Chapter 355

The Professor slowly placed the phone back on its base. The cigarette by the ashtray had burned to its end; he had only taken two puffs.

He took out another, lit it, and his whole demeanor seemed somewhat dejected.

Wolf said nothing, just looked at him.

He probably knew what had happened, but surprisingly, he didn’t show any rage.

“I made a mistake.”

He took a drag of his cigarette, placed it on the ashtray, rubbed his face hard with both hands, then tousled his hair, and finally, as if in a sudden rage, swept everything on the desk to the floor with both hands.

Wolf remained silent, still watching him.

The Professor was breathing heavily. He bent down to pick up the fallen cigarette, took another drag, “I made an empirical error.”

“I treated them like an ordinary gang.”

He felt his scalp itching and scratched it. “We shouldn’t have considered using Lance and his crew to wear down those small gangs. We should have concentrated our forces to deal with them from the very beginning!”

The Professor’s idea wasn’t entirely wrong. The small gangs that were forced to merge with the Wolf Gang were obedient on the surface.

But if they were really asked to do something without being given enough benefits, they might not be as obedient as usual.

So the Professor’s idea was simple: use Lance as a whetstone to grind away all the troublemakers among these small gangs.

It was like a fish with all its bones removed, ready to be swallowed in one gulp.

But what he didn’t expect was that the Lance Family’s execution was so high.

In just three days, they had found the locations of all the Wolf Gang’s bars and, before he had even considered it, had taken them all down in one fell swoop.

In the Professor’s mind, at this time, the Lance Family should still be fighting with those small gangs. They had to be wary of the small gangs’ antics on one hand, and on the other, they had to be mindful of any changes on the Wolf Gang’s side. They shouldn’t have dared to leave the Empire District casually.

But the facts had slapped him in the face. Not only did they leave, but they also wiped out all their bars in one go.

Wolf also lit a cigarette. “How did they know the locations of our bars?”

The Professor picked up the ashtray, tapped it on the floor, and then placed it back on the desk. “Those workers.”

“From the docks?”

The Professor nodded. “Only they would know where all our bars are.”

Workers had always been the main consumers at the bars, especially in the last two days. The bars’ business had been particularly good, and they were still celebrating it.

If they could maintain this momentum, their income would multiply.

With money, they could recruit more men, buy more weapons, and continue to grow stronger.

In a sense, a gang is also a kind of enterprise, a special kind of enterprise.

And for any enterprise to develop and grow, it can never be separated from money and power.

Now, those workers who paid them for liquor had sold out the addresses of these bars.

Wolf’s eyelid twitched uncontrollably. “Then is it possible for us to use the same method to find out where Lance’s bars are?”

The Professor replied, “Yes!” But then he added, “But this will take time, and a lot of time.”

“Lance and his people are all Empire immigrants. The customers of the bars they operate in the Empire District are all Empire immigrants. Let’s not even discuss whether those drunkards would believe us or be willing to lead the way.”

“Just finding those drunkards who know about the bars, and how to ensure they don’t tell Lance about it, is a big problem!”

“You can’t just grab someone off the street and ask him if he lives in the Empire District, if he’s been to a Lance Family bar, and if he’s willing to tell us where the bar is. We can’t do that!”

Wolf’s expression was somewhat disappointed. In his eyes, the all-powerful Professor seemed to have suddenly encountered a math problem he couldn’t solve.

He didn’t know how to describe this feeling, as if the Professor had “lost his magic.”

“So we’re just going to do nothing?”

The Professor took a drag of his cigarette. “Wait.”

“Wait?”

The Professor nodded heavily. “He wanted us to cause a commotion, and we did what we were supposed to do. Next is to see what methods Mr. Mayor has to solve all the troubles at once.”

“We are at a disadvantage right now. There’s no need to fight them. Even if we’re lucky and win…”

“Do you think those small gangs will give us time to recover?”

On the other side, Lance took out a handkerchief and wiped a drop of blood from his trouser leg. He picked up the phone again and dialed a number.

In a cold drink shop diagonally opposite the arcade, a waiter holding the phone looked at the few customers in the restaurant. “There’s a phone call here, for a Mr…., is this person here?”

A man in a floral shirt and a straw hat raised his hand. He trotted over and picked up the phone. “Sir?”

“Have they come out?”

The man in the floral shirt glanced again at the closed main door of the arcade. Although Lance couldn’t see him, he still shook his head. “I haven’t seen them come out.”

If these people came out now, Lance would lead his men to take down their headquarters directly and then go after them.

But the other party was now holed up in the arcade. The losses from a frontal assault would be too great. He could only wait.

“Keep an eye on them. If they come out, notify us immediately. Just call the company’s number.”

After hanging up, he looked at Ennio. “I need you to do me a favor. Go and contact Gallio.”

Ennio nodded. He didn’t ask why, but Lance told him directly.

“Gallio (leader of the Empire immigrant gang in Fides) is a gang from Fides. He must know a lot about these people from the Wolf Gang. Ask him for more detailed information about the Professor and Wolf.”

“Don’t be afraid to spend money. As long as the intelligence is real, whether he wants money or liquor, give it to him. But it must be real!”

“No one can live in this world without any attachments. Everyone has something they care about.”

“They won’t come out, right?”

“Then we’ll force them out.”

Ennio nodded, indicating he understood.

Lance then made another call, this time to Sub-bureau Chief Bruce.

“I’m sending you a few big favors. I’ve swept through several of the Wolf Gang’s bars in the Port District. Someone will give you the addresses later.”

“Help me dispose of these bodies, and I’ll give you the credit.”

“The price of gasoline barrels has gone up too much recently. I don’t want to pay another sum for trash.”

Sub-bureau Chief Bruce was silent for a moment, then said, “Deal!”

In fact, the police could also investigate cases related to alcohol, but currently, the main agency in the Federation investigating these cases was the Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, and Hazardous Materials.

They specialized in investigating these crimes and had great power. They could also directly request the police to hand over related cases and suspects to them.

This led to the police in various places being reluctant to meddle in other people’s business. After all, when they were about to get results, the other side told them to let go, which meant all their previous efforts were in vain.

But this didn’t mean they couldn’t investigate. If they could get results, they would be rewarded just the same.

Raiding several bars in a row was also a dazzling achievement for Sub-bureau Chief Bruce. It was impossible for him not to accept.

As for the dead gang members?

Wasn’t that a fucking simple matter?

They were investigating these cases, and these gang members fought back fiercely, so they had to shoot all the gangsters to death to maintain justice and public order in Golden Port.

Of course, he couldn’t do this alone. He also called on the newly appointed acting chief of the Port District sub-bureau. The two of them conferred and immediately dispatched a large number of police forces to handle the matter.

Golden Port had been chaotic for many days. Many citizens said the police were just for show. Now, cracking such a big case, although it had nothing to do with public safety, could at least prove that they were not incompetent.

Lance stood up as he spoke, glancing at the messy bar. The floor was covered with bodies and the glass shards from broken bottles.

He walked outside, the glass shards crunching under his feet, finally breaking even more violently.

The convoy split into two groups. One group returned to the Empire District to rest and reorganize. Some people were injured in this surprise attack. Everyone was speaking with hot weapons. As long as they fought back, it was inevitable that someone would get hurt.

The injured had to go for treatment. Two unlucky bastards were sent for emergency rescue. Whether they could survive depended on their luck.

As for Lance and his crew, they went directly to the port.

The strike at the port was still ongoing, but its scale was clearly not as large as yesterday.

The threat of the gang was indeed a great threat to these ordinary workers.

The arrival of the convoy attracted the attention of some people. When they saw Lance, they had an indescribable feeling.

Many people took the initiative to walk over. Johnny was also among them, and he was walking very close to the front.

“Mr. Lance!”

“It’s Mr. Lance!”

Lance still held some status in the minds of these dockworkers.

Lance raised his hand and pressed down, signaling them to quiet down.

“I heard from Dave that you were threatened by a gang?”

Some people remained silent, while others actively responded. Looking at their noisy appearance, Lance pressed his hand down again to quiet them.

“I have already taught the Wolf Gang a profound lesson. I believe they won’t be able to bother you for a short time.”

“If they dare to trouble you again, call me immediately. I will arrange for people to take them away from you.”

“They are not the only ones with guns. We have them too!”

There seemed to be a power hidden in Lance’s eyes. The people he looked at felt a force begin to grow and rise within their bodies.

“I’ve heard about the reasons for your strike, and I also support your strike!”

“It is your hard-earned sweat that has built the prosperity of Golden Port, but they have forgotten this.”

“Without you, there would be no Golden Port today. You, more than them, those sitting in their offices, should be the masters of this city!”

“If the money they give is not enough to pay for the value you have contributed here, then why should we work for them?!”

“Striking is the most basic right this country has given us, and no one can take it away from us!”

“It’s time to let those vampires at the dock management company understand this. We are the masters here!”

More and more people gathered around. Listening to what Lance said, their emotions began to get excited.

The more society recognized the strike, the stronger their desire to strike became. Right now, the news was all about the Mayor’s assassination and the city’s turmoil. The dockworkers’ strike, which should have been big news, had its popularity cleverly suppressed.

Now, Lance’s recognition and approval were part of the motivation for them to continue.

Looking at the growing crowd, Lance jumped onto an oil drum to the side, making himself look taller.

“Don’t be afraid, brothers!”

“Speak your minds loudly. No one has the right to silence you!”

“Not the congressmen in Congress, not the president in the presidential palace, or those gangsters!”

“They are not qualified. This is something we are born with!”

“Them hiring gangsters to threaten you just shows that they are scared. They are trying to use some irregular means to force the strike to end, because they are afraid.”

“They deeply realize that the end of the strike will be our victory, so they are impatiently trying to use some means outside the rules.”

“Now is the most difficult time, but I believe that as long as we get through this period, the problem will be solved.”

“Brothers, we all know that in this strike, they are more anxious than us, and they hope it can end as soon as possible more than we do.”

“If they want us to return to our posts, let them send someone to talk to us, to talk with sincerity!”

“Otherwise, to hell with them!”

“Fuck you!”

Lance gave the middle finger to the distant dock management company office building. In fact, nothing resonates more with the lower class than profanity.

The workers immediately laughed and, like Lance, gave the middle finger in the direction of the dock management company. “Fuck them!”

People began to shout all sorts of things. Lance couldn’t hear most of it clearly, but he kept nodding, as if he agreed with their views.

After everyone had vented for a while, Lance said, “If you have any problems, you can come to me. I will do my best to solve them for you.”

“Don’t worry about the club. We’ll be able to solve it soon, so that everyone can drink cheap liquor again.”

“This is what you deserve, and it is also my respect for the hard work of each of you.”

Vaughn also hurried over from the union office in his car. Although the union office was not far from here, a few hundred meters was not a short distance for a middle-aged man.

He squeezed through the crowd to get to Lance. Seeing Lance’s prestige at the docks had skyrocketed again, he sighed slightly.

He squeezed through the crowd to Lance’s side. After the two shook hands, Vaughn invited Lance to his office to talk. Lance did not refuse.

After entering the office, the secretary with her voluptuous hips walked back and forth in front of the two men a few times. She seemed very confident in her hips.

But what she didn’t know was that in a man’s heart, money and power are the first priority, and what these two gentlemen were about to discuss was the most important thing to men.

“Is there any trouble?”

Vaughn nodded. “I have some acquaintances in the dock management company. The board of directors is very dissatisfied with the manager’s progress. They are planning to use another way to force the workers back to their posts.”

He looked at Lance, his expression somewhat serious. “Wages.”

Lance looked around Vaughn’s office and soon found a calendar. He glanced at it; there wasn’t much time left in this month.

The docks paid wages on the weekend of the first week of each month, which was the first Friday.

Now, there were less than ten days until that time.

“Are you saying they plan to not pay wages first?”

Vaughn nodded. “The financial situation of most dockworkers’ families is very poor. They can’t save much money, and many families have no savings.”

“Now they will be facing the problem of paying bills and living expenses. Some people will definitely choose to compromise.”

“Currently, these problems have not yet broken out, but next month, they will definitely use this trick to force the workers to compromise.”

Vaughn looked at Lance. “How do you think we should solve this problem?”

His intention was to see if Lance could think of a way. After all, Lance himself ran a finance company, and his main business was related to the dockworkers.

On the other hand, he also knew that Lance was in the bar business. The bars in this period were super-profitable. He should be able to come up with some money.

It didn’t need to be much. A hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, would be enough to get through this difficult time.

This way, not only could the strike continue, but he and Lance would also gain more prestige.

Lance considered for a moment. “I’ll handle this matter.”

When he left, he also left some of his men at the docks, making them responsible for the security there. He also called Sub-bureau Chief Bruce and asked him to arrange for some police officers to protect the striking group’s safety.

Sub-bureau Chief Bruce, who had just received a big gift, certainly would not refuse. These were all small matters.

Soon, there were many more police officers at the docks, and some of Lance’s family members were also hidden in the crowd.

Having gained Lance’s support, the momentum of the striking group became even greater. Many workers who had been hesitant after being threatened by the gang also returned to the striking group.

Looking at the striking crowd below, which had not decreased but increased, the manager had already thrown everything he could get his hands on to the ground.

He was so angry that he paced back and forth several times, then returned to his desk and dialed the Professor’s number. “Have your people made a move?”

The Professor was a little embarrassed. “I’ve run into a little trouble…”

“Fuck, your trouble is trouble, but my trouble isn’t?”

The manager didn’t hold back at all and started cursing directly. “If you can’t handle them, don’t talk big to me. You’ve wasted a day of my time!”

He slammed the phone down, sat back in his chair, his mind a blank, without any other countermeasures.

Perhaps, this time, he was doomed.

(End of chapter)