Empire of Shadows

When Lance got up in the morning and sat down in the restaurant, Elvin brought some bad news.

“The price of liquor has dropped a bit.”

Lance ate his bacon as he asked, “What caused it?”

“Did the Prohibition loosen up?”

“Or something else?”

Elvin sat down next to him, picked up a piece of bread, and started adding things to it as he said, “The distilleries are starting to reopen now, but they’re not producing liquor, they’re producing medicinal alcohol.”

“But you know… once the distilleries start running, some ‘inferior alcohol’ is bound to leak out.”

Lance was stunned for a moment. He started flipping through a stack of newspapers on the table, and after a while, he turned to look at Melo, who was reading in the living room. “Where’s today’s ‘International News’?”

Melo put down his book and stood up. “Isn’t it there?” he said, walking towards the door. “I remember bringing them all back.”

He didn’t find the ‘International News’ in the mailbox, so Maurice ran out to get one.

There was a newsstand just outside the community, only two minutes away.

At this time, Elvin also noticed the change in Lance. “What’s wrong?”

“Is this serious?”

Lance swallowed the food in his mouth in a few bites, nodding with a serious expression. “Very serious and important!”

He paused, and everyone around him turned to look over. Lance started his “Lance’s Little Class” again. “In what situation do you think distilleries would produce alcohol?”

Honestly, the people here were mostly uneducated. People with education wouldn't be reduced to this state.

In this era, except for the Federation, it was almost impossible to receive a complete education in the Empire!

The cost of education in the Empire was very expensive, and only wealthy families could afford to give their children a relatively complete basic education.

If you wanted to learn more advanced knowledge, you had to be exceptionally talented or belong to the privileged class.

So these young partners from the Empire at most knew how to read, knew how to pronounce those words together, and some even had trouble reading smoothly.

It was impossible for them to draw any conclusions from the fact that distilleries were producing alcohol.

Of course, Lance didn't expect them to be able to analyze anything, so he didn't wait too long and started a stimulating discussion.

“What do you think alcohol is used for, especially medicinal alcohol?”

They all knew this. Some said for disinfection, some said for wiping wounds, and others said it could be used as fuel.

Lance nodded. “Yes, but the main use is still disinfection.”

“Alcohol isn’t easy to store. It’s very volatile. With so many factories starting to produce alcohol all of a sudden, where do you think, or in what situation, would so much alcohol be needed?”

This question wasn't that complicated either. Elvin spoke first. “When a lot, a lot of people are injured…”

As he spoke, he froze, because he thought of a place where it could be used.

Encouraged by Lance, he said those two words—

War!

Lance pointed at him. “War, war is coming!”

“So the Federal government relaxed the production of alcohol in the context of Prohibition, letting the distilleries work, because war is coming!”

“There will be a lot of people injured, a lot of people injured on the front lines, and they will need a lot of alcohol and medical supplies.”

Just as he was speaking, Maurice pushed the door open, holding a newspaper in his hand. “The newsstand doesn’t have any extra newspapers at all. I heard that its price has already risen to thirty cents a copy!”

“Damn, that’s so high?!”

The subscription price of ‘International News’ averaged out to only two cents a copy, which was already a relatively high price. Some other newspapers only cost one cent.

It had no sales in some more remote and backward areas simply because the price was too high!

But now, its price has increased fifteen times, which can only mean that it does record very important news.

When Lance took the newspaper, it was indeed as he expected. The headline on the front page read “Negotiations Break Down, Shadow of War Looms Over Tanfit” in huge letters.

The scarlet exclamation points were like being soaked in blood, exuding an unsettling aura!

Today's news shook the entire Federation. Many people wanted to know what happened. The newspaper obviously underestimated people's fear of war, so much so that this newspaper could not be bought anywhere now!

As for the newspaper in Lance's mailbox?

The deliveryman definitely didn't deliver it and took it out to sell it directly!

Lance's attention was focused on the report. The report stated that the results of the multi-party negotiations did not achieve what people wanted, and the contradictions between the four parties could not be resolved through negotiations.

In fact, the reason for this kind of external war often comes from the dissatisfaction of the people at the bottom of the country with the current social situation. If the national rulers cannot export their firepower to external wars, then the ultimate result will be civil war!

Those people who are suffocated by the heavy society have reached the point of holding knives. Whether this knife is stabbed in the ruling class or in the surrounding countries, there seems to be nothing to consider.

So they did not hesitate to launch a war against foreign countries. If they could take a piece of land from a neighboring country, it would mean that an upward channel had been opened up within the country again.

Internal contradictions can be eased, and whether it is economic pressure or other aspects of pressure can be greatly reduced, and society will become stable and prosperous again.

If you lose, it doesn't matter. The internal population of the country has been heavily consumed once, and social resources have become abundant again, then the contradiction will naturally be resolved.

Therefore, this war had no possibility of resolution from the beginning. The so-called geopolitical issues, cultural issues, and ethnic issues were all excuses to start the war.

The Federation's representatives also participated in this negotiation, and now these consuls have begun to gradually withdraw from Tanfit.

The entire report did not explicitly state that war would break out, but only said that there was a high probability that war would break out, without mentioning the scale or timing of the speculation.

In the next few pages, the brutal and cannibalistic Emperor of the Empire also spoke, saying that he supported the people of Tanfit in defending the glory of the nation with weapons…

Without a doubt, ‘International News’ once again took the opportunity to smear the Emperor of the Empire. As the most correct position, they once again received unanimous praise from Federal readers.

Lance passed the newspaper to the others. He scratched his eyebrows. “Get more weapons back. I feel like this war will last a long time.”

The whole city, the whole Federation seemed to be shrouded in a shadow because of this terrible news.

In the morning, the Empire gang from Venus City sent someone over. Venus City is west of Gold Harbor City and is considered one of Gold Harbor City's satellite cities. It is also a city being bled dry.

Venus City has many factories and a complete industrial system. Some factories in Gold Harbor City cannot bear the costs here and eventually choose to develop in Venus City.

This has also made Venus City gradually become prosperous, although it has been bled and devoured by Gold Harbor City bit by bit.

But it is undeniable that it has also become a little more prosperous because of Gold Harbor City. A large number of factories provide a large number of jobs, and stable jobs increase the income of city residents, giving them more disposable funds.

This money is the foundation of happiness.

What these factory workers want most after a day's work is a drink.

There are not many gangs in Venus City, which is of course also related to the small size of the city. There may be only a dozen or so gangs in total, and they are not very large in scale.

The person who came was a middle-aged man in his forties, with two subordinates in their thirties. He seemed a little shocked when he saw Lance, but he quickly composed himself.

“Mr. Lance, I’m very glad to be able to meet you in person. Although I have heard some of your deeds in Venus City, when I saw you…”

He showed some smile, "You see, I am still shocked by your youth!"

Lance shook hands with him and asked him to sit down in the chair opposite. “How is the situation with the Empire immigrants in Venus City?”

This middle-aged man was called Damon. His gang in Venus City was not very large. Including core members and peripheral members, there were only about a hundred people.

Because Venus City is not like Gold Harbor City, with various huge interests and consumption places, many people who earn money in Venus City will take a car to Gold Harbor City to spend it.

In the absence of huge conflicts of interest, the scale of gangs is generally not large.

The rapid rise of the Lance family in Gold Harbor City has begun to radiate influence to the surrounding areas. This is an emerging gang different from the Camilla gang, and the Empire gangs in the surrounding cities are encouraged by this!

If an Empire gang like the Five Great Families can emerge, then the surrounding Empire gangs will get huge development opportunities.

It's like this now!

Damon simply couldn't get a stable supply of liquor in Venus City, just like Gallio (Fedes is the leader of the Empire gang). Intermittent sales are actually a blow to their business.

If you don't have alcohol when the drunks want to drink, they will leave and most likely won't come back.

So when Ennio found him and asked him if he was willing to get liquor from the Lance family, he immediately agreed.

“We are not like Gold Harbor City, where there are gunfights every day…” He laughed at himself when he said this.

"There are too many factories over there, and we can't deal with factories either. They have a lot of workers, but dealing with ordinary people is meaningless."

"Gangs are actually quite harmonious because there's no need for competition."

"Our main income comes from strip clubs and providing flesh trade, as well as smuggling some meat."

Smuggling beef from the Yalan area to the Federation is indeed a profitable business, and some people in King's Harbor are also doing this business.

Earning a penny or two per pound is already a lot. It's all hard work, and it's illegal.

Lance felt a little sympathetic to him, "I can provide you with a stable supply of alcohol, and your situation will improve."

Damon nodded repeatedly, "The sales of alcohol in Venus City are very good. I believe we can sell at least 50,000 to 100,000 worth of alcohol every month!"

This might not even be enough for Lance for a week, but Venus City is, after all, a small city. You can't expect it to be like King's Harbor.

Lance nodded, "This time, I'll give you 60,000 yuan worth of alcohol first. You can choose the types yourself."

"Damon, I have a few things to say outside of business."

Even though Damon was older than Lance, his respectful behavior at this time did not resemble that of a middle-aged man facing a young man.

In this world, power is the core factor that determines who is greater, not age!

"We are all immigrants from the Empire. We all know that survival here is difficult, so I have always had an idea."

"We should unite and form a state of maintaining efficient communication. If you encounter trouble that you can't solve, I can help you."

"If I encounter trouble that I can't solve, you can also come and help me."

"As long as we unite, even if we don't actively bully others, those who want to bully us will have to consider whether they can bite through all of us!"

After listening, Damon asked cautiously, "Do we need… I mean, will we become a gang?"

Lance saw his caution and denied his statement, "I'm not trying to annex you, just a simple alliance, to advance and retreat together, that's all."

"I have seen too many Imperials being discriminated against in the Federation. If we don't want to be discriminated against and want to obtain fairness and justice, we must make the Federation people value us!"

"Fists, wealth, status!"

Damon nodded after listening, "No problem, this is great, Mr. Lance!"

"And I believe your success can better help me, help us, avoid bumps and traps on this road, and go faster and faster!"

No one initially noticed the rapid rise of the Lance family. Midway, it was even slightly suppressed. Damon, including the Imperials in Creek Valley City, thought that the Lance family would soon disappear.

Just like countless Imperial gangs in the past who tried to stand up but were suppressed!

But after the Lance family once again proved that the Imperial District was its private territory, they began to realize that a gang that existed without extorting and kidnapping its own people was born.

Damon was speaking from the bottom of his heart. He hoped to gain some experience in gang management from Lance so that his gang could grow faster.

Of course, the premise of all this is to have money!

And smuggling alcohol very well made up for this shortcoming. If Lance didn't want to annex him, then he was willing to recognize Lance and regard him and the Lance family as the "main family."

Afterwards, Lance took Damon to visit the training process of the gang members, changing a batch every week.

These gang members had to undergo shooting, fighting, and the use of cold weapons such as daggers and knives to fight.

They also had to cooperate in groups, three people, five people, ten people.

Seeing this, Damon and his two deputies had an incredible expression!

Because they felt that Lance was not training gangsters, he was training his private armed forces!

He couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Lance, is this... really necessary?"

He couldn't understand, they were just gangsters!

Lance seemed very casual. He asked the instructor to stop temporarily, and then called a young man over.

"Tell Mr. Damon your name, where you come from, whether you have a family…"

This young man stood as straight as a giant and said his situation. Damon still didn't understand Lance's meaning, and the others were also looking at Lance, not quite understanding his purpose in doing this.

But Lance said, "Your life is precious, my life is also precious, and their lives are just as precious!"

"The purpose of receiving military training is to protect their precious lives, when they encounter emergencies, or face some firefight missions."

"I believe the trained young men will know how to do it in order to survive to the greatest extent and kill more enemies!"

"You are not consumables!"

Lance looked at the guy who should be about the same age as him, he raised his hand and gave a military salute.

The young man was so excited that his eyes turned red, and he returned a salute, which made everyone feel particularly excited!

Only then did Lance turn around and look at Damon, "This is the purpose."

"I hope that each of us can live longer and live better in this damn world!"

Lance spent almost a day with Damon, taking him to visit his industries, and also went to those bars to let him understand the operating methods of his bars.

These things are still very avant-garde and advanced for people of this era. At this time, Damon gradually understood that Lance's success was definitely not a coincidence. He would definitely go further than anyone else!

This day brought him many shocks and also brought a lot of thinking. When they went to the hotel at night, Damon made a request. He also wanted one or two instructors.

Lance did not refuse this, but he only lent it to him, because Lance himself was short of people.

Damon brought cash, and the wine was loaded into the car at night. The next morning, before dawn, a group of people set off.

In order to avoid accidents on the road, Lance also arranged for some people to escort them.

It is only more than 100 kilometers from here to Venus City, and you can travel back and forth in one day.

After saying goodbye to Damon, Lance gathered the people from the Imperial Chamber of Commerce.

A group of people sat in the room, discussing some of the situation in the past two days.

They vaguely had a feeling that Lance had gathered them to talk about this matter, or rather, to profit from this matter!

For the past two months, they had been thinking about making money like last time all the time!

Some people even regretted that they had taken out too little money and slapped themselves a few times.

This time, they must take out all their money and not let down such a good opportunity to make money again!

Lance didn't arrive until more than ten minutes later.

He was not actually late, it was the others who had arrived early.

The moment Lance came in, everyone stood up.