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Hearing Lance’s name from the receiver made the mayor slightly surprised, but this was immediately followed by great annoyance.

“How are you sure he did it?”

Chief Dale looked at the car parked on the side of the road across from him and said softly, “Because he’s right here!”

Under Chief Dale’s gaze, Roben the lawyer brought a group of bailed-out people to the car. He bent over slightly, his face full of a fawning smile, “Mr. Lance, I’ve brought everyone out. If you need anything else later, feel free to call me anytime, anywhere.”

He really liked clients like Lance: rich, and paid promptly. Most importantly, his “troubles” were constant.

Constant trouble meant that Roben the lawyer could continuously get new work from Lance and receive new payments.

And most importantly, whenever Lance needed him to grease some wheels, it was basically letting him use Lance’s money to maintain his network of contacts.

Of course, Roben the lawyer’s clients weren’t just Lance, it was just that Lance’s volume of business was higher recently, so the benefits he and his friends could get from it were naturally greater.

“Thank you, Mr. Roben. Keep in touch.”

Roben the lawyer had none of the airs of those elite lawyers. He was bowing, sticking his butt out, and even extended his hand next to his face to bid Lance farewell, “Goodbye, Mr. Lance.”

It wasn’t without reason that the mainstream lawyers looked down on him. At the very least, he lowered the average image of criminal lawyers in Golden Port, and not just by a little bit.

But for Roben the lawyer, face and such things were things he couldn’t care less about. He was already working exclusively for the mob. There was only one thing he cared about, and that was how much money he could make, not whether he had face.

After Roben the lawyer drove away, the others gathered around.

Several young men were supporting the bartender, who still couldn’t stand on his own.

Lance frowned, “What happened to him?”

The manager came over, “Mr. Lance, he was beaten up by that Lukar. He still can’t stand up, his stomach hurts.”

“Send him to the hospital. Don’t worry about the medical bills. Make sure the doctor gives him a thorough check-up. If he’s injured, remember to have them issue a diagnostic report.”

“The company will cover this expense. Then you all go back and rest well for two days. I’ll have Elvin give you an extra sum of money.”

“Don’t run around. There might be work at any time.”

“I’ve taken note of what you all went through inside. I will get justice for you.”

Lance looked at the weak bartender and told them to wait here a little longer, “I’ll arrange for a car to come over later…”

After giving these instructions, Lance’s car left, and Chief Dale’s gaze also withdrew from the car that had disappeared at the end of the road.

“He came over personally, as if to make some kind of provocation towards us. I feel it’s a bit tricky.”

Chief Dale’s tone seemed to betray a hint of weakness. He did want to climb higher, even use this assignment at the Bureau of Hazardous Materials to climb back to the capital.

If he could climb back this time, then he would no longer be a minor character, the kind that could be done without. He would also become a major figure who could not be ignored.

He thought this journey would be very easy, but what he couldn’t imagine was that from the time the Bureau of Hazardous Materials officially began to perform its duties until now, which wasn’t a very long time, so many things had happened.

He could still remember the body hanging in mid-air in the morning, swaying in the sea breeze. He could even feel a faint, unsettling stench in his nostrils.

He actually knew that it was just a hallucination under an uneasy state of mind, but he couldn’t ignore this hallucination.

People had already started dying. No, it should be said that the more intense counter-attack from these local powers had begun. He was very worried, worried about whether he could really return to that place, and also worried about his own safety.

He didn’t know how many people had to die. He began to have some doubts, doubting whether it was really worth it for them to do this.

The mayor heard the hint of weakness hidden in his tone and immediately said in a very firm voice, “Dale, they are afraid!”

“Because they are afraid, that’s why they hang a corpse to intimidate those who plan to inform, because they are afraid!”

“There are so many bars in this city, they can’t control everyone’s thoughts. I believe our cause is right, and the gentlemen in Congress and Mr. President can also see our efforts.”

“The more difficult the situation, the more beautiful our achievements, and the higher our value in the eyes of the big shots!”

“If you were stuffed into a place where no one drinks, your work would be easy, but do you think anyone would value you?”

“I know our start is a bit difficult now, we are facing the entire city, but believe me, we will be the ultimate victors!”

“And think about it, if you give up, if you stop resisting, how long can you stay in this position?”

“Will they leave such an important position to someone who doesn’t resist?”

“Think about it carefully. I think we have a chance to win. Don’t be defeated by difficulties!”

After listening to his long speech, Chief Dale was reinvigorated, “Yes, you are very right. I will not be defeated by temporary difficulties.”

“But this incident also made me realize that the enemy we are facing is more difficult to deal with than I imagined.”

The mayor breathed a sigh of relief, “So, this is why we are here. They want to see us handle this place, so let’s show them what we can do!”

He originally wanted to say something else, but in the end, he didn’t.

After this incident, the public would obviously not trust the Bureau of Hazardous Materials very much, not believing they could protect the personal information of informants well.

So from the mayor’s perspective, what Chief Dale should do most right now is to give the public an “explanation.” Just find a fool, say this person is the leaker, and then dispose of them.

Only in this way can they regain their image in the eyes of the public.

But the Bureau of Hazardous Materials was Chief Dale’s own territory. It wasn’t appropriate for the mayor to interfere in the other party’s work. He could only hope that Chief Dale would understand this point as soon as possible.

After hanging up the phone, he said to his personal secretary, “Tell Brinton to get to work as soon as he has rested. I’m tired of hearing bad news about Lance, and that ridiculously stupid Lance Family of his!”

As he spoke, he stood up and walked to the window, looking at the vibrant city outside, “The war has only just begun!”

Just as Lance returned to the office, Fordis came over, “Paul invites you to have dinner together tonight. No one else, just our own people.”

Lance considered it for a moment and did not refuse.

Today, he could be said to have been in the spotlight, and he directly chose a very clever position and time. As the struggle between the locals and the mayor’s faction was constantly escalating, his statement was like a clear stance and a banner.

Now the locals didn’t care at all whether he was a local in the true sense. Sometimes, everyone’s “standard” for a local was set very low.

It wasn’t necessary to be a local by blood to be a local. A spiritual local could also be considered a kind of local!

Without a doubt, Lance had fiercely slapped Chief Dale in the face. This slap made many people who saw the newspaper or heard the news laugh out loud at that moment.

The more ordinary Lance’s reputation was, the greater the force of this slap. Mr. Pasoretto couldn’t help but laugh when he found out.

Now he alone contracted more than seventy percent of the mid-to-high-end liquor sales market in Golden Port, so the Bureau of Hazardous Materials would also be his “enemy.”

And everyone had reached a consensus, which was that Lance could not “fall.”

The heads of the Five Families had already communicated. In fact, the whole matter was very simple, from their perspective.

If Lance could continue to live well, the longer he existed and the better he lived, the wider the influence of killing the informant would be.

But on the other hand, if Lance and the Lance Family fell quickly, for whatever reason, it would be seen as retaliation from the mayor’s faction.

Some small gangs might become neutral because of this, especially those whose scale and power were not as good as the Lance Family’s.

So this time, Paul inviting Lance to dinner was not only a statement, but he also planned to talk to Lance about this matter and give him some support.

Weapons, or something else. It depended on what Lance needed.

After agreeing to Paul’s invitation, Fordis left. Their work had been quite busy recently, because Alberto also had a bar of his own, and it was not small in scale.

Now that the Bureau of Hazardous Materials was chasing people and biting them like a mad dog everywhere, they had to take care of that bar as well.

“How was Bolton today?” After dealing with some work on hand, Lance asked Elvin.

Elvin immediately replied, “I heard he started work early in the morning, no different from the past. I’ve already had someone keep an eye on him.”

“Last night after we left, he had a big fight with his daughter Nancy. Then Nancy took her luggage and moved out. She went to her boyfriend’s place.”

Lance raised an eyebrow, “A form of protection.”

Elvin quite agreed with Lance’s point of view, “I think so too.”

Letting Nancy stay away from matters related to the gang and Lance, even letting her social circle be far away from gang life, this was the greatest protection for her.

It had to be said, his approach was very correct. Lines that don’t intersect will have no connection or conflict.

As for taking revenge for Rob?

Nancy might have such thoughts, but she would never be able to implement them in her lifetime, because she didn’t have this ability.

“Also, while you were out, Gerald called. He’s on his way back.”

Gerald was filming a movie in Valley City, a connection Alberto had found.

Now capital, including the mob, was starting to get interested in sound films. It just so happened that the previous film crew had directly changed the silent film into a sound film and was already in the process of shooting.

Gerald’s appearance was very good. Originally, he was just a character with no plot, but now the director and screenwriter both believed he could get more plot and had become an important supporting character.

As one of Golden Port’s important satellite cities, the “Golden Port Today” would also be printed and sold in Valley City.

Early in the morning, he saw the body of his cousin Rob in the newspaper, so he immediately asked for leave and rushed back.

Elvin glanced at his watch, “He should be here before twelve.”

Valley City was only a little over a hundred kilometers from Golden Port, which is why people often said that the population loss in Valley City was directly related to Golden Port.

City Hall planned and began to implement the construction of a railway from Golden Port to Valley City. This was a railway that would not be connected to the entire railway network, specifically serving people traveling between the two cities.

The mayor of Valley City strongly opposed it, but the state government believed it would help the interaction between the two cities. Under the promotion of the Socialist Party, it approved the construction of this railway, accelerating Golden Port’s “blood-sucking” speed from Valley City.

But it would take at least another year or two to complete.

Lance wasn’t worried about Gerald coming back. After all, compared to his cousin who was like a stranger, these people here were his real “family.”

A little after eleven-thirty, a car stopped outside the firm. Gerald got out of the car.

After greeting some people he knew in front, he was led by Elvin to Lance’s office.

After meeting, Lance gave him a hug. Gerald had a scent of perfume on him. In this era, men in the Federation were not used to wearing perfume, which made him feel a bit awkward.

As soon as he sat down, Gerald couldn’t help but ask, “What happened to him, is it like what the newspaper said?”

Lance nodded, his movement not fast, “Yes, he sold out the information about our bar to the Bureau of Hazardous Materials. Two of our bars were taken down.”

Gerald immediately showed a look of indignation, “This damn guy, he really deserved it!”

As he spoke, he became a little nervous again, “This won’t affect our relationship, right?”

“I never knew about those things he did, nor would I support him.”

Lance nodded, “This is between him and us, it has nothing to do with you.”

He looked at Gerald’s hesitant appearance, and Lance leaned back, “There’s no need for us to hide anything from each other.”

If it weren’t for Lance’s help, on the smuggling ship, Gerald would have been in trouble!

He pursed his lips, “I might need your help with something over there.”

Elvin came over and sat next to him, “We are brothers, you can just tell us directly.”

Gerald stated the reason he needed help.

Because he was very handsome, he was very popular with the girls in the film crew, as well as the director and screenwriter.

Of course, the director and screenwriter favored him because he had a background, but people are visual animals. A handsome man is not just good-looking, but can also add some content to their movie.

For example, Gerald, who was originally supposed to be the fourth or fifth supporting actor, had now become the first supporting actor.

They gave him a new identity—a flower-like young master from a wealthy family.

This not only made Gerald steal some of the scenes that originally belonged to the first and second male supporting actors, but also made the main actor a little unhappy with him.

He was too good-looking, which would make the protagonist look less dazzling. This would make the audience feel that the female lead must be blind to be with the male lead.

This was a movie about love.

So they used Gerald’s lack of experience in acting to often find trouble with him.

The director had spoken with him in private. If he had backers, he’d better bring them out as soon as possible, otherwise these people would only get more and more out of hand.

Before, he felt… he wanted to succeed through his own efforts, to make Lance and his other friends proud.

But as those people started throwing dead rats, cockroaches, and other things into his room, and even into his water cup, he felt that this matter still had to be handled by Lance.

Listening to these things he said, Lance found it a bit amusing, “You should have called and told me earlier. Don’t forget, what do we do for a living.”

Elvin couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “We’re not trying to be elected as some model youth of the Federation. On the contrary, I’m a little interested in these people. Didn’t you tell them about your relationship with us?”

Lance raised his hand, “We have a bit of a reputation in Golden Port, maybe a little less in Valley City, but that’s okay, they’ll soon know who we are.”

He considered it for a moment, “I have other things tonight. We’ll go to Valley City together tomorrow morning. That way we can finish up and come back in the afternoon without any delay…”

All day long, the Bureau of Hazardous Materials didn’t seem to come up with any response plan. This also made those who wanted to get benefits through reporting feel that something was wrong.

If they had no countermeasures, who would dare to risk being killed to sell out the locations of those bars?

At least until they found the mole, these people would not report.

In the evening, Lance first drove to find Alberto, and then they went together to the manor in the Summuri District.

When they met, Mr. Pasoretto was personally cooking barbecue.

“Every Summurian man is an expert at barbecue!” Mr. Pasoretto didn’t mind the smoke and fire here at all. He even invited Lance to come and barbecue together.

The entire lawn was surrounded by many armed bodyguards. On the manor’s buildings, Lance also saw some people with rifles on their backs, like sentinels.

The place looked very heavily guarded.

Lance and Alberto put on aprons together and came to the grill.

Unlike the Federation’s style of barbecue, Summurian people like “big.” They either string a lot of meat together on the grill, or they put a whole leg of lamb or a large piece of beef on it.

Instead of cutting it into small pieces and grilling them individually.

Just looking at it was very satisfying.

The three of them gathered around the grill. Mr. Pasoretto skillfully operated the fork in his hand to judge whether the barbecue was cooked.

His movements were very skilled, as if he often did these things.

“Lance, you gave us all a surprise. Today, everyone was talking about you the most.”

“There are some things that are not convenient for us to do. You know, once we do them, it means the pace of things will speed up.”

“But if you do it, there’s no problem at all.”

“At a critical moment, you made a critical decision. Everyone said we should give you something. I want to ask, what do you want?”

He turned around, looked at Lance, like a wish-granting genie in a fairy tale, asking for Lance’s wish.

***

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