Empire of Shadows

The Tita family's patriarch sat in his chair with a slightly gloomy expression, his legs crossed, his eyes constantly darting back and forth between Bandi and Feijar.

They had just reminisced together last night.

Men, and they did know each other before, and their relationship was alright. Being called the "Five Great Families" by the outside world naturally made them familiar.

They drank some wine, and under the influence of alcohol, he might have said some inappropriate things, some impulsive words, but he really just meant it as talk.

The Lance family hadn't provoked them, so why would he join them in dealing with Lance?

Just because... they were all old fogeys?

This world is constantly moving forward, and when his cousin, the previous family head, died in battle, he realized this.

The era of the Five Great Families was completely smashed to the ground, shattered to pieces, by Cassia's people, by those who pretended to be uninvolved, by the mayor.

A new era faintly revealed a glimmer of light, about to tear through the entire darkness and re-illuminate the world.

Before the Five Great Families, there were the Three Great Gangs. When the Five Great Families rose, the Three Great Gangs also tried to stop them, but in the end, no one knows who the Three Great Gangs are now.

Just like at this moment, anyone who tries to stop the rolling gears of the era's development will eventually be crushed into powder by the gears.

It's just that sometimes knowing is one thing, and doing is another.

He couldn't save face. They had just drunk together last night, said all the right things, but when something happened today and he called, no one came.

He felt a bit kidnapped, and could only sit here unwillingly.

Bandi, on the other hand, arrived very early. Gauri also came today. Everyone knew each other and exchanged greetings.

After waiting for a while, Gauri even said a few words to Feijar, saying that he was the one who called everyone together, but he was the last to arrive.

Barely two minutes after he spoke, Feijar pushed the door open and entered.

He looked at the three people sitting at the table, and a trace of softness finally appeared on his stern face.

"Sorry, there was some traffic on the way."

He walked to the table and sat down, added some ice to his glass, then poured some wine, and then drank it all in one gulp.

The wine was cooled as it flowed over the surface of the ice, and the melting ice water mixed with the whiskey, making it less spicy and more refreshing.

He took a big gulp of wine and slammed the glass heavily on the table, then began to talk about what happened last night.

After he finished speaking, Bandi nodded and said, "That's too much, that young man is too much!"

"This is the problem I mentioned to you last time. Young people lack respect for us, they even dare to attack us."

"If we don't curb this trend, you just watch."

Bandi's tone became somewhat somber, "New buildings can only be rebuilt on ruins!"

This was a somewhat famous saying, and it's impossible to verify who said it first, but many dignitaries have quoted it.

It has many meanings, but the main one is—

"New life needs to be born after death, reconstruction is built on destruction!"

This is a relatively simple principle, just like the current Goldport City. If someone wants to build those high-rise buildings in the city center, it is not an easy task, because every inch of land here already has its owner.

If you want to build high-rise buildings, you can only go to the suburbs, but if someone insists on building in the city center, then the only way is to demolish the previous buildings.

The same goes for the gangs in Goldport City. When the Five Great Families still occupied the ruling position, no gang could truly "rise".

Only when this gang steps on the corpses of the Five Great Families, on the ruins, can they truly rise and establish their own "dynasty".

Here, Bandi used this sentence to tell them the seriousness of the matter.

If they don't respond, they will eventually be destroyed!

Feijar poured himself some more wine, "If you had said this to me before yesterday, I would have thought you were too timid."

"But now, I understand, you are right!"

"We need to unite."

The eyes of the three people all turned to the patriarch of the Tita family. The latter thought for a long time, two or three minutes, before nodding and saying, "I agree."

Bandi was right, if they watched the Keane family be eliminated, then who would be next?

Who would be next after that?

The wheels of the new era will one day roll onto his face. Confronting as much as possible while there is still a chance to resist is the only thing he can do now.

Although he felt that they would be swept onto the beach.

Gauri glanced at Bandi. Bandi noticed his expression out of the corner of his eye, the corner of his mouth slightly raised, and then quickly flattened and restrained himself.

Let Feijar and Lance fight each other, and they would assist from the side. This was Bandi's plan.

Feijar's territory and Lance's territory were connected together, making them more threatening and important. The Coda family's territory, including the casino, would not become the primary target of attack.

If this was a war, then without a doubt, he had successfully at least kept the battlefield off his own country's territory.

Even Feijar should be grateful to them, because they would help Feijar fight against Lance.

If the three families joining forces were still no match for Lance...

Perhaps when that moment really came, they would have no other good options but to face failure and death.

The world of the underworld has never been gentle or inclusive. Even the political arena is not so merciful, let alone the underground world, which is inherently more bloody?

So, they must win!

"In any case, Feijar, I will support you. If you need people, I'll give you people; if you need money, I'll give you money."

Bandi was very cautious. He also knew that this was a critical moment. If they survived, they would have everything; if they didn't survive, everything would be over.

Feijar looked at Bandi gratefully, "We will always be the best of friends, we are all family!"

"In the future, if you need me anywhere, give me a call, I will never refuse."

Then his gaze fell on the Tita family. The patriarch of the Tita family cursed a few times in his heart, but still reluctantly agreed on his face.

"I will help you."

He was a little depressed, but there was nothing he could do.

Hearing that his two good friends were going to help him, a lot of smiles appeared on Feijar's face, a very sincere smile.

He raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp, "Then, let's discuss how to make Lance, this young man, understand what it means to respect the elderly!"

On the other side of the city, Lance also gathered all the cadres and captains for a meeting. Except for some who were away and couldn't return, or had other tasks and couldn't come, basically everyone who could come came.

They gathered together, and the room already seemed a bit crowded.

After this period of time, Lance was going to move to the bank, where there would be a more spacious environment.

"Last night, we attacked a bar belonging to the Keane family and burned it down."

Alan stood up and raised his hand, "And killed a dozen people."

Some people whistled, some laughed, and of course, some frowned.

Lance was also laughing, "How is our investigation into the Bandi family going during this period, Morris?"

Morris sat in a position next to him, slightly behind the previous position.

"Bandi and Gauri are in the casino all day long, and even if they go out, they will be followed by many people, making it difficult to attack."

"And sometimes I'm not sure if they have left. We don't have enough manpower to keep an eye on every car entering and leaving their manor or casino."

"The manor might be better, but there are too many cars on the casino side for us to keep an eye on. We can only keep an eye on their two cars."

He stopped here, and in fact, the others could understand what he meant. The whereabouts of these two people were not easy to monitor.

The casino side was a good place to attack, but he couldn't be sure that Bandi or Gauri would definitely be in a certain car.

It was possible to determine the situation at the manor, but there were too many gunmen in the manor. Hard attacks would only leave a pile of corpses and leave without any gain.

Lance nodded slightly, "What about Stone and Fleming?"

"Stone has been in the casino and hasn't gone out. Fleming's situation is relatively simple. He has been active in the bay area, but he is also followed by many people."

Speaking of which, there is a very interesting thing. From the appearance and development of Goldport City to today, the bay area has always been a very quiet place.

Gangs will not easily fight in the bay area, and there are patrol officers everywhere in the bay area, especially under Charlie's promotion, almost every intersection can see a police car parked on the side of the road.

Those patrol officers may eat donuts, may drink milk with coffee, but they will also really work!

As long as they think you don't belong to the bay area and are acting suspiciously, they will make you put your hands on the wall...

So the bay area has always been very quiet, and everyone is abiding by an unwritten rule, that is, fighting is not allowed in the bay area.

There are too many celebrities and dignitaries there. Disturbing the masters, or even accidentally injuring the masters, even if it is just a dog in the master's house that is accidentally injured, will cause the entire bay area to shake!

They have mastered too many resources. Even during the heyday of the Five Great Families, they would not easily touch this clause that was not written in the city rules.

This is a gang's red line.

So Fleming was not very afraid that he would be attacked. As long as he brought enough people and did not leave the bay area, no one could attack him.

Lance chuckled a couple of times. They would pay the price for their arrogance and hubris, but now wasn't the time to move against them.

"The Kodar family is no longer quite like... a gang organization like ours. They don't have clear-cut leaders or officers."

"Their security company has replaced the gang, and the gunmen are basically managed by Gory and Stone."

"The Kodar family's biggest bar is their casino. They provide more alcohol in the casino than they sell in their bars."

Casinos won't easily let them get drunk; it's not conducive to the casino pocketing their money. So, basically, they mainly offer low-alcohol drinks.

Like champagne and other fruity sparkling wines.

Once gamblers get a buzz, they'll definitely drink one glass after another, and in that state, they actually can't tell whether they're drinking alcohol or water.

The casino not only earns a lot of money from their table fees but also makes a killing off their drinks.

As for the other bars, they've temporarily closed down the ones they can.

The ones they can't close, they're heavily guarding.

The Kodar family has the qualifications and the ability to turn themselves into a turtle and hide in their shell without coming out.

The information Maurice provided made some people in the room seem particularly gloomy. For example, the Kodar family's manor has at least about two to three hundred gunmen, and there are always reinforcements available.

To break through a manor that occupies a strategically advantageous position and has so many people supporting it, how much of a price would have to be paid to take it down? It's simply unimaginable!

"So..."

Lance tapped his finger on the table, drawing people's attention. "This time, we'll change our tactics."

"Attack the Keane family and make them come to the rescue."

Ervin hung a map on the whiteboard behind Lance, with several locations already circled in red pen.

"These places are where the Keane family's bars are located. Let's contribute to the federal prohibition effort by eliminating them!"

Maurice briefly introduced the specific business situation of these bars to everyone, such as their location, where the door is, and how many people there are roughly.

These details may not all be correct; they're all things that some old drunks remembered when they went drinking.

After drinking too much, they inevitably make mistakes. Only by combining the accounts of several people did they arrive at this result.

After Maurice finished his introduction, Lance pointed to one of the red circles and looked at Alan, "Alan."

Alan stood up, "Boss."

"It's up to you!"

Lance took a cigar from the cigarette case and tossed it over.

Alan caught the cigar with both hands, his face full of excitement. He clenched the cigar and waved his fist, "No problem, leave it to me!"

"Devon?"

"Right here!"

Lance pointed to another red circle, "Any problems?"

"No!"

Lance tossed another cigar over.

He then pointed to the next red circle...

More and more of the younger generation of captains in the family were emerging, and this was also an opportunity for them to distinguish themselves.

Seven red circles, seven captains, seven gunfights.

Lance smiled and pointed to one of the larger blue circles, "After we take down their seven bars, Fegal's power will definitely shrink, and he will definitely ask others for help."

"And we have to release information that makes it seem like we're going to have a big showdown with them at the Keane family's manor."

"I'm not too familiar with the Tita family's situation. I'm not sure if they'll step forward."

"But the Kodar family will definitely join them."

Hiram, sitting in the corner, rubbed his fingers on the bottom of the chair. He raised his hand and stood up, "Why would the Bundy family make a move?"

Lance curled his lip, "Because the conflict last night was very likely caused by the Bundy family."

"They need a scapegoat on the surface, they need allies, otherwise, do you think Fegal has a problem with his brain, suddenly wanting to attack us, and even leaving survivors behind?"

"If he did it, we would most likely be unable to burn down his bar, and at the same time, after the bar was burned down, he would retaliate immediately."

"But we waited all night, and he didn't do that, because he doesn't know what madness we're up to, he's hesitating."

"It wasn't him who did it, but to me, to Bundy, we all know this, but at the same time, it has to be him who did it!"

Some people understood, and some people didn't, but it didn't matter.

"As long as they gather their strength to fight us to the death, the Kodar family will definitely join the battle!"

He looked at these people, slowly got up, and everyone in the room stood up as well, "After this time, when people talk about Goldport City, they will no longer talk about the five great families, but will only mention us."

"Go and prepare, we'll move tomorrow!"

For Lance, mobilizing so many people also took time. From the bars to the streets, many people had to be pulled out, and then some people had to be arranged to fill their gaps.

A gang is like a scientific research company. When there are no projects, all the researchers are assigned to different positions according to their abilities and preferences.

Once there is a project, to extract them, you must first find someone who can replace them, otherwise, many ongoing tasks will have to stop.

Completing the battle preparations and personnel mobilization in one day was already a very high level of efficiency.

With Lance's order, the captains left one after another, while the others, the senior cadres of the family, stayed behind, and Lance seemed to have other things to say to them.

The slowly closing door isolated the prying eyes of the outside world, and also made it impossible to hear what the people inside were saying.

But that must be a very important matter.

In the afternoon, the originally bright sky suddenly became gloomy, and the calm sea also became turbulent. This was one of the important signs that Goldport City was entering the turn of spring and summer.

The weather was unpredictable, and no one knew when a sudden downpour would fall, followed by a cloudless sky.

Thick dark clouds, not knowing where they came from, covered the entire sky, and the world darkened.

The low and thick dark clouds seemed to be within reach, and also seemed to be pressing on people's hearts, making people feel dull, depressed, and unable to breathe.

More than half an hour later, the sky became completely dark as if it were night, but soon, accompanied by a flash of lightning, the dark clouds above the entire city were torn apart by a golden lightning bolt.

Faint golden light could be seen through the lightning, but it was quickly blocked by the closing dark clouds.

Accompanied by a late "boom," the sound of bean-sized raindrops immediately attacked the entire city.

The sound of crackling could be heard everywhere, the car lights on the road were all turned on to the maximum, and pedestrians were hurrying to avoid the rain, giving people a feeling of deep night even though it was only afternoon.

This rain lasted all night, as if to vent properly. The city after the rain was brand new, but it was too dark, and people couldn't see it.

But everyone knew that tomorrow would definitely be a good day!