Empire of Shadows

For the capitalists of the Federation, once they become entangled in antitrust and unfair competition investigations, it is an extremely troublesome matter.

First, you will understand that you are not truly a monopoly, and the investigators also understand this.

However, they must investigate whether you have engaged in monopolistic behavior or unfair competition, and only after obtaining this evidence can they say to the public:

"After our investigation, this company does not have a monopoly and has not engaged in unfair competition."

It sounds good, like the judiciary investigated and the law ultimately gave a fair result.

But many companies are still unwilling to accept it because this antitrust investigation is actually very dangerous, because although it may not necessarily find that a company has monopolistic behavior, it is very likely to uncover other commercial violations.

In the Federation, no company dares to say that their backside is clean; they are all covered in shit.

Putting on pants and spraying a thick layer of perfume ensures that no one can smell it. Even if they do, those who can get close to them can't tell whether the stench is coming from someone else or themselves.

However, an antitrust investigation is like forcing people to take off their pants, making it clear whether there is shit on their backside.

Then what will happen?

Others will start pointing at your backside and say, "The stench I smelled a few days ago came from you." Another person will say, "The shit next to my desk came from you." You can't explain it, and you will eventually be drowned, killed, dismembered, and become food to be stuffed into their bellies.

Therefore, even for financial magnates and consortiums, undergoing an antitrust investigation once will damage their vitality, let alone the many dock management companies.

The local prosecutor obviously had a vested interest with the dock management company. After the state attorney general called him into his room and instructed him, he immediately called the executive director of the dock management company's office.

Listening to the unsettling content of the phone call, the executive director hung up and convened an emergency board meeting to discuss the matter.

They had to come up with a strategy to respond before the big shots decided to retaliate for their offense.

Whether to surrender or resist, they had to choose one.

This is the beauty of power, and why every politician strives to become a senator or president.

Because of your idea, your thought, or even a look in your eye.

The fate of a large group of people below will be changed, and the pleasure brought by this change gives them a feeling of "I am God!"

People in the Federation don't like to discuss company matters in their private time, but it depends on what kind of matter it is.

They have their matters, and Lance also has his own.

The arcade, the location chosen by the Wolf Gang as their headquarters after coming to Goldport City, is located in the middle of the port area, which is a good location.

The transportation is convenient, there are many commercial streets, and the night market is also nearby, making it very lively both day and night.

When Lance pushed open the door and entered the arcade, the glass panels of the pinball machines were already covered with a layer of dust.

The same was true for the billiard table; the felt had become dull and no longer vibrant.

The darts dropped on the floor and the scattered debris everywhere showed that the last group of people who left were very panicked; they didn't pay any attention to the environment here. Lance casually picked up a wine glass from the billiard table.

The wine inside had disappeared, but the traces left on the felt allowed him to guess that the table had drunk the wine.

"Clean up a bit; we can't let our guests talk to us in such an environment," Lance shook his head. It was too dirty.

But this was normal. The Wolf Gang actually had a few people left, twenty or thirty, or thirty or forty, but with the news of Professor and Wolf's deaths, they packed up what they could and ran away.

Wolf was the Wolf King. With the Wolf King dead and no one willing to come out and become the new Wolf King to lead them to avenge or expand the pack, the remaining wolves would flee.

Just like now.

He came to the innermost office on the second floor, pushed open the door. The hinges needed to be oiled; they made a creaking sound.

You might not hear it during the day, but at night when it's quiet, you can hear it, and it's a little scary.

At least Lance didn't like this sound, not because he was afraid of anything, just because he didn't like it.

Just like you're not afraid of shit, it doesn't mean you have to be with shit. He didn't like this sound, so he wouldn't listen to it.

He came to the chair in the innermost part, originally wanting to sit down and feel whether Wolf's chair was as comfortable as Heller's (the leader of the Camilla Gang), but looking at the dust on it, he decided against it.

Erwin found a lot of people to come and clean up, and it took more than twenty minutes to clean it up completely.

Lance also sat on Wolf's chair as he wished.

A truck came outside and delivered a large round table, as well as a lot of tableware, and even high-backed chairs for dining.

"Mr. Lance, this is the wine you chose…"

The restaurant manager stood beside Lance with a smile on his face. He put his feet together to show Lance tonight's dinner wine.

"Good Cognac brandy, we also prepared some champagne, whiskey, and red wine. If some guests don't like brandy, there are alternative wines."

"I inquired before, but I'm not sure if there are any ladies, so I also brought two bottles of red wine. If you don't use them, I'll take them back, and this part won't be included in the bill."

Lance took the wine and glanced at the label, nodded. Cognac brandy from the Larrea region; they didn't fool him.

It's not that Asian brandy is bad, it's just that too many cheap brandies are used to pass off as good, so people are now generally skeptical of Asian brandy.

Especially after drinking one that was used to pass off as good, they will obviously distrust it.

The eastern grape-producing region of Larrea also produces high-quality grapes, and many wealthy people have their own wineries there. Now, when some high-end banquets require brandy, they use brandy from the Larrea region.

Lance returned the bottle to the other party, "No problem."

He paused, "How has that old stubborn Anderson been lately?"

The manager's face showed a different smile from just now. He was the manager of Anderson's restaurant, the manager of Anderson's restaurant that had been shit on.

He handed the wine to the person next to him, "Thanks to your concern, our business has been pretty good lately!"

After paying back the money, Anderson trusted the manager even more. The manager himself took out a loan to invest in the restaurant, and now he is still the hall manager on the surface.

But in reality, he is already a partner in the restaurant.

This kind of "large-scale takeaway" was also launched at his request. They will provide tables, chairs, tablecloths, tableware… everything, including the things needed for cooking.

Then the chefs will help customers prepare a sumptuous dinner at the designated time, which is indeed very convenient for some people who don't want to dine in public places.

The wealthy people in the Bay Area often call them. They don't need to bring these things when they go to the Bay Area; they just need to bring the ingredients and chefs.

This kind of "takeaway" costs about five hundred to a thousand dollars. If you add the wine, particularly expensive ingredients, and the corresponding service fee, Lance will ultimately need to pay about two thousand dollars.

It does seem like a lot, but for the rich, it's nothing.

Because of this special service, Anderson's restaurant is now doing better and better, and they are planning to open a branch in the Bay Area.

Lance laughed loudly after listening, "If he knew I was concerned about him, he would definitely be so angry that he would be hospitalized!"

"Sometimes I'm actually very grateful to Anderson. If he weren't so difficult to deal with, some things might be different!"

He paused, "Thank you for being able to come. Start now. We'll start at 7:30 at the latest."

The manager nodded and took the initiative to leave to urge the chefs to work hard.

Lance originally planned to dine at the restaurant, but thinking that if there was going to be bloodshed, it wouldn't be easy for the boss to do business, so he simply set it at this location.

Tonight, he invited the leaders of some of the remaining small gang forces in the port area to talk about the next issues with them.

Whether to continue the war or what else, there has to be a result.

It won't work to pretend that nothing happened every day!

Soon, the smell of cooking food filled the arcade. The smell floated in from outside, and many people felt their stomachs start to growl.

But unfortunately, they may not be able to eat this meal tonight.

Just after seven o'clock, a motorcade appeared outside the arcade. Many people got out of the three cars, one of whom, a young man wearing an exaggerated short-sleeved shirt, glanced at the people at the door and walked inside.

Just as Lance was lamenting that Wolf didn't know how to enjoy himself and that his chair was hard and uncomfortable, a subordinate came in to report the news, "The people from Blood Sharks have arrived."

Blood Sharks is a small gang in the port area, with about thirty people in total, ruling a street.

They are also the kind of group that gradually evolved from sticking together to fight against outsiders to internally exploiting each other. At first, they were just five or six people together to avoid being bullied.

Then other young people on the street started joining them, thinking it was cool, or that they could avoid being bullied while also being able to bully others.

So the number of people in this small gang grew.

Once there are many people, you have to consider how to support these people. Collecting protection fees, blackmail, and extortion became their means of making a living.

Maybe they don't ask for as much as the previous people did, but at least they still ask for it. As for when they completely lose their conscience, it depends on how far they can go.

Their symbol was a blood-red great white shark leaping out of the water, and they were also called the "Blood Shark Gang."

Lance held onto the armrest and stood up, "I'll throw this broken chair away and replace it with a comfortable one."

He patted the pants stuck to his butt, and walked towards the door. It was stuffy and uncomfortable, good riddance!

Just as he came out of the room, he saw the leader of the Blood Shark Gang in the hall on the first floor, a young man named Kerry.

He was about the same age as Lance, maybe a little older, with a defiant expression on his face.

The two looked at each other for a moment, one up and one down, separated by the distance of the air. Lance showed some smiles on his face, "Kerry?"

He walked down the stairs, and the expression on Kerry's face that he didn't give a damn about anyone subsided a lot.

It seemed that the professor and Wolf had taught him how to behave.

Lance bumped fists with him, "You've come at the right time. Before dinner starts, we can have a little something to tide us over."

He motioned for Kerry to walk with him. The two came to the yard behind the game room, where the cooks were preparing dinner.

These cooks were all apprentices signed by Anderson, which was also requested by the manager.

Anderson would teach them real cooking skills, but they had to serve Anderson's restaurant for ten years.

During these ten years, the restaurant would not deduct their wages. They would have regular rest and salary increases. Except for not being able to leave the restaurant at will to work in other restaurants, there were almost no other restrictions!

In this day and age, learning a craft is very difficult. At first, Anderson was unwilling. He felt that he should use these people for a few years for free before teaching them a little bit of skill.

But the manager told him that times had changed, and also persuaded Anderson.

After Lance's incident, Anderson trusted the manager very much.

Lance led Kerry to the barbecue stove, and he signaled the cook to make two pieces of barbecue first.

These ingredients were prepared in advance, and there were quite a few, just to avoid the guests not being full, or new guests joining suddenly.

Such receptions are mostly parties or gatherings, and it is quite normal for a few friends who were not mentioned in advance to come suddenly.

The cook skillfully manipulated the long-handled knife and fork on the grill, cutting open a piece of meat. Juice and blood slowly overflowed from the slightly discolored meat, dripping on the charcoal fire, crackling, which looked very tempting.

Two minutes later, Lance handed the plate in his hand to Kerry, and then came to the edge of the yard with him.

"Try it, their barbecue tastes good."

Kerry was actually not very hungry, but Lance was very enthusiastic, so he could only pick up a fork and pick up a piece and take a bite.

It was indeed delicious. To be honest, his chewing action also became more natural.

Lance chatted with him for a few words that were not very nutritious, and Kerry couldn't hold back any longer, "Lance, what are you going to do with us?"

Lance put the plate on the table next to him, he turned to look at Kerry, "Didn't you see it?"

"I'm going to treat you to dinner, this meal will cost me one or two thousand."

Kerry was not Lance, he didn't have such a deep mind, and he couldn't hold back, "I'm talking about the territory issue, will you drive us out?"

Lance smiled and comforted his emotions, "It's not that exaggerated, I personally prefer everyone to make money together."

Kerry's eyes turned, "I don't quite understand."

"Bars, smuggled alcohol, or other businesses that can make money, I don't mind making money with you, Kerry."

"What I reject is making money by disrupting order, I don't know how to say it…"

He frowned, "It's like you killing a chicken because you want to eat eggs, and taking out the eggs in its belly to eat. It shouldn't be done like this."

"If you do this, you can only eat it once, the chicken will die, and there will be no follow-up."

"We should raise the chicken and let it lay an egg for us every day, so that we can eat it for a long time."

"Environment, order, rules!"

Kerry's eyebrows stood up when he heard it, "Just tell me what to do, I don't understand any of what you said."

If he could understand, he wouldn't be the leader of a neighborhood gang.

"It's very simple!", Lance gave him a cigarette, "Disband the gang, and then do your business, I guarantee your safety."

Kerry said directly after hearing this, "That's impossible!"

"If the gang is disbanded, how can I ensure our safety?", he looked at Lance, not making any concessions.

Lance asked back, "If you don't disband the gang, can you ensure your safety?"

He bit the cigarette at an angle, and handed over the lit but not yet extinguished match. Kerry lit the cigarette in his hand with the long match in his hand.

At the same time, Lance's question also made him think.

Lance raised his hand and gently put it on his shoulder, "Think about it, how are you compared to those people from Wolf?"

"They are dead, we are still alive, as victors and in a victorious posture."

"Holding a knife is not safe, Kerry, it will make me think that you want to stab the knife in your hand at me."

"I may react incorrectly in a stress response. Maybe you don't want to do that, but the result is unacceptable to both of us."

"But if you put down the knife, I don't feel the danger, and there will be no bad misunderstandings!"

"You can continue to run bars or other businesses with your friends, and I will protect your safety. I will take care of any problems. What great conditions are these?"

"I really can't think of a reason to refuse!"

Lance looked at him. Although this guy behaved very rebelliously, the fact that he came first showed that he was actually inclined to compromise in his heart.

When Lance brought up the destruction of the Wolf Gang, he could feel that Kerry's shoulders became a little more relaxed.

"Think about it, we still have time!"

Lance patted him on the shoulder. Alvin was walking towards this side, "Excuse me."

He left here and walked towards Alvin.

"Two more came."

Lance glanced at his watch. It was already seven past ten.

"How many did we invite in total?", Lance has been busy with a lot of things recently and couldn't remember clearly.

It may also be because in his opinion, this is indeed not a very important matter, so he didn't take it to heart.

"Seven, only three have come now, but there are still more than ten minutes."

Lance nodded slightly, "I'll go and receive them first."

In fact, Alvin kept saying that he would do these things, but Lance refused.

You are holding a weapon, and others are also holding weapons. If you can't show sincerity, why would others put down their weapons first, or even allow you not to put down your weapons?

So sincerity is very important. This time, Lance's treat is full of sincerity. He hopes that everyone can feel his sincerity.

To achieve peace and unity in the port area without resorting to force.

But this is just hope, maybe they will have other ideas.

Lance returned to the hall, looked at the two newly arrived gang leaders, and immediately showed a smile, "How are you?"

"My friends!"