Empire of Shadows

After finishing the second order discussion, Alberto packed the chips on the table back into the brown paper bag. As a salesman at the Kodak family casino, he would exchange these chips for cash and then bring it back.

Then, he pulled out two twenty-dollar bills and placed them on the table, pushing them towards Lance with his index finger. "Go have some good drinks with your friends, and get some new clothes while you're at it. Dress up a bit."

"Now, you represent not only yourselves but also the company's image."

He saw what his crew looked like and could imagine just how bad it must be. Luckily, Lance didn't bring his friends inside.

Otherwise, his nose would definitely have suffered.

Today, it looked like he had given Lance a hundred and ninety dollars, but in reality, this money was actually earned by Lance for him and also represented a kind of investment.

If he could settle things with Mr. Anderson, Alberto would entrust Lance with even more of his debts to handle.

He always felt that Lance would gain a bigger reputation and stage in Golden Port City later on. The investment now didn't cost much, but it would surely pay off handsomely in the future.

Even if the investment failed, there would be no loss.

Before long, Lance said goodbye to Alberto. When he arrived at the lounge, the guys had already started having fun with the company's staff.

Ethan and Fodis were sitting at a table designated for arm wrestling, surrounded by a cheering crowd, some of whom were holding a bunch of one-dollar bills.

The faces of the two men at the table were beet red. Ethan was putting all his effort into it but still couldn't overpower Fodis.

Of course, Fodis also struggled to win against such a young man—he couldn't believe he might not win!

Both were exerting all their strength, causing the table to rock back and forth.

Gradually, Ethan's arm was pressed down bit by bit, and amidst the boos from the crowd, Fodis emerged victorious!

He was very happy, collecting the betting money from the others. It wasn't much, mostly one or two dollars each.

Though the money wasn't much, his mood was excellent.

He took five dollars from his winnings, handed it to Ethan, and clapped him on the back, "You have the potential to be a strongman, Ethan."

"When you're free, come find me. I'll take you to the gym. You'll like it there, and you'll like the atmosphere."

Lance thought of the image of two burly men wearing skin-tight, suspenders-style bodysuits, with the shape of their "eggs" clearly outlined, and couldn't help feeling a shiver of disgust.

"Finished talking with the boss?" Fodis bumped shoulders with Lance, "Looks like you're in a good mood."

Lance smiled and didn't deny it, "Where is the Kodak family's casino?"

"You're going to cash in the chips?"

"Of course."

Fodis gave him a location, "There will be someone at the door to verify your identity. Just show them the chips, and if they ask who referred you, mention my name."

"The Kodak family holds a high position in Golden Port City. Don't stir up trouble when you get there, because no one can save you if you do."

Golden Port City is home to the Five Great Families—

These Five Great Families don't refer to those political dynasties or "interest families" centered around some notable person or capitalist. They are five powerful gangs with family-like characteristics.

The Kodak family is one of them.

These five families together set the framework for the underworld order in Golden Port City, and while they often don't act like traditional gangs, underestimating them or disrespecting them would certainly make one pay for their foolishness.

One-third of the new oil drums in Angel Lake each year are dumped there by them, and another third is indirectly related to them.

Golden Port City contains immense wealth, drawing the attention of the whole world, and without some ability, it's hard to make a stand here.

The Kodak family monopolizes seventy percent of the gambling business in Golden Port City, and they also provide organized gambling opportunities for wealthy clients or social dignitaries and officials.

When they are not up to no good, it's hard to define them as "good" or "bad" because most of their casino businesses are legal and licensed.

Moreover, the current Family Head of the Kodak family is very keen on charity work.

Yes, charity work.

While they were prying their last yuan out of those gamblers' mouths, they also made donations to charitable organizations, which, by the way, had certain ties to the Kodak family.

After repeatedly cautioning Lance about things he should be careful of, Lance left with his friends.

On the car ride, Ethan suddenly said, "I actually could have beaten him."

Perhaps because the others hadn't reacted yet, or maybe because he wanted his statement to be more convincing, he continued, "If I had just pushed a bit harder, I could have taken him down."

"But I felt like I shouldn't win, so at the last moment, I held back some strength."

Lance was a bit surprised. Ethan had actually used his brains, or maybe it was just his instinct.

"Well done, Ethan. You definitely shouldn't have defeated him in front of so many people."

"He holds a high position within the company. Losing to you in front of everyone would have cost him his dignity, so you did the right thing."

"Of course, I'm not saying it would be right or good for you to lose face. The fact that you can analyze the situation is more important than winning or losing."

The traffic light at the intersection had turned red. He handed back the baton and stepped on the brakes. "Just now, Mr. Kodi gave me a hundred and fifty dollars. For every job we complete for him, he gives us five percent of the debts we collect as a reward."

"I plan to rent a house and then give each of you five dollars, any problem with that?"

Everyone shook their heads, indicating no problem. They were already satisfied with the prospect of getting five dollars just for a car ride!

Elvin had some concerns, but they weren't related to the money distribution. "Living in the culvert is actually pretty nice; there's no need to rent a house."

"No, it's necessary."

"We need a safe place to relax and rest, a place to wash up, and we need closets and beds."

"The culvert might be free, but it's not a place for long-term living. I plan to rent a detached house on the west side of the suburbs."

Golden Port City was built along the coast, and the most developed areas were almost all by the seaside and in the city center. The city's future development direction was to increase Golden Port City's coastline as much as possible.

The overall city development was expanding eastward, which resulted in the western part being far less developed compared to the city center, the Bay Area, and the Port District.

In less developed areas, the housing prices naturally wouldn't be too high, whether for sale or for rent.

With Lance having explained this, naturally, no one objected. Who would choose to sleep in a culvert if they could sleep in a bed?

Even though the culvert was really cool at this time!

It was already afternoon, too late to go to work, so Lance took them to buy a pile of food and brought it to the culvert.

The friends were overjoyed at the sight of all the food. When Ethan boasted, while drinking beer, about how bravely he handled the first deal, the others couldn't resist the excitement. They ran to Lance's side, begging to be included in the next job!

Lance didn't refuse; these people were the future backbone of the group and needed to be nurtured.

He also talked about renting the house and the method of income distribution.

Thirty percent of the income belonged to Lance, thirty percent went into a public account, which was, for the moment, held by Lance.

The remaining forty percent was distributed according to effort.

This distribution method established Lance as the "core of the group" for wealth distribution while also creating a group fund and ensuring a fair distribution based on contribution.

To get more, one must put in more effort.

If you want to lie at home doing nothing and still get money every month, forget about it!

The friends' enthusiasm was reignited, all thanks to the influence of money.

Money really is a magical thing; it can lift the spirits of the dejected and lower the damn head of the arrogant.

Lance could sense that his income, and the way he distributed wealth, made these people more cohesive.

They discussed until it got dark, and only then did Lance get up to leave. Although it was a bit late by that time, he had come by car.

Night security in Golden Port City was not good, but even so, car robberies were rare, after all, you have to get the car to stop first.

Stopping cars at night is a dangerous affair; most people not only won't stop, but they would likely hit the gas and plow through.

He returned to the bakery without any issues. Pushing the door open, the apprentice cleaning the floor didn't even look up as he said, "Sorry, we're closed..."