The Mafia Empire

In the room sat two middle aged m. One was slightly chubby, balding, and had fair skin. The other had darker skin, somewhat resembling a person from the southern provinces, with a sharp look and a small mustache on his upper lip.

Kevin tered, closing the door behind him, and hung his jacket on the rack. "This is my very good frid, Julian," he said, first introducing Julian. The two m adjusted their expressions slightly. Kevin th introduced them to Julian. "This big guy here is Mr. Gawain, a brave veteran of the Empire, now serving as the Fire Chief."

"And this is Mr. Prando, the guardian of our city and the bane of criminals—the police chief!"

Julian humbly walked over, bowed slightly, and lightly shook hands with both m. After a few polite exchanges, he returned to Kevin's side. Kevin was a man of his word. He was an honest lawyer, and if he said he would introduce Julian to important figures, he would follow through. Whether Julian could befrid them, however, was up to him.

The slightly tse atmosphere in the private room lasted less than a minute before Julian spoke up.

Kevin looked at him with interest, while the two bigwigs regarded Julian with a mixture of arrogance and curiosity. They already knew that since Kevin hadn't mtioned any specific title or backg for Julian, he was likely a nobody.

"Mr. Prando, funny ough, I was planning to visit the police station. A few days ago, while handling some business at the Imperial Ctral Bank, I found a key but couldn't locate the owner. I was going to hand it in at the police station, but now that I have the pleasure of meeting you here, I thought I'd ask for your help in finding its owner."

He produced the key, intricately designed with a complex pattern on the head.

Anyone with a bit of knowledge would immediately recognize it—the key to a private safety deposit box at the Imperial Ctral Bank.

The next second, the haughty look on Prando's face vanished, replaced by a warm, fridly smile. He pointed at Julian and said with a chuckle, "You're quite an upstanding young man. In such a chaotic society, maintaining basic morals is commdable." He carefully pocketed the key to the Ctral Bank's personal vault.

Gawain, expressionless, siltly observed the subtle exchange of bribery, his gaze still fixed on Julian.

Many people think the fire departmt is not a power departmt but a service departmt. After all, wh there's a fire or someone is in trouble, the first thought is to call the fire departmt and those helmeted firefighters in heavy gear. But in reality, the fire departmt holds significant power. Many gangs not only need to pay a tribute to the police departmt but also to the fire departmt.

According to imperial law, all facilities have a maximum occupancy limit, and they must be equipped with fire safety equipmt. In Ternell, the most profitable businesses are oft tied to bars, which are also a significant source of cash. The daily sales of cider and moonshine provide gangs with far more profit than any other avue.

So, to keep their bars running, they must maintain good relations with the fire departmt.

If someone offds the fire departmt, having their bar shut down for rectifications is just the beginning. Once, a gang behind a thriving bar had a dispute with the fire departmt over the amount of tribute, leading to the bar's closure. The fire departmt claimed the bar had fire hazards and poor design, limiting the occupancy of a nearly 500-square-meter bar to just t people!

Failure to comply not only meant closure but also hefty fines.

In the d, the bar was shut down, and the gang behind it had to spd a fortune finding an intermediary to admit their mistake to the fire departmt and promise to pay tribute according to the rules. Only th did they reop the bar under a new name.

If the police departmt is the sharp blade hanging over the gangs, the fire departmt is the hidd gun. Offding either side without sufficit power would make survival in Ternell impossible.

Julian, having giv a key to the police chief, certainly wouldn't forget the fire departmt. With a sincere smile, he spoke clearly, "I rectly started a company on Que's Boulevard, and it's currtly under rovation. I hope Mr. Gawain can take some time to guide us on fire safety installations and rovation issues."

Gawain maintained his stern expression but visibly relaxed, his gaze softing. He nodded, signaling his body had loosed up. "Serving every taxpayer is the duty of our fire departmt. Leave the address, and I'll personally supervise the site."

Before the meal ev began, both Prando and Gawain had secured some extra income, leaving them quite satisfied. Prando ev smiled at Kevin and said, "Your frid is quite interesting!"

Your frid!

Not my frid!

Nor did he specifically mtion Julian's name!

It wasn't that Prando had forgott Julian's name or that he didn't want to be frids with him. It was just that they wer't sure yet if Julian was truly sincere in his desire to become frids. They were aware that many wanted to befrid them, but few showed sufficit sincerity.

Kevin remained silt, merely casting a surprised look at Julian, who stayed calm.

Bribery had become an unwritt rule of the game. Ev the mayor had some questionable funds tucked away in anonymous bank accounts. Governors, state legislators, and council members were no exceptions; could escape this vortex. Some willingly embraced corruption, while others had to learn to play along.

Standing out as an opposition to this trd would achieve nothing but getting crushed by the wheels of the system or drowned by its tides.

While everyone was lining their pockets, there were still ways to do it properly. For low level officers, like patrolling police, no special approach was needed—just hand them twty dollars on the spot, and that would be more satisfying than any other method. But for higher level officials like Prando and Gawain, blatantly offering cash would only offd them and yield no help or favor.