Chapter 208: Vacuum

In the Pentagon in New York, a place regarded as the safest and most secure military command center in the world, a middle-aged man in military uniform addressed a slightly younger lieutenant colonel.

“Have you found any trace of them yet?”

“I’m very sorry, but it seems they discovered that we were using a signal transmitter to track their location. Because of this, we haven’t been able to locate them. Additionally, given the high level of secrecy surrounding this matter, we can’t conduct a full-scale search too conspicuously, so we haven’t found them yet,” the lieutenant colonel said, a cold sweat forming on his brow.

The colonel’s voice was cold. “That’s not a good excuse. If they manage to escape from the U.S., that gentleman will be furious.”

“I-I understand. I’ll send more personnel to track them down, please give me a bit more time.”

“I hope you won’t disappoint me this time.”

“Rest assured, I won’t.”

“If you find any trace of them, notify me immediately.”

“Understood.”

The colonel gave him a cold look before turning and leaving the room.

Not long after he left, one of the lieutenant colonel’s aides suddenly removed his headset and said, “Report, sir. I’ve just received some intelligence about Black Dragon. Many of their members seem to have left their posts for an unknown reason.”

The lieutenant colonel’s brow twitched as he sensed something unusual. He quickly told the aide, “Continue to investigate this right away. Also, contact the informant embedded within them to see if he knows what’s going on.”

“Yes, sir.” The aide began directing the other subordinates, who quickly went back to work.

However, by the morning of the third day, the lieutenant colonel was called to the colonel’s office.

Upon entering, he was surprised to find the officer in charge of intelligence for the North American region was also there. The usually imposing intelligence officer was now sweating profusely and staring at the floor. The colonel, in military uniform, was turned away from him, focused on the television screen on the right side of the office.

If this were any other time, the lieutenant colonel would have been thrilled to see his rival in such a disheveled state, and he would have celebrated with champagne at home. But as he watched the video footage on the TV, he felt no joy at all.

“Last night, a series of gang-related violent incidents occurred in Washington’s Latin American immigrant community, resulting in at least five deaths due to gunfights. The violence has spread to the downtown area, just 3 kilometers from the White House. Latin American gangs are becoming more active, using violence to control nearby Latino communities. Gang symbols can be seen painted on street walls, sidewalks, and even street signs, marking their territories and demonstrating loyalty to their organizations.”

“In the northern suburbs of Washington, Montgomery County, there were five shootings over a 16-hour period from the night of the 2nd to the morning of the 3rd, resulting in five deaths. The victims included a white man, a black man, a hispanic man, a white woman, and a hispanic woman. Witnesses stated that the gunmen were likely gang members, and local police suspect the shootings were part of a turf war.”

“This morning, Southern California’s San Jose experienced the most severe series of explosions in over a decade. Numerous unexplained blasts occurred in different areas, setting fires that destroyed more than ten homes. Fifteen people were killed, and over one hundred were hospitalized with injuries. The local police have declared a state of emergency to prevent further incidents.”

“This morning, a fatal shooting occurred at a fast-food restaurant in the Queens area of New York City on the night of the 24th, resulting in five deaths and two injuries. According to reports, two armed assailants burst into the restaurant just before 11 PM and forced seven employees preparing to leave into the basement. After binding them, the assailants opened fire. Police reported that four people died on the spot, while one succumbed to their injuries at the hospital. One of the injured victims is in critical condition. The assailants fled the scene and are currently being sought by police.”

“The Washington Post reported that last night…”

With a “click,” the white-haired colonel turned off the television using the remote control.

At this moment, the lieutenant colonel and the intelligence officer were silent, afraid to speak. The room fell into complete silence.

Slowly turning around, the colonel coldly looked at both of them. “These are news reports of events that have occurred across various states over the past week. Do either of you have anything to say about this?”

A chill ran down the spines of both the lieutenant colonel and the intelligence officer, and neither dared to respond.

“I’m asking you now for an explanation. Answer me!” The colonel slammed his fist on the desk, his voice harsh.

The two men flinched, and after a moment, the intelligence officer hesitantly spoke. “Sir, it’s all due to gang members in those areas fighting for control of territories. I’ve already sent additional—”

“I’m asking you why this is happening, not listening to your excuses. Lieutenant Colonel, you answer me.”

The lieutenant colonel was startled and quickly responded, “T-This is because Black Dragon suddenly withdrew from those areas, creating a power vacuum. The other gangs in the nearby regions wanted to take control of those territories, which led to the turf war.”

The colonel’s expression softened slightly, and he continued, “Have you found out why they did this?”

“According to my intelligence, Black Dragon’s power in both North and South America has shown signs of collapsing. Except for some hard-to-liquidate real estate, the majority of their liquid assets, such as stocks, deposits, and futures, have already been moved abroad. Just days ago, they suddenly left their positions. This is what triggered the gang conflicts over territory. I believe they are planning to evacuate the U.S. and relocate overseas.”

The colonel’s voice turned grave. “Even so, don’t you think their actions were too sudden? This all happened within just a few days.”

The lieutenant colonel was momentarily speechless, then said, “It’s possible that they already know their leader is being pursued by us, which is why they reacted this way.”

“Do you know what the missing Black Dragon members are doing now?”

“According to reports from our undercover agents within the organization, besides liquidating their assets, they have also been booking plane tickets in batches to leave the country. They seem indifferent to the other gangs fighting for their territory. They probably intend to deal with the important assets in those cities controlled by Black Dragon before leaving the U.S.”

“These people are dangerous. No matter what they plan to do, we need to monitor them closely and ensure nothing goes wrong. The recent string of street conflicts and explosions this week has already made that gentleman very angry.”

“I understand, sir.”

The colonel turned to look at the intelligence officer, whose face was full of dissatisfaction. “Officer, do you know how many gang organizations and members there are in the U.S.?”

The intelligence officer responded, “Sir, there are over 20,000 gang organizations in the U.S., with a total of approximately 730,000 members.”

“That is a troubling number. The danger posed by gangs in the U.S. has now surpassed that of terrorist organizations. If similar gang conflicts continue, you should be aware of the serious consequences. I expect you to stop this development as soon as possible. This is also what that gentleman wants.”

“I-I understand, sir.” The intelligence officer responded immediately.

As the two men left the colonel’s office, the lieutenant colonel’s expression betrayed his satisfaction. The intelligence officer scoffed coldly and quickly walked away. Watching the officer’s angry retreat, the lieutenant colonel’s expression grew even more smug.

※※※

“Master, the Black Dragon members in the U.S. have already consolidated as per our plan.” After hanging up the phone, Lei Li said to Lei Yin, who was sitting nearby, reading a newspaper.

“How many people can still be commanded?” Lei Yin asked without looking up.

“Since New York and Philadelphia are our primary territories, there are a lot of people in those areas—about 3,000. Now, with the additional groups from other areas, including the leaders, we have around 4,000 people. Unfortunately, some cowards defected to other gangs, or else we could have reached at least 9,000.”

Lei Yin said calmly, “When a tree falls, the monkeys scatter—this is a normal phenomenon. Running a gang is no different from running a company. If the company is about to collapse, the employees will naturally look for other opportunities. That we were able to gather this many people is already beyond my expectations. What’s the situation in the areas we’ve abandoned?”

Lei Li replied smugly, “We didn’t even need to stir things up much. Once they heard that Black Dragon was pulling out, they pounced on each other like a pack of rabid dogs starving for years. It saved us a lot of trouble.”

After a moment of thought, Lei Yin said, “It’s not chaotic enough yet. Have our people in those areas think of ways to incite them further. The more viciously they fight, the more it benefits our plans.”

Lei Li took a bite of an apple. “No problem. If we send a few assassins to take out some key players among them, they’ll tear into each other even harder.”

“What about Chang’an?”

“He said he’s working on quietly bringing that group over. They should arrive here by tomorrow night.”

“Good. Now we just wait for the curtain to rise.” Lei Yin set down the newspaper and sipped his tea leisurely.

Lei Li’s eyes glimmered with uncontainable excitement.

※※※

For several consecutive days, police departments in major cities like California, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Washington, Philadelphia, and New York were overwhelmed with chaos.

In less than a week, daily gang-related turf wars had erupted in the streets.

Meanwhile, the original dominant player, Black Dragon, whose territories were now hotly contested, seemed to have vanished entirely within days.

Most of Black Dragon’s members were still stationed at what appeared to be legitimate company branch offices. Yet, despite the fierce battles raging over their territories, none of them stepped in to intervene.

With this once-mighty force removed, more gangs joined the fray. The territories Black Dragon occupied were prime urban areas—highly valuable and fiercely contested. Every criminal organization sought to grab as much of the spoils as possible.

Rumors that Black Dragon was withdrawing from the U.S. mainland began to gain credibility.

Although police pulled personnel from quieter states to help control the escalating chaos, the situation spiraled out of control when key figures in several major gangs were mysteriously assassinated.

What began as a fight over resources morphed into an all-out war fueled by hatred and greed.

Every day, newspapers carried reports of gang wars breaking out across various states. As the days passed, the violence intensified, with some states even experiencing bombings. The death toll rose daily. Police departments in these areas were inundated with panicked calls from citizens. Media outlets grew increasingly critical of the government and relevant agencies for their inefficiency.

Compared to the chaos elsewhere, cities like Washington, Philadelphia, and New York were relatively calmer.

In these cities, the gangs were smaller in scale. This was due not only to stricter law enforcement monitoring but also to the greater number of smaller gangs, which dispersed the population. Additionally, as some of the most important cities in the U.S., these areas had the most robust police forces.

Even so, occasional skirmishes still broke out on the streets, though they were less intense than in other states.

Despite this relative calm, an uneasy tension seemed to hang in the air, felt even by ordinary citizens.

But this fragile semblance of peace was shattered four nights later.