Chapter 502

Lanse was discussing some points that needed attention with everyone when the telephone rang suddenly.

The attention of everyone in the room immediately focused on the phone.

They could feel that the recent atmosphere was very solemn, and they could vaguely guess that a terrible phone call would unveil the "Great Era" to come.

Was it this call?

Many people's heartbeats began to accelerate, and the phone rang with a jingle in the room.

After it rang several times, Lanse picked up the phone, "This is Lanse."

He was already prepared to welcome not-so-good news, but it certainly wasn't bad news; he had already made some preparations.

He had so many industries under his control that trying to deal with him by attacking his businesses wasn't a very good choice, so in a sense, he actually had no "fatal weaknesses."

This was a good thing.

He had thought that some bar or some person would say they were currently under attack or investigation, but he didn't expect the person calling to be Pang Da.

"I want to see you," he said.

After careful consideration during this period, he finally decided to lean completely toward Lanse.

He had also heard about what was happening outside, and even heard some extra rumors that the Bay Area's dissatisfaction with Lanse was because of Lisa.

Of course, the rumors weren't spread directly like that, but he guessed that this had a certain connection to Lisa.

He felt that he should do something.

Lanse agreed, then hung up the phone, "Pang Da wants to meet me; I don't know what he wants to do. You all continue with your work."

Someone reminded him, "Stay safe!"

Lanse nodded and had people make preparations; soon, several cars left from the back alley.

Ten-plus minutes later, the motorcade entered the wharf.

The wharf was now Lanse's territory; nearly seventy percent of the workers here earned their living under Lanse, so it was very safe and reliable here.

These workers actually knew very well that if someone else came, they might not be as stable and comfortable as they were now.

Apart from a small fee, Lanse never collected extra money from them, and he would even distribute free work clothes, gloves, and labor protection supplies to them.

What they gave Lanse was actually much more than what Lanse took from them!

Meeting at the wharf was also for the sake of safety.

In a remote corner with no one around, Lanse waited for Pang Da.

Pang Da got out of the car; he looked a bit haggard.

During this time, Lisa's mood had been very bad, and Pang Da's mood had also become terrible.

On one hand... he instinctively couldn't accept it whenever he thought about Lisa having slept with many people, but he had met Lisa only after all that had ended!

The most critical point was that being an escort wasn't Lisa's intention; she had been coerced!

After meeting him and getting married, she had been loyal to him, and she was pregnant, due to give birth in a few months.

His mood now was very contradictory; on one hand, he felt... not so comfortable about Lisa's past experiences.

After all, the secret garden that originally belonged only to him had traces left by others; he felt very uncomfortable whenever he thought of this.

He was a bit afraid to go to the Bay Area now because he had a psychological shadow he didn't know how to tell others about!

He always felt that the well-dressed men he met on the road might have patronized Lisa and might have entered Lisa's secret garden!

This made him very painful!

But he was unwilling to lose Lisa, even if she had been a high-end escort, and even if he might meet many of Lisa's former clients in New Jincheng.

This wasn't her fault, nor was it his fault; it was the fault of those who had forced Lisa in the past, and the fault of those people in the Bay Area!

He had been in pain during this time, and he had been thinking; finally, he made a decision: he would maintain this marriage and keep it going.

At the same time, he also wanted more power!

Once he possessed higher power, no one would mock anyone because of these things, and no one would mention these things again to hurt him or Lisa.

Power was the best solution to his current predicament, bar none.

"I'm sorry!" Pang Da's opening words made Lanse feel a trace of surprise.

"Sorry?" He repeated, then handed a cigarette to Pang Da.

After Pang Da took it, he took out a lighter, lit Lanse's, and then his own.

"That matter with Lisa... caused you to be implicated."

He looked at Lanse with a sincere expression, "I heard that the Bay Area's dissatisfaction with you is because of that old dog Hoff; he has extensive connections, and our affairs implicated you."

Lanse waved his hand, "No one would just watch her fall into such a situation; I don't regret it, and you don't need to apologize to me for this."

Pang Da pursed his lips, "Has anyone ever told you that sometimes you are more of a gentleman than those gentlemen?"

He took a drag of the cigarette and exhaled slowly; the cold sea breeze instantly blew away the smoke, and for a moment, it was unclear whether it was cigarette smoke or the hot air exhaled from his mouth.

"I've thought a lot, Lanse."

"The best way not to be hurt is to hold the weapon in your own hands, rather than putting it in someone else's hands and waiting until I've been hurt to ask for help."

"Of course, I'm not talking about this matter; I still want to thank you and apologize to you for this, I'm just saying... the life ahead."

"I want to be a high-level agent, I want to be a director; I need help, and I can also help you!"

A very profound realization; only after people have been severely hurt do they have such a profound realization.

The way life teaches people has always been this cruel, just like running; if they don't fall heavily a few times, people will never learn to run correctly!

"How should I help you?"

Pang Da touched his slightly thin cheeks; the stubble was very prickly.

His immediate superior had been looking for trouble for him; he actually knew why—because his immediate superior had occupied his original promotion opportunity, so they were naturally at odds.

Even if Pang Da did nothing and thought of nothing, his superior would still suspect whether this guy would play dirty tricks on him.

So Pang Da aimed his target directly at this guy.

"I want to replace him; help me!"

Lanse didn't answer immediately; he took several drags of his cigarette, and only after finishing it did he nod and say, "I will."

The two hugged, and Pang Da soon drove away; the work of the Hazardous Materials Bureau had always been dangerous, so it was normal for some accidents to happen on the job, right?

Although high-level agents wouldn't go to the front line in person most of the time, once they encountered a big case, they wouldn't let it go either.

Sitting in the office versus commanding on the front line—the merits one could obtain were completely different!

One must know that every big case required a complete report from multiple people and would be audited by superiors; if the report stated that the high-level agent didn't go to the front line, then he could basically only get a few scraps from this merit.

Want to eat meat?

No way!

After returning to the car, Lanse thought about the matter of helping Pang Da; strictly speaking, now was actually not a good time because the external pressure was great.

But it was also a good time because Pang Da's joining could stir up more water for him!

The Koda family's casino couldn't do without alcohol, and there must be Koda family people in the Hazardous Materials Bureau.

As long as they went to investigate the Koda family's casino, that alcohol would be put away.

Once they left, the alcohol would be brought out again; of course, this referred to the private rooms and private gambling tables.

Having the Hazardous Materials Bureau keep an eye on the Koda family could play an important role and distract the Koda family's attention.

Then all that would be left for Lanse to deal with would be Chali, Hunter, and those people in the Bay Area.

In an apartment in the Starlight District, Eugene was coming out of the bedroom; he had been hiding here during this time, and Lanse's people were still searching for his tracks everywhere outside.

Shi Dong had talked to him about this and told him that he would be safe soon, but before that, he still had to hide for a while.

They had chosen an apartment in the Starlight District, which was also Shi Dong's, or rather Fleming's, decision.

The Koda family had strong control over the Starlight District, and at the same time, they didn't think Lanse would imagine that at such a time, Eugene's family not only hadn't left New Jincheng but was instead hiding in the most prosperous place.

It wasn't that Shi Dong hadn't thought about sending Eugene's family away, for example, to other cities or other states, but he quickly dismissed this idea.

Because his, or rather Eugene's family's, whereabouts also represented the Koda family's face. If people knew they had been forced by the Lanse family to send their own people away, how would they view them?

At the same time, Shi Dong believed that the Lanse family wouldn't take long to head toward destruction; soon everything would be over, and this city would return to the way it was before.

Hiding in this apartment, Eugene was completely dazed; there were no rich family entertainment activities in this era, and he did nothing but sleep.

Sometimes he couldn't tell day from night; apart from reading books, newspapers, and magazines, he was just sleeping.

Waking up, he continued to read books, newspapers, and magazines, and when he felt dazed, he would just fall asleep.

If he didn't look at the light outside the window, he couldn't tell day from night anymore.

"Where's my son?" He picked up the cigarettes on the table, pulled one out, lit it, and then sat at the dining table.

There was some food on the table; actually, he couldn't feel hunger or fullness, he just instinctively picked up the fork on the plate and stuffed some food into his mouth.

These were delivered by gang members every few days, and they were all excellent ingredients; sometimes there was even food already prepared.

He didn't lack anything in this regard.

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He ate several mouthfuls in a row and suddenly noticed his wife standing in the corner of the kitchen, looking a bit uneasy and not answering his simple question.

He immediately frowned; as Shi Dong's confidant, he was definitely not a fool; he had already realized something was wrong!

He immediately rushed into another room, his son's room, and didn't see his son.

Then he checked the bathroom, and there was no sign of that young man either.

A look of rage had already appeared on his face, "Where did he go?"

His wife replied tremblingly, "He... he said he was bored to death and wanted to go out for a stroll; he didn't tell me where he was going!"

"Fuck!"

"Don't you know what time it is, damn it?"

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

His wife lowered her head and said softly, "He wouldn't let me..."

He wouldn't let her.

Eugene himself was dazed, let alone his son.

How could a young man stay in such an environment all the time? He had long wanted to go out; it was just that he might have had some worries before, but the safety during this period made him start to ignore the danger and become more restless.

He couldn't stand being unable to go anywhere in this apartment all day anymore; he wanted to go out!

His father worked for the famous Shi Dong, which meant he didn't lack money or social status; he wanted to return to that life of dissipation, wanted to drink with girls, and sleep with them!

He didn't want to face his father and mother every day in this room with only newspapers, magazines, and books!

Even if it was just going out to play for a little while, he would feel like he had come back to life!

This was the Starlight District; he was too familiar with it; he had lived here since he was a child; he wouldn't be in danger!

Eugene looked at his wife with cold eyes, his temples throbbing; he had a headache now, and there was anger!

He picked up the phone and had his men go find his son as soon as possible; this was the only thing he could do now.

He still held a glimmer of hope at this moment; just... going out for a bit, there shouldn't be any accidents!

At this very moment, in a bar in the Starlight District, he was drinking with a few friends.

The fragrance emanating from the girl beside him and the smell of alcohol blended together, making him indulge in it, even forgetting the danger!

"Where have you been during this time?"

"We couldn't find you at all!"

On the table in front of the few people were several kinds of alcohol, beer, brandy, and whiskey.

There was also some food, fruit, and some candy.

This wasn't a Koda family bar; the bar was now a grey industry and currently belonged to Shi Dong's management.

Eugene was Shi Dong's confidant and often appeared in various similar industries, and as Eugene's son, he also often followed Eugene or other gang members or their children to these places.

After all, he was more or less considered a "Young Master," and these gang members were all very familiar with him.

If he appeared in a Koda family bar, his old man would know he had snuck out in less than five minutes.

He had had enough of hiding in that cramped apartment; this wasn't what he wanted; he wanted alcohol, wanted to drink with friends, and wanted to vent his emotions!

So he snuck out after his father fell asleep, planning to sneak back after he had had his fun; no one would discover any of this!

He and his friends chose a safe bar, and after the few of them sat down, he took a big gulp of alcohol.

The moment the alcohol entered his body, he seemed to relax completely.

He held the girl beside him, his hands wandering all over her body.

That soft, tender touch made his whole body feel like it was about to burn up!

"Something happened at home, but it's no problem; everything will return to the way it was soon!"

The girl held up her glass and fed him a sip of alcohol; after he finished drinking, he took a deep breath on the girl, his face full of intoxicated smiles.

These friends didn't know what kind of trouble he was in; only a very small number of people knew about the conflict between Eugene and the Lanse family, and they didn't continue to ask.

Young people together naturally meant alcohol, tobacco, and sex; he had been suppressed too hard during this time and was already a bit impatient.

He unzipped his zipper and signaled for the girl to sit on him.

The girl didn't want to at first, but under the encouragement of one banknote after another, she couldn't care about much else!

Like a knight, she rode Eugene's son; everyone had drunk quite a bit of alcohol, and the atmosphere naturally became very heated.

Actually, the bar operator didn't really like such things happening in public; the bartender had the security guard go remind them to restrain themselves a bit.

As a result, the security guard came back soon after going, with a look of surprise on his face, "It seems to be that person the Lanse family is looking for."

"Go keep an eye on them." The bartender had someone take over his work and went to the manager's office in the back.

"I saw Eugene's son."

The manager didn't react at first, "Who is Eugene?"

"The son of that guy the Lanse family is looking for!"

The manager reacted at this time; Alberto and Francisco had told them about this and even sent them photos.

Lanse didn't ask Alberto to provide any help, but when it came to finding people, Alberto still took the initiative to help.

He wasn't afraid of the Koda family, and even less afraid of offending them.

Although he couldn't spare the hands to have people search the streets for these people now, it was no problem to have the businesses under his command, such as bars and strip clubs, keep an eye out.

Unexpectedly, there really was a harvest.

The manager hurriedly picked up the phone and dialed Alberto's number.

Now most of the family's affairs were handled by Alberto and Francisco; the call went through quickly, "Boss, the person you asked us to keep an eye on is in our bar."

Five minutes later, Lanse knew about this.

Twenty minutes later, several cars stopped outside the bar.

About half an hour later, several young people came out of the bar, drunk.

If it weren't for the fact that he was still in the "hiding" period, Eugene's son would have planned to spend the night here!

But today he was finally satisfied; he had used up the savings he had stored for many days in one go, and coupled with the alcohol intake, he felt comfortable all over.

As the few of them walked out, they agreed on the time for their next meeting; just as they walked to the side of the road, preparing to take a car and leave, a van stopped in front of them.

Before they could react, a few more people came from behind; they grabbed the young man who couldn't even stand steadily, threw him directly into the car, and then got into the car together.

The car accelerated rapidly and disappeared into the night; the whole process took about ten-plus seconds; by the time these people reacted, that car had already disappeared!

(End of chapter)