Shadow Empire

Chapter 829: Food that cannot be wasted

The door of the restaurant was opened and Lance walked in from outside. He stood at the door, took off his hat and coat, and glanced around the hall.

There was only one table left in the entire restaurant hall, and the other tables and chairs were put together and pushed against the wall.

Lance booked the restaurant, so today they are the only table of people here.

"Am I late?" he said as he walked to his seat and raised his wrist to check his watch.

The time they agreed on is now. It can only be said that he came at the right time, and these people came too early.

The smallest guy immediately had a flattering smile on his face, "We are a little early, Mr. Lance, you are just in time."

Lance walked over to his seat, and Erwin pulled out a chair for him. He sat down and motioned for them to sit down, "Who are you?"

The short man's eyes widened in surprise, "Mike, Mr. Lance."

Lance nodded, "Mike, I'll remember that."

He looked at the others, who then introduced themselves.

Erwin had already gone to notify the chef to serve the food, so Lance still had some time to chat with them.

"During this period..." He placed his hands on the table, interlaced his ten fingers, but quickly separated them again, "something happened."

"Some people don't know me, don't understand me, so there are some misunderstandings between us."

"When I came to New Bern, I was attracted by the simple rural scenery here. I am not here to compete with you, but it is obvious that some people mistakenly think that I bring stronger competition."

"So that you chose the wrong option in the subsequent choices."

The short man kept nodding, as if every word Lance said touched his heart. Although the others were not as exaggerated as him, their expressions had also eased a lot.

Lance's eyes kept moving over them. He thought it was a very interesting thing. They couldn't see the future clearly, nor could they see the death star flashing above their heads.

"Some people think that gangs are gangs."

"The gangs in 1024 are no different from the gangs in 924."

"We fought, seized territory, collected protection money, forced those girls to stand on the streets, kidnapped, blackmailed, extorted, robbed, and stole..."

He listed many criminal activities, "People think we use crime to get as much wealth as possible, to get anything we want."

"They think we are no different than we were in the past, and even some of us, ourselves, think we are no different than we were in the past."

"What the gangs did before is what we are doing now."

“But I don’t quite agree with that.”

He pulled out his cigarette and took out one. Erwin was still feeling for a match, so the short Mike took out his lighter and came over to light it for him.

Lance smiled and patted his arm as a token of gratitude.

"Society is progressing, and so are the gangs. We can't always look at the gangs of the new era with the eyes of the past."

"We don't have to do what we did in the past, grabbing territory, forcing girls to stand on the streets, or doing things that hurt others to make money for ourselves."

“Now there are more and better choices than before!”

“The option to make more money.”

He took a puff of his cigarette and then slowly exhaled, "Capitalists have been talking about 'industrialization'. What is 'industrialization'?"

He looked at these five idiots. Their eyes showed the clarity and innocence that only college students have. They were so stupid!

Lance laughed twice, flicked the ash off his cigarette, and said with a smile, "To put it simply, it is an organizational and business activity with a purpose and scale to create a brand effect."

"Ultimately, we have transformed from a criminal organization into a company with a vague positioning but not hated by people. In a sense, this has become a transformation."

Lance spoke very excitedly, but the five people at the table didn't know why he was saying this or what the hell was the point of saying this!

Lance was actually just bored and talked about his views on the family and its future development direction.

Several officials of the Lance family standing in the distance were pondering what Lance had said.

At this moment, they felt more deeply that there was a huge difference between the Lance family and these second-rate gangs.

Including the Jingang City shopping family, or the five major families in the Federation, there are huge differences between them.

This difference may be what Lance calls "industrialization". He wants to turn the mafia into an industry rather than just a criminal group.

Sometimes without comparison, people don’t know there is a gap. Now with comparison, some problems that were previously incomprehensible have become easy to interpret and understand.

Lance continued, "I know you may not understand or care, and that's normal because there is a huge gap between us!"

He gestured briefly and said, "It is precisely because there is a huge gap between us that misunderstandings arise."

"The elephant was just resting its feet while walking, but the ant thought the elephant was aiming at it. Fortunately, Carl, I, and that person have resolved the misunderstanding."

"This is also one of the reasons why I asked you out. How can we resolve the misunderstanding between us?"

Meier understood what he said, and he quickly said, "Mr. Lance, we do have some responsibility for this matter, but the main responsibility lies with the local police chief and the state police chief. They forced us to do this."

"If we don't, they'll come after us!"

The oldest guy here, who had gray hair, also agreed, "That's right, Mr. Lance."

"You know, we are different from giants like the Lance Family. To you, we are just a small and insignificant gang."

"We don't have much capital to resist the police, so..."

He hesitated, "We are willing to pay the price to undo this mistake!"

Lance looked at the others, "Do you think the same?"

The others nodded one after another. At this time, the old man with gray hair said, "Mr. Lance, before you came, we had already discussed it. In principle, we are willing to accept the management and constraints of the Lance family."

Lance nodded noncommittally and repeated one of the sentences, "In principle!"

Agree means agree, disagree means disagree, what does "in principle" mean?

In principle, we can agree to it, but because the details have not been finalized and it cannot meet their demands, we still do not agree to it now.

Lance smiled and shook his head. They hadn't figured out who had the final say in this matter.

Just at this time, the chef started serving the dishes. The prices of these dishes were not expensive, but rather very affordable.

Before coming to Federal, many people always fantasize that the income in Federal is very high and people can eat in restaurants or fast food restaurants every day.

But in fact, even real federals don’t often eat in restaurants, especially formal restaurants, because they are too expensive.

This is often the case. The refugees from Slade always feel that the Federation should be the best choice and that this should be a paradise for refugees like them.

Only after they arrived did they realize that this was hell on earth.

This restaurant has been in business for many years and is known for its affordability and low price. Lance heard about it when he was looking for a suitable venue.

Humans always have a desire for delicious food, which is also the most primitive desire, so he chose this place.

Because the waiters and cooks were constantly involved in the serving process, they did not continue the conversation for the time being.

After all the dishes were served, the gray-haired old man continued, "We have some ideas of our own."

Lance let him continue as he laid out the napkin while he took up his knife and fork and took some food to put on his plate, "I'm a little hungry, do you mind?"

Several people shook their heads, but it was obvious that they had no appetite and no one touched their knives and forks. Only Lance was eating.

While eating, he asked, "What do you think?" "Mr. Lance, we hope to keep our territory and our business. As for the rest, we can continue to discuss."

"This beef rib tastes good!" Lance commented. It is a typical Federal charcoal-grilled beef rib. It doesn't look that good on the outside, but it tastes very delicious.

It is not grilled to a tough tough, basically medium rare, with a lot of blood and gravy locked in the beef ribs.

This type of roasting always uses large pieces of beef ribs instead of small pieces. Only in this way can it be guaranteed that the juice will not be lost too much.

Its flavor is slightly different from that in Jingang City and Likalai State. They use more spices to make the barbecue more fragrant and juicy.

Take a bite and you’ll taste the fat, blood, gravy, and the fully cooked and tender fat and muscles. No one can resist the temptation to eat meat!

Seeing how happily Lance was eating, a few people also felt a little hungry, but now they were more concerned about their subsequent survival.

Lance swallowed the food in his mouth, "What else?"

He glanced at the gray-haired old man who was speaking, "Are these not the only ideas you have?"

"anything else?"

"Tell me what other ideas you have."

The gray-haired old man was a little surprised. He looked at the others. After they exchanged glances for a moment, the gray-haired old man gritted his teeth and continued, "After we obey the management of the Lance family, we are one. We hope to get the best-selling wine from you at a more favorable price."

"You just said it, Mr. Lance, that you have wine with a more advantageous price. We can have more extensive cooperation in this regard."

"We can also help you promote it throughout the state of Indenor..."

He began to talk about the advantages they believed they had, that they were the local bosses here, although perhaps the weakest.

They have some connections with some gangs in the surrounding cities, and can help Lance open up sales channels in the surrounding cities faster and better. Of course, they have to sell it themselves instead of handing the channels over to Lance.

Lance nodded noncommittally, enjoying his food while letting them continue talking.

Lance's "indulgence" made them feel... Lance seemed easy to talk to. They all expressed their own ideas and tested each other cautiously.

Some people also suggested doing business with Lance, while others suggested that Lance didn't need to waste his energy on controlling the city.

They can totally do it for you.

The Lance family makes the rules and they enforce them, which sounds pretty good.

Lance didn't get angry at the stupid things they said, he just listened and found it interesting and enjoyable.

When he had almost finished eating and had tasted some of his favorite foods, he took out his pocket handkerchief, wiped his hands, and handed it to Erwin.

A pocket square is a decorative handkerchief that is inserted into the chest pocket, but it is definitely not just for decoration, it also has practical uses and value.

They didn't quite understand as they watched Erwin take the bright red handkerchief to the door and then throw it out.

Lance suddenly spoke, drawing their attention back from outside.

"Actually...I was thinking about one thing before I came here."

He lit another cigarette, and the guy named Mike came over and lit it for him. He smiled, nodded, and said thank you. His attitude was very easy-going and he didn't look like he was about to get angry at all.

Even as he was speaking, outside on the street, the people brought by the five gang leaders, their confidants, and some elite members of their gangs were standing in small groups separately, communicating about something.

Compared to the nervousness or other emotions of the "big shots" in the room, they seemed a lot more relaxed.

The boss is dead, so it's nothing more than a new boss. And a lot of people came today, with at least one or two hundred people from the five gangs combined.

Even if they can't reach an agreement today, there is a high probability that there won't be a fight, so they seem very relaxed.

When they saw a bright red handkerchief being thrown out of the restaurant door by a guy, people's eyes followed the bright red handkerchief flying up in the wind and then slowly falling down.

The windows of the buildings on both sides of the street were opened, and a large group of people leaned out of the windows with submachine guns and pulled the trigger at those standing on the street who were not wearing the same clothes as them.

This time they did not use small-caliber submachine guns, but normal pistol bullets.

The white powder that kept being stirred up on the ground caused these people to be harvested before they could react. By the time they reacted, it was already a little too late.

The dense gunfire outside the restaurant, like a rainstorm, instantly made the five leaders in the restaurant stand up, but they sat back down soon.

Because the men behind Lance pulled out their guns, killed one of the men they brought in, and then pointed the guns at them.

Lance took a deep puff of his cigarette and said, "I've been wondering whether I should let you go."

He rubbed his forehead with his ring finger and middle finger of the hand holding the cigarette. Fortunately, he took a shower today, so no strips were left.

His eyes lingered on these people's faces one by one, observing their expressions and their eyes. "I considered giving you a chance, but I think it's not necessary."

"Because even if an elephant crushes some ants to death, no one will blame the elephant. They will only say that the ants are arrogant and want to compete with the elephant."

"New Bermingham City doesn't need so many gangs, and it doesn't need you either."

The little Mike shouted anxiously, "Mr. Lance, Mr. Lance!"

"We don't want anything, we can just leave this city!"

The other people also looked unhappy, and a middle-aged man echoed, "What they just said was just a joke, it's just their thoughts, it has nothing to do with us!"

"We are here just to say goodbye to you later. I have already planned to give up my gang career completely and return to a normal life."

"Lance scared you to death..."

He took another drag on his cigarette and exhaled slowly, "Goodbye, gentlemen."

Gunshots rang out in the restaurant. He just sat there, a cigarette in his hand, and calmly watched five people's heads being blown up by bullets, and watched them slide down the chairs to the ground.

Lance took the napkin and dabbed at a small damp spot on his face, a little blood splattering onto him.

He curled his lips and looked at the table full of food splattered with blood, feeling a little sorry.

The food here isn't expensive, but it's definitely not cheap either.

The gunshots outside alarmed the police officers in charge of traffic control on both sides of the street. When they were about to do something, the police officer in charge of supervising the work on the scene sternly reminded them not to do anything!

This is also one of the usual attitudes of the police, letting these evil forces fight each other, and when the fight is almost over, the police will come in to clean up the mess.

The young policeman thought it would be the same this time, so he just stood at the street corner with a stern face, persuading those who wanted to watch the excitement to leave.

There were frequent gunshots inside, and there was a high possibility of ricochets. At the same time, he was shocked because the gunshots were too frequent!
After two or three minutes, the gunshots completely stopped and Lance finished his cigarette.

The room was filled with a warm, fishy smell, a smell that was difficult to describe, caused by the presence of large amounts of blood in a closed environment.

Just by smelling it, you can imagine that the blood must be boiling hot.

He stood up, and Erwin and Ennio led the people out of the restaurant first. They checked outside.

Large numbers of gang members wearing iron-gray windbreakers, fedora hats, and bright red armbands walked out of the entrances of the surrounding buildings, holding submachine guns.

They shot again at the bodies lying on the ground, which looked like they were not dead.

Reloading a gun has always been a fine tradition of the Lance family, including in the restaurant.

Ten bodies that were deader than dead were also shot by them.

When Lance walked out of the restaurant, they were the only people still standing on the entire street!

The sunlight shone down, and he squinted slightly, looking at the sun in the sky.

It’s a nice day today!

(End of this chapter)