Shadow Empire

Chapter 213: Beaten Again

Eric has always looked down on Lance. If Lance wasn't so "honest", he would have found a way to get rid of him long ago.

But considering that he was sensible and knew how to make money for himself, he thought he was actually good to Lance - I can tolerate you continuing to appear in front of me, isn't this the greatest kindness?
For... those in a higher position, that's the case.

Ever since Eric was old enough to understand, rumors about the relationship between the mayor and him have always existed, and he has become the object of flattery for many people.

The mayor was married, but he and his wife never had children, which made Eric's position even more important.

Those who looked decades older than him were like... children in front of him, which made his self-confidence swell to an unprecedented level.

He knew why all this happened, and he often told himself not to be too proud, but there was no way he could not be proud.

The most profound thing in his memory was when he was a child, about six or seven years old, but he couldn't remember it clearly.

Because age is far less important to him than what happens next.

At that time, the mayor uncle was not the mayor yet, but just a city councilor, but he had a backer and a legacy behind him.

It is equivalent to Councillor Wade and Councillor Williams in Jingang City, with tremendous power.

That day, when he was playing at the door, an adult who looked to be around 40 years old found him and gave him a lot of toys.

He knew what the adults were doing this for, and he made an excessive request at the time - I want to ride on you and play a horse war game.

The green grass under my feet is pleasantly green, but the mud soaked by rain makes me feel uncomfortable. Just stepping on it makes me feel that my shoes and feet are slowly sinking.

Under his gaze, the "adult" first wanted to laugh, but the smile was only halfway through and then froze on his face.

His expression became complicated and changed very quickly. At that time, he didn't know that he was having a psychological struggle, he just became a little impatient.

"If you don't play with me, I'll go find someone else to play with!", he said.

A person like a butler who was responsible for taking care of him also planned to drive this guy away.

Then he, the adult, plopped down on the grass, mud stains staining his hands and expensive clothes, but his face was full of smiles.

Until now, Eric still remembered the way he tried to please him, "Master Eric, please ride on me!"

He had a great time that day, and the "horse" also had a great time, and he served Eric very well.

This guy is now a powerful figure in another city because he has connections with his uncle, the mayor.

This incident gave Eric a very special sense of values: no one can stand forever in front of his uncle's power.

Even though some of them can still stand and talk to their uncle now, one day, they will kneel down.

Even those big shots had been his toys, so how could a guy like Lance, who was in the quagmire, stand there and talk to me?

This is where Eric's arrogance comes from.

Of course, he will also respect the governors, state legislators and bigger figures, because he knows that in the eyes of the bigger figures, he is no different from those "toys" in their eyes.

But Lance is clearly not a big shot yet.

He could feel the impatience in his tone, but this was his truest thought.

What the hell are you looking for me for?
Lance was not angry at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "Master Eric, I heard a piece of news. I don't know how Fleming found out that our casino is still open."

"He plans to bring people to smash up the casino and nightclub in two days."

"I don't know how to deal with this kind of big thing, so I can only tell you first, maybe you will have some good ideas."

Eric was stunned for a moment, "Are you kidding?"

There was a hint of doubt in his tone. Do they really dare to do this?
Lance assured, "I swear on Johnny, this is all true."

Eric didn't ask who Johnny was. He must be an important person to Lance, right?

Federal people usually swear by the people or things that are most important to them, such as swearing by their family, swearing by their toys, etc.

Eric was silent for a moment, "Well done, I get it."

He paused, "When the time comes, you can arrange some people there..."

This time Lance interrupted him, "Master Eric, I am just a small character, but our opponent this time is one of the five major families. I feel scared when I think about it now, and I don't even have the slightest desire to fight."

"If this wasn't your property, and if I hadn't had you and... the mayor as my solid backing, I would have already fled overnight."

"So I think it's best for you to handle this matter yourself..."

Eric thought it was a bit ridiculous, and cursed "waste", and then asked, "It's two days later, right?"

"Yes, Master Eric."

"Okay, I'll handle it myself when the time comes. I'll see if they dare to do that!"

Casinos are so important!

Eric couldn't afford to lose him, and the "huge profits" of several thousand dollars a day made him unable to extricate himself.

If he loses this income, he will soon lose the joy of his current life of debauchery.

Since he stopped hanging around Shayna these days, he realized that he actually had a lot of money to spend every day.

This money can bring him things that bring him many times more happiness than getting Shayna, and it also makes him stop clinging to Shayna.

Moreover, he now regarded this as a challenge from the locals to their uncle, nephew, and father. There was no possibility for him to escape from the challenge because he represented not only himself, but also his uncle!
After hanging up the phone, he returned to the living room, where there were many young people who were obviously drunk.

These people all came from their "hometown" in the past two days. Their fathers and the mayor used to be good partners. Some of them knew Eric before, but there were also some new friends.

Challenging the locals is not an easy task, and Chief Dell’s joining only qualifies the mayor to challenge the local order.

Although qualifications are a manifestation of strength, we can't let Director Dale and his agents act as thugs for the mayor, right?
These dirty jobs will definitely need to be done by other people, and this time the mayor has a strong desire to vigorously develop the new port area again.

Now it is no longer a question of whether the development of the new port area is worthwhile, but an ultimate contest between it and the local order!
So the people who came to support him this time were not only the capitalists, but also some gang members from his hometown, who were rushing over in batches.

With the mayor giving them a guarantee, what else do they have to worry about?
The prosperity and wealth of Jingang City have long been coveted by people. Now there is a chance to get a piece of the pie here, and no one will fall behind!

The adults socialized with the adults, and the young people naturally socialized with the young people. Most of them gathered around Eric, which was what they used to do.

"Eric, you don't look happy?"

Seeing him coming back cursing, someone asked.

Eric recounted what happened to him. "These locals have bullied us for several years, and now they even call me before taking action. They are such bastards!"

The others followed suit, and someone suggested, "Eric, we'll bring some people over to help you. It'll be a good opportunity for us to see how powerful these 'locals' are."

The worry on Eric's face disappeared, and he raised his glass high. "Haha, OK, it's settled. Let these locals see the strength of our brothers..."

After Lance hung up the phone, he looked at the old tailor beside him. The old tailor had not been in good health recently. Because the weather was too cold, he kept coughing.

The original plan for him to open a tailor shop in the city center has been delayed until now, but as the weather began to warm up, his condition improved.

Once he gets better, Lance will help him realize his dream and open his own store in the Commonwealth.

At this time, he was wearing glasses and staring at some photos intently. After Lance sat down, he asked, "How is it? Is it easy?"

The old tailor blinked his dry eyes and looked up. "Mr. Lance, it's not technically difficult. If you don't require the fabrics to be exactly the same, we can make at least four sets tonight." Lance smiled. "Then I'll trouble you with this."

He looked back at the four people standing by the wall. These four were veterans who had just come from the Empire. They were tired of the civil war, and came to the Federation after Erwin's people contacted them.

Their leader, a guy named "Mador", had talked to Lance before. In order to fight for power, the rebels gave up attacking the last bit of resistance of the royal family at the last moment, and instead started killing each other.

So he brought these dozen veterans to join Lance. He couldn't stand those villains who took advantage of people's enthusiasm to overthrow the royal family to make profits for themselves.

During this time, he has been helping Lance train those gang members and teaching them how to use firearms correctly.

Not everyone can use a gun, and not everyone knows how to use a gun correctly.

These people just make up for these shortcomings.

This time Lance gave them a new mission. Since they didn't show up often, not many people knew they were Lance's people.

The people in the photos in the old tailor's hands are all members of the Kodak family. They are all wearing roughly the same clothes, and Lance needs a few sets of such clothes.

This is also a test for people like Madore.

The old tailor took the two new apprentices to measure the sizes of Madore and the others, and then recorded them in a notebook. The following work became much simpler, and all they had to do was wait!
Two days passed in a flash. On Thursday morning, Eric got up early and brought a large group of people to Empire Night nightclub at around ten o'clock.

Lance was not there, so he stayed far away to avoid being splattered with blood.

They walked around the first and second floors. It was not open for business at that time, so it was hard to tell whether it was bustling or not. It was not until they reached the third floor that they felt that "every second counts as money"!

It was only the morning, but there were already five gambling tables crowded with people. They were holding handfuls of banknotes, shouting at the top of their lungs, and throwing the money onto the tables.

This made some of them want to get involved.

Eric couldn't help but feel proud when he saw the lively scene. "It's just a small business. I can only make a little pocket money."

Then they went to the office on the fourth floor.

Sitting in Lance's chair, they chatted for a while, and someone suddenly made a suggestion, "Eric, fire that Lance, I'll arrange for someone to do the job, and you just give him a salary. This way you can save some money, and you can feel more at ease."

"After all, we are all family."

Eric didn't even hesitate for a moment before agreeing, "No problem!"

He had already begun to fantasize about things like the "Eric Family". He was just a bastard and he would not inherit his uncle's "political legacy", so he didn't expect to become a great politician from the beginning.

At the same time, more than a dozen cars were traveling quickly on the road. If it weren't for the license plates they were hanging telling the traffic police who the convoy was, they might have been stopped more than once.

Everyone in the car had a blank expression on their face. They were carrying sticks and some pistols.

The purpose of this operation is mainly to "smash and smash" rather than to completely destroy or kill people, so so many guns are not needed.

Near noon, the convoy stopped outside the steps of Empire Night nightclub. Many pedestrians around felt something was wrong and trotted away.

A large group of people, wearing roughly the same clothes, holding sticks or axes in their hands, did not look like good people. They gathered together first, and then walked towards the stairs together.

Lance was in a house opposite at this time. He was holding a piece of fried fish that was still steaming hot in his hand. He was eating while watching the performance here.

He didn't plan to kill Eric today. Eric was still of some use, but he would charge a little interest first!

When this group of people enter the nightclub lobby, at the moment when light and shadow intersect, their eyes will be briefly blurred.

Just at this moment, four people dressed similarly to them, also carrying the sailing team's baseball bats, walked out from the blind spot behind the open door and joined them.

No one would wonder why there are people next to them. The people in front can't see them, and the people behind can only see the back of their heads.

But the people around them cannot see them clearly.

They blended into this group of people so simply and easily.

There was a small group of people who went to the first floor. They were responsible for smashing and destroying all the performance equipment on the first and second floors, making it impossible for the nightclub to maintain normal operations.

And more of them went directly to the third floor.

When Eric heard the news, he was already guarding the lobby on the third floor with a large group of people. There were also dozens of people on their side, so Eric was not afraid at all.

Why, they still dare to hit him?
You know, because he was beaten, the chief of the Xingguang District Police Station has been dismissed!
Even Chief Charlie was severely scolded by his uncle!
This is the case when both parties have restrained their emotions. If he is beaten again, one can imagine what the consequences will be. Even the Kodak family has to be cautious!

When the door of the hall was violently pushed open, Wolfley's cousin did not realize that so many people including Eric had come. How did they know?
The cousin wasn't quite sure, but he knew that there was a little trouble now because Eric was also here.

Eric was a little panicked at first, but when he saw that this group of people didn't dare to continue attacking just because he was standing there, he became arrogant again.

He pushed aside the thugs who were protecting him and walked between the two groups of people, "This is my territory!"

He pointed to the red carpet under his feet. These days, he particularly liked to speak using the tone and wording of these gangs. He thought it was cool and it also reflected his masculinity.

"If you're here to play cards, you're welcome."

"But if you're here to cause trouble, I can only say you've come to the wrong place."

"I'm standing here today, let's see who dares to touch me?"

His arrogance made the people behind him burst into laughter, and even Eric himself couldn't help laughing. He found it extremely funny.

He didn't know whether others could feel his happiness at this moment, but he was really happy.

Until… there was a buzzing sound in his ears, followed by a sharp pain that not only stopped his laughter, but also his ability to think.

He fell down instinctively, lying on the ground, his mind blank!
Madore didn't know Eric, but he had seen Eric's photo. He didn't care who Eric was, who the mayor was, or who these people were.

He only knew that if he wanted to live a good life in this city, he had to listen to Lance, at least for now.

Lance gave them high salaries and a place to live, and even promised to find a way to bring their families over.

On their own, they can’t do it.

The people on the dock are all able to save only a few dollars a month. If they become like that, it is unlikely that they will be able to bring their families over in their lifetime.

So let alone Eric being Eric, they wouldn’t put down their bats even if Eric was president.

But I have to say that the quality of Federal's baseball bats is really good!
Mador swung his sword with all his might, and heard the whistling sound of the wind in his ears. This small scene was far inferior to that on the battlefield!
Eric's screams and the four of them swinging their weapons wildly seemed to have broken everyone's nerves. Four or five seconds later, when Eric cried for help, the pause button was released!

"Fuck, fuck them, get Eric back!"

Wolfley's cousin still doesn't know how things turned out like this, but since both sides have started fighting, he has no chance to retreat.

Because he not only represents himself, he also represents the face of the Kodak family.

But his face looked very ugly at this moment. He glanced at the four guys who were still beating Eric. When he returned, he would make sure these four guys were punished!

But now... he waved his hand and said "let's do it", and the family members around him immediately joined the battle, and soon it turned into a melee.

Lance threw the last of the dried fish into his mouth and chewed it up with the bones, then picked up the phone and covered the receiver with a handkerchief.

"The city police department?"

"I want to report a case. A Mr. Eric was attacked by a group of people from nowhere at the Empire Night Club..."

"Yes, that Mr. Eric!"

(End of this chapter)