Shadow Empire

Chapter 761: Black-Eating-Black and Frame-Up
A large truck slowly drove down the country road and stopped outside a drive-in cafe.

The girl at the counter who was making lunch took a look from a distance and couldn't help but say to the young man who was also a worker next to her, "There are a lot of big trucks coming today. It's never been like this before."

Young people always have an inexplicable yearning for this huge steel behemoth that emits black smoke and roars.

Although there is a high probability that he will never be able to drive such a large truck in his lifetime, it does not stop him from liking these things.

Just like some people like guns, they may not necessarily own their own weapons, but they are very familiar with all the weapons on the federal market.

Can quickly tell the name of a gun, who designed it, when it went into mass production, some of the special parts it uses, its design advantages and disadvantages, etc.

The young man liked cars, as most men do, young or old, and he recognized at a glance that these big trucks were not the old, cheap stuff.

Each one of them is worth at least two or three thousand yuan!

This is not a small sum of money!
He pursed his lips in envy, "Maybe they are just passing through here, otherwise do you think they will go to the town?"

The drive-in cafe is located on the country road leading from the interstate to the town, about... three to four kilometers away from the interstate.

In order to attract customers, the boss put up a billboard on the side of the interstate highway with a message "Good coffee and delicious food here" and a thumbs-up sign that was constantly shaking inside via a reciprocating motor.

Later, because of rain or something, the sign suddenly stopped moving, and the boss didn't think about repairing it, so it stayed there for a long time.

So much so that now the entire billboard is rusty and full of traces of time.

In fact, it didn’t take long!

The girl didn't say anything else. The two of them quickly prepared three "classic lunches" and brought them to the table nearby.

Three truck drivers were sitting at the table, enjoying the lunch which looked pretty good.

These truck drivers seemed to know each other. They were all communicating in low voices and were very alert.

No matter who pushes the door open, they will stare at that person.

This caused several guests to be frightened by their gaze and leave in a hurry without even ordering lunch.

Several truck drivers came in from outside, and the bell at the door rang. The girl and the young man shouted "Welcome" at the same time. The girl also walked to the ordering area and put the menu on the bar, "Order this way, gentlemen."

A driver came over, and the other two drivers also knew the other drivers. They smiled and talked for a few words, then found a seat and sat down.

It was another operation that was so familiar that it couldn’t be more familiar. What else could the federals have for lunch?
Some of them have been prepared in advance, and now they just heat them up, add condiments like sauces, and put them together.

When the last plate of lunch was "assembled", the young man pressed the timer, and it indicated that there were less than eight minutes left.

He prepared three lunches in eight minutes, breaking his own record again!
After he brought the food over with the tray, the busy lunch seemed to finally come to a halt.

He washed his hands, said something to the girl, saying he was going to the bathroom, and then left through the back door.

He wanted to go see those big trucks. Although he would never drive them in the future, he wanted to take a close look at these steel behemoths and feel the smell of the engine oil!

Not long after, he walked around and came to the parking lot. He looked at the neatly parked rows of trucks and felt his heart pounding.

He could tell the make and model of every car and the price they were sold for—

The truth is sometimes cruel.

The more people can’t afford something, the more thoroughly they research the price and configuration!

He came to the front of a large truck. Heat was still emanating from under the hood, and the smell of engine oil and other smells mixed together to form a very special aroma.

He reached out and touched the chrome air inlet, then pulled his hand back abruptly because he was burned.

The heat from the sizzling engine made the chrome-plated air inlet at least sixty or seventy degrees. If he touched it directly with his hand, he would definitely feel pain.

"Good boy..." His eyes were full of slight satisfaction, but what he didn't know was that a driver in the restaurant put down his work and was looking at him through the glass window.

Another driver sitting at the same table with him also saw the young man approaching their truck. He pursed his lips and said, "Let's go and see what's going on."

The driver sitting outside nodded, then stood up and walked outside while wiping his hands.

At this time, the young man had no idea what would happen next and he was completely immersed in his own world.

Until… he smelled some alcohol.

"Wine?" He was too familiar with the strong aroma of wine.

They used to sell alcohol here, providing alcohol to drivers not far from the interstate, which sounds like a good idea.

At this time, people already had some understanding of the dangers of drunk driving, but before legislation could be made, the prohibition of alcohol was implemented first.

In the past, when drinks were sold in cafes, young people would occasionally sneak a drink because they liked the feeling of being drunk.

But he hadn't been drunk for a long time because he couldn't afford it.

There is a small bar in the town. The price of a glass of beer is nine cents. It is the kind of glass with ice water. It is not a big glass and can be finished in a few sips.

He drank twice. Except when everyone went out to play together, he would order one drink. Otherwise, he would not drink because it was a waste of money.

He was very curious as to why this truck was smelling of alcohol. He looked to both sides and saw no one was paying attention to him, so he walked in from the side of the truck.

The further he walked, the stronger the aroma of wine became, until he stood on the side of the truck (a truck with a side door). He looked down at some liquid seeping out from the gap in the door, dipped some with his fingers, and put it in his mouth.

A distinct aroma of wine accompanied by that familiar taste quickly exploded in the mouth. It was wine!

He stared at the big truck with wide eyes. He didn't know how much wine could be loaded inside, but he knew it must be very valuable.

For some unknown reason, his heart began to pound, because the container door was not locked and the drivers were eating inside and would not be able to come back for a while.

Want to steal a bottle?
He swallowed. In places like the countryside, people tend to do whatever they want.

He stepped on the footstool and stood on the edge of the container, then pulled the door open with force. An even stronger smell of alcohol hit him in the face!

He took a deep breath, just a deep breath, and felt a little intoxicated!

All he saw were square frames made of wooden strips, with straw and bottles of wine inside. He picked up one of the bottles, which was a brand he had never seen before.

He noticed that some of the wine had broken into pieces and was leaking out, which he thought was a pity.

He knew that this was whiskey, and one bottle cost at least three to five hundred yuan. So many of them were broken that he didn't know how much he had lost.

At the same time, he also found a reason for himself to take a bottle. After all, so many of them were broken, so no one would notice if one bottle was missing, right?
He confirmed his idea, inserted the bottle between his stomach and trouser pocket, and then pushed hard.

He jumped out, but because he had a bottle of wine on him and misjudged the impact, he staggered and then stopped there.

"Look what I found!"

"A thief!"

"You are in big trouble, young man. How dare you steal from the Perez family?"

The young man looked up and saw a truck driver looking at him with a teasing expression and a gun in his hand.

The young man slowly raised his hands, "I can explain, sir!"

He didn't know what kind of family the Perez family was, but it must be a remarkable family. If so many large trucks were loaded with wine, how much would they be worth?

When he thought about how he had gotten into such a big trouble because of his curiosity and greed, he was almost scared to tears. "I can give you money and I will buy this bottle of wine!"

At this time, several vans entered here from the town road outside. Both of them saw it, but no one took it seriously. They were dealing with the situation at hand.

The driver showed an intriguing smile on his face. He waved the weapon in his hand and said, “If you want me to let you go, it won’t be difficult. Just open the cap of the bottle.”

The young man didn't know what he was going to do and was still in a daze!

"If you don't want me to shoot..."

The young man could only slowly unscrew the cap on the bottle.

Just as he said these words, the vans that had just entered suddenly stopped outside the glass wall of the cafe. As the doors opened, a large group of guys holding submachine guns jumped out of the cars.

Without any hesitation, they shot at the drivers who were eating behind the glass wall. The drivers who were eating had actually noticed the abnormality of these cars, but they were too fast!
They drove over quickly and braked suddenly. They didn't even have time to react before the doors of the cars opened and gunshots rang out. The whole process might only take... four or five seconds?

Or seven or eight seconds!

The girl screamed and fell to the ground. The drivers were the first to be shot to pieces. The continuous gunfire also attracted the attention of the driver in the parking lot.

The moment he turned around, the young man swung the bottle and smashed it hard on the back of his head, then ran away...

The fierce gunfire even alarmed people on the edge of the town, but they did not dare to come over. Even the sheriff just watched from a distance.

The shooting lasted less than twenty seconds, after which the gunmen entered the restaurant with guns drawn and shot the truck drivers who were still alive.

When they came in front of a guy who seemed to be the leader of the group, one of them stepped on the guy's head and said in a loud voice, "This is the territory of the Lance family. How dare you sell wine here?"

The guy who had been shot twice swallowed the blood that was gushing up and tried to speak, "We are from the Perez family. If you don't want to cause trouble..."

Gunshots rang out, interrupting his words and breaking bones in his face.

With a volley of bullets, this will be a cleaner's nightmare!
They looked around again, and someone fired at the things on the counter, and then the group left quickly.

Before they left, another group of people had entered the parking lot, got directly into the truck, started it, and drove away.

They didn't notice, or perhaps they did it on purpose, that there was an unlucky guy who was lucky enough to escape the bullet. He was shivering in the innermost position. He was also shot, and he thought he had successfully pretended to be dead.

At this moment, his heart was filled with fear and anger!
The Lance family!

Those people came and left quickly. About forty minutes later, a large number of state police arrived at the scene, but all they found were bodies on the ground, a broken wine bottle in the parking lot, and another body.

The sound of "Ula Ula" sirens also attracted people to come closer. The girl in the cafe and the young man were being questioned in the office.

They just objectively described what they knew and what happened, and mentioned the names of the two families.

“The Perez Family” and “Lance Is There.”

The police officer who questioned them was a sheriff, the leader of the area.

Ever since the state police chief established a friendship with Lance, the state police have also gained a lot of benefits through some forms of cooperation.

For example, most of the alcohol they seized was pocketed by themselves.

As long as they don't sell it, it doesn't matter if they drink it themselves or give it to others.

If they don't want the wine and just want the money, that's no problem. They can contact nearby underground wineries authorized by Lans, and they will buy back the wine at cost price.

This is also why the state police cooperated with Lance’s request, because this thing can really make money!
And with Lance and the State Prohibition Committee behind them, no one would say anything even if they went a little too far.

So when the sheriff heard the name of the Lance family, he took the initiative to leave here, went to the phone booth outside, and called Lance.

The call was made to Erwin and then transferred to me.

After listening to the sheriff's retelling of these events, Lance asked the other party to provide an account number, into which an interest-free loan with a repayment period of 100 years would be deposited soon.

After hanging up the phone, Lance looked at Erwin, "Have our people received this information recently, and have they arranged for someone to do this?"

Erwin didn't give him a direct answer, "I'll go check it out!"

If this kind of large-scale armed action is not reported, it will be a big deal!

Whoever takes the lead will have to bear huge responsibilities and may even be punished!

He didn't want it to be someone in the family. Lance nodded. He raised his hand and paused for two or three seconds before nodding, "Find it out. If it was us, no matter who it was, find him!"

In fact, it is not difficult to find out these things. Just check whether the captains are there.

Most of those who have work to do and are not here temporarily can be contacted by phone.

It took about twenty minutes for Erwin to return to the room with a look of relief on his face. "It's not us. Someone is pretending to be us!"

Lance scratched his head, "The Perez family."

"I seem to have heard this name somewhere." He looked at Erwin.

The latter pursed his lips and said, "Five major families."

Of course, he is not talking about the five major families in Jingang City. They have become a thing of the past. He is talking about the five major families in the Federation.

Lance was slightly startled, then he couldn't help but chuckle, "Why do they always like the five major families, the three major families, this and that?"

"Does that sound... stylish?"

Erwin shrugged. "Maybe they think it's more respectable this way."

Lance shook his head, "It looks like someone doesn't want them to have face."

While we were talking, the phone on the desk started to ring, sounding a bit harsh.

Lance picked up the phone and heard a strange voice on the receiver. The voice was squeezed out of his throat like a mouthful of phlegm that couldn't be spit out.

Some people like to talk like this, and in their words, it sounds like "a voice from hell", but Lance thinks they are stupid.

"Lance?"

"it's me."

"You moved something you shouldn't have moved, understand?"

With just two sentences, Lance knew who the person on the other side was.

"If I said I didn't do this, would you believe it?"

The guy on the other side laughed out loud, "I thought you were some great character, but you're just like this?"

"Listen, one and a half million dollars worth of goods, plus the trucks and drivers, and the impact your stupid behavior has had on us. Mr. Perez, because you are still young, give us five million dollars, and this matter ends here."

Lance asked uncertainly, "You said... five million?"

"Yes, five million. You'll make it soon, and so will we."

"We don't want money, we want an attitude, understand?"

"Bring the money to Golden State in July, just in time for our joint conference, if you know what I mean."

At the Gang Joint Meeting, the most powerful gang leaders in the Federation sit together to resolve disputes, define spheres of influence, and distribute business.

Many gangs want to join, but only a very few can.

Lance said slowly, "What if I say no?"

"what?"

"Do not?"

"why no?"

"I said, Likalai State is my territory, I won't allow anyone's alcohol to enter here without my knowledge."

"Secondly, I didn't do this, but if you insist on thinking I did it, then fine, no problem, send someone over!"

"This is Likalai State, not your territory. I listen to you in your place, but in the fucking Likalai State, even if you are the Perez family, you have to listen to me!"

"threaten me?"

"Ha ha!"

“Send Q!”

(End of this chapter)