Empire of Shadows

The ringing of the telephone pulled Professor (second-in-command of the Wolf Gang) from his thoughts. He watched the phone ring a few times before answering, "Hello?"

"Professor?"

The voice was familiar, somewhat young. A face as young as the voice flashed before him, and his voice softened, "Yes, it's me. What are your instructions?"

He respected this person. He wasn't a fool like Wolf or the other gang members; he had his own views and insights.

Some people are foolish. They think they can challenge the whole world as soon as they gain a little power, arrogantly disregarding everything.

Even powerful families like the Five Great Clans of King's Harbor City are still subject to the state government and Congress, aren't they?

In this world, there is only one place that can truly be said to stand at the top!

But this place will not leave a position for someone like him.

So he had always kept a low profile. He knew he didn't have the qualifications to be arrogant.

"He's quite satisfied with your progress, but you can speed things up a little. The faster you are, the less pressure we'll be under."

"The less pressure we're under, the more benefits you'll be able to obtain. It's a positive cycle."

"If you can't break the deadlock for a long time, we'll be under a lot of pressure, and your lives will be harder. Do you understand what I mean?"

Professor nodded repeatedly, "Yes, I understand, I understand, sir."

"But… the police aren't on our side. If we rashly carry out large-scale actions, we're likely to be blocked by them."

"You know, once the police action is carried out publicly, even if we have the ability to fight back, we can only choose to disperse first."

The person on the other end of the line listened carefully, then chuckled after a moment, "Communicating with you is simpler than communicating with others, Professor."

"You don't need to worry about this aspect now. Pay attention to the news broadcast at noon."

"And then think about what you should do."

The phone call ended there, leaving behind some "puzzles." The Professor put the receiver back, picked up a pen, and scribbled aimlessly on the paper.

This was his way of thinking. When he needed to think, he would use this method to sort out his thoughts.

Perhaps he didn't even know what words to write on the paper, or what to draw. Everything was natural, flowing smoothly and gracefully.

At twelve thirty noon, King's Harbor City News Radio began its news broadcast, which was also a favorite program for many people during their lunch break.

After listening to several meaningless news items in a row, a piece of news finally came out that the Professor found unbelievable—

"Following Charlie's resignation as Chief of the King's Harbor City Police Department, no new police chief has been appointed. Considering that the current crime rate has not met the city hall's requirements, the mayor has specially appointed John, the chief of the Port Branch, as acting chief until a more suitable candidate appears."

"The chief of the Port Branch will be assumed by the original assistant chief, and the positions of other personnel will remain unchanged…"

After a brief moment of absent-mindedness, the Professor suddenly stood up and quickly walked to Wolf's office door, pushing it open directly.

Wolf might be ill, or perhaps some of the rumors about him had caused him to fall into his own "persona."

Yes, all the rumors were written by the Professor for him, such as winning against a wolf in a one-on-one fight, or raising two wolves. All the legendary stories were personally written and promoted by the Professor.

An ordinary gang with no special background, in the environment of Fides' "industrial gang," actually had no great future.

He had to have something attractive to make people remember him and join him.

Although wolves were a headache for farmers, they could attract some young people, which was one of the reasons for the Wolf Gang's growth.

Wolf enjoyed this persona very much. He felt like he had really taken down a wolf with his bare hands and was a true Wolf King.

The Professor stood aside and waited for a few minutes. Wolf finally got his release, pushed the girl away, put on his clothes, and sat back in his chair.

"Men will be men."

The Professor rolled his eyes, "John has become the acting chief."

Wolf didn't react, "So he's been demoted?"

"That fool, I knew he wasn't up to it!"

The Professor shook his head, "He's the acting chief of the City Police Department, appointed by the mayor, just announced."

Wolf's mouth slowly widened, "That's impossible, how could he…"

He quickly calmed down, "So, he's with us now?"

The Professor nodded, "A gentleman just called and said he hopes we can make bigger moves."

"This is a very unexpected measure. The police force is not monolithic. If John can be bought, it means that other police officers can be bought."

"My use of the word 'buy' may not be accurate. To be precise, it means that they can find the direction of justice."

"So we have more room to maneuver. My idea is to have them contain Bill and the others tomorrow, and then we'll directly take their lair."

"As long as their headquarters is taken down by us, the Red Dog Gang will have no foundation in the port area, and we can calmly clean up their remaining forces."

"When we occupy enough territory, it will be easy to expand outward or clean up those small gangs."

The Professor's face glowed. Although the Dangerous Goods Administration has great power, they can obtain search warrants and even arrest warrants without going through the local judicial system.

But they also have great drawbacks. They can't interfere with pure criminal behavior.

Now it's different. John is on their side, even if he's just an acting chief.

This means that a powerful department that has the right to interfere in all crimes also has their people, providing the most basic guarantee for some of their actions!

This is a breakthrough. They no longer need to worry about being surrounded by a large number of police officers when they do something. Now the police will also be on their side.

Wolf was very excited after hearing this, "Your idea is very good. Now we can mobilize manpower. I can't wait!"

They weren't the only ones who heard the news. Many people heard the news, and Lance found it unbelievable when he heard it.

A greedy vulture has suddenly transformed into the acting chief of the police department?

You must know that before a real chief appears, the acting chief is the de facto chief of the police department.

And the only person who can decide the candidate for police chief is the mayor.

Under the mayoral system of the federal system, even if the Bay Area's wealthy people are particularly dissatisfied with this and can persuade those in the state government, the mayor still has to nod in the end.

So… this acting chief is very subtle. It doesn't make people think the mayor is acting rashly, because it's just an 'acting' chief.

But it can achieve the effect he wants.

Moreover, doing so will allow some marginalized police officers to throw themselves into the mayor and John's arms.

There are always some maverick police officers, or police officers who are ostracized. In the past, they could only endure this treatment, but now they have a new choice.

This is a very disgusting move, and it also represents the continued escalation of opposition and conflict.

"He is slowly looking for opportunities to gain an advantage," Lance discussed these changes, "Now it's the police, what's next?"

"Fire department?"

"Or something else?"

"If the people of the Five Great Clans aren't so stupid as to have their eyes covered by a comfortable life, they should make a move."

Erwin was a little worried. The position of chief of the city police department was too important. They could almost directly interfere in the police affairs of each district, which would be a headache!

"What should we do?"

Lance fiddled with the matchbox in his hand, thinking about how to respond. Obviously, from the previous situation, the mayor was clearly at a disadvantage everywhere, but he was able to become stronger step by step.

On the contrary, those local forces who initially presented an overwhelming advantage over the mayor's faction have begun to weaken.

After all, the "right to rule" is still in the mayor's hands. Even if he falls into a disadvantage for a while, as long as the state government supports him, he will always be able to stand up.

This is also the disadvantage of civil organizations. In the competition of high-level forces, they are not even in the same order of magnitude.

Perhaps the only one who can compete with the mayor is the Coda family.

But they are not irreplaceable. The reason why the casino business makes money is not because they have some secret recipe to make money 100%, but simply because of those few licenses!

It's not a good thing for the mayor to become stronger and stronger. Lance pondered for a while, beckoned, and Erwin immediately leaned over. After whispering for a moment, Erwin showed surprise.

But looking at Lance's affirmative eyes, he finally nodded, "I'll do it myself!"

Lance hugged him, "Be safe!"