Empire of Shadows

Taiwan Novel Network → 𝘁 𝘄 𝗸 𝗮 𝗻 . 𝗰 𝗼 𝗺

Lance looked at Francisco, and the young man turned to look at Alberto, who nodded, and he said, "Uncle Lance's decision is my decision, Grandpa Vittorio."

Vittorio's gaze swept back and forth between the three, the expression between his brows also changing slightly, eventually turning into a smile, "Good, then next we'll have to rely on you, Cisco."

"In the war with the Cassia family, many of us were injured, even killed, and people are full of hatred for them."

"Since you advocate revenge, then I hope we can see some results as soon as possible, to inspire the young people in the family to exert their strength and rebuild the family in such a terrible time!"

The others naturally didn't care, as long as they weren't the ones having to put in the effort.

The following content was obviously not so important. Under Alberto's argument, he secured a good bar in the Starlight District for Francisco.

This bar could provide Francisco with a stable income, more than enough for him to recruit people or do other things.

After the meeting, the three returned to the place where Paul had lived before, and his wife immediately greeted them, clearly worried about Francisco.

She hugged Francisco at once, a gesture that made his face flush red.

He struggled for a moment before breaking free from his mother's embrace.

Actually, he wasn't like this before, maybe it was because Lance was here today.

Lance made him feel a little embarrassed when facing these things, after all, Lance acted like an adult, making him feel like he was still a child!

He didn't want to admit that he was still a child, so he had to act more like a man.

As everyone knows, a man doesn't throw himself into his mother's arms as soon as he gets home and stay there.

His mother seemed to realize some changes in her child, and secretly glanced at Lance again, roughly knowing why.

"I'll go prepare some food, Mr. Lance, please stay for a meal."

Lance didn't refuse, he still had a lot to discuss with Alberto and Francisco.

The three sat in the living room.

"Is there not much money left by Paul?"

Alberto shook his head, "The reconstruction of the house, and so many casualties, all this money has been used from the family's funds."

"Paul still has some money here, but not much, not enough to support Cisco in feeding so many people."

"You can see that these people don't want any pretense anymore. Now they just need a suitable reason to drive Cisco out."

"We must seize the power to fight against them as soon as possible, whether it's recruiting people or doing other things, it's inseparable from money."

Francisco's situation wasn't good, so some things that others could do with one dollar, he might need to spend two dollars, or even three or five dollars.

In addition, with the current tense situation, even if he gave them forty or fifty dollars a month to recruit people, they wouldn't be willing.

Joining the five major families at this time, to put it bluntly, is just cannon fodder at the bottom, and they will directly face the battle with the Cassia family.

Let alone fifty dollars, even seventy dollars might not be enough to recruit enough people.

The price they are currently promising to the outside world is already close to one hundred dollars, but there are still some gaps.

If they want to increase wages, then the salary expenditure for one hundred people a month would be ten thousand dollars.

Plus other things, weapons, ammunition, food, vehicles, gasoline, the expenditure for one hundred people may require twenty thousand or even thirty thousand dollars.

One hundred people can't play any role in the family's internal power struggles and external confrontations. They need at least two or three hundred people, and at the same time, they have to consider the issue of compensation.

Although Paul left a sum of money, hundreds of thousands, it actually won't last too long.

"If there is a shortage of funds, I can help."

For Alberto's sake, he no longer owed Paul anything, and what he owed before had been paid off.

Alberto bumped fists with him, "I don't need your money for the time being, I still have a little on my side, and the income from the bar will soon increase."

He paused, "In a few days, the five major families may hold negotiations, you come too then."

Lance looked again at Francisco, who was looking at him with expectant eyes, considered for a while, and nodded, "Okay, tell me the location when the time comes."

Alberto sighed, "Besides you, I don't know who else I can ask for help."

He leaned over and sought a hug, "You are my best brother besides Paul, I don't know how to repay you."

Lance said with a smile, "Taking down the Cassia family is the greatest help to me."

During this time, Alberto had gradually put himself into the perspective of a family ruler to look at the problem, and he had indeed made some progress.

From Lance's words, he could probably hear some superficial meanings, "You want to attack the Cassia family?"

Lance didn't deny it, he thought for a while, "Not just the Cassia family, but also the Coda family."

Alberto looked at him like he was looking at a fool, "Are you... are you kidding me?"

"The Cassia family is constantly transferring gunmen from the Yalan area, one gang can fight against both of us."

"If you add the Coda family providing them with funds, Lance, I'm not trying to discourage you, but you may not be their opponent!"

He used the word "may not" very euphemistically, but in reality, he didn't think Lance could do it.

Francisco also stared at Lance, he had a very contradictory emotion at this time.

On the one hand, he wanted to get in touch with Lance. Lance was about the same age as him, and although he had now become his uncle, compared to the older Alberto, he felt that he and Lance had more in common.

At this terrible time, if he could have such a "friend" by his side, it would undoubtedly make him feel more at ease.

But he also resisted a little, because compared to Lance, he felt that he was too naive, so naive that he didn't look like a sixteen-year-old "little adult" at all!

In fact, this kind of emotion often appears in ordinary people. It's like when you are still struggling for tomorrow's livelihood, people of your age, or even younger than you, have become young masters or middle-aged masters.

Even if you are given a chance to say a few words to him, I'm afraid you don't want to say it.

Because the gap is too big!

Lance didn't notice Francisco's expression, he had his own ideas, "The police are on my side, plus us and you, and the Tita and Keen families, we can completely solve the Cassia family."

Alberto frowned, "I'm worried they won't necessarily stand on our side."

Lance agreed with Alberto's guess.

Politics has never been a simple addition and subtraction, nor is it a matter that can be decided by hatred, it requires weighing the pros and cons of many things.

Throughout history, there has never been a shortage of enemies and opposing forces who have become close allies under the impetus of interests. Nothing is immutable.

The scale of the Lance family is actually not small now. If it rashly intervenes in the battle of the five major families, it may trigger their vigilance and end the battle.

After all, the four major families other than the Coda family have suffered heavy losses. It can be said that now is the weakest period in the history of the five major families.

Once a third party appears and causes fundamental damage to their interests, they may regroup.

However, from the beginning, he had never considered borrowing the power of those two families.

Saying this was just to make Alberto and Francisco not so nervous.

"Let's talk about this later..."

He paused, "What plans do you have next?"

Alberto turned his attention back to family affairs, "Because of your appearance, they won't take any drastic actions in a short time."

"Next is to recruit some people first, and then train them a bit..."

He rubbed his cheeks, "Actually, I don't want to restart the war with the Cassia family too quickly. They need time, and so do we!"

Lance patted him on the shoulder, "Tell me when you need me, I will always support you."

Alberto nodded vigorously, "I won't be polite."

The food prepared by Francisco's mother was very rich. Although the main building of the manor was partially destroyed, and Paul was also dead, they also spent a lot of money.

But even so, the wealth owned by Francisco and his mother is still unimaginable to ordinary people.

Plus the wine, at least a few hundred dollars for a meal, it was considered a harmonious meal. After the meal, Lance took the initiative to say goodbye, it was time for him to go back.

Alberto still had a lot of things to do, and didn't try to keep Lance. He sent Lance to the door, watched Lance's convoy disappear, and then turned around and returned to the manor.

In the office, as soon as he sat down, Francisco asked curiously, "Can you tell me about Mr. Lance's affairs?"

Alberto was a little strange, but he didn't refuse, "What do you want to know about him?"

The young man was a little embarrassed, "I want to know, when did he start on this path?"

Alberto was slightly stunned. Although in his impression it seemed like a long time had passed, in reality, at this moment, it had only been a little over a year.

After a moment of恍惚, his expression returned to normal somewhat complicatedly, because Lance's achievements were too dazzling!

The brilliance was almost unreal!

"Before I met Lance, I always thought the stories in operas were fictional, just the result of unrealistic fantasies."

"But after I met him, I suddenly realized that maybe some people really are the protagonists of this world!"

"The first time I saw him, he was in trouble. He came to me for two hundred dollars, and I didn't really intend to give him the money..."

Speaking of these things, Alberto had a sense of "fate," as if from the moment Lance sat in front of him, the gears of fate had begun to turn.

Listening to Alberto tell stories about Lance, Francisco's eyes lit up...

During this period, the mayor's silence seemed to cause the city's rules to revert to the past. Some people breathed a sigh of relief, but others sighed.

For example, those speculators.

"Mr. Chobaf, there are some more problems with the bank."

Chobaf turned his gaze back from the sky outside the window. He looked at the assistant standing by the door and suddenly asked, "Am I a failure?"

The assistant's face was calm. They had worked together for a long, long time and were once very close.

But now, there was a thick, invisible wall between them, separating them far apart.

Just a male assistant's nephew.

Now the assistant was the vice president of the bank, and he was responsible for the bank's daily work arrangements. In this regard, Mr. Chobaf still trusted him.

The assistant still had no expression on his face, "You are already more successful than most people, sir."

"Most people..."

He pondered the word for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh, "But still not as good as that small group!"

He didn't care at all about what problems the bank had. He lit a cigarette, looked at the assistant, and motioned for him to sit down, "We haven't talked for a long time, sit down, let's talk."

The assistant walked to the opposite side of him and sat down, "What do you want to talk about?"

He took a puff of cigarette and slowly exhaled it. The assistant's face was a little erratic in the smoke, "The mayor is finished, and I can't get back all the investment I made in him."

"Millions of investment."

When he said these numbers, his body was even trembling slightly.

His life's money, including a portion of the depositors' savings, was all gone!

If the mayor could handle those people, then he would naturally become the new city councilor. He would enter high society, and he would be able to make money more easily.

But, the mayor failed, and he was abandoned.

Even if Mr. Chobaf's political insight was not so keen, he knew that the mayor was finished.

The loss of millions had become a huge mental burden he was unwilling to face!

The assistant was still the same, as if nothing could make him have more changes in expression. He lowered his eyes slightly, "At least you are still alive."

When Mr. Chobaf heard this sentence, the cigarette he had originally brought to his mouth stopped. He should have taken a puff, but he put it down at this time.

"You hate me."

This was the reason why he transferred the assistant who had been with him for so many years away from him. He knew that the assistant hated him.

No matter what stupid thing the assistant's nephew did that ultimately led to his being killed, the person who caused all of this was not himself, but Mr. Chobaf.

He wanted to find a killer, he requested it, but not only did he not bear the consequences himself, but he also sacrificed the assistant's nephew, a nephew he raised as a son.

He had no children himself, and his nephew was like his son, but because of Mr. Chobaf's lack of responsibility, he personally cut off all his chances of survival.

At this time, when facing this problem, the assistant's mood still fluctuated.

"I don't want to lie to you, sir, I do hate you."

"We clearly had more choices, but you chose one that had the least impact on you, and ignored how much impact it had on me!"

Mr. Chobaf was silent for a while, "I'm sorry."

The assistant pursed his lips, "It doesn't matter, it's been a long time anyway."

"And..."

There was finally some expression on his face, some shallow smiles, "Seeing you like this now, some of the hatred has also been relieved."

Mr. Chobaf couldn't help but laugh, and even laughed out loud, "This is like some kind of revenge at the time, isn't it?"

The assistant shook his head, "Watching you rush headlong into a dead end, and then constantly crash into that wall that you can never break open, crashing until your head is bleeding, those emotions are also vented."

"You don't approve of me doing this either?"

Mr. Chobaf pinched the cigarette butt and took a puff, then extinguished it in the ashtray, and even pressed it down a few more times.

The assistant nodded, "You are an Imperial immigrant, sir."

This sentence seemed to sting him a little, "What's wrong with being an Imperial immigrant?"

"Does an Imperial immigrant have to be at the bottom?"

"I've made so much money, why can't I become a member of the upper class?"

His emotions began to fluctuate a little, but the assistant was still calm, "There is no place for Imperial immigrants here, at least not yet."

"From the beginning, your direction was wrong, no matter how hard you try, there will be no results."

Mr. Chobaf was stunned for a while, then sighed dejectedly, "You see things a little clearer than me!"

He paused, then took a deep breath, "You just said we encountered trouble, what trouble?"

He didn't want to talk about these things with the assistant, talking about these things would only make him more uncomfortable.

The assistant also returned to work mode, "More people are withdrawing money, and many of them are merchants. Our cash may not last too long."

Mr. Chobaf scratched his head, "Then sell off some assets, bonds or something."

The assistant lowered his voice a little, "Those bonds have already been sold."

This sentence made Mr. Chobaf suddenly come back to his senses. His voice was a little out of tune, "What?"

Sharp, a little harsh, like a soprano whose tail has been stepped on!

"How could they be gone?"

The assistant handed over the documents in his hand, "For the past six months, we have been cashing out those bonds to pay for various withdrawals and your personal consumption expenditures."

"Currently, our approximately 700,000 bonds have all been sold."

"I need to add that, in this part, we lost about 150,000."

"Now we can only cash out a portion of gold, some stocks, and some works of art."

"These are difficult to cash out immediately. If you have any plans, you must prepare in advance."

These things are not like bonds. After the bonds are due, they can be directly cashed out from the federal government according to the face value, and the price is very stable.

But gold, stocks, and even those works of art, their prices are uncertain.

If you want to sell at a suitable price, you must go through a long period of time to find those who need them most.

If you are in a hurry to cash out, then you will inevitably be forced down the price.

Mr. Chobaf was a little lost. After he was in a daze for a while, he asked, "How much money... do I have left?"