Shadow Empire

Chapter 334: A little commotion

Today, Dover obviously did not bring those lackeys with him. He was alone today.

I drove around the Sumuli District and then found a street cafe to sit down.

I ordered a cup of coffee and a pastry, and watched the passers-by walking on the roadside in an ordinary and dull manner, just like their ordinary and dull lives, without any waves.

Everyone hopes that his life will be wonderful and magnificent, and that when he is old he will have countless topics to talk about in front of young people.

But how many people can do this?
As a child, Dover grew up in an environment where "his father was a hero". At that time, he even asked his mother -

His mother committed suicide when he was eight years old. He didn't know why, but he knew that when he came home from school, he saw the woman hanging from the fan in the living room.

She lowered her head, her face turning purple, and she stared at Dover who came in from the door with an indescribable sense of weirdness, which frightened him.

Before his mother died, he often asked his mother a question: since his father was a hero and a good man praised by everyone, why did he die?

"Heroes never die," this is how children perceive the world, but his father died.

Before this question was answered, his mother died.

He is alone.

He could not tell whether the praise people around him said about his father was true or false, just as he could not tell whether the emotion people expressed when they said "poor woman" was true or false. He was too young to tell the difference.

The only thing he could feel was the care from Paul, but he resisted this care. To him, who was still young, the person who really killed his father was not the gunman, but Paul.

If his father hadn't blocked the bullet for Paul, his father wouldn't have died.

At any other time, he would have been able to avoid fatal injuries on his own, and there wouldn't even be a gunman to deal with him.

So, the person who killed his father was Paul, not the gunman.

It was Paul, not the gunman, who caused all his misfortunes.

A child who has lost his parents will inevitably be bullied at school even with Paul's care.

This has nothing to do with his identity and background. Children of the same age will not understand the difference between a "gang leader" and a "great dad". They only know that Dover is a child without parents and they can bully him without taking responsibility.

Dover, who was often bullied, was actually unwilling to expose his weak side to Paul. Over time, the way the two got along gave rise to a distorted relationship.

Paul felt that Dover was too immersed in the grief of losing his father, while Dover thought Paul was meddling in other people's affairs.

If a person who killed your father hangs around you all day and often disciplines you, would you go crazy?
Dover wasn't crazy, but he was almost there.

His life was clearly arranged by Paul. He was very tired of it, but he could not resist or break free.

Sometimes he would do something crazy or absurd, just to declare war on Paul in his own way.

He wanted to provoke Paul, he even wanted Paul to beat him up, only in this way could he tell everyone that Paul was not as good as they thought.

The older he gets and the more mature his thoughts become, the more painful he becomes!
He could feel that Paul seemed to be taking advantage of his family.

He used his father's death to portray him as a hero in order to highlight his importance to the entire Pasletto family.

After all, those who died to save him became heroes of the family, so he must be a more important role to the family than a hero!

Taking advantage of his mother's death, he even suspected at one point that the woman was someone Paul had arranged to hang herself on the electric fan, only in this way could he lose all his guardians.

In the end, they took advantage of him to make Paul look like a humane head of the family, a chief, and even the spiritual leader of the family who was worthy of people's efforts!
The more he thought about it, the more he wanted to piss off Paul so that he would tear off his disguise and beat him up.

Grab his collar and tell him that everything is just a game for the superior!

But he couldn't really irritate Paul, and he was stuck in a vicious circle.

The more he couldn't achieve his goal, the more he desired to achieve it. He himself didn't even realize that he had become possessed by a demon.

He was like a fish about to drown in the water, absurd and funny.

And ridiculous.

He thought a lot, and the coffee in the cup disappeared little by little. However, some things that he had developed over the years gradually made the balance in his mind begin to tilt.

He took out a business card from his pocket. It had only a name and a phone number on it.

"Owen..."

He read out the name, but without the last name, and underneath it was a number.

He hesitated for a long time, took out a dollar and put it on the table, pressed it with the coffee saucer, then stood up and walked to the roadside telephone booth and dialed the number.

"Owen?"

"Who is it?" The voice coming from the receiver sounded familiar, but soon the other party seemed to remember something, "Christopher!"

"How about it, do you want to talk to me?"

"I won't do anything to you, nor will I force you to do anything you don't want to do. I'm just talking to you."

"I may have the answer you have been looking for."

"Of course, that's only if you dare to do it!"

"If your uncle finds out, he'll spank you again!"

Owen knew very well how to irritate Dover, and Dover's face suddenly turned a little red, which was caused by high blood pressure.

"I will go to see you, but you have to understand this, I'm not going because you provoked me, I just want to see what tricks you are playing!"

Owen's laughter was hearty, and it also revealed something that saw through his lie, which made Dover even more angry, "Stop laughing, and give me a seat!"

Soon, he drove to the agreed location, a strip club.

After parking the car, he came to a small room inside. This was where wealthy bosses spent their time alone. A young man was already sitting here.

He didn't see it clearly yesterday, but now that he saw this guy, he had an urge to leave immediately!
Because he knew this person!

He often appears next to the mayor!
"You seem surprised?" Owen stood up and motioned him to sit down. "It's safe here. Don't worry about anyone finding out."

"Even if you stay here until night, your uncle will just think you are a piece of trash who will never be reused."

"Just like you always act."

Perhaps it was the last sentence that worked, and Dover, who had been planning to leave, sat down instead.

He knew that the Pasletto family and the mayor were not on the same side, but were enemies and opponents, which made him not trust the guy in front of him.

But this guy always says things that go against his own ideas. He obviously doesn't want to stay.

Irving is very good at communication skills. Even though he is from two opposing camps, he can still communicate easily.

"Paul must be having a hard time lately, right?" He found a very suitable entry point.

This point of entry made Dover a little uncomfortable, and at the same time he was a little alert, "I won't reveal anything about him to you."

Owen smiled and didn't really care because this was all within his expectations.

"The current situation is actually very dangerous for the Pasletto family. Did Paul tell you this?"

Dover didn't say anything, and Owen continued, "Look, he's busy every day, busier than ever before, but he never told you that the Pasletto family was at a critical moment of life and death, and you never became the real core, Dover."

"Even though your father lost his life to save him, and even though you were raised by him, he still didn't regard you as the core of the family."

"You don't know anything about such an important matter. Here is the evidence!"

Dover was a little embarrassed and annoyed. Being told by an "outsider" that he was not the core of the family made him feel a little embarrassed. "I know!" he argued.

Owen shook his finger. "No, you don't." "The Cassia family and the Koda family have already compromised with us, and Rick will join us to deal with you."

"The Tita family and the Keane family already have our people. Although the war has not yet begun, it is actually over!"

Owen's smile made Dover feel annoyed, but he was still shocked by what Owen said!

He felt his breathing quicken.

Although he always wanted to cause trouble for Paul, he essentially hoped that the Pasretto family could continue to exist, and he was considering whether to tell Paul the news.

As he was thinking, Irving asked, "Are you thinking about talking to Paul about this?"

Looking at Dover's eyes that could not hide his thoughts, Owen smiled like a 40-year-old fox, "So how are you going to tell him that you suddenly know these secrets that ordinary people can't possibly know?"

"Dover, how did you, a marginal figure, find out information that even someone as important as your uncle Paul couldn't get?"

Dover fell into silence. He had not thought about this problem just now, but now that Owen reminded him, he suddenly realized the seriousness of the problem.

If he told the truth, would Paul believe him?
He can't guarantee it!
But don’t say…

Owen watched him struggle with hesitation for a long time without any answer, and then continued, "In fact, it is inevitable that the five major families will become a thing of the past, because you are just thieves, and the mayor represents the federal government."

"Dover, you are a smart man. You should know that your family and gang can't fight against the state machine!"

"When this country decides to deal with you, you have no room to resist!"

“Why else do you think the Koda family and the Cassia family came together so quickly?”

Dover seemed to have found a point to refute him, "The mayor does not represent the entire federation!"

"I take back what I said just now!" Owen took a deep breath, which made Dover smile. It was not because of anything else, but just because of the desire to win.

But then, Owen's words made him change his expression quickly, "I take back that sentence 'you are a smart man', Dover, you are not smart at all!"

"The mayor really can't represent the federal government. That's the business of the congressmen."

"But he represents the federal government's actual rule over the lower classes. From the moment this battle begins, you have already lost."

"Because you are not challenging the power of the mayor, but the rule of the federal government."

"Do you think Paul would really go to war with us if given the chance?"

"No, he will become another Cassia family or Koda family. He doesn't want to start a war, and he knows that he can't win."

"Perhaps this year will be the last year for the five major families. After these few months, the order of Jingang City will be rewritten by its true master."

"You. All of you will be swept into the garbage dump!"

Owen pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "Want one?"

Dover took one from him without saying anything.

Occasionally he struck a match to light a cigarette, and he shook the match and threw the extinguished matchstick into the ashtray. "I admire you, Dover."

"So I'm giving you a chance, a chance to continue the Pasretto family line."

"Replace Paul and pledge your allegiance to us, and you will become a hero of the Pasletto family, just like your father!"

"But this time, what you have to do is not to sacrifice for Paul, others or your family. What you have to do is to sacrifice others, protect your family and become a hero!"

"You can prove to your father that his choice is not necessarily the right one."

"And your choice is not necessarily wrong!"

These words struck Dover's head like a bolt of thunder. He was so stunned that he even forgot to smoke his cigarette.

Owen knew that his plan had succeeded.

Sometimes he thought Paul was very interesting. Maybe it was because he had played certain roles for too long that he really felt that it was himself.

He is a gang leader, he shouldn't have such an obvious weakness, but not only does he have it, he lets it run wild!
Maybe the Pasletto family should indeed be destroyed!

It took Dover a long time to come back to his senses. He looked at Owen with a complicated expression. He didn't expect that the person who understood him best was an outsider!
He didn't know what to say, so he just lowered his head and smoked.

"I won't force you to make a decision right away. I will let you see the Pasretto family heading towards destruction step by step."

"Before it is completely wiped out, you can make a decision at any time, except at the last moment!"

"Enjoy the few remaining peaceful moments, Christopher Pasletto."

Owen stood up and buttoned up his clothes. It was actually quite hot, but he still wore a complete set of clothes.

Maybe this is the price that people in the upper class have to pay!
When those people can wear flowery shirts and big shorts, they still have to maintain their decent appearance, and all this is the fault of one idiot!
It is said that there is a fool who will dress up and wear all the accoutrements, including the wig, even in the hottest weather.

His reason was that a well-known and prestigious public figure should not, at any time or in any place, allow his appearance to look inappropriate.

So this trend eventually spread all over the world!
You know, before this, those big shots were not as decent as people imagined. They wore strange clothes and urinated and defecated anywhere...

After Owen had fixed his clothes, he smiled and looked down at Dover who was still sitting on the sofa. "I have already paid for the fee here. Two girls will come in to serve you later. Enjoy the last pleasure!"

He showed a smile that no one liked. "Rebirth in destruction, or complete destruction, it all depends on you!"

After saying that, Owen left. Not long after, two girls came in, but this time, Dover was not interested at all!

On the way back, he noticed that the city had indeed become a little more chaotic.

In just three kilometers of road, he saw no less than three robberies in broad daylight, and some people looted roadside shops. He thought of what Owen had said to him, and his happiness left him!

These two days may be the time when calls to the police are most frequent. When some people find that even in the Starlight District, the police do not arrive in a timely manner, the homeless people on the street have become greedy!
Theft, robbery, snatching, store looting...

The city's security is deteriorating.

In the entire Jingang City, only three districts remain peaceful.

The Empire State, the Bay Area, and the Industrial District.

Even in Xilin District, where many elderly people live, many elderly people reported that someone had pulled out their yellowed gold teeth...

"Someone got caught in a robbery on Phoenix Street. Two guys stabbed a passerby and took $3.77."

"Do I give them to Blue, or what?"

Bolton called Lance. The security in the Empire District was actually becoming unstable. Although there were people patrolling, there were always places that could not be reached.

Lance stroked his eyebrows, "Has the person been sent to the hospital?"

"I sent him there. The doctor said he needed surgery."

"Pay the money and don't hand the person over to Blue. I'll be there soon."

Lance hung up the phone and frowned.

He packed up some of the small things he carried with him and made sure his pistol was loaded with bullets before leaving the office.

The convoy soon arrived at Phoenix Street, which is located in the eastern part of the Empire District, at the junction of the Port District and the Priscilla District. Because the three districts converge here, it is also quite prosperous.

There are shops almost everywhere on the roadside, and sometimes some middle-class people from the Pricia district will drive here to buy some cheap goods.

When Lance arrived, there were already quite a few people gathered here. Two young men were forced to kneel on the ground, and there was a pool of blood not far away.

"Mr. Lance is here!"

I don't know who spotted Lance first, but soon people took the initiative to make way for Lance to walk in...

(End of this chapter)