Empire of Shadows

Gunfire is also fire.

The continuous flashes of fire illuminated the faces of the four men, and also illuminated the death knell of three of them!

The shop assistant still maintained that stunned look, slowly raising her hands, perhaps the thing she hated most at this moment was why she hadn't really fallen asleep just now.

The three people who were sitting at the dining table eating didn't even have time to react before they lost their ability to resist, and after a series of "ka, ka, ka" empty chamber sounds, they slowly lay on the ground.

Erwin released the submachine gun in his hand and handed it to the person next to him. He walked to the three men.

At this time, one of the three was not completely dead, and that was the senior cadre.

He was a little luckier, sitting in a position facing them.

When they took out their submachine guns, he had already tried to dodge, but how could a person compare speed with bullets?

This restaurant was full of simple dining tables and chairs, not even booths, and he could be shot no matter where he hid.

But at least because he tried to dodge, he was shot the least.

But even so, he had no chance to hold on until the ambulance came.

He lay on his back on the ground, and hot, humid blood was constantly spreading around under his body. His body was unwilling to die like this, and he was still trying his last effort, constantly twitching.

His head weakly swayed slightly with the twitching of his body. He looked at Erwin walking in front of him, and the two stared at each other for about two seconds.

A large amount of bleeding after the rupture of internal organs had already begun to surge along his esophagus, and the blood overflowing from his mouth and nose had already doomed his ending.

Erwin pulled out a pistol from his arms and fired all the bullets at him with a crackling sound.

He looked at the corpse that was completely motionless, took out a cigarette from his pocket.

It seemed like he forgot to bring matches. He patted his pocket and was just about to turn around and ask his brothers for a match or a lighter or something.

Suddenly, he squatted down, and a corner of a matchbox was exposed from the senior cadre's blood-stained vest pocket.

He took out the match, rubbed it on the only dry collar of this dead ghost, lit the cigarette in his mouth, shook it, and casually threw the extinguished match into the pool of blood, just like the dead ghost's extinguished life.

At this time, the shop assistant was so scared that she peed her pants. As a witness, she strongly suspected that she would be killed.

Erwin took one last look at the dead senior cadre, got up, and walked to the bar.

The female clerk showed a pleading look, "I have a husband and children..."

Erwin smiled, "I don't, but do you have a phone here?"

The female clerk nodded repeatedly, she quickly took out the phone and put it on the counter.

Erwin, with a cigarette in his mouth, put the pistol back in, picked up the phone, and dialed a number. The phone was quickly connected, "He's done for."

"Come back early, be careful."

Erwin hung up the phone, then looked at the female clerk who was still pleading in a low voice and had already started crying. The moment Erwin's hand went into his pocket, she almost knelt down and begged!

She thought Erwin was going to pull out a gun. The only eyewitness at the scene would be killed most of the time. She knew this and had heard of it.

But in reality...

He took out a stack of money, tilted his head slightly, the cigarette lit by the cigarette butt was a little smoky.

One eye was wide open, one eye was squinting, and he deftly counted out thirty yuan, then put it on the table.

"Ten yuan should be enough to fix your tables, chairs, and floor."

"Another twenty yuan to buy you a new pair of pants, and to buy some food for your husband and children. Tell them you love them when you get back later."

"Also, don't say you've seen us, you've been hiding under the counter all along."

He put away the remaining money, pinched the cigarette between his thumb, index finger, and middle finger, took it away from his lips, with a sincere smile on his face after revenge, "Have a pleasant night, madam."

Saying that, he only left this female clerk with a deep memory that she would never forget in her life, turned around and left with his other brothers.

She just stood there, staring blankly as a car quickly left the motel, and a few minutes later, some messy footsteps came.

She quickly wiped away her tears, clenched the thirty yuan on the table in her hand, thought about it, and only put twenty yuan in her pocket.

The boss had actually noticed it a long time ago, but the other party didn't leave, and he didn't dare to come at all.

When he pushed open the door from the door next to the counter and saw the three corpses on the ground, the first thing he thought of was not to call the police, or anything else.

But to run over and search their pockets.

Gold watch?

Mine!

Blood-stained cash?

Mine!

Jewel ring?

Still mine!

And car keys?

All mine!

After a while, he remembered that there was still a female clerk here. He walked over and took out... seven or eight twenty-five cent coins from his pocket and slapped them on the counter, "You didn't see anything, did you?"

The female clerk was stunned for a moment, "Yes, boss...", she hesitated for a moment, just about to say that the other party should give ten yuan to let them change the table and repair the floor.

But her boss didn't seem to want to stay here, "I have to go, someone called the police, the police are coming soon."

"Listen, we don't want to cause trouble, you haven't seen them, and you haven't seen me, understand?"

He looked out the window, patted the counter with a pat to remind the female clerk, and then quickly left.

He didn't notice that he had left a bloody footprint at the scene...

In the city, Lance hung up the phone, took down a photo from the blackboard, tore it in half, but nailed it back.

"There are four left!" Lance pulled out the chair next to him and sat down, lit a cigarette, "Where are they now?"

Morris sat next to him. During this period, Morris showed excellent tracking and stalking skills, and he was meticulous, cautious, and bold. Lance handed over the tasks of finding and stalking people to him.

"Heller has been hiding in his manor and won't come out. His two confidants are also there, as well as a senior cadre who came that night."

"He... uh, I don't know how to say it."

Lance was a little strange. Morris was not the kind of guy who liked to keep people in suspense, "What's wrong with him?"

"He went in."

"Went in?"

Morris scratched his head, "He surrendered himself to the police station and confessed to a case of intentional injury. Now he has been arrested by the Empire District Branch and is being held there."

"I asked someone to inquire, and he signed a plea agreement with the police station. The police station will communicate with the Justice Bureau, and he will probably be out in a year or two."

"A year or two?" Lance shook his head, "I can't wait that long."

Morris also knew that, so he didn't know what to say, "If we take action in the police station, will it cause some unnecessary trouble?"

The law enforcement system can pretend not to see a crime, but you can't provoke their authority, at least you can't do it until they allow you to do it.

It's like an adult has a knife in his hand.

He can choose not to use the knife, but you can't insist on provoking him and must let him take the knife and try to chop you, which is very stupid.

Lance thought for a while, picked up the phone, and dialed lawyer Robben's number.

Soon the phone was connected. Lance and lawyer Robben had a series of cooperation on Enio's issue, so he could directly call lawyer Robben's desk without the need for a front desk transfer.

"This is Robben Law Firm, I am lawyer Robben himself, what can I do for you?"

"It's me, Lance."

Lawyer Robben immediately raised his eyebrows. He knew more than others about what had happened to Lance recently. As a lawyer specializing in defending gangsters, he was very well-informed in this field!

"Mr. Lance, I am very happy to hear your voice, so what can I do for you this time?"

Positively challenging the Camilla gang and still being able to establish a little advantage is already worthy of lawyer Robben's respect for Lance, of course, also for the sake of money and follow-up work.

Although many people look down on the Camilla gang, they are, after all, a regional gang with more than 300 core members, and they have great dominance in the Empire District.

Now people are waiting, they are all watching, if Lance can replace the Camilla gang, then the Camilla gang will become the sinners who caused all the unrest and be liquidated.

But if they are deadlocked, then their results will not be too good.

No matter good or bad, for lawyer Robben, this means the possibility of having work.

"I won't say much about what happened, you must be able to find out."

"A fool surrendered himself, serious injury. You mentioned to me before that you also have connections in the state prison system, can you assign him and Enio to a prison?"

Lawyer Robben simply inquired about the general situation and replied very calmly, "No problem, I'll give you a discount, fifteen hundred yuan, I guarantee that he and Enio will be in the same prison, if you want them to be in the same cell, no problem."

"Very good, then can you help me send two more people in?"

Lawyer Robben didn't waste any words. He knew that Lance didn't want to waste words with him now, so he directly quoted the price, "Count it together, you give me four thousand yuan, and I will help you send that person and two of your people, along with Enio, to the same prison in the same prison area."

"I suggest you give me another thousand, so that I can help them customize their crimes and sentences, so that they can come out with Enio."

"Deal, someone will take the money to find you tomorrow, and then you send them two in."

"Mr. Lance, I sincerely hope you emerge victorious in this war. It's been a real pleasure working with you!"

"Then, I wish you a pleasant revenge. Good night!"

"Good night, Lawyer Luo Ben."

Lance hung up the phone and looked back at the whiteboard. "Now there are only three left..."

Around ten o'clock that night, someone called Heller. He answered it, and after only three or four seconds, he stood frozen in place.

The person on the phone told him that another high-ranking cadre had been shot dead in the restaurant of the Oasis Motel.

It must have been Lance and his gang, because he was shot twenty-seven times, with nine of those being close-range finishing shots.

In other words, before the finishing shots, he had already taken eighteen bullets. He was already dead, but they still finished him off.

Only Lance and his crew would do something so crazy. Other gangs or organizations usually just do enough to get the job done.

However, because they had already left the territory of King's Gold City, the interstate highway police were handling the case. They didn't recognize the victim and didn't necessarily think it was someone from King's Gold City who did it.

The highway police decided to handle it officially, following the standard homicide procedure. The female clerk didn't get a clear look at the people, hiding under the counter to escape the ordeal.

However, someone left bloody footprints at the scene...

Actually, Heller didn't hear the rest of the words clearly. Only when the phone went silent did he say "Thank you" and hang up.

He slumped into his chair, a little dazed. In just one week, the situation had completely reversed.

He had never really taken Lance and his few men seriously, but the problem was that he couldn't find them now!

In other words, although he had many more men than Lance, if he couldn't maintain this advantage, then Lance and his people could gain a local advantage!

Moreover, a tight defense could be maintained for a week, but not for a year, while an attack could be launched anytime, anywhere.

An enemy hiding in the shadows, waiting for a fatal strike like a venomous snake, is the most terrifying!

He couldn't passively respond to Lance's attacks like this; he had to do something.

But... what could he do?

He sat in his chair and took out a cigarette. At this time, a cigarette was better than a cigar because he could inhale it into his lungs. That feeling of fullness made him feel satisfied and safe.

He thought for a long time, but he couldn't figure out what he could do.

The outer members were already searching everywhere for Lance and his gang. He had even arranged for people to go to Wanli Law Firm, where a man named Sean was still working.

Originally, he intended to kidnap this person, but there were people there from morning till night, and there was no opportunity to act. They could only watch from afar.

Besides these, what else could he do?

Look for connections?

Who to look for?

Now, finding anyone would cost money, and a lot of money. He didn't have that much money on hand anymore unless he used his own savings.

But his savings were "his money," not the gang's money. He didn't have the awareness to use his own money for the gang!

If he did, he probably wouldn't have laundered all that money and transferred it to a safe account in the first place.

It seemed that everything had entered a dead cycle, making him feel overwhelmed, at a loss, and unsure of what to do.

While Heller was racking his brains about how to find Lance, Lance was thinking about how to force them out.

He wouldn't directly attack Heller's manor. He hadn't expanded his manpower yet; he only had twenty-odd people left. To attack a manor guarded by a hundred or so core gang members?

He would only die faster and more miserably. Those people only needed to hide behind the windows in the house, and even without firing a shot, they could force him to leave.

So, he had to find a way to force people out first.

His gaze quickly turned to Morris. "Have people keep an eye on Heller's manor. First, you go and find out how many businesses he has. We'll find a way to get him to leave that turtle shell..."

He looked at the others. "Those who need to heal, heal. Those who need to rest, rest. We'll have a big move soon..."

For several days in a row, the entire King's Gold City became quiet again. The security in King's Gold City had been surprisingly good for the past half month, and even petty theft and other minor crimes had decreased a lot.

Most likely, many big figures were watching, all wanting to know how Lance would resolve this matter, how he would force Heller, who was holed up in the manor, out.

People were also guessing whether Heller could hold out until the end. Before this, none of them had thought that Lance could force Heller to this point.

What made people applaud the most was that Lance suddenly disappeared, hiding himself in the shadows, leaving Heller, who was clearly stronger, with no way to deal with it.

Now, even if Heller wanted to hide, he had no chance, because Lance, in the shadows, would definitely be watching him closely.

As long as he left his turtle shell, Lance would definitely make a move!

This also left Heller with no other choice but to guard his manor.

Just when everyone was eagerly anticipating, rumors suddenly began to spread in the Imperial District that Heller was actually dead.

His subordinates had found someone who looked similar to Heller to impersonate him; otherwise, with Heller's prestige in ruling the Imperial District for a dozen or twenty years, how could he choose to avoid the challenge from newcomers like Lance?

Moreover, there was more than one rumor, each with convincing details, and some even rumored that they had stopped paying protection fees!

If it were just simple rumors, people would only find it fun or not fun, and the sense of participation in spreading rumors wouldn't be so strong.

Then, the matter of not paying protection fees truly attracted more attention—had a huge mountain been moved away?

Each district in King's Gold City had to pay protection fees, those merchants.

Some districts paid less, such as Xilin District, where mostly middle-aged and elderly people lived.

But there were also Presia and the Bay Area, which paid more, and the protection fees in the city center were also high.

This bad habit almost suffocated many merchants, and suddenly these merchants in the Imperial District heard that they didn't have to pay anymore, and the rumors spread even faster.

Some people even really refused to pay protection fees. Two young men collecting protection fees were beaten up by the shop owner and employees and driven out, and there was no follow-up to this matter.

Because they were still operating there, and no one came to make trouble for them.

Now, Heller didn't dare to casually transfer anyone out, and even if he transferred a small number of people, they were unwilling to go out.

Who knew if the Lance family, unable to find trouble with Heller, would turn their attention to them?

First, cut off the wings, and when there's no one around Heller, then go and make trouble for Heller?

This led to the fact that at first it was one store that didn't pay protection fees, then it was a street, and then an entire block. By December 20th, basically the entire territory controlled by the Camilla Gang had completely stopped paying!

This was definitely a lot of money, thousands of merchants, forty to sixty from each family, which would be tens of thousands of dollars each month!

They were already short of money, and suddenly everyone stopped paying, which was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

Moreover, Heller himself would soon have to pay his subordinates their wages.

Everyone comes out putting their heads on their belts, not to talk about loyalty with you, but to talk about money with you, and now the situation is very bad. His confidants told him that if he didn't give them more money, many people were planning to quit.

After all, the risk is too great now!

=

Since everyone wants to see me create more, please check out my new work, "Hunting Time."