On the weekend, Lance and Alberto sat on a bench at the tourist pier, chatting while enjoying the sea breeze.
“Did you know?”
“They’ve given you a new nickname.”
The wind ruffled Alberto’s hair. He looked at Lance with great emotion. Three years ago, Lance had come to him for… he couldn’t remember how much money it was anymore.
Two or three hundred dollars, it should have been that much.
For such a small amount of money, he had sought him out.
At that time, he had been drawn to Lance’s calm demeanor and decided to give him a chance.
For him, it might have been a casual act, but for Lance, it had indeed been a great help.
In just three years, Lance had overturned the underground order of Golden Port City and become the “Black Emperor” here. This filled him with a sense of wistfulness.
In three years, he had walked a path that many could not finish in a lifetime. Alberto felt a sense of honor along with deep emotion.
He had set in motion the arrival of a great era. Without his money, perhaps the story would have been different.
Lance leaned forward slightly, his arms resting on his spread legs. “What do they call me?”
“The Tyrant?”
“Or something else?”
“They certainly don’t think I’m a good person.”
Alberto laughed heartily. “They call you ‘Mr. Two Hundred Million’.”
“‘Mr. Two Hundred Million’?” Lance’s tone rose slightly. He hadn’t expected people to give him this name, but he quickly realized the reason and laughed as well. “I don’t have a problem with the other nicknames, but this one, I feel there’s a problem with it.”
Alberto was a bit strange. Lance had quite a few nicknames. “Black Emperor” was a recent one. Before that, there were “Wolf of the Empire,” “The Glutton,” and the like, but they weren’t widely spread. Only a few people called him that.
He didn’t react to any of those nicknames, whether they were good or bad. Now that he felt this nickname was not good, it made Alberto feel confused.
“Do you think it’s too exaggerated?” he asked.
Lance shook his head. “Two hundred million is just the starting point. Maybe in the future, they will call me Mr. Ten Billion.”
Alberto was momentarily lost in thought as he looked at the spirited Lance. He seemed to see his younger self.
He seemed to have a sudden realization of why he had felt a natural affinity for Lance from the moment he saw him.
At certain times, on certain issues, Lance was just like him when he was young.
Fearless of the world, full of a desire to challenge.
Lance had done better than he had, but people always subconsciously beautify themselves. He himself had not done well enough in his growth, so he hoped that Lance could do better than himself, so that some of the regrets he had would not appear in Lance.
Through this, he could get some comfort, like an apology and repentance to his younger self.
He nodded seriously. “If it’s you, you can definitely do it.”
At this point, Alberto turned to look at the azure sea. “There’s something I want to ask you to do.”
Lance nodded but didn’t speak. Alberto handed him a card. “Take care of them. That’s my last wish.”
“Besides you, no one else knows about this!”
Lance glanced at the card. On it was an address and a house number. It was a community in the Priliccia District of Golden Port City.
He had already guessed it. Alberto’s illegitimate son and the woman who had borne him a child were there.
He didn’t, as in the stories Lance had told, recount his acquaintance with the woman, the accident, and the birth of the child.
He didn’t care about these things. He believed that Lance didn’t care either. He just needed Lance to take good care of his child.
“This time I’m leaving, I have a premonition that it will be very bad,” he lit a cigarette, then leaned back on the bench, his hands on the backrest, his head tilted back, squinting at the sky.
The sun was bright, which also meant it was dazzling. He actually knew that this time he left, there was a high probability that he would not be able to come back.
He had already heard that Christopher was doing very well on the island. He seemed to have had an epiphany, had learned to act. The four major families were not on good terms now, but their attitude towards him was quite good, especially those old men.
He had even heard that Christopher had taken the initiative to wash the old men’s feet to show his respect for them!
It was absolutely fucking outrageous!
A man who had killed his own uncle was now being held up as a role model by those old men. To assassinate Christopher under such circumstances would be very difficult.
Even if he succeeded, it would also anger the four major families at the same time. He simply could not leave Summuri Island alive.
People who have not lived on Summuri Island will never know the influence of the four major families on the island.
Even the prime minister needs to get their consent before implementing new policies!
But some things, someone has to do them.
Alberto had thought more than once about why he was doing this. He seemed unable to find a reason for doing so, but as it happened, a belief told him.
If he didn’t do this, he would never be happy again in his life!
Lance’s mood was also a little low. Alberto was, in a sense, his first friend after he came to the Federation. He tilted his head and looked at Alberto. “Although I shouldn’t say this, but is it really necessary to go?”
Alberto tilted his head back, a cigarette dangling from his lips. “Do you want me to become a person that even I look down on?”
Lance fell silent.
Alberto let out a puff of smoke. “Maybe the situation won’t be that bad.”
“Besides worrying about him, I’m also worried about Francisco. The family has been cleaned up internally. That kid has a ruthless streak. I’m worried about external problems.”
“But now it seems that if they don’t deal with you, there’s a high probability that they won’t touch him, so I’m relieved.”
Lance looked back at the twenty-odd people standing not far away. They had large and small suitcases beside them. These people were laughing and chatting, showing no signs of nervousness.
They were all Alberto’s relatives, both distant and close, and they had all received Paul’s favor. They followed Alberto without hesitation to assassinate Dover and avenge Paul.
There were also some who had flinched, who had been cowardly. They had directly left Golden Port City. They couldn’t stay here any longer.
Sometimes people are like this, not in control of their own actions. Whether they do it or not, it’s very difficult.
“Take care of him!”
The cruise ship in the distance sounded its horn. The people waiting on the pier to board began to carry their luggage and walk towards the cruise ship.
Alberto also stood up. He hugged Lance and then squeezed out a smile. “Take care of yourself.”
Lance nodded. “You too.”
He paused for a moment. “If you die, I will avenge you.”
Alberto was stunned for a moment, and then he burst out laughing. “Okay, but don’t be as stupid as me!”
The two bumped fists again. Alberto turned and left without any hesitation.
Fordis and the others also carried their luggage and said goodbye to Lance. It seemed to them that this was just a tourist trip, with no danger, no killing, no death.
No fear or unease could be seen on their faces. Besides some reluctance to part with the people and things here, there were no more negative emotions.
“Goodbye,” Lance said.
Fordis and the others also responded with a smile, “We’ll be back.”
With that, they also waved their hands and ran a few steps, following Alberto onto the ship.
The huge cruise ship slowly sailed away from the pier and finally disappeared at the junction of the sea and the sky.
The convoy slowly pulled over. Mador opened the car door, and Lance got in.
“Should we arrange for some people…” Mador hadn’t finished speaking when Lance interrupted him.
“No need. This is their honor revenge. We just need to watch.”
“Win or lose, that’s their own choice.”
“If they die, we’ll consider the subsequent matters. Before that, let’s do our own things first.”
The convoy quickly left the pier. The people on both sides of the road, as long as they were locals, would stop when the convoy passed, take off their hats and watch, and some would even bow slightly.
The tourists from other places were very curious and inquired about “the living legend of Golden Port City,” which was still ongoing and constantly spreading.
Alberto’s departure left Lance with some sadness, but only some.
He went to the address Alberto had given him and saw a quiet woman and the little boy by her side.
The little boy looked seven or eight parts similar to Alberto. When he saw him, Lance felt an inexplicable urge to laugh. The inheritance of life.
He did not disturb the mother and son, but just had someone take charge of their safety, and then left.
He believed that Alberto had made all the preparations before he left.
Two days later, Lance attended William’s mayoral inauguration. The former mayor left黯然. Everyone’s eyes were focused on Mayor Williams.
Those people clapped vigorously, their palms red, and did not stop.
But there were also some people who were obviously not so happy.
This was understandable.
The former “good brother” had now turned over and become their “father.” No one could be truly happy.
And the conflict between them was irreconcilable, because it involved power.
When everyone was a thief of power, they would be good friends, because they could only steal some power from the hands of the rulers by ganging up.
They would share the stolen power and be closely united, because they knew that only in this way could they ensure that their own interests would not be lost.
But when one of the small thieves suddenly became the new ruler, even if the second before this new ruler was still enthusiastically sharing his stolen power with others, the next second, he would turn his face and take away the power he had shared from the other small thieves, as well as the power they had stolen themselves.
For a ruler, power is not something that others can meddle with, unless the ruler is no match for those small thieves and robbers at all.
Mayor Williams had very strong strength, so he would take back the power. The gentlemen of the Bay Area were unwilling to lose this power. After all, power was too useful.
The irreconcilable conflict would eventually escalate and break out.
From the faces of those who were unwilling to even clap, and even those who did not come, it could be seen that no matter how many times the “players” were changed, this game would continue in its unique way.
Mayor Williams talked about many things, the future direction of the city’s development. He declared that he would turn Golden Port City into a city comparable to New Golden City.
He wanted to make this place richer, full of tall buildings. He wanted to carry out a pioneering transformation of this city to improve people’s living standards.
He also wanted to expand and re-plan the city, to introduce more schools. He wanted to do many things!
He spoke on the stage, and the people were responsible for applauding below. Everything was so harmonious.
However, Lance could feel that the battle had begun from this moment.
After the inauguration speech, Lance came to Mayor Williams’s office. James and Arthur were both here, and even Mrs. Williams was here.
“Make yourself at home!” Councilman Williams instructed, “Just like in your own office!”
He had originally planned to have his wife pour some drinks for Lance or something, but for a moment she couldn’t find those things for making coffee.
It was Lance who took the initiative to brew a pot of coffee.
“I forgot, you are more familiar with this place than we are,” Mayor Williams said with a teasing smile. Lance would sometimes come over.
Especially in the last few months, his relationship with the former mayor had eased a lot, and there might even have been some cooperation.
However, Mayor Williams did not ask. It was best not to ask about this kind of thing if the other person did not take the initiative to say it.
His wife did not intend to leave for the time being. It seemed that the title of “mayor’s wife” made her very excited. Lance looked at Mayor Williams with a trace of pity in his eyes.
This trace of pity made Mayor Williams a little confused. He looked at Lance as if to confirm whether he had seen it wrong, showing some puzzled expression.
Lance leaned a little closer. “You’re definitely in for trouble tonight,” he nudged his chin in the direction of the new mayor’s wife.
Mayor Williams looked back, and a bitter smile immediately appeared on his face.
An old man in his sixties, a young woman under forty. It was fucking killing him!
He and Lance had a very good relationship now, so he was not shy about these things. Or rather, the upper class of the Federation had inherited the style of the places they came from.
The people of the upper class, down to the people in mythical stories, were not shy about sex, and would even take the initiative to talk about it.
“Today is my first day in office. I will be very busy. Isn’t it normal for me not to be able to go home at night?” He said this with a trace of pride, and then he passed out again.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to dote on his wife, but he was really powerless. Even though he had tried to get some medicine from the medical group, it was not very convenient.
His private doctor told him that using those drugs had a possibility of making him suffer from cardiovascular disease, and there were also unknown risks.
Death is the thing that every powerful person fears the most, and he is no exception.
So he would escape if he could. If he really couldn’t, there were still some toys at home.
Although doing so was suspected of cheating, but at least… he also participated in it.
After joking for a while, the two returned to a more formal topic.
“If Golden Port City serves as the front line for the war against the Tanfit continent, the sea transportation here will become even busier.”
“At the very least, military supplies will definitely have to be mobilized from here, as well as those supplies that are transported over there to be sold.”
“The New Port Terminal has been occupied by the navy. We won’t be able to use it for a period of time in the future, so I’m considering whether to expand the Golden Port Docks.”
Lance just nodded in response to what he said, indicating that he was listening.
“But if we expand the Golden Port Docks, it will inevitably bring actual benefits to those people in the Bay Area. The dock management company has the most shares in the Golden Port Docks.”
“I was thinking…” Mayor Williams paused for a short while, “Do we have a way to snatch these shares from their hands?”
After he stated his idea, he immediately said as a matter of course, “We will definitely have some conflicts of interest in the future. We have also communicated during this period of time, but the effect has not been very good.”
Mayor Williams’s desire to continue to expand the Golden Port Docks was in line with the interests of the gentlemen of the Bay Area, but they also put forward a request.
The expansion was possible, but it had to be invested and expanded by them to ensure that their shares would not be diluted.
No other investors could be introduced, and the docks would still be under their management.
They also talked about some things, such as hoping that Mayor Williams could make appropriate concessions to them on some issues. After all, when they were on the same side before, they had done so.
Every previous mayor had been through this.
The two sides had a bit of a falling out, so he had made up his mind.
Lance scratched his head. “This is a bit troublesome. I need to think about it.”
Mayor Williams did not continue to ask him what he could do about this problem. As long as Lance knew, that was enough.
Then the two talked about some other things that required mutual cooperation, for example, the reconstruction of the New Port District, but there were too many refugees there now.
Mayor Williams planned to continue to expand the city circle, to settle the refugees in the open space between the industrial district and the Creek Valley District, and to continue to move the industrial district to the outskirts of the city.
It just so happened that this war broke out, and some of the old industrial enterprises in Golden Port City could be optimized and kicked out.
This was also one of his conflicts with the gentlemen of the Bay Area. The gentlemen firmly occupied a large amount of land and factories in the industrial district. They were not willing to move to a farther place.
And in the eyes of Mayor Williams, after the military base was built, the New Port District would inevitably develop. The industrial district was an obstacle to the New Port District becoming the “new center.”
The conflict could not be resolved. These were all things he hoped for and needed Lance to cooperate with him to get done.
Lance did not refuse this, because he could also get a lot of benefits from these things.
The two sides talked all afternoon. It’s unknown if it was because Mayor Williams wanted to escape the punishment of going home early. He never let Lance leave and even said that Lance was his important partner.
On the first day he had achieved proud results, he had to have dinner with Lance.
Of course, it would be even better if they could have some wine.
As an old man, getting drunk after two glasses was naturally very reasonable!
(End of a Chapter)