Shadow Empire

Chapter 649 Joshua [666+8]
Mr. Hof returned home and sat in his chair. He opened his cigarette box and found cigarettes, cigars, and several boxes of tobacco.

They are all high-quality tobaccos. The value of the things in just one cigarette box may require the total income of an ordinary family for several years without eating or drinking.

Even beyond that.

When he is alone, he likes to drink whiskey with cigars. The aroma and alcohol of the whiskey can wash away some residual taste left by the cigar on his oral mucosa, making every smoke a new experience.

At the same time, part of the flavor of the cigar and the flavor of the whiskey blend and intertwine with each other to form a new experience. This is definitely an incomparable experience for those who like cigars and whiskey!

Not to mention that under the dual effects of alcohol and nicotine, the wonderful feeling of being slightly tipsy makes people feel ecstatic.

Even if God reaches out to me in the sky, I will probably refuse!
But now, he was not in the mood to enjoy that kind of happiness.

He felt that he had been a little rash today.

Normally, someone in his position would rarely do such rash things. It can only be said... Lance made him hate him very much, not just because it involves issues of interests.

What’s more important is that Lance embarrassed him twice.

The first time was when Lisa was snatched away by him halfway. Although he went to find trouble with Red High Heels for this matter and vented his anger, he managed to regain some dignity.

But everyone actually knew that, after all, Lance did not give him face, and his trouble with Red High Heels could not actually solve the embarrassment.

The second time, it was still Lance.

He had to hand over Lisa.

He had never been so obsessed with Lisa's body before. Perhaps people's greed would be aroused when they suddenly couldn't get something.

At that time, when he could enjoy her at will, he was not so keen on her body, but just wanted to vent his own desires.

But after losing her and finding her again, he felt a certain emotion sublime.

Unfortunately, Lance embarrassed him again.

Now, his interests in Jingang City have been affected for the third time.

That's why he mentioned the notorious ultra-conservative radical organization, the Holy Bell Party, and their "saint" Joshua in front of many people.

Joshua is the current de facto ruler of the Holy Bell Party. He claims to be a saint and that God sent him to the world to cleanse the ugliness and darkness.

This guy looks a little crazy, but he is a calm madness. He is not the kind of crazy person who would pick up shit and eat it when he sees it. He would let others pick up shit and eat it, and then tell that person that it is a fucking piece of shit.

If possible, not many people would want to say hello to Joshua, and the people from the Holy Bell Party could not be regarded as an ordinary gang.

In an environment of organizational discipline and religion, these people have more or less some problems with their brains.

Originally, Mr. Hof meant to give Mr. Charles an idea - look, it's not that we have no solution at all, we still have a solution, you can try it from here.

His original intention was to let Mr. Charles contact the Saint Bell Party, but he couldn't do that. Mr. Charles' business was so big and he knew so many people, how could he not know someone from the Saint Bell Party!
But he really didn't expect that Mr. Charles would pretend not to know him and asked him to contact him.

He was a little careless.

But now the pressure has fallen on him, and if he says he can't handle it, it may not work.

After smoking a cigarette, he picked up the phone and dialed the number he didn't want to dial.

"This is Joshua, who's calling?"

Joshua's voice is very charming and soft. Even through the phone, I can feel that he is a very charming middle-aged man.

In fact it is.

He looked to be around forty-six or forty-seven years old, but he didn't look old. He usually wore a white cloak with a golden cross on his chest and a clock outlined with golden silk thread on his back.

He usually wears a pair of glasses and has short hair parted in the middle with some gray in it.

His hair had been graying a little since he was a teenager, but it had always been just gray.

His facial features are also very soft and beautiful, and he was a very handsome young man when he was young.

If he wasn't having an attack, or if his emotions weren't getting agitated, he was a very kind and approachable person.

"It's me, Hof," Mr. Hof introduced himself hesitantly.

“I remember you, Mr. Hof, the regional opinion leader!”

There was a hint of surprise in Joshua's voice, a feeling of reunion with friends after a long time, which made it impossible to associate him with the notorious image.

"Yes, Mr. Joshua..."

"Call me Joshua, we are friends, I remember that."

"I'll call you Hoff, too."

"So... Hoff, is there anything I can help you with?"

Mr. Hof took a deep breath and said, "You know, since last year, the situation in Jingang City has been beyond the expectations of all of us."

"The rapid rise of the Lans family left us with no time or measures to respond. By the time we started to think about how to limit it, it had already grown beyond our control."

"Joshua, we'd like to ask you for a favor."

Joshua must have known about the changes in the underground world of Jingang City, but he didn't know it very clearly. He listened to the words of Mr. Hof, who was not a close friend of his, and did not choose to believe it immediately. At the same time, he caught a key word.

"You mean, 'we'?"

"Who else?"

Mr. Hof confessed to some representative figures of the Bay Area interest groups, who may not be well-known in the gang world.

But he is still very famous in the upper class of the state.

Like Mr. Charles, he is a major shareholder of Jingang Wharf, and a considerable portion of the profits generated by Jingang Wharf every year goes into his pocket.

In fact, profit is only a small issue. His influence on the dock can be transformed into political influence. Otherwise, why would people like Mr. Hof respect his opinions so much?

Not just gangs, religious organizations, or any other organizations, as long as they want to expand, they cannot do without these three elements.

First, money.

Second, people.

Third, relationships.

The Holy Bell Gang itself is a very bad gang. If they want to continue to expand and increase their influence, they need some help from higher-ups.

Some political clout is needed.

In the past, whether they were trying to quickly gain a foothold in the hearts of those ultra-conservative and radical farmers, or whether they were just that crazy.

Past developments allowed them to expand very quickly, but as their size grew, they gradually felt the stronger force entrenched over Likalai State.

Political, military, other.

If Joshua wants the Holy Bell Gang to move beyond Likale State and become a national gang or even... a religion.

Then he must have politicians and big capitalists supporting him behind the scenes.

He knew that Mr. Charles was indeed a well-known celebrity and had many connections in the state government, which would be helpful to the "going out" plan.

He agreed without much thought. He had heard about this from David and also heard about the 200 million yuan a year liquor market in Jingang City.

If it were the era of the five major families, he would not care so much about this market. After all, although the market scale is large, it is very fragmented.

But now it’s different. Lance has already integrated this aspect together. He just needs to swallow up the Lance family and then accept their way of playing.

With wealth, political influence, and connections, he had no reason to refuse.

Although he knew why Hof called him, he still had to go through the necessary procedures.

The value created when someone asks you for a favor and when you take the initiative to do something for others is different.

So he clearly knew the purpose of this call, but he still asked, "I know Mr. Charles and them, so what do you want me to do for you?"

Mr. Hof lowered his voice slightly, as if he was afraid someone would eavesdrop, "Get rid of the Lance family!"

"Hoff, we are friends. Logically, I should help you solve this problem."

"But I heard that the Lance family has a very strong control over Jingang City. Even if our car just entered the city, they would know it at the first time."

"And the police chief seems to be his man too?"

"It's difficult for us to fight them head-on in Jingang City. They just need to let the police arrest us, and then it will be difficult for us to deal with them."

"If I can do it, I can do it. If I can't do it, I can't do it. I will tell you instead of promising you first."

The gangs in the entire Likalai State are well aware that Jingang City is difficult to invade, which is why Joshua has not taken any action there for such a long time.

Mr. Hof frowned after hearing this. "What should we do then?"

Emphasizing the difficulty of helping is also a good way to measure your own value.

"My idea is that we should kill Lance first. Once Lance dies, the Lance family will definitely be in chaos. Then our people will rush in and kill their cadres."

"Even if his people, his friends, could react, it would be too late."

“It’s not easy to do this and you need to put in some effort.”

Mr. Hof felt something was wrong, but Joshua's idea undoubtedly attracted him, so he could only bite the bullet and ask, "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to get our people in, either in your car, or your friend's car."

"Then you, or your friend, go and make an appointment with Lance, and we will do it when you meet."

Mr. Hof's scalp was tingling when he heard this. If he really did this, then there would be no doubt that everyone would think that he was in cahoots with the Holy Bell Party.

He might lose power at the next party congress. After all, the Socialist Party cannot allow a person who is associated with an extremely conservative and radical religious gang to continue to hold an important position.

However, he did not refuse immediately, but said, "I'll think about it..."

(End of this chapter)