched and trembling, fell backward.

Blood splattered onto Lance's face, but Lance made no attempt to wipe it away. He took a few steps forward and raised the object in his hand high once more towards the guy who was lying on the ground, his eyes somewhat unfocused, but clearly still conscious, trying to defend himself but unable to control his arm.

His younger brother ran towards this side, but he didn't make it. As he moved, he was tackled to the ground by several young men and struggled bitterly.

“We accept all punishments, Mr. Lance, we accept them no matter what!”

He pleaded loudly, trying to get Lance to spare his brother, but Lance just bent over, raised the hammer in his hand, and glanced back at him.

His face, splattered with blood, wore a cold expression; his eyes were like those of an animal waiting to be slaughtered in a slaughterhouse.

The next second, he turned around, and the hammer came crashing down with a loud thud, accompanied by the sound of something shattering. The idiot's body began to tremble violently.

Then the second time, the third time...

The thumping sound turned into a slapping sound as water or something moist was hit. Lance slowly straightened up and looked at the guy on the other side who was being held down on the ground and was still struggling.

He spat, handed the hammer to Hailam, and then made a "kill him" gesture.

He then took a towel from Melo and walked over to the guest who had completely... turned into a wooden statue. As he wiped his hands, he said, "I hope I didn't scare you."

“Originally, my intention was just to break their hands, but as you see…” He turned to look at Hailam, who was swinging a hammer, with blood splattered everywhere. “Not only were they not convinced, but they also planned to resist. What I cannot tolerate the most is breaking my rules and then not knowing how to repent!”

"Is there blood on my face?" Lance asked.

The guest, whose soul had already left his body, suddenly shuddered and looked at Lance's face with some fear.

He was very handsome, and had a charming quality that came with age, but some specks of blood marred his appearance.

“Yes, yes, here…” He compared it to his own face, and Lance said “thank you” before quickly cleaning up most of the blood on his face.

As he wiped away the blood, the two corpses were completely unconscious. They were in a stable state, lying there with blood slowly flowing from their wounds.

This made the guest so afraid to even breathe; he didn't even feel nauseous, he just wanted to leave as soon as possible.

Lance took a paper bag from Melo and handed it to him. "Here are ten thousand dollars in chips. I hope you won't be disappointed in our casino because of this little unpleasantness. We still warmly welcome you to play here."

"As for these unpleasant things, let them go!"

"I hope you can be more forgiving and forgive them."

The guest nodded repeatedly, "You're right, Mr. Lance, I've already forgiven them!"

(End of this chapter)