Empire of Shadows

Chapter 567 A Huge Joke [666+21]

In these past few days, the number of guests in Goldport Casino has decreased significantly, and more and more rumors have spread throughout the city, with all sorts of tales circulating.

But all the rumors have only one core message:

The underground world of Goldport City is about to undergo a massive change.

People don't know when the casinos might be attacked, and they don't dare to gamble here.

The poor business is like fate telling Bandi in another way that he must do something.

Gory has been depressed these days, constantly getting himself drunk at home.

After all, as a father, at such a crucial moment, he not only failed to help Stone, but could even be said to have forced Stone to make a terrible choice.

He knows that his approach is the most correct, but it also causes him more pain!

Only alcohol, nicotine, and even maple orris root can soothe his current pain.

"Go see your uncle, comfort him, and bring him back."

"Remember to tell him that you, I, all of us need him."

Fleming nodded. Gory also lives in the manor, in a separate house, which takes a few minutes to reach.

When Fleming pushed open the door, he could smell the strong scent of tobacco and alcohol in the room, as well as some strange odors.

Gory was sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa leg, looking particularly haggard.

He heard the footsteps, glanced at Fleming, squeezed out a smile, and shakily raised his glass, "Come, have a drink with me."

Fleming looked at him for about ten seconds before walking over and snatching the bottle from his hand, then unscrewed the cap and poured it over his head.

A bottle of liquor costing hundreds of dollars is no different from cheap liquor when poured on someone's head. Gory closed his eyes, constantly opening his mouth to breathe and blowing away the liquor.

After pouring one bottle, Fleming picked up another, unscrewed it, and poured it on.

The crackling liquor fell on Gory's wet scalp, gradually reducing his drunkenness.

"The family is facing the greatest crisis in its history. I know you're in pain from losing Stone, and so am I!"

"He has been my good brother since childhood, always taking care of me. I am more angry and sad than you!"

"But I know that now is not the time to let anger and sadness overwhelm us!"

"We still have to face challenges, face responsibilities, and there are many things waiting for us, Uncle Gory."

"You should cheer up. We have to defeat Lance and then snatch Stone back from their hands."

"If he were still alive, he would definitely not want you to be like this now."

Gory's eyes were red, "I killed him." That day, in his last words, he almost told his son in plain language, "You shouldn't continue living," which was very cruel!

Fleming bent down, grabbed his collar, and lifted him up, "So, he sacrificed himself for your current miserable state?"

"Can you fucking make his death not so wasteful?"

"Can you think about how we can avenge Lance?"

"Does sitting here and getting yourself drunk do anything for revenge?"

"Are you planning to let him die in vain?"

A series of questions slightly changed Gory's mentality. He looked at Fleming's angry eyes, and the two stared at each other without backing down.

After a while, he straightened up and wiped the remaining liquor from his face, "You're right, I should cheer up, at least not let him die without meaning."

"I'll go change my clothes."

Fleming nodded, walked to the sofa, and sat down, while having people remove the trash from the table.

The words he said just now were not entirely artificial; they were also his true thoughts.

His relationship with Stone was better than his relationship with anyone else, because Bandi and Gory were very good brothers, and their children naturally played together since childhood.

Stone may not have been so outstanding in his studies, but for children of their background, having good learning ability was not important at all.

Stone took good care of Fleming and always protected him.

He was also very sad to hear about Stone's death.

But he knew that now was definitely not the time to be sad!

More than ten minutes later, Gory, who had changed his clothes, came downstairs. His wet hair draped behind his head, making him look much more energetic.

"I'm going to his villa to retrieve some things."

Stone also has a villa of his own in the Bay Area. He also lives in the manor, but sometimes he lives in the villa.

After all, he is still considered a "young man", and he also has his own needs and private life. He can't bring a different girl or several girls to the manor every few days.

His elders, Bandi, Gory, and other family members live here. This place is "sacred."

So he would do those things in his own villa. Most other people also have such villas, including Fleming.

Fleming nodded, "No problem, I'll go with you."

The two got into the car and quickly drove out of the manor. They were initially worried about whether they would be suddenly attacked, but after carefully searching these past few days, they found that Lance didn't even have anyone tailing them.

They are safe, but this is not good news, which means that Lance believes that he can solve the Coda family without extreme measures.

The more confident Lance appears, the more depressed these people become. That visible confidence is like saying, "You're doomed!"

Although there are cases of jokes, where seemingly powerful enemies can only throw a weak punch in the end, Bandi always believes that Lance will not be like that.

When Fleming's motorcade arrived at Gory's villa, he went straight to the study, where there was a safe, and he knew the password.

Fleming waited for Gory in the living room.

He thought it might take a while, but Gory came out after entering the study, with an expression on his face that Fleming couldn't quite describe.

"They've been here and taken something from the safe!"

At first, Fleming didn't react, but soon he realized that the "they" Gory was talking about might be referring to Stone and Lance's people. He didn't believe it at first, but soon he chose to believe Gory's judgment.

"How... how did you confirm it?"

Fleming quickly went upstairs to Stone's study, where he saw the opened safe.

"Only Stone and I know where this safe is, and only we know the password."

"It's been opened, the things inside are gone, and look, it doesn't look like it was forcibly cracked."

Fleming glanced at the safe door. There wasn't even a scratch on it, let alone any signs of prying!

The safe is hidden behind the bookshelf. You need to open the bookshelf first, then trigger two mechanisms, and then you can pull the bookshelf open to reveal the safe behind it.

If they didn't know how to find it, those people would have made a mess of this place, but it looks very neat here.

They are not sure if Stone is dead or not, but he must have said something.

"I'm going to kill him!" His expression was a bit twisted. He had been depressed for so long these past few days for Stone's "death", but now he found out that Stone might not be dead and even confessed!

Fleming also realized that something was wrong and immediately asked him to go back together.

More than twenty minutes later, the two entered Bandi's office. Bandi was on the phone.

This is the only thing he can do for the family these days. He used to be proud of knowing those social celebrities and dignitaries. He knew this congressman and that representative.

He even knew the senator.

But now, the facts prove that these people are useless when a huge disaster breaks out.

He raised his hand to signal them to sit down after seeing the two, but his attention was still focused on the phone, "...The presidential campaign only used 30 million, and I have at least 20 million going into your hands every year."

"This money is enough for a person to participate in the presidential election in two years, but now you want to abandon me!"

"...That's your business. My only request now is..."

Fleming sat on the chair opposite him. He knew that this was a call with someone from Gold State. The other end of the phone must be a senator.

Originally, he was still thinking about Stone's matter, but he suddenly saw a clear change in Bandi's face, and then he said in a gloomy voice, "I understand, you can consider it again," and hung up the phone.

He took a deep breath, but his mind was processing a lot of complex information. Now he knew that Senator Cleveland was using the profits generated by the casino license in his hand to conduct some financial diplomacy in advance.

So his backer is also under great pressure. He said it very bluntly on the phone. It's not that he doesn't want to help, it's that he can't help at all.

Moreover, that senator is not only receiving benefits from Lykaile State, but also the Social Party states throughout the federation are sending benefits to Congress.

It's just that he gets a little more from some states and a little less from others.

Even if Bandi is finished, he can still get this part of the benefit, it's just that he is no longer the one taking the lion's share.

It is impossible to solve Lance from Congress at all.

Thinking of this, he was full of fire. The funds over the years have really been fed to ungrateful dogs.

Then he looked at Fleming and Gory sitting opposite him, took a deep breath, and was just about to comfort Gory a few words when Fleming said, "Stone is not dead."

Bundy was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with surprise. He genuinely cared for Stone, and if his nephew could survive, that would be the best outcome.

“How did you find out about this?” he asked, picking up a cigarette. The ashtray in front of him was already full of butts and ashes. “Do you have informants in the Lance family?”

Gauri said with a grim expression, “He took Lance's people back to his villa and took some things.”

Bundy, who had already lit his cigarette, remained frozen in the act. If it weren't for the slight trembling of the flame, some might have thought time had stopped.

He stared at Gauri, his eyes wide, as if to ask—

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, right?”