Empire of Shadows

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Devon wasn't wearing his "uniform" today. The red armband on the left sleeve of the uniform was too conspicuous.

He was wearing a blue woolen jacket, a beige and dark brown checkered newsboy cap, his hands in his pockets. His walking speed was moderate, not different from ordinary pedestrians.

He was accompanied by several others, dressed similarly, in ordinary clothes.

People dressed like this were a common sight here. Two men guarding the entrance of the bar merely glanced at them before looking away.

Four or five young men stopped suddenly at the entrance of the alley. Devon had a cigarette in his mouth. He patted his body, asking his companions if anyone had matches or a lighter.

Unfortunately, no one had fire. Even more unfortunately, Devon turned and walked into the alley.

"Hey, brother, can I bum a light?"

The man closest to him turned around, arms crossed, looking fierce and impatient. "Get lost."

Devon waved the cigarette in his hand. "Hey, don't be so fierce, I just want to borrow a light."

The fierce guy wanted to say something, but another person next to him took out a lighter. "Here, light your cigarette and then disappear!"

The person who had forbidden them from approaching looked at his companion and ultimately acquiesced.

A smile appeared on Devon's face. "Thank you, thank you so much!"

"Here, have one of yours."

Social interactions between strangers often start with "Want one?" The man with the lighter didn't refuse; he did indeed enjoy smoking.

Unknowingly, Devon and his men had surrounded them.

The fierce man also took a cigarette, his expression softening slightly. Devon insisted on lighting their cigarettes with the lighter, and they didn't refuse.

The alley had a draft.

Not in the sense that the alley would fall to the ground and shake, but that the alley's structure would draw wind in from one end and blow it out the other.

So people often find that there's a noticeable breeze when standing at the entrance of some through alleys.

This place had a draft. They huddled together, raising their hands to shield the flame, preventing the wind from blowing it out.

Just as the flame rose and both men's attention was focused on the flame and the cigarette in their mouths, two young men standing next to them pulled out daggers and stabbed them in the neck.

Then, the people standing behind them immediately supported them while using their arms to lock their arms behind their backs, controlling them with a reverse joint lock.

The two guys' eyes were about to pop out, but because the joint of one arm was being held in reverse, they couldn't resist!

Even though they were about to die, at this moment, they didn't have the courage to break their own arms and fight to the death!

They could only clench their fists, their bodies trembling violently, and instinctively try to swallow the blood constantly gushing from their throats.

But no matter what they did, it was all in vain.

The two men's bodies finally relaxed, and they were thrown into a vehicle in the alley.

Devon lit his cigarette, took a deep drag, and then several more cars drove over.

Hiram got out of the car, carrying a gunsmith-modified submachine gun with a large drum magazine. After checking their equipment, the group headed into the bar.

Lance had long suspected that they would attack his bars, not just this one, but the one at the docks was also prepared.

As for the bars in the Imperial District and the Port District, he wasn't too worried about them being attacked.

Firstly, those places were harder to find, and secondly, they had always been Lance's territory.

As soon as they entered there, Lance would know immediately and be able to respond calmly.

Many people knew that Lance had a man named Burton under his command. This man was Lance's eye looking "inward."

He was responsible for intelligence and reconnaissance in Lance's territory, and he was very efficient.

So their greater possibility should be to attack the bar in the Starlight District.

Some people actually knew the location of the bar, after all, this used to be Christopher's bar, and with his flamboyant nature, many people knew about it.

The war between Lance and the locals had completely broken out, even if their target wasn't this bar, Lance wouldn't continue to operate it.

It would be best if they came to attack, and if they didn't, he would finish evacuating in the next two days.

It wasn't necessarily a bad thing that the Coda family's people came to his door before they evacuated!

At this time, the people in the bar were unaware of what was happening outside.

A young man standing next to the bar walked to the bar. The bar had a strong aroma of wine, the lingering smell of smoke after business hours, and some other complex smells.

He casually picked up a bottle of Golden Lion Whiskey and shook it twice.

The amber liquid collided with the bottle, producing bubbles that didn't dissipate immediately, but floated on the surface, like golden pearls.

This was the "wine identification method" that came with Golden Lion Whiskey, said to have been revealed by the manufacturer.

The shape of these bubbles was directly related to the quality of the wine. Many people thought this method was simple and easy to use, but some thought it was unreliable.

In the past six months, Golden Lion Whiskey had gradually become famous in Goldport City and the surrounding areas, along with Golden Lion Brandy and Golden Lion Wine.

However, the quality of Golden Lion Wine wasn't very good, but of course, its price was also very low.

The price of three dollars and ninety-nine cents made it affordable for almost every family. As long as you didn't drink it like water, having a glass every day was definitely not a problem.

The manufacturer of Gold Standard Whiskey was offering rewards everywhere for information on Golden Lion Whiskey, intending to extract a large sum from the manufacturer of Golden Lion Whiskey through an infringement lawsuit.

However, lawyers said this was difficult. Although they had some similarities in appearance, if you put the two wines together, anyone with good eyesight could tell they were two different wines.

Moreover, the popularity of Golden Lion Whiskey was constantly increasing, making it unlikely that they could obtain substantial compensation through an infringement lawsuit.

The man who picked up the wine was another trusted aide of Stone's. He put the wine back on the bar and looked around. None of Lance's people were around.

There was no one in the bar, which was abnormal.

A subordinate who came out of the manager's office also shook his head. Everything had been cleared out, the ledgers and everything were gone.

His gaze lingered on the faces of these subordinates, he suspected that someone had betrayed information about their operation, otherwise, how could there be no one in the bar?

Just as he was wondering who was most likely to betray the information, the sudden sound of footsteps made him frown slightly.

"Didn't I tell you to guard outside..."

Before he could finish speaking, the people who walked in from the door had already raised their submachine guns and pulled the triggers.

In that instant, he thought of his grandmother. He had lived with his grandparents when he was a child.

His grandmother was a devout believer who would go to church early every religious day and sit in the front row, saying it would bring her closer to God!

He didn't know if his grandmother was right before. Deeply influenced by her, he believed that as long as you sat in the front of the church, you would definitely be closest to God.

But now, he knew his grandmother was wrong.

Because the way to get closer to God wasn't to get closer to a wooden or plaster statue of God, but to get closer to the muzzle of a gun!

The sound of submachine guns immediately filled the entire bar. Wood chips and even ricocheting bullets were flying everywhere. The huge advantage in firepower meant that the Coda family's people couldn't even lift their heads!

Those who couldn't dodge were swaying, twitching, and falling to the ground, motionless.

Submachine guns and handguns didn't really have any advantage in range, but at such close range, there really wasn't any drawback.

Hiram held the gun with both hands, pulling the trigger until it was dead, aiming the muzzle wherever there was someone, just shooting randomly.

Some people tried to fight back, but ultimately failed. These people's firepower was too strong, they couldn't resist.

A few minutes later, the intense gunfire finally ended.

When a shell casing fell to the ground and bounced up, it became the last sound before the bar fell silent.

Ding...

Hiram unloaded the drum magazine and threw it to the person next to him. The barrel was hot!

These drum magazines were made by the gunsmith himself, they were hard to get and couldn't be bought, and he had been told not to lose them.

He also really liked these drum magazines that could hold fifty-five rounds, they were very satisfying to use!

After replacing the new drum magazine, he pulled the bolt and looked around the entire bar.

This bar, which could bring a lot of profit to the company, looked like it had just been hit by a typhoon!

There were bullet holes of all sizes everywhere, corpses, and blood slowly flowing everywhere.

Some moaning sounds could be faintly heard in the corner, someone had been shot, but hadn't died completely.

He asked, "Is there anyone else?"

The moaning sounds disappeared in an instant, as if they were really dead!

No one answered him, and no one stood up. Hiram nodded slightly. Two subordinates brought in two iron buckets from outside, opened them, and began to spray gasoline into the bar.

During this time, someone suddenly stood up, but was quickly shot down, which made others afraid to stick their heads out.

After the gasoline had been sprayed almost everywhere, the group withdrew from the bar.

Standing at the door, Hiram lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, looked up at the desolate sunset, and smiled as he threw the match in his hand into the bar's doorway.

He felt that at this moment, he was extremely handsome!

I really should have brought a camera to capture this moment and show those idiots what real class looks like!

The moment the match hit the ground, the gasoline ignited.

The surface of the ignited gasoline erupted in a blue flame, spreading rapidly throughout the bar, turning the entire place into a sea of fire.

Faint screams could be heard from inside the bar, but they were quickly drowned out by the roaring flames. Watching the fully engulfed fire, the group got into their car and quickly drove away.

Fire trucks arrived more than twenty minutes later.

Because the Star District wasn't large, and land was incredibly expensive, there was no fire department or fire station located there.

The Goldport City Fire Department was located in the port district, and fire stations were also located in the port and factory areas, so it took more than ten minutes to arrive.

When the fire trucks arrived, all they found was a building completely engulfed in flames, with fire spewing out of the windows!

The legal owner of the property was on the scene talking to the police. The building was insured, and he could get compensation from the insurance company after it was burned down.

Of course, the process might be lengthy. The insurance company certainly wouldn't be willing to pay him the money so easily, but that was fine; they had plenty of time and energy.

"Some people were burned after being killed, and some were burned alive in the fire."

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but based on the current situation... uh... no survivors have been found yet. Sorry."

Stone's face was so gloomy that water could drip from it. He said "Thank you" and hung up the phone, then slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"They must have been prepared. Our people are gone."

He paced back and forth. "Shit, those sons of bitches ambushed our people!"

"I'm going to kill my way directly into the Empire District! I'm going to cut off Lance's head and hang it on the flagpole!"

He was furious. This was the first time he had suffered such heavy losses since he took charge of the family's gray industries and gang affairs. More than thirty people, core members, and one of his confidants.

He scratched his scalp, a violent emotion surging and spreading in his chest.

The Coda family had never suffered such a great loss of face!

Fleming, who was sitting beside him, waited for him to vent his anger and calmed him down when he was no longer raging.

"Talk to Bundy and Gauri first. They must also be paying close attention to this matter."

"Dealing with Lance is not an easy task. So many gangs have assassinated him, but look, he's still doing well."

"We must be fully prepared before we can act, and we must ensure that we will succeed."

"Also, see if we can use other people to find a way to lure Lance out."

Stone looked at him, a little unsure of Fleming's idea.

Of the two brothers, Fleming was the smarter one, and had been since childhood.

Whether it was going to school, dating, or doing other things, he was the smartest and most successful one. Stone admired him.

"What do you mean?"

Fleming slowly shook the wine in his glass. "The situation in the city is getting worse. If someone stands up to lead and let us both sit down and talk, do you think Lance will attend?"

Sure enough, Fleming was still the Fleming who was trustworthy and always had a way to solve their brothers' predicament.

Stone's mood eased at once.

The sky was getting darker and darker, but many people's hearts were still restless. The news of Lance's attack on the Coda family had spread among the gangs in Goldport City!

Someone had been helping them spread the news, wishing everyone in the world knew about it.

These people hiding in the shadows with bad intentions contributed to pushing the whole thing forward.

Over the years, Goldport City had approved a total of five special business licenses, which were licenses to operate gambling venues.

These licenses were all in the hands of the Coda family, and they operated three casinos.

It sounds a little strange, but that's how it actually was.

They had five licenses, but they only operated three casinos, and then used some technical means to evenly distribute the operating income of the three casinos among the five casinos.

This increased operating costs and reduced income, so the money they put in their pockets increased.

Because they gave money to every link, no one bothered them, and the other two casinos actually existed.

They were just small in scale, but they operated normally. This was to avoid certain legal issues.

After all, according to federal law, an operating license must be put into operation to continue to exist, otherwise it will be revoked.

Among the three casinos, the largest one was Goldport Casino, which had more than two hundred gambling tables, as well as various slot machines and some private card tables.

The one with the largest amount of money was "Coda Club", which provided gambling entertainment for the very wealthy.

The smallest denomination chips started at one hundred yuan. To enter here, you first needed to exchange a threshold fee of ten thousand yuan to purchase a membership card.

Once you had a membership card, you could enter the casino without paying any other fees.

There was a very interesting saying that the Coda Club handled millions of gambling funds every day!

Look, a guest can't just exchange three or five hundred-yuan chips, lose them all, and leave. That would be too embarrassing.

It's better to go to Goldport Casino and play. A few hundred yuan can last a long time.

So, the people who can come to the Coda Club often bring thirty or fifty thousand, or even one or two hundred thousand to gamble.

There are many guests here every day, twenty or thirty at least, and dozens or hundreds at most. Even if each person only brings one hundred thousand yuan, that's two or three million, or even four or five million.

Roger (the old man from the Empire Chamber of Commerce) walked out of the casino with a young lady on his arm.

Under the light, he seemed to reject the lady, and the lady's face was full of sadness.

Any man would feel an impulse of pity when they saw this, but Roger did not.

Casino staff placed a leather suitcase in his car. After he got into the car, the car slowly drove out of the Coda Club.

More than ten minutes later, he arrived at a villa located in the Bay Area.

After he got out of the car, he walked into the room carrying the suitcase.

The room was very lively. You could vaguely hear it when standing at the door. When he knocked on the door, the sounds disappeared instantly.

Soon the door opened a crack, and a girl looked at him. After seeing his appearance clearly, she opened the door.

Roger took off his hat and scarf, took off his coat, and walked in carrying the suitcase.

"Make a place for Mr. Roger!" Lance instructed, and someone immediately stood up.

Roger thanked him and found a more marginal seat to sit down.

"Give him a drink!" Then he looked at Roger, "How's the situation inside?"