Empire of Shadows

Chapter 555: Ongoing [666+15]

Inside the room, everyone seemed a bit excited.

A smart and wise leader could bring a gang not only more prestige but also greater safety for its members.

In this surprise attack, the Keane family had almost no power to retaliate.

The assassination of several key executives who could obtain clear information in the morning forced them to only shrink the power of their executives.

They probably hadn't even discussed how to deal with this sudden attack when their bars were attacked in a way they couldn't have imagined.

Three bars were burned down, two were smashed, and two were riddled with bullet holes.

There couldn't be only a few bars in the city center; the number of bars definitely exceeded people's imagination, but the bad chain reaction brought about by this event was still undergoing a chemical reaction.

First of all, people were afraid to go to the Keane family's bars for a drink.

Who the hell knew if a group of people with weapons would suddenly rush in and start shooting at anyone they saw?

Even if the Lance family hadn't spread any malicious rumors, such as them shooting ordinary people, what if?

The gentlemen in the city center were not like the mud-legged thugs in the Imperial District or the Port District; they were all elites of society, representatives of the middle class, with monthly incomes of at least several hundred or even thousands of dollars.

If they lost a layer of skin, or even their lives, wouldn't that be a loss?

Where couldn't they drink, when couldn't they drink?

That night, the number of people in the Keane family's bars visibly decreased a lot.

Before the war between the two gangs ended, the bars' business would be affected.

Lance's bars were also affected, but the extent of the impact was relatively lower.

Those who came here to drink were all poor people.

The poorer they were, the more they loved to gamble.

The poorer they were, the more they loved to drink.

Why?

Because for the poor, three or five dollars couldn't make them middle class, let alone upper class.

But if three or five dollars could get them through three levels... well, if they could win three or five dollars, they would have a comfortable month.

And all they needed to do was put three or five dollars on the gambling table and then shout out their bets with a flushed face and hysteria.

Without these three or five dollars, the month would just be a little tighter, but with it, the month would be heaven!

So the poorer they were, the more they had to gamble, because only gambling could change their short-term living conditions.

Saving three or five dollars seemed meaningful, but where was the meaning?

Change their class?

Relying on saving three or five dollars a month to change their class was as ridiculous as President shouting about equality for all!

And why did the poor have to drink more?

Because life was too damn hard!

Only the intoxicating drunkenness could dispel the bitterness in people's hearts, even if they tightened their expenses, they hoped to fall asleep drunk at night.

Instead of thinking about their terrible and embarrassing living situation, that was for them to think about when they went to work tomorrow, not now.

For the middle class, alcohol could be drunk or not.

But for many poor people, alcohol was not just alcohol, but medicine, a medicine that could cure all diseases!

This was also the reason why the people in the room were happy.

They laughed loudly, talking about the interesting things they encountered while attacking the Keane family's bars and assassinating those executives.

Lance also sat on his large chair with his legs crossed, smiling, listening to them loudly narrating those interesting things.

Each of them was wearing a suit, and from the gold watches that were revealed when they occasionally raised their sleeves while holding a glass of wine or a cigarette, it could be seen that they each lived very well!

Clean and tidy handmade suits, good silk ties, gold watches, gold tie clips, various but definitely not cheap belt buckles, and pairs of mirror-polished leather shoes!

In addition to the wine glasses they held, the cigarettes, cigars, and the various luxury consumables that filled the coffee table, anyone would only think that this was a place where a group of wealthy people were having fun, not a black gang's lair!

"...That idiot looked at us with a dumbfounded expression the moment he opened the door, he even wanted to run..."

A young, only twenty-one-year-old "big boy" was narrating to others how he killed the Keane family executive in the guest room.

When he said that he walked into the room and shot all the bullets into that idiot's head, someone raised a glass.

"To the great Lance!"

The atmosphere and emotions were just right.

People raised their glasses one after another, and some even raised their bottles.

Lance also added some wine for himself and raised his glass.

"To all of us!"

"Cheers!"

Joyful laughter filled the entire room.

After a hearty victory, everyone looked at Lance as if they were looking at their god!

Lance put down his glass, took a puff of the cigarette in his hand, and then raised his hand to press down, silencing them.

"We've made a great start to this battle, but gentlemen, we can't be proud of it, and we can't relax our vigilance because of it."

"Before we tear off those people's heads and kick them as balls, we must be vigilant and wary."

"Because next, the battle will gradually become more anxious.

The Keane family is not those small gangs, who will retreat after being beaten a few times."

"This is the base of the five major families, they will not retreat, and there is nowhere to retreat."

"So they will definitely counterattack, we must fight resolutely and mercilessly!"

Lance looked at Bolton in the corner, whose importance had increased a lot, and who was now considered a core member.

However, he was still very cautious because he knew very well that his relationship with Lance was different from the relationship between others and Lance.

Rob would always be a hidden bomb between them, but at the same time, he was not completely without "insurance," Gerald was his insurance.

So he would try to keep a low profile.

The good news was that his new son had been born, which would make him feel more at ease and would also make Lance and the others feel more at ease.

He saw Lance's gaze looking at him and took the initiative to say, "Boss?"

Lance nodded slightly, "These days, let the old men on the streets use their eyes more, don't be stingy with money, and pay attention to the collection and distribution of information."

"Did you set up the centralized processing office that I asked you to do?"

As Lance's future territory grew larger and larger, the area Bolton had to manage would also become more and more.

Just one phone call was not enough, so Lance asked him to set up an office, not in the bank.

Because this place would become a place similar to an "information center," currently with twenty telephones, but in the future, it may have two hundred, or even more!

Those people not only had to receive information, but there were also people inside who had to analyze the information and process it, that is, to send the correct information to the correct hands.

This book is recently updated at ##!!update!

This was a very important job, and Lance was willing to give Bolton a chance, now that his whole family was under Lance's watch.

In addition to such high treatment, and Rob's thorn, he believed that Bolton would work harder than others to prove his value.

If others were not hardworking enough, Lance would at most not use them.

If Bolton was not hardworking enough, he might disappear.

Bolton quickly nodded, "It's already being done, I've sent out all the phone numbers, this time it's just right to verify the effect."

Lance was very satisfied with his attitude, "Work harder and keep an eye on it."

Then he looked at Elvin, who, like Bolton, shouted, "Boss."

"You also work hard, arrange and mobilize manpower, as long as they dare to come, we dare to eat them up."

"But pay attention to the method, pay attention to safety, and also show off our morale!"

Elvin said with a smile, "It sounds a bit complicated, but I believe I can do it well."

Lance still trusted this deputy very much.

Then he called out their names one by one and arranged their work.

Now that the police were on his side, he was able to let go completely.

After arranging everyone, he poured himself another glass of wine, "To victory!"

"Victory!"

The Keane family did begin to retaliate more frantically.

They kept sending people infiltrating the Imperial District.

This time they had learned to be smarter.

They didn't come in groups, just one or two cars, coming in from various places, and then finding Lance's bar, or someone they suspected was Lance's man, and launched an attack.

The streets began to become chaotic, with gunshots everywhere, which greatly affected Lance's business, but the Keane family was not doing well either, their losses were greater than Lance's side.

They came in one car with five people, and may not be able to kill a few of Lance's people, but they, along with their cars and weapons, would be left in the Imperial District.

This made many of the Keane family's lower-level gang members begin to feel fear and dread.

It seemed that being chosen to go on a mission was being arranged to die.

No one was willing to do such a one-way mission, although some could escape back, but that was ultimately just a minority.

The riots in the Imperial District quickly began to "spread" on a larger scale.

People now knew that the Lance family was not only fighting against the Coda family, but even the Keane family had been dragged into the water.

Two against one, fighting vibrantly, this was not a good sign for the Keane family and the Coda family.

The activities between some small gangs also became more frequent, they seemed to have also discovered the decline of the five major families and had some thoughts that they should not have.

When a tiger falls, not because it wants to rest, but because it is the moment it becomes prey!

Even Councilor Williams called Lance specifically to ask about the matter, first inquiring about when the current conflict would likely end, and second, whether he could hold out.

He found it somewhat unbelievable that Lance could carry two of the five major families on his back and keep running; for them, although the five major families were merely forces that couldn't see the light of day, they absolutely couldn't be underestimated.

They certainly had to abide by the rules, but if they were truly pushed to the brink, such as being almost driven into a desperate situation like now, the rules would be useless.

Rules restrict the living, not the dead.

Lance simply told him that it would be resolved before June!