Chapter 557: Response

Bloodshot veins filled Feijia'er's eyes.

With this one slap, Lans had smashed his dignity to pieces; in truth, he himself knew that now was not a good time to strike.

Perhaps Lans's men were already prepared for them to attack, waiting for them to deliver themselves to their door, only to be shot into sieves.

Yet he had to speak, he had to take a stance; several cadres had died early in the morning, and if he showed no attitude at all, what would the other cadres think?

The Jien family was different from gangs like the Pasiletu family or the Keda family; it was not a gang linked by blood ties.

The cadres in the Pasiletu family were basically all relatives of the family head—cousins, nieces, nephews, and uncles.

The Keda family was the same; the core figures in their family were all blood relatives.

When they encountered trouble, they often stood together to think through problems.

But gangs like the Kasiya family, the Tita family, and the Jien family, which were not linked by blood ties, faced more problems.

For example, after encountering a setback, if the leader of the gang family did not stand up and take a stance, it would trigger unpredictable consequences.

Blood-kin families did not have this problem; no matter what conflicts arose, it would only lead them to unite against outsiders.

But for non-blood-kin gangs, sometimes external problems could evolve into internal ones.

If he did not take a stance, cadres who had good relationships with the dead cadres would feel dissatisfied.

"Damn it, the brothers usually do so much for the family, and now that they've been killed, you (Feijia'er) don't even make a peep."

Then, the next time they were needed to charge, they would consider whether they should lead the charge themselves.

They might even consider how to preserve their own strength when the family faced a crisis, rather than how to unite and overcome the difficulties together.

As long as their own strength didn't decrease, at worst, they could just switch to another gang later.

Therefore, Feijia'er had to take a stance, just like he was doing now, slapping the map with his palm; even if some knew he was acting, they could only remain silent.

At times like this, it often required another "sober person" to stand up and stop him from doing so.

And this person was also Feijia'er's confidant.

"I don't think we should recklessly charge in, Boss!"

Feijia'er's gaze moved to the person who spoke, and the others looked at him too.

Only, some people's gazes were so flat that no content could be seen, while others maintained a playful expression on their faces throughout.

This kind of drama had actually been performed many times.

But to say it was useless would not necessarily be true.

Because even if you knew it was a performance, a discussion, at least when Feijia'er said he would immediately avenge the dead cadres, the emotions in their hearts would stir along with his words.

He achieved the result he wanted—the Boss had not forgotten to avenge the dead brothers.

As for how he would be stopped and persuaded next, that was another matter.

The person who spoke was very calm. "First, we must confirm that the people who did this are indeed Lans's men. If someone knows we have friction and uses this method to create conflict..."

"If we strike now, we fall for their trap and their conspiracy."

Feijia'er frowned as he looked at the person speaking, appearing dissatisfied. Others frowned, some nodded slightly; they felt there was no problem with what was said.

This straightforward guy who wasn't afraid of offending the Boss continued, "Second point, how can we be sure this isn't him luring us over?"

"Maybe Lans's men are already in ambush, just waiting for us to charge in, and then they will completely wipe out our men. We cannot give them such an opportunity."

"Do you remember our battle with the Xiong Bang?"

"We suffered a huge loss as soon as we started!"

That was a past that people didn't want to recall; including Feijia'er, everyone frowned when they heard it.

Although this was a script, a good script could also resonate with people's emotions.

Their first large-scale firefight with the Xiong Bang was just like this; the Xiong Bang ambushed two of their operating businesses.

Feijia'er didn't treat them as an equal opponent and directly arranged for men to kill them, and then almost no one who went returned intact.

It was also from that time that they fell into a tragic battle with the Xiong Bang.

Now, mentioning this opponent who had already been wiped out and the losses they had suffered, although it was a bit unpleasant, from another perspective, it was actually a suitable example.

Although they were stunned in the early stages, the Xiong Bang had already disappeared from New Jincheng.

Others nodded one after another, and Feijia'er's expression softened; the script had worked.

He sat down, lit a cigarette, and asked, "Anything else?"

The person speaking nodded and said, "Third point, regardless of whether it was done by the Lans family, this is a serious provocation to us, to the Five Great Families; it is a terrible signal."

"This is no longer just our own problem; it is also a problem for the Five Great Families."

"This time they dared to provoke us, then what about next time?"

"Will they try to provoke other families, and will we eventually fall into endless testing by these small gangs and gradually be worn down?"

Everyone's expressions changed; a word flashed through their minds at this moment: Authority!

Yes, the authority of the Five Great Families was facing unprecedented threats. If they couldn't handle this matter well, even if they solved this trouble, there would be more trouble in the future.

Feijia'er took a deep breath as if he had been persuaded. "Let everyone stay steady, don't act recklessly. I will contact the other families."

These cadres naturally had no objections, including those who knew this was Feijia'er's intention and had just performed a bit; they didn't have any major objections either.

On the other side, Bandi and Gao Li, the two culprits, were also discussing Lans's actions.

"Too explosive." Gao Li shook his head. "He moves very fast, and I'm a bit worried."

Bandi looked at him; the two were brothers and were familiar enough with each other. Gao Li pursed his lips. "I'm worried that Feijia'er and the others won't hold out for that long."

This sentence made Bandi show a look of doubt. "Feijia'er's side was indeed affected before, but do you think Lans is that strong?"

Gao Li rubbed his cheeks; this feeling allowed him to feel a slight sense of relaxation, but only slight.

"Haven't I been investigating the strength of the Lans family recently?"

Bandi nodded; understanding one's opponent before a full-scale war was very important.

They had already put down their former arrogance and started trying to understand this gang that was entrenched in the two poorest districts, all young people, and with no foundation.

But the more he understood, the more Gao Li's unease grew.

"They have too many people."

Bandi looked at him without taking a stance; one sentence, one piece of information, could not make Bandi make a correct response. He was still waiting.

Gao Li lit a cigarette, then casually threw the lighter on the table. He leaned back on the sofa, his body sinking into it.

If some elderly people were here, they would think Gao Li was a typical bad kid with no "sitting posture."

"There are already 250,000 Imperial people in the Imperial District, not including illegal Imperial immigrants."

"He can pull out a large group of people loyal to him from these people anytime, anywhere, and you know the situation inside the Empire."

Bandi also felt the addiction coming on, so he lit a cigarette too. "Yes, I heard their civil war hasn't ended yet."

The "International News" continued to smear the image and ability of the Imperial Emperor, and of course, it wasn't entirely nonsense, because there were still two or three rebel armies fighting against the royal family.

They had survived several encirclement and suppression campaigns and even had the possibility of continuing to grow. For a time, His Majesty the Emperor was "furious" again.

"So among those who have come in the past year, many have participated in the war."

"If these things only made me feel that it was not easy to handle, then the refugees who are constantly increasing in the New Jincheng District make things even more troublesome."

"Some are guys who are willing to sell their lives for a little money."

Bandi's complexion was indeed not so optimistic.

The war between gangs, in the final analysis, depends on who has more people, more guns, and more money!

He thought for a long time before barely saying, "Having many people... doesn't necessarily mean they are powerful."

Gao Li looked at Bandi in some astonishment. The two looked at each other for a while and couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, I said it's not entirely correct, but you can't say I'm entirely wrong either!" Bandi finally lost out under Gao Li's gaze. He also knew he was quibbling.

You have ten people under your command, he has one hundred people under his command; you are just not as powerful as him!

This is not the cold weapon era of three or five hundred years ago; perhaps there was still the possibility of a small number of well-trained heavy cavalry slaughtering a large group of light infantry.

Now is the era of hot weapons; everyone has a gun. Ten people shooting and one hundred people shooting, this is completely two changes.

"Can't we make up for this gap?", he asked again.

Gao Li's expression was not relaxed. "We have already started the war; the cost of recruiting people again is very high."

"And we are not sure if there will be sand among the recruits. A guy like Lans can do anything."

Bandi didn't deny this point; anyway, in his eyes, Lans had already become synonymous with evil.

"Although I don't want to admit it, Bandi, in terms of strength, we already have a certain gap with him."

"Of course, I'm only talking about pure strength."

"Another thing that makes me feel troublesome is the police station. Previously, the police station was controlled by Chali; he was a running dog of the Bay Area."

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"The Bay Area will not easily intervene in our firefight; they are even, to a certain extent, standing with us."

"Even if the police don't help us, they won't deal with us."

"But now, the police are standing on his side."

Bandi's frown tightened further, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the tabletop. "What you said makes a lot of sense, so what should we do now?"

Gao Li curled his lips. "Can't let Feijia'er fight him too hard. If Feijia'er is fought out, our chances of winning will be even smaller."

"Also want to ask..."

The two brothers were familiar enough with each other. His demeanor made Bandi vaguely realize something. "Just say it, I won't mind."

"Can the Congress or Manton provide some help?"

"Even if it can't directly cause harm to Lans, at least make the police part not completely stand on his side."

Bandi fell into silence for a long time.

In the past, what Bandi liked to talk to him about most was those big shots in Congress, and how they relied on them.

He went to Manton to attend a banquet held by a big shot, or met and shook hands with a big shot again.

He always talked about these things, but Gao Li didn't like them. At that time, he always felt that the power in his own hands was the most important.

All other things were fake.

But now, he seemed to have a bit of awakening; political support was also very important.

If a big shot could speak up for them, maybe it was really possible to mediate these conflicts.

Once the garrison here stabilized, Lans would never have the opportunity to change the city's pattern again.

They also knew that there would be a garrison; Bandi had also heard some news.

Once the garrison was stationed, they would certainly not allow the city to be in such a mess; at that time, they would certainly intervene.

After two or three minutes, Bandi came back to his senses. "I will contact them."

When he said this, Gao Li vaguely sensed that something was wrong. He frowned and looked at Bandi. "Did something happen?"

Bandi didn't know how to say it; someone contacted him privately, telling him to hold on and not compromise.

That person was an interest representative for a big shot in Congress. Bandi carefully asked if the other party had any help he could give, but that guy hung up the phone without saying anything.

Later, he inquired about it; the political circle he relied on was currently being marginalized by Congress because of some reasons related to the President.

This was actually quite normal; politics is like this, either this wave is high, or that wave is high, and it is impossible for one wave to be high forever; it is dynamic and constantly changing.

In previous years, Senator Cleveland's market was not very good, and he was also in a mediocre position in Congress. If it weren't for his background and family support, he would have been kicked out of the Senate long ago.

In the past two years, his market has improved, and naturally, other interest groups have started to decline; this is normal.

But for the "ants" under the influence of these political interest groups, that is definitely huge bad news!

They have no risk resistance ability. Now that Congress can't help, there won't be many people in Manton who are willing to intervene.

Because political interests are all of the same lineage; they are all in the same circle.

Now that the days of the top of the circle are not easy, then those of them in the middle and lower levels naturally won't have it too easy either.

Facing Gao Li's question, Bandi had nothing to say, and this was precisely the best dialogue.

"I see!", Gao Li said after a moment of silence.

But soon he cheered up again. "We didn't rely on them to gain a foothold in New Jincheng, so without help... we can still do very well."

"Now the first thing we need to do is not let Feijia'er be knocked down by Lans's fast punch."

Bandi nodded. "You are very right. You arrange this aspect, and I will fully support you."

The two were discussing countermeasures when suddenly the phone rang. Bandi kept his hand on the receiver and waited for it to ring again before picking it up.

"This is Bandi."

After he finished speaking, his brows tightened, and then he hung up the phone.

Facing Gao Li's questioning gaze, he said, "Several of their bars were attacked, and the losses are constantly expanding."

Gao Li's eyes became a bit strange. "Lans and the others... what exactly do they intend to do?"

"We have to contact Feijia'er."

Gao Li nodded and said, "That's what I think too."

Before he even picked up the phone, it rang again. After picking it up, it was news sent back by the eyes they had arranged.

After he listened for a while and hung up the phone, his expression was a bit solemn. "Feijia'er sent people to retaliate."

If the first time he could find someone to stop it and stop the revenge, then this time it couldn't be stopped.

Being slapped in the face repeatedly without counterattacking, perhaps they wouldn't even need to wait for Lans to kill them; those high-level cadres might have other thoughts.

Feijia'er must counterattack, and at the same time, this was also a test.

Gao Li sighed. "I hope the result this time won't be too bad."

The moment a large number of cars entered the Imperial District, Lans already knew.

The old men on the streets and alleys were drinking coffee while paying attention to the moving direction of those obviously abnormal motorcades.

This information was quickly gathered into Botun's hands, and then Botun told Lans.

Their target was not some bar; it was Lans himself!

The route of these motorcades was also coming towards Lans's company, but Lans was not nervous at all; even after knowing this news, he was still laughing and talking.

"Are your people all arranged?", sitting opposite him was the newly appointed branch chief of the Imperial District branch, and also one of the confidants with a good relationship with Chief Bulu, who used to work in the Imperial District branch.

Now that Chief Bulu had left, he took over the position of branch chief and continued to shine for the Imperial District and Lans.

This was a middle-aged man in his forties, slightly bald, and his face was a bit big, oval-shaped.

When he smiled, his facial features would squeeze together, looking a bit ridiculous.

So he tried his best not to laugh out loud for the sake of his image most of the time, but at this moment, his face was smiling like a chrysanthemum that was intended to bloom but hadn't!

"Mr. Lans, don't worry, the people are all arranged!"

Lans nodded slightly. "My safety is handed over to you."

The new branch chief glanced at the people in the office carrying submachine guns and felt that Lans might be speaking ironically.

However, he still patted his chest and guaranteed, "No criminal will be able to come before you, Mr. Lans!"

(End of chapter)