Empire of Shadows

This book is first published on the entire network by 𝕥 𝕨 𝕜 𝕒 𝕟 . 𝕔 𝕠 𝕞

Several days had passed since Mr. Serre contacted Jordan.

Initially, he wasn't too worried, feeling only a sense of exhilaration at the impending revenge.

However, as Jordan had been gone for almost a week without any news, he began to feel uneasy.

He inquired and learned that the entire Goldport City now had only one gang at the highest level: the Lance Family.

They were the top, the only gang.

The former five major families had become a thing of the past, with only the Pasreto Family remaining, but they couldn't compete with the Lance Family in terms of strength.

Below them were many smaller gangs.

The underworld was actually just like above-ground society, complex and diverse, and couldn't possibly have only one gang.

As long as injustice, conflict, humiliation, exploitation, and oppression exist in this world, gangs will inevitably continue to emerge.

This isn't to say that gangs are good, but rather that during this period, these negative social influences accelerate the birth of gangs.

Almost all gangs are born to resist exploitation, oppression, and social injustice.

Only a very few gangs might have wanted to do bad things from the start, seeking to gain advantages through crime.

Especially in an environment with such absolute dominance as the Lance Family.

After learning a bit about the situation in Goldport City, Mr. Serre became suspicious of the people who had extorted him.

He wondered if these people might be from the Lance Family.

If so, would Jordan's trip be successful?

Would he be able to recover his lost money?

Would he be able to teach that Wanli Film boss a lesson?

He didn't know.

He now wanted to call Jordan and tell him that even if he could negotiate and get back half of the money, he would accept it.

He no longer begged to get it all back; he just wanted half.

For the past two days, this thought only occasionally appeared as "What if something happens?" when he calmed down, but now, he thought about it constantly.

He lay in bed, unable to sleep, thinking about many things.

The most frequent thought was regret, regretting that he shouldn't have been greedy for that money, and that even though he had signed a contract, he still wanted to steal the part that didn't belong to him.

It only added up to a little over ten thousand, which was nothing compared to his current loss.

He regretted it.

Regret was like a venomous but non-lethal snake, biting him hard and leaving him to spend the rest of his days in remorse.

Perhaps he was thinking too much, but he seemed to hear some sounds coming from outside.

Only he and his family lived in the villa: his wife, a boy, and a girl.

Actually, there was also a maid working in the villa, but she didn't live there because his wife suspected that the maid was seducing him, but couldn't find any real evidence.

Plus, the maid had a very good relationship with their children, so Mr. Serre's wife didn't drive her away, but didn't allow her to live there.

Who knew when she would go out of town and not come back, and that bitch would climb into Mr. Serre's bed.

So, only Mr. Serre's family lived here at night.

Their son sometimes went to the kitchen at night to get some water, but this sound... didn't seem to be coming from the kitchen.

In the darkness, a pair of eyes reflecting faint light suddenly opened.

He maintained the sleeping position for about ten seconds, then slowly sat up.

He slowed down his movements as much as possible, so as not to create other unnecessary sounds.

He slowly pulled open the drawer and took out the revolver inside.

Like the villa owners nearby, they all kept one or more weapons by their beds, as it wasn't always so safe here.

He walked to the bedroom door, put his ear to the door panel, and listened for a while, but there seemed to be no sound.

Could I have misheard?

He questioned his own judgment, but quickly dismissed the thought.

He held the gun and slowly opened the door, standing in the corridor on the second floor and looking down.

He couldn't see anything in the dark living room, but there was a night light in the dining room.

Because sometimes they themselves would go to the kitchen for something to eat or drink because of hunger or thirst.

He slowly walked down the stairs.

Although the living room was dark, he could still see a little outline.

No one was there.

He breathed a sigh of relief and walked into the kitchen, opening the refrigerator.

Refrigerators were no longer rare.

The price of three hundred and fifty yuan in New Gold City meant that it couldn't yet enter every household.

Moreover, its rapid iteration made many people always want to wait.

But for those rich people, three hundred and fifty yuan was not a reason to stop them from enjoying the fruits of technology first.

There was a faint strange smell in the refrigerator, or rather, a stench.

That was the smell of ozone.

Refrigerators had a drawback: unless it was ensured that the temperature was always below zero, bacteria would inevitably grow.

Once bacteria grew, any food placed inside would definitely be contaminated.

To solve this problem, scientists and capitalists used electrolysis to generate ozone to sterilize the inside of the refrigerator.

This also led to the current refrigerators always emitting a faint strange smell.

Scientists also said that food protected by ozone would be healthier, but in fact, it would make the taste of the food very strange.

So people basically put things in glass bottles, tightened the caps, and then put them in, instead of directly opening them and putting them in.

Mr. Serre took out a bottle of ice milk.

He put the pistol on the cabinet next to him, then unscrewed the cap and poured the milk into a glass.

Drinking a glass of milk at night could help him sleep better.

Just as he tilted his head back and finished the milk in the glass, ready to go back to sleep, he suddenly noticed out of the corner of his eye that two figures had suddenly appeared in the living room where there had been no one.

His whole body trembled violently, as if he had been greatly frightened, and he almost fell to the ground.

The glass in his hand fell to the ground and shattered, and at the same time, he didn't care about his somewhat painful instep and turned to grab the pistol on the cabinet.

It was this turning movement that made him realize that there was another person on his side, and he was already very close to him.

That person walked out of the shadows, holding a pistol in his hand, looking at him.

At this moment, the blood in his whole body seemed to cool down.

"Honey, what happened?" his wife's shout came from upstairs.

After waiting for seven or eight seconds, he didn't answer.

His wife shouted again, "Honey?"

Mr. Serre took a deep breath, "No, it's nothing, the glass fell on the ground."

The sound upstairs disappeared.

He lowered his voice a little, "There are a few hundred yuan in the drawer of the garage.

I promise not to call the police.

Take it and get out of my house..."

His tone was a little annoyed, "Jordan of the Death Angels is my brother.

If something happens to me, I guarantee that none of you will have a good ending!"

"He will find you and avenge me!"

"If I were you, I would go to the garage now, open the drawer, take the money and the keys, and drive my car away with my money too."

"I promise I won't call the police, just consider it us making friends."

His car wasn't the top luxury car, but it was a very good car, worth more than three thousand yuan, which was considered upper-middle class at this time.

Even if it was sold second-hand, it could be sold for a thousand or so.

Suddenly losing nearly two thousand did make him feel a little heartache, but compared to these money and life, he knew which was more important.

If they were really burglars or even robbers, then his strategy must have succeeded by now.

Instead of risking more to get potentially not much more money, it was better to safely leave with the cash and that car.

But this time he met Laun, Lance's man, which meant his little tricks wouldn't succeed.

Laun said softly, "You shouldn't have let that Jordan go to Goldport City, Mr. Serre."

When Mr. Serre heard this sentence, he knew he was in trouble.

His whole body went numb!

Something must have happened to Jordan, which was why these people appeared here.

He was just about to explain something when Laun said again, "Mr. Lance invites you and your family to Goldport City for a trip.

You will have plenty of time on the road to think about how to keep you all alive safely."

Mr. Serre didn't agree immediately.

His gaze shifted to the two figures in the living room again.

In the dim light, his eyes showed a hint of madness, but only a hint, not strong, nor obvious.

Laun persuaded, "If you do something you shouldn't do, I will shoot you dead, then go upstairs and shoot your wife and your children, and then set this place on fire."

"Mr. Lance didn't ask me to bring you back alive, understand what I mean?"

The madness in Mr. Serre's eyes gradually faded, leaving only reason and fear.

Laun tilted his head towards the stairs, "Go, wake them up.

Don't alarm the neighbors around, I don't want to wash this place with blood."

"Then pack your luggage, and then set off."

Half an hour later, the family, pale and silent, carried their suitcases into the van they had driven in.

No one dared to resist, under the intimidation of the gun.

Actually, if they really fought... well, if they really fought, they would only leave a pile of corpses.

At least they were still alive now.

Mr. Cerre left a note for the maid, telling her that they were going on vacation and that she only needed to maintain the cleanliness of the house and didn't need to worry about anything else.

The car left New Gold City under the cover of night, heading towards the state of Licale. After leaving the city, Mr. Cerre couldn't help but ask, "Jordan... is he alright?"

His only hope now rested on Jordan.

Rhone said with a smile, "I don't know who you're talking about, but they have all returned to God's embrace."

Mr. Cerre's eyes widened. He couldn't believe the news.

After a while, he lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, "My God..."