Empire of Shadows

“Lance!”

“Come over here!”

Councilman Williams stood in the crowd, beckoning to him.

It wasn’t convenient for Senator Cleveland to have a close conversation with Lance, but Councilman Williams didn’t care at all.

He didn’t plan on going to Congress, nor did he intend to stand under a magnifying glass to be scrutinized by the entire nation, and even the world.

In this corner of Golden Port, no one could stop him now, so he didn’t care if people talked about him being with someone like Lance and acting very familiar.

Lance, holding his wine glass, temporarily bid farewell to William and walked over.

“Let me introduce you. This is Brand, Brand Jeffrey, the Secretary of State.”

Lance placed his wine glass on a passing waiter’s tray. He took the initiative to extend his hand and shake the Secretary of State’s. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jeffrey.”

Brand maintained the false smile that only politicians have. He shook Lance’s hand twice. “I’ve heard of you even in the capital!”This was clearly a lie. Lance’s influence had not yet expanded to the capital, but in such a social occasion, and a positive one at that, one had to say something to liven things up.

He couldn’t just say, “Who the fuck are you? I’ve never heard of you, and I’m not that happy to meet you,” or something like that. That would ruin everything.

Appropriate hypocrisy helps social interactions proceed effectively.

Lance returned a warm smile. “It is my honor to have my humble name known by the great figures in the capital!”

Councilman Williams, holding his wine glass, watched the two of them being hypocritical to each other with smiles on their faces. “Alright, alright, let’s talk business.”

The three of them walked to a corner. The people around them all took the initiative to move a certain distance away to avoid any misunderstanding.

In today’s social occasion, there was no doubt that Senator Cleveland’s status was the highest, but the Secretary of State’s status was not low either.

He was the number three figure in Likalai State, second only to the governor and lieutenant governor. And if there were no accidents, he would continue to work here for a few days, and maybe even have a chance to become the lieutenant governor or even the governor.

No matter how strong the guest is, he is still a guest. Only the master of the house can decide the living conditions of the people in the house.

“I hear you have a very interesting company called the Wanli Labor Agency?”

The men walked to the corner and, very naturally, lit cigarettes.

Lance nodded in agreement. “We are trying to solve some employment problems and the conflicts between local workers and immigrants. You know, not everyone likes immigrants.”

Secretary of State Brand nodded in strong agreement. “That’s right. They’ve always believed that the bad social environment is caused by immigrants.”

“Immigrants are snatching their medical resources, their educational resources, and also their job opportunities, even preventing their wages from rising!”

“However, we have found in some studies that this is just an excuse and a reason they find for their own laziness.”

“I’ve seen immigrants who work three jobs but can only earn about thirty dollars a month, and I’ve also seen Federation citizens who get angry for working five minutes extra and get the same pay.”

He paused. “I’m very interested in your business model. Perhaps we can cooperate in some areas.”

Councilman Williams said from the side, “We have many construction projects, but the wages of local Federation workers are relatively high, and those refugees…”

He seemed to be looking for how to describe this problem. After thinking for a while, he found a more mainstream term, “might involve moral risks, if we use them directly.”

They had come to the Federation as international refugees, which in itself was a show of trust in the federal government.

But in the end, the federal government sent them all to do the hardest, most tiring, and even dangerous work. This would create a certain moral risk for the federal government in the international community.

To put it simply, they did not plan to hire these refugees directly. They planned to be “deceived” into using a less-than-compliant enterprise, and then this enterprise would hire these refugees.

If anything happened, it would have nothing to do with the state government.

Lance thought for a moment. “Why me?”

“Many people can do this, and we all know there will be a lot of profit in it.”

The profit mainly came from the difference in labor costs. The state government paid wages according to the Federation average, but in reality, Lance might only need to pay half the cost to those workers, thus saving more than twenty dollars in labor costs.

For ten thousand people, that’s a difference of over two hundred thousand a month. If you add in what’s deducted from their food, even if you’re not that ruthless, you could still pocket three hundred thousand a month.

Anyone could do this. Lance wanted to know why he was chosen.

A smile appeared on Councilman Williams’s face. “We plan to start the construction of the New Port District. Before that, we need a more mature team.”

“The New Port docks?” When Lance said this name, a smile appeared on Councilman Williams’s face.

“Yes, the New Port docks.”

The New Port docks and the New Bay Area were the core of the disagreement and conflict between the mayor and the local forces. But this did not mean that the people of the Bay Area really couldn’t see the necessity of building the New Port District and the new docks.

The mayor’s biggest mistake was that he hoped to introduce other capital, to let more people get a share of the benefits from the rapid development of Golden Port.

So the investors in the New Port District and the new docks were basically all foreign capital, which seriously harmed the interests of the local capital.

Originally, they could have eaten ninety percent of the profits themselves. But if the New Port District was completed and formed a competition with the Golden Port docks, then they might only be able to eat forty-five percent of the profits.

The other forty-five percent of the profits would be eaten by the New Port docks, and this was also inevitable. Those long-distance ships would definitely want to resupply and leave as quickly as possible. For these ocean-going giants, they faced huge maintenance costs every day. Being able to unload and load goods faster meant that their profits might be even greater.

The Golden Port docks were already approaching full capacity.

The war on the Tanfit continent had caused many international trade and transport routes to be rerouted. It was foreseeable that as the intensity of the war increased and more areas were affected, the business volume of the Golden Port docks would also increase.

Drive the mayor away, and then they would eat up the New Port District and the Golden Port docks themselves, continuing to keep the profits in their mouths. This was the result of the negotiations between Councilman Williams and some people in the Bay Area.

They would fully support Councilman Williams in winning the mayoral election. In the same way, Councilman Williams had to ensure that in the distribution of interests in the New Port area, at least sixty percent of the profits would remain local.

There were also some interest transfer issues with the state government. They would divide the remaining forty percent.

This was a result that both sides could accept.

Perhaps some would think, how could forty percent be enough for so many people to divide?

Having this kind of thought is actually wrong in itself, because this forty percent is not for that many people. Only after the interests and demands of the top are met will there be any leftover scraps and crumbs to fall to the bottom.

Once the interests and demands of the upper class are met, the people at the bottom, besides complaining, will not really do anything.

They can’t just smash the master’s dinner because they are not full, can they?

There’s no one that stupid, right? If it were a project local to Golden Port, then Lance could understand why they were looking for him.

Seeing that he was still in deep thought, Councilman Williams took the initiative to say, “Lance, you’ve put in a lot of effort in this matter. You have protected the common interests of all of us.”

“So…” he glanced at the Secretary of State, “the New Port docks also have a share for you.”

Lance became interested. “How much?”

“One percent.”

“No, three percent,” Lance directly rejected the percentage proposed by Councilman Williams. “I don’t know how much one percent is, but I don’t like this number.”

“It’s the smallest in percentage, and I…” he glanced at the Bay Area’s upper-class figures who were socializing around them, “can do no worse than them.”

Councilman Williams, perhaps moved by his words, added a little, “One point two percent. Just this little bit will bring you millions in income every year.”

Lance shook his head. “Two percent. I’ve already made the biggest concession.”

Councilman Williams frowned and thought for a moment. “Every piece of cake, before it is served, has already been decided who gets which piece.”

“Everyone is like this. It’s decided from the very beginning.” “If you want to get more, someone has to give up their interests for you. This is not a small number. No one will give it to you so easily.”

Lance still maintained his position. “I can accept you not giving it to me, but I can’t accept you giving me so little. I am not a homeless man, Mr. Councilman.”

“And I believe that my role and my value are much more than these people who only know how to spend money.”

Councilman Williams’s gaze lingered on Lance for a moment. “I’ll take out three percent of my private share, one point five. Not a penny more.”

Lance also showed a smile. “Deal…” He let out a heavy sigh. “Whether in Golden Port or in Likalai State, if the state government needs labor, contact me anytime.”

“Including problems like this time when we dealt with the strike, I can also help you solve them.”

Likalai State did indeed have some construction tasks. As the largest port in the northern hemisphere, Golden Port also faced great pressure and potential risks.

After discussion, Congress was going to station troops in Golden Port, so naturally, there would also be a large number of construction tasks.

And in case the war spread to the great eastern ocean and affected the east coast and southern coastal areas of the Federation, it was necessary for Likalai State to be prepared to passively respond to the war.

Some defensive fortifications, although it was not certain that anyone would come to provoke the Federation, let alone be able to fight their way onto the mainland, but what if? These all required people to do the work. If the state government wanted to save expenses, it could only use cheaper labor.

After confirming this matter, the two exchanged business cards, and then the Secretary of State took the initiative to leave.

Councilman Williams said to him, “After the orders from the state government come down…” He looked at Lance and didn’t continue, but Lance understood his meaning.

The profits generated from government orders certainly couldn’t all be his own. If he couldn’t even understand such a simple thing, then he would have no right to live in a small room.

“How much can I eat?”

Councilman Williams showed an appreciative expression. “Thirty percent, but I personally suggest you keep only twenty percent, or even fifteen.”

“You will definitely not be left out of the various large-scale constructions. Although your profit from a single project may not be high, they will have many projects.”

Although Lance knew this, he still nodded and thanked him, because ordinary people would absolutely not tell you these things.

Even if they wanted to tell you, it would definitely be after you had taken a heavy fall. Only then would they come out like a good person and tell you what you should do, not before you fall and get hurt.

If you haven’t been hurt, their advice and experience will not be so valuable, and the effect will not be as good as telling you after you’ve been hurt.

Councilman Williams being so direct showed that he was continuously laying the foundation for James, or rather, for the Williams family.

“Thank you for the experience you have shared, Councilman Williams.”

Councilman Williams laughed heartily. He took two glasses of wine from a waiter’s tray, giving one to Lance. “Happy to cooperate, Lance.”

“Happy to cooperate!”

On the way back, Lance saw William chatting with Charlie. They took the initiative to greet him when they saw him approaching.

Hunter shook hands with Lance, and then Charlie.

“We cooperated well this time!” Hunter had a smile on his face. They had handled this terrible riot, and Senator Cleveland had also praised the execution ability of the Golden Port police system.

Charlie’s face was full of smiles. “I just had a chat with William, exchanged some thoughts and experiences.”

“This election for municipal councilman is a rare opportunity for all of us, Lance.”

He glanced at William. “You, me, William, we are all…” he lowered his voice, “people who were not qualified to enter here. They may not be willing to accept us in their hearts.”

“So we have to unite with each other. We don’t plan to hurt anyone, but we can’t be hurt by others either.”

Lance nodded. “Yes, you are right.” He seemed to agree with this view very much.

Charlie was all smiles. “You, me, we cooperate together, we can definitely run a stable Golden Port!”

They didn’t talk much. Charlie and Lance actually didn’t have much to say to each other.

After they left, the smile on William’s face disappeared. “I don’t like him. He’s not likable.”

Lance quite agreed with his view. “Charlie has been a dog in the Bay Area for too long, so much so that he doesn’t quite know how to be a person now.”

“Even if he can win the election, he won’t last long.”

William became a little curious. “Do you have some inside information?”

“I saw you over there just now, chatting with the Secretary of State and Williams.”

His eyes showed a look of amazement. He knew Lance’s situation very well. In just one year, he had changed everything, and was even able to have an equal conversation with the Secretary of State and the next mayor. This young man had a kind of magical power that he couldn’t describe. Lance shook his head and took a sip of sparkling wine. “Because I want to reorganize and integrate the entire Golden Port police system, Charlie will be a stumbling block in my plan.”

“When you encounter a stone blocking your path, the only thing you will do is to move it away.”

William’s mouth was slightly agape, not knowing what to say. He could only raise his glass and clink it with his. “I wish you… uh… success in your wish!”

The two “little people” stood in the corner, looking at the hall. Under the brilliant lights, these ladies and gentlemen of high society stood in groups of three or five.

In their constantly opening and closing mouths, one after another, exchanges of interests were reached.

This scene was happening in every corner here. Countless interests were being exchanged and arranged at this moment. It was hard for ordinary people to imagine that the operation of society was actually not that complicated, because in these exchanges of interests, many things had already been decided.

This party was a great success. Although the Federation of Labor and the Dockworkers’ General Union were still protesting to the federal government, their hopes of inciting a nationwide general strike were dashed.

This matter would definitely have repercussions. The destructive power of the repercussions would be within an acceptable range.

Senator Cleveland still had a lot of work to do. He was a member of two committees and was very busy.

The morning after the party ended, he took the train back to the special district and left.

The whole city also seemed to become a little more relaxed because of this.

The state police on the streets were also continuously withdrawing. The city’s order seemed to be rapidly “recovering.”

At this time, Lance had already taken over more than half of the Port District. In the remaining territories, there were still some people with unclear minds.

After returning to the office, he first dealt with some work matters, then he called Hiram over and told him that he could make a move…

The lazy afternoon sun shone on the street. On a street near the triangle area, the leader of a small gang and his subordinates were sitting at the entrance of a deli, playing cards.

There were also seven or eight people watching nearby. They had brought money.

Everyone had a small money box in front of them, mostly filled with five and ten-cent coins. Twenty-five and fifty-cent coins were not very common.

Sometimes the onlookers would also take out a dollar or two to participate. After losing, they would still watch for a while before leaving.

The leader got another bad hand. He didn’t know why, but he had been losing money since lunch today and couldn’t get a good hand.

Sometimes he would get a good hand, but there was always someone whose hand was better, which made him very angry.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford to lose this much money. This amount of money might not be a small amount for an ordinary person, but for him, it was just a drop in the bucket.

What he hated was the feeling of frustration from losing money, not the money he lost. “I’ve caught God’s shit with these two hands, and I haven’t had a single winning hand!”

The round ended, and a new one began.

When he got his hand, a smile finally appeared on his gloomy face from the afternoon.

This time, it was a good hand.

So good that he couldn’t even hear the sound of a car braking by his ear.

(End of chapter)

You can support the translator and get advanced chapter by join his patreon at /caleredhair