Shadow Empire

Chapter 350 Siege and Killing
"We will take action against the Cassia family in the next few days. After we get rid of them, we will have no opponents."

Alberto was talking about the Pasretto family's next arrangements on the phone, "When the time comes, maybe we'll need to borrow some of your strength."

Lance was sitting in his office answering the call. He couldn't help but tease, "You have three families. Isn't it enough to deal with one Cassia family?"

Alberto sighed, "You know, we are very short of manpower right now, but they are still constantly gathering people from Yalan."

"Of course, this is just a possibility, it may not become a reality. In fact, I also think it is unlikely that they will let us ask others for help."

"The mayor was shot, the docks are in chaos again, and we're about to go to war again..."

"Lance, I have a strange feeling, it's like we've traveled back to the year 1180!"

The year 1180 was the most chaotic period in Jingang City, and it was also the stage when the five major families gradually emerged from the chaos.

In fact, Alberto is not that old, but from the older gang members, he has infinite yearning for that legendary era.

Everyone hopes to be one of the protagonists of a story and become a legend.

Instead of being the one who reads the story, or being the embellishment around the legend!

"I don't think the governor will allow things to get this chaotic right now." Lance said from his heart, "This is not forty years ago. Forty years ago, everything was possible, but now, many things are impossible!"

While they were talking, the office door was suddenly pushed open. Lance lowered his voice and said, "It looks like I have something to do. I'll call you later."

He hung up the phone and watched Lawn rush in from outside. He panted slightly and said, "Bolton was attacked and slightly injured. He was sent to the hospital."

Lance frowned, "Who did it?"

"Wolf Gang!"

Lance frowned, "They were planning to attack us during the chaos, but why would they attack Bolton?"

Bolton's "safety factor" is not very high. On the one hand, he has no access to the core business of the family. Even if he is caught, others cannot pry any valuable information out of him.

Secondly, he wasn't even really a gang member, he just gathered intel and passed it on to Lance, that's all.

He is harmless and non-aggressive, and attacking him has no practical meaning other than angering the Lance family.

The discount made Lance a little confused.

Others also entered the room one after another. Except for a few people who were not in Jingang City or were on their way, everyone else was here.

Erwin walked in from outside and expressed his thoughts, "Burton controls our largest information network. Although this intelligence network is not proactive, it is undeniable that if someone enters the Empire Zone, Bolton will definitely be the first to know."

Lance was reminded by him and glanced at the others again, "Where's Morris?"

A young man who came with Enio and the others said, "Morris went to play basketball."

Morris likes to play ball, basketball.

In fact, young people in the Federation all like sports, except for the fat ones.

The federal government has spent a lot of energy and money to promote the development of national sports. Sports such as baseball and football are becoming, or have become, very influential sports, as is basketball.

There are many reasons to promote basketball, but one that may be more reliable is that the field required for basketball is much smaller than that required for baseball and football.

Even half a basketball court can allow young people on the street to come to Yicang for basketball games, but playing baseball or football requires not only equipment but also a wide open space.

That’s why basketball has been popularized, because it does not require a large area.

A survey shows that areas with stadiums have significantly higher security rates than areas without stadiums.

If young people focus their energy on sports, crime will be reduced, although some sociologists believe that this is of no use.

It's like an unmarried worker who is exhausted after a day's work, but when he wants to, he still likes to get his hands ready and reward himself when he gets home.

Sociologists believe that if a person really wants to commit a crime, it has nothing to do with how tired they are.

Many people in the family have their favorite sports, with baseball and basketball being the most popular. Morris is not tall, but he loves to play. He is pretty good at it, at least there is a certain probability that he can throw the ball into the basket.

The stadium he often goes to is actually not too far from the company, only ten minutes away by car.

Lance looked at the people near the door, "Someone go get him back, it's not safe outside now."

Someone raised his hand, "I'll go."

Lance watched the man leave, then talked about the next arrangements...

Morris, who was on the road, didn't know that Lance was sending people to look for him, nor did he know that Bolton had been attacked. He was shirtless, and the weather in August was so hot that it was hard to breathe, even though this was the seaside.

The waves of salty heat are like knives cutting into your body. The last thing you should do at this time is to get cracks on your skin.

Otherwise, the salt crystals brought by the sea breeze on the skin will enter the wound wrapped in sweat, and it will hurt like being stung.

The driver drove the car close to the alley where the casino was located. Morris had been here many times. He used to live nearby.

The old man likes to gamble here because they are all acquaintances and feel at ease, and they know each other well.

Casinos, especially underground casinos, often have a very fixed audience.

It is impossible for them to open the door to recruit idle passers-by to come in and gamble, so those who can come to this casino to play cards are basically people who live nearby.

In fact, almost all the guests know each other, or are simply friends.

The more stable a casino is, the more difficult it is for strangers to integrate into it, because gambling itself has the attribute of "fraud".

A stranger will not go against a group of people alone, and he cannot use his experience and intuition to judge whether these people are colluding to defraud his money.

It is really stupid to blindly believe that casinos and other gamblers are good people. Therefore, in this atmosphere, if casinos do not open for business, it will be difficult to continue to attract new customers.

The car slowly began to turn into the alley, but Morris's eyes stayed on the two strangers at the entrance of the alley.

They stood at the entrance of the alley as if on guard duty, and Morris had not seen them.

These people have a very strong gang atmosphere and traces, they are gang members!
These people and ordinary pedestrians on the roadside are always two different types of people, just like two different colors, and can be easily distinguished.

There are also some small neighborhood families in the Imperial District. This is the ecology of a region. As long as they don't cause trouble or mess around, Lance will allow them to exist.

The car slowly entered the open space in the alley, where there were two cars parked. Morris got out of the car and turned back to say, "Don't turn off the engine."

He pulled out his lighter, lit one, slid his weapon into his belt, and put his clothes back on.

The surroundings were very quiet and he didn't feel anything unusual, but he felt a little uneasy.

He didn't know where the uneasiness came from, nor could he explain it, but he just felt uneasy, as if he was nervous.

He took two puffs of his cigarette, walked to the door of the casino and pressed the power button.

Standing there, he could vaguely hear the beeping sound of the doorbell in the room.

Soon, the door opened and it was an old acquaintance of his.

Seeing someone familiar always makes people feel safe. Morris relaxed a little. He bumped fists with the guy who opened the door and asked, "How much did you lose today, old man?"

The gatekeeper shrugged. "One thousand."

Morris whistled, "You guys are killing him like this, aren't you afraid that I will kill you?"

The gatekeeper smiled and said, "You can't blame us this time. The two people who won his money were strangers."

"A new face?" Morris repeated, and the gatekeeper confirmed. "Someone introduced him here. He has never been here before."

Morris took another drag on his cigarette. "Only two new faces?"

The gatekeeper nodded, "I promise."

Morris hesitated for a moment, but decided to go in, after all, his father was inside.

He soon saw his father, who was sitting at the gambling table and throwing a tantrum, with many people watching around.

For most of the gamblers here, losing a thousand dollars in a game only exists in legends.

They will be more interested if the protagonist of the legend is someone they know!
Some people were advising Morris's father to stay calm, but there were also people fanning the flames, saying that he would definitely win the next time, and that casinos are always like this, with all kinds of people.

Morris's eyes immediately fell on the two strangers. When they saw him, they didn't show any reaction and continued to stare at the poker in their hands. This made him feel relieved.

He walked up to the casino operator, pulled out a wad of bills from his pocket, handed over fifty of them after losing, and said, "You shouldn't have given him so many chips!"

The operator smiled in an awkward manner, "I know, but that's your father. It's hard for me to do anything if he threatens me."

The casino operator also looked aggrieved. Morris's old father said he wanted to buy chips. Could he refuse?
If this old man said something bad about him, he might not be able to continue running an underground casino in the Imperial District. After all, this is the territory of the Lance family.

But if he met all the old man's demands, even if Morris was angry, he could still continue to exist as long as he said a few nice words.

Casino operators actually know everything!
Morris knew what kind of person his father was. As long as he had money to gamble, that was the most important thing to him.

Whether it is family or wife, they have to give way to gambling. He just shook his head and walked to the gambling table.

Many people around him were greeting him. It was indeed an interesting thing for everyone to watch the little guy grow up and become a big shot.

This has also become a topic of bragging for many people, such as "I watched Maurice grow up", which can attract blind worship from some young people!
After dealing with the people around him, he walked over to his old father and held his shoulders, "I've settled your account. Although I don't mind you losing money in the casino, you're unlucky enough to lose so much at once. You'd better wait before playing again!"

"What you need to do now is to collect your remaining chips, end the game, go back and eat something, take a shower and have a good sleep, and come back tomorrow!"

There was more to these words, and his father, who had been hanging around in casinos for so many years, understood it immediately.

He glanced at the two unfamiliar faces sitting opposite him and threw the cards in his hand onto the table. "I quit."

As he said this, he stood up and the dealer began to count the chips for him.

The two strangers seemed to really not care. They glanced at him and then looked away.

Morris had been keeping an eye on the two of them, and when he found that they did not do anything extreme, he breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps he was just too sensitive.

The old man took the remaining cash and walked out the door with Morris. No one stopped them, and no one would do that.

"You think they cheated?"

Standing outside the casino, Morris's father took a cigarette from him and lit it.

Morris shook his head. "I don't know, but they are in the same group. They can get two hands of cards each time, and you can only get one hand. Your chance of winning will always be lower than theirs!"

The two people don't even need to communicate what cards they were dealt, they just need to determine whose hand is better.

Then use the best cards to gamble with others, and your chances of winning are very high!

It's like ten people gambling. If nine of them are in the same group, they don't even need to cheat to drain the wallet of another person.

You always use cards you are unsure of to bet on other people's best cards, and in the end you will never win!
The old man came to his senses and stamped his feet heavily, "These sons of bitches."

Morris patted the old man on the shoulder and said, "Okay, don't be angry, it's only a thousand dollars!"

"I'll give you another two hundred. Go back to your girlfriend and relax. Remember not to play with strangers next time!"

The old man who got the money was actually not that angry anymore. The father and son got in the car. Just as they were about to say something, several cars suddenly came into the alley.

The cars stopped right opposite them, and then a large number of people got out of the cars, holding pistols and submachine guns in their hands, pointing them at Morris's car.

The moment Morris saw these changes, he pressed his father's head and pressed him behind the seat, then pulled out a submachine gun from the base.

He felt desperate, deeply desperate, because there were too many people on the other side!
Now the only thing he could pray for was that Lance and the others would hear the noise and come over as soon as possible!
In the casino, the gatekeeper stood by the door with his hands raised and an expressionless face. The owner of the casino had a gun pointed at his head and was slowly putting down the phone.

A group of gamblers squatted in the corner without even daring to breathe.

Outside the door, there was fierce gunfire!

Morris's old father has always felt that gambling is the most exciting thing, especially when the last card has not been turned over yet and he is facing a heavy bet!
The moment he picked up the chips and threw them out, his heart would beat violently and he would feel suffocated but refreshed. He liked that feeling!

He gambles not just for winning or losing, but also for the thrilling moments that are addictive and cannot be overcome.

But at this moment, he suddenly felt that the excitement of betting on an unknown outcome was too weak. How could it be even one-tenth of the excitement he had now?

He stretched out his hand tremblingly and looked at Morris, "Give me a gun."

Morris pulled out another one from under the seat. "Want me to teach you how to use it?"

The old man shook his head, "No need, you didn't even exist when I was shooting!"

Morris forced a smile, "I hope you mean real shooting!"

The old man rolled his eyes and said, "When I was young, there were many girls who liked me. I didn't have to take care of it myself!"

They couldn't even raise their heads under the hail of bullets, but their emotions were quite stable at the moment.

Lance was discussing some preparations for the next step when the phone suddenly rang. He glanced at it and picked it up immediately.

"Morris is trapped in the alley over at the casino. They are exchanging fire at... Hurry up, or it will be too late!"

Lance stood up suddenly, "Something's happened to Maurice, get over there now!"

Everyone was startled, and then followed Lance to the garage. The convoy quickly drove into the driveway and drove towards the casino without paying attention to traffic lights.

They have stepped on the accelerator to the limit, and the car seems to be flying on the road!
When they arrived, they happened to see the car inside being pulled out. Lance did not chase it and went straight into the alley.

The car on the open space was riddled with holes. Everyone's heart sank. Lance trotted to the side of the car and saw four people lying in a pool of blood.

He clenched his fists and said, "Quick, send them to the hospital..."

There was a hospital nearby, and the four people were pushed directly into the operating room. Lance also called the doctor and asked him to transfer a few doctors with better skills from a large hospital.

A large number of family members gathered around the hospital, including Bolton.

Bolton was luckier. He was shot, but it was not fatal. The bullet grazed his ribs, and after breaking the bones, it changed direction and passed through.

There was a lot of blood, it just looked scary.

Lance nodded when he saw him, but was in no mood to talk. Two people had already been pushed out of the operating room. The bodyguard he had arranged for Morris was dead.

Morris and his father were also in a very bad condition, with multiple bullets shot into their bodies. The rescue efforts so far were only timely, but the doctors could not guarantee that they could be saved.

The doctor that Lance found also told him these things in private. With the current technology, even if he was saved, the condition would not be very good and he would basically be a useless person.

Especially Morris's father, even if he can be rescued, he may only have one or two years.

The doctor wants Lance to prepare for the worst...

(End of this chapter)