Empire of Shadows

At the gambling table, a gentleman in an ivory white suit was skillfully shuffling cards, making the cards seem alive in his hands.

Besides him, five people were seated at the table, but one seat was noticeably empty; they were still waiting for someone.

The card shuffler shuffled the cards twice, glanced at his watch, and said, "Paul is always this late. Next time, we can move the agreed time forward by half an hour."

He grumbled and began dealing the cards, a popular poker game where each person gets two cards, and there are five community cards that will eventually appear.

This is a very complex game. To win, it's not enough to just calculate the odds; you also need amazing luck, which is why many people enjoy playing it.

Compared to Blackjack, which has fewer unknown factors and is easier to calculate, this game on the table has more unknown factors, making calculations more difficult, and luck plays a major role.

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After dealing the cards, the dealer tossed them onto the table where everyone could see them.

He covered his own cards with both hands, peeking at a corner so only he could see them, then nonchalantly picked up two red chips and threw them in.

"One hundred bucks."

The man to his left scratched his head. "You always give people a hard time, Rick," he said hesitantly, eventually throwing his cards into the discard pile. "I'm out," he said, tapping the table twice.

The tapping sound wasn't too loud. He leaned back, picked up the cigar from the ashtray, took a puff, and looked at the person next to him.

But the person next to him didn't seem to want to show him his cards, glancing at him sideways and quickly looking at his own cards before covering them up.

"Come on, Bandi, it's just a peek at your cards, and I already folded!"

Bandi ignored him, took out four blue chips, and threw them in, "Four hundred bucks."

"If you want to see my cards, give me two thousand, and I'll show you."

The gentleman called "Rick" immediately lost interest in the cards in his hand. "Your cards aren't worth two thousand bucks."

Bandi didn't humor him either. "You can take back the cards you folded and choose to call; I'll let you know if it's worth two thousand."

His strong confidence made the others subconsciously look at the cards he placed on the table, but unfortunately, they didn't have X-ray vision and couldn't see what the two cards were. However, they had a guess: they certainly weren't small.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be so confident!

The gentleman to his left also quickly glanced at his cards, took out the same chips, and placed them on the table. "This hand is worth another look."

"Call."

Then it was the last two people; they both threw their cards away.

It seemed like a few hundred bucks shouldn't be a big number for these gentlemen, but in reality, by the time the final river card appeared, the stakes were at least several thousand.

Sometimes, if the two sides got angry, tens of thousands were possible!

The dealer picked up the deck of cards, and Bandi tapped the table. "Burn one."

The person next to him indicated it was up to him. The dealer, with a cigarette in his mouth, placed the first card in the discard pile and then placed the second card on the table, face up.

A seemingly safe card. The dealer looked at Bandi's expression and casually threw two white chips over, "Two thousand bucks."

Bandi wasn't intimidated at all. Perhaps everyone here combined had more wealth than him, but in a one-on-one comparison, he wasn't afraid of anyone.

He picked up a purple chip and threw it in, "Five thousand."

The person next to him stood up and threw his cards into the discard pile, "F*ck, it was only four hundred just now!"

His cards were actually not bad, but the dealer and Bandi were both so aggressive that he wasn't sure if these two really had big hands.

The dealer said with a smile, "I'll borrow Bandi's words: you can take back your cards and put the money up."

The man shook his head. "What's discarded is discarded; you guys play."

While they were talking, the door suddenly opened, and Paul walked in from outside with an apologetic look. "Sorry, I'm late. There was some traffic on the way."

The dealer, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, tilted his head slightly, making the side with the cigarette higher so that the smoke rising from the cigarette butt wouldn't sting his eyes.

"Another card?"

"Of course."

He burned another card and flipped over the last card, an Ace. This card wasn't very friendly to either of them because it didn't complete a combination and instead became a hat!

Having a hat meant that the other person had the possibility of beating him, so in a situation where everything was unknown, the best way was to check, flip over the cards, and see who won and who lost.

This was a very safe approach, but there were also unsafe approaches.

The dealer picked up two gold chips and threw them onto the table, "Twenty thousand."

"Feigal, you're going crazy again," Paul said, rubbing his hands together, eager for the attendant to bring him a box of chips.

Each box of chips was worth one hundred thousand dollars, and of course, you could actively request more.

This wasn't free; you had to pay the corresponding amount of cash for the chips you wanted, but it wasn't settled now; it was after the game ended.

Bandi casually threw fifty thousand dollars onto the table, "You can push it back."

He was putting pressure on Feigal, while also exerting an influence: I'm definitely bigger than you!

In fact, this was a very common psychological game at the gambling table. If Feigal conceded, he might not even realize it, and the next time a similar situation arose, he might fold.

Even if he knew Bandi's cards might not be big, because his momentum had already dropped, he couldn't regain it.

Unless he also used a similar method to suppress Bandi, he might be able to regain his momentum.

As for pushing back, it would be fine if he won, but if he lost, he would also be at a psychological disadvantage.

Including calling, it was actually a kind of compromise or a sign of admitting defeat, but repeatedly pushing…

He glanced at the chips remaining on his table, which were probably less than one hundred thousand, and pushed them all in!

"Let's pretend we didn't open for business today!" he said, taking a puff of his cigarette, biting the butt, his eyelids twitching.

Bandi raised an eyebrow, casually counted enough chips, threw them in, and then slowly flipped over his cards.

Rick, who was sitting next to him, cursed, "F*ck," because if he hadn't folded, he would have won this time!

But now, Bandi won.

Bandi had the attendant collect the chips. He leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, held a glass of brandy in his hand, and said to Feigal in a tone of scolding a child, "You're still as stupid as ever!"

Feigal's lungs were about to explode with anger!

He had the attendant bring another one hundred thousand dollars worth of chips, glaring fiercely at Bandi, "You can't win all the time!"

Bandi didn't care about his words and instead said with a smile, "But I've been winning until now."

Before Feigal could say anything, he preemptively said, "You said there was something wrong with the poker, but the poker being used now is the one you asked someone to buy."

"You said there was something wrong with the dealer, so I let you deal the cards yourself."

"Last time you said there was something wrong with the gambling table, so this time we're using a brand new gambling table."

"Feigal, you might as well consider whether there's something wrong with your intelligence. Maybe changing your brain would help you win against me!"

The five families weren't a monolithic entity; they had gone through a long period of war before finally remaining.

They had once had hatred for each other, and continuous warfare. Only stable order and the desire to make money had temporarily made them put aside their hatred and war.

This didn't mean they were a single entity, a monolithic entity.

When conflicts of interest arose, making their seemingly stable relationship less stable, family wars would reignite!

Feigal was the head of the Keane family. The Keane family had once competed with the Coda family for a casino license, and they had even obtained one.

The firefights between the two sides were almost daily; either you raided my casino, or I raided yours.

Later, under the mediation of the Deputy Governor, the Keane family gave up the license, but in return, the Coda family compensated them with a large sum of money, and the state government also promised that the Keane family would definitely have a license the next time they were issued.

Then almost…thirty years passed, and the state government never issued another license. And just this year, they had secretly talked to Bandi, as long as Bandi continued to give money, they guaranteed that they would not issue licenses for the next twenty years.

In fact, it wasn't just for the next twenty years; as long as he kept giving money, the state government would never issue new licenses.

Without new licenses, their promise to the Keane family of the "next license" would never need to be fulfilled.

The Keane family gradually woke up to this, but it was too late to wake up at this time; he no longer had the qualifications to make trouble.

Continuing to make trouble would not only give the Coda family a chance to take action, but even the state government would express dissatisfaction with the Keane family, so Feigal could only endure it.

They were still very peaceful and even united now because other businesses could also make big money, not limited to one item.

But the contradictions and hatred between them wouldn't be forgotten because of this.

Rick, who was sitting on the side, was federally comforting both sides. He represented the Cassia family. The main members of the Cassia family came from Yalan. They were middle-aged immigrants to the Federation, with a history of immigration of about one hundred years.

During the long immigration process, they had now gradually become recognized federal people, but they were a minority.

However, in recent years, as more and more people from Yalan tried to immigrate or smuggle into the Federation, this group was also rapidly expanding.

The Cassia family mainly deals in businesses related to people, and of course, they are also good at various ordinary crimes. After all, as long as they are given money, desperadoes from Yale will dare to kill.

Their family's reputation among the five major families is not very good, but who cares?

Some with good reputations are not as good as them.

Paul also interjected, trying to appease both sides, "We're here today to talk about Sidney, not to watch you quarrel. It's just tens of thousands of dollars."

He paused, and the others all expressed their agreement. Figal glared at Bandi again and started shuffling the cards again.

Sarif, who hadn't spoken all along, said, "I heard Wade and old Williams are both very dissatisfied with him and are trying to get the state council to impeach him."

Paul shook his head while looking at the cards in his hand, "I think the chances are slim. Remember that Mike from a while ago?"

"He's the representative of the Social Party in Licari State. They have a certain position within the party and a vast network of contacts."

"If Sidney has a good relationship with him and he wants to protect Sidney, their ideas will never be realized."

He picked up two chips and threw them onto the table, "I'll call."

Bandi put his cigar in the ashtray, covered his cards with both hands, and continued to lift one corner, which was his signature move.

He then threw two chips onto the table as well, "Whether it's the state government or the federal government, they're actually a bit dissatisfied with us."

"Including the Wade and Williams families, we've monopolized the interests here for too long. Every time they want to get involved, we've blocked them."

"This time, they found a good opportunity, making it possible for Sidney. I even suspect they're targeting us, the Prohibition."

The Prohibition gave the Hazardous Materials Management Bureau too much power, which is very troublesome.

If it were just the police or something, they wouldn't care at all. Anyone who lives in Goldport City knows not to be enemies with the five major families.

But these people are all from out of town. Although there are some locals, there aren't many. This has given the mayor, who already holds administrative power, a chance to speak out among law enforcement.

Plus, he has now appointed an acting director, and he is gradually eroding the municipal system of Goldport City.

"The most anxious ones are them. I think we should first see what countermeasures they have."

Sarif threw away the cards in his hand, "But what if they can't handle it?"

"Watch him grow stronger little by little, to the point where we can't resist?"

Soon it was Paul's turn again, and he threw some more chips up, "This is indeed a problem, and we really don't have many good options."

"Either fight to the end, or compromise directly, but I don't think there's a good opportunity for compromise."

The few of them fell silent. They had been targeting the mayor for six years.

In those six years, the mayor hadn't actually made any real achievements. On the contrary, it could be said that he had pushed them into a trap.

So there was no opportunity for compromise between them, and there was no basis for compromise.

If they compromised, who knew how he would torment them? For the sake of the family and their interests, they had to find a way out.

When the mayor transferred people from other cities, it actually showed his attitude.

He wanted to give Goldport City a complete makeover!

If they didn't want to start a full-scale war, the best way was to find a basis for compromise.

Figal finally took a puff of his cigarette and threw the butt into the ashtray, "Give him a little warning?"

Riken, who hadn't spoken all along, continued to call this time, "I think it's possible. No one is afraid of death, no one won't die. Maybe when he feels death, he will be disintegrated faster than we imagine!"

"Agreed!"

"I agree too!"

"What are you planning to do?"

"Throw two dead cats and dogs on his bed?"

"Or send him a threatening letter containing bullets?"

Although they had already decided what to do, they hadn't figured out how to do it to deter the mayor.

In fact, the purpose of this deterrence was not to solve the mayor, but to provide a basis for compromise, so that the mayor would realize that the consequences of starting a war with the five major families of Goldport City and the local political forces would be very serious.

Then there would be a basis for compromise.

At that time, they could fully support the development of the New Bay Area and the New Port Area, and they would also agree to add new administrative regions. Aren't these all minor issues?

But how to do it, and to what extent, they still needed to think about.

This time, they were facing an unusual mayor, not as easy to manipulate as before.

If the means of threat were not in place, then it would not achieve the results they wanted, and there would be no way to force the mayor back to the negotiating table.

If the means were too intense, it might cause the mayor to directly overturn the table and refuse to talk, which would be a huge trouble for them!

Neither the five major families nor the two senior municipal councilors have overturned the table so far because Sidney has no time left.

He only has a year and a half left in his term in Goldport City!

Time actually passes very quickly. As long as they endure it, a year and a half will pass, and he will be promoted to the state council, and Goldport City will return to its former tranquility.

By then, they will clean up the forces left by the mayor, and it will be as good as new!

As for the new mayor?

It may be a cycle, but it may also be the next puppet!

The mayor actually knew that the five major families and the two major local senior councilors were starting to find ways to deal with him, but he was not afraid.

The local forces in Goldport City were too stubborn, which led to many people who wanted to make a fortune here being unable to do so.

In fact, it was the local forces in Goldport City that were blocking others, not others who were coveting their wealth.

Different perspectives lead to different worlds. Sidney believed that victory would ultimately belong to him, not those stubborn local parochialists!

At this time, compared to the five major families who were brainstorming ideas, or compared to the mayor who was confident, Eric seemed much more relaxed.

It had been a while since he had personally watched that unlucky guy's head being smashed by Lance.

Lawyer Olsen hired a psychiatrist for him, and he was emerging from the psychological haze.

His mood was becoming cheerful again. As a young man, he now had many old friends around him, and they were doing well.

Eric couldn't help but run out to play.

The bar was his favorite place to go. Lance's bar management method was quietly influencing the way bars operated throughout Goldport City.

Now, many bars have beer girls and girls who freeload. These girls always say they are here to play, not prostitutes, but if you really want to sleep with them, most of them will skillfully give you a price.

Only a very few people come to play for real, but even so, it still attracts the attention of drunks and lecherous old men.

Eric also liked alcohol and women. For example, at this time, he saw a beautiful girl and wanted to invite her to enjoy a brief romance with him.

But it seemed a little difficult!