Shadow Empire

Chapter 411: Thoughts and Bankruptcy
When he heard Lance's words, asking him to kill those illegal immigrants, the expression on his face changed slightly.

Then he looked down at the small card in his hand again and said, "I don't attack innocent people."

Although he did some shady things, he never considered himself to be an evil person.

The bootleggers themselves deserved to go to hell, but the alcohol was innocent, and he agreed with the majority that prohibition was a stupid decision.

The fact that he sold wine to Lance had nothing to do with whether he was a good person or a bad person. He was still the people's protector and the guarantee of the safety of the coast.

But if he attacks innocent ordinary people, then he is really not a good person, and he doesn't want to be a bad person.

That would make it impossible for him to face his family and his children.

In fact, everyone has an inexplicable persistence. Obviously, he is a glue guy who can't put down glue every day and can happily glue any information source, but he may have a certain bottom line and will not make shots of certain films or certain types of actresses.

To others, this bottom line and reservation is as stupid as shitting in your pants, but there are always some people who insist on doing so.

Lance also persisted, and so did McCock.

"Those are not innocent people!" Lance explained, "They are all gunmen who came here from Yalan. Their arrival will only bring harm and disaster. The best way is to keep them at sea forever."

"Once these people arrive in Jingang, they will throw themselves into the gang war. They are not locals, have no love for this place, and no one can restrain them."

"They will bring suffering to the people living here and damage social stability, so you don't need to have any psychological burden at all, just kill them directly."

McCock was still a little hesitant, "Can I know who these people belong to?"

"Rick's people."

When he heard the name, an image of a man emerged in McCock's mind. He looked at Lance with some shock in his eyes, "You're going to attack his people?"

"You're crazy, those are the five major families!"

Lance had a half-smile on his face. He gave McCock a cigarette and asked, "Who said we can't take action against the five major families?"

He lit his own cigarette, took a drag, and blew the smoke toward McCock.

This move was not very friendly. McCock frowned and leaned back in his chair. "If they knew it was us who did it, we would be sunk into Angel Lake by them."

Lance shook his head slightly. "Before the five major families became the five major families, they were also ordinary gangs. Have you ever been so afraid of them?"

"Even if they are from the five major families, they are no different from us. If you shoot at them, they will get hurt and die."

“Besides, the Cassia family is in trouble now, and they are targeting him.”

McCaw looked at Lance as if trying to dig something out from beneath his surface.

After two or three seconds, he lit up the cigarette, raised his head and asked, "Including you?"

"including me."

McCock thought about it for a while and agreed, "If they are really the gunmen, then I will do it."

Lance pulled out a brown paper bag and handed it to him, "There's five thousand dollars in it, split it between you and your friends."

Lance didn't care how much of the money would be divided up, and it would even be better if he didn't share any of it with his men.

Touching the brown paper bag, the heavy feeling gave McCock an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

He always felt like there might be something wrong with him.

He didn't spend much of that money. Most of what he spent now was his savings, which he earned through hard work.

He didn’t dare to spend money carelessly before, but now he dares to spend money carelessly, and his life has changed.

He obviously didn't touch the money, but for some reason, his attitude towards life and his family's attitude towards life were different.

This also made him realize one thing clearly, that is, money is really important!

He said "thank you" and took the brown paper bag in his hand, "wait for my good news..."

At the same time, in the Kodak family's manor, Rick and Bandy sat together, with Gary, Fleming, and Stone beside them.

"I have talked to Fergal. He is willing to remain neutral, but his condition is that the Pasretto family's territory in the Starlight District be handed over to him."

The Starlight District is not an area that can be monopolized by just one force, because there is so much wealth here that it is difficult for one family to take it all.

Therefore, the five major families all have their own territories in the Starlight District. They eat up the best resources here, and leave some ordinary and not so good ones for other nearby gangs to share, and together they form the underground order of the Starlight District.

Fergal took a fancy to the Pasletto family's territory, which was two blocks long and had an opera house, two cinemas, bars, dance halls, and nightclubs.

By taking over these territories, he can merge them with his own territory to form a larger territory, which will also make it easier for him to manage and operate these places.

Rick's face was a little gloomy. "He has a good idea. Why should he get half of the benefits without doing anything?"

"If he doesn't help in this matter, I would think it's too much to give him a bar."

Bandy held the teacup and sipped the high-quality black tea from the Les Ayres Islands, which was also flavored with some other spices.

The taste of black tea is also good, but of course the price is definitely not cheap. The price of hundreds of yuan per pound is basically the ceiling.

He pondered the aftertaste for a moment, put the teacup back on the coaster, and said meaningfully, "If the Pasretto and Tita families are both gone, there will only be three of the five major families left."

He looked at Rick, and the two looked at each other, communicating some hints with their eyes.

Rick's eyes soon began to change. He seemed to have figured out some of the meaning behind Bandy's words. "The battle between Fergal and the Bear Gang was a loss for both sides. Their strength was also severely damaged."

Bandy nodded, "Yes, that's one of the reasons why they remain neutral."

"What if we..." He looked at Bandy tentatively, but Bandy looked away and showed a meaningful smile.

This smile made him realize that what he was thinking was also what Bandy was thinking.

But neither of them said it out loud.

Kill the Keane family, and then they will divide up the entire Jingang City!

Rick is not a fool. A fool cannot be the leader of the five major families. The Cassia family and the Kodak family can coexist, or in other words, the Kodak family can coexist with any family, gang, or any other organization.

Because their profit model is relatively simple, everything revolves around the casino.

They have been using various means of transferring benefits to prevent the state government from approving new casino licenses, thereby monopolizing the industry, and the profits generated are naturally huge.

It’s so huge that they don’t even need to think about expanding the family business!

When your business is consistently bringing in far more money than any other business could make, you’re less likely to want to take the risk of starting another business.

The rest, naturally, is his.

Both parties have reached an agreement on this matter. Bandy exhaled a puff of cigarette and said, "I heard that Lance has also joined their little league."

"Lance?" Rick was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then there was a look of contempt on his face, "Have they fallen to the point of colluding with such a small gang?"

“What a disappointment!”

At the same time, he was also very curious about where Bandy got this information from, "Who told you this?"

Gao Li on the side said, "There is definitely nothing wrong with the source of the news. It was revealed by Sarifu himself."

"And don't underestimate Lance and his Lance Family. They have firmly controlled two districts. According to some intelligence I have collected, the number of core members of the Lance Family has exceeded 500."

Hearing this number, Rick was also a little surprised, "So many people?"

His expression gradually became serious, "Then this is indeed a powerful opponent."

"It has been a long time since such a powerful gang appeared in Jingang City. We cannot let them continue to expand. We must get rid of them together this time."

In fact, there are two or three big gangs in each district of Jingang City, and then there are some small gangs and small groups under them.

This doesn't seem very reasonable, but it is also very reasonable, because the underground world of the entire Jingang City is also pyramid-shaped. They have crammed multiple gangs into each administrative district, which squeezes out the space for development.

If a gang wants to continue expanding, they must wage war against other gangs. At this time, someone from the five major families will step forward to mediate, always controlling the situation to prevent it from deviating from its development and to prevent another powerful gang from appearing in Jingang City.

What the five major families need is stability, not creating new challengers.

But this period of time was indeed too chaotic. The chaos in all aspects made them fail to notice the silent and rapid expansion of the Lance Family. By the time they discovered it, it had expanded to an daunting scale.

If he continues to expand, he might threaten the rule of the five major families.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Sarifu took the initiative to reveal that the Lans family would join them in dealing with the Cassia family.

It not only reminds everyone that a new challenger has appeared, but also allows the Lance family to attract some firepower for them.

Sarifu's purpose is not simple.

"It's not surprising that he can do this!" Bandy also commented, "If they win, with the current strength of the Lance family and his relationship with Alberto, they will definitely stick together."

“At that time, Sarifu and his men became the weakest party, so that’s the purpose of dragging the Lans family into the water and putting them in the spotlight.”

Rick nodded, "So what do we do first?"

Bandy took a puff of his cigarette very elegantly. "Let's deal with Salifo first. Alberto won't be able to deal with us until the internal problems of the Pasreto family are resolved. If he doesn't move, Lance will most likely not move either. Besides, I will talk to them."

"There is nothing in this world that cannot be solved. It's just a matter of whether they accept our offer or not. That's all!"

Rick didn't reject the decision, "I'll start making arrangements."

"When are you going to take action?"

He raised his wrist and glanced at his watch, which had a calendar. "It will take at most a week. I need to get familiar with the gunman after he comes. This time, I will try to knock him down directly..."

Bandy also nodded and said, "That's great. I'll see if I can get Alberto and Lance to change their stance and try not to take action if possible. After all, stability is the most important thing for this city."

The chaotic city, the violent gunfights, and the sharp drop in Kodak family's profits in the past two months have caused some of the bosses to be dissatisfied with the current situation.

After the conversation, Bendy asked Fleming to send Rick away. He stood behind the third-floor window and watched Rick's motorcade leave from outside the manor.

Gao Li, who was standing behind him, asked, "Are we really going to divide Jingang City with him?"

There was some worry in his words, and Bendy smiled a not-so-warm smile, "With him?"

"Is he worthy?"

He sneered, "A nouveau riche from Yalan wants to be on equal footing with us. Does he deserve it?"

"After he has dealt with those people, send him away."

With Rick's trust in them and the fact that he was able to be in the same room with them alone, it would be very easy for them to deal with Rick.

There is no need to even arrange any special means, just find a reason to let him come over and then kill him.

Although the Kodak family has been whitewashed a lot over the years, they are ultimately an organization with a gangster background. As long as there is a need, they will still kill people and can kill without blinking an eye.

"This chaos also made me understand a truth. Jingang City does not need so many powerful families. Just one of us is enough!"

In Bandy's plan, the future Jingang City will be full of small gangs, and they will be the only one at the top of the pyramid.

No matter who is the mayor, no matter who wants to create some miracles, they cannot avoid them.

They will gain real control over the city's underground world and use it to influence the world under the sun.

A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. The good days of being the only one in power are coming!
It has been raining in Jingang City these two days. It may be because the seasons are about to change and cold air begins to form and flow.

In a world without a greenhouse effect, winter would come early at both poles.

The cold air continues to move south and north, eventually forming storms that sweep across coastal cities.

Continuous rainy days are the most uncomfortable weather. The air is wet and people seem to be wet as well.

People are reluctant to leave their homes and go to the streets unless necessary, and will end up in a mess regardless of whether they are holding an umbrella or wearing rubber shoes.

But at this time, outside Jinda Bank, the large number of people queuing up to withdraw money not only did not decrease, but increased.

They lined up slowly and moved forward bit by bit.

In the bank, Mr. Jobaf's eyes were red and bloodshot. He hadn't slept much for two days.

Most of the time they are very sleepy, so they take a nap and then start working again.

He put down the phone in a somewhat depressed manner. Another bank rejected his loan. He grabbed his hair in pain. He was finished!
He had tried his best. Perhaps he should have listened to Lance earlier, transferred some of the money and filed for bankruptcy.

But how could he be willing to do that?
After all, this is the career he has been fighting for all his life!
He was in pain when someone knocked on the door. He quickly straightened his clothes and appearance to make himself look less devastated.

"Come in."

The door opened and the supervisor stood at the door with an anxious look on his face. "Mr. Jobaf, we don't have that much money anymore. If we can't get some more, we may not be able to make it to the end of the day."

In fact, the staff of Jinda Bank were also very clear that the bank was really out of money, otherwise Mr. Jobaf would not have been able to scrape together the little money to give them.

In the past, when the bank was not short of money, he could just push a cart to the vault and take out a lot of money.

But there was no run on the bank at that time, and everyone would deposit money in it.

But now, it's different.

They speculated that there was no money in the vault, or even anything else, because some employees saw Mr. Jobaf pushing his cart to the garage at the back with great effort two days ago.

Then the sound of metal colliding was heard. If nothing unexpected happened, he should have taken away the last of the gold.

Then not long after, a new batch of money was exchanged, but this batch of money did not last long and now it is gone again.

How much money can he come up with?
Nobody knows.

Considering that Mr. Jobaf has given them the job for so long, they are still persisting and standing guard for the last time.

"I see."

"Leave me alone for a while, I'll think of a solution."

The supervisor sighed, closed the door and left.

Mr. Jobaf just sat in his chair, his mind blank.

He didn't know how long it had been before a loud thunder woke him up from the state in which he was not thinking about anything. A faint noisy sound in his ears made him stand up and walk to the window.

The depositors downstairs were no longer queuing and security guards were maintaining order, but more and more depositors began to storm the bank and he realized that his money was gone.

Sure enough, the supervisor ran in with a panicked look on his face, "Mr. Jobaf, the money has been withdrawn. We can't take out any more money."

His gaze lingered on the supervisor for a long while before he raised his hand and gestured, "Tell everyone to protect their own safety."

He paused, "I'll go down later."

The supervisor went back outside, perhaps to let Mr. Jobaff come out and quiet people down for a moment.

Seven or eight minutes later, amid the discussion, Mr. Jobaf appeared in front of the people.

He walked out the door, the sky became increasingly gloomy and the rain became even heavier!

His whole body was soon soaked by the crackling raindrops.

"I...I'm sorry, everyone!"

(End of this chapter)