In a low-rise building not far from the docks, an old man with a rather thin build looked at the two “young men” in front of him, who were much younger than him, and asked, “Who is that person?”
“He seems to have a certain prestige at the docks. I don’t remember the company or the docks having such a figure. His appearance is clearly beyond my knowledge.”
A subordinate said softly, “That person is named Lance. He’s a… uh, gang leader.”
“A gang!” The old man pursed his lips. “I don’t like gangs. They always make things worse or more complicated.”
“But sometimes you have to deal with these people.”
He paused. “See if any of our friends know him. Perhaps we can use him.”
The young man nodded and agreed. “And the manager’s side?”
The old man frowned slightly. “He still has a day and a half. We said we’d give him three days, so we’ll give him three days.”
At this moment, a person walked in from outside, also a middle-aged man. He bore some resemblance to the old man.
He was about forty years old, very well-dressed, wearing a platinum watch with emeralds to mark the time.
If the watch were placed in the sun, it would reflect a mesmerizing luster.
A watch like this costs tens of thousands. This was no cheap item.
He walked in and sat on a chair next to the old man. “He might not be obedient.”
This middle-aged man with brown hair took a sip of wine after sitting down. “He doesn’t seem like an obedient person, and I hear he’s a bit different from the usual gang leaders.”
The old man smiled reservedly. “No one is different from others. If there is, it’s just because you haven’t discovered their demands, that’s all.”
“I have always believed this. As long as you can find what he wants and prove that you can give it to him, you are their friend.”
The middle-aged man had no intention of arguing with the old man. He brought up another matter. “Firing the manager most likely won’t quell this strike either. I have always believed that the only way to end the strike is to raise wages.”
He turned to look at the old man, his face showing some confusion. “I’ve never understood this point. We all know that we will eventually compromise, so why not now?”
Everyone knew this, or rather, the vast majority of strikes aimed at raising wages are ultimately successful.
Since this is destined to succeed, why not just agree to their demands immediately and let them return to their posts?
This way, the order at the docks wouldn’t be a problem, and he wouldn’t have to spend every day running between different dock companies instead of between different women.
The middle-aged man didn’t quite understand and was feeling annoyed by the events of the past few days.
The old man raised his hand. The two young men in the room bowed and left, closing the door behind them.
Only after the door was tightly closed did he call out the middle-aged man’s name, “Edward!”
The old man’s face showed none of the anger or dissatisfaction that the workers imagined. There was no emotional expression at all.
There wasn’t much fluctuation in his eyes either, as if this matter hadn’t happened in his view. “Sometimes you have to understand that a strike is not entirely a bad thing for us.”
He leaned back in his chair, looking at the ceiling. “This is the distance between me and you, between you and them.”
“Didn’t you always ask why I don’t let you join the board of directors?”
“Look, everyone can see this matter clearly, but you still don’t understand.”
“It took me half a lifetime to figure this out, and you, it seems you might need longer.”
Edward was a little unconvinced. This old man was his father. He considered himself a very smart person. At least he was able to graduate from a prestigious university and had started his own trading company, making a lot of money.
Of course, his father had also donated a lot of money.
Seeing that his son was not convinced, but thinking that this was his own flesh and blood, and the only one in the family who could inherit the family business, he felt a bit of a headache.
He explained, “Why do you think the board of directors isn’t anxious at all, even with so many people on strike at the docks?”
Edward thought seriously for a while. He thought really seriously.
“Do you guys have some way to solve it?”
The old man’s eyes, which had been full of expectation, immediately became calm again.
He shook his head. “You should spend more time on learning, instead of playing those vulgar games with those women.”
He paused. “Everyone, you see, even you know how this will end, but why don’t we do it?”
“That’s because we are also waiting. We are actually on strike too. We are waiting for those enterprises on the docks to finally be unable to bear it, so we can talk to them about raising prices.”
It was as if… a hole had been chiseled open in Edward’s brain, and the sunlight suddenly shone in, making everything completely clear.
“Holy shit!” He shivered, just like he did at the climax. “I think I get it!”
He took out a cigarette. “Perhaps I will never be able to reach your height in my lifetime, father.”
The old man smiled. “At least you can understand it, instead of having me explain it to you bit by bit. This is your growth.”
“Actually, it’s not difficult at all, Edward. The workers are pursuing their interests, and we, we have our interests too. There is no contradiction.”
This was the third day of the strike, in reality. But besides having the incapable manager go and appease the strike, and seemingly trying to quell it, the company had taken no other action.
No intervention, no questions. This seemed to be their attitude. Why?
The reason is actually simple. Because they also saw the benefits, the greater profits, in the strike.
The docks had not increased various management fees for over a year. The economy had not been particularly prosperous in the last two years.
Those of them who could get firsthand data from the docks could discover this through reports and statistics. So whenever there was talk of a price increase, those enterprises were very resistant.
But now, the workers were on strike, and the enterprises were getting anxious. They were anxious to ship or unload goods.
Otherwise, the daily costs incurred could lead to penalty fees that would bankrupt them.
They couldn’t solve the problem with the workers. In the end, only the dock management company could make the workers compromise.
The condition for the workers to return to their posts was a wage increase. The condition for the dock management company’s board to compromise with the workers was another increase in various management fees and other charges.
Even if, as Edward said, the company compromised in the end and the workers’ wages were raised, it would absolutely not be because the company couldn’t bear it anymore.
It would be because those enterprises couldn’t bear it, because the factories that needed the Golden Port docks as a springboard for trade couldn’t bear it.
They had to compromise first. Only after the company got the benefits it wanted would they compromise with the workers.
So it looked like the company had suffered a loss, but in reality, the company could gain a profit from this strike that exceeded the portion of the extra wages paid to the workers each year.
They would pay the workers three hundred thousand in extra wages, and they would be able to strip a million, or even two million, in profit from the large and small enterprises.
The bigger the commotion the workers made now, the happier the dock management company’s board was. Of course, they couldn’t show it.
After all, everyone was watching. Perhaps this was the last bit of decency in the capitalist world—I’m going to eat you, but I’ll pretend you delivered yourself into my mouth, not that I put you on the dinner table.
Edward’s silence brought the old man a little comfort. At least this fool was still thinking, still growing, and they still had some time to let him become more mature.
At a little after four in the afternoon, a sudden violent explosion shook the entire city. Many people looked in the direction from which the explosion came.
Lance, in his office, also walked to the window.
The entire city fell silent for a moment.
“Sounds like the explosion was from the Starlight District?” Elvin was a little unsure, but the sound did indeed come from that direction.
The city was becoming more and more chaotic. Even explosives were being used. These people were fucking crazy.
Lance was a little worried. The current chaos was clearly a bit off. Both the Wolf Gang and this explosion were concentrated in these two days.
And the forces behind these all pointed to the Mayor.
Now the Mayor was said to be still unconscious, so it was impossible for him to be personally giving orders. So what exactly was going on, no one knew.
But no matter what, at a time like this, it was definitely better to have a few tall guys standing in front.
Lance walked to his desk and dialed Alberto’s number. He had bars in the Starlight District, and the Pasoretto Family had more people there.
The phone went unanswered, which gave Lance a bad feeling.
He made a call to Bolton, asking him to find out what had happened.
Before long, Bolton reported back with a piece of news.
The explosion was not from the Starlight District, but from the more distant Summuri District.
The Cassia Family had attacked the Pasoretto Family’s estate in the afternoon. They had sent a car full of explosives in and successfully detonated it.
A third of Paul’s house had collapsed. The number of casualties was unknown, and the losses were heavy.
It was said that Paul himself was injured.
“These people are completely insane. How dare they use such powerful explosives in the city?”
The people in the room were all shocked, except for Hiram.
He was planning to ask the gunsmith if he could get some explosives. It would be too much of a disadvantage if only the enemy had explosives and they didn’t.
Fragmentation grenades were good, but compared to real high-power explosives, they were still a bit lacking.
The best would be the kind of explosives often seen in movies, many bundled together, then lit and thrown…
Lance didn’t notice the change in Hiram’s expression. Even if he had, he probably wouldn’t have thought of what nefarious idea he was thinking.
He was now completely shocked by this news and didn’t know what to say. “Everyone be more careful these next two days. Distribute all the weapons. Everyone carry a gun.”
“If you encounter danger, counterattack immediately. Life is incomparably precious, and you only have one.”
“Between others dying and you dying, I hope you can make others die a little faster.”
He paused. “Disperse the money and put it in different places. It’s not safe to keep it all together.”
Elvin nodded without speaking.
Right now, the money was basically all in the cellar at home. If they went crazy and came to throw a bomb, the money might be done for.
Even if it wasn’t blown up or burned, if the cellar collapsed, it would take some time to dig it out.
“In addition, during this period, we should not live in a fixed place. We need to change places frequently and try to keep it secret.”
He sighed. What a terrible situation.
Later in the evening, he directly called the Pasoretto estate. This time, the call was answered.
“I’m looking for Alberto. This is Lance.”
The person who answered the phone had heard of Lance’s name. “Wait a moment, I’ll see if he’s free now.”
After waiting for about four or five minutes, just as Lance was suspecting they couldn’t find Alberto, the phone was picked up. “A terrible day, Lance!”
Hearing his complaining voice, Lance breathed a sigh of relief. “I was almost ready to have a black suit made for me.”
“Your plan has failed. I have to say, for at least the next thirty years, you won’t need to prepare that for me.”
His tone changed. “You must have heard the explosion too.”
“Yes, that’s right. It scared the hell out of me.”
Alberto seemed to have a strong desire to talk. “They are a bunch of madmen. A person drove a car and broke in, and the car was full of fucking explosives…”
Recalling it now, he was still breaking out in a cold sweat.
The Cassia Family had attacked them directly. The two sides exchanged fire around the estate. Suddenly, several of their cars rushed in.
In the heat of the firefight, no one dared to raise their head, but someone still managed to take out the drivers of several of the cars.
One of the cars had an iron plate covering its windshield. It charged directly into the main entrance of the building and then detonated the bomb.
A suicide attack. The huge explosion directly collapsed the entire row of houses at the entrance, killing many people.
“Paul is discussing how to counterattack. To be honest, this time… our losses are huge.”
Different from what was being said to the outside world, Alberto told the truth.
At that time, they were exchanging fire with the Cassia Family, so most of the people were in the courtyard and the front part of the estate building, using the windows as cover for shooting.
This one explosion directly took out more than a hundred of their men, and they were the backbone of the family, including some elite gunmen.
Paul was trying to transfer people from Summuri Island, but the situation was not optimistic.
“What about you, are you injured?”
Alberto’s voice was not so heavy. “I’m injured, took a bullet, but it’s a graze. Several of my men died though.”
He was silent for a moment. “Don’t comfort me. I’m proud of them.”
Perhaps this was the fate of gang members. They could enjoy many things that ordinary people could never enjoy in their lifetime.
Fine wine, fine food, beautiful women, as well as money, status, and people’s fear.
But they also had to bear the responsibility for it.
It was fine when they didn’t have to pay, but once they needed to pay, what they often paid with was their lives.
The men under Alberto were actually all his relatives. He was actually very sad.
But there was no way around it. This was the life of a gangster.
Someone will always take a step ahead of others. If it’s not him, it’s you.
“Is there anything I can help with?” Lance asked.
Alberto had done him a big favor, and he had promised that no matter what, as long as Alberto asked, he would definitely help him.
Alberto considered for a moment and refused. “You have too few people, they won’t be of much use in a fight, and this time it’s really dangerous.”
“What if… I probably shouldn’t say this, but what if Paul or someone… you know, this is our destiny.”
“At that time, me, or Fordis, or someone else, might need your help. You must not refuse.”
Lance agreed.
Alberto had a bad feeling. The intensity of this attack was so high that they even used high-power explosives, breaking the agreement the Five Families had made before. This was definitely not a reckless decision.
They had a purpose, because if they could use explosives, the Pasoretto Family could too. So there must be a purpose behind this.
“Someone over there is calling me. I can’t talk to you anymore. I’ll call you when I have time,” Alberto took the initiative to end the call and said goodbye to Lance.
He walked to another room with a sullen face. Paul was sitting here, and the remaining backbone of the family was all here.
He found a spot on the edge and leaned against the wall.
In the family, he could be considered a cadre, but not a high-level one. After all, he was not fully involved in the family’s core industries, nor was he a core member in the true sense.
The core members were all Paul’s direct relatives, not those distant relatives several times removed.
“The island has refused to send people over. Their situation is also very tense. The war has already started, and they can’t spare anyone for us.”
“So this time, we have to carry it ourselves.”
He took a drag of his cigarette. He looked very disheveled; the bomb had almost hit him. “They were the first to break the rules, so we have no more scruples.”
“Get some explosives and show them some color.”
“But this operation is very dangerous. You can decide for yourselves whether to go or not. I hope you think it through. Don’t raise your hand and then get scared.”
It was indeed not an easy task to plant a bomb at the Cassia Family’s place. You might not come back.
Someone was the first to raise his hand. Alberto recognized the guy. His older brother had been blown up, and only half of his body had been recovered.
His eyes were filled with hatred. “I’ll go!”
Paul nodded. “We still need a few more.”
More people raised their hands one after another. Alberto hesitated for a long time before also raising his hand.
Paul looked at him with some confusion but didn’t say anything. “Good, the last person is enough. The rest of you go back and handle the matters at hand. Those who signed up, stay behind.”
Alberto walked over there, his mind occupied. He was suddenly bumped by someone.
He turned to look at the person who had bumped him, and that person also stopped and looked at him.
“Dover, you bumped into me.”
Christopher’s face was pale, his lips colorless, as if he had been on his period for a month. “Sorry, I didn’t notice you.”
Seeing his apology, Alberto shook his head and didn’t pursue it further. Paul was still waiting for him.
(End of chapter)
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