Empire of Shadows

"Any news?"

Blyton sat behind his desk, smoking. The ashtray on the desk was already piled high with cigarette butts.

It had been almost two hours. Whether they succeeded or failed, they should have sent some message back.

But so far, there hadn't been any word.

"No, the phone hasn't rung. And one more thing, Boss, there seem to be some people around the nightclub."

Blyton was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but then a kind of innate sense of danger made him tense. He immediately stood up and walked to the window, looking outside.

The lights of the nightclub illuminated some places close to the street, but the distant streets were still shrouded in darkness.

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but in some alleys, he seemed to see some fleeting figures!

They were being watched!

Damn it!

He began to get nervous, his palms sweating. He also realized that the group that had gone out might be in trouble.

He strode to the desk and picked up the phone, but didn't know who to call.

If the group making the encirclement was really in trouble, then now, they might also be in danger.

He swallowed and his subordinate was still looking at him. He sat back in his chair, pretending to be calm, "I'll think about it. You can go out first."

The subordinate nodded and left.

Then he dialed the mayor's secretary's phone. The phone was answered quickly.

The secretary lived in the mayor's house, which seemed a little strange, but that was the way it was.

The call would usually go to the secretary's room first. The secretary would decide whether the call needed to wake up the mayor, otherwise the secretary would handle it.

The secretary was not old, less than thirty years old, but everyone could see that he was highly valued by the mayor. There were rumors that he might be the mayor's political successor.

But now, none of this had anything to do with Blyton. He just wanted to know what was going on!

"What's so important that you have to call at night?"

"It's like this, we had a plan before…"

He explained how they planned to lure Lance's group out and then ambush them in a suitable place.

The secretary listened quietly throughout, not feeling that there was anything wrong with their plan.

Strategically speaking, it was actually very suitable. Attacking a building head-on, without using heavy weapons, would come at a terrible price, and might not even be done well.

"…It's been an hour and a half now, and no news has come back. I'm worried that something may have happened."

"Just now, I found some people tailing us around the nightclub. They are very likely Lance's people."

After listening, the mayor's secretary asked a key question, "How did you know where Lance's bar was located?"

Blyton explained how they obtained the bar's information. The mayor's secretary, who had been calm, couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

"Don't you know that there are many of Lance's people in the Empire District?"

Blyton coughed, "I know. We've been very careful, and if we didn't use this method, it would be difficult for us to find their location."

The mayor's secretary sighed with a chuckle, "So that's why you've been in gangs all this time, and you still haven't made a name for yourselves. Wait for my news."

As he spoke, he hung up the phone and then dialed the duty phone at the Empire District branch.

"I'm the secretary of the mayor's office in City Hall. I want to know if there's a gang fight in the Empire District tonight?"

He announced his identity. The operator on the other side didn't expect such a big shot to call in the middle of the night, and seemed a little nervous.

"No… Sir, no."

The sound of rustling papers could be heard from the receiver. "I looked at the dispatch records for tonight. Someone reported that they were bitten by the toilet and couldn't stand up, there were couples arguing, and there were prostitutes and girls arguing over prostitution fees."

"But there are no reports of gunfights, sir."

"Were there any reports of shootings?"

"Uh… Sir, I checked again, and there weren't any. It's very safe tonight, sir."

The mayor's secretary was silent for a while, "I see, thank you."

He politely thanked the other party before hanging up the phone. Then he dialed Blyton's number, "Your people are most likely gone."

"You may have fallen into Lance's trap. I seriously doubt whether it was the right thing for the mayor to hand over the Empire District to you."

"If you can't handle them, there are many people in Fides who want to take your place. Think carefully."

In the mayor's secretary's view, this gang fight failure had nothing to do with him or the mayor.

Anyway, those who died were social scum, and he wouldn't feel sorry even if more died. It was their failure to complete the mayor's plan that was the most troublesome.

As for why he was so sure that something had happened?

Because in the plan that Blyton told him just now, there was a plan to attack the bar first. In other words, if nothing happened to them, they must have fired a gun.

Only firing a gun could attract the Lance family to come to the rescue. If they were just using fists to attack each other, the situation would be under control, and the Lance family would not go there.

So as long as nothing happened to them, they must have used weapons, but the police station didn't report it, so there weren't many possibilities.

If they didn't follow the plan at all, then what made them not follow the plan?

Obviously, the plan was interrupted!

Either they took action, and even attracted the Lance family, but they didn't call back.

The police branch was helping to cover it up. Those sons of bitches, they would all be replaced sooner or later!

Blyton wanted to say something, but the mayor's secretary hung up the phone directly on the grounds that he wanted to rest.

It could be seen that he had no patience with waste.

Blyton gritted his teeth and dialed another number, Fides' number.

"Boss, we killed more than forty of Lance's family. The mayor's side is very dissatisfied with us, saying that if we can't solve Lance's family, they will hand over the Empire District to someone else to manage."

The leader of the Viper Gang is called Snake. He has the figure of an ordinary person, and he has a very special head, which makes his head look pointed, like the shape of a viper.

This person is very ruthless. He is the first generation Boss of the Viper Gang, and he is also a capable person, but only to a certain extent.

For gangs in those underdeveloped cities, as long as they are ruthless and obedient, they will definitely succeed.

The federal government's management of all levels of society is actually not in place. They desperately need these gangs to help them manage the entire city. After all, some things are difficult to do from the federal government's perspective.

But when it comes to the gangs, it becomes very easy.

Federal law enforcement officers beating citizens is a scandal, but gang members beating citizens is quite normal.

The beaten citizens will not only not make trouble, but may not even call the police!

But if a politician does this, even if the beaten person is beaten to a bloody pulp, they will make trouble to the end!

Moreover, gangs doing this is not a political scandal. It's just a small problem in the average crime rate!

Snake listened to Blyton's reasons, and was also a little annoyed, but he quickly calmed down.

"Do you think the profits in King's Port City are really more than here?"

Blyton nodded repeatedly, even though Snake couldn't see it, "The protection fees here are basically ten or twenty dollars per family. There are two or three thousand operators in the Empire District, and the protection fees can be collected up to two or three hundred thousand dollars or even more per month."

"And the wine here… is simply damn profitable!"

"I heard… that the profit of a glass of wine there is more than four times!"

The plan he mentioned was the leader of another gang that Fides came from. They are developing in the port area and have initially gained a foothold.

Although the local street family and the Red Dog Gang have had friction with them, their bars have opened and have already begun to make a profit.

Snake's breathing obviously became heavy, "That is to say, if we can occupy the Empire District, it can bring us tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in income every month?"

"I'm afraid so. I heard rumors that the Lance family's wine prices are very cheap, but their daily income is still more than ten thousand…"

Snake's eyes were a little unfocused!

"Three hundred… thousand…"

Suddenly, both of them fell silent.

In Fides, although they can also make money, the size of the city and the consumption power are there. Their monthly income is only about fifty to seventy thousand dollars.

After these money is divided, they actually don't have much left. This is the case with gangs in relatively backward areas. In the absence of profitable business, it is difficult to quickly accumulate wealth.

"King's Port City is an opportunity."

Snake sighed, "I will immediately mobilize manpower to go there, including myself."

Hearing this, Blyton was a little surprised, "What about Fides?"

"Forget it."

Snake was very decisive, "If King's Port City can provide us with half a year's income in one month, we have no reason to stay here, Blyton."

"You first protect yourself and the rest of the people, and wait for me to get there…"

After hanging up the phone, Blyton told people not to run around before dawn. He didn't sleep all night.

Several times when he was about to close his eyes, the faces of his former brothers and members appeared in his hazy dreams, waking him up from his half-asleep state!

By the time dawn faintly broke, the meager light seemed to soothe the fear in his heart, allowing him to jolt awake from his dream.

He rubbed his face, walked out of the office, and stood on the staircase, vigorously slapping the handrail, the old staircase handrail emitting a "bang, bang" sound.

"Have they returned?"

A head peeked out from downstairs, "No, Boss, no one has returned, and there have been no calls either."

Brington returned to his office, walked to the window, and looked at the reviving city, suddenly feeling a surge of fear!

This city, this district, and they themselves, were not as "easy" as he had previously imagined.

He thought that with the mayor on his side and the Hazardous Materials Administration also on his side, he would have no worries.

Now it seemed he had been too optimistic.

When the day fully dawned, Lance got up, washed his face, and sat in the dining room eating the freshly made dinner, along with everyone else.

They had turned the central house into a communal area, where everyone would gather every morning to make breakfast and eat together, and sometimes in the evenings after returning, they would gather there to chat before returning to their respective residences.

"Did they come out last night?" Lance asked while eating a sandwich.

If toast isn't paired with vegetables, eggs, ham, or anything else, it doesn't really need to be toasted.

But if it needs to hold soft ingredients, it's best to toast it, as this improves the texture and enriches the flavor.

Morris shook his head, "They haven't come out at all, they might have already noticed."

Hiram, sitting beside him, felt a little hot-faced, "My fault, I should have left two alive."

He had finished off all those who weren't dead, leading to no one calling for reinforcements. If someone had called for reinforcements, perhaps Brington and the others would have come out of the Empire Nightclub.

Lance was very familiar with the layout of the Empire Nightclub. Once they decided to defend to the death, it would be a nightmare for anyone trying to rush in, and it would turn into a one-sided meat grinder.

Because the moment you charge in through the door, you can't be sure where your enemies are, waiting for you with guns. By the time you spot them, bullets might already be piercing your body.

The Empire Nightclub had too many rooms and too much open space, but few doors and windows, making it a difficult building to attack.

Lance's original intention was to find a way to lure Brington out and then kill them at the entrance of the Empire Nightclub.

But Brington hadn't come out all night, as if they knew something.

Hiram felt it was his fault. If he had left two alive to make a deceptive phone call, maybe he could have tricked Brington out.

Lance raised his hand, stopping him, "It's God's will that he wasn't meant to die last night, but it doesn't matter, we still have chances, many chances!"

Derec (the young man who joined with Hiram) said from the side, "Last night, the bar on West Street might have encountered someone from the Hazardous Materials Administration."

Lance looked at him.

Derec wasn't as... lively as Hiram, nor did he proactively do things like Lauren. He seemed a bit more passive, so his current job was to work with Mero on logistics.

When the bar needed liquor, Mero would allocate some from the warehouse and arrange for him to transport it.

So he was very familiar with all the bars and managers under Lance's command.

"Tell me about it," Lance said, ordering another sandwich. At twenty, he was at the prime of his growth.

"They encountered a guy just like you described, someone they had never seen before, but who immediately seemed very familiar with the bar and had a somewhat impatient expression."

"He said he was introduced by a friend, but the doorman didn't recognize the name he mentioned. They didn't let him in, only told him there was no bar here."

After listening, Lance stroked his eyebrows with his fingers, "The bar on West Street needs to be relocated. If they can find it, they might take action."

"The current Hazardous Materials Administration is different from other law enforcement agencies. They don't need solid evidence for the Judiciary to issue legal documents."

"They can issue them themselves. If it really was one of their people, they might take action today."

"Mero, make the arrangements."

Mero, who was sitting not far from Lance but rarely spoke proactively, nodded, "I understand."

Elvin was sitting to Lance's left, and Morris to his right. The two of them were sitting close to Lance, which represented their position in this small group, even in the Lance family.

Although everyone hoped to sit next to Lance, most people here understood that they didn't have the ability to do so.

They weren't graduates from prestigious universities. Some of them might not have even graduated from high school. There wasn't much of a problem with them doing tasks.

But asking them to decide what to do and who should do it, they might not be able to take responsibility.

There were also other things, such as the recent influx of many Imperials into the Federation through various channels.

Within the Empire, the situation had shifted from the rebel army besieging and killing the royal family to a state of division and chaos. The Emperor not only escaped danger but even almost returned to the capital!

If the rebel army occupying the capital hadn't resisted stubbornly, the Emperor might have already been back on his throne, issuing orders.

This had also changed the stance of some nobles, who believed that the "rule" of the royal family was not over, and the dog-shit performance of the rebel army had also disappointed them. Some nobles and capitalists began to shift their stance again, standing with the royal family.

The royal family, supported by these nobles and capitalists, began to systematically move south of the Empire. The Emperor, whom the Federation people saw as a stupid and irritable tyrant and dictator, even shouted the slogan of "reform" to cater to the new southern forces!

The previously clear situation in the Empire had once again become confusing. Many people, especially those in the Federation, were actually waiting for the moment when the Emperor would be sent to the guillotine by the rebel army.

But unfortunately, they probably wouldn't see it. Some people believed that the Empire would remain in a state of war for a long time to come.

Many people couldn't see any hope of peace and could only move their families to other countries, and as the royal family lost control of the central and northern regions, coupled with the fact that the new southern forces weren't so loyal to the royal family.

Now, even more people were fleeing the Empire.

The Federation was one of their main choices. After all, in recent years, people had always touted that the valleys of the western Federation were full of gold, just like the financial streets of the capital were full of banknotes!

People couldn't tell whether these words were true or false, but they only knew that everyone was saying so, and no one was refuting it, so these must be true.

Of course, Yalan was also a major choice. Yalan's population base wasn't that high, and there were many primeval forests. Some areas were even uninhabited, which was a great attraction for the Imperials.

It was foreseeable that the number of illegal immigrants in the Federation would experience an explosive increase!