Empire of Shadows

Most bars in the Upper District (Starlight District) play trendy or relaxing music, and many have live bands.

The little cotton-picking experts finally ushered in complete freedom after experiencing all kinds of hardships, but freedom made them feel lost and confused.

In the past, although the farm owners and planters sometimes whipped them, making them always work, work, work.

At least the planters would feed them, and even if the food wasn't good, they would make sure they were full.

Some planters even found wives for them. They didn't have to consider any other external conditions to get a female slave and start their own small family.

They only needed simple labor, without needing to think about anything else, and their family could have enough to eat and clothes to wear.

Their children were the same. From the moment they were born, they had work and a future.

Although they were tired every day, isn't that what life is like?

But what about now?

They are no longer whipped, no longer forced to pick cotton, and no one asks them to do this or that, but what have they gained?

Freedom?

No, they have gained something even more terrifying—the shackles of life!

When these people need to pay money to fill their stomachs, some of them feel angry and ashamed at those ancestors who shouted the slogan of "We need freedom" and launched the abolitionist movement!

They only sought their own short-term happiness and ease, but made these people lose their guaranteed income, regardless of drought or flood.

They had to develop new professional skills to make a living, in addition to their skills in picking cotton and growing crops.

Singing is their newly discovered talent.

Perhaps those little experts who are curled up in the shadows under the bridge, hungry and not knowing where tomorrow will be, will miss the great era described in hateful tones by their elders, an era they yearn for!

Everyone had a job and could fill their stomachs!

The guys in the bars in the Upper District gently sway their bodies, using their low, textured voices to smooth out the wrinkles on people's souls. At this time, having a drink makes the whole person feel relaxed.

But in the Lower District, the Port District, or the Imperial District, the bars play trendy music that the upper class despises.

Popular, easy to understand, and with some scalp-numbing lyrics, just like at this moment.

A middle-aged man in his forties stood on the stage, holding a guitar and singing a very popular song recently—

I can't pee, oh, because I got an STD.

I love that girl, but she gave me that nasty disease. If this is love, it must be love with poison...

When Lance first heard that this kind of song was actually a "popular song", his mind went blank.

What made him feel even more incredible was that the young men around him could actually hum along.

It was Ervin who explained to him that this is a song about young people's reflection on promiscuity and love, very avant-garde and cutting-edge. Maybe the original singer didn't even think that this song could be so damn popular!

In fact, in addition to this song, there are also songs about the feelings between gays.

This era is an important period when passion accompanies immune system diseases from the underground to the surface. Because of this new super virus, coupled with some people's propaganda and misinformation, the whole society believes that gays' wrong choices have angered God, so God has sent down punishment to take away all the heretics who violate the Bible!

They frantically suppressed and criticized this group that violated the norm, and the pressure on this group also became very great, and the conflict between the two sides continued to escalate.

They created some cultural works, such as popular songs. In the songs, lovers are no longer the opposite sex. Surprisingly, the songs have also gained the support and love of many people.

Love is pure. In God's eyes, we only have the black and white of the soul, not the left and right of the body.

Young people think it's cool, so they spread it, just like the song in the bar now that connects sex, STDs, and love.

Bizarre culture accompanied by economic depression began to break out, which is also something that can almost always be seen when each round of great depression breaks out.

Society becomes absurd, people become absurd, and so does culture.

Men and women in the bar were humming while drunk, and the bartender observed the situation in the bar while wiping the glasses.

Most of the bars in the Port District are some people at the bottom of society. They not only have to bear the weight of their own lives, but also the weight of the upper and middle classes in society. These weights are crushing them.

Alcohol can make them relax, and it may also make them lose control of their emotions and become crazy.

Controlling them before they cause more damage is what bartenders and security guards need to find and do.

Tonight, as always, there are many people. People drink, chat, and sing loudly along with those damn lyrics. Some girls even show their breasts and laugh loudly.

All the pain, whether physical or mental, seems to become less heavy at this moment under the influence of alcohol.

No wonder people like to drink, the more bitter people like it, not only like it, but also get themselves drunk.

Because only in this state can they not feel the pain and weight of their short lives.

During this period, everyone was very careful and vigilant because of the "war" with the Kodak family.

After watching for a while and seeing that there was no problem, the bartender put the glass that could not be cleaned any cleaner and picked up another one.

On the roof outside the bar, two guys with weapons in their hands huddled together smoking.

Although the temperature has risen now, it is still a bit cold at night, and the wind in the port is strong, blowing whistlingly. If you stand still for a while, you can feel the bone-chilling cold.

The two were chatting about some very ordinary things. There were also many interesting things in the gang, such as who might be promoted to captain, who could get the operating rights of a certain bar, and who was doing what.

For young people, gangs and families are almost everything to them!

Here they can get everything they need on their life path, wealth, status, and the love of girls.

Gangsters are more likely to be sought after by young women with low levels of education, which has also become one of their topics, women and sex.

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard the sound of a car in their ears. They bent down, put down the cigarettes, stepped on them, and stared at the cars at both ends of the alley.

"Doesn't look like our own people," one of them said.

After waiting for more than ten seconds, watching those people get out of the car with weapons, the other person ran hard to the door of the rooftop entrance and slammed a red button.

The music in the bar suddenly stopped, the bartender frowned, and there was a commotion in the bar. The manager also came out of the office with a weapon.

Someone said through the microphone, "We have encountered a little trouble. There will be a shootout here soon. Please leave from the door on the right. Thank you for your cooperation!"

Some people who were not too drunk quickly calmed down, finished the wine in their glasses, and left with their friends from the door on the right.

But there were also some people who obviously didn't believe what they said, or thought... at this moment, even if God came, they would have to punch him a few times before leaving!

These people shouted that they would make the people who came to cause trouble suffer. Regarding these people's stupid ideas, the bartender asked the security guards to drive them away with sticks.

In the end, there were still a few people who refused to leave, even if they were beaten with sticks.

Faced with this kind of person, the bartender no longer stopped them.

A person's life is a large exam, a multiple-choice question, followed by another multiple-choice question.

Almost 99% of the questions can be scored even if they are answered incorrectly, but occasionally there will be a few questions that, once answered incorrectly, will be directly eliminated.

As the door of the bar was broken open, the bar started firing wildly at the entrance with a submachine gun.

In an instant, the bullets, wood chips, and shattered glass flying everywhere finally woke up those drunkards.

They shivered and lay on the floor, unable to tell whether it was the wine they had accidentally spilled that wet their pants, or their urine, and they no longer had the豪气 of giving God two punches just now!

In a gunfight in this environment, the defending side definitely has more advantages than the attacking side.

Those people outside had to face fire from multiple directions as soon as they rushed in from the door of the bar, and it was difficult for them to organize an effective attack.

On the contrary, these people in the bar had already chosen favorable positions, behind the bar, behind the tables, in the attic on the second floor...

Their original plan was not like this. They thought that there were still many people in the bar, and when they rushed in, it would definitely be difficult for the bar to organize an effective counterattack.

They only needed to shoot randomly, and whether they killed the guests in the bar or the people from the Lance family, they could achieve the effect they wanted.

But they didn't expect that the people in the bar would be evacuated so quickly!

The firefight did not last long, about five minutes. The people from the Kodak family saw that they really couldn't rush in, and finally gave up.

They threw two grenades in, then ran away. The two people on the roof shot down two or three people, and the remaining people dragged some wounded to the entrance of the alley, and finally drove away.

The manager and bartender had barely breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that the others had left when they heard the sirens of police cars. They exchanged a glance, hastily dealt with the weapons in their hands, and fled through the side door, leaving behind a group of drunken patrons, too inebriated to even stand.

Undoubtedly, they had joined forces, which was exactly what Lance had anticipated.

Otherwise, the police wouldn't have arrived so promptly. They likely arrived long ago, but had been waiting, waiting for their targets to leave before suddenly activating the alarm and rushing in.

If the people in the bar resisted, they would be charged with a crime of fighting the police.

If they didn't resist, running a bar and a possible "murder" charge would be enough to keep them behind bars for life.

This time, the police arrangement was very meticulous. They had blocked almost all escape routes. Before long, some of the slower ones were pinned down in the alley by the police.

This time, they didn't resist or struggle, simply accepting the fact of their arrest.

The bartender's face was pressed against the damp, cold ground. He looked at the manager, whose face was also pressed against the ground, and they both wore expressions of helplessness.

At the same time, Lance put down the phone in his hand, interlaced his fingers, and rested his chin on them. "Another bar has encountered the same thing."

He looked at the familiar faces in the office. "The bar was attacked, and then the police immediately raided it. Now the Hazardous Materials Management Bureau has also started to get involved."

He shook his head as he spoke, "It seems like they've all joined forces."

Actually, it wasn't just 'seems like,' because that was the reality.

Police response isn't usually this fast. For the current Federation, as long as the police car arrives at the scene within thirty minutes, it's not considered too late!

Many patrol officers simply won't actively take calls, especially for cases involving gun battles.

When the radio broadcasts these cases to the police cars on the street, it will include the code word 'crossfire' to protect the officers' safety.

Many officers, upon hearing the key phrases 'gang' and 'crossfire,' will pretend not to hear.

They also don't encourage regular patrol officers to get involved in these cases to avoid unnecessary casualties.

Usually, the police department sends specialized heavily armed police to handle the case, so it takes even longer.

The fact that the alarm was suddenly triggered and the bar was surrounded as soon as the people from the Coda family left can only mean that they've joined forces.

The expressions on the faces of the people in the room were grim, but no one offered any opinions, simply looking at Lance.

Lance released his hands, leaned back in his chair, and rested his hands on the armrests. "Honestly, when they abandon all shame, they really cause us a lot of trouble and problems."

Problems between individual gangs, like the result of the bar fight just now, either they beat down Lance's people, or they got the other side beat down.

Then they would go back to their business, continue their operations, and go back to the hospital if they need to.

But after the police, and even the Hazardous Materials Management Bureau, joined in, things became very bad.

Lance would not only lose his men, but the bar would also be shut down, and he would also lose a lot of money.

Because they completely crossed the line and joined forces, but it also showed that Lance had really pushed them to their limits.

"Let the other bars suspend operations for now."

After thinking about it, it seemed that this was the only way.

Moreover, it was still unknown what the situation was at the scenes of the attacked bars. If some 'innocent citizens' died, the problem would probably become even bigger and more troublesome.

There was also the question of whether those who were caught would betray him, would betray the family?

This was also something he couldn't guarantee. Never underestimate people's loyalty, but never overestimate it either.

If those people were all the people in this room, and their interests were highly tied to Lance and the Lance family, Lance wouldn't worry, because betraying the family would be like lying in a coffin themselves.

But those small characters, some of them might waver between a heavy sentence and becoming a witness with immunity.

Hiram picked his nose and asked, "Are we just going to avoid their edge like this?"

As he spoke, he stuck the booger under the table. Lance rolled his eyes. "You better get a tissue and clean up your booger for me, or I'll cut your nose off with a knife sooner or later!"

Hiram shook his head, took out a tissue, wiped the place where the booger was stuck, and threw it into the trash can.

Lance glared at him again. Erwin smiled and said, "That's just how he is... So, what are we going to do next?"

He steered the topic back to the main point. Lance lit a cigarette. "We definitely can't compete with them if they join forces. When the referee and the players gang up on us, even God would get punched a couple of times!"

"First, find a way to split them up."

"Have people keep an eye on those people from the Coda family, and also Hunter."

"Are we going to take action against Hunter?" Erwin asked.

Lance didn't deny it. "Yes, since he's determined to oppose us, then let's replace him!"

"As for the others, don't worry about them for now. Our money is enough for us to use for a long time. The temporary closure of the bars won't affect our financial problems."

"The shipments from the valley and the farm won't be affected either, so our main task right now is to take care of this small group of 'rebels.'"

"Of course, the most important thing now is to have lawyer Robben provide them with assistance, so that those brothers don't have to worry. Even if they are locked up, I will get them out as soon as possible."

This time, their purpose in notifying the Hazardous Materials Management Bureau was actually to make these people's sentences heavier and longer.

In order to prohibit alcohol, the Prohibition Committee allows local courts to impose excessive sentences.

The funny thing is that first-degree murder is not necessarily a death sentence, but if you transport and sell smuggled alcohol, there is a considerable probability that the sentence will exceed first-degree murder, and there is even a certain possibility that you will be sentenced to death!

All night long, the Imperial District and the Harbor District were filled with the sound of alarms and the flashing of red and blue lights, and everyone was guessing what had happened.

But no matter what they guessed, the "protagonist" of the story was only one, and that was Lance, and the Lance family.

The Lance family is the only gang in the Imperial District and the Harbor District now, so so many police car movements must be directed at them.

For a time, many people were inquiring whether the Lance family was finished…

At around 11 p.m., Chief Blue—Goldenport City's Forest Police Department only has one, so he is now a complete chief.

But this chief is not as good as being a branch chief in Goldenport City.

He drove to Lance's company. The company was brightly lit, and there were still many people here, even coming and going.

In Lance's office, Chief Blue sat opposite Lance.

He already knew what had happened and was very worried, worried that Lance would really fall in this round.

So as soon as Lance summoned him, he came immediately.