America 1919

"Alpha, although this is our first meeting, I believe we are friends, and you don't have a problem with that, do you?"

In a coffee shop in Louisville, Kentucky, Donnie met with the head of the Louisville public security office, Alpha Hope.

Alpha Hope was a link in Donnie's private liquor empire, and through the Louisville private liquor business, he could pocket at least 500,000 US Dollars every year.

"Mr. Block, I really don't have a choice!" Alpha Hope sat across from Donnie, his face showing little sign of apology and only a smile as he said, "This is an order directly from the mayor himself, what can I do? You surely can't expect me to defy the mayor's order, can you?"

"Even if you don't defy the mayor's order, you could have given us a heads-up before taking action. That way, our goods wouldn't have been detained!"

Donnie gently stirred the coffee in front of him, showing no sign of happiness or sorrow.

Alpha Hope spread his hands in a show of helplessness and said, "I really don't have authority over this matter, Mr. Block. This time, you've touched the whole of Kentucky's cake. I want to help you, but there's nothing I can do!"

Donnie looked at Alpha Hope and suddenly smiled: "So, what you're saying is, Alpha, you want to abandon ship?"

The color finally drained from Alpha Hope's face as he said, "Block, I know you have a lot of influence throughout the United States, but don't forget this is Kentucky, Louisville. You want me to jump ship? Then I can assure you that from today on, not a single bottle of your private liquor will enter Louisville... no, it should be Kentucky as a whole!"

Donnie stood up: "Very well, I understand your stance. From now on, there will be no cooperation between us!"

After speaking, Donnie turned to leave!

"Donnie Block!" Alpha Hope called after Donnie, who turned back to see an angry Alpha Hope: "Donnie Block, think carefully about the consequences of what you're doing!"

Donnie flashed a smile: "Actually, in this period, it's not just you; many people, after seeing the profits from private liquor, have thought about going into business for themselves. I think it's time to let these people understand that having my support, and not having it, isn't just a simple matter of the source of private liquor!"

After finishing his words, Donnie paid no further attention to Alpha Hope and left the coffee shop.

"Boss, Alpha Hope represents the power figures of the entire state of Kentucky. If we really give up our cooperation with them, it will be very difficult to transport our private liquor to Kentucky!"

When Donnie returned to the hotel, Oguchi Arth, who was in charge of the Kentucky private liquor business, spoke to Donnie with some concern.

"Oguchi, if I remember correctly, you were in the Fifth Infantry, right?"

Donnie did not respond to Oguchi Arth's words but asked him instead.

Oguchi Arth nodded: "Yes, I was discharged along with you. If you hadn't written that letter for me back then, I might still be just a mere farmer!"

Donnie nodded and said, "So everything you have now was given to you by me, your villa, your car, your house?"

Oguchi Arth looked somewhat embarrassed but still nodded: "Yes, everything I have now was given to me by you, Boss!"

"In that case, I'm curious why, when Alpha Hope had these ideas, you knew nothing or rather decided not to tell me his intentions?"

Donnie spoke with a stern expression.

Oguchi Arth hastened to say, "Please believe me, Boss. I really didn't think Alpha Hope would be like this. He only told me this was a direct order from City Hall. He tried to argue on our behalf, but there was nothing he could do!"

Donnie laughed and said, "He couldn't do anything? Even if he had no control over this matter, shouldn't he have given us at least a hint before acting?"

The recent events in Kentucky, aside from troubling the Racing Club, also revealed some other issues to Donnie.

Just like the ones mentioned above, Donnie was certain the public security office was not in charge of this matter, but they must have known about it beforehand and yet failed to give any hint to him.

That was very unusual!

Oguchi Arth continued to explain, "Boss, Oguchi Alpha really didn't tell me about this before. I am indeed guilty of negligence in this matter, but please believe me, I've never colluded with them!"

Donnie shook his head, "Explaining these things now is useless, and you also haven't revealed the information I wanted to know."

Oguchi Arth thought for a moment and then said immediately, "Boss, I know now. Sly Monroe has indeed been very close to Alpha Hope recently, and I've heard that they've started building their own distillery!"

Donnie asked, "Why wasn't this information mentioned before?"

Oguchi Arth said softly, "I thought it was just a rumor before and never imagined they would dare to leave us, so I just..."

Donnie didn't outright reject Oguchi Arth's response but said calmly, "Now I need to know whether you want to continue working for me or you prefer to live your life in Kentucky."