Chapter 423 Surrender or Die
A muffled sound broke the silence.
The bullet pierced Fox's forehead, blood blossoming outward before streaming down his face.
His eyes remained wide with disbelief as his head hit the floor with a thud. He didn't move again.
Fox was dead.
The room fell into stunned silence.
The Silverlight City crime bosses stared at Fox's body in shock, unable to process what they'd just witnessed.
This wasn't just anyone—this was Fox, a core member of the Murphy family from eastern Eagleland's criminal hierarchy and an elder in the Law Enforcement Department. Gone in an instant.
It felt surreal, like a waking nightmare.
Their gazes shifted to Noah, their bodies trembling with fear. He had killed Fox without hesitation, without even blinking. Didn't he fear the Murphy family's wrath?
The Murphy family stood at the pinnacle of eastern Eagleland's underworld, practically a dynasty with deep, powerful roots tracing back to Roy, the legendary gangster from the last century.
Killing a core Murphy family member was suicide. In eastern Eagleland, if the Murphys wanted someone dead, they merely had to snap their fingers.
The crime bosses' expressions turned cold as they looked at Noah, already seeing him as a dead man walking.
Noah's equally cold gaze swept over the seven men—each a leader from different districts of Silverlight City's criminal underworld.
Under his predatory stare, they flinched, feeling like prey being sized up by a dangerous predator.
"I'm giving you two choices," Noah said without preamble. "One, pledge your loyalty to me. Two, die here and now."
"Pledge loyalty to you? In your dreams!"
A mocking laugh erupted from the group. "Noah, you just killed a Murphy. Let's see if you survive three days before talking about loyalty! You're already a walking corpse!"
"You want us to pledge loyalty to a dead man? Is your brain damaged?"
The speaker was a tall man with a pockmarked face—Brad, Fox's right-hand man and owner of the Royal No.1 nightclub.
"Besides," Brad continued with smug confidence, "I've already called for backup. In less than ten minutes, my forces will arrive. Noah, the Murphy family will hunt you down for this. When my people get here, I'll take your head to the Murphys for a reward—"
A gunshot cut him off mid-sentence.
A bullet entered Brad's forehead. His mouth opened as if to continue speaking, eyes wide with shock, before he collapsed to the ground, motionless.
"This idiot actually thought I wouldn't shoot him?" Ethan casually blew across his gun barrel, casting a dismissive glance at Brad's body.
Noah remained silent, tacitly approving Ethan's action.
Seeing the arrogant Brad transform into a corpse in an instant, the remaining six bosses backed away in terror, huddling together.
They were surrounded by dozens of Respect Noah Pavilion members—escape was impossible.
"Noah gave you two choices. Let me repeat them," Ethan said, toying with his gun as cold menace radiated from him. "Either pledge loyalty to Noah, or die. It's that simple. You have ten seconds to decide."
Having held his position in Oceanbridge City's underworld for some time, Ethan spoke with natural authority.
He knew exactly how to handle men like these—show no weakness, and eliminate anyone who refused.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
"..."
"Time's up. You first." Ethan pointed his gun at a middle-aged man with a fleshy face.
This was Alton Bridges, the crime boss of Silverlight City's Gold Valley District.
"Could I have more time to consider?" Alton forced a smile. "Ten seconds is hardly enough, and pledging loyalty to someone I barely know seems rather... demanding."
Ethan pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Alton's smile was still frozen on his face as he fell to the ground, dead before he hit the floor.
Blood sprayed from his chest onto the faces of the nearby bosses, causing them to flinch and back away, faces pale with terror.
Ethan's ruthlessness was clear—not even allowing a moment's consideration before killing!
"Your turn. Which will it be?" Ethan pointed his gun at another boss.
This one was also middle-aged, wearing a suit that revealed tattoos peeking from his collar. He was the crime boss of Silverlight City's Serenity District.
"I—I choose to pledge loyalty!" he stammered, glancing at Alton's body before making his decision.
It was simple math—refuse and die, or pledge loyalty and live. Any sane person would choose the latter.
"I pledge loyalty too!"
"I'm in!"
"Noah, I willingly pledge my loyalty to you!"
Once one agreed, the others quickly followed suit.
Seeing this, Ethan nodded with satisfaction. "Noah, how's that?" he asked, turning toward his boss.
"Good," Noah replied. "Sidney, since these men have pledged their loyalty to me, I'm putting you in charge of taking over their operations."
"Yes, Mr. Anderson!" Sidney's face lit up with excitement.
This assignment meant his status in the criminal world would rise significantly. More importantly, it showed Noah trusted him enough to handle such an important task.
They were now definitively in the same boat.
"Let's head back," Noah said. "Cremate Fox's body and bring me the ashes."
"Of course, Noah. I'll have it done," Ethan replied.
With the bosses having pledged their loyalty, Noah and Ethan easily left Royal No.1.
Outside, the cool night air greeted them. Noah took a deep breath before getting into the same car as Ethan.
"Don't let those district bosses leave yet. Keep them here," Noah instructed from the passenger seat, his expression unreadable. "Bring in our people to Silverlight City to take over their operations one by one."
He continued, "Since they've pledged loyalty, they need to mean it. If anyone tries to play games, eliminate them immediately."
"I understand completely," Ethan nodded. "I'll handle everything perfectly."
"About North—once we have Fox's ashes, we should visit North's hometown for his burial, bringing Fox's remains with us," Noah added, his eyes momentarily reflecting emotion.
"Then there's the Murphy family. In a few days, their leadership will learn about Fox's death. We need to prepare our response."
"With our current position in the underworld still relatively weak, confronting the Murphy family head-on remains challenging."
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