Shadow Empire

Chapter 500: Die Like a Warrior and the Ledger

"Huchi..."

"Huchi..."

Eugene almost instinctively protected both sides of his head with his hands, and the whole world seemed to be spinning with his breathing!
He felt like he was going to die.

Every punch Ethan throws is like a car hitting him directly in the face!

After just a few punches, he realized that he would not survive the night.

Blood kept flowing from the wound on his face. The only sounds he could hear were his wife's suppressed cries and his son's begging voice.

He glanced towards his wife and children, and vaguely heard a "buzzing" sound in his ear. The next second, a huge force burst out from his ear, and he was knocked flying sideways!
The whole world was dim and gloomy. The flickering lights stretched the shadows of the people on the ground very long, like demons from hell, constantly swaying, twisting, and approaching him.

He was panting heavily, supporting his body with his hands and trying to get up, but the punch was too heavy and his balance system was destroyed, at least for a short time, so he couldn't get up at all.

Lance stood not far from him and looked at him, with no other expression on his face, no pity, no sympathy, only indifference.

He held a cigarette in his hand and smoked it casually.

This kind of person deserves no sympathy.

If Ethan didn't have such good physical fitness, perhaps his career would have been affected.

Since you have decided to do something extraordinary, don't refuse to be treated extraordinary.

"Kang Mang, stand up!" Ethan stood behind him.

Eugene lay on the ground and looked at Lance and the others for a while, then looked at his son and wife, and he barely supported his body.

As soon as he stood up, he suddenly tilted to one side and staggered several steps before he regained his footing.

He slowly and unsteadily moved in front of Ethan, raised his arm and punched him in the face with an almost powerless fist.

His own blood from his fist adhered to Ethan's face, as if he had injured him.

He punched Ethan twice more, like a child playing with a grown man.

He even tried to move a little, adding some steps.

Lance frowned slightly, "Give him some respect."

When Eugene, whose consciousness was already a little fuzzy, heard these words, he seemed to relax completely. He looked back at his wife and children again, as if he wanted to remember their appearance firmly in his mind.

"I'm sorry..." He moved his lips but didn't have the chance to say it.

Ethan's hook hit him in the abdomen, and he felt his whole body was "clenched", as if a tendon was suddenly stirred, and he subconsciously curled up his body.

Immediately afterwards, Ethan grabbed his hair and lifted him up. He looked at Ethan with dim eyes through the gap in his swollen face, and watched Ethan pull his fist back to its full length.

Perhaps in that moment of distraction, an iron fist hit his cheek...

He could feel the bones in his face whimpering and breaking.

A hot stream spurted out of the nasal cavity, but... it was not blood, it was pink and slightly transparent.

what is this?

As he was thinking, his thoughts gradually solidified, as if frozen, and he finally fell into darkness.

he died.

Instead of throwing him away like a rag, Ethan laid him on the ground.

At least, he dared to attack Ethan in an absolutely desperate situation, which at least let people know that he is not a coward.

Lance scratched his eyebrows and glanced at Eugene's son. There was a hint of hatred in the young man's evasive eyes.

He sighed softly, took a puff of the cigarette, stroked his cheek with the thumb of the hand holding the cigarette, and turned to walk outside.

Eugene's son and wife looked at these people in horror. Hiram stood out from the crowd, holding his right wrist with his left hand, and holding a pistol in his right hand.

“The Lord will forgive me!”

Bang, bang!

The next morning, Eugene's body was dumped at the gate of Jingang Casino by a car, and the news was immediately reported to the leaders of two generations of the Kodak family.

Bandy's face looked extremely grim as he looked at Eugene's body lying in the middle of the warehouse, but Gao Li became calm.

"I've told you before that the tricks you use against others won't work on them." Gao Li was calm because he had already "seen" the outcome.

Bandy's methods are very useful to other families in Jingang City, including small gangs and small families.

They have been in Jingang City for so long that their interests have become highly unified with the interests of Jingang City.

It's like... a parasite. It's very weak at the beginning and won't be too picky about the big tree it wants to parasitize because its requirements are very few.

Big trees, small trees, crooked trees and even low shrubs can all become its parasites, and it can obtain nutrients for growth from these plants.

But as it continues to grow, become stronger, and reproduce, its size and number become larger and larger, and small plants can no longer feed it, so it can only look for big trees.

At this time, it fears the death of big trees more than other plants, because the death of big trees means that it cannot obtain nutrients, which means that it will decline or even die with the big trees.

The same is true for gangs. In the beginning, they may be able to survive by extorting some shops.

But as their territory continues to expand, their manpower continues to increase, and their expenses become larger and larger, they hope to gain benefits from this city more than others.

The interests of this city are basically clear, and the ownership of 90 percent of the wealth has been determined before they are born.

No one wants accidents to happen because accidents represent risks.

In the past, Bandy used his influence in various aspects and the close ties among the five major families to always run the city well.

But now it’s no longer possible, because an “outsider” has joined the game and he doesn’t follow Bandy’s ideas.

He doesn't care about order, or whether everyone can continue to make stable money, he just wants his own!

A spoiler!
Bandy glanced at Gowri, "What do you want to do?"

Gao Li shook his neck and said, "We are a gang, so of course we will solve it in a gang way."

What other methods can the gangs use? Nothing more than gunfights, fighting, and death.

Bandy couldn't help but let out a bitter smile, "We spent more than 20 years trying to whitewash ourselves..."

"But now it's possible that all our efforts will be destroyed."

Whitewashing has always been what Bandy desires most. He doesn't want the Kodak family to always be regarded as "Kodak's useful tool" in the eyes of those upper-class gentlemen.

Not only did he have to get down from the dining table, he also had to squeeze to the side of the table and find a seat of his own as a diner.

It is undoubtedly better to eat others than to be eaten by others.

Gao Li did not refute him immediately, but asked, "We can also give in this time and let everyone find out that we are not as strong as they think."

"Then those small gangs also started to try to provoke us. They opened casinos and competed with us for business. What should we do?"

"Call the police?"

"Use the law to deal with them?"

"Kang Mang, Bandy, we are gangsters, not law-abiding citizens!"

"I have no objection to you whitewashing yourself, but you can't forget how we survived just to whitewash yourself."

He looked at Fleming, "Your father may have some misunderstandings about your situation outside, why don't you tell him?"

Fleming didn't expect the fire to spread to his body. He scratched his head and said, "Ah... well, I don't know how to talk about this."

"They would be a little afraid of me because of our gang status. Apart from the five major families, I don't actually have many close upper-class friends."

Bandy actually knew about this situation, but he was just not willing to face it.

Gao Li's hands tapped on the table twice. "The mafia has been integrated into our blood, even if you wash it so clean that there is not a trace of black left."

"As long as they decide to serve us on the table, then we are black!"

"You make the decision, but I hope that before you make the decision, you can think carefully about what we will gain, lose, and face by doing this!" Eugene's death and his body being thrown outside the door of the Jingang Casino caused a huge commotion in the entire Jingang City!
The past two years have been particularly... bad for Jingang City. There have been wars both inside and outside the city, and a war to split the five major families. All kinds of bad things have happened one after another, and now it is the turn of the battle between the new forces and the old forces.

Someone immediately spread some details and reasons of the incident, as well as the two parties in the conflict.

There is no doubt that beneath the seemingly calm surface of Jingang City, it is not as calm as it seems.

Some people look forward to their fights and hope to gain benefits from them. Order is always rebuilt after complete destruction, without exception!
After Congressman Williams learned the news, he called Lance and asked him to meet.

Soon Lance appeared in Congressman Williams' study, along with James and Arthur.

"Sit down, have something to drink?" Senator Williams greeted him at the door of the study. Before that, Arthur welcomed him in from the outside, and then he met James in the living room, and then they walked up together.

Being able to stand at the door of the study to greet Lance is the greatest respect that Senator Williams can show right now!

After all, you don't want a soon-to-be mayor running outside to greet a gang leader when the weather isn't even warm enough.

Lance sat in the chair across from Senator Williams' desk. "Tea, no sugar."

Federal people like to add sugar to their tea, some like to add milk, and some like to add fruit juice, but they don't like pure tea.

Soon the butler brought a pot of brewed black tea, which contained some flower petals in addition to black tea. This might be the biggest compromise they could make.

"I heard about what happened over the past two days, and I have no intention of accusing you of anything, Lance."

"It's just that I feel... aren't you being a little impulsive?"

"This is not the Lance I know."

His smiling face didn't reveal his true thoughts at all. Lance picked up the teacup by the handle and took a sip.

The mellow aroma of black tea also has some floral notes, which makes the taste complex but not unpleasant.

"Some things you want to do, you just do them." He put down his teacup, "and I don't think I was too impulsive."

"The New Gold City is waiting for us to send a lot of benefits there, and Senator Cleveland is in need of money right now."

"I can't rely on the money from selling alcohol to support his activities in Congress."

Councilman Williams nodded, "Indeed."

Socializing is expensive, and political socializing is even more expensive!
Everyone has a price, from the homeless man on the street to the President in the presidential palace, they all have a price and a price.

If you invite a city councillor to participate in an event and book him a standard room for three dollars, he will be very satisfied and think you are a sensible person.

But if you invite a senator and let him stay in a standard room, he will think there is something wrong with you.

In Jingang City, before Mr. Jobaf died, he would spend tens of thousands of dollars on every formal social event of the mayor.

In a megacity like Shinjin, a social event with top tycoons and politicians could cost hundreds of thousands, or even more.

If Senator Cleveland wants to continue to expand his influence in Congress, he needs to win more people to support him.

Political interests, capital interests, and money.

He needs these.

Of course, Lance is not the only one who provides him with benefits. There are many other people who provide him with benefits. This kind of thing can only be considered as too little, not too much.

Councilman Williams did not refute, and his candidacy for mayor was almost a foregone conclusion.

He and James calculated that he would have to come up with at least 1.2 million to satisfy each hungry mouth.

However, he could understand Lance's thoughts, but he didn't understand why he would declare war on such a large group so quickly.

"I still don't quite understand. We can break it down and take it step by step."

"Charlie and Hunter and these clowns, those people in the Bay Area, and then the Kodak family, will it be less difficult this way?"

Originally, Congressman Williams had some small thoughts in his mind, but now that he saw Lance talking about these things so calmly and steadily, it seemed that the things he was worried about were unlikely to happen.

Lance smiled and said, "Because it's too late."

Congressman Williams raised his eyebrows, which made his eye sockets look much bigger. He leaned back in his chair, and the sunlight shone through the glass window and fell on him.

He raised his hand, wrist turned outward, "Can you tell me?"

James has completely focused his attention. He feels that this is a very important lesson.

Arthur, on the other hand, seemed a little bored. His mother had urged him to come over, otherwise he would have preferred to hang out with Corinda.

The girl was completely different from the ones he had seen before, full of wildness and danger that fascinated him.

It's incredible to say the least, but Kolinda actually poked his ass with the barrel of a gun... but it must be said that having more experience in sex made him feel great!
It's very exciting, a kind of excitement that "weak" girls don't have.

He was thinking about the fun he had had these past few nights when James nudged him with his elbow. "Did you bring a lighter?"

Of course he did, and then he saw that Lance had taken the cigarette out of the pack, held it between two fingers, and put it to his lips.

Arthur immediately walked over to Lance, took out his lighter, and lit his cigarette for him.

"Thank you!", Lance said.

Arthur quickly smiled and said politely, "It's okay."

He ran back to James and sat down.

"Several reasons."

"The first reason is that the garrison is coming."

"Once the navy arrives, they will definitely be more reluctant than us to see changes in the city's structure."

"They don't mind small things, but they will definitely not allow changes that involve major changes in the city."

"When that happens, everything will freeze. Do you understand what I mean?"

Congressman Williams was a little surprised, but he kept nodding. He definitely understood, but he didn't expect Lance to be able to think so deeply.

He hadn't even thought about these issues, but he was sure that Lance's opinion was correct.

The purpose of the naval garrison is to ensure the conduct of the Federation’s maritime trade and the stability and security of Jingang City, an important port city.

Now the Federation has to import a lot of materials from overseas every year. If Jingang City is destroyed or unstable, it is likely to affect the development of the Federation.

They would certainly not agree to a large-scale gunfight breaking out in the city. No one knew whether it was just a gunfight or an invasion by enemy forces.

"The second reason is that the mayor is leaving soon, and there are some things that he can handle more conveniently than you, such as certain responsibilities."

Councillor Williams frowned.

Lance picked up the teacup and took a sip, then looked at James and Arthur who were sitting beside him. Councilman Williams immediately said, "Stay for dinner tonight."

He looked at James and said, "Go talk to the kitchen. The dishes we had last time were very delicious. Go keep an eye on them."

Then he looked at Arthur and said, "Ask your mother to be there tonight, and tell her not to run around."

James knew that they had something to talk about in private, so he stood up.

Although he was a little unwilling, he knew that when the time came for him to know, Congressman Williams would definitely tell him.

Arthur's situation was much simpler, he had long since stopped wanting to be here.

He knew his mother's good intentions, which were to let him have some exposure to family affairs so that he would not be completely controlled by James in the future.

But when he comes into contact with these high-end games now, it is like a person who has not even attended elementary school sitting directly in a university classroom. He can't understand a word at all!
He had no idea what the hints or metaphors were, so he naturally didn't mind being sent away.

After both of them left and closed the door from the outside, Lance put his hands on the armrests of the chair and said with a half-smile, "After I bought the red high heels, I found two account books under their floor."

"It records in detail that on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, a big shot in the Bay Area called Eagle Claw from their side."

"Whether these escorts were beaten, whether some did not come back, there were also some photos of girls, and their handwritten checks with signatures and even fingerprints on them."

Senator Williams took a breath, stared at Lance with wide eyes for a long time, and slowly uttered two words -

"Fake!"

(End of this chapter)