Empire of Shadows

Rogerov, carrying a suitcase, walked up the steps, led by the staff. Those guys, who looked like greeters and security guards, only escorted him to the end of the red carpet.

Beyond that was no longer within their scope of work.

Although these people were there not only to greet guests but also to protect the casino's security, for the wealthy, seeing people who didn't belong to their circle brandishing weapons around them would cause unease.

Inside the entire casino, in areas with gambling tables, there were no security guards, only waiters, dealers, and escort girls.

The moment Rogerov's first foot stepped into the hall, a girl who looked only twenty-three or four years old, wearing a long red dress and with a sweet face, naturally took Rogerov's arm and led him towards the counter.

The main job of these escort girls was to accompany the guests for a pleasant evening. The casino would tell the guests that they did not provide prostitution services.

But at the same time, they would also tell the guests that if the guests used their charm to impress the escort girls, then they could take them away.

There was nothing more worthwhile for these middle-aged men to be happy about than winning money and also gaining a young and beautiful girl who admired them in every way!

The income of the escort girls mainly came from this aspect.

Tips and overnight fees.

It was said that the most a girl had ever received was twenty thousand for just sleeping in a hotel with her client!

This also led to the quality of the escort girls here becoming higher and higher. They might be college students, they might be management elites in companies, or they might be middle-class housewives who needed some extra income…

Before even approaching the counter, the two girls inside the counter bowed to Rogerov.

"Good evening, sir, how can we help you?"

They were standing, always standing.

In such an occasion, there was no reason for the distinguished customers to stand while the humble staff sat. Therefore, there were no chairs inside the counter, and everyone had to stand for six hours straight.

Standing for six hours every day brought them an income of about fifty yuan per month. It seemed like a hard but low-paying job.

However, the truth was not so. Working here, the salary was only the most insignificant part. The real income came from tips.

From the ten or twenty yuan bills that the guests carried, to chips with a minimum denomination of one hundred yuan, if they were lucky, the amount of tips they received each month could be ten times, even dozens of times their salary.

If they were willing to put in some extra effort, then their income would be even higher.

Without anyone urging them, they would truly treat every guest like a god!

The gentleman who came in was carrying a suitcase. He put the suitcase on the counter and pushed it in, "Change it into chips."

The counter girl quickly opened the suitcase, which was full of twenty yuan bills, each stack containing one hundred bills, which was two thousand yuan.

There were a total of… twenty stacks here, which was forty thousand yuan.

Forty thousand yuan was a lot of gambling money in other places, but here, it was not much.

Soon the chips were exchanged according to Rogerov's request. Rogerov noticed that they put the empty suitcase aside and labeled it with a "member number". There were quite a few boxes there!

"Looks like it's going to be crowded tonight."

The counter girl spread the counted chips on the red velvet cushion and put them into the chip box after the guest confirmed them. "Yes, today is the weekend, it's very crowded at night!"

"Here are your chips."

The guest left a twenty yuan tip, and entered the casino amidst the girl's thanks, carrying the chip box.

He came to the window on the second floor and lit a cigarette…

Lans, seeing Rogerov smoking by the window through binoculars, pulled down his headgear and patted the driver's seat.

The modified convoy broke through the curtain of shadows from the dark alley into the moonlight. There were still cars on the street at night, as lively as during the day. This somewhat strange convoy attracted the attention of some passersby.

But when they entered the Koda Club, the attention obviously decreased.

Rich people are always like this, doing unexpected things.

Five cars lined up outside the entrance of the club. The employee in charge of greeting was stunned for a moment, but still went up to greet them very responsibly.

Before he could get close, the car doors were all opened with a whoosh. Before he could react, his face was full of astonishment. Lans raised his hand and fired a shot after getting out of the car.

The weapon was equipped with a silencer. The people on the steps were hit one after another in the low-decibel gunshots and rolled down the steps.

Lans walked up the steps while glancing at his watch and tapping the surface.

From now on, seven minutes!

He walked in the front, taking two or three steps forward in one stride. The others followed closely behind, each holding a weapon with a silencer.

Using weapons with silencers was to delay the possibility of being discovered and reported to the police as much as possible.

In this situation, even gaining ten or twenty seconds could mean running a block further than the police and the Koda family's pursuers.

A block might be the key to shaking off the pursuers.

Several security guards in casino uniforms were walking towards this side by the magnificent and tall gate. They were stunned when they saw the people rushing up wearing headgear. Before their hands could touch the corners of their clothes, let alone the weapons at their waists, they fell to the ground and rolled down.

When Lans rushed into the main entrance, although some staff members were looking out, they did not have any sense of crisis and did not realize what was happening.

This was the Koda family's casino. No one would be so blind as to come here to cause trouble!

Until they saw these thugs with guns rushing in.

Alan rushed to the counter, stuck the explosives on the glass wall, and turned on the switch. Everyone else hid.

Before the staff inside the counter realized what was happening, the explosion suddenly sounded!

The customized bulletproof glass curtain wall instantly shattered into a white wall under the impact of the explosion, and at the same time, a large hole was blown out directly where the bomb was attached!

Glass shards splashed everywhere.

At the same time, the alarm suddenly rang.

This was not an underground casino, this was a licensed legal federal casino, the kind that paid taxes.

Like a bank, it had a very reliable alarm system—

The alarm system had been developed when the telephone was invented. Just press a button, and the electrical signal would be sent to the police station's dedicated duty office.

They would call to ask if it was a false alarm. If it was a false alarm, the duty officer would cancel the alarm.

If it was not a false alarm, the police station would dispatch police officers to the scene.

Banks, financial enterprises, and places where large amounts of cash might be involved were connected to such alarm systems.

The moment the alarm rang, the police station had already received the alarm, and they would arrive here soon!

Lans had thick gloves on his left hand. After tearing off a piece of glass residue that was about to fall, he took the lead and entered the counter.

Inside the counter, and the people in the vault behind the counter, only then did they react. Immediately, someone wanted to push the vault door and close the vault, but it was a little late. Lans raised his hand and shot, and one by one they fell to the ground after being shot.

Many people always chose the wrong behavior at the wrong time, and it was not worth it for some companies.

In just a few seconds, the vault door was brought under control.

At the same time, the people outside opened the counter door, and they pushed in two small carts.

Lans grabbed a travel bag on the small cart at random, opened the zipper and threw it at his feet, grabbed the travel bag with one hand, and scooped the neatly stacked money on the table into the bag with the other.

The young people who came in immediately after were shocked by this scene, a room full of money, and gold bars!

They immediately joined the team of robbing money!

Ston was checking this month's account book upstairs when he suddenly felt the house under his feet shake.

The soundproofing of the room was very good. He did not hear the explosion, but he immediately frowned.

He walked to the window and glanced down. Many people in the casino hall were moving towards the direction of the door, as if something had happened.

But he could not see from where he was. He immediately picked up the phone, "What happened downstairs?"

The voice in the receiver was full of panicked unease, and he could still hear some gunshots, "Someone used a bomb to blow up the counter…"

"F**k!"

"Have people stop them!"

The person answering the phone was stunned for a moment. How to stop them?

With their bodies?

"We are trying!"

"F**k!" Ston was completely distraught. He ran back behind his desk, took out the spare pistol and magazine from the drawer, kicked open the door and ran towards the stairs.

The elevator would take a while, it was better to run now.

The hall was already in chaos. Gunshots were the thing that scared these rich people the most!

They had money, power, and social status. They lived in this world to enjoy life!

And bullets could just take everything away from them!

Looking at the riot, the frightened and panicked customers, and then glancing at the doorway where the firefight was taking place, Ston could only grit his teeth and start to appease these customers.

He knew very well that even if he went to the door, he would not be able to change anything.

He wasn't some superhero capable of directly confronting bullets that could kill him.

Nor was he some super sharpshooter, capable of taking down an enemy with every bullet.

He was just an ordinary mob boss, not particularly accurate with a gun, and only able to withstand a bullet or two. His presence on the battlefield wouldn't bring about any direct change; in fact, it might even make things worse—

The guards and gunmen would have to divide their attention to take care of him. After all, if he died, Gaoli and Bandi would go crazy!

By this time, Lance had nearly filled the duffel bag at his feet. He zipped it up, tossed it back into the car, and then started on the second bag.

Inside the vault were rows of tables, each piled high with neatly stacked banknotes. The entire space reeked of the stench of money and corruption!

He glanced at his watch; there was still a minute and a half before the security event…

Four police cars sped out of the police station, heading rapidly towards the club. Sirens blared, and many cars on the road proactively pulled over.

This actually had little to do with the civic-mindedness of the Federals; they simply didn't want to get into trouble—

If their failure to yield the right-of-way led to the failure to stop a crime, it was possible that the prosecutor or the victims would haul them into court.

They were afraid of becoming defendants, of having to spend large sums of money to defend themselves, so they took the initiative to avoid trouble, not because they possessed some lofty moral character.

However, outside the Federation, they would say that this was the noble sentiment cultivated by the sweet air.

A thin man gulped down a large mouthful of alcohol. He was as skinny as a bamboo pole, so emaciated that he looked completely different.

But he had a large belly, the skin stretched so tightly from its size that the blood vessels were clearly visible.

As the alcohol went down his throat, his eyes turned slightly red. Watching the approaching police lights, he floored the accelerator.

As the truck and the police cars were about to pass each other, he suddenly yanked the steering wheel!

The truck's cab swung sharply, slamming a load of heavy cargo into the first police car.

The police car driver didn't even have time to react before being hit head-on.

The car instantly began to compress and crumple, sparks flying on the ground, causing the following police cars to rear-end each other and come to a halt.

Finally, the truck, with the first police car pinned to its front, crashed into a phone booth on the side of the road. Even then, the front wheels were still spinning…

Two young men on the side of the road glanced at the scene and quietly left, leaving behind only a few police officers, bloodied and bewildered, emerging from the police cars to call for help.

The officers quickly reported the news here to the police station, and the police radio immediately began dispatching units. Some officers were sent to assist at the car accident scene, while others were sent to reinforce the casino.

Clearly, these events were highly likely to be related!

Inside the casino, several large bags of money were piled on a small trolley, while another trolley was loaded with gold bars. Lance glanced at his watch; it was almost time.

He said the word 'Withdraw,' and everyone immediately stopped what they were doing, dumped the loot onto the trolleys, and headed outside.

Lance was the last to leave. Standing at the door, he grabbed a Molotov cocktail that had been placed there, lit it, and tossed it into the vault, followed by a second, a third…

The entire vault instantly erupted in flames. The raging fire ignited all the banknotes and even some artwork that hadn't been taken away!

Some gamblers, desperate after losing everything, would even bring family heirlooms to exchange for chips.

The casino provided art as collateral service, but the prices weren't very high.

The raging flames devoured everything inside. Lance took one last look, then left without turning back, pushing the trolley along with him.

Finally, Lance took out two hand grenades and threw them into the lobby to cut off pursuit.

The loud explosions finally made people realize that the casino was being robbed!

They rushed down the steps, threw the duffel bags into the cars, pushed the trolley loaded with gold bars directly into the car, and the five cars immediately turned and sped away towards the outskirts of the city…

Hunter had just finished his evening's entertainment when he was alarmed by a call from the police station. He immediately had officers drive him to the Korda family's casino, where the scene was already in utter chaos.

He arrived here about ten minutes later, and Bandi and Gaoli arrived with the same smell of alcohol on them.

As Bandi got out of the car, the fire in the vault had already been extinguished.

Three fire trucks were spraying water into the vault. The fire didn't last long before it was put out.

Bandi looked down at the water flowing down the steps, along with fragments of banknotes the size of a thumb.

Everything around it had been burned to ashes, leaving only a clear '20' visible. He bent down and picked up this 'mutilated coin' of twenty dollars from the water. 'How much did we lose?'

Stone felt a sense of fear for the first time. He didn't know how to answer the question.

Another car also stopped nearby, and Fleming came over with the same smell of alcohol on him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. 'What happened?'

But right now, no one could answer his question.

Stone lowered his head and said, 'About five or six million, and some artwork and gold…'

Bandi staggered, and Gaoli immediately supported him to prevent him from falling. If his blood pressure were measured now, it would be off the charts!

In fact, the money that Lance and his men had stolen wasn't much in the overall loss. The real loss was the fire that Lance set before he left, which burned almost all of the remaining banknotes and artwork.

This was no longer a simple matter of losing seven or eight or eight or nine million. They lost this money, which means that this money has already been lost.

At the same time, they still needed to pay at least two or three million in 'gambling funds' for tonight. Those customers who exchanged money for chips would soon be demanding to exchange the chips back into cash!

They would have to take out extra money to redeem these chips. Their losses were enormous!

After a dozen seconds, Bandi's condition improved slightly. 'Who did this?'

Hunter, who was standing nearby, refocused his attention and eavesdropped intently.

'I don't know. They were wearing hoods. No one spoke, and no one saw who they were.'

‘But I suspect…’ Stone looked at Bandi, ‘…it might have been Lance and his people who did it.’

Bandi frowned, understanding the whole process. He already had a guess, and in fact, everyone had a guess—the Lance family.

Only they were most likely to do this. The Korda family had been established in Goldport City for so many years that no one had dared to challenge them for many years, except in the early days.

If anyone could break the rules of this city, then there was only one possibility: Lance, and his people!

Bandi turned to look at Hunter. Hunter was a little embarrassed because he was very close to this group of people and was obviously eavesdropping.

‘Did you hear that?’

‘We have a suspect. What you should be doing now is arresting them!’