Empire of Shadows

After discussing the second order, Alberto collected the chips on the table and put them back into the kraft paper bag. As the business representative of the Koda family's casino, he would take these chips to exchange them for cash and bring them back.

He then took out two twenty-dollar bills, placed them on the table, pressed them with his index finger, and pushed them towards Lance, "Take your friends to have some good drinks and buy some clothes to dress up."

"Now you not only represent yourselves but also the face of the company."

He saw the appearance of this group of people and could imagine how bad it must be. Fortunately, Lance didn't bring his friends in.

Otherwise, his nose would definitely suffer.

It seemed that he had given Lance one hundred and ninety dollars in one day, but in reality, this money was earned back for him by Lance, and it was also a kind of investment.

If he could win over Mr. Anderson, Alberto would give Lance more debts to handle.

He always felt that Lance would have a greater reputation and stage in Goldport City in the future. The current investment doesn't cost much money, but it will definitely yield rich returns in the future.

Even if the investment fails, there will be no loss.

Before long, Lance said goodbye to Alberto. When he arrived at the lounge, the youngsters were already playing with the company's staff.

Ethan and Fordis were sitting at a table specially for arm wrestling, surrounded by people who were cheering loudly for them. Some people even held a handful of one-dollar bills in their hands.

The faces of the two people at the table were flushed red. Ethan used all his strength, but he still couldn't suppress Fordis.

Of course, Fordis was the same. Facing a young man, he couldn't win this game!

Both of them were trying their best, and the table was shaking back and forth as they exerted their strength.

Slowly, Ethan's arm was being pressed down little by little. Amidst the boos of the people, Fordis won!

He seemed very happy, collecting the bets from other people's hands. Not much, basically one or two dollars.

Although the money was not much, he was in a great mood.

He took out five dollars from the money he won and handed it to Ethan, patting him on the shoulder, "You have the potential to become a strongman, Ethan."

"You can come and find me when you have time. I'll take you to the gym. You'll like it there and the atmosphere there."

Lance couldn't help but feel a chill when he thought of two strong men wearing those strapped, form-fitting, onesie suits, outlining the shape of their two balls.

"Finished talking with the boss?" Fordis bumped shoulders with Lance, "I can see that you're in a good mood now."

Lance smiled and didn't deny it, "Where is the Koda family's casino?"

"You're going to exchange chips?"

"Of course."

Fordis gave him a location, "Someone at the door will need to verify your identity. Just show him the chips. If he asks who introduced you, just say my name."

"The Koda family has a very high status in Goldport City. Don't cause trouble after you go, or no one can save you."

Goldport City has five major families—

These five major families do not refer to those political families or "interest families" formed around a big figure or a big capitalist. Here, it refers to five powerful gangs with family clan characteristics.

The Koda family is one of them.

These five major families jointly formulated the framework of the underground world order in Goldport City. Although they often don't seem like gangs, if you underestimate them or despise them, you will definitely pay the price for your stupidity.

One-third of the oil drums added to Angel Lake every year are thrown down by them, and another one-third is indirectly related to them.

Goldport City contains too much wealth, attracting the attention of people all over the world. Without some ability, it is difficult to gain a foothold here.

The Koda family monopolizes 70% of the casino business in Goldport City, and they also provide opportunities for wealthy gamblers or social celebrities and politicians to organize card games.

When they are not doing bad things, it is difficult to define them as "good" or "bad" because most of their casino business is legal and licensed.

Moreover, the current head of the Koda family is very enthusiastic about doing charity.

Yes, it is charity.

They pry the last penny out of the mouths of those gamblers while donating to charitable organizations. By the way, the two charitable organizations that receive donations also have a certain relationship with the Koda family.

After repeatedly telling Lance what he should be careful about, Lance left with his partners.

In the car, Ethan suddenly said, "Actually, I could have won him."

Perhaps the others didn't react, or perhaps he wanted his words to be more convincing, he continued, "I just needed to use a little more strength, and I could have defeated him."

"But I felt that I shouldn't win, so I held back some strength at the end."

Lance was a little surprised that Ethan could actually use his brain, but it was also possible that it was just his intuition.

"Good job, Ethan, you really shouldn't have defeated him in front of so many people."

"He has a high position in the company. If he lost to you in front of so many people, he would lose face, so you did the right thing."

"Of course, I'm not saying that you losing face is right or a good thing. You can analyze the situation, which is more important than winning or losing."

Just as the red light at the intersection turned on, he put the cheering stick back and stepped on the brake, "Mr. Cody just gave me one hundred and fifty dollars. For every job we complete for him, he will give us 5% of the debt recovered as a reward."

"I plan to rent a house and give each of you five dollars. Any problems?"

Everyone shook their heads, indicating that there were no problems. They were already very satisfied to be able to get five dollars just for going out for a ride!

Elvin had some questions, but they had nothing to do with sharing the money, "It's actually quite good for us to live in the culvert. There's no need to rent a house."

"No, it's very necessary."

"We need a safe place to relax and rest, a place for you to wash up, and we also need wardrobes and beds."

"Although the culvert is free, it's not a place to live for a long time. I plan to rent a detached house in the western suburbs of the city."

Goldport City is built by the sea, and the most developed areas are almost all by the sea and in the city center. The direction of the city's future development is just to make Goldport City have as much coastline as possible.

The city as a whole is developing eastward, which has led to the western part of the city being relatively backward compared to the city center, the bay area, and the port area.

In backward places, housing prices will naturally not be too high, whether it is for sale or for rent.

When Lance said this, everyone naturally had no objections. If they could sleep in a bed, who would want to sleep in a culvert?

Although it is really cool in the culvert at this time!

It was already afternoon, and it was too late to go to work again. Lance bought a lot of food and sent it to the culvert.

The partners were overjoyed when they saw the large amount of food. When Ethan was bragging about how bravely he had solved the first business while drinking beer, the partners couldn't stand the loneliness and ran to Lance's side, asking him to take them with him next time they worked!

Lance didn't refuse this. These people are the backbone of the future and definitely need to be cultivated.

At the same time, he also talked about renting a house and the way income is distributed.

30% of the income belongs to Lance, and 30% is deposited into a public account, which is temporarily held by Lance.

The remaining 40% is distributed according to work.

This distribution method establishes Lance as the "group core" for wealth distribution, and also provides the group with a common fund account, and ensures a fair distribution mechanism where whoever contributes the most gets the most.

If you want to get more, you must contribute more than others.

If you want to lie at home and do nothing and still get money every month, don't even think about it!

The partners' enthusiasm was reignited under the effect of money.

Money is really a magical thing. It can cheer up depressed people and make proud people lower their damned heads.

Lance could feel that his income and the way he distributed wealth made these people more cohesive.

After discussing until it was getting dark, Lance got up and left. Although it was a bit late at this time, he had driven here.

The security in Goldport City at night is not very good, but even if it is not very good, there are only a few people who rob vehicles, after all, you have to stop it first.

And stopping a car at night is a very dangerous thing in itself. Most people will not only not stop but will also step on the accelerator and crash into it.

He returned to the bakery without any problems. When he pushed the door open, the apprentice head who was mopping the floor said without looking up, "Sorry, we're closed..."