Chapter 740

Lanse sat in his office with his legs crossed, thinking about many things. Too many things had happened in a few years, and sometimes he would also have such brief moments of trance.

It is like a person who has always been walking forward, who will also have brief moments of confusion or fatigue.

They will stop, look back at the road they have traveled behind them; they don't want to turn back, but to reflect and sigh at this road they came from, everything they possess now, and the road ahead.

Once they have rested, they will move forward again.

Brief rests in the journey of life are something everyone will have.

It's just that for some people, the rest might take a very long time, or even a lifetime.

But for some people, the rest is just for a moment, in the blink of an eye.

He took out a cigarette and lit it; there were still many things to do next, which made people feel inexplicably busy.

However, the meaning of life lies right here: doing what you want to do.

The spring sunshine shining on a person gives a very warm feeling, and it also makes one develop a sense of laziness. He rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window; does he seem a bit sleepy?

Just as he was thinking about whether to go take a nap, the phone on the desk suddenly rang.

He glanced at it, took a "hissing" drag of his cigarette, and then picked up the phone, "This is Lanse."

"Lanse, I am Joshua."

The weariness in Lanse's eyes disappeared without a trace in an instant; he hummed twice, "So?"

"We need to talk, Lanse."

"War is not the best solution; we have other ways to resolve the dispute. I have a suggestion—"

"Let us put down our hostility toward each other. This time it counts as my problem; I will choose to back down. I will give up a portion of territory to you, or you can also propose other compensation conditions."

"As long as you are not too excessive, I can satisfy you."

Lanse listened to him rambling on for quite a while before laughing and saying, "Why don't you listen to my thoughts?"

Lanse could rationally listen to Joshua finish his words; for him, this matter might really have a turning point, and he very sincerely hoped to resolve it simply, "Go ahead, I'm listening."

He appeared very sincere; the internal and external pressures were too great, and he could only do this.

Lanse took another drag of his cigarette, his voice carrying some laughter that even Joshua could detect, as if he could see Lanse on the other end through the phone line, wearing a smile.

He was looking forward to Lanse's thoughts; as long as they weren't excessive, he could accept them.

But what he was met with was an idea that made him doubt if he had heard correctly.

"Sorry, what did you just say?"

"I don't think I heard clearly!"

He still couldn't believe what he had heard even now, so he asked again.

Lanse said cheerfully, "I said—"

"F-Q!"

He didn't wait for Joshua to react and reached out to hang up the phone.

This phone call made him feel a bit more energetic; the sleep assassin hidden in the spring day did not destroy his will.

Lanse got up and walked to the door, looked at the hall outside for a while, and then shouted, "Erwin, come here!"

Erwin, who was playing cards with other young people in the distance, put down the poker in his hand and walked over quickly, "What's up?"

Lanse signaled for him to enter the office, then sat in his chair, "Are the boys ready?"

"About what?", he asked.

"About the matter of taking out Joshua."

Erwin nodded, "The boys are already ready," he said, unable to help but laugh, "Everyone wants to go!"

It was mainly because they could act together with so many high-level cadres, so many captains, and friends, and it was also to work out of town, which was very attractive to many young people.

Lanse nodded slightly, "Let them check again: weapons, bulletproof vests. I don't want to bring anyone's corpse back."

Erwin knew that Lanse was always very concerned about this, which is also the reason why everyone was willing to listen to Lanse's orders; he always considered everyone's safety, including those at the very bottom of the family.

He made the "family" truly feel like a home, even though he might not be able to call out everyone's name.

On the other side, Joshua, who had hung up the phone, sat in his chair. He looked at the phone in his hand for quite a while before slowly placing it back on the phone base.

The person beside him asked, "What did Lanse say?"

Actually, he vaguely heard what Lanse said, but he also couldn't believe what he heard was true. Maybe it was... some other vocabulary with a similar pronunciation that he wasn't familiar with?

Joshua shook his head, "Can't reach an agreement, get ready to move."

He took a deep breath; he could feel Lanse's determination to fight him, which also shattered his last bit of fantasy.

He clenched his fists, "We are not weaker than them, our strength is even stronger."

When he said this, no one chimed in. Although their territory was very large and they seemed to have done many evil deeds, their main opponents were primarily people of color and immigrants.

These people were already more or less discriminated against in this area; for example, some town intersections connecting to the interstate highway had signs erected saying "No people of color allowed."

So, strictly speaking, they relied on bullying vulnerable groups in the northern region and helping some extreme racists like themselves harm those people, gaining everyone's support and expanding rapidly.

They might have also had shootouts with some gangs, but those gangs were clearly a grade lower than more professional gangs.

Added to the situation coming from the state government wanting to wipe them out, and the rapidly intensifying contradictions within the gang, everyone was very clear that this was a catastrophe for the Holy Bell Sect.

If they can survive it, then they are very likely to welcome a rebirth.

If they cannot survive it, then that's all there is to it.

Some of them were not optimistic about this.

However, there was still a considerable number of people who believed that they would definitely be able to deal a heavy blow to the Lanse family and make him pay the price for underestimating the Holy Bell Sect!

A portion of the Lanse family began to move toward the north-central region, and the situation and atmosphere within the entire Likailai State became slightly more tense.

Many forces sent people to observe the battle between the Lanse family and the Holy Bell Sect, wanting to observe more directly whether this "neighbor" was as strong as people said!

Once the underground world of Likailai State formed a certain degree of unity and their internal affairs tended toward peace, they would definitely expand outward.

The gang forces in the surrounding states were all very nervous.

During this period, Zhabuli (a representative of the gang family in the bay area of the southwest region of Likailai State) also gave Lanse a call, because the Ma Kusi family, like the Lanse family, was primarily composed of immigrants and also had many people of color.

People of color have not yet awakened the talent that their lives are more expensive than gold, so they are still high-quality labor who can work, are willing to endure hardship, and don't need to be paid too much.

The Ma Kusi family absorbed some of the good people among them, which could be considered cheap combat power.

This caused them to have friction with the Holy Bell Sect all along; the Holy Bell Sect promoted them as the "Devil's Team," and the two sides would cause some conflicts from time to time.

But it wasn't intense, and to this day, no large-scale shootout had occurred. The Ma Kusi family lacked high-level power; when everyone's basic strength was about the same, high-level power became the decisive force.

This time, seeing that Lanse was about to overturn the Holy Bell Sect, the people of the Ma Kusi family were also very moved; they wanted to assist the Lanse family's attack on the Holy Bell Sect from the sidelines.

However, Lanse politely declined, purely feeling that they would just add to the chaos.

In late March, the people of the Lanse family had already arrived at the northernmost city of Likailai State, Bokan City, a city that was prosperous compared to other cities in the same region.

When the train stopped at the station outside the city, the people of the Lanse family began to get off the train.

They wouldn't take the train directly into the city, as they would have to come out again. Joshua was hiding in a small valley; Lanse knew that place, all thanks to those priests who didn't want to see God immediately. In the choice between seeing God and letting Joshua see God, they chose to let Joshua see God!

At this time, there were some workers at the station, as well as surrounding farmers and the like who lived nearby and didn't plan to enter the city to take a train.

They watched a large number of people dressed in neat, uniform clothing get off the train. They couldn't remember the faces of these people, but they remembered the red armband on their left arms.

After Lanse got off the train, the local Imperial gang leader brought people to greet him.

Because of the large population, the city would be much more inclusive than the countryside, but even so, the local Imperial gang was not that comfortable.

They were always being harassed by some people, and if they resisted more intensely, the local gangs would beat them together.

These years they had also lived very stifled lives, until the promulgation of the prohibition and Lanse providing them with some alcohol, the situation improved.

He walked up to Lanse, bent his waist, held Lanse's hand with both hands, and kissed his ring, "Mr. Lanse, the cars are all ready!"

Lanse had him prepare at least forty cars; these cars would serve as transportation to help them quickly approach the place where Joshua was hiding.

After all, there was still a distance from here to the small valley; it was impossible to really rely on walking there on foot.

Lanse patted his shoulder, "Well done!"

"The production of alcohol this year will increase quite a bit; by then, you can apply to me for more alcohol!"

The local Imperial gang leader immediately revealed a pleasantly surprised smile; surviving here, money is more important than anywhere else!

If one must perfect a discrimination chain for federal people, then those at the very top of the discrimination chain are the rich!

As long as you have money, you can avoid some trouble, and the bootlegging business is precisely the most profitable!

Just as he was about to thank Lanse for his generosity, his gaze accidentally glanced at the things being "unloaded" from the train not far away: two armored vehicles, and there were mother-fucking machine guns in the machine gun turrets!

When he turned his head to look at Lanse again, his eyes had completely turned into awe!

You guys aren't here for a shootout; you guys are here to fight a mother-fucking war!