Empire of Shadows

In a daze, Ennio felt someone poking him. He was about to say something when he suddenly jolted awake.

Taiwan Novel Network → 𝙩 𝙬 𝙠 𝙖 𝙣 . 𝙘 𝙤 𝙢

He rubbed his face and stared wide-eyed at Maurice in the darkness.

"A car is coming," he whispered.

The night was quiet. A speaking voice might not be noticed during the day, but at night, it would definitely be heard.

Ennio peeked his head out and looked towards the street corner. A truck was slowly approaching.

He had gone to the community hospital during the day. The doctor, through palpation, said that his radius fracture wasn't too serious. He got a splint, and it could be removed after four weeks, but it would take at least three months or more to fully recover.

And most importantly, he couldn't bear any weight.

This was perhaps why the poor were so afraid of getting injured. It wasn't just the money needed to treat the wound, but more troublesome was the possibility of losing their jobs because of the injury.

Ennio originally had a job, but now it seemed that it was definitely gone, which made him hate Kent even more.

The truck couldn't enter the alley where the casino was located, so it parked on the side of the road. Maurice pulled Ennio back into the alley. "I'll climb onto the truck later."

Ennio widened his eyes. "I should be the one doing this."

Maurice shook his head. "You're tall, and I'm short. They won't easily spot me. Besides, they're very familiar with my dad. Even if I'm discovered, I'll just say I wanted to steal something, and they won't make things difficult for me."

"At most, they'll just beat me up."

Ennio was silent for a moment. "I still think I should be the one doing this."

Maurice shook his head again.

While they were talking, the casino's thugs were already pushing the small trailer to transport the gambling tables.

These gambling tables were all just wooden structures that could be disassembled, so they didn't seem heavy.

This was different from the gambling tables in the Coda family's casino. In order to show a sense of nobility, they would use marble countertops and then cover them with a layer of velvet, which would give a better feel.

But it would also make the tables difficult to move.

After this group finished loading the first batch, Maurice licked his lips. "It's too late. I'll go first. You try to follow. It will definitely leave tire tracks."

After saying that, without waiting for Ennio to say anything, he hunched over and rushed to the side of the truck. He stepped on the wheels with both feet and straightened up, then flipped into the truck's cargo bed.

He found a narrow spot with a blind spot inside and hid, trying to slow down his breathing.

The entire搬运 lasted about twenty minutes. Ennio watched Kent and his thugs drive two cars behind the truck. Although the truck wasn't fast, he quickly lost track of it and could only continue to chase it by relying on the tire tracks on the ground.

In fact, they didn't go far.

The main target audience of Kent's group was the Imperials. No matter where they went, they wouldn't leave the "Imperial District."

In fact, there was no such thing as the "Imperial District" in the previous official administrative planning, only street names.

As a new immigrant group, Imperials would actively choose to live in places where there were more fellow villagers, so more than 70% of the Imperials in Jincheng City lived near here, and this place became a veritable "Imperial District."

Last year, the City Hall issued the "New Jincheng City Map," and this area was officially marked as the "Imperial District," which was regarded as an acknowledgment of the folk saying.

The Imperial District is located in the southwest part of the port area, and two gangs rule here.

One is the Camille Gang, and the other is the Red Dog Gang.

The Camille Gang has a larger territory, but the Red Dog Gang spans two districts. As for further down, there are actually some small gangs or groups, but because they do not have the nature of a gang, they are not well-known.

For example, if Ennio continued to hang out on the streets with his partners and consciously delimited the scope of his activities, taking the neighborhood where they lived as the boundary, and fought with the original street kids here and won the war.

Then Ennio and the others could also be regarded as a "street family." This so-called "street family" is not necessarily completely a gang. Most of them are a group of people who are unwilling to be bullied and unite to resist extortion and the police.

In the Federation, "street families" are very common, and many large gangs initially developed from "street families."

This kind of gang will develop very quickly in the early stage, and the cohesion is also very strong.

For example, the Red Dog Gang, another gang in the Imperial District.

But it also has some disadvantages, that is, once the scale develops to a certain level, it is difficult to continue to grow if it is not adjusted in time.

As an Imperial, Kent would definitely not change to a farther place. If he changed to a farther place, let alone whether there would already be an underground casino there, just the local gang family would not be easy to solve. This is also an act of crossing the line.

Moreover, they would have to recruit new customers in a new environment, risking a huge risk to start from scratch?

They weren't that stupid, so the two young men thought they would go to a very far place, but in reality, it was only a few streets away.

The truck slowly parked on the side of the road. Kent and the others had already arrived in advance.

This time, the house was still in the basement. The basement was more concealed.

A group of people began to move things. Maurice found an opportunity to run out.

The two followed the fire escape and found a hidden spot, watching these people move things into the basement and then close the door, never coming out again.

They didn't leave until dawn the next morning.

The second morning, Lance took Alvin and Melo to Alberto's company. He planned to buy two more cars.

"Now we have almost thirty people. If we add some new friends, it's not enough to have only me who can drive and only one car."

Lance explained his intention. Alberto naturally wouldn't refuse. Anyway, even if Lance didn't buy these cars, he would find a way to dispose of them cheaply.

Being able to sell them for money is definitely better than throwing them away directly.

Alberto told Lance to pick first, saying that he would give him a big surprise later.

The three came to the parking lot, and Alvin and Melo's mouths were watering as they looked at those luxury cars.

No man doesn't love cars, even gays!

If they were given a choice at this time, whether to have a beautiful woman or a car, they would most likely choose these shiny cars instead of those girls!

But unfortunately, Lance couldn't afford these luxury cars either. In the end, under their reluctant gazes, he took them to the place where those broken cars were parked.

Several hundred dollars each.

Having just seen the luxury cars and then looking at these broken cars, they were indeed a bit disdainful, but the two were also very clear that they couldn't afford those luxury cars now, not even Lance himself.

Choosing a car was a technical job, but fortunately, everyone was their own people. Jamie helped them choose two cars, adding up to nine hundred dollars.

This price was already very, very affordable. Nine hundred dollars might not even buy one outside, but here, it was the price of two.

Lance drove it a bit and felt good. Apart from the steering wheel being very heavy, there were no problems.

And Jamie promised that if there was a problem with the car, it could be sent over for repair, and he would help fix it for free as long as he didn't replace expensive parts.

After choosing the car, Lance asked Alvin and Melo to learn how to drive, while he went to Alberto's office.

"Come and sit!" Alberto was very happy, with a huge difference from his last frown. He even gave Lance a cigar. "A genuine handmade cigar from Sumuli, they say these are rolled on the thighs of young girls!"

"Don't inhale into your lungs!" he instructed, and then told Lance how to cut it open, how to roast it, and how to eat it.

In fact, Lance knew this, but he still learned it again as if he didn't know. When the first puff was inhaled into his mouth, he didn't feel a particularly obvious surprise, just a very ordinary cigar.

"Have you chosen your car? How much is it?"

"Nine hundred dollars."

Alberto shook his head. "It's yours."

Lance didn't understand a bit. He tentatively responded, "Is it still too late for me to choose a luxury car?"

Alberto laughed and shook his head, "Of course it's too late. If you had really chosen it before, I would definitely give it to you, but it's not possible now. The opportunity only comes once!"

He paused and said, "You asked me to hoard a batch of wine last time."

"Yes, I remember that."

Before, Alberto had a headache because of the Prohibition League, and then Lance asked him to hoard wine. Now the transaction and storage of alcohol are legal. When it is legal to legally own a large batch of wine, it must be money when the Prohibition Act begins to be implemented.

Walking in front of Lance and sitting on the table, Alberto held a cigar in his hand and waved his arms with high emotions. "I listened to your suggestion and hoarded a large batch of wine. Now the price has skyrocketed, and I've made a lot of money!"

"Lance, you deserve credit for this. I thought you would choose a luxury car, but you..." He had a playful expression of "This is not my fault."

He took a deep breath and said, "I heard from Fordis that you've encountered trouble. Do you need my help?"

Lance shook his head. "I can handle it."

He didn't want to owe Alberto too much favor. Favors are difficult to repay, and you might stumble because of them in the future. This kind of thing happens almost every day.

You know it's a pit, and if you jump down, you'll definitely be crippled. If you don't jump, someone will say you have no integrity and are ungrateful.

If you jump, others will not only say that you are trustworthy, but also think you are stupid, and you will be seriously injured, so don't give them this opportunity from the beginning.

He thought for a moment, "If you want to thank me, give me a few more guns. I might need them soon."

This was a small matter for Alberto. He wasn't a Federation citizen, and he had a larger gang backing him. He had no desire to uphold the Federation's security, and acquiring some untraceable handguns was just a phone call away.

After a brief chat about the potential trends in the alcoholic beverage market, Lance took the initiative to say goodbye.

By the time he left, Elvin and Melo were able to drive themselves away. In addition to the two cars, they also took five handguns.