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“You must know which warehouses at the docks belong to the Liji Group.”
Jack frowned after hearing this, “If you want to take some agricultural products from their warehouses to cover your losses, Lance, I can only say that this idea is not very realistic.”
He looked at Lance and explained the reason in detail, “The prices of those agricultural products are actually not very expensive, like wheat, potatoes, and the like, only a few dozen dollars a ton.”
“If you’re counting on emptying their warehouses to get your profits back, I think it’s very unrealistic. How many tons would you have to take away to make up for your loss?”
He shook his head, “The only possibility is their top-grade beef, but those beef have dedicated warehouses and dedicated people to guard them. It’s easy for you to get a little out, but a lot is almost impossible.”
“Because you would need to use a large number of trucks, cranes, and hoisting equipment. Even if you operate in the middle of the night, many people will notice you, not to mention they have their own night shift staff and security guards. You don’t have the time and space to do this.”
As he spoke, he was also trying to find a countermeasure for Lance, but after thinking for a while, he still didn’t have any good ideas. “I can tell you their warehouse configuration, but I can’t help you with other problems.”
Lance did not tell Jack his plan because he was not yet sure if Jack was reliable, and the power this plan could generate was huge, so he was not likely to tell anyone before its implementation.
Claiming compensation was only part of it; his real goal was the Liji Group’s stock price.
In the Federation, the financial sector was unprecedentedly prosperous, and various financial games had been developed by capitalists.
You could buy stocks and wait for them to appreciate before selling, or you could borrow some stocks from a broker, sell them for cash, and then buy the stocks back at a low price after a period of time to return to the broker.
There were many ways to make money here, but strangely, it was always a small group of people who made money.
Once a group company has some claims and scandals, the negative development will soon be directly reflected in their stocks. This is the way Lance wants to get justice.
He had heard some similar things from a friend with the surname Lin, some of the means and methods used by capitalists to embezzle the wealth of the people.
This time he needed to borrow it for a bit, to use on the capitalists.
Seeing that Lance was insistent, he finally decided to tell Lance the configuration of the Liji Group’s warehouses.
The two had a little something to eat outside the racetrack at noon. After half-past twelve, a large number of people began to enter the venue.
Lance casually bought a few horse racing tickets and entered the stands with Jack.
He had seen sports competitions, for example, the Sailing Team’s competition, the time he was dragged by Alberto to watch.
The two commentators narrated the competition from beginning to end at a leisurely pace, and could even chat during the commentary, saying things unrelated to the competition.
But at the racetrack, the commentator’s mouth seemed to have been borrowed from someone else, and the return deadline was imminent. It was as if not using it fiercely would be a disservice to himself.
From the moment the racehorses left the starting gate, it was almost like the sound of a submachine gun, chattering non-stop, until the horses crossed the finish line, only then would it stop.
The moment the horses crossed the finish line, many people around stood up excitedly, raising their hands and waving the horse racing tickets in their hands.
But there was also a considerable number of people who would stand up cursing, then throw the horse racing tickets in their hands out, accompanied by all sorts of greetings.
Greeting the racehorses they had bought, and also greeting the jockeys.
Jack had no mind to chat with Lance at all. He began to look through the horse racing tickets in his hand, took out a few of them separately, and tore them up and threw them on the ground with a look of annoyance.
“Lost a few bucks.”
Lance didn’t have much of a feeling about this, “How much could you win if you won?”
Jack took out the remaining horse racing ticket in his hand, “If the horse I chose in the next race comes in first, I can get a return of two dollars from the Jockey Club.”
Lance showed an expression that everyone understood after hearing this, “Sounds like very little, only two dollars.”
Jack added, “If I guess right in the third race, then it can provide me with a return of ten dollars.”
“The fourth race, if I guess right again, they’ll have to give me fifty!”
“A fifty-fold profit, Lance, one dollar can get you fifty dollars, and you know, it’s not without a chance. We don’t have to buy the long shots, we only play for first place!”
“There are many ways to play here, but we are all pursuing the one with the highest odds, and that’s what we are playing now.”
Lance asked a very crucial question, “Have you ever won?”
Jack was silent for a moment, “Alright, you win. I’m often just one step away from victory, but I can never take that most crucial step!”
“I’m never too far from victory each time, I might be lacking a bit of luck!”
Winning is always a low-probability event. In this kind of game that can obviously be controlled by people, what determines victory or defeat is never luck and probability.
For the sake of needing some lucky ones to continue to encourage others to keep investing, there will be a few lucky ones every time.
They will be happy that they have won the grand prize, while at the same time regretting that they bought too little. Only in this way can people’s greed be further stimulated.
Until all the races ended today, Jack had not managed to make himself a dream-chaser.
“I invested a total of twenty-two dollars, and now I have five dollars in my hand. At least I didn’t lose everything, right?”
It was hard for Lance to agree with him, “But you lost seventeen.”
Jack rolled his eyes, “But I still have five.”
“But you lost seventeen…”
Jack took a deep breath and slapped his hands at his sides, “Alright, I lost seventeen dollars, what a terrible day!”
“I have to go home for dinner tonight, my daughter needs me, so…”
Lance extended his hand, “It’s okay, I have things to do tonight too. We’ll get in touch later.”
“Goodbye.”
“Goodbye!”
Watching Jack leave, Lance also got back in the car.
The Federation government doesn’t seem to care much about the smuggling problem now, but they will sooner or later. At that time, smuggling will become difficult.
Especially… when the Federal Bureau of Investigation begins to search everywhere for opportunities to seize power like a wild dog greedy for power, some things in the entire country will change.
In the evening, the big guys gathered together again. Elvin had already found out some news through some channels.
“Several big gangs have come from Fides. It seems they plan to develop here in Golden Port.”
“These people have also appeared in other districts, but they are just from other gangs. Especially in the Port District, they have already started to grab territory and have friction with the surrounding neighborhood families.”
“The leader of the Viper Gang is still holding down the fort in Fides. If Brinton can open up the situation in Golden Port, then they will all move their operations to Golden Port.”
“This place is much more prosperous than Fides. For gangs like them, it’s full of temptation. It can be seen that in the coming period, more outside gangs will come over.”
“The underworld of Golden Port is bound to be chaotic for a while.”
“Those guys from Fides have been at the Empire of the Night nightclub all this time. I heard they redecorated the third floor and turned it into their main base. There are always a lot of people there at all times.”
“Including Brinton, it seems he’s living at the Empire of the Night.”
“If we take the initiative to attack them, we might encounter stubborn resistance.”
Lance took out a cigarette from his ivory case, tapped the butt end on the riverbank to pack the tobacco, then put it in his mouth and lit it.
“If we take the initiative to attack the Empire of the Night, we will be in a passive position. We all know that building is very solid.”
“My meaning is to find a way to lure them out. As long as they leave that building, we can find a place to ambush them.”
“With preparation against unpreparedness, our chances of winning are greater.”
Everyone agreed with this suggestion. Except for Ennio, they had all participated in the firefight in the Triangle Area and knew that they had survived because the house they were in at the time was easy to defend and hard to attack.
If the Camille gang wanted to rush in, they had to accept a baptism of bullets. No one could survive being hit, so they couldn’t get in at all.
Even in the later alley fights, because of the lack of cover, the other side couldn’t advance. After everyone shot at each other for a while, it finally ended with the Camille gang’s defeat.
The force required for an attack is always greater than the force required for defense, and this also requires the attacker to have a strong psychological quality and ability to withstand pressure.
Lance wasn’t worried about their psychological quality and ability to withstand pressure; he just didn’t want so many people to die.
After a brief discussion, everyone thought Lance’s idea was very good. At least it could reduce their casualties.
Since no one had any objections, Lance continued, “Aren’t they asking about where our bars are?”
“Then let’s find a bar to use as bait and find a way to lure them out.”
Ennio was a little worried, “Will we encounter any danger?”
Lance shook his head, “Even if we don’t tell them where our bars are, do you think they won’t be able to find them?”
“There are two hundred thousand people in the Empire District, at least several thousand or even tens of thousands of drunkards. The characteristics of these people are too obvious.”
“Not everyone is on our side. There are many people who are on the side of ‘money.’ As long as they are willing to spend money, they will definitely be able to find some clues.”
“So instead of responding passively, it’s better to take the initiative and give them the information.”
“Even if something goes wrong, we’ll just lose a bar. It’s very simple to rebuild; all we need is liquor.”
“But what they will lose is their lives, which they can never get back!”
In the end, everyone agreed with Lance’s idea. Lance then handed this matter over to Elvin to make a plan, with him making the final decision.
For the past few days, the middle-aged man who appeared at the bakery in the morning came every day. Every day he would buy some more bread in an attempt to get on good terms with these old men.
This also made him a regular at the bakery and a “familiar face” in the eyes of the surrounding old men.
Another morning, the middle-aged man came to the bakery around nine o’clock. He bought half a pound of bread, had the shop owner cut it into thumb-sized pieces, and then went to the table outside.
He tore open the kraft paper bag and motioned for everyone to eat. The four old men sitting at the table were not polite and directly started eating.
The bread from this kind of ordinary roadside bakery was not soft at all, nor did it have the aroma of butter or other spices, and it wasn’t sweet.
It was just ordinary salty bread, and it was hard and unappetizing.
But it had to be admitted that when chatting, it was indeed one of the foods that could be used for pastime.
The old men’s teeth were not very good, so a small piece of bread could last them a while.
The topics everyone chatted about were still so… scattered. From the “Secret History of the Empire’s Emperor” to the “Chaos of the Empire’s Rebel Army,” from the Federation President wearing little bear underwear to the First Lady swearing.
Anyway, for them, there was nothing in this world they didn’t know.
In order to join in the topics of these old men, the middle-aged man had indeed done some homework these past few days.
Now every day he had to read the “International News” and “Golden Port Today” before he could come over, otherwise, he couldn’t chat with these people at all.
It would be best to also read some like the “Planet News” or “Federation Daily” and “The Post.” These old men’s knowledge was too broad and varied. Ordinary people really couldn’t keep up with their topics.
The middle-aged man had gradually found some feeling and could interject from time to time to express his own views.
And the old men’s listening and occasional affirmation gave him an illusion that he should have studied hard back then, maybe he wouldn’t have to be in a gang now…
As it was about to be noon, the half-pound of bread on the table was almost finished by everyone, and the middle-aged man also planned to take his leave.
Before leaving, he still had to tentatively inquire with these old men.
“It was very pleasant chatting with you. I’ve recently found that I really like being with you all. You’ve taught me a lot of things. My perspective on the world is also different from before.”
“Sometimes I really want to buy you all a drink, to celebrate, or to thank you for saving my life…”
Again, it was being emotional plus inquiring. He was very good at this.
When he said this before, the old men would always brush it off, but today, the situation was obviously different.
An old man who looked a bit thin showed an expression that the middle-aged man couldn’t understand, like being a bit proud, and also like showing off. He stomped his cane on the ground twice.
“If you really have this intention and are not just saying it casually, perhaps your idea can be realized.”
He paused, “Do you know how much it would cost to buy all of us a drink?”
The middle-aged man suppressed the ecstasy in his heart and asked, “How much?”
“At least two dollars!”
Including the middle-aged man, there were a total of five people. If they drank the twenty-five-cent “bomb,” that would be one dollar and twenty-five cents.
And it was highly unlikely they would only drink one cup. They might drink two, or drink whiskey or gin.
The middle-aged man resisted the urge to immediately take out a large handful of money and said with an expression of contempt for the other party, “It’s only two dollars.”
The thin old man chuckled, “I hope you can still smile after you get to the bar.”
He looked at the others, “We all have things to do tonight. Let’s do it tomorrow. Tomorrow at seven in the evening, we’ll go over together.”
The middle-aged man wished he could get this information right now. His voice was even trembling slightly, “You can tell me where it is. I’ll go there and wait for you.”
But the thin old man didn’t fall for this, “I said, we’ll go over together then. You’re not thinking of skipping out on the bill, are you?”
The middle-aged man immediately denied it, “Of course not… Since you request it, then we’ll see each other tomorrow night?”
The thin old man confirmed again and again, “See you then.”
Then the old men said their goodbyes to each other and got up to leave.
The middle-aged man also quickly left here. He took a car to the next stop, then drove back to the Empire of the Night.
“So, you’ll know where the bar is tomorrow night?” Brinton showed a satisfied smile. He patted the middle-aged man on the shoulder, “Good job. After we take care of the Lance Family, that bar will be yours to run.”
The middle-aged man almost couldn’t suppress his ecstasy. He certainly knew how profitable the illegal liquor in Golden Port was. This meant he was about to become a high-level member of the gang!
This money was enough for him to support a large number of subordinates!
“Thank you, thank you!”
“Brinton, I will always be your loyal friend!”
Brinton hugged him as if he hadn’t reacted, “We don’t use the word ‘loyal’ between friends. You have to use the word ‘trustworthy’!”
“Yes, trustworthy. I will always be your trustworthy friend!”
Brinton laughed out loud. After a while, he began to assign tasks.
Since they would find out where the other party’s bar was tomorrow, they would make a move tomorrow night, not giving Lance any chance to resist, and knock them down directly!
This time, of the hundred or so people from the Viper Gang who came over, except for a dozen or so who stayed behind at the Empire of the Night, almost all the others were assigned out.
He wanted to establish his position in Golden Port in one fell swoop, to let the gangs here know that although Fides was not as prosperous as here, the gangs of Fides were not weaker than the gangs of Golden Port!
He even had some thoughts and impulses to challenge the Five Families. Who the f—k stipulated that the Five Families were the Five Families, and who stipulated that the Viper Gang, he, Brinton, couldn’t become the next Five Families?
The members of the Viper Gang immediately began to gather, and these changes were all clearly watched by the eyes in some corners of this neighborhood.
As the crime rate in the Empire District dropped significantly, even at seven or eight o’clock, there would be pedestrians on the road, even people just strolling around.
Countless pairs of eyes eventually formed a surveillance network. No one could escape the gaze of so many eyes.
The next afternoon, a few old men were waiting at the bus station with smiles. They had already cashed in on their contribution. What was left was to enjoy the fruits of victory!
Around six o’clock, the middle-aged man rushed over. The old men said they had to take the bus there, which made the middle-aged man wish he could say he had a car and could drive them together.
But considering he was playing the role of a frustrated middle-aged man, he ultimately didn’t do so and got on the bus with the old men.
When the bus left here with seven or eight obviously abnormal cars, Morris stood in a public phone booth and made a call.
“They’ve taken the bait…”